Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) (22 page)

“It’ll take some time to get over the shock of it, but you did what you needed to do and you saved lives, including mine. We’ll talk later about why you didn’t stay in the car.”

“I’d better get back in there to make sure Nicola’s okay. I can’t imagine what her and her mother must be feeling right about now. You heading down here soon or should I meet you back at the station?”

“I’ll head back to the station with Mercer. We’ll book him into federal custody. Meet me there when you can.”

Kate placed her phone back into her pocket and stepped inside the hospital room once again.

Nicola turned to her. “Thank you, Agent Reid. You saved my life. My mother wants to thank you too.”

Kate moved towards the still trembling young girl. “I’m so sorry about your brothers, Nicola.”

The girl looked to her mother again. “She says we’re going to go back home. That there’s nothing left for us here. No future.”

The family had already lost so much, Kate understood why her mother felt this way. Hadn’t she left because everything had been taken from her?

» » »

It was four in the morning and any person in their right mind would have been exhausted, but Kate couldn’t stop replaying that moment in her mind when she pulled the trigger. The feel of the gun in her hands, the smell of the smoke as the bullet fired. The sight of him falling to the ground. She’d disabled him with a single shot. The only thing she regretted was not killing him.

“Hey,” Nick said.

She looked up from the chair in the lobby of the Richmond police station. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“The victims are being checked out now. Detective Garrett is with Kovac and Jameson is talking to Mercer. I’m going to have to get in there in a minute, but I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“I missed curfew,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I think they’ll understand. Why don’t you go check into a hotel and get some rest? You must be exhausted.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“I’ll be finished here in about an hour and then we can drive back to Quantico. Can you hold out?”

“Yes. What’s going to happen to Mercer?”

“Hopefully, we’ll get enough information to shut this operation down. I’ve got a message in to Montrose in London.”

“Good. I hope we put that son of a bitch away for the rest of his life, and everyone else who’s involved in this.” The moment she pulled the trigger was the moment that Kate figured out who she really was. All the second-guessing, all the uncertainty of whether or not she had what it would take had all vanished. Kate knew exactly who she was now.

TWENTY-TWO

F
atigue finally caught
up with her, and Kate had had enough time to shower before class by the time they’d reached base. But now, she listened as intently as she could, having promised Hawes there would be no more distractions, and she was fading fast.

“Kate? Kate, the lecture’s over,” Will said.

“Oh.” She looked to the front of the class and noticed the instructor packing up his things.

“Are you okay? I heard about what happened last night. I’m surprised you’re here.”

“I’m fine.”

“You say that a lot, don’t you?” Will led her from behind the row of desks. “Come on, why don’t I get you a cup of coffee?”

“Yeah, okay. I could probably use one of those.”

The three minutes to the coffee shop was walked in silence. She didn’t know what to say to Will or to anyone.

“Go and sit down. I’ll bring you a coffee.”

Kate did as he asked without specifying her preference for cream and sugar. That didn’t really matter right now.

“Here.” Will set the cup in front of her with a few packets of sweetener and cream. “I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I just got a little of everything.”

“Thanks, Will.” She sipped on the hot beverage only just now realizing she hadn’t eaten anything since about four o’clock yesterday afternoon.

“Well, you won’t have any trouble graduating now; not that I was really concerned to begin with, but I know you had your own doubts.”

“Why do you say that?” Kate replied.

“Really? You helped bring down a human trafficking ring. You don’t think you’ll get some recognition for that? Not to mention your last tactical test that you passed with flying colors. No, Kate. I don’t think you’ll have any problems finishing. And then you’ll be off working with Agent Scarborough in the D.C. office.”

In the grand scheme of things, her role was fairly insignificant and she could hardly take credit for bringing the operation down. At least, that’s how she saw it.

Kate looked at him for a moment and realized what this was about. Not that she’d been given an opportunity to work on an important investigation, but that it was with Nick and that she was going to be working with him. He still had feelings for her. “You’ll be working in Louisville, which is where you wanted to go. So I guess we’ll both get what we wanted.”

“I guess so.” Will turned toward the window and sipped again on his coffee.

“I can see you’re bothered by something. What is it?” She was going to have to get this out into the open once and for all. Too much had happened and the thought of pretending it didn’t exist seemed juvenile.

