Massive trees of different sizes and heights surrounded the house they were living in. Different colour leaves, some red, some green and some orange, settled on their branches. They were gradually leaving their home, leaf by leaf, like a baby bird leaving its nest. Aided by the wind, they flew far away where they couldn’t be seen any longer. Some leaves found it a little difficult to let go, afraid of their fate, and so they remained on the branches, holding onto their entire existence as the wind urged them to move forward. Though the sun was behind the clouds, it rebelled momentarily just to lend its soft rays to the stubborn leaves as a way of assurance that everything was going to be alright. Wherever they ended up, their importance would never be questioned. The branches, conscious and appreciative of the sun’s gentle ways, loosened their grip and bid farewell. Pushed by the eager wind, the red and orange leaves left the nest and flew to their future.

  Cyan could’ve watched the cycle of nature all day. She thought it was precious. Appreciative to the wide glass wall in the living room, she had the luxury of admiring the outside whenever she desired. The house itself was gorgeous. If there was an award for an unrivalled Supervisor who provided top quality provisions for his or her team, Dave would have a full shelf of accolades. The house, the hangar, the garage with the latest and fastest vehicles and everything she was yet to see was proof of how well Dave took care of his team. The team didn’t need all the extras to produce results. They just needed their skillset and training. But their Supervisor, Dave, went above and beyond for them.

  An hour and a half into her arrival, she found herself in a very spacious room that was beyond the kitchen. Beige painted bookshelves were situated at the back of the room and held more than a hundred books that ranged from William Shakespeare to Jane Austen to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Whoever purchased and displayed those books had excellent taste, Cyan thought. She noticed that half, if not all the rooms were painted in the black including the room they were currently in and oddly, she found it very comforting. Cream chairs surrounded a ginormous table and occupying them were the Agents.

  Aria was seated on a chair to the right that overlooked everyone else, her fingers moving as fast as lightning on a white bedazzled laptop. She had changed in some ways since Cyan saw her last. Her silky, curly hair had grown longer to the small of her back, her olive skin glimmering and a little sparkle on her nose that was new to Cyan. It was a tiny diamond punctured into her left nostril. She spotted a nose stud. She was easily one of the most beautiful women Cyan had ever had the pleasure of seeing. And it wasn’t just how long her lashes were or how bright her smile was or the colour of her almond eyes. But it was the spirit she radiated. Her protective, sweet and generous spirit. Cyan wondered what skin regimen Aria was using lately. She wanted to hop onto it immediately.

  Besides Ari, she recognized a few faces in the room she used to see when she was fully employed at SSU. Jordan's for one. A striking guy from Ghana who always moved with towering confidence, glazed in chocolate brown skin with a broad build jumping out of his shirt. He had a short-cropped haircut and a carefully trimmed, well-groomed beard. As far as Cyan remembered, Jordan was so charming that he received the title of ‘ladies’ man’. He had never forced his charm on anyone. He was just naturally smooth. Besides, with Jordan’s good looks and strong physique, it was difficult for him not to be noticed. Another person she recognized was Evan. Tall, hanging more to the lean side with warm skin just like hers. He hadn’t changed much except for the cloud of soft curly hair that he had shaved into a mini afro of little raven ringlets with chestnut highlights. He loved growing out his hair but always complained that his Cabo-Verdiano mother preferred it short and neat. His English father didn’t mind how his son kept his hair, but when it came down to it, he wanted what Evan’s mother wanted. By the looks of things now, Evan was living proof that an African mother’s demands couldn’t be ignored no matter how much you tried. He was also a favourite in the Organisation just like Jordan but it wasn’t something Evan particularly paid attention to. It seemed to Cyan that SSU girls found the African in the men of the Organisation attractive.

  Her eyes were taking in every detail of the room, like the vase of blue roses sitting on the windowsill that didn’t really fit into the room but still managed to be noticed positively and the bulbs directly above her with the swirling light inside of them. She admired the power that simple items such as vases and bulbs possessed, contributing to the elegance of the room. Gazing around in amazement, her eyes involuntarily landed on a tall, brawn-stacked boy. The long, brown wavy hair that she was used to seeing was trimmed into a shaggy crew cut. The remaining hair, parted in the middle, was immaculately messy, a few strands springing down to his face. It worked, the cute leader in a boy band look. His piercing, blue eyes were stuck on his mobile phone and his pink, plumb lip was tucked in-between his teeth. He wasn’t sitting like the others but standing instead near the screen with his left side facing Cyan. That was where his tan freckles were drawn; on his creamy neck. Cyan remembered that he used to cover them with his hair because he wasn’t fond of them but now, he flaunted them like he was proud of them. He must’ve developed a new love for them. He wore a white shirt and a black denim jacket that hugged his arms with a pair of black track pants and white sneakers.

  And that smell. His smell. Out of all of the different scents soaring in the room, she picked on his first. Her nose must've remembered it. Cyan took another whiff of Nathan’s berry scent. A nostalgic wave smacked her so hard that she had to pinch herself back to reality. She removed her eyes off of him faster than the human eye could blink.

  No.

  She mentally scolded herself for losing control. She had been trying not to stare at him. She told herself that she wouldn’t.

  But she couldn’t help herself.

  Another mental scold. She promised herself that she wouldn’t be distracted by him while she was working the case.

  She just wouldn’t.

  ‘’We seem to have made progress with the James’ case as I informed you all earlier. Thirty-six-year-old, white male, Geoffrey Adams was found dead this morning at the Guildhall Museum.’’ Dave began.

  He motioned to Aria, who he was standing next to, to project something on the screen. Everyone's attention went to the screen hammered on the wall as a picture of a stout man appeared. He was lying on concrete ground in what resembled a courtyard with his grey button-down shirt and pair of blue denim jeans dishevelled to creases. His naturally pale skin was covered in blue almost purple bruises on the lower part of his cheek. Though his damaged body lying flaccid on the ground was an eerie sight, it was not much compared to the hollow hole that had opened inches of his skin right in the middle of his unbarred, unearthly green eyes.

  ‘’He was found in the Museum courtyard at 06:00a.m and according to Forensics, a 6mm passed through his forehead.’’ Dave informed.

  ‘’A 6m bullet?’’ Nathan asked. ‘’Was the casing found?’’

  ‘’Yes, it was. It was a Rimless bottleneck 7x57mm Mauser.'' Dave answered.

  ''A 6-inch Remington Magnum.'' Evan surmised.

