The next morning felt like a bad hangover. My memories of Dimitri, our near-kiss, and the Victor false-alarm were scattered. Subsequently, none of them were the reason I woke up. Like usual these days, my phone was ringing off the hook (having turned it back on, deeming it safe from my mom). It startled me awake. Fumbling to grab it from the side table, I blearily saw Mason's charming name along with the time. 5:45. Jesus Christ, the sun wasn't even out yet. What fresh hell was this? I blew hair out of my face as I hit the answer button, pressing it to my ear.
"What, Mase?" It took all of my willpower not to gripe the question, sitting up on my forearms.
Mason didn't acknowledge that I was upset though, pinning it on waking me. Days of undercover work had revealed my general policy on mornings- they were a bitch, so so was I . He must have thought this was more important than my beauty sleep.
He was right. "Rose, we might have gotten a break in the case."
"What?" I asked, still disoriented, getting up fully. Out in the foyer, I heard the scuffle of footsteps and the coffee brewer churning. Dimitri was still here. Light of remembrance started to shed on our close, late-night encounter, but Mase didn't give me much time to dive into the memory.
"There's been a sighting of Dashkov."
All thoughts of my romantic life dried up. I flashed back to the state I'd woken up in hours before, on edge and braced for the worst, ready to take on a killer. "Where? When?"
"Rosewood Psychiatric Hospital, 2 hours ago. The dispatcher just got through to me, same time as Alberta. Mia and I are on our way now."
"A mental asylum?" I asked in confusion. Seemed a little late to book that gig. It definitely didn't fit his M.O. anyway. "What would he be doing-" Then, it clicked. "Robert," I said in unison with my partner, swearing. Mentally, I beat myself up. Of course he was dropping by a mental asylum. That was his only way to get to his brother. Victor and Robert Dashkov used to brothers joined at the hip- you know, before Robert started going crazy and Victor started killing people. We hadn't counted Robert as a credible source in the case due to his hallucinogenic condition, but if his loving brother had decided to make things personal and stroll into a camera-covered hospital? Yeah, that put it back on the radar. And us on the move.
"Alright, I'll be there in 20." I hung up the phone before glancing back down. "Right, pants," I reminded myself, making a side-stop to grab appropriate apparel. By the time I'd managed to wiggle into slacks and grab my blazer, I saw Dimitri was at the door, his duster back on. I swear that thing was his surrogate child some days. "You got the memo?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Alberta just paged me."
I nodded back before looking longingly at the coffee pot, steaming and full. Reluctantly, I let it be. If worse came to worse, I could always swing by a Dunkin' Donuts.
We headed out in silent unison. I could feel the memory from last night stir, and sidelong, we met each others gaze. The bond between us still burned hot like always, but thankfully, it had simmered down. Neither of us talked about the near-kiss. It had been put on the back burner, Victor and my safety taking priority. I wouldn't be safe until we caught him. That's the thought I clung onto as I jumped in my car with Dimitri, still effected by him but able to keep my composure. We arrived quickly to the scene, with the help of bending speed limits, police lights flooding the outside ahead of the sun.
I hopped out the driver's side, barely shutting the door before jogging up to Mason lounging outside. Dimitri joined us almost in sync, but a call from Alberta pulled him away. He went off to the side, discussing in a hushed tone. I didn't spare him too many glances. Priorities, I reminded myself. "What do we have?" I asked.
He opened his mouth to answer, when something behind me caught his eye. He nodded to it. "See for yourself." I glanced over my shoulder. A coroner's van rolled in, some of Lissa's people hauling a black bag on top of a gurney.
I looked back at him, startled. "We have a body?" I whispered to Mason in stunned disbelief. Another death on his way to visit me. I passed a hand over my face, willing myself to keep professional. But everything about this case had become personal. "Who was he?" I managed to ask.
"James Melinda, security officer volunteering. Theory is, he was scoping the halls, saw Dashkov but got his throat slit before he could react. He bled out hours before the next guy even came in for his shift."
