It had been almost a month since Emily had heard anything regarding the young Sinclair girl. Since that night she found her mind drifting to Addison. Worried thoughts filled her head; they consumed her. She constantly wondered where the girl was and whether or not she was adjusting to her new life. Every time she let herself go back to that evening she felt a pain in her chest. She wanted everything to be okay.
The not knowing made her go insane. Of course Clyde had stopped in, he often used his lunch break to have a short visit but never did he mention his previous job offer or the girl. Clyde acted like Addison had never existed. Perhaps he figured that since Emily had not-so graciously turned down his proposition, that she wasn't interested in the case.
She viciously pulled her pillow over her head and pressed it firmly over her ears with one hand. Using her other free hand, Emily swatted at her night stand trying to hit her obnoxious alarm clock. Her fingertips grazed it just enough to knock it to the floor, yet it continued to sound.
"God, damn, fucking, ahhhhhh!" she wailed. Half screaming and half groaning, Emily ripped her tired body from her warm bed and scrambled to shut it off. When it wouldn't comply, out of frustration, she chucked it across the room where it shattered when coming in contact with the wall.
She stared at it for a brief moment, realizing that in fact it was broken, then covered her face with her hands and shook her head in defeat.
That was the third alarm clock Emily had broken that month.
As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she entered her kitchen and started her Keurig. She stumbled over to the cupboard, where she found a half loaf of bread which she cut and then placed in the toaster. When it popped, she spread peanut butter across the slice, took a bite then leaned her hip on the counter edge. She became lost in thought as she looked aimlessly out the window.
God did she hated morning. She was never good at getting enough sleep but lately, it had been worst. At night, when it was dark and she had nothing left to focus on, her mind would drift off and get caught up in thoughts about Addison.
On top of her lack of sleep, she hated waking up and having to fight traffic just so she could arrive on time to a job that was quickly getting old. She never felt this before London. In DC, though she equally disliked the early mornings and the traffic, it was well worth it because her job had purpose.
Once she was dressed, Emily filled a to-go mug with coffee and headed out of her flat. The drive to work was when she spent a good part of her time worrying about Addison.
She was a sweet girl who clearly wasn't ready for such a traumatic event.
Emily feared that the poor girl wasn't being cared for properly, or that she was in some kind of danger. She prayed day and night that the teen hadn't been placed in foster care. Most of all, Emily was scared that Addison was alone. Guilt tore her apart, she could have just done as Clyde suggested and became a "monitor" for the girl. At least that way Emily could try to give her the life she deserved.
A car behind her honked.
She glanced up and noticed that the light had changed. Emily was so caught up in picking at her nails and thinking that she didn't see the vehicles ahead of her had gone.
The car honked once again.
"Yeah yeah, I see it," she muttered angrily. She looked into her rearview mirror and glared at the guy behind her before speeding forward down the street. She really needed to focus on getting to work, not worrying about Addison.
She had lots of time to be perturbed by the pain she may have caused while she was supposed to be filling out files.
"Maybe I could get one of my agents to steal the files on Addie from Clyde's office when he comes to see me…" she said aloud, contemplating how insane her idea sounded.
Wait, Addie? she thought to herself, slightly taken by the nickname she created. Where the hell did that come from? She knew that she had to get her head together. This wasn't healthy.
Before she knew it, she had parked her car and was making her way to her desk. Her office was up on the fourth floor and she always chose to take the stairs.
As she began her climb, her phone went off in her pocket. She stopped in the stairwell and searched through her bag before pulling it out. She cringed when she saw Clyde's name on the screen. She moaned. What now, she thought as she lifted the phone to her ear.
"I'm not even at my desk yet so this better be good," she snapped.
The latest change in Emily's mood had not gone unnoticed by Clyde so he opted to let her less-than-friendly greeting go. It was his fault and he knew it. He intended for this to happen, he needed her to get invested in the young girl for his plan to play outright.
He didn't exactly know how to explain what had happened to her. He was fully aware that Emily was being consumed by guilt since the night she had met Addison. So it wouldn't take much to get a reaction out of her.