  ''Those pieces are almost impossible to find because of strict limitations. Specifically made for guys like our unknown who fire at random people in the head.'' Jordan said. ''Where did he get one?''

  ''He is definitely well connected.'' a petite blonde-haired girl answered. Harper? Harper, her name was.

  ''Not only is it difficult to find that gun but when you do get it, you have to pay hefty price for it because of how efficient it is.''

  ''For its accuracy as well.'' Jordan added. ''The shot is clean.''

  ''Mercenaries always have their hand in the cookie jar.'' Cyan spoke.

  ''A mercenary?'' Aria repeated.

  ''Are you saying that whoever killed Geoffrey Adams was hired to do it?'' Dave asked.

  ''I can't say for sure but from the little that we can see, I think it points to that.'' Cyan answered.

  ''What makes you think that the perpetrator might be a hit man?'' Evan asked.

  ''Because of the way Geoffrey was murdered.'' Cyan answered. She already felt the adrenaline in her blood coursing.

  ''He received a clean, like Jordan said, close range shot directly to the head. It was an unremorseful kill with no emotion attached to it which is usually typical of an execution kill. The shot was too precise for the killer not to have any skills of a person trained to fire like that.''

  ''Besides who, the question is why. Why is Geoffrey in the morgue as we speak?'' Dave asked.

  ''What do we know about Geoffrey?'' Nathan asked.

  ''Okay. So, Mr. Geoffrey here graduated at Coventry University with a degree in Business and Finance at the age of twenty-five in 2006.'' Aria paraphrased as she read Geoffrey's records. ''Finding a job wasn't easy for him so three years went by living with and off of his parents. Aged twenty-eight in 2009, he began working at a local insurance company as an intern. He did good work there and gradually climbed the company hierarchy. In 2011, Mr. Frank Wells, company field manager and Geoffrey's predecessor, died of a sudden stroke and seeing as Adams was the obvious candidate, he was promoted to the managerial position. Soon after, he married his long-term girlfriend, Josephine Mund, took in her son from a previous relationship as his own and purchased a house.''

  ''Did he do anything outside work? Any extracurricular activities? Hobbies?'' Evan asked.

  ''No activities. His life consisted of work during the week and spending time with his family during the weekend.'' Aria told them. ''And that's about it. He didn’t really have much of a life outside that.''

  ''Sounds like a normal guy.'' Jordan commented.

  ''With somewhat a good life.'' Harper added.

  And even though Geoffrey was only thirty-six years old, a young stud Cyan's mother would say, Geoffrey's face was unusually tight with fine lines. The shadows under his eyes were so deep, one could drown in them. Cyan realized that he was suffering from exhaustion before he died. And not the kind that was repaired by a good night's sleep.

  ''Normal? Debatable. Good life? Not so much.'' Aria contested. ''Last year, while his company was going through tough times, retrenchments and all, Geoffrey found that his wife Josie, was cheating on him.''

  ''Damn.'' Jordan swore. ''How did he find out?''

  ''Who did she cheat on him with?'' Harper followed eagerly with another question.

  ''Her child’s father.'' Aria answered.

  A series of oous and hmms sounded in the room.

  ''And to answer your question Jay, he found out through text messages, changes in her behaviour, etcetera.'' Aria answered. ''Not a month a later, Josie divorced Geoffrey and left him for the father of her son. So, not only did Geoffrey lose his wife but he also lost the boy he called his son. You can only imagine how he took all that.''

  ''What happened?'' Nathan asked.

  ''He spiralled. Started showing up to work late, drunk and in a stink of cigarettes. His work became extremely sub-standard.'' Aria answered.

  ''That has suspension written all over it.'' a tall brown-haired boy said. Preston, Cyan remembered. He was the same guy who introduced the idea of the Organisation hiring scientists earlier to Dave while they ascended the stairs.

  ''He was actually demoted and eventually fired at the beginning of this year. Apparently, his behaviour wasn’t a good brand for the company.'' Aria reported.

  ''Wow.'' Harper sympathized.

  ''There's something else.'' Aria announced nervously.

  ''You mean to tell us that after all that, there's more?'' Evan asked incredulously.

  ''Unfortunately, yes. Two months after he was released from work, his mother was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.''

  Cyan felt second hand agony for Geoffrey. His life was hailstorm after hailstorm. There was a dark cloud, rejuvenated by his anguish, that loomed over him in the last years of his life. It followed him everywhere he went to make sure he wouldn’t experience even a sliver of happiness or relief.

  ''A lot was needed in a short space of time. X-rays, medication and chemotherapy.'' Aria continued softly. ''She passed away a few months ago.''

  ''Aria, would you check his financials? If he lost his income with an ill mother to take care of then he would've been receiving funds somewhere.'' Nathan pointed out.

  ''Smart. I'll run that.'' Aria agreed.

  ‘’I’m sorry to jump the gun here but what does Adams’ shooting have to do with Lucas’ kidnapping?’’ Preston asked curiously.

  Dave sighed.

  He walked up to the big screen and zoomed in on the picture of Geoffrey. The picture was magnified so that they could see bigger pixels of it. He zoomed in on his limp body, then to his right arm and finally, to his right hand. Cyan felt unusually strange looking at Geoffrey’s hand. She wondered whether it was because she couldn’t see correctly owing to the fact that she had left her glasses upstairs in her carrier or perhaps it was the fatigue from the plane finally hitting her. She knew there couldn’t have been a way she was seeing Geoffrey’s pinky finger and ring finger as the same length. The only difference was that the top of his ring finger was more crimson red and a creamy colour than all his other fingers. In fact, his whole arm was covered and stained in red like several rivers flowing in different directions.

  Blood.

  Aria closed her eyes and looked away from the screen.

  ‘’What in the...?’’ Jordan whispered.

  ‘’Guy number four.’’ Preston revealed.

  ‘’I guess we don’t have to wait for those lab results.’’ Aria muttered.

  Before the debrief began, half the team that had been working on the James’ case discussed their theories with the rest of the team that had left for a field operation, including Cyan and Dave, about an unconventional criminal that was with Lucas the day he was abducted. Cyan remembered Evan calling the man, ‘guy number four’ because he was the fourth man they had read about in Lucas’ statement.

  ‘’His ring finger on his right hand was amputated.’’ Dave reported.

  Cyan was left speechless. Judging by the silence in the room, she assumed everyone else felt the same. Moments went by until Dave finally broke the silence.

  ‘’It’s not a coincidence.’’ he said.

  ‘’Geoffrey was a victim of his own circumstance.’’ Harper expressed.

