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“Shall we postpone?” I asked.
“Nothing we can do from here. There’s a team on it. Who, by the way, is being led by Esencia.”
“I’ll never get her now,” I muttered.
“You weren’t going to get her anyway.” Z chuckled. “Shall we?” he added, motioning to a conference room when we saw Hornet approaching. “We found information relating to Salvatore Rávdos.”
My eyes met Z’s. “Oleander knows the name. She was lying when she said she didn’t.”
“Agreed.” Z motioned for Hornet to continue.
“He was formerly with MI6, but left fourteen years ago. While we know that much, everything else in the file has been redacted. Records also told us no other copies exist.”
“IT is working on deciphering the information contained in the reports now,” Z added.
“Rávdos was working with a partner at the time, Nathanial Jones,” Hornet continued. “Rumor is he died thirteen years ago. The guy in records said he’d heard something about an accident.”
“Rumor?” I asked, looking from Hornet to Z. “Anything else?”
“Other than that Jones was employed by SIS and he was Rávdos’ partner, we’re coming up blank,” Z responded.
“Thirteen years, you say? Do you think this somehow relates to Oleander?” I asked.
Z nodded. “I’m certain of it.”
“My understanding is that she and Poseidon are living together a short distance from the command center in Shere.”
“I’ll call a meeting and meet you there,” Z offered. “George will be accompanying me.”
I wouldn’t call him out on it, but I wondered why he’d bring an MI5 agent with him. Was there more to it than him being her boss’ boss?
Kima, Hornet, and I rode to Shere together. When we arrived, the scene was chaotic.
I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the suspect in the kidnapping had once again been killed by a bloody civilian. That Esencia was the CO on the op gave me pause. If a Unit 23-er had allowed such a thing to happen, they’d be burned.
When Oleander passed by without as much as a word to me, I saw red. Perhaps it was time to burn her too.
“Oleander? A moment?” I said, barely able to contain my anger.
She hesitated.
“The three of us have come across some interesting information we’d like to share with you,” I said, motioning to Hornet and Delfino. Just then, Z arrived and joined us, widening O’s already-deer-in-headlights eyes.
“Of course,” she said, following us to the library, where I closed the door behind us.
After Z laid out the information he’d shared about Nathanial Jones, I asked if it meant anything to her.
I knew I had her when she responded it didn’t right before bolting from the room.
Instead of being happy that I’d won the battle, I felt the same disappointment I always did when she refused to come clean. I’d tried every approach I could think of to get her to confide in me, and none had worked.
“Would you excuse us?” Z said to Hornet and Kima. He waited until they were out of the room before speaking again. “Thoughts?”
I shook my head. “I’ve failed her, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“I couldn’t agree more except that I also feel as though I’ve failed her.”
“Whatever she’s unwilling to share has to be personal on a profound level.”