Chapter 25 #2
“There is nothing to investigate,” Magma yells.
“Restrain him,” Reed instructs the guards.
The two guards move forward. Magma doesn’t fight them. He just looks at me as they pull his hands behind his back. There’s a click as the cuffs go on.
“You knew about this,” he tells me. “You knew! I can see it on your face.”
I feel terrible. Like I betrayed my friend.
I did betray Magma.
“Magma.” I find my voice. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get you a lawyer. The best one on the island. I will personally see to it. Do not say a word. Do you understand?”
“Why? What is this about? Why didn’t you come to me?” he snarls.
The guards turn him toward the door. One of them puts a hand on his bicep to walk him out.
He twists around to look at me. “I thought we were friends. What the fuck, Ridge?!”
I try to go after them, but Reed steps forward, blocking my path.
“You and I need to talk,” she tells me.
Reed closes the door and pulls the blinds all the way shut. The room goes dim.
“What the hell are you doing here, Ridge?” Her voice is low. “I told you to stay away. I warned you.”
I turn to face her. “He didn’t do this, Councilor.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“He didn’t do this. I’m telling you. Whatever you found, it was planted.
He’s smarter than that. If Magma had been working against this island, you would never have found that kind of evidence on him.
Not that easily. I’m assuming these items were fairly easy to find.
He doesn’t make sloppy mistakes. The only way that evidence exists is if someone put it there. ”
She sighs and closes her eyes for a second.
“There is a burner phone, Ridge. With his fingerprints on it. There are documents that were found in his place of residence, taped under the bed. It’s enough to put him away for the rest of his life.”
“That’s exactly my point. Taped under his bed? Magma? You think a male who has run frontline operations would hide classified material under his bed like an idiot? It’s a setup. The whole thing reeks of one.”
“I don’t disagree.”
“Exactly. So why the arrest? It’s exactly what they want. The unrest on this island is growing.”
“Both islands,” she corrects me.
“Exactly. Magma arrested like this is the last thing we need at a time like this.”
She rubs a hand over her face. “It’s too neat. It’s been too neat from the start. If I had any choice, I would have held off on the arrest. I do not have that choice. A vote was taken, and this is the result.”
“Tell me you have your best males working the angle that he was framed.”
“Absolutely.” She steps closer. “Now, I’ll ask you again. Why are you here, Ridge?”
I push out a breath.
“I came to tell Magma I was stepping away from the Keller assignment.”
She narrows her eyes. “Explain your reasoning behind this decision.”
“I’m no longer the best person for the job because I had sex with Dr. Keller. I compromised the investigation. I need to be pulled.”
She mutters what sounds like a curse under her breath and stares at the far wall for a few seconds.
“Do you have feelings for her, or was it just sex?” Her eyes slowly drag up to mine.
“I’m attracted to her. I won’t pretend otherwise.
There are no feelings beyond that. We had sex, and therefore, I’m not the right male for this assignment any longer.
I came to inform Magma because he would have suspected that something was up otherwise.
Turns out I could have saved myself the trip. ”
She turns and walks to the window
When she turns back, her face has shifted again.
“Can you still be objective where Dr. Keller is concerned?”
“Of course I can, but—”
“Could you build a case against her if she is guilty? Could you be the one to put her in handcuffs?”
“If she’s guilty, I’ll build the case myself, and I’ll put her in the cuffs. I won’t enjoy it. But I’ll do it.”
She nods once. “Then I still want you on this assignment.”
“Councilor, I—”
“You stay.” She holds up a hand. “Hear me out before you object. Right now, you have something no replacement of mine will have. You have proximity. You have her trust, or some version of it. You have access to her in a way I cannot manufacture in another male in the time we have left. I want you to get closer to her. Spend time with her. You need to—”
“You want me to use her.”
“I want you to do your job. Lean into the proximity. Let her relax around you. Listen. Watch. If she is what the leak says she is, she’ll trip. They always do.”
I stare at her. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” She crosses her arms. “It will need to be discreet. You will not put it in any report. If it is ever exposed, I will deny knowledge of this conversation. You’ll be on your own. Do you understand?”
“I understand…but—”
“I need you to stick with it. Do it for Magma. Maybe you’ll find something to clear him.”
“Or maybe I’ll implicate him further.”