  ‘’He must’ve turned to the wrong side of things when he lost everything.’’ Evan noted.

  ‘’With no job and a sick mother, he must’ve resorted to unorthodox means of income.’’ Preston said.

  ‘’If that was the case then his bank balance would reflect large, irregular deposits in a short space of time. Or it could even reflect a flat zero balance. Dormant even, as a precaution to being traced; cash or a different account being used as alternatives.’’ Cyan theorized. ‘’Can you access his bank files, Ari?’’

  ‘’I’m looking at his financials right now and there’s nothing at all. There hasn’t been a single deposit since his last pay cheque months ago.’’ Aria answered. ‘’It’s a dormant account.’’

  ‘’But?’’ Cyan prodded as she picked something in Aria’s tone that suggested there was more that she had figured out.

  Aria didn’t answer immediately. Her narrowed almond eyes were still plastered on her screen, trying to make sense of what it was exactly she was looking at. A few seconds later, her eyes widened in realization.

  ‘’Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.’’ she breathed.

  ‘’What is it?’’ Dave asked.

  Nathan, who stood behind Aria, bent down to see what she was staring at on her laptop.

  He answered, ‘’There is an account here with a history deposit of fifteen thousand euros in fives within a period of two days. This account belongs to...uh,’’ Nathan paused as he read what he saw. Just like Aria, his eyes were quite wide indicating surprise and realization. ‘’Ben Davies.’’

  ‘’Alright. Who is Ben Davies?’’ Harper asked irately.

  ‘’Josie’s son.’’ Nathan answered.

  ‘’What does that mean?’’ Harper asked once again.

  ‘’It means Geoffrey de-activated his own account and opened an account in his stepson's name in order to receive this amount of money. He used his stepson as a cover up.’’ Evan explained.

  ‘’Exactly. And get this. His mother died around June and he received this money in May. Around the time that she needed medical treatment.’’ Aria revealed.

  ‘’So, in a state of desperation, he asks this money from whoever, promises to return it but when time comes to recompense, he doesn’t because he can’t.’’ Cyan postulated.

  ‘’These thugs seem hardcore so the only reason they didn’t kill him was if they wanted him to repay them their money in other ways. In labour, perhaps.’’ Harper assumed.

  ‘’You know, Geoffrey didn’t act like your typical criminal to me.’’ Preston observed.

  ‘’Like the way he shielded Lucas. His fatherly instincts kicked in.’’ Jordan added.

  ‘’So, it makes sense if being a part of the criminal quartet was something he was forced to do.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’So, why kill him now? Could he have been a hinderance to their plans?’’ Evan asked.

  ‘’That or Geoffrey was ready to bow out. Kidnapping Lucas could’ve been where he drew the line. He was a father after all.’’ Nathan said. ‘’But that posed problems for our perpetrators so their solution was to take him out.’’

  ‘'He was a liability.’’ Harper finished.

  ‘’Judging by the shrinkage of his skin and that unmissable red, almost purple, bruise on his cheek, I'd say he had been dead for quite some time before he was found.’’ Jordan said. ‘’7 hours, maybe.’’

  ‘’Why the museum? Could it hold some significance?’’ Aria asked.

  ‘’It could’ve been a strategic way of getting everyone’s attention.’’ Nathan suggested. ‘'The Museum is a public place.’’

  ‘’Or these suspects could be sick and twisted bastards like we established before.’’ Dave said irritated. ‘’He gifted us with a finger. Anything they do at this point is deluded.’’ ‘’That doesn’t make them less calculative.’’ Evan countered. ‘’They may be sick, which is a fair assessment, but they do know what they are doing.’’

  ‘’I agree with Ev. Everything they have been doing up until this point has been a show. Snagging Lucas from his classes in broad daylight, bringing him back but with a grown man’s finger and a note as a souvenir and now killing the owner of that finger in the most brutal way possible in one of the most public places in the city. I’d say all this is all directed at someone.’’ Harper reinforced.

  ‘’To find these criminals, we have to find their target.’’ Evan reached.

  ''We theorized previously that Lucas' parents could be the subject. We could look exhaustively at that and see what we come up with.'' Preston suggested.

  ''I don’t know if going through the Minister and his wife is a good idea.” Dave refused. “This is their case.''

  ''We have not concluded they are involved in their own son's case but something in their past could've triggered what is happening to them now.'' Nathan defended.

  ''Just do it discreetly.'' Dave agreed.

  ‘’We'll do that.’’ Nathan agreed. He looked at Dave. ‘’The Adams' case is ours, right?’’

  ‘’Affirmative. Since there is a possible connection between the two cases, we are stipulated to work on it.’’ Dave answered.

  ‘’We need to find this guy.’’ Jordan said. ‘’Or these guys. We can’t have any more casualties.’’

  ‘’I don’t think I have to remind you all how important this case is. Now that the SSU is working on the James’ case, the Minister is going to be breathing down the Agency to find out who traumatized his son.’’ Dave announced. ‘’Find them. Those idiots belong behind a cell. Understood?’’

  ‘’We’ve got this.’’ Nathan reassured.

  Dave didn’t respond to that immediately. He searched around the room and when he didn’t find what he was looking for, his face scrunched up like a piece of paper in confusion.

  ‘’Where is Will?’’ he asked.

  ‘’Right here.’’ a deep voice announced

  A tall pale boy with blonde hair and a lean frame walked into the room. Strutted in, more like. Cyan didn’t recognize him. Even her subconscious did not register him.

  ‘’Dave.’’ he nodded as a way of greeting.

  ‘’Hey, everyone! William finally decided that this meeting was actually worth his time.’' Dave mocked. ‘’What kept you so long, Emperor? Were your servants still washing your feet?’’

  ‘’Sorry, I'm late Dave.’’ William apologised.

  ‘’You’re more than late Juniour. You missed the entire meeting!’’ Dave exclaimed.

  ‘’I know, I know.’’ Will said. ‘’I was actually working on the case. That’s why I’m late.’’

  ‘’On your own?’’ Dave asked.

  ‘’Yes.’’ William answered. ‘'I just thought it’d be better if I just read through it on my own instead of working it here with...everyone else.’’

