''A what?''

  ''A drug trade.''

  ''In the museum?''

  ''In the museum.''

  ''Hold on a second. What makes you think the drugs belonged to Geoffrey? What if they didn’t?''

  ''They were found in his wallet and in more of the sculptures that he brought in to Administration to sell.''

  ''Wow.''

  ''Yeah. Wow.''

  Cyan was seated on the middle couch between Aria and Harper in the living room, explaining to them the findings that Nathan, William and herself had discovered after processing the crime scene. The two boys had dropped her off at the house with Geoffrey's phone so that Aria could crack the passcodes as fast as possible while they returned to the Museum to speak to the Curator. ''Knowing the daily operations of the place would be helpful in order to discern how Geoffrey squeezed in an opportunity to run his side business.’’ Nathan had explained before he left.

  ‘’You said you found product in the sculptures?’’ Harper, who had been sitting on Cyan’s right, asked.

  ‘’Yes. The receptionist confimed that Geoffrey brought in some sculptures he had made to the museum. Admin offered to purchase some and sell some on his behalf because apparently, he was pretty good. Unfortunately, in three of his sculptures, sachets of product were found.’’ Cyan answered.

  ‘’So, he made those sculptures with a specific motive. Either, he built his sculptures around the drugs or he simply slipped them inside.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’How sure are we that he actually made the sculptures? He could’ve bought them off somewhere like Amazon and inserted the drugs inside.’’ Aria suggested.

  ‘’I thought about that.’’ Cyan acknowledged. ‘’But companies like Amazon sell more of Fine Art than 3D Art. And they wouldn’t accept less than perfect pieces because they receive commission upon goods sold. It would ruin their brand if they sold messy art.’’

  ‘’I thought you said the Museum thought that Geoffrey’s art was pretty good.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’It was quite good. But it was very asymmetrical. The carver lacked mathematical precision that would present the sculptures in a more balanced technique. Then I realized that the person who worked on that piece of art didn’t really have the experience of an artist. Rather, an amateur, who participated in sculpting more out of convenience than passion.’’ Cyan argued.

  ‘’Like for instance, a guy who worked in an office job for years who suddenly picked up sculpting as a way to make ends meet.’’ Aria surmised.

  ‘’Of course.’’ Harper agreed.

  ‘’Exactly. And humans have a way of telling on themselves without saying anything.’’ Cyan resumed. ‘’The sculptures that were identified to be Geoffrey’s comprised of two concepts of life. Physically, these were hearts and family models. Of course, they were all different designs but it was just that. But symbolically, his sculptures represented love and households. And what do we know about Geoffrey? He was family oriented. He loved his wife to point of allowing her betrayal to break him. Whether he did it consciously or not, he used sculpting as a way of releasing the way he felt. Those pieces are definitely his.’’

  ‘’I definitely see where you’re coming from. But where did he get A-grade pure coke from? We all know he didn’t have the connections or the resources to purchase or even supply. The most he could’ve been was a retailer.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’I think he was a mule. A low-level and low-risk distributor. He probably received the drugs from the supplier, inserted them in the sculptures and then and notified the buyers to go to the Museum and purchase the sculptures with drugs in them.’’ Aria said.

  ‘’I’m intrigued.’’ Harper breathed. ‘’And impressed.’’

  ‘’You and me both.’’ Cyan admired.

  ’If there is one thing I know about drug trades, it’s that there is a strong system of hierarchy. Especially here in Leicester. We have the retailer, the local wholesaler, the national wholesaler and the importer. Geoffrey’s supplier would’ve been a local because of the intensity of their trade.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’My guess is that they were all in this together. Geoffrey and the three men who took Lucas. They all ran this operation. It could potentially be the debt that Geoffrey was paying off.’’ Aria said. ‘’I just don’t understand how it’s all connected.’’

  ‘’All three men could’ve been distributors like Geoffrey.’’ Cyan agreed. ‘’But from the information that we received, there seems to be an established hierarchy in that group already. The man that Lucas identified as old drips of dominance. He wouldn’t be found anywhere in the street dealing product.’’

  ‘’He could be the importer; the most important and wealthy part of the syndicate.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’Well, what we come up with is all circumstantial unless we open this phone.’’ Aria said.

  ‘’How’s it going?’’ Cyan asked.

  Aria was on the edge of her seat with her bedazzled laptop on her lap. There was a black cable that was swallowed by Aria’s laptop on one side and Geoffrey’s phone on the other.

  ‘’I wanted to find a way to remove the passcodes from Geoffrey’s phone without erasing the data so I went the ADB route. Android Debug Bridge. I had to set it up on my PC and enable the USB debugging on Geoffrey’s android phone via developer’s option in the settings menu on his phone. Then I had to connect the devices with this USB cable so that I could open a command prompt on my PC and issue a command to allow the debugging to happen. Once I was in, I had to issue another command to disable the security. It should be rebooting now and, in a few minutes, we’ll see what's inside.’’ Aria explained.

  ‘’So, in other words, you did it? You opened the phone?’’ Harper asked expectantly.

  ‘’That’s exactly what I just explained, Harper.’’ Aria answered dryly.

  ‘’Alright, Cleopatra. There’s no reason to be so snooty.’’ Harper complained.

  ‘’What? I’m not being snooty.’’ Aria gasped.

