Page 26 of Cohesion

“Neither of you have ever really explained what it is that you all do,” Quinn said. “Disposing of bodies. Undercover work. Getting involved in police investigations. Rubbing shoulders with politicians.”

“It’s quite simple,” Hunter said. “We do what no one else is willing to do to keep the streets safe. Now, we only have you for a short time, Detective Hughes, and I’d like to make the most of it.”

Quinn stepped up to the board, frowning. “This is my case.”

“Our case,” Jericho corrected. “Technically we had it first. And it’s not yours anymore.”

“Right. Greer. Who is somehow also involved with all of you.”

“Some more than others,” Hunter said, clearly biting back a smile.

Six stood and stretched. “On that note, I am out of here. I have a whole bunch of people to piss off, a hornet’s nest to stir up, and some honey pots to dig into. P, I’ll have your computer ready to go… this week, probably. You can use J’s if you need anything in the meantime.”

“Are you going alone?” Hunter asked mildly.

“Yeah.” Six blinked at Hunter and then slowly shook his head. “… no?”

Hunter looked at Moira, who stood with a sigh. “Fine. But he’s buying me lunch.”

“Deal.”

“You can’t make a dealfor me,” Six sputtered. “Especially if it involvesmy ownmoney.”

“We already shook on it,” Moira said dismissively. She shoved him forward with a hand on his nape. “Let’s go, numeral.”

“Welcome to the madhouse,” Hunter said.

“I grew up with five brothers,” Peyton said. “This is nothing.”

“How did you find out that Arthur Mulhall and Errol Derrick were stepbrothers?” Quinn asked, still studying the board. Helifted the bottom of the mug shot they had of Mulhall with one finger, the pin keeping it in place. “Or about the organisation that he ran. Melbourne is a long way from here. Your reach extends that far?”

“Occasionally. We also have contacts there,” Hunter said. “They allow us to move around the streets freely and get what we need.”

“Contacts?” Peyton questioned.

“Don’t expect us to give up everything on day one, Sinclair,” Hunter said. “Trust is earned, not given. It doesn’t matter how we got the information, only that we have it.”

“When it goes to court, it matters. Anything gained by ill means is dismissible.” Quinn dropped the picture. “I won’t deal in anything illegal. I don’t care what your methods are, this all needs to hold up in court when we catch Mulhall.”

“If it gets to court, we’ll ensure that everything is above board,” Hunter said simply. “The same way that we’re going to ensure that Sweeney stays behind bars. Your boyfriend isn’t on our payroll just because he’s pretty.”

Quinn’s frown deepened. There was no way he hadn’t caught the deliberate conjunction.Ifit went to court, not when. Most of the cases they dealt with didn’t get that far. They were paid handsomely to deal with it quickly and quietly. The ones that they couldn’t contain… that was what they had Sebastian, and others, for.

“Youpayhim?” Peyton questioned.

“Not with money,” Hunter said, smirking.

Peyton and Quinn turned to Jericho, who blinked. The fuck were they looking at him for? He hadn’t evenmetSebastian until a few weeks ago. He’d been a name on a piece of paper that meant nothing to him for a long time. He didn’t deal with that side of shit.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Peyton asked, his top lip curling.

Oh. “He means information,” Jericho said. “We give him information. Can you quit that?”

“He’s making it too easy,” Hunter replied. The twinkle in his eye reminded Jericho of the terror streak he’d had as a child. Some things couldn’t be grown out of.

“Moving on. We think Mulhall is here to finish what Sweeney started,” Jericho said, steering the conversation back to the case. He tapped the case files they had from when Will and his team had raided the house he’d been working undercover. “Errol and Dane were conveniently not on the premises when a TOU team, led by Will, raided the drug house. Three of the men arrested were represented by one Alan Randall. Sebastian represented me. Out of those men, I’m the only one still alive. I was also the only one that got released within days.”

“Which is why Errol and Dane targeted him,” Quinn said.

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