Stolen - The Devereaux Case Files Book 4

Chapter 5

Reed took the tube straight from his office to a little cottage down by Central Park, where he knew an old friend from his teenager years. He had been packing to leave England the last time they saw each other, but with constant contact over the years, Reed knew exactly where to find him. He no longer worked with the CIA but still maintained his contacts for any 'rainy days' when they might come in handy. And if anything, those were the contacts Reed needed now.

He couldn't wrap his head around the FBI letting go of Blake. He was wanted for so many different things, was a fairly big fish and a major catch for the lead investigator who had taken over his arrest. It didn't make any sense. He gave Gustav a warning call from the tube, to let him know he'd be stopping by and what name he wanted information on, so that it saved both their time. He couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling, though, that he was supposed to be somewhere else. His day had been kept light because he was supposed to leave work at four for something very important, but although it was already quarter to, he had no clue where he was supposed to be. But it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to get there.

Gustav was glad to see him. It had been years since they had seen each other in person. The moment Reed stepped into his quaint cottage, tucked away behind a noisy garage, he found himself being guided into a comfy seat by the fire and handed a cup of tea. "Now, Blake Remington - interesting person." Gustav started off their conversation in his usual manner, picking up his own cup of tea off the tray on the coffee table before seating himself and lifting his right leg to rest on his left.

Comfortable, he took a sip of tea and contemplated everything he heard as Reed explained the whole situation from Officer Hansen and Kapner's first visit to his office, right back to Ayah's ordeal in her second year at St Katherine's. He took it all in and only when Reed was finished did he give his opinion. "Well, that certainly makes more sense of things. It turns out that your Blake was given immunity by the FBI in return for handing over some bigger fishes. Seems a few people they'd been after for a while were acquaintances of Blake's and in return for giving them up, he was let go." Gustav explained before reaching forward and slipping a custard cream off the plate on the tray, all the while watching Reed as he exploded in his chair.

A few choice swear words escaped him. "Bloody fat lot of good it did us making a deal with them. We tipped them off, for Christ sakes. We'd have done a damned sight more with him than they did." He complained. He was right when he claimed that the Waynflete agency would have dealt with him in a more satisfactory manner but now that it was over, he didn't see the point in dwelling on it. "What about Ayah's kidnapping?" He wondered curiously.

"Swept under the rug and tied up in legal jargon by the looks of things. It's not even on his official record. I had to go digging into unofficial papers to get this." Gustav handed over a few papers that had been sitting next to the tea tray. And while he sat sipping his tea as calmly as ever, Reed delved in and read what had been found on Blake. None of it was good news.

Blake's official report on Ayah's kidnapping was there, stating that she had left of her own volition or been kidnapped from him because she had been happy to be his fiancée. It wasn't surprising after how well Ayah had kept herself safe from him. The second page, a notification of Blake's release from FBI custody, was just a reiteration of what Gustav had told him. And the third, let him see communication passed through the internal FBI computers, to keep an eye on Blake because he was in the country.

"Just great. So they know he's in New York and they know he's interested in Ayah again and no-one's doing anything about it. Fine, then I'll handle it myself." Reed fumed as he re-deposited the papers back onto the coffee table in disgust for the way the FBI had handled the entire situation. They were showing themselves up and proving to be nothing but useless.