Page 59 of Drift

Light snorted, but the rules were still so rigid regarding any hazardous material he handled. Trust would always remain low. It would until Light showed trust Gray’s way, and that seemed a long way off. For now, Gray gave him some leeway by not chasing what he was doing with the explosive hazard, mostly because he could see this came from Cal on a new project. Light’s unique head with naming chemicals through colour was… too damn sharp not to get on side as well.

“Jan okay? Jack?”

Simon wouldn’t have told him about the footage of Jack he’d pieced together. That had been marked as classified, so this was a sincere ask off Light.

“Getting there.” It had been Gray’s reply for the past two years. Light respected it enough to not ask for anything more. Gray protected Jan and Jack from a threat as much as Light tried to do with Simon. And Light had been one hell of a threat.

Gray pulled up around back by the summerhouse thirty minutes later, just after seven, and breathed a little easier with it. Simon handled both cases, leaving Light with the overnight bag as Light headed on in, but as Simon went to follow, Gray called him to a stop. “What’s your problem over the Boron Trichloride?”

Simon dug a hand in his suit pocket and offered a small smile. “You picked up on that, huh?”

“Profiler,” said Gray.

Simon tensed his jaw, hand digging deeper in his pockets. “It’s not that case that bothers me.” He glanced back, not looking happy as Light made it into the summerhouse. “He won’t disclose what he is handling in a new case, and he’s putting me on the bench when he neutralises it.” He found Gray again. “He’s going in alone.”

Non-disclosure? And going in alone? Was he now…? Gray eased against the bonnet, folding his arms. “That Cal’s requirement, or his?”

Simon shook his head. “He says Cal, but I know it’s him.” He sucked in a breath. “There’s that biting look off him lately, like he wastes more time being annoyed over where I’m standing than he does over which poison he’s deconstructing. He needs to learn he’s not my babysitter out there. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than he has.”

Gray winced. Light was clear over how he’d never mix a poisonous composition for intelligence services, but he wouldwork out what had been used, who’d used it, and how best to counter it in the field, but he still struggled on the emotional side with Simon. If he carried on, he’d lose him because of it. Despite how far he’d come training under Gray, Simon’s martial arts skills weren’t Light’s, and his knowledge of chemicals wouldn’t touch his either, period: but that damn head of his under the tag Konami on the Internet that had more than caught Light out a few times and gotten him arrested was another main reason why Cal wanted Light: he had Simon. They came as a lethal package. Light had yet to see that. Life wasn’t all about him. The spy business was just that: an interwoven web of people, and Cal had been playing the strings the longest. He slowly weaved silk to connect them all, in part for family, but in most part because he wasn’t called Ferryman for nothing. But there was also that quiet from Cal on the grandfather front where Light was concerned, how he kept Light focused on his chemicals in order to help those around him instead of cull.

Gray agreed with him there.

“He partners with you or not at all,” Gray said flatly. “Make him understand that before I do.”

Simon snorted a bitter smile, and he looked away before finding Gray again. “I want back in with MI5 on an official consultant basis.” He shook his head. “Doing nothing is killing me. In between training operations with MI6 and occasional dog treats from Ray and MI5, I’m… I’m hacking into The Bank of England’s CEO’s home, forget the bank itself, and cutting all his smart appliances before getting him to pay for my security program, all just for the kicks.” He winced. “I’ve not done that in decades.”

Gray scratched at his jaw, tried to bury a smile. Yeah, he really missed Simon’s… way with technology. “Don’t let me catchyou doing that from here.” He snorted, knowing Simon would run rings around anyone who tried to look. “With Light: make it work,” he added eventually. “As Ferryman, Cal is operation’s organiser for MI6, but you have the final say on where Light goes, no one else. How you keep him alive will dictate what comes your way in any career youthinkyou need.”

Simon gave a disgruntled sigh, none of the tension easing from his shoulders.

Light was still learning to connect, and Gray wouldn’t allow Simon to lose patience with how he was here to anchor him and call no on his getting too lost as well. But when it came to Simon getting back into MI5: that wouldn’t ever be Gray’s decision. It would be Simon’s and how he taught Light how to deal with not treating Simon as his possession.

Gray looked back at the manor’s kitchen, at how Jan sat working at the table. He’d taken on some of Chris’s case load almost as penance, and Jack slipped a coffee next to him, some food, and that was Jack’s quiet penance, or a way to make sure Jan was okay and going through his stomach to do it.

“Files were corrupted.” It came quietly off Simon as his look stayed on Jack and Jan as well. “I also made sure the parts Jack had already wiped were erased completely too in case anyone works around the corrupted data.” He frowned. “He knows his cars and did a good job, just not good enough at my level with tech.”

Gray nodded. “That include deleting evidence on Ray’s and the MC too?”

“Of course. I’ve handled the tech remotely when it comes to what the MC had stored. I also checked for files with the Met, but nothing had been passed over. Looks like they suspect no foulplay.” Simon rubbed distractedly at his jaw. “Is he on lockdown? Jack.”

Gray shook his head. “He had a meeting with Halliday this morning. Medication has been adjusted in relation to the walk back into Vince’s factory he’s been taking.” Jack had kept to the gag order over not telling Halliday about Chris.

“Okay. I’ll…” He winced. “I’ll keep Light out of his way as best as possible. The way they both are lately….”

Gray nodded, and heart a little too heavy, he headed back for the manor. He wouldn’t disturb Raif with his look into Jude. Jan had asked him to handle it, Jack had said yes unless it ran into any trouble. It was hard for Gray to step back here, but seeing Jack was easing back too, Gray took the step back with him. He knew if it got hard for Raif, he’d get the call.

For now his focus was back with the breaking news on the Soames case.

He trusted his gut. Something big was coming.

Damn unfortunate there’d been no DNA match on his witness. Gray would have really liked a word intheirear.

Light stood at the kitchen window, his attention on the manor’s conservatory as he put Simon’s mug by the coffee machine. Despite the darkness, the hue of coloured particles surrounding the manor were too bright, too off, like the Northern Lightsgetting hit too hard with CMEs and calling out a harder distress as it tried to calm in the aftermath. It itched and burned on contact, even from here, and most of it surrounded Gray.

Light held out his hand, how it shook slightly.

“You all right? You want a hot chocolate?”

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