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Dresden taps his thumb on the table in a nervous rhythm, as I pace the length of the room. A thousand, terrifying thoughts run through my mind, each worse than the last.
The door opens silently as Hyde steps inside the room. "Lily, Dresden, thanks for joining me."
"No problem, sir," I say in a shaky voice.
"You okay, Lily?" he asks, taking a seat at the head of the table.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Come sit down, let's talk." He motions to the chair in front of Dresden.
I sit down, crossing my ankle over my knee, taping my fingers on my shin. Hyde opens a dark blue folder, ruffling through several pages. He slides a small stack of papers to us. Together, we sit forward and read the print underneath a colored picture of a man I've seen before.
Name: Jahari Khoui
Age: 42
Nationality: Syrian
Known Status: Hitman and Procurer for The Taurus
Implicated in the murders of at least twelve federal agents and thirteen Interpol agents. Known connection to the kidnappings of at least one hundred and twenty-two thousand women and children in the United States, Romania, Germany, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, Egypt, South Africa, and Brazil.
"You remember him?" Hyde says leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, sir. He's the hitman who spoke to Mason at the charity ball we attended," I say, studying the picture.
This photograph isn't a recent one. Khoui must’ve been thirty-five, maybe, in this picture. His face has more lines now, a more severe hardness to it as well.
"He was spotted by Interpol agents scoping out Mason's apartment last night."
"What?" Dresden snaps, jerking his head up.
"Don't get hyper. You're being given extra security and anything else you ask for," Hyde says acutely.
"This is insane," he murmurs.
"Well, we have limited options here, Agent Scholl, so unless you'd like to go for one of the more extreme ventures, this is how we have to do it," Hyde barks.
"What other options?" Dresden sits up, leaning onto the table.
"Protective custody. Give you two time to hunt down these jack wagons."
"You mean send them away?" I whisper glancing up at him.
"If we can't settle this situation, soon . . . it may be our only option. Another fuck up like the other night, and my boss won't give me any other choice."
"Why wouldn't Lily and I go with them?"
"You and she know traffickers better than anyone else. I'm positive, if given free reign, you could hunt them down and do away with them," Hyde says standing and turning his back to us.
"Do away with them? You mean straight assassination?"
Hyde turns around, his gaze empty and without emotion. "Yes. I think we've all had enough of these fuckers."
Could I leave Blake for that long?
It's early evening by the time Dresden and I leave Hyde's office. Tomorrow morning we'll go back to the apartment. Thankfully, Dresden's wound isn't as bad as we thought, and he's pushing through, using his arm without restriction already. Blake's next charity event is Thursday night, and I'm not looking forward to it in the least.