CHAPTER FIVE #2
A sharp knock sounded on his open office door. He knew who it was before he turned.
His latest HCU recruit, Kit Mars, grimaced at him, and he gestured her inside.
Interestingly, she was distantly related to Brie Rose.
He’d recruited Kit out of Vice at the NYPD, not just because she was damned good at her job—and like Brie, had no life but her job.
He’d been after her because she’d watched her twin sister die in a pleasure crime when she was eighteen, not far from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. She had motivation, and lots of it.
Kit came inside, a folder in her hand. She was a very attractive, slender woman with fair skin and dark hair, which she wore in a blunt, no-nonsense cut.
Nick had never seen her wear a stitch of makeup, or anything other than a black top and black pants or jeans.
He approved. Kit was hot on the war against evil, and she was ambitious.
If she stayed away from a personal life, she was going places.
And she didn’t have a clue that she had an ancestor in common with the Rose women.
“This is a compilation of the field data you asked for, going back to the moment Brie first began empathizing with Aidan of Awe,” she said seriously.
“You’ve got nothing,” Nick said, reading her mind. He had no patience left.
A flicker of worry crossed Kit’s face. “We’ve got zip, Nick. I’m sorry. I’ll keep trying.”
“Let’s change the drill. Run program 6C and start expanding the quads.
We have every available agent in the field.
If they’re still in the city, we will find them.
” He was filled with tension, but working hard to control it.
Brie was his agent, his responsibility, and by now, she could be very dead.
Aidan of Awe might have belonged to the unnamed Brotherhood once upon a time, but he reeked of evil now. Worse, it was highly likely that he’d taken her through time. If that was the case, she could be anywhere, in any time.
There was nothing worse than losing an agent in the past. He’d mourned every agent who’d died in the line of duty, but an agent lost in time was even worse. He wouldn’t let it happen to Brie Rose.
Big Mama was running full-time. She was the agency’s supercomputer, and she was analyzing more than three thousand historical case files, a quarter of which were so highly classified only three people, himself included, had access.
Maybe, just maybe, once upon a time, someone had seen her, and it was in a report.
One mention and he’d know where to look for her.
Kit left, and his beautiful secretary poked her head in.
She looked like a human version of Barbie.
Beyond her stunning, blond good looks, she was the best assistant he’d ever had.
She was cleared to Level Five and was one of the other two people with access to HCU’s most classified data.
He’d known Jan—and trusted her—for a really long time.
He crooked his finger and she came in, wearing a very revealing jersey dress.
She was holding a folder, which he hoped was what he was waiting for.
Closing the door, she said, “You said you wanted this fast, and I worked as quickly as I could. According to our original file, he was first sighted by our people around 1425 or so—maybe a few years earlier. I assume you know that history records his execution by hanging in December of 1502, which is when his stronghold, Castle Awe, was seized by the Earl of Argyll.”
He knew all that. It was in the original file.
“He pops up a lot in this century, Nick, but always before he was turned. There are sightings of him in Rome, Milan, Paris and Dubai after the millennium. I’m pretty certain the man sighted by our agents those eleven times was still on our side.”
“The bastard who took Brie is evil,” Nick said flatly. Why were there so many sightings of the good Aidan, and none of the bad? “How many case files have you gone over?”
“Sorry, hon, only eighty-eight. There’s 535 Level Five classifieds left.
He was hanged in 1502, and that man was turned.
If so, the man who took Brie came from a period roughly between 1425 and 1502.
” She grimaced. “I know that’s a big chunk of time.
I think I can narrow it down a hair. His ruthless destruction of anyone and everything in his path began in late 1436.
” She added apologetically, “That’s a sixty-six year window. ”
“You forgot to mention he could have come from 1500 and vanished into 1700—or any damned time he chose.”
“Don’t I know better than anybody?” Jan asked softly. “Let’s hope someone spots her somewhere, in some time.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “I’m running out of time. Brie is not a field agent. She isn’t tough. She hasn’t had any PES training—or any survival training, period. That empathy could kill her…if he doesn’t do it first.”
Only field agents took Past Era Survival courses. Nick decided that policy was changing.
“I know. I’ll get back to the fivers.” Jan stared closely. “Are you really okay?”
Jan knew more about him than anyone. He instantly closed off to her. This was not the time to revisit his past. In fact, his life was a closed book, and he intended to keep it that way.