The line stayed silent but she could hear him breathing heavily on the other end.
"Seriously, what do you want?" she asked, irritatedly. She rolled her eyes at this, typical Clyde.
"Something's happened." He tried his best to stay calm, though his mind was racing.
She knew that tone. It wasn't one he used often but when he did, she knew something awful had happened.
She started picking at her thumbnail with her index finger. "Clyde, what's wrong?" she asked in a shaky voice. She began to bite at her lower lip.
He hesitated, taking a deep breath before he spoke. "Addison Sinclair has been shot."
Emily borrowed an SUV from the Interpol car park and road the sirens all the way to the hospital. When she got there she sat in the vehicle, a wave of anger and guilt washing over her. She felt culpable for this. She had said that there was no threat to Addison's life, she didn't think that there was any need for someone to protect her and now her decision may have costed that innocent girl's life. She was furious that Clyde had kept her in the dark because even though she had turned down his offer, it didn't mean she wanted nothing to do with this case.
She pulled the visor down and used the mirror to check how red her eyes were. She wiped her face with her sleeve then exited the SUV.
She stormed into the hospital while still trying to stay as calm as possible. Her eyes roamed the waiting room, quickly skipping past anyone who wasn't Clyde. She found him sitting in a chair in the corner, along with some other agents who were probably assigned to Addie's case. Both her hands clenched into fists as she saw him sitting here, her fury bubbling to the surface.
"Clyde! What the hell happened?"
He was startled from his thoughts by her roar. He jumped up, excusing himself from the group of agents. Glancing around, he ushered Emily down the hall to a more private area. She had never been one to be bothered by keeping up appearances. He, on the other hand, wasn't going to let her make a fool of both of them. He cared far too much about maintaining his public image.
"I thought she was in protective custody?" Emily hissed as she pulled her arm out of his grasp.
"She was but-" he began to say before Emily cut him off.
"I don't want to hear it! She is a 14-year-old girl who was supposed to be kept safe. You better hope the press doesn't get wind of this because there is no way to dig yourself out of that hole," Emily said.
He ran his hand over his face, exhausted by the current situation. "Damn it, I know! I already have the bloody Director breathing down my neck. I'm not in the mood to take this shit from you too!" he said harshly as his voice became increasingly louder.
"This shit?" she spat and she stepped closer to him. "This isn't a minor dilemma that can be scraped under the rug. There are serious consequences here. A criminal was able to get into our system and find her! They had access to secure information without anyone noticing. This needs to be dealt with immediately, so of course, the Director is on your ass about it. Not only that, a child under your protection was put in danger. I don't care if you were there when it happened or not; it was your responsibility to protect her and you failed. You've almost killed an entire family because you can't let go of this case!"
He stepped forward, pushing her into the wall and pinning her up against it. Emily didn't surrender, she kept her gaze locked on his.
He gave a short, mirthless laugh before saying, "You better back off, Prentiss."
"You are not in the right state of mind to be handling this case right now," she said as she continued to glare at him. "You've become so invested in finding Project Renegade that you have no regard for the lives you're endangering. I should report you myself for breach of information and child endangerment."
Suddenly his fist struck the wall, hardly missing her head. He didn't actually intend to hit her, though he wanted to scared her off of her high pedestal. "I'm not the only one who's actions have gotten people killed," he replied through gritted teeth.
Slightly frightened, her eyes widened, but she stood her ground. Emily wouldn't let him see how much that comment affected her. She pressed her hand up against his chest and pushed him away. "Go on, throw your childish tantrum, let me know where it gets you. You can't threaten me, Clyde. You have nothing on me." She scoffed as she turned away and began back toward the waiting area.
He grabbed her wrist and tightened his grasp until she winced. "I'll take your job. How would you like that?" he asked scornfully. He knew that was the ultimate punishment for her; she had nothing else she valued as much. He had no reason to do that though. It was an empty threat and he knew it, so he let go of her wrist and backed away before he made the situation any worse.
This was a whole other side of Clyde that Emily had never seen before. Never had she witnessed him lose his composure, especially not on a high profile case like this one. Emily was doing her best to hide how uneasy he was making her, but she could hold her own against him, and he wasn't about to get away with treating her like his own personal punching bag.