  Time was always allocated for Agents to go through cases on their own by their leaders after the debrief hour if it was necessary, which most of the time, it usually was. Debrief time, however, was never to be missed. It was a crucial hour. This was when facts of a case were relayed to members of a Unit for the first time. Initial thoughts and questions were usually the most important, most honest and the most realistic. A collaborate effort usually brought out fresh, diverse and unbiased ideas therefore making it a priority not to miss DT. For William to miss it, he must’ve had another reason, better than wanting to work on the case alone. That was why Dave was so agitated. William’s reasoning was more than vague. Actually, the way he articulated the word ‘everyone’ suggested to Cyan that this William guy was probably avoiding someone’s energy in the room. She wondered whose it was.

  ‘’Don’t do it again.’’ Dave rebuffed.

  William sighed. ‘’Sure.’’

  ‘’Anyway,’’ Dave went on. ‘’I have supplied everything you'll need for this investigation. This is your house so long as you're working the case. You all know that. A good transportation system has been provided for you. Firearms, ammunition, all the gadgets you ordered are in the Gadget Room together with bulletproof vests, shields and other forms of protective clothing. Once again, this operation is very serious. Take it that way. I’ll need an update soon.’’

  ‘’We’ll do everything in our power.’’ Harper said.

  ‘’Everything in your power and more.’’ Dave corrected as he placed his mobile phone in his right trouser pocket and picked up a set of car keys that were lying on the table.

  ‘’So, that is my cue to leave. You have my number if progress has been made.’’ he said as he walked towards the exit of the debrief room.

  He left the room and they heard the heel of his Italian shoe hit against the tile floor all the way to the front door.

  Cyan heard, ‘’Treat the newbie well!’’ and the front door was slammed shut.

  She didn’t know if she liked the term ‘newbie’ very much.

  As soon as Dave left, careless chatter erupted in the room. She couldn’t keep up with what everyone was talking about but it was as if they hadn't discussed the death of a middle-aged man a few minutes ago.

  William, like a thunderstorm, blew out the outbreak and said, ‘’The last time I checked, seven was the official capacity of members in this Division. Why are we boarding extra luggage?’’

  Cyan noticed that William had been in the room for approximately four minutes but the temperature in the room had depleted to the absolute minus.

  Aria folded her arms over her chest. ‘’Extra luggage? Do you hear yourself, William?’’

  ‘’Don’t act dizzy, Aria.’’ William retorted. ‘’Dave gave us a very vital case to work on but he still expects us to babysit mediocre agents who chicken out when things get tough. Where does he think we’ll find the time?’'

  Cyan couldn’t believe her ears. Deadweight was one thing she didn’t expect to be called only hours in the Division. She understood a conservative nature within people that feared experiencing new changes. New people. It was difficult to be comfortable around an unfamiliar setting and that fear usually morphed into agitation which Cyan totally understood. What she found difficult to wrap her head around was where William’s animosity was coming from.

  ‘’Bro, what exactly is your problem?’’ Jordan asked. ‘’You always have something crappy to say.’’

  ‘’My problem, Jordan, is that we are not going to finish this case in time whilst dragging deadweight.’’ William answered. ‘’That’s the reason I decided to study this case alone. I would’ve explained that to David if he wasn’t so agitated. I figured that I should hold down the fort while everyone else coddled the rookie.’’

  Cyan didn’t have an easily brushed personality because she believed life was too short to take everything personally. That, and she was too young to develop wrinkle lines. William, in the few minutes that she had known him, had just become an exception to that. She wanted to take his head and squash it under her foot like a grasshopper. How dare he act condescending towards her as if she didn’t own any right to be here? As if she had never trained hard to work the case like everyone else. Cyan then realized that the energy that William was trying so hard to avoid, was in fact, hers.

  ‘’I think that’s enough, Will.’’ Preston said.

  ‘’Look, I'm just saying.’’ William continued. ‘’Cayana here hasn’t been working for six months. Six full months! I don’t know why and I don’t care to understand why. But I'm reasonably confused as to why everyone is okay with her being with us when all she is rotted metal. She would get us killed in the field. I bet those pretty fingers don’t even remember how to operate a firearm. Do they?”

  At this point, Cyan was ready to explode because not only did William mispronounce her name, but he questioned her capabilities. She was more than ready to gauge William’s eyeballs out of their sockets. She had a low tolerance for disrespect especially when it was unwarranted. The only reason she didn’t lunge at him was because she didn’t want to be labelled as the crazy new agent who couldn’t tap her control button when the provocateur was an obvious pompous jerk. So instead, she looked at him dead in the eye and silently challenged him. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

  ‘William!’’ Harper exclaimed. ‘’No one cares about how you feel. If you’re unhappy with the decision that has been made, you know the make and model of the front door. Most importantly, you know where it is.’’

  ‘’If anyone should be shown the door, it should be you Harper. I'm ten times the Agent that you are.’’ William snapped.

  ‘’William.’’ Evan warned. ‘’Stop.’’

  That warning from Evan only frightened him in his tracks for only seconds until he decided that he had to continue because no one was taking him seriously.

  William sighed. ‘’Evan, I hate conflict, okay? Maybe we can reach a compromise. I'm not thrilled that she’s here but maybe she can be of use. She can just do what we ask of her. Like an assistant. And she can learn from us from afar.’’

  If Cyan knew she was going to be offered a secretarial job by one of her teammates, she never would’ve come. Though William was extremely rude to her, Cyan tried to reach deep down into her inner calmness, very deep, into her being. Giving out emotion to callous people just like William was just the same as handing someone a gun to shoot you. Emotions were ammunition. People like William fed off from that. She wasn’t going to let William disrespect her or anyone else who was defending her. She just hoped that her voice was just as controlled as her facial features were. As she was about to maturely put William in his place, Nathan beat her to it.

  ‘’Her name is Cyan. Not Cayana.’’ Nathan corrected coldly. His voice as calm and controlled as the ocean while his facial expression displaying extreme annoyance. Nathan’s eyebrows were only so far apart while his lip curled upwards. ‘’In case you forgot that there is only one DEC in this room, I'm going to remind you.’’ Nathan continued. ‘’Evan and I are the quarterbacks of this team. Your job is to receive each and every pass we make to you. In simple words, you adhere to all the decisions that we make because they are only to build this team. Therefore, you are in no shape or form to go against Dave’s decisions or our orders.’’

  ‘’I was just saying-’’

  ‘’Under no circumstances should you ever question the value of any member of this team again.’’ Nathan ordered.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ‘’It’s just that in France-’’

  ‘’You’d better go back there then if you prefer the way they operate.’’ Nathan cut in. ‘’The day your opinion becomes relevant to the administrative area of our Division, I'll be there to let you know.’’