  ‘’Yes. Yes, you are. You’re being snooty.’’

  ‘’You know who the real snoot bomb was today?’’ Aria posed. ‘’William.’’

  ‘’Ugh.’’ Harper groaned loudly. ‘’Every time I hear about William Wannabe Shakespeare, I just want to take a one ply and blow him away to another Organisation.’’

  Aria scoffed. ‘’In another life maybe. The Organisation will blow you away if you do that. His parents are way too valuable here at SSU.’’

  ‘’Why is that?’’ Cyan asked curiously.

  ‘’William’s parents are old money rich. Like, breakfast buddies with the Queen rich. Absolutely generational wealth rich. They are one of the biggest sponsors of SSU along with Nathan’s grandparents.’’ Harper answered.

  ‘’I’m almost familiar with all the Agents that work for the English Base with Sponsor parents but I've never heard of a William with generational old money parents. Wouldn’t I know about him if his parents were SSU sponsors?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’After the Jan Jalesmycie incident six months ago-’’

  Aria cleared her throat so abruptly that Harper stopped mid-sentence and wide-eyed Aria. Aria attempted to send silent signals with her eyes to her, rigidly shaking her stiffed neck. Cyan realized what was going on and internally sighed.

  As often as she spoke about her sister was just as often as she spoke about the Jan Jalesmycie Incident that transpired six months ago while she still worked at the Organisation. The two were so intricately intertwined in ways that made Cyan’s body ache. Harper was probably unaware of the profound effect of events that day had on her and she couldn’t blame her. Not many did. Did Cyan want to hear anything related to the incident that made her leave in the first place? No. But she’d gladly accept any information that explained William’s attitude and behaviour toward her earlier, however it was given out.

  Cyan subtly winked at Aria as a way of thanking her for trying to protect her feelings. She appreciated the way Ari tried to warn Harper without triggering her. However, she had to allow a baffled Harper continue with her explanation.

  ‘’What happened after the incident?’’ Cyan asked as if she hadn’t noticed the awkward exchange.

  ‘’Uhm, well.’’ Harper continued hesitantly.

  Cyan knew that Harper could feel the temperature change in the room though she couldn’t exactly pick on what made it so. She continued nonetheless. ‘’After the incident, quite a few Agents left. Approximately five to six soldiers. Not a handful in my opinion but the Agency felt as if they had lost all the money in the bank, especially when a great Agent like yourself left. Some Agents transferred themselves to different Bases and some completely abandoned the Organisation. So, to fill that void, the Agency searched for three new Agents who were well-versed, exceedingly exposed and extremely talented to join the English side. That’s how they recruited William and moved him from the Agency Base in Paris to the one here. He was one of the three.’’

  Aria’s almond eyes stared at Cyan. ‘’Cy, the only reason you don’t know about him is because he was the Agent that took your place. The Organisation thought that he could fill the hole you left. He took over your shifts and worked with your former Division before he decided he wanted to be permanently tied to D12.’’ Aria explained.

  Cyan felt the saliva dry in her mouth. She was working with someone who had replaced her? It stung a little. And it annoyed her how much it affected her because she was the one who left. But she knew the Organisation had to continue running. Crime had no days off. It was just that at times, you believed that you were irreplaceable. Situations had a way of reminding you otherwise.

  ‘’I still don’t understand why he was so rude to me. He's the one who replaced me and not the other way around.’’ Cyan sighed.

  Aria inhaled softly. ‘’Did you ever consider that William acted like an expert hog because he finally met the big shoes he had to fill? He had a moment of insecurity.’’

  ‘’I guess.’’ Cyan agreed thoughtfully.

  ‘’We are so sorry about what he said to you though.’’ Harper apologised.

  ‘’Don’t worry. He was not the first and he definitely won’t be the last.’’

  ‘’I just want to sock him sometimes.’’ Aria expressed.

  ‘’And that’s saying a lot because Aria rarely feels like socking people.’’ Harper pointed out.

  A rhythmic notification sound projected in the room and Aria grabbed Geoffrey’s phone for an update on what she was doing.

  ‘’Guys.’’ she called. ‘’The phone is on.’’

  Harper moved to the edge of her seat. ‘’What’s on it?’’

  Aria tapped on the screen several times, scrolled down, scrolled up and tapped a few more times.

  ‘’There’s not much in here.’’ she reported. ‘’No text messages, no pictures and no apps. He was smart enough to cover his tracks.’’

  ‘’There has to be something.’’ Harper contested.

  ‘’There is, actually. There is a number here in the call logs that appears more than the others.’’ Aria said.

  ‘’How often?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’The calls are quite sporadic but three times a week from what I can get here.’’ Aria answered.

  ‘’What’s the country code?’’ Harper asked.

  ''+44.'' Aria answered.

  ‘’Local.’’ Cyan noticed.

  ‘’Why would he erase everything on his phone but keep his call logs? Wouldn’t it make sense to delete the call logs and keep everything else?’’ Harper asked.

  ‘’Importance, perhaps?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’Aria, can you find out who that number belongs to?’’ Harper asked.

  ‘’Yeah, I can. Give me a second to go through the Database.’’ Aria answered.

  ‘’Are there any other numbers he called besides the one you’ve mentioned?’’ Harper asked.

