Daniel

I went to the filing cabinet first thing. Top drawer, empty. The next, empty, all the way to the bottom, empty. How had Irving managed to carry all of those files on his own? And were they all files connected to the case? If so, this was even bigger than we knew. Clearly, Irving wasn't coming back any time soon. How had he taken so many files on his own? I wanted to smack myself on the head. Of course, he hadn't been alone.

"Whatcha got, D?"

"Nada," I replied. "But I think Irving has a team on the ground. You got eyes on him?"

"Not yet, but we're looking."

"Looks like