Page 49 of Coming Up Aces

Someone’s been in here.

Rayna pulled her weapon from the holster.Are they still here?

No. But it smells like Seth.

Yeah, he was supposed to be here to start my car once a week.

Her Cheetah grumbled, but Rayna ignored her. Once she was behind the wheel, she pushed the button, and it started right up. While working, she drove a company vehicle, but she didn’t plan on being employed much longer, so she didn’t go by the office to swap.

The drive to Ray Brook normally took two and a half hours, but Rayna stopped at a drive-thru for chicken nuggets and fries. When she arrived at the facility, she went through the standard security protocol. Once inside, she made her way to the desk of Special Agent Carl Sartain whom she worked with when interrogating Spencer.

“Agent Bellamy, it’s been a minute,” he said in greeting.

“That it has.” Rayna lowered her voice. “Have you seen Seth?”

Carl leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “Not since David Spencer was transferred. Is Seth no longer your partner?”

“He is.” Rayna had always trusted Carl, but now she didn’t know whether she should confide in him. Taking a big chance, she shared, “But there are strange things going on in our office,like the deputy director answering Seth’s phone and refusing to tell me where he is.”

“That’s fucked up. Do you think McCauley’s in trouble?”

“I do. I went undercover, and when I… took myself out of the situation, Seth warned me to stay away from the office. He was looking into something, and it could be that he found proof of wrongdoing.” Rayna couldn’t come right out and accuse their boss.

Careful. He smells… hostile.

“Wait, you said transferred. Seth told me Grissom made a deal with the GIA to release Spencer.”

“Then he lied to you. McCauley’s paperwork showed he was moving Spencer to a high-security facility.”

“Seth’s paperwork?”

“Yes. He was the one who picked Spencer up.”

“Fuck,” Rayna muttered. “Spencer was not taken to another facility. If he was, he escaped because yesterday he showed up at one of The Ministry’s compounds and got in a shootout with a guard. Spencer’s mother and the guard are dead, and an innocent bystander was struck by a stray bullet. Now Spencer is missing, and my partner could be as well. His wife hasn’t heard from him since yesterday morning.”

“There are protocols in place for transfers. If he didn’t show up within the designated timeframe, someone would have been notified.”

“Unless the paperwork was never filed. Do you know which facility he was supposed to go to?”

“Canaan in Pennsylvania. Hang on.” Carl leaned forward and tapped his keyboard. “Sonofabitch.” Carl ran a hand down his face. “There’s no record of the transfer.”

“Spencerisone of the best hackers out there.”

Carl spread his hands. “What if the paperwork was a false trail, and Seth took Spencer to meet with a GIA agent?”

“Then he would have told me that’s what happened.”Wouldn’t he?

“Rayna, you know your partner better than anyone.”

“I do, and that’s why I will not for one second believe he had anything to do with Spencer not being where he was supposed to be.”

Carl’s eyes flashed with something akin to disbelief. It could have been pity, but he masked it quickly. “Where’s Hanson in all of this?”

“According to Seth, he sent an inner office memo saying he was going out of town. Grissom stopped by the office Monday asking for Hanson’s whereabouts. There are too many things that don’t add up about all of this.” She wouldn’t admit to Carl that the Hounds were doing their own research in the background. Speaking of, she wondered if Bishop or Lachlan had made any progress.

“I agree. What are you going to do now?”

Rayna sighed. “Go to the office and confront Grissom.”

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