  ‘’Yeah. A few.’’ Aria answered as she tapped her laptop buttons. ‘’Alright. So, the first number, +44 731 578 126, belongs to Josephine Mund. The second number, +44 612 450 001 belongs to his father, Thomas Adams. The third number, the frequent caller, +44 174 932 332, is registered to a Pedro Gallo.’’

  ‘’Repeat that. Did you say Pedro Gallo?’’ Harper asked expectantly.

  ‘’Yeah. Pedro Gallo.’’ Aria answered slowly. ‘’His name does sound familiar, doesn’t it?’’

  ‘’It does, yeah.’’ Harper answered. ‘’He’s the manager of that popular nightclub in the city, Quarter 25. We had him, back in August, for drugs but he slipped out of our cuffs like overcooked spaghetti.’’

  ‘’What did you get him for?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’He had a possession charge.’’ Aria answered.

  ‘’Do you still remember what you found on him?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’Yeah. He had Cocaine on him, Ecstasy, some steroids, Amphetamines, magic mushrooms and Heroin.’’ Harper answered.

  ‘’And he slipped through all that? How?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’We handed him to local authorities after we caught him. After two days, he posted bail and received a fine of ￡500,000.’’ Harper answered.

  ‘’He should’ve spent at least seven years behind a cell.’’ Cyan said.

  ‘’It was outside our jurisdiction. We had done our part by catching him and handing him over to local authorities. There was nothing else we could do besides work on other cases.’’ Aria answered. |Harper jumped as if her couch had sent an electric shock up her nervous system. ‘’Oh, yes! Yes. Uhm, we also caught Gallo with Caffeine and Amobarbital.’’

  It was Cyan’s turn to move towards the edge of her seat. ‘’Amobarbital? Are you sure?’’

  ‘’Yeah, I drove the product back to HQ myself.’’ Harper answered. ‘’Why?’’

  ‘’That was the same drug that was found in Lucas’ system.’’ Cyan responded.

  ‘’What? I thought it was Amytal.’’ Aria countered.

  ‘’It’s the same thing. They just have different names.’’ Cyan explained. ‘’When one talks about

  Amobarbital, they are referring to Amytal. Just like when you talk about tomato sauce and ketchup. They are essentially the same thing.’’

  ‘’Now we know why Geoffrey and Gallo were in contact.’’ Aria said as she leaned back on her couch.

  ‘’Pedro was Geoffrey’s local supplier.’’ Cyan resolved.

  ‘’That’s another part of the puzzle solved.’’ a male voice announced from behind Cyan.

  Cyan whipped her head sideways to see who the voice belonged to. Evan, Jordan and Preston were standing in the living room, a few feet away from the couches. Cyan must’ve been too engrossed in the discussion to hear them come in. They must’ve have arrived simultaneously since they had gone to different places.

  ‘’So, Geoffrey was the one in contact with the supplier? Isn’t that a lot of responsibility bestowed on a newcomer criminal?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’Look at it like this; they only let Geoffrey do most of the heavy lifting and the dirty work so that he’d be the only one implicated in the end.’’ Evan explained.

  ‘’He is dead now.’’ Harper said flatly.

  ‘’His death was quite something.’’ Preston commented.

  ‘’What did the coroner say?’’ Jordan asked.

  ‘’Before I begin, can I just point out that Carol Doak analyses cadavers in the basement of her house? I mean, she lives in a pulchritudinous neighbourhood with brick-layered establishments, grass plots and crisp air and yet in her cellar, she accepts cremation orders and used body parts of the dead for investigations. Isn't that weird?’’

  Jordan raised an eyebrow. ‘’Would you rather she analyse cadavers in the middle of the road?’’

  ‘’I don’t know but-’’

  ‘’Pres. The coroner’s report.’’ Evan reminded.

  ‘’Oh, right. Sorry. Forensics confirmed that Geoffrey took one bullet to the head. That, we already know.’’ he began. ‘’The projectile passed entirely through his head and left entrance and exit wounds known in the medical word as a perforating wound. The bullet damaged his internal carotid artery that provided oxygenated blood to his eyes, cerebrum, scalp and his external one as well that allowed blood to supply another part of his cerebrum and his thyroid gland.’’

  ‘’So, what does that mean in simple English? What was the cause of death?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’He bled to death.’’ Preston answered. ‘’His major blood vessels on the sides of his neck had been vitiated.’’

  ‘’If the receptionist had arrived a little earlier for her shift, we could’ve been telling a different story.’’ Harper assumed.

  ‘’Not necessarily. Given the velocity and range of the bullet, he was already dead the minute that firearm was pointed at him.’’ Preston said. ‘’ He also suffered blunt force trauma caused by strong knuckles connecting with his mandible explaining the contusions we saw on his face.’’

  ‘’Was it broken?’’ Evan asked. ‘’The jaw, I mean.’’

  ‘’Nothing a wire couldn’t fix.’’ Preston answered.

  ‘’And his toxicology report? Anything unusual in his system?’’ Evan asked.

  ‘’Except the cannabis he smoked and the small traces of coke found in his body, there were no detrimental toxins found.’’

  ‘’His death was quick and simple.’’ Preston continued. ‘’Nothing overly dramatic and unnecessarily gruesome. It was simply a mission-oriented kill. There was nothing personal about it which speaks to the context surrounding Geoffrey's murder. A liability was all he was.’’ Preston concluded.