"A police officer?" There was a guilty catch in my throat as I voiced the question. Mason's blue eyes reflected similar pain at losing someone in our field. I made some profanity toward God, only to keep so much of my feelings bottled up. He killed a cop. Victor had always been confident, but this was a whole new level. Like I'd noted in jail before he broke out, genius hadn't been the only thing ramped up. The crazy had too. And speaking of crazy... "What about Robert?"
"We haven't dealt with him yet, figured you wanted to take first crack at it. All we know is he's dazed, first-responders woke him from outside, but let him be. They left the room untouched for us, too. Mia's checking it out now."
"Alright, let's head there." We began to walk to the scene while we hashed out information. It helped me keep focus. I didn't really want to look at the coroner's van anyway. "How long did he visit?"
"About 30 minutes."
"Do we have any surveillance videos, any cameras catch him on tape?"
"There was one outside in the hallway and where Victor made his entry point, but none inside Robert's room. We know for sure he was here for a solid half hour, but as for what happened inside? Well, only Robert can tell us that."
"Great," I mumbled. "A confession from a convicted lunatic, sounds promising." And that was just assuming that he would give a confession. From the way he idolized his older brother, Robert wasn't a likely person to cooperate. And since the person doing the interrogation was the same person that had thrown Victor in jail and been named as his next target? Yeah. Things weren't looking good for us.
When we got to the room, carefully stepping over dried blood pools, Mia had her back turned along with a local PD member she'd probably reigned in. They were the only ones in the room. Robert had been relocated to a therapy room until we completed the search. "Got anything, Mia?" I asked, walking in and rolling up my sleeves.
"Rose!" she exclaimed as she spun around, hiding something behind her back. Boy, if that didn't scream guilty. I guessed she didn't play much professional poker. "You shouldn't be in here, you should be interrogating Robert." She shot an unhappy look at Mason. Clearly he wasn't out of hot water yet.
"Yeah, well, we made a side stop. What's behind your back?"
Mia looked like she'd been pushed into a corner. A part of me wanted to make a move for it, but she was a scrapper. If I lunged for the item now, she'd probably gauge my eye out accidentally with her manicured nails. I knew the only reason she'd be shielding me for something though. She wanted to protect me. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. "Rose, you don't need to see this."
I met her gaze. Instead of answering her verbally, I simply held out my hand. I didn't want to be protected by withholding information. She sighed before reluctantly producing a small slip of paper. Splattered blood stood out sharply on the white edges, ink scrawled across in an elegant, familiar scripture. Another message from Victor. At least he'd spared the bouquet of roses this time around, I thought, as I took and scanned over it.
I knew you weren't lying before when you said you dreamt about me, Rosemary. Not to worry, I'm not a fan of suspense. I'll bring you the most vivid nightmare possible very soon. Until then: sweet dreams.
A chill crept over me, making my skin crawl as I tried to remain unfazed. This was more than just his typical teasing. "He's planning his endgame," I murmured. Mason's eyes were a blue fire when I met them, both of us understanding what that meant. I handed the evidence to PD to bag before walking back over to him. "Let's check out the brother."
As we twisted our way down the hall to the room, my phone went off again. Christ. My cell bill this month was going to be huge. I took it out partially from the pocket, glancing at the screen.
"Who is it?" Mase asked.
"Tech," I mumbled, taking it out and opening the text. Well, some good news had come out of this mess. They'd finally pinpointed the number that had tracked the GPS on Lissa's phone. I would be able to find who else was working on the case. I scanned over the message before suddenly dropping it, acting like the metal had scalded me.
"What's wrong?" Mason asked instantly.
"N-Nothing. Nothing." I'd teased Mia about screaming guilty, but I wasn't holding a great poker face today either. Hesitantly, I picked it back up, hoping I hadn't cracked the screen. Either Tech was wrong or I was losing my eye sight.
Cautiously, I reread the number, memorizing each digit. A familiar pang echoed in my gut. I knew the area code. Worse, I knew the number. I hesitated before I exited the message and scrolled through my contacts. A familiar name popped up. I highlighted it, her cell number showing with the expanded screen. "Son of a bitch," I swore. Ignoring Mason and the growing scene behind me, I jogged off, calling back, "Interview Robert without me, get me every detail he remembers." I didn't wait for his reply. I pushed out the double doors of the building, sunrise peaking over the skylights in an ashy hue. On my screen, her name still glowed.