  She guessed the team rarely witnessed this side of Nathan because the silence in the room was louder than the outbreak of the chatter earlier. They all wore nervous and expectant expressions except Evan, whose expression showed that he shared Nathan’s sentiments.

  ‘’The next time you speak out of turn, I won’t be as calm.’’ Nathan finished.

  William seemed to digest what Nathan had said because his squared-up stance deflated like a popped helium balloon. He didn’t utter a single word after the verbal blow he had asked for.

  ‘’William, we prefer this kind of Nathan kept in a vault. We don’t like it when he is out here with us.’’ Jordan whispered.

  Attempted to whisper, Cyan corrected. Everyone could hear him. She was pretty sure that any passer-by on the road could hear him.

  ‘’Yeah. I think he scares me.’’ Harper shivered.

  That seemed to break the ice because everyone broke out in laughter. Everyone except William, who just folded his hands over his chest.

  ‘’Alright. We all heard what Dave said.’’ Nathan addressed. ‘’It’s all hands-on deck so Jay, you'll go to Josephine Mund’s residence and find out how Geoffrey lived his life at home. It might help us.’’

  ‘’Got it.’’

  ‘’Ev, you'll go with him?’’ Nathan asked.

  ‘’Sure.’’ Evan replied.

  Nathan acknowledged that by nodding his head.

  He resumed, ‘’Pres, you'll meet with the coroner. Her name is Carol Doak. Aria will text you the address.’’

  ‘’Alright.’’ Preston replied.

  ‘’Aria, you'll stay here and go through Geoffrey’s records.’’ Nathan instructed. ‘’Harp will stay here with you and you’ll do fact check together.’’

  ‘’On it.’’ Aria replied.

  ‘’Cyan is with me at Guildhall and we will process the crime scene.’’ Nathan said. ‘’William, you'll be coming with.’’

  Why? Cyan groaned inwardly. Orders were orders, she guessed.

  ‘’Is everyone clear on what they have to do?’’ Nathan asked.

  A chorus of yeses filled the room including Cyan’s.

  ‘’Good. Let’s go.’’

  ******

  Nathan, Cyan and William had driven from the house in the outskirts of town to the city where the Museum was situated. They had spent approximately forty-five minutes on the road until the Guildhall Museum came into view. The harshest forty-five minutes of Nathan’s day. On one hand, he had a sulking William staring out the passenger window, who was evidently unhappy with decisions that had been made concerning the newest addition to the team. And as much as such decisions were final, Nathan always took his teammates’ grievances into account. That was the kind of leader he was. On the other hand, he had a very offended Cyan who also stared outside her own window. And if he remembered correctly, Cyan never allowed her mood to change especially when she was on the job. To her, professionalism took precedence. Unfortunately for Cyan, Nathan knew her in ways not many did. He could read what she tried to hide. For instance, the way she always inhaled deeply whenever there was a gush of wind. It usually meant that she was using her all just to keep it together. At first, Nathan was a little surprised when he noticed that Cyan was not reactive to what William had said to her until a strong gale hit against their car and he heard her take several deep breaths. Nathan thought adding Cyan to be the eighth member of D12 was a well-thought-out decision. In fact, she was a really good addition. Why it was so difficult for William to accept the change was anyone’s guess. And bizarrely, this situation wasn’t as horrifying as some of the other issues he had to deal with in the past as DEC. At one time, Jay and Harper didn’t see eye to eye for days because of a ridiculous squabble they had had that escalated into something even more ridiculous. Their fight intensified where out of character insults were the order of the day even though the two were supposed to be best friends. The team had to intervene because their fight affected the efficiency of their work as a Unit. Harper would walk out of the room as soon as Jordan entered it and Jordan wouldn’t go on operations if it meant that she’d see Harper’s face at any point of it. This consequently resulted in D12 being two men short. After the whole team involved themselves in Jordan and Harper’s business, the two friends made up and everything was swell again. The intervention was quite quick because both parties missed each other and the hide and avoidance had worn them out. Nathan made a mental note to find out what it was they really fought about. His memory took him to another time Aria slept one night in a jail cell for physically assaulting another Division member who apparently insulted her. Aria reported that she had heard from a third party that a girl named Dionta, who was a member of Division 1, had insulted her skillset, commenting on how below average they were and that the best thing for her was to go back to her home country Cuba, where she could use her substandard skills to cure the technological deficiency there. This information, upon falling on Aria’s ears, resulted in Dionta receiving a hot slap to the face from Aria. The sequence of events didn’t really shock Nathan. He knew that women took it too far at times. He was just shocked that his timid Aria was capable of swiping someone across the face. As DEC, Nathan had to answer for that insubordinate behaviour to their Superiors and help them understand that this incident didn’t reveal or reflect anything about Aria’s character. She would never scratch another Agent’s face without cause. After using his charm on the Directors’, Nathan managed to convince them not to fire Aria but to let her go with a warning instead. After that debacle, Aria found that the third party that had initially approached her about Dionta gave her false information with many unnecessary additions. Dionta hadn’t said any of it. It was a DeAndre, another Technical Analyst, who expressed his dislike for Aria’s profession since they worked in the same field. ‘Work’ was a general term meaning ‘Data Analyst’ and not anything else that specifically related to the effort and projects that Aria did professionally.

  It was safe to say that Aria had overreacted a little.

  Nathan laughed inwardly and asked himself whether the members of his team were unique characters or if he was just simply heading a dysfunctional team. Nevertheless, he felt proud and quite relieved to say that the back and forth that happened in the debrief room was not the worst he had dealt with.

  When the Museum appeared in his peripheral vision, he let out a breath of relief. He could finally breathe real air again and not awkward oxygen. He parked their car right next to the other blue and white cruisers outside the entrance.

  ‘’We are here.’’ he announced and descended from their black Ford truck.

  The museum was a large white building marked with grey stripes down the entire structure with its bottom half stone-layered. It was surrounded by a black fence and average length black poles that were a few feet apart. It was a plain structure that lacked any outstanding details except for fading grey rectangles that were built into the building resembling prison windows, as well as the triangular asphalt shingle roof that had smaller triangular roofs positioned horizontally indicating different rooms. It looked exactly like what it was. A very old museum. In its aging, Nathan thought that the building was fairly captivating. But then again, perhaps it was just him. He always believed in the ‘less is more’ thing. They reached the black metal gates that were labelled ‘GUILDHALL MUSEUM’ on them. They opened to a towering stone-layered Cathedral to their left and a brick-layered building to their right. Nathan led the way to their right and entered the museum through the opaque automatic doors. Upon entering, they were introduced to a wide room that had colourful banners sitting at the corners of the room, waiting to present on the museum to whomever walked in. Objects such as ancient wooden shoes, drinking jars and combs were displayed in transparent glass cases with different banners sitting next to the display, explaining the history of the museum. The desk and chair where the receptionist would've been was empty. It was very chilly in the room, Nathan thought. He reflexively searched for the air conditioning system which he found attached on the left corner inches below the ceiling. He then noticed a camera stapled on the right corner below the ceiling.

