Page 51 of Shattered

"I know, I feel the same. Go take a break. Then get back to your desk to type up those notes, please. You can go home and rest when you're done with them."

"I will."

I look at the clock that's on the wall; it's 3:00 p.m. I'll be out of here by four. Then, I can take a much-needed shower and nap. I'll even text Daphne that she can come over. I head to the bathroom, then I'll go to the break room and grab my salad to eat at my desk. Back at my desk, I start eating and typing away.

***

I get the call at 6:00 p.m. It woke me up from my nap. I was disoriented for a few minutes when I answered, but then the message came in clear. Daphne is missing. She didn't come back to the building. I didn't even realize that I didn't get a drink this morning. I'm so dumb, worrying about this case instead of checking up on Daphne. No, I cannot blame that little girl for this. Daphne would have ridiculed me for just the thought alone.

They don't know who did it; they don't have much information. But get one thing clear: I will stop at nothing to find

her. I am going to rip this city apart; no one takes something that is mine.

I pull on clothes, just whatever I can find first. Sweatpants and a hoodie. I don't even think I lock the door, racing outside. I sprint to the FBI building. I believe this is my record time of getting here. The guy at the desk doesn't even question me. He lets me pass. Nisa, l must've told him I was coming to just let me through, no questions asked. I rush up to the conference room, basically pacing in the elevator that takes so long. There are already other agents here. When one of our own goes missing, we usually are all in.

I find Nisa in the front of the room. "What is going on? Tell me everything."

I must look crazy because her eyes go soft. She doesn't go soft for anyone. It must really be bad.

"We really don't know much of anything yet. All we know is she hasn't returned to the office after letting me know she was getting Starbucks earlier. She told the security guard at the door that she would be right back, and he just noticed that Daphne did, in fact, not come back. I've called her cell, no answer. I already sent two agents to her apartment. It's empty. She's missing."

"Does this have something to do with her uncle?"

"Ah, so she told you about him. At this point, we are assuming it has something to do with him. We aren't sure yet; Marcelo has been very quiet lately." Yeah, I already know that.

"So where do we start."

"We are starting by locating her phone. It's still on, and it puts the phone at this location. It's close to the Starbucks that she goes to. But I'm guessing that it's just the phone and not Daphne there. It's just a sidewalk in front of a store."

"Who's going there?"

"Two agents are already on their way."

"What if they miss something. You should've sent me."

"Archer, you are in no way helpful when you are acting like this. I know how you feel about her. You would simply act too rash right now." I know she's right, but it's a hard pill to swallow. She's been missing for hours already. She could be anywhere in the city. Hell, she could be outside of the town by now.

"Archer, take a seat. I called you because I knew you would be so mad at me if I didn't. You can stay in here when we find every piece of evidence."

I take a seat. "You already know that if we get a tip on where she is, I will be flying through that door. No one will stop me. Not unless you all shoot me."

"I already know that. Nobody will try to stop you, including myself. Now take a breather." I don't know how she thinks that's possible when Daphne could be out there. Experiencing what that little girl experienced. I tighten my fists. Daphne knows how to fight. Her uncle taught her she would find a way out of this.

"What about her sister, Cordelia. Is she safe?"

"She lives a little farther. We have people on it going to see if she's home. If she's not, then we can safely say this has something to do with their uncle. If she is home, then this is personal. We are already going through the most dangerous people that Daphne helped put away. Seeing if any of them have connections against her uncle. Seeing if this is a retaliation for one of their own. I couldn't imagine that they would be targeting people who work for the FBI, but you never know these days. People are getting more and more ballsy."

"Don't I know it? Nisa, what if-"

"Don't you dare say anything of that sort. We will find her. She will be safe soon enough. I don't want those words coming out of your mouth, let alone you thinking them. That's an order, understood?"

"Understood."

I sit in the seat with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Wondering what I would do if Daphne got seriously hurt. If she never came home to me. Fuck.

Chapter Eighteen

Archer

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