  ‘’So, these guys kidnap children, deal drugs and kill people. What don’t they do?’’ Jordan commented dryly.

  ‘’What won’t they do? They seem to be doing everything inside the criminal handbook.’’ Harper added.

  ‘’What’s next now?’’ Aria asked. ‘’We can’t let them get away with anything else.’’

  ‘’Nathan and William are still at the museum waiting for the Curator. Talking to him might give us a lead. Perhaps a list of people Geoffrey sold his sculptures to.’’ Jordan submitted.

  ‘’The buyers wouldn’t have exposed their real names.’’ Evan argued.

  Jordan furrowed his eyebrows. ‘’No, they wouldn’t have.’’

  ‘’There is something we could do.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’What is that?’’ Evan asked.

  ‘’Let’s just go to the club.’’ she proposed.

  ‘’Excuse me?’’ Aria asked incredulously.

  Cyan had to admit that she was quite shook herself. How was partying going to help with the investigation?

  ‘’Pedro Gallo works at Quarter 25, right? We should go over there and extort information from him. Since he is the supplier, he’ll lead us straight to the importer.’’ Harper explained.

  ‘’Do you really think he’ll talk to us?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’We’ll make him talk.’’ Harper replied simply.

  ‘’We’ll stick out like a sore thumb in there. Our natural scents are gun oil and boot polish.’’ Preston expressed.

  ‘’Unless we switch things up. Look the part.’’ Cyan suggested. ‘’We have a tangible lead. We know what Pedro does and where he is. We should go for it.’’

  ‘’Exactly.’’ Harper agreed. She turned towards Evan. ‘’Ev? What do you think?’’

  ‘’It’s quite a risk but we should chase any leads we have.’’ he answered. ‘’Tonight.’’

  ‘’But it’s a Tuesday. Won’t we find the clubs empty?’’ Preston asked curiously.

  ‘’Oh, my geeky friend. That’s when the clubs are the fullest. It's way more fun winding down during the week.’’ Jordan smiled.’’ I might just meet my future wife tonight.’’

  ‘’Jay.’’ Evan scolded. ‘’Strictly work.’’

  ‘’I’m kidding.’’ Jordan snickered.

  ‘’Wait. When you say, ‘look the part’ what do you mean exactly?’’ Aria asked nervously.

  Cyan stood up from her couch and scrutinized Aria who was seated on her couch.

  ‘’Tell me, do you by any chance own a cocktail dress and pair of six-inch heels?’’

  *****

  Cyan and Harper had assembled in Aria’s room an hour after it was decided that going to club was their next plan of action. Harper had made it known that it was going to be difficult for Aria to find something ‘’club-like’’ to wear so it was in her best interest they meet in Aria’s room and go through her closet to see if they could rally some of her clothing to create a decent outfit. Cyan immediately agreed with this idea because she knew Aria hid her God-given gifts under baggy sweatshirts and oversized pants, which was allowed, in Cyan’s opinion. She loved to wear that too. But there came a time in a woman’s life where her figure had to be shaped by a body-hugging dress. At least once. Aria’s time was today.

  Looking around in Aria’s bedroom, Cyan noticed that it was the same décor and set up as hers, a medium sized room with a lush bathroom and a shower, a wooden dresser and a queen-sized bed that herself and Aria were currently sitting on. The walls of the room were an amalgam of light and dark brown hues, a completely different scene from the rooms downstairs. She had posters pasted on the wall that her bed sat against, of old school classics such as The Notebook, Mean Girls, and 10 Things I Hate About You. Some of Cyan’s favourite movies. She also had a poster of large body of water, that was the colour black, on her wall. It was definitely out of place compared to the bright and colourful posters next to it. It was so worn out that attempting to remove it off the wall was no longer an option because that resulted in the tearing of it. Her body being at a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree tilt, Cyan squinted her eyes at the black sea and realized that it was more of a painting than a poster. It was the same painting that she used to see in Aria’s dorm room when they were still at the Academy. Cyan remembered Aria explaining to her that her favourite Cuban artist, Yoan Capote, was the passion behind the piece. It clarified the aging of the painting. Cyan had known about it for as long as she knew Aria.

  A loud screech from Harper brought Cyan back to the realities of why she was in Aria’s room to begin with.

  ‘’Aria! What in the world is this?’’

  In Harper’s right hand, she held a long multicoloured cardigan that she eyed with disgust. It was designed with a purple dog that had a chocolate brown nose and chocolate brown ears that were disproportionate to its body. It had a thin tail and very thin paws, disproportionate to its body as well. The dog was standing upright, instead on all fours with its tinted teeth out in a smile, posing for a picture.

  Cyan giggled as soon as she made sense of what she saw.

  ‘’Is that Courage from that cartoon? What is it called again?’’

  ‘’Yeah. Courage The Cowardly Dog.’’ Aria answered. ‘’Harper, put that back please. It's limited-edition merchandise.’’

  ‘’I wouldn’t mind wearing that.’’ Cyan complimented.

  ‘’Thanks.’’ Aria smiled.

  ‘’It doesn’t change the fact that you have nothing to wear tonight. You can be a weirdo later.’’

  ‘’You two look like you’re about the same size. Maybe you can lend Ari something.’’ Cyan suggested to Harper.

  ‘’Why didn’t I think of that? I definitely have something.’’ Harper realized.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  ‘’I guess it’s sorted. I won’t look like a slob in Harper's skimpy outfits.’’ Aria said dryly.