  ‘’Will, security footage. See if you can get any visual.’’ He instructed.

  ‘’On it.’’ William answered as he moved towards the empty chair and the grey desktop.

  Nathan and Cyan left him behind and proceeded straight down a narrow hallway. They had taken only a few steps when they found a white chipped wooden door to their right with a sign written ‘GUILDHALL’ attached to it and exited the reception area through it. The other side of the door revealed an empty outside space surrounded by the rear end of all the museum’s buildings. It was the courtyard they saw on the screen back at the house. Yellow crime scene tapes printed, ‘DO NOT CROSS’ bordered the area where Geoffrey Adams was murdered. White tape outlined the cobblestone ground on the exact position he was found that morning. Uniformed police officers were scattered in the courtyard questioning witnesses, taking pictures of the crime scene and others scouring the area for any kind of evidence.

  As he was taking it all in, Nathan felt a light pat on his shoulder that motivated him to turn around. He was met by a man in a beige police uniform who was old enough to be in his fifties. He had a black buzz cut, marked with white hairs and a clean-shaven face. Typical military style. He had attached to him his badges, his holster, his firearm and his police radio.

  ‘’Agents.’’ he greeted. ‘’I’m Sergeant Bruce Hill. Our department answered the call.’’

  ‘’Sergeant. I'm Agent Nathaniel Caldwell.’’ Nathan introduced. ‘’With me is Agent Cyan Tufala and Agent William Bradford Jr. in the reception area.’’

  Cyan nodded her head in greeting.

  ‘’Mr. O’Connor informed me that his agents from the SSU would be coming.’’ Sergeant Bruce mentioned. He whistled in the direction of four police officers who were taking part in different evidence search protocols. Their heads perked up but only one ran towards Sergeant Bruce with a black bag strapped down across his torso.

  ‘’Sergeant.’’ the police officer responded in deep breaths as he stopped. He wore the same beige uniform as his superior but with less decorative badges.

  ‘’Officer Fills, these are the Agents from the SSU. Agent Nathaniel Caldwell and Agent Cayenne Tufama.’’ Sergeant Bruce introduced.

  Nathan felt Cyan tense up beside him. He knew she hated it whenever her name was mispronounced. The Sergeant couldn’t have made it any worse by calling her the name of a spice.

  ‘’Cyan Tufala, Sir.’’ Cyan corrected.

  ‘’Uh, yes. Sorry.’’ Sergeant answered gruffly.

  Officer Fills’ eyes widened with surprise. Nathan saw that exact look on a few police officers he had met when he was introduced as an SSU Agent or whenever he flashed his badge. He guessed he understood why they all reacted that way. SSU was a unique unit. It specialized in homicides, international terrorism and drug trades operated across borders, making it one of the most exhilarating Organisations to be a part of. Anyone who was focused on doing something big for the world wanted to be a part of it because it was extremely impressive. It moulded the best Agents in all aspects; strong physically and sound mentally. Emotions weren’t easily tamed but the Agency did try it’s best to help Agents make it there. What outsiders didn’t know was that the Agency churned you inside out like dirty laundry in order to make sure you were ready to handle the harsh realities of the world. Only a few could withstand that pressure. If only Officer Fills knew what it took to be in this impressive Organisation; to forget yourself and apply your whole being to the job. Most, if not all SSU members experienced this sacrifice at some point in their career.

  Fills handed the bag to Sergeant Bruce. The Sergeant opened it and took out three, small transparent plastic bags. Evidence bags. One contained a black leather wallet, the other contained a smartphone and the last bag carried the shell casing of a bullet.

  ‘’We found his wallet and his mobile phone on him. Nothing was taken. He wasn’t robbed which means, as you know, this wasn’t any ordinary murder.’’

  Nathan took out two pairs of black rubber gloves from his pocket and handed the other pair to Cyan. They both put them on and retrieved the transparent bags from Officer Fills; Nathan with the wallet and Cyan with the phone. Nathan opened up the Geoffrey’s worn out leather brown wallet. The first thing he saw was a small family picture tucked into a little outlet in his wallet. Him at the back, a slender blonde woman and young boy with a head full of hair next to him. Bright faces and bright smiles. Nathan surmised that whenever Geoffrey opened his wallet, the picture of himself, Josephine and her little boy would’ve been the first thing he saw. Nathan expanded the wallet a little further and found his identity card and his driver’s license. He found his bank cards and a few frozen yogurt vouchers which pretty much summed it up in that area. He opened the compartment that money was kept in. All Nathan could see was petty cash. Pounds here and some pennies there. Just when he thought that he couldn’t get much from the wallet, his eyes made contact with a small transparent sachet. In it was white powder the shade of snow. Before he took it out to confirm what it was, he heard Cyan groan loudly.

  ‘’Why does Geoffrey have a thousand passwords on his phone?’’ she asked.

  ‘’Do you have a password on your phone?’’ Nathan asked.

  ‘'Yeah.’’ Cyan answered certainly.

  ‘’Then why wouldn’t a criminal have one?’’

  ‘’Good point.’’ Cyan shrugged.

  ‘’We can take it to the LPD lab to remove the password.’’ Sergeant Bruce offered.

  ‘'Thank you but we’ll take it back to our quarters and have our Analyst take care of it.’’ Nathan declined.

  ‘‘Of course. Actually, I’d like you to pay particular attention to the casing of the bullet.’’ Sergeant Bruce said as he pointed to the third transparent bag that he was holding.

  Cyan moved her head closer to take a better look at the casing.

  ‘’Rimless bottleneck.’’ she analysed. ‘’Were tests done on this?’’

  ‘’Yes. The tests came out positive for a 6-inch Remington Magnum.’’ Sergeant replied.

  Nathan exchanged glances with Cyan.

  ‘’So, we were correct about the firearm.’’ Cyan said.

  ‘’Where did you find the casing?’’ Nathan asked.

  Sergeant Bruce led the way to the white tape that boarded the shape of Geoffrey’s body inside the ‘DO NOT CROSS’ area. Bruce pointed to a spot just outside the white tape where Geoffrey’s head was.

