Page 10 of Hidden Depths

He stood from his desk and pulled his suit coat off the back of his chair, putting it on. As he adjusted the collar, he looked at Barlow at a nearby desk. He was frowning. Tom gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

“Cute. But cute won’t cut it in there,” Barlow grumbled when Tom walked past him.

“Why shouldn’t it? We got our man.”

“Yeah, well, good luck.”

“Don’t need it.”

He went to Armstrong’s office and stood in the door. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Close the door, and have a seat.”

Tom did as he was asked. He knew how this would go down. It wasn’t the first time Armstrong had a sober word with him. Whether his boss gave him the slap on the wrist with curses, or quietly, Tom was ready for his punishment, confident that, after all the boxes were ticked, he could get back to work. Even if Armstrong was frustrated with his actions, Tom knew they’d never take him out of the field. He was too valuable.

“Before you get out your stick,” Tom said as he sat, “just be aware my wrists are still sore.” He rubbed at the skin that was scabbed in places.

After removing his black-rimmed glasses, Armstrong leaned forward in his chair so he could rest his forearms on his desk.

His close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair that was beginning to recede only enhanced the severity of his large forehead, giving further credence to the nickname, The Bull, given to him in his previous years as a field agent. He was intimidating if you weren’t prepared for him.

Tom offered him a slight nod in expectation of the talking down he was about to get.

“What you did was irresponsible.”

“It was risky, sir. But I disagree that it was irresponsible. Irresponsible suggests I didn’t plan and was unprepared for the unexpected. I was neither of those things.” He held back a confident grin. He’d endured hours of torture. He could endure this grilling.

“I don’t know if you recall, but that’s what you said last time. And yet, here we are again.”

“I understand, but—”

“You disobeyed a direct order to stand down.”

“With all due respect—”

“A direct order, Agent. That’s insubordination. Youshouldbe suspended.”

“But I’m not.”

“You want to know why?”

“Because my plan worked.”

“Your plan? You mean the plan that your team was forced to carry out because of your disobedience? You put lives at risk, Agent Bennett.”

“The only one who was at risk was me.”

Armstrong slammed a hand on the desk, then pursed his lips when Tom didn’t flinch. “Your life is as important as everyone else’s here. Do you understand? I have a responsibility to look after you in the same way I look after the rest.”

“We risk our lives every day. It’s part of the job. A job that I do very well. That was why you put me on this case.”

“And I regret I did.”

“Harrison was a good catch, and you know it. You’ve been after him for a year, and now, I’ve given you an airtight case against him. That wasn’t shoddy work I did out there, sir. It was well planned out and executed.”

“You could have died.”

“But I didn’t.”

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