  ‘’I really like your style.’’ Cyan assured. ‘’It’s just that you need to look different tonight for the purposes of fitting in.’’

  ‘’Yes. Cyan is right. We’ll style you, do your hair and makeup. Oh! This is exciting!’’ Harper exclaimed. ‘’Do you have an outfit, Cy?’’

  ‘’I think I do.’’ Cyan answered. ‘’I’ll just improvise when it’s time to go. Have you decided on anything?’’ she asked Harper.

  ‘’Of course, she has.’’ Aria interjected with a sneaky smile. ‘’I’m sure she’s going to dress all nice to impress Jordan.’’

  ‘’Aria!’’ Harper shrieked. Her cheeks transformed from tan to a rosy colour faster than the speed of light. She was clearly embarrassed.

  ‘’Jordan!’’ Aria exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

  ‘’Gee, Ari. Shhhh!’’ Harper quieted.

  ‘’Jordan-Bailey? You like Jordan?’’ Cyan asked under her breath in order to respect the little dignity that Harper had left.

  ‘’Yes, she does.’’ Aria answered.

  ‘’What? No. I don’t. I don’t like him. Stop that.’’ Harper ordered.

  Cyan and Aria guffawed. They clearly enjoyed this side of Harper. Ravelled, nervous and tense.

  ‘’You’re overcompensating.’’ Cyan observed. ‘’You do like him!’’

  ‘’You should’ve seen her face when he said that he’d find his wife at the club tonight. She looked like someone had spat in her dinner.’’ Aria mocked.

  With that, Cyan and Aria broke out in more chaotic laughter.

  ‘’Okay, fine. I might feel something for him.’’ Harper admitted.

  Cyan composed herself and asked, ‘’Does he know?’’

  ‘’He doesn’t see me that way.’’ Harper replied quietly.

  ‘’Did he tell you that?’’

  ‘’He didn’t have to.’’

  ‘’You can’t know for sure if he’s into you or not if you don’t make a move.’’ Aria chimed in.

  ‘’I mean, she can do little things here and there to get his attention but at the end of the day, Jordan should approach her.’’ Cyan said.

  ‘’Really, Cy? Come on. It’s 2017. Girls can approach boys.’’ Aria countered.

  ‘'Of course. But the last I checked, Jordan entertained all sorts of women.’’ Cyan answered. ‘’The only way Harper will know if he is absolutely serious is if he approaches her first.’’

  ‘’Would you do it, Aria?’’ Harper posed. ‘’Would you approach any of the guys here first?’’ ‘

  ’Yes. Well, no. Not really. I mean, I don’t really-’’

  ‘’Hmm.’’ Cyan sounded cynically. ‘’You like the chase, don’t you?’’

  ‘’Well, so many girls chase after Jordan that my chances are close to zero. He sees me as his best friend.’’ Harper pouted.

  ‘’That may be a good thing.’’ Aria presented. ‘’He won’t cross that line with you because your friendship means a lot to him.’’

  ‘’Probably.’’ Harper sulked.

  ‘’Any guy that gets to breathe the same air as you is very privileged.’’ Cyan said.

  ‘’Yes, he is lucky.’’ Harper repeated as if it was her first time believing it.

  ‘’Of course, he is lucky. He doesn’t know how good he has it by being in the same room as you.’’ Aria added.

  ‘’Exactly.’’ Cyan backed.

  ‘’Thank you, both.’’ Harper sighed.

  In that moment, a knock on the door interrupted the girls’ discussion.

  ‘’It’s open!’’ Aria yelled.

  The wooden door was opened from the other side and a rosy-cheeked Nathan walked in.

  ‘’Hey. When’d you get here?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’A few moments ago, actually.’’ He answered as he leaned casually against Aria’s dresser. ‘’What are you girls doing?

  ‘’Going through Aria’s wardrobe.’’ Harper answered as she sat on the bed on Aria’s right side. ‘’Anything useful from the Curator?’’

  ‘’He didn’t show up to the museum.’’ Nathan answered. ‘’So, we visited his place. It was clean of almost everything he owned.’’

  ‘’He ran?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’Looks that way.’’ Nathan replied.

  ‘’He might be hiding something.’’ Cyan said.

  ‘’Or he is directly involved in all this somehow.’’ Harper added.

  ‘’We’ve put an amber on him. He won’t travel far before we catch him.’’ Nathan informed.

  ‘’Now that a potential lead is in the wind, we really need answers from Pedro.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’About that,’’ Nathan said as his eyes narrowed pensively. He slightly shifted his weight off of Aria’s dresser. ‘’I’m not sure outsourcing information from a drug dealer in his territory is a good idea.’’

  ‘’He won’t talk if we bring him in officially.’’ Harper responded. ‘’But we can sneak up on him tonight, catch him off guard and watch him slip.’’

  ‘’I’m still not sure.’’ Nathan expressed. ‘’What if someone recognizes us? We don’t even know the interior plan of Quarter 25 to manoeuvre unnoticed.’’

  ‘’Nathan, I thought you said I was the best Analyst in the world.’’ Aria broke in. ‘’Surely you know that I've got those ends covered.’’

  ‘’And I have a connection in the club that’ll make sure that there are no bumps on the road.’’ Harper assured.

