Euan
Elsie was quiet and reserved the next morning at breakfast. She’d spent a while in the den, working privately on some stuff, while I’d rustled up some eggs and bacon. She had scarcely touched it, moving it around the plate with her fork, lost in her own thoughts since she’d stepped into the kitchen. I wasn’t even sure she knew me and Ebony were even sat at the table with her.
Ebony watched her with confusion. I knew she was wondering if it had been the sex that was now confusing Elsie, but she remained silent, allowing her to come to terms with it in her own time.
“I have a contact I’m meeting at eleven,” Ebony mumbled around some bacon.
“Contact?” I asked, thanking her for the conversation that broke the previous silence.
“He has a lot of dealings with the criminal world, but he has his ear to the ground. Maybe he’s heard about some of Peter’s business dealings during his time.”
“Worth a shot. Anything we can get against him the better, it will aid in bringing him down.”
“I have an appointment I can’t miss at six, but I have some things to sort out beforehand, so I won’t be around much,” Elsie announced, surprising us with her sudden inclusion.
“Everything okay, Els?” Ebony finally asked, the deep frown on her face showing her anxiety. “If it’s about last night…”
Elsie smiled at her friend and shook her head. “No, honestly, I’m fine. Just a bit of intel I received that needs checking out. Nothing concerning this.” Turning to me, she asked, “Has your decryption thingamajig managed to translate that email?”
“Nope, it’s pretty high tech, but it’s struggling. I may have to send off to the agency and see if they can get a specialist cryptographer on it.”
The disappointment that crossed over her face matched mine, and she smiled that same fake smile that had graced her face since she’d taken a seat at the table.
I couldn’t work out her mood, unsure as to whether she was sad or angry, maybe both. I knew that she was worried about what was to come from Frank’s visit in the night, but I secretly hoped that her termination from Three Blades could be the start of a new life for her.
Understandably, she would be scared, Three Blades had been her home for the last twenty years, but this could be the shove she needed to get her life back. A new life.
Tehni tapped on the door, and I smiled when she walked into the kitchen.
Quirking an eyebrow when the stilted atmosphere engulfed her, she pursed her lips. “Whose cat died?”
Ebony flicked her head towards Elsie and rolled her eyes.
Appearing surprised, Tehni frowned. “Elsie has a cat?”
I chuckled under my breath when Ebony stared at her friend like she had two heads. “I worry so much about you.”
“What’s up?” Tehni asked, snatching up Elsie’s leftovers and diving in. “Time of the month, Els?”
“For fuck's sake!” Elsie snapped, pushing her chair back and stomping out of the room.
Tehni whistled and continued to eat as she turned back to Ebony. “Anybody heard from Felicity yet?”
“Not a dirty man’s ring,” Ebony stated sadly.
“A dirty man’s ring?” I quizzed, unable to work out her usual rambling for the first time.
“A thing,” she enlightened as if it should be common knowledge. “A dirty man’s ring – a thing.”
“Of course.” I shook my head, dispersing the sudden ache that had descended.
Elsie and I still had to sort out ‘Felicity’s death’ but time wasn’t on our side, then again, nothing else seemed to be either.
“So,” Tehni said, wiping the plate clean with a piece of toast. “What’s the crack with Elsie?”
“Beats me,” Ebony declared and turned to me. “She said anything to you?”
“Not as such. Although, I think it may be something to do with the fact Frank broke into my house last night and caught Elsie and me in bed…”
Two horrified stares bored into me, and I stilled. Ebony’s face paled, and Tehni struggled to breathe.
“What?” Ebony bellowed, shooting upright. “And you didn’t think to mention it before now?”
She raced out of the room, leaving me staring in shock.
“What the hell?”
I looked to Tehni to find out what the hell was going down. Her tear-stained face made my gut plummet. “What is it?”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, nothing but a tight wheeze coming from her, and just when I thought she was going to give up trying to say anything, she managed a whisper. “She will be terminated.”
“Yeah, I know, but I think she was already banking on that anyway, because of my stupidity.”
Heartache bled from her, and I paused. There was something I wasn’t getting.
“She – will – be – terminated, Euan,” she reiterated slowly and desolately, the grief in her eyes making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Three Blades doesn’t just annul a contract, Euan,” she continued. “To terminate a Weapon’s service means…” She gulped, and I watched the tears spill down her face. “…Execution.”
I couldn’t move. I was sure even the beat of my heart was brought to a halt when blood ceased to pump around my veins for a frozen second.
Shaking my head, I gawped in dread. My mouth was so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof and I thought I was going to choke on it.
“I have an appointment I can’t miss at six, but I have some things to sort out beforehand, so I won’t be around much.”
Elsie’s words echoed in my head, and I closed my eyes in dismay.
“Fuck!”
Tearing down the stairs, praying she was still in the den, my feet skidded to a halt when I found the room empty. But it wasn’t the lack of Elsie’s presence that scared the shit out of me.
I had requested information on Kenneth Raymond from the agency. It had been sent to me that morning while I had been cooking breakfast.
And Elsie had accessed it.
His file was open on the monitor she had been working on, and a current driving licence displayed exactly where Kenneth Raymond now lived.