“What do you mean? I thought after last night, the least I could do would be to buy you a cup of coffee. Look, Kate, I’ve taken more lives than I care to remember. It’s not easy. I know that man you shot is still alive, but regardless, even shooting someone isn’t something you get used to. I just thought you might want to talk. I’m trying to be a friend here, that’s all.”

She felt ashamed for thinking he was displaying some sort of jealous tendencies. Of course he was being a friend. He’d been a friend to her since day one. And this was how she would repay him? Implying that he just couldn’t get over her? She looked away, embarrassed by her arrogance and began to absentmindedly stir her coffee. “I know you’re trying to help. And you’re right; it’s not something I think I would ever get used to. How do you do it, Will?”

“Do what? You mean live with it?”

She nodded.

“What other choice is there? I live with it or I die with it.
It
never goes away.
It
changes you daily. Talking to others who’ve been through similar situations helps, of course. I have some very good friends from my time in the military that I keep in close contact with. And then there are my new friends here, at the Academy, like you.” Will paused for a moment. “You know, most of us know what you’ve been through based on what we read in the papers or heard on the vine, but until I watched you speak about it during that presentation with Agent Scarborough, I never really understood what happened. And then of course…” Will trailed off and gave her the look she’d seen in others so many times before.

She already knew what he wanted to say and although she’d gotten to the point where she could speak about it, the desire to was not there. Especially not now when her emotions were so raw. Kate was growing tired of wearing her heart on her sleeve and letting the vultures, the evil in this world, tear away at it, piece by piece. So maybe it was time to put it way, for good. “It’s okay, Will. You don’t have to tiptoe around me. Like you say, you have to live with it because there is no other choice.” Kate peered out the window and watched a young woman, not unlike herself, walk by. She turned back to Will. “I suppose I could consider the silver lining.”

“What’s that?”

Kate smiled. “There’s nothing left for anyone to take from me anymore. That makes me invincible, right?”

Will seemed to study Kate for a time and was beginning to feel awkward. “I suppose it does.”

“Right.” Kate crumpled the napkin she’d been twisting between her hands. “I’d better get going.” She pushed her chair back.

“Where’re you headed? Home?”

“Not yet. I’ve got to run by the field office and help Agent Jameson with some paperwork.” As she stood up to leave, Kate looked to Will again. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll see you tomorrow?” She smiled and continued on her way out of the coffee shop. As she walked past the window, she noticed Will watching her. She raised a hand with a final goodbye and headed back to her room.

» » »

The dormitory was already growing quieter on this late Friday afternoon. Her class, along with two others, had already progressed far enough into the program that they were allowed to travel home on the weekends. Now, only the newbies remained, or those who didn’t have another home to stay.

The weekender bag sat opened on her bed and Kate pulled the elastic band from her hair and let it drop to her shoulders. She opened her dresser drawer and began tossing items inside the bag. Didn’t matter what, just a few things. She would be back here for half the day tomorrow anyway, but after last night, she wanted nothing more than to sleep in her own bed, surrounded by her own things. Here, in the dorm room she now shared with no one, was only a reminder of those who had failed the program, either due to physical ineptitude or from pressures at home. Kate wasn’t going to be one of the failures.

The bag zipped with ease as only a few items were inside. She tossed it over her shoulder and looked at the empty bed next to hers where her roommate had been. Kate knew her to have been an intelligent woman with a background in law enforcement, but she let the pressures of her husband and family get to her and, in the end, it cost her the dream of becoming an agent.

Kate had no such pressures, not anymore. It was solely on her shoulders, her success or failure in the program. There would be no one to blame, no one’s shoulder to cry on if she did not succeed. It was better that way.

On her arrival to the WFO, Kate parked in the garage and stepped out to strap her belt back onto her waist. It was a strange thing to get used to, wearing a weapon at all times. But it was beginning to feel a part of her, like wearing a ring, and being without it made her feel as though she’d forgotten something.

Kate reached for the necklace and felt for the engagement ring she still wore around her neck. It too had already become a part of her.

The doors to the elevator parted on the fourth floor where she would find Agent Jameson at one of the workstations and Scarborough, who would probably be in his office. There were no set hours here and so she expected to find a fair few agents still working and as she stepped out into the office, she was not wrong on that count.

In only a matter of weeks, Kate would find herself among these people. The best and brightest the Bureau had to offer, as far as she was concerned. She’d thrown herself into her work before and would do the same now.

