Chapter 02

Interpol Office
NCA Building
7 Old Queen St.
London UK

June 2012

"Are you sure those are templar tats though." Morgan asked.

"Not certain, but it seems likely." Clyde said. "Why?"

"My Dad's partner had one like that. He always said he got it when he was a kid." Just then Morgan's phone rang. "Speaking of," he opened the line, "Hey Jim."

"Hey kiddo." The voice was as familiar as family. "Welcome to London."

"Thanks." Wait... "How do you know I'm in London?"

"Your mom told me. Can you put me on speaker?"

"Um..."

"I need to talk to Agents Prentiss and Easter."

"O-kay." Morgan held the phone out. "Go ahead, you're on speaker."

"Agent Prentiss? Agent Easter?" They heard an older male with a Midwestern accent.

"This is Agent Prentiss." Emily said. "Agent Easter is here. Who am I speaking with?"

"Name's James Ryder, Derek can confirm that." He paused for a moment. "I need to come in." He said it like he was expecting a certain response. "Can you protect me?" Clyde and Emily exchanged a look. "I have information on the Duford case."

Clyde and Emily seemed to make a decision. "We can protect you." Clyde said. "Where are you?"

"Heathrow. International arrivals. I'm waiting for someone I'm bringing with me."

"I'll have our people on their way momentarily."

Jim rattled off a series of numbers. "Tell them to use that to identify themselves."

"All right."

"Derek?"

"Yeah, Jim?"

"I'll explain everything when I get there."

"I hope so." Jim rang off and Morgan closed the phone and looked at it. "That was my Dad's badge number." He said. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know." Garcia said. "But now I really wished we'd found the loo."

Forty-five minutes later Clyde's...now Emily's...people returned with two men. One was in his sixties, had the rugged look of an American cowboy about him. The other was maybe early thirties, had the urbane look of a city dweller, and looked like he'd recently been hit in the gut. "Derek!" The older man said as he came in the room.

"Jim!" They greeted each other with a hug, before stepping back. "What the hell is going on?"

"A shitstorm, what else."

"Templars?" No, Morgan didn't buy it.

Jim sighed. "I know it sounds like I should be lining my hat with tin foil, but yeah. All my life in fact, my dad was one too, and my grandfathers, both of them."

"Seriously?"

"I'll explain. But first," He turned to the other man. "This is Dr. Luc Gaillard."

"Professor?" Morgan knew to ask not assume.

The man nodded. "Oui. At the Université de Montréal. Jim said that Colette is missing? That there is a child? I don't..." He blinked rapidly. "You have to find them."

"We'll give it our best. Excuse us a moment, please." Clyde nodded them to the other side of the office and looked at Emily. "It's your show now."

"Who's your best at interview?" She replied.

"Mat Devlin. Used to be a DI here in London."

"You go with Morgan, talk to Ryder. I'll take Devlin and talk to Gaillard."

"Right."

"Let's get the first question out of the way." Devlin said. Emily stood in the back of the interrogation room to watch him work. "Your whereabouts the past 24 hours?"

"Montreal." Gaillard replied. "I taught classes there last night and this morning. Probably close to a hundred students were in my lectures."

OK, so he had an alibi for the disappearance. Devlin nodded. "You said you know the missing woman, Colette Duford?"

"Oui. We attended university together, the École Normale Superieure in Paris, back in 2000 to 2003. We were, as you would say, mates."

"Mates? Is that all you were?"

"Meaning could the child be mine? Oui, we became lovers toward the end. It is possible. I assume it."

"But you didn't know she had a child?"

"Non. After graduation I was assigned to Montreal. She remained in Paris, or so I understood. We tried to stay in touch at first but after a time she stopped returning my messages. I thought...it ended, you know."

"Assigned?"

"Oui."

"You didn't get a job there or decide to go have an adventure..."

"Non."

"Assigned by the Templars?"

Gaillard took a deep breath, and nodded. "Oui. I am a Knight of the Blue, as is Colette. We go where we are assigned, then they find us work and housing there."

"Knight of the Blue. Haven't heard of that one." Devlin showed him the list of victims. "What about the rest of these?"

"I do not know. We do not know the identities of the other Knights of the Blue. It is safer."

"Right. What do you lot do for them?"

Gaillard considered this, then shook his head, "Nothing against the law. Beyond that I cannot say more."

Devlin frowned at that. "Your bird's missing along with your child and you can't say more?"

"She would not want me to."

"Templars?" Morgan asked.

Jim shrugged. "It's a fraternal lodge thing, or so I always thought, something like a cross between the Knights of Columbus and the Masons. My dad was one, both my Grandfathers, they got me in to it. It was never a big deal; they did for charity, helped people out, that sort of thing. I'd use the gym down at their building, once and a while go out drinking with the other Knights. It wasn't anything. But I guess I always had the sense that there was something bigger going on, every so often I'd get tapped to help with security at a meeting. They always seemed to be talking about big money going around. Then, as I got older and better known, I started learning more, getting to know people. Now this has come up."

"What has?"

"Someone going after the Knights of the Blue. That's got everyone going nuts."

"Knights of the Blue?" Clive asked.

Jim nodded. "Everything breaks down into six ranks. You've got the Masters, they run things. You've got the Knights of the White, they're guys, and women now, like me, with any kind of serious military or law enforcement background. Then there's the Sergeants of the Black, those are the investment people. And then there's the Squires of the Brown, those are general folks involved, the skilled labor who keeps things running."

"And then there are the Knights of the Blue?"

"Yeah. Their job is to protect the Templar treasure."