She laughed in his face and gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't care at this point. I was planning to quit anyway."
That took him by surprise. She complained a lot about her work, but he never thought that she wanted to leave. He stopped glaring at her and took a deep breath to try and calm down.
"Em, are you serious?" he asked softly.
She just shrugged and nodded as she looked away. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
An awkward silence fell between them but was soon after broken when one of Clyde's agents came rushing around the corner. "Excuse me, Sir, the doctor would like to speak with you."
Emily watched from a distance as the doctor discussed Addison's surgery with Clyde. She picked at her nails as she tried to decipher their hushed conversation. She couldn't tell whether or not things had gone well.
She feared the worst.
Clyde thanked the doctor then sent out a quick text message. With his phone in hand, Clyde approached her. "Darling, walk with me."
She shook her head, she wanted answers and she wanted them now. "No; tell me what happened. Is she okay?" She crossed her arms as she spoke.
"Emily please, come with me and I'll explain everything." His voice was stern but soft.
She hesitated for a brief moment but gave in. She nodded then followed him down the hall and into the elevator. They rode up to the third floor before getting off.
"Where are we going?" she questioned.
"I apologize for my behavior, Emily," he said in response as he led her down the hall. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. You were right about the case. It has been taxing, to say the least."
Emily couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on. Clyde never apologized or freely admitted that someone else was right.
They came to a halt about halfway down the hall. Through a window, a flash of blond hair caught Emily's attention and she peered through the blinds to the room next to them. Tucked into the bed, lying sound asleep was Addison Sinclair. She had small cuts and scrapes on her arms and face and her left arm was held across her body in a sling.
Tears in her eyes, Emily turned to look at Clyde.
He gave her a soft sympathetic grin. "She's going to be okay."
She glanced up at the ceiling then wiped her eyes. She felt foolish to be so upset because of someone she hardly knew. "That's good," she whispered.
Clyde pushed the door open and held it for the two of them. He needed privacy and figured that the girl wouldn't wake up for a while. Her hospital room would work fine.
He took a seat in a chair next to the bed and Emily found room on the bed beside Addison's feet. She watched the girl intently; she looked so peaceful as she slept.
"Now," he started, "before I tell you anything else, I need you to understand that I take full responsibility for this decision. I would never do this unless I felt it was the only option. This conversation does not leave the two of us."
"Clyde…" she warned, she wanted him to be straight with her. No games.
Emily was running her hand slowly up and down Addison's leg as she listened to Clyde. She couldn't help but wish she could have done something to stop her for getting hurt in the first place.
"She survived, as you can see, but in order to keep her safe, we are going to have to say that she died on the table. She lost too much blood, that's the story."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I need your help, Darling. I know you already turned it down but we don't have another option here."
"I can't do that," she protested as she shook her head. "I won't go back into hiding, even if it is to protect someone else. That's not the kind of life a 14-year-old girl should lead."
"You don't have to do that. You could leave Interpol forever, you can walk away if you take Addison with you." His offer came out more like a plea.
She knew that his offer was too good to pass up. She could go back to the States, back to her family and she would also have the chance to do something good with her life for a change. But it was a lot of responsibility and she wasn't sure she was prepared to raise and protect a teenager, no matter how much she cared about her. "What part of "no" don't you understand?"
Clyde didn't want to lose her, but he would do almost anything to get her to agree. "I'm desperate. You're the only person I can trust with this."
She was silent as she considered his proposal again, her eyes finding their way to Addie's peaceful face. If she said yes, everything would be different. She could have the kind of life she wanted years ago. It was like she was getting a second chance at what she had wanted when Carrie needed someone. She could be a mother, even if it was only pretend.
"Fine... But you owe me. Big time," she said slowly, still a little unsure. "And only if she is okay with it."
"Yes of course! Anything you want!" He laughed as he let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding in. "Thank you," he added.
He pulled out his phone again and began typing away.
Emily raised a brow at him curiously. "Let me guess... You already started putting this together?"
A sly grin crept onto his face.