“Agent Jameson,” Kate started as she approached him with a raised hand.

“Kate, glad to see you. What are you doing here? I figured you’d be heading for home right about now.”

“Agent Scarborough asked me to stop by and assist with the reports from last night. I guess there’s some paperwork I need to fill out as well.” Kate pulled up a chair next to Jameson.

“Right, of course. Let me get a few things wrapped up here and I’ll get you logged in and we can file the reports together.”

“Okay, sure. Um, what should I do in the meantime?” She looked around as if searching for someone.

“Agent Scarborough’s in his office. Maybe just check in with him first?”

“Okay.” Kate rose from the brief moment in the chair and began heading towards Nick’s office.

“Hey, Kate,” Jameson said.

“Yeah?” She stopped and turned on her heel.

“You okay?”

A thin, white-lipped smile briefly showed on her face. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking, Dwight.” She didn’t often call him that, although he frequently insisted. But this felt like an occasion to address him in a more personal manner. He’d been there last night too and probably knew exactly how she was feeling.

Kate continued on towards Scarborough’s office and knocked on the frame of his opened door. “Agent Scarborough?”

Nick looked away from his computer screen. “Hi Kate, please come in.” He gestured for her to have a seat. “You look a little tired.”

“I feel a little tired. I just stopped and talked to Agent Jameson. He said he’s got a few things to finish up and then he’d help me with the reports.”

Nick continued to hold her gaze and Kate was growing weary of those around her constantly analyzing her. It was beginning to make her feel less worthy of wearing the badge as if somehow, she was simply too delicate to handle what happened to her last night. Still, she tried not to be offended. “So, is there anything I can do in the meantime?” she continued, discounting his sympathetic stare.

This seemed to shake him out of it as he began to look at his desk in search of something. “Uh, yeah, actually.” He retrieved a flash drive from the edge of his desk. “These are the forensics photos from last night. Can you get these uploaded into the case file for me?”

“I can do that.” Kate reached for the small stick. “Which workstation should I use?”

“I think Agent Vasquez is still here. Why don’t you track her down and she can get you set up?”

“Sounds good. Thanks.” Kate stood up to leave.

“Hey,” Nick said before she could step out of his office.

Kate, with her back already turned, closed her eyes, fearing he was going to have a talk with her that she really had no desire to hear. “Yes?” She turned back to him.

“Corbett’s attorney wants to work a plea deal with the federal prosecutor.”

This sparked her interest. “So, he testifies against Mercer and Corbett goes free?” Sometimes the justice system and, in particular, plea-bargaining, allowed too many criminals to manipulate the system. Kate believed this was what Corbett was trying to do now and after what happened to Nicola’s family, she was feeling nauseated by the idea.

“Not free, likely a reduced charge, but he’s agreed to tell us where the remaining runners are and where they plan to take their next victims. Just because we have these men in custody, doesn’t mean this is over, Kate. We believe there are still several operatives out there kidnapping and selling these women to the highest bidder. Mercer won’t talk for obvious reasons, but if we can get Corbett to cut a deal, we stand a better chance of finding those women before they end up like Madlena.”

Kate began to walk back toward Nick and rested her hands on the back of the guest chair. “Is this the way it always works? They scratch our backs and we scratch theirs? Does anybody ever see the justice that’s coming to them?”

“You want the truth? Somewhere in the range of 90 percent of federal cases go through plea-bargaining. It’s just the way it is. Right or wrong. But in this case, I’d say since it’s likely to save lives, then we do what we need to do.”

She understood his reasoning, but despised it just the same. “Okay, so what do we do from here then?”

“Both Kovac and Mercer are currently being transported here for federal holding. Corbett’s still in the hospital. Once they arrive, I’ll be meeting with the prosecutor and Corbett’s attorney to get the terms of the deal. Kovac won’t get a deal; we don’t need him. We’ve got him on murder charges and with the trafficking on top of that, he won’t see the light of day for a very long time. Once we know where the drops are going to be, we’ll coordinate with the agencies involved and get our guys in place to assist.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes. Start with uploading those photos and get with Jameson. I’ll contact you on my return and fill you in. However, I’m not sure how much more you’ll be able to do. My suggestion would be to stay here, work with Vasquez and Jameson on the coordination efforts. The field teams will handle their end of things.”