Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 10 - Allies of Coincidence - V

  "Good morning. It's Saturday, October 27th, and this is the news. Three dead at the scene of a horrific standoff last night between the Tacoma police department and an unnamed group of armed men—"

  "Three dead!" Aderholt growled, pausing the video. "Three motherfucking dead, you asshole. What the fuck were you doing there last night?"

  Trying to find some answers. "My job, sir."

  "Like fuck you were." Aderholt jumped ahead in the video.

  "Heavy criticism was leveled at Special Agent Jeremy Ashe, who arrived at the bar minutes after the first call and subsequently took command. Against the advice of the ranking officer at the scene and breaking protocol, Ashe entered the building as the negotiator."

  He paused it again. "You're not a fucking hostage negotiator."

  "I've been trained, sir."

  "Like twenty fucking years ago? Fuck you, Ashe. And what the fuck was this?" He jumped ahead again.

  "Was this related to the Rallsburg investigation in any way?"

  "No. I just happened to be in the area."

  "Do you have any comment on the video of Hailey Winscombe from this area? Are the two connected?"

  "That video was determined to be a fake. Miss Winscombe is still believed to be deceased."

  "Why did you take over for the trained police negotiator?"

  "One of the hostages had already died before I entered the building. I felt the situation would continue to escalate and that we could not wait for further support."

  Aderholt paused it again. "That was not your fucking call to make. You should have waited. Your blank check doesn't cover jumping in on every random crime you feel like, Ashe."

  Just doing what you told me to do, jackass. "If I hadn't gone in, I'm fairly certain the rest of the hostages would have been killed, sir."

  "Still not your call. You've given me a shit-ton of paperwork."

  "Sir, if I may ask—"

  "You may not, you ass-fuck, but I know you're going to anyway."

  Again, my fucking job. Jeremy shrugged. "What have we learned about the golems?"

  "The what now?"

  "The monsters, sir."

  Aderholt shook his head. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

  "I'm sure you must have a dozen reports from the officers on the scene, in addition to my own."

  "Look, I read those fucking looney-bin reports from the Tacoma P.D. Giant fucking road monsters. But all you've got to back it up is a few shaky dash cams of cars getting rolled over, not to mention the cameras that were straight up destroyed. No one got hurt. The only deaths were gunshots we can trace back to the terrorists. No other witnesses, no evidence. I'm calling mass fucking hysteria."

  "Do I seem crazy to you, sir?"

  "Yes, you goddamned motherfucking asshole shitstain. You seem crazy to me. We just went over that. That's why I'm fucking sidelining you."

  Goddammit. Not now. "Sir?"

  "I can't fire you, and I can't put you on leave or suspend you, as much as I'd fucking love to. But I can take you off this case, and you bet your worthless ass I'm pulling you. You're going to sit in your office and stay there. You come in at nine, you leave at five, and you do not move an inch outside this building without clearing it with me first. Do you have that down, or do I need to ram it so far up your ass it reaches your tiny brain?"

  Come here and try it. "Yes sir."

  "Dismissed." Aderholt turned back to his monitor, still fuming.

  Jeremy immediately went back to his office. Lani's desk still sat dishearteningly empty. As soon as five o'clock rolled around, he'd go visit his partner and fill him in on the whole debacle. Jeremy leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

  A phone buzzed in his jacket pocket.

  Jeremy sat up with a start. His phone was sitting on his desk in front of him. Not in his jacket, which hung off his chair back. He'd taken that jacket off last night, after dragging himself in from Tacoma in the middle of the night to write up his report before going home to sleep.

  Gingerly, he reached into the side pocket. There was a small, cheap burner phone in it. He flipped it open.

  360-555-9926: Thanks for what you said about me. I passed on your message. No promises.