Sydney Sage.
It was an exact match.
It was a wonder the door's hinges didn't break free as I banged incessantly on the wood, Sydney's hotel room number etched in black. "Come on, come on," I muttered, jiggling the locked doorknob for the hundredth time. "Answer, damn it." I banged again. Nothing. Frustrated, I considered kicking the door down all together and skipping friendly welcomes, claiming police business in compensation for the collateral damage. It was tempting. Really tempting. Before I got half the chance though, the manager arrived, grudgingly keying open the door when I flashed my police badge. She'd probably come up wanting to throw me out with armed escorts for wrecking havoc on her poor Comfort Inn.
Not pressing for a warrant though, to my relief, she clicked open the lock. I entered the room at a fast and steady pace, my eyes darted around, fingertips brushing my pistol. Tan walls. A single queen bed. Frames of landscapes and random plants. It was exactly the kind of room you expected in the suburbs of Boston, but not one someone was staying in. The bed was made with ice-cold sheets, not a scrap of luggage or personal items in sight. She'd already packed up and moved out.
I swore under my breath and charged out the room, ignoring the manager's shouts behind me. They faded quickly with distance and I was left with my own, irate thoughts. Sydney Sage, you are a dead woman with a lot to explain.
If I found her in the first place, that is. She'd vanished off the map, and was good at covering her tracks. Normally I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Lying low was second-nature to CIA agents, especially assassins and one's in high-intelligence positions. Sydney happened to be both (not that she'd ever admit the former). But I had no time to play hide-and-seek with a trained professional. She had played me with her "mysterious trip back to Boston", operating my case under the table. And here she hadn't even wanted join the first crime scene.
All of this left me with zero answers. And there were a lot of irritating questions running through my head.
What was she doing interfering with my case? What was the connection? If Sydney was the one that got our location, why was Dimitri the one I tackled? Regardless of that, why was Sydney even on the case? She was CIA, Dimitri was FBI. I understood the FBI's connection (sort of) but the CIA had no ties to a domain killer like Dashkov, their jurisdiction laying overseas. What were they doing working with the government back home?
It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Oh, but I was going to get to the bottom of it.
I didn't know where Sydney was lurking, but I had a pretty good sense of Dimitri's whereabouts. If I could interrogate the guy trying to kill me without a problem, I figured I could wring out information from my mentor before lunch. Popping into my Chevrolet, I headed back to headquarters. Parking on the curb out front, I hoped my laid-back antics with traffic control would spare me the ticket. They tended to be more lenient when a pretty girl in law enforcement batted her eyelashes.
I slipped through security and jogged toward the elevators, half-waving to the Eddie guy from the cafe. Despite my temper, he seemed like a cool guy, and I didn't want my anger to carry over to anyone uninvolved. Leave it to me to start more rumors about me in the other PD departments. I'd still been dead-set on finding Dimitri when I caught Lissa also coming in from the side, looking at her watch, the ME opting for herbal tea again in compensation for the early hour. I'd have to give her my coffee and pound of sugar recipe sometime. "You're here early," I called. The detective in me didn't miss the slight jolt of surprise she gave when she heard my voice. Herbal tea didn't have half the caffeine needed to make her that jumpy.
She collected her jumpy nerves and joined me fully as I waited for the elevator. "So are you," she noted. "I wasn't expecting you to be in. Something happen?" Truthfully, I was still a little suspicious of her behavior, but then again, Lissa Dragomir was known for be more than punctual. She liked to make an impression, even if it meant coming in an hour early just to wash and organize her tools. Brushing it off, I gave her a basic recap of what happened with Robert, leaving out Victor's message. I didn't want to worry her any more than need be. Oh, and she was plenty worried without that detail.
It made me crack a smile. "Easy there tiger, I'm fine. Victor's still in the area, but he didn't slip through my door last night or anything." Just my window possibly.
She looked unconvinced and on the fence about my safety. "Rose... are you sure you want to continue with this case?"
I was surprised. She'd never second-guessed my decisions before, trusting I could keep myself from getting killed. "You're asking me that this late in the game?"