  ‘’Right here.’’ he answered.

  ‘’Are you sure the shell was found right here?’’ Nathan asked.

  ‘’Hundred percent. We didn’t remove it.’’ Sergeant Bruce replied.

  ‘Hm.’’ Nathan scrutinized.

  He noticed Cyan eyeing him curiously.

  ‘’What are you thinking?’’ she asked him.

  ‘’The bullet was found here.’’ Nathan began as he walked around surveying the area around the bullet. He was careful not to get Geoffrey’s semi-dried blood on his white sneakers. ‘’And the blood is more or less in one place meaning he was shot and killed in this exact spot. He wasn’t dragged or dumped post-mortem.’’

  ‘’Why leave his body here?’’ Sergeant asked. ‘’The perpetrators didn’t even try to hide it.’’

  ‘’We think the perps are targeting a specific person and all these events they’ve caused are to get their attention.’’ Nathan answered.

  ‘’They also believe in the concept of truth judging by that note they left, so we can assume that anything they’ve done and will do in the future will be out in the open. Full transparency.’’ Cyan added. ‘’They don’t believe in secrets.’’

  ‘’What was our victim doing here so late anyway?’’ Officer Fills asked.

  ‘’He could’ve been brought here by the shooter. Threatened by him.’’ Sergeant Bruce suggested.

  ‘’I’m not sure about that because his 2004 Honda Civic is parked out in the front.’’ Officer Fills contested. ‘’According to the miles on his car, he arrived here between the hours of midnight and 02:00a.m.’’

  ‘’What was Geoffrey Adams doing here at midnight anyway? Isn't this place closed after 21:00hrs?’’ Sergeant asked.

  ‘’I’d also like to know.’' Cyan responded. ‘’It’s worrying that he would be here at that time.’’

  ‘’Very worrying.’’ Nathan agreed. ‘’Him being here at the museum at that time probably has a lot to do with why he was shot.’’

  ‘’Are you implying that he did something wrong?’’ Officer Fills asked.

  ‘’We are not yet sure of his motive for being here at uncouth hours of the day but it doesn’t look good for him.’’ Nathan responded.

  ‘’Who found the body?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’The receptionist found him lying here when she arrived for her morning shift.’’ the Sergeant answered.

  ‘’Is she still around?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘'Officer.’’ Sergeant Bruce said to Officer Fills.

  Fills understood what he had to do because he left for a minute and came back with a pale lady. Red eyes, smudged make-up and hair strands everywhere. Her white blouse and black skirt were creased and a towel was wrapped around her shoulders to cover her. She was beyond distraught.

  ‘’Lisa, these Agents would like to speak with you.’’ Sergeant told the receptionist. ‘’They want to know more about what you saw this morning.’’

  She didn’t answer. The police presence was probably making her nervous, Nathan thought.

  ‘’Thank you, Sergeant. We will take it from here.’’ Nathan said.

  ‘’Yes. We'll leave you to it. If you need anything, just shout.’’ Sergeant Bruce offered.

  Cyan waited until Bruce and Fills were out of earshot to talk to Lisa.

  ‘’Hi, Lisa. I'm Cyan and next to me is...my friend, Nathan.’’ Cyan introduced sweetly. ‘’Sergeant Bruce told us you found Geoffrey this morning.’’

  Lisa’s eyes were still glued to the ground.

  Cyan continued softly. ‘’We know that this is very hard for you, honey but we are going to ask you a few questions. Is that okay with you?’’

  Lisa nodded.

  ‘’Alright. What time did you arrive for your shift today?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’7.’’ Lisa answered quietly.

  ‘’When you walked into your office, what did you do first?’’

  ‘’I put my handbag under my desk and then I checked my emails.’’

  ‘’What did you do next?’’

  ‘’I made some coffee. Strong coffee. After that, I sat on my chair to drink it.’’

  ‘’Why did you make strong coffee?’’

  ‘’I was feeling a little nauseous. I had a bad burrito the night before.’’ Lisa said hesitantly.

  ‘’Is that what prompted you to go outside?’’ Cyan asked. ‘’Fresh air?’’

  ‘’Yes. I went into the courtyard for some air and that’s when...’’ Lisa choked. She began to shiver.

  ‘’It’s alright. Take your time.’’ Nathan soothed her. ‘’Take a deep breath.’’

  She inhaled, exhaled and continued. ‘’I found Geoff here, lying on the ground with his eyes open. I called out his name but he didn’t answer. So, I walked towards him because he wasn’t moving and when I got closer, I realized that he had been shot.’’

  Geoff?

  ‘’You shortened his name to ‘Geoff’.’’ Cyan repeated. ‘’Did the two of you know each other?’’

  ‘’Yeah, it was hard not to. He was my friend. We worked together.’’

  Nathan heard himself take an uneven breath. How did they miss the fact that Geoffrey worked in the same museum that he was murdered in?

  ‘’Geoffrey worked here? At the museum?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’Yeah. He was a part-time janitor. He would clean up and lock. He always told me that his finances were tight and that he needed this job to generate income. Sometimes, he would bring his sculptures to the museum and ask Admin to sell them for extra cash.’’

  ‘’Thank you, Lisa. You did good.’’ Nathan thanked and Lisa wobbled away.

  In that moment, a cold, powerful gush lifted Nathan’s denim jacket, causing it to perform somersaults in the air. He noticed that Cyan’s thin braids were also moved by the wind, dancing around her until her gentle hands took her hair tie from her wrist and arrested them into a ponytail. She had let down her hair at some point during their trip but the wind had proven to be an irritation.

  He couldn’t help but watch her. She didn’t have to do much to get his attention. She could've been doing as little as tying her loose hair into a ponytail and it would've taken everything in him not to stare. Because he hadn’t seen her in months, he felt deprived of her that any chance he got to slip in a look, he’d take it.

  Silly of him to think that it would be easy. That it wouldn't be this difficult to be around her and not crave her touch.

  He guessed some things hadn't changed.

  ‘’Do you think it makes sense for Geoffrey to work here whilst being a thug on the side?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’Yes, it would. To present a normal appearance, I suppose. Plus, if we are correct, I don’t think he was receiving much money from his side jobs. He was working for his debt therefore he needed another form of income to subsidize.’’ Nathan answered.

  ‘’So, he was a legit worker here.’’ Cyan said. ‘’That doesn’t answer why he was here at odd hours even for a worker. Why was he here?’’

  ‘’I think I might be able to answer that.’’