  ‘'’Connection’?’’ Nathan repeated as if the word was hot on his tongue.

  ‘’I might know a few people who work there.’’ Harper answered sheepishly.

  Nathan didn’t ask any questions after that and nodded his head at Harper.

  He turned in Cyan’s direction, who was still seated on the bed, and motioned towards the door.

  ‘’May I have a moment?’’ he asked her.

  Cyan wondered what it was that he wanted to speak to her about in private but given the formal connotations in his voice, it probably had to with an impersonal issue.

  ‘’Uh, sure.’’ Cyan answered.

  She removed herself off of Aria’s bed and walked through the door that Nathan had opened for her. He led her down the corridor and down the stairs past the front entrance, the living room and the kitchen area. Still following him in silence, they aimed straight for another large room that she hadn’t noticed when she first arrived. It was such a place that if you weren’t aware of its existence, you wouldn’t have seen it. The first thing that caught Cyan’s attention when she walked in was the long spiralling chandelier that was hung from the ceiling. Iron wire was attached to the ceiling holding the chambers that kept the little crystal bulbs inside. The wires were so meticulously and strategically placed that the chambers they held formed a spiral that resembled a deformed ‘C’ shape facing backwards. It was as if the lights were curling outward. To make it better, in every single chamber that was hung, a tiny blue crystal sat neatly inside and illuminated the room. The crystals were of different shades of blue; navy, royal, sapphire, sky and even turquoise. It reminded Cyan of child prodigies with unique, strange talents who blazed their light divergently but still dazzled nonetheless. She didn’t know she was holding her breath until she looked at what the room contained. Gadgets of all shapes and form filled all the spaces on the shelves as well as on the humongous marble table, similar to the one in the kitchen, in the centre of the room. The likes of cameras, license plate readers, drones, coms, trackers and many more technical equipment that Cyan had no knowledge of loaded the room. She saw desktops as well, tablets and a few satellite and disposable phones. Vests, boots of different sizes, helmets with flashlights attached, shields with the letters ‘SSU’ painted on them and ammunition filled up the shelves at the back of the room. This must’ve been the gadget room Dave mentioned earlier before he left. It truly lived up to its name because all the gadgets that she’d ever used in the past and all those that she’d never seen before were staring back at her.

  ‘'Cool gadgets.’’ she complimented softly.

  ‘’I’ll tell Dave you said that.’’ Nathan replied.

  Of course, it was Dave’s idea to have a whole room full of equipment. Cyan knew him as an over-the-top person. It was evident in the clothes he wore and the cars he preferred to drive. And now, it was more evident than ever in the room they were currently standing in.

  ‘’You wanted to talk to me?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’Yes, I did. I just wanted to formally welcome you to D12 and give you this.’’ he said as his calloused fingers handed a small rectangular metal plate with a preying eagle engraved in the middle. There were two holes punched in at the left and top right corners where a short chain penetrated so it could be worn around the neck. It was an official SSU badge with her full name engraved on it. Her official SSU badge. It was a replica of the one she used to carry before she threw hers away. Another one must’ve been made for her. The one she was holding in her hands was slightly different. There was another metal plate attached under the one she was given. The two plates were magnetized at the edges with an opening clip in the front.

  ‘’Open it.’’ Nathan prompted.

  She slid the top plate open to find tiny rubber buds. They resembled wired earplugs. Coms.

  ‘’Your com pieces. These are little earpieces that have a microphone embedded in the transmitter to enhance communication efficiency with whomever is connected. In this case, our whole team.’’ Nathan explained.

  Cyan chuckled quietly. ‘’I worked in the SSU once. My absence didn’t give me amnesia.’’

  ‘’Right.’’ Nathan responded sheepishly. ‘’Well, uh, these are designed to respond specifically to you. You have two just in case you lose one.’’

  Cyan nodded. ‘’Of course.’’

  Immediately after, a heavy wave of silence fell over them. This was the first time they had been alone in a room without the case contributing to their conversation. It seemed to Cyan that if they weren’t discussing Lucas or Geoffrey, they had nothing to talk about. She realized then how awkward she felt being in his space, near him, that she took a step back. She wasn’t deathly close to him but perhaps the huge gap she had created between them would give room for her thoughts to circulate around objectively. It would’ve never occurred to Cyan that Nathan paid attention to her step back by his expression. It was indifferent and disengaged, void of any visible emotion. But the way he subtly cleared his throat indicated to Cyan that he did notice that the air they were currently inhaling was uncomfortable.

  This was insane, Cyan thought. Surely, they could engage in a conversation without acting like strangers.

  Cyan broke the silence. ‘’You didn’t have to.’’

  Nathan furrowed his eyes. ‘’Didn’t have to what?’’

  ‘’Defend me the way you did. You know, when William was going at me. I was going to handle it.’’

  ‘’No, I didn’t. But I had to remind him who makes the decisions around here. It had little to do with protecting your feelings.’’ He replied monochromatically.

  ‘’Oh.’’ Cyan responded faintly. ‘’Right.’’

  She didn’t expect such coldness from him and quite frankly, the conversation had run its course. All she wanted to do in that moment was leave so she turned around to the direction of the door and walked out the way they came.

  ‘’Cy.’’ Nathan called.

  That stopped her in her tracks.

  She turned around to face him.