"I know, I know, I should know better. A girl can dream, can't she?" She sighed and glanced at her watch again. "I have to get to the lab, don't cause too much chaos while I'm gone."
"No promises," I replied, sparing her another quizzical look before returning on my hunt for Dimitri. Unfortunately, as my luck would have it, he was good at vanishing when he wanted to as well. He and Sydney had probably sprung for a bat cave to divulge government secrets in private. Hell, if Sydney could remodel a car from airplane parts, she probably could whip up some Bruce-Wayne-worthy products.
Which was pretty sweet in retrospect, but sucked right then. I sighed and gave up after confirming with security he hadn't been through, retiring to my desk. By the time Mason and Mia returned, I had left Dimitri and Sydney at least a hundred threatening voice mails a piece, reminding her in one that she still owed me that $500 designer bag she had made me lose at the airport. The least she could do was take a call. Mason drew me back into the Robert drama before I could even begin my bitch raving on Dimitri. "Did you find anything out from him?" I asked, reluctantly setting my phone aside.
"Nothing useful," Mason answered, clearly exasperated. "Robert just kept babbling on about how great a brother Victor is and quoting a bunch of weird things. I think they let him watch to many movies cooped up in that place, he could probably quote Schwarzenegger better than the governor himself."
"What were the quotes?"
"Honestly, I didn't even know they were quotes until the nurse pointed it out. She managed to write some down." He dug through his pocket before handing me another slip of parchment. Some of the quotes were so cliché and crime-show-worthy I wanted to roll my eyes. One of them definitely caught my interest though. There was no source attached, but the words stood out boldly by themselves.
'It's not so important who starts the game, but who finishes it.'
Now, I didn't linger on it just because it screamed Dashkov (which, yes, it certainly did). Something about it was strangely nostalgic, like it was a line straight out of a familiar book series or TV show. I frowned, tapping the piece of paper while glancing back up at the blue-and-yellow spotted map, marking Dashov's most recent victims. Connections. There were so many connections, and I couldn't fit the pieces together.
I spent the rest of the day mulling over that. My unit left me alone, working the media and following slim leads while I rummaged through files. After hours of shifting through lackluster paperwork, stationed at my desk as the Boston Police ran around in circles, Lissa made a reappearance, this time carrying coffee along with her herb water. My hero. There were at least four empty cups already dunked in my waste basket. "Oh thank goodness," I said gratefully, taking the new supply, "more caffeine."
"Careful, I don't want you getting addicted, it's unhealthy." I scoffed. Too little, too late. Lissa frowned, concerned, as she sat on the edge of my desk and I downed my drink. "Still not getting much sleep?"
"Would you?" I countered, words partially drowned as I drank the scalding liquid. I didn't mention Dimitri or Avery also contributing to my insomnia. We were around death enough without me reminding my best friend about her murdered sister. I set the cup down early into the burning spree, the gauze on my hand from last night reminding what happened when I didn't exercise caution. "What have you been doing all day? Looking at couture heels and sunhats?"
"It's scarf season, actually."
"Oh, silly me."
She smiled. "But no, sadly, no online shopping today. I was working. I was, uh, examining Melinda's body." She drummed her fingers nervously against her cup, making her flimsy alibi even more unconvincing.
"The security officer?" I asked doubtfully. "Why, he was killed just like the rest of Dashkov's victims, the unsub isn't exactly a mystery." She faltered. "Son of a bitch," I swore again, straightening. "You are the worst liar in the world."
"Rose," she said, voice laced with guilt and apology.
"What is going on, Liss, why are you lying to me? What have you been doing all day?"
"Look, I'm not... lying. I did have to examine a body, and it is related to this case, but-" She cut herself off, biting her lip. Just like Mia, she wanted to protect me in her own way. I'd be damned if I let her keep secrets from me too though. "But I can't tell you the details surrounding it. I've been ordered not to."
"You can't tell me?" I repeated in disbelief. "You can't tell me something related to my case? Wait a second, why are you on the need-to-know basis and I'm not- he is trying to kill me."
