Against The Current
Chapter 1
Sweat was dribbling down her face and her lungs were burning but she still caught blurred movement from her left and took off running.
"Stop!"
Emma Swan was breathless but there was no way she was going to let months of investigation go down the drain. Turning sharply around a corner, she could hear feet thundering down a dimly lit alley.
"Push...Push..." Emma repeated the mantra in her head over and over again as she gained on her suspect. Her hours at the gym were paying off as her fitness level far exceeded her targets.
Emma watched as he reached a wire fence and attempted to climb. His hands fumbled at the mesh giving her the opportunity to charge up behind him. Emma reached out and using her momentum and upper body strength she yanked hard on his jacket. The man's hands and feet were too big for the wire holes and he easily lost grip and fell back.
He hit the ground with a loud crack and let out a determined grunt. Before he even had the chance to scramble away her foot was on his chest and her gun was out of its holster.
"I wouldn't..." It was all she had to say before the struggling stopped and the man just glared at her with contempt.
Emma could hear the sound of heels on the pavement behind her and knew that her back up had finally caught up to her.
"Swan...that was..."
"Read him his rights." Emma cut off the officer abruptly and dismissively.
It surprised her that her colleagues were still amazed at her stamina and dedication to her job. Wasn't that what all Agents strived for? Do your job and put the bad guy away!
Emma glanced up at sudden flickering of lights, the cavalry had definitely arrived. Support vehicles now blocked off the alley and the familiar red and blue police lights had a slight smile gracing her lips.
"Emma," David Nolan's voice reached out to her above all of the chaos and she was grateful for a familiar presence. David was Emma's direct superior and quite frequently the one that co-ordinated and supervised her investigations. He was a kind and fair man and one of the few that she had gotten to know.
"Nicely done!" David commended her and Emma felt the need to be snarky, she didn't work her ass off for nothing.
"Did you doubt me? I always get my man..."
Emma slid gracefully into her tub. Filled with scorching hot water, she had tipped in every type of salts, soaks and oils she owned in attempts to avoid any sore muscles tomorrow.
Lifting her wine glass to her lips, Emma took a long sip and laid her head back against the bath. The job was tough and challenging but it was worth it!
Becoming an Agent was her crowning glory. She'd spent years slogging it out as a bail bondsman...being under estimated and working anything she could get her hands on. It had paid off and given her the opportunity to move into the bigger leagues. Her tough shell, sharp senses and eye for detail gave her an edge and she had now been working with the Agency for 5 years.
Each time she solved a case or had a successful arrest, it filled a gaping hole inside and gave her a sense of purpose. Emma knew that her need to be perfect at her job and solve these crimes probably stemmed from her own personal childhood mystery. If she couldn't figure out her own puzzle then she was damn sure she would solve others.
Getting to the bottom of a crime always left her with a good feeling and relaxing in the bath with a glass of wine and a trashy magazine was the cherry on top.
Emma's phone tingled with a text message:
New case. 7am briefing. David
Emma glanced at her watch again before continuing to rap her fingers impatiently against the briefing table.
7:15 am – He was late!
A dozen of her colleagues were also waiting for David to appear for the briefing. For that many agents to be called in it must be one doozy of an assignnment. She'd done some quick questioning but none of the others seemed to have any inkling of what the new case pertained to, they were all in the dark.
Emma quickly went through a list in her head: Drugs? Terrorism? Weapons of Mass Destruction?
Her thoughts were quickly pushed out of her head when the door slammed open. A ruffled David Nolan bustled into the room carrying a large pile of folders. It was strange to see her ever composed boss flustered.
David reached an arm out and threw the file he was holding across the table to her. Photos spilled out and Emma was met with the subject of her next case. Dark, unruly hair and twin sapphire eyes beamed up at her and something familiar niggled in the back of her brain.
"Meet Killian Jones, owner and CEO of..."
"Corsair Corporation," Emma finished David's sentence with a slight smirk on her face.
She now knew why his face had seemed familiar. Killian Jones was not only the very smart head of a multinational shipping conglomerate, he was also frequently found in the pages of the trashy magazines she found herself indulging in at the supermarket checkout. There was always something refreshing about leaving her hard and gritty world behind to read about someone's latest affair or who had this summer's greatest bikini body.
Killian Jones was always featured heavily, being photographed with some new beautiful woman on his arm or at some charity event. There had even been an article about him in the magazine she had been reading in her bath the evening before.
David frowned slightly at her interruption and continued giving his briefing,
"Corsair Corporation is considered the best in the business. They hold themselves above and beyond when following protocols. There has never been any cause for concern...until now."
Emma was familiar with Corsair Corporation as it was the single biggest shipping line in the world. Corsair's had its hand in everything from transporting cargo to transporting people on its many ferry and cruise liners.
"It has come to our attention that there have been some discrepancies in manifests, and deliveries spanning the last 8 months," David continued as he touched the monitor behind him.
Pictures of guns, grenades and various other weapons quickly littered the screen.
Emma pushed the surveillance photographs to the side and pulled out the other documents still sitting in the manila folder. Shipping manifests, surveillance reports and a full background check of all senior company members were included in the paperwork.
"As you will be aware the flood of weapons into Africa has been rapidly increasing in the past several months...we have reason to believe that the two are linked!"
"In front of you is a dossier on not only Corsair but on Killian Jones...Get familiar!" David commanded his Agents.
Jones led an extremely public life which mainly consisted of parties, charity events and a penchant for brunettes. On the otherhand he seemed to keep all of his personal information private and close to his chest. His company was the same, tough security and a thick wall of lawyers for anyone who attempted to gain information.
"Is Jones the main suspect in these activities?" Emma questioned as she flicked through the pages in front of her.
"Somebody with high level access is doing a damn good job of tampering with the manifests and we need to uncover the reason...whether it is simply someone smuggling in their stash of Rum or whether it is as serious as weapons being brought in and distributed illegally to factions." Emma nodded quickly at David's explanation and began to gather up her dossier.
If the Corsairs CEO was involved in shady dealings then this could be a far bigger problem than any one of them anticipated. The shipping company had unparalleled access into dozens of countries and this could quickly become a far more volatile situation than anyone could predict.
The magazine photos always showed a confident yet powerful man that oozed charisma. The surveillance photos spread on the desk in front of her were not of the highest paparazzi quality but the grainy shots still captured the powerful aura that made Killian Jones a man to tread lightly with.
"How are we going to approach this?" Emma questioned, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table.
"Jones is one of the most powerful men in the world...I doubt knocking on his door and asking him is a possibility?"
The look that crossed David's face was one of irritation, "Don't be smart Swan...This will be an extremely covert investigation with many agents needing to assume rolls at Corsairs. We need people on the inside...or our access is limited and our case fails to start."
Emma knew that they could not tip off Jones or any of his associates. Someone with his power could easily dispose of evidence and clean up any loose ends. They would need to gather as much information and in turn evidence as they could before they could even approach the CEO with their claims.
David threw another folder at each person. "These are your aliases and new jobs. I want NO mistakes on this."
Emma ran through the likely positions she was to be given: Bodyguard? Security Expert?
There were many positions someone with her skills could fill at a company like this! Flicking open the folder, Emma felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop.
"You have to be kidding?" Emma's eyes shot to David's and she could feel her temper increasing. Taking a deep breath Emma asked again, "You have to be kidding?"
David shrugged, "No joke Swan. We need someone in the office that will be able to get access to files."
Emma took another glance at her 'new position' – 'Secretary Pool.'
To Be Continued