  ‘’We can work together, right? On this case, I mean. Things aren’t weird between us?’’ Nathan asked. ‘’Since we, you know...’’

  ‘’Dated?’’ Cyan filled in. ‘’You can say the word. Your tongue won’t explode into flames.’’

  There were times in the past Cyan would be unreasonably short with Nathan. Most times she had motive, sometimes she didn’t at all. She would’ve just missed him and craved his company whenever he wasn’t around. Instead of going back and forth with her, he would just look at her with gleaming and blazing eyes. Eyes brimming with affection and understanding.

  Those same eyes were looking at her now.

  Perhaps he understood why she was crisp with him. She felt as if that unlocked the door to a conversation they had left untouched for a very long time. An opportunity rose for her to finally express what she had been feeling these past months.

  ‘’We were together, yes.’’ Nathan agreed. ‘’But we couldn’t continue.’’

  ‘’’We couldn’t continue.’’’ Cyan repeatedly softly.

  ‘’No.’’ Nathan replied just as quietly.

  ‘’And you thought the best way to let me know was through a text?’’ Cyan asked in a dangerously low voice. Now that they were on their way to the core of the issue, Cyan could feel her body fevering with anger.

  ‘’You were in Prague, Cyan. I obviously couldn't speak to you in person.’’ Nathan replied.

  He attempted to move closer to her.

  ‘’Don’t.’’ she ordered.

  He instantly stopped where he was.

  ‘’We dated for more than a year.’’ Cyan evoked. ‘’We had plans to work under the same Division. I met your family. And you met mine.’’

  ‘’I couldn’t forget all that even if I wanted to.’’ Nathan returned.

  ‘’Then why, Nathaniel?’’ Cyan’s voice cracked. ‘’Tell me why you left with no warning.’’

  Nathan shut his eyes and crunched his teeth the way one would when they were trying to distract themselves from a situation they were dreading to approach.

  ‘’It’s complicated.’’ he said curtly.

  ‘’Uncomplicate it.’’ Cyan pressed.

  Nathan sighed and dropped himself on a stool that was near the marble table. His hand raked through his cotton hair several times in that minute which showed Cyan that he was nervous. And he was rarely so. After they split, Cyan believed that their breakup affected her only. Looking at Nathan now, it was possible that she could’ve been wrong.

  ‘’Do you remember when my Division made that arrest earlier this year in March? We caught that group that sold illegal tanks and ammo across the border.’’ Nathan said in a low voice.

  ‘’I remember. That was a very big arrest.’’ Cyan replied.

  ‘’You wanted us to celebrate.’’ Nathan continued. ‘’It was our joint leave anyway so you wanted us to travel to London.’’

  Cyan chortled. She pulled another stool that was casually standing on the other side of the table and positioned it that when she sat down, she was sitting directly across from Nathan.

  ‘’I was obsessed with French cuisine at the time so to celebrate you, I reserved a table for us at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught. It was a modest yet sophisticated place. Easy colours. Your kind of thing. I even bought a fancy black dress and a pair of these silver pumps.’’ Cyan reminisced. ‘’I was so excited.’’

  ‘’I didn’t show up.’’

  Cyan didn’t answer that immediately because he was right. He hadn’t shown up on that night. Cyan was left hanging in a strapless black number and a face full of make up in her apartment. She tried to call him several times to no avail. She reached a stage where she stopped trying to get hold of him because even if he showed, they wouldn’t have made it to the restaurant for their reservation on time. Drowsiness decided to put her out of her misery and she ended up falling asleep in her expensive outfit with her fur coat covering her and her disappointed heart.

  Cyan saw him four days later at Headquarters after their few days off. When she asked him where he had been, he brushed her off. He pecked her quickly and rushed to the offices.

  She never brought it up again.

  ‘’No. You didn’t.’’ Cyan replied shortly.

  ‘’I was such a jerk to you. I’m really sorry.’’ Nathan apologised.

  ‘’Where did you go that day?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’I spent the day with Ev and his dad before our date. We cleaned his old man’s vintage cars which was cool. We had fun.’’ Nathan said. ‘’It was when I returned to my place that I began to feel weird. Evan’s dad practically raised me, but I started thinking of my own. Where he was, why he abandoned me and if he ever thought of me. If he’d be proud of me if he knew I was part of the SSU. It messed me up, Cy. I didn’t know the man and I hated him. Yet, I still needed his approval.

  So, before I knew it, I grabbed my car keys and ended up at my mother’s grave. I didn’t know what I expected to find there. Answers on her stone, maybe. After that day, I wasn’t myself for a long time. I know you noticed because you walked on eggshells around me.’’

  Cyan was careful not say or do just anything around him because the smallest incidents agitated him. Cyan’s mind took her back to the time when he stormed off after she teased him about how he was his grandmother’s favourite boy. She tried to laugh off the awkward atmosphere that his unresponsive mood had created, only for him to roll his eyes and walk away. Not to mention the way he spent less and less time with her. He always had something to do. A case to work on. A meeting to attend. Reports to proofread; which was all ironic to Cyan because it seemed as if the fire that was ignited by his work had been snuffed out of him. Meetings were assemblies he attended only when he felt like, which was unheard of because Nathan was always present for anything and everything that was work related.