"Rose," she said sagely, trying to calm me by laying a hand over mine. Her green eyes glimmered in the light, clearly conflicted with her current position. "This is what's best, it's much safer that you not know. This case is much bigger and far more complicated than we originally thought." Her words echoed what someone else had told me. "It involves national security."
"Are you kidding me?"
She lowered her eyes and shook her head, leaning back. "I want to tell you, trust me."
"Great, fill me in. Screw your orders."
Lissa wasn't good at lying and she wasn't good under pressure. Often times it made her slip. Luckily for me, today was no exception. "Rose, you have to understand, Dimitri said-"
"Dimitri?" I exclaimed. "Dimitri was the one giving you orders behind my back?"
Son. Of. A. Bitch. I shot up without another word, ignoring Lissa as she called after me. He was dead. He and Sydney were both dead when I saw them. Bat cave or no, he had to show up at work sometime. Going downstairs and rattling the cage of the security guard again, I managed to get one decent confession today. He was definitely in the building. No one intervened as I stalked after him, honing in on my target.
Eventually, I spotted him.
Let's just say things were a slippery slope from there.
I'd joked about homicide killing my love life before, but karma had really awful timing. Everyone made way as not-so-romantic flames crackled between Dimitri and I, the former leading me to some undisclosed location at my repeated request. Our bond still burned hot, yes, but it was replaced by a different kind of fire. This time I didn't have to pretend to be mad at him. I was infuriated. Whatever magic spark happened last night was forgotten by both parties in an instant.
"I'm sorry, am I being a little too loud for you, comrade?"
"Roza, you need to calm down, this is a sensitive case," he said evenly. Another zen lesson on self-control. He was one to preach.
"Don't give me that, this is my case," I shot back as he opened the door to a conference room, strolling in ahead of him. "I've had it up to here with your FBI need-to-know bullshit-" The heated words died on my lips as my gaze shifted from him to our company, coming to a halt. Three figures lingered in the room. Alberta and, shockingly, Sydney Sage herself lounged on the other side of the room. Standing closest to me was a woman I didn't recognize, dark-skinned with a tattoo similar to Sydney's glimmering on her cheek. She was the first to speak.
"I've heard bullshit before," she commented. "This doesn't qualify."
"Rose, this is Donna Stanton, chairman of the armed services committee," Dimitri introduced as we shook hands diplomatically. Admittedly, I was a little dazed. I didn't recognize her face, but the name hit home. She was a legend in the CIA- she also happened to be Sydney's mentor. "Stanton, detective Rose Hathaway."
"From the rumors, I was expecting you to charge in must sooner," Stanton said, hands on hips. She shared the same, seasoned look as Alberta, toughened from her years in service. Why she was associated with this case was beyond me. I had a good idea who the bridge was though.
"I didn't get the party invitation," I replied, eyes shifting to Sydney. She hadn't spoken a word since I arrived, while questions still burned on my tongue. A hell of a lot more than usual. I was used to guys like Stan playing me, but Sydney and I had been friends since college. She was the last person I expected to pull a fast-one on me. We held gazes as I searched her impassive, steel-resolved face. "You aren't in town by coincidence," I said, testing the words on my lips. There was no question in that statement. Her molten, caramel gaze didn't move. I shook my head, an empty smile on my lips as I ran a hand through my hair. "I can't believe this."
Lounging back with arms and legs crossed, she asked placidly, "Did you really think that your FBI agent was a coincidence, too?"
I froze. Clicking together what she was saying, I looked over my shoulder back to Dimitri, bewildered. Everyone but me had their game face on, including- no, especially- him. I stared at him, the distance between us seeming to grow, a gaping berth between us. He was hiding something from me. They all were.
I was in a room of strangers.
"You should sit, Rose," Alberta finally said. It was clear she'd wanted to avoid this as much as the rest of them. "There's a lot we have to fill you in on."
Yes, I thought. There certainly was.
I feel like the last chapter derailed the story a bit, but not to worry, we're back on track. Picking up the pace to head to the climax, get ready! And yes, for those asking, Adrian and Christian will make a cameo soon. Let's face it a VA story wouldn't be complete without them.
Reviews/Favorites/Follows light up my day.