  Nathan turned around to see Will holding a tablet in both his hands. He must’ve used the white door that Nathan and Cyan had used to enter the courtyard. They hadn’t heard him with all the ruckus that was going on.

  ‘’Aria accessed the security footage and uploaded it onto this tablet.’’ William informed. ‘’You need to take a look.’’

  Nathan’s eyes fell on four grids on the tablet William was holding. He realized that the four grids on the screen represented four different cameras placed in different places in the museum. His eyes focused on the camera on the bottom right corner that showed the courtyard. Activity was low in the beginning to the point where Nathan grew impatient.

  ‘’Bradford, what exactly are we looking at?’’ he asked tightly.

  ‘’Just look.’’ William chided.

  An alive Geoffrey Adams appeared seconds letter in the first grid that showed the museum entrance. He approached the front doors, reached into his pocket and retrieved a small key. He unlocked the doors and they opened for him. He was wearing the same clothes he was found dead in, a shirt and jeans. Except in the video, he looked less dishevelled and less...dead. The doors opened for him and he walked into the first room, checked if there was anyone around and proceeded to advance to the next room. He opened the glass display case of jars and combs, the one Nathan and Cyan had passed on their way to the courtyard, and his hand reached out for the large jar. From the jar, he pulled a wide ward of cash and put the jar back in the display case.

  Adams' body froze. His head perked up showing that he had heard something. The entrance camera showed a tall figure wearing a pair of pants and a t-shirt with a cap that obscured his face from the camera. The doors automatically opened and he stepped in. Adams took off with impeccable speed and opened the door to the courtyard. He closed the door a little too hard and attempted to lock it with the key he had used to unlock the automatic doors. He didn’t do it in time because the suspicious figure pushed through the door and entered the courtyard. Adams held up his hands to ward him off as the other man advanced towards him. The video footage was soundless but it looked as if Goeffrey tried to talk to that man who was after him. Pleading, to be exact, because his palms were stuck together in the same way one would if they were praying or begging.

  The other man took out his rifle and pointed it at Geoffrey.

  At this stage, Geoffrey was shaking uncontrollably and in a blink of an eye, the other figure pulled the trigger and Geoffrey’s body fell to the ground. He put his firearm back in his belt and went back the same way he came. The first grid showed him leaving the entrance doors and that was the last of him.

  ‘’So, this mystery man followed Geoffrey here. There's no other way he would've walked confidently in the museum knowing it was unlocked. He watched Geoffrey unlock the doors.’’ Nathan pointed out.

  ‘’It was as if Geoffrey knew exactly what was going to happen because he didn’t wait to see who had entered the museum before he ran towards the door.’’ Cyan said. ‘’He already knew who it was.’’

  ‘’The running, the pleading. Poor Geoffrey did something that landed him here in this courtyard. Dead.’’ William commented.

  ‘’And the money Geoffrey took out of that jar? What was all that about?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’So, while I was watching the footage, there was an officer watching it with me. Once we saw where Geoffrey pulled out that money, we checked if there was any more in the other display cases.’’ William explained.

  ‘’Let me guess. There was more money hidden in different artifacts in the display cases.’’ Cyan suggested.

  ‘’No.’’ William refused. ‘’Actually, it was...’’

  Nathan felt a vibrating sensation inside his denim jacket. The sound of his ringing phone cut William short.

  ‘’Sorry.’’ Nathan apologised as he opened his denim jacket to retrieve his phone. The caller ID told him that Evan was calling and so he answered.

  ‘’What’s up?’’ he answered.

  ‘’Jordan and I are done at the Davies’ household. We are about to leave.’’ Evan informed him.

  ‘’Did you get a chance to speak to Josephine?’’

  ‘’She’s inconsolable at the moment. But she doesn’t have the slightest idea of who could've been behind this.’’

  ‘’Yeah, pretty inconsolable for a love rat.’’ Jordan mumbled in the back.

  Nathan heard a loud pat and an ‘’Ouch!’’ from Jordan.

  ‘’Well, she is entitled to her grief regardless of what she did in the past. Geoffrey was a part of her life.’’ Nathan replied optimistically. ‘’Anything helpful from her?’’

  ‘’She did say a few interesting things.’' Evan said.

  ‘’Hold on. I’m putting you on speaker. Cyan and Will are here.’’ Nathan told them.

  ‘’So, Josie told us that ever since her ex-husband started experiencing troubles at his job, he was an absolute mess. He was bummed out that he wasn’t making enough to provide for his family so he picked a new hustle. Sculpting.’’ Evan reported.

  ‘’We learned that Geoffrey was a sculptor from the Museum’s receptionist. We didn’t know he started this sculpting thing before he lost his office job.’’ Cyan said. ‘

  'Apparently, he just did it as a hobby but decided to make a habit of it after his income was cut.’’ Evan answered.

  ‘’He sold his sculptures for a bit of money.’’ Jordan continued. ‘’But given where Josie Joe is living now, I’d say that it wasn’t that much.’’

  ‘’She also said that after Geoffrey found out that she had been unfaithful, one night, he came back home high like the sky. It was just cannabis, apparently.’’ Evan said. ‘’But when she eventually left Geoffrey for the father of her child, she said it was because Geoffrey was becoming erratic and unstable. Yeah, ‘unstable’ was the word she used.’’

  ‘'He was using?’’ Cyan asked.

  ‘’It wouldn’t surprise me.’’ Will said.

  ‘’Why wouldn’t it?’’ Evan asked.

  ‘’Not only were wards of money found in numerous parts of the museum but little sachets of powder were found in one of the artifacts in the display cases.’’ William explained.

  ‘’Powder, powder?’’ Jordan asked.

  ‘’No way.’’ Cyan breathed.

  ‘’How many?’’ Nathan asked.

  ‘’Thirty.’’ William answered. ‘’Pure, A-grade. Ninety-five percent.’’

  Nathan thought back to the little sachet of powder he found in Geoffrey’s wallet. He wasn’t sure it was really powder at first but with all these revelations, it was confirmed.

  ‘’I guess that would explain the sachet I found in his wallet.’’ Nathan reported.

  He opened the wallet that he was still holding and took out the little transparent plastic.

  ‘’Those were definitely for sale because he couldn’t have been using them all without killing himself.’’ William pointed out.

  ‘’We can add another skill to our DOA’s resume.’’ Jordan said sardonically

  ‘’It explains why Geoffrey was here so late.’’ Cyan realized. ‘’’He was part of a drug scheme in the museum.''