  After she left for Prague, she was convinced that he didn’t want anything to do with her considering that he just let her go in the state that she was in. Her mind told her that their already strained relationship wouldn’t survive her move but she didn’t expect a one-line text message from him confirming what her heart wasn’t willing to bear.

  Nathan’s piercing blue eyes stared at the floor.

  ‘’I became anxious. Couldn’t sleep at night. I would hear the thoughts when I closed my eyes and in my deepest slumber, I couldn’t stop thinking. You’ve ever experienced that? An invasion in what’s supposed to be your most peaceful place?

  It’s the worst.” Nathan chuckled. “Because then I had nowhere to run.”

  He paused to glare at the crystal lights.

  “Ironically, the same thoughts that kept me away from sleep were the same thoughts that kept me in bed.'' he started again. ''Waking up every day felt heavy, like a heap of rocks pushing me down further and further, forcing me to break there. I started asking myself why I did so much for the Directors because I stretched and manipulated myself in ways for them that I didn’t think were humanely possible. I attended every meeting, every gala, flew to all the charities and assumed all the cases they wanted me handle. I did all that trying to make sense of my own life. Trying to grapple why my own father would abandon me when I all I had was him. I mean, I couldn’t hide from the pressures of the Agency, what they expected me to do and who they wanted me to be.

  But uhm, I wanted to call you. I wanted to tell you that I was feeling unhappy. I just didn’t know how to. How could I explain to you that the reason I couldn’t be with you was because I was so exhausted? I couldn’t give my fullest self to anything or to anyone, especially you. There was a lot you were dealing with that offloading on you felt so wrong. And I kick myself every single day because I wasn’t there, Cyan. I wasn’t there when you needed me. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. I just couldn’t. Heck, I couldn’t even stop you when you left. And I couldn't-can't help but think of myself as a pathetic excuse of a man. You deserved more than I gave you, Cyan. Seriously, more. And sending that text was the only way I could part from you. One of the hardest decisions I had to make but it was the only way I could do it, Cyan. I didn’t want you to burden you so that was why I had to end things with you. I'm just-so sorry.’’

  Cyan's shock sewed her lips shut. She was rendered speechless. She expected to hear that he left her in pursuit of something better. Someone better. She remembered being so broken and angry simultaneously that she had completely written him off in her life. Though, the littlest things like his favourite ice cream flavour, reminded her that she was still irrevocably in love with him. She felt her heart constricting, conscious of the fact that she didn’t know he was going through a trying time. She was livid at herself that she couldn’t protect him from all the heart-shattering events that took place in his life that stole his happiness and peace. But mostly, she was beside herself with rage for not noticing when his mental health declined. It was her job to look after him and she didn’t even do that correctly.

  Nathan chuckled nervously. ‘’Before you ask and I know you will, I’m over it. I talked to someone. And I know you hate me for not checking in on you after you left.’’

  ‘’I don’t hate you.’’ Cyan responded quietly. She was afraid that if she said more, the build-up of tears would fall like an avalanche.

  ‘’I knew you didn’t want to talk to me after I ended things so whenever you and Aria called each other, I'd be there with her just to hear your voice.’’ He revealed. ‘’I know Janine took care of you.’’

  At that, Cyan stared directly into Nathan’s eyes. Her warm hand cupped his right cheek. She wanted to say so much to him, but she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth without unwanted tears falling down her cheek. She stroked his defined face and he leaned into her touch as if it was something he had yearned for. This moment expressed more than her words could ever have.

  I’m so sorry. I wish I knew. I'm sorry. I missed you so much.

  She felt his calloused hands assist her up from her stool and within seconds she was in his soft embrace. She placed her head on his chest and hugged him back. He stroked her braids in a downwards motion in order to synchronize her uneven breathing. Right away, she truly remembered that home was never attached to a place. But to a person.

  ‘’Nate! Is my badge read-’’

  Cyan heard Evan’s shoe thud in the gadget room and she pulled herself away from Nathan so quickly that one of his jacket’s buttons scraped her palm. She didn’t care. She had more pressing matters such as Evan seeing her destraught on Nathan’s chest.

  ‘’Oh.’’ Evan said awkwardly. ‘’I can always come back later if you’re busy.’’

  ‘’No, come in. What did you need?’’ Nathan asked. He had already returned to being DEC as if their heart to heart had never happened.

  Cyan admired that. She had always envied people who could switch through emotions with no difficulties. If she looked at herself in that present moment, she was sure that all she would see was distress on her face.

  ‘’Uhm, my badge.’’ Evan mentioned carefully. ‘’Is it ready?’’

  Nathan walked to the East wing of the room and reached up on the second shelf from the top. He retrieved a metal badge that was identical to Cyan’s and handed it to Evan.

  ‘’Break it again next time and you’ll fix it yourself.’’ Nathan threatened.

  ‘'Whatever.’’ Evan mocked.

  Cyan took their back and forth as a sign to leave the room.

  ‘’Thanks for the badge.’’ she said as she brisk-walked to the door.

  ‘’See you later.’’ Nathan waved with a small smile.

  Cyan could only glance at him before she left the room. She sighed to herself when she was out in the corridor.

  ‘’Are you ready to hear my ‘I told you so’?’’ Cyan heard Evan say to Nathan.

  ‘’Shut up.’’ Nathan answered.

  Cyan wondered what that was supposed to mean but instead of dwelling on it, she shrugged it off and decided to ascend the stairs that led her to her room.