She retreated. “When you need a shoulder, let me know. Hey, Nick? Sometimes even macho men cry.” She shrugged. “Her cousin is waiting outside. Said you called her.”
He glared at her. Jan had come to his family’s funeral, all those years ago—the last time he’d ever shed tears. “Send her in. I want another report at 5 p.m. After that, I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
Jan appeared worried. “Nick, for God’s sake, don’t do anything foolish. That last sortie did not go well.”
Nick waved her out.
Sam strode into his office, her blue eyes sparking with anger. “Great job, Forrester. It’s been twenty-four hours, and my cousin is still in the hands of a Master gone bad.”
“Sit down,” he said, annoyed.
Sam sat and deliberately flashed her tanned thighs at him, crossing her legs.
She wore a short denim skirt, a muscle tank and leather jacket and biker boots.
It was impossible not to look at those sculpted legs and she knew it.
She carried a large purse that he already knew contained weapons, because he’d watched her coming through that security earlier.
Every video camera in the building had a feed into his computer.
He’d especially liked how cool she’d been when his security team had frisked her, removing the stiletto from her thigh.
“I’m really worried,” Sam said tersely. “And Tabby is out of her mind with fear.”
He took his own seat behind his desk. “Want a job?”
She gave him a look. “Not if you’re my boss.”
“Thanks, Rose. There are laws against the way you play at night.”
“Nick’s laws?”
He raised his brows, exasperated. She’d be a pain to control. “You know damn well the Clinton-Feingold Anti-Vigilante Act was passed in 2001, making your extracurricular activities a felony.”
She leaned toward him and he saw the black lace of her bra. “Arrest me.”
“What’s with the attitude?”
She was filled with fear for Brie, the anxiety making her sick and desperate. He softened. This woman would never admit to fear and never cave to it. He wanted her, bad, but not for himself. He liked his women soft, easy and not all that bright. He wanted her at HCU.
“I can’t stand this. Why am I here? We both know I’m too independent and outspoken to work for you.”
“I guess Brie’s mentioned I’m a royal pain in the ass?”
Sam finally smiled. It made her shockingly beautiful. “Yeah, she did.”
He leaned forward. “How long do you think our little friend can last while in Aidan of Awe’s control?”
Sam’s smile vanished. “She’s a Rose. Rose women handle the worst tragedies.”
“How long do you think she’ll last in the medieval world, if he’s taken her back there?”
“She’ll rise to the occasion, but damn it, we have to find her!” Sam cried.
He slid a folder over his desk toward her. When Sam reached for it, he laid his hand on the file, preventing her from taking it. “In or out?”
She met his gaze. “What’s that?”
“Level Five case files.”
Her eyes widened. “Brie is only Level Three and she’s been here three years!”
He sent her a charming smile, one that always instantly disarmed women. “If you come in, you’re going right to the top.”
She wet her lips.
He had her, he thought, satisfied. “That’s usually for my eyes only. Now it can be for your eyes, too.”
“I’m in,” Sam said hoarsely.
He released the file and she flipped it open. He sat back in his chair, arms folded, waiting, as she began skimming the pages. Within two minutes, her eyes widened, and she froze. Then, slowly, she looked up at him. “Holy shit,” she said.
He grinned.
“In 1888, a CDA agent named John Duke filed a report about a demon slaying. A demon he slayed…in 1602.”
“Welcome to CDA,” Nick said. “Oh, and Sam? You might want to catch up on your history of the Highlands.”
AWE WAS A FOUR-WALLED CASTLE, with corner and middle towers and a gatehouse with two flanking towers.
Beyond that there was an outer ward that was almost a separate garrison, and the bridge that led to Loch Awe’s shores.
Brie was acutely aware of Aidan as they walked through the inner ward toward the gatehouse.
Although he was controlling his emotions, she could feel his warrior power seething.
It felt very raw, very brutal and very barbaric.
He seemed to be heating up over the prospect of battle, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that.
It was a reminder that, good or bad, he was still a medieval man with a medieval agenda.
She couldn’t help wondering how many would die before this rebellion was through.
Scotland’s history was particularly bloody and tragic and she was starting to appreciate how civilized the modern world was.
“Has it ever occurred to anyone, perhaps even the MacDonald, to negotiate for what he wants?”