“You can’t think like that.
“I have to. He’s my friend. I need to help him. I need—”
“Magma is not your concern. He has his own investigators. We’re working the angles. Trying hard to find evidence of a setup. Stay in your lane, Ridge. You stay on Keller. I want feedback within twenty-four hours. You do not interfere with the Magma case. I hope I am making myself clear.”
“Understood.”
“Good.” She moves toward the door. “I’m sorry. About all of it.”
“Don’t apologize, Councilor. Just do what you said you’d do. Find the real culprit.”
“I will.” She rests her hand briefly on the door handle. “Twenty-four hours.”
She opens the door and walks out.
I follow, seeing Robyn on the other side of Jess’s desk.
Holy shit!
I frown, because she’s the last person I expected to see.
Behind her, chaos ensues. There are people clustered around Jess’s desk. There is a junior I don’t recognize crying into a tissue at one of the back stations. Flint is standing at the front, both hands up, trying to get the room calm.
“Listen up.” His voice carries. “Everyone. Listen…please.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask her.
The guard I posted at the hospital, Smoke, is behind her. Brutus is at the exit just inside the corridor. He spots me and gives a small nod.
“Hi,” she says. “Sorry to…I’m…I... Smoke told me where to find you. I needed to speak with you.” She looks bewildered.
“Come inside for a second.” I pull her into Magma’s office and shut the door.
“What was that? Why was that male arrested? Who is he?”
“His name is Magma, and he’s my boss and my friend. He was arrested for treason.” She’ll know soon enough, anyway. The whole island will.
Her eyes widen, and her mouth falls open. “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry. This must be hitting you hard.”
“He didn’t do it. I know him and he…” I shake my head. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know. I wanted to tell you something before you spoke to Reed. I tried calling but…” She rubs her lips together. “I assume I’m too late.” She looks down at her shoes for a moment before looking back up. “I’m sure you already excused yourself from the hospital assignment as we discussed.”
“What were you coming to tell me?”
“That I’ve changed my mind.” She drops her voice.
“About what we discussed. The arrangement. I wish I had gotten here in time. For a second there, I thought she was going to arrest you because of what we did. I wanted to tell you that we don’t have to tell her.
I mean, we can make it a few days…just until you finish this assignment.
I got here a bit too late. I’m so sorry.
I hope you didn’t get into trouble over me… and what happened. I—”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” I ask.
“I’ve been thinking about it. I…I don’t want you to step down. I think you’re right. I’d rather we get this out of our systems, as you said. I’m being an idiot about the whole thing. I mean, it’s just sex, right? But since you told Reed…” She shrugs.
“It’s not too late,” I tell her. “Because I didn’t get a chance to tell Reed.” I wince internally. I hate lying. I hate using her. I hate this whole damned thing. “I came to tell Magma I was stepping down, and then Reed arrived to arrest him. I need to go… I…”
“Of course. I’d better get back to the hospital,” she says, mostly to herself.
“On the way here, the radio said there’s another protest scheduled at the Council buildings this afternoon.
They’re, once again, calling for the deportation of all humans.
” She trails off and gives a small, dazed shake of her head.
“There’s so much anger right now.” She pushes out a breath.
“Anyway, there’s always an added risk of casualties. I should go.”
“You’re right.” I nod. “Smoke and Brutus will take care of you.”
“I should let you do whatever it is you need to do.” She looks around the room. “You probably don’t want me here right now.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
We go out, and Flint has things under control…
for now. A few heads turn as we walk past, including Flint, who frowns.
None of them says anything. Jess looks up from her desk, and her eyes go to Robyn, then back to me.
I give her a small nod that I hope she reads as I’m fine. She nods back, small and tight.
I walk Robyn to the elevator and press the button.
The doors slide open moments later. I put my hand over the sensor, holding them open.
“Will I see you later?” she asks as she and the guards step inside.
“Go to work, Dr. Keller.”
Then I’m walking away.
Fuck! I need to step away from this. All of it. I need to make Reed assign someone else.
But what if I can help Magma by proving that the evidence was planted? Maybe I can find out who is behind this.
The only way is to stay. To finish what I started.
If my theory is right, I will find planted evidence on Robyn. It’ll be there somewhere. I need to get close enough to her to find it.
Then I need to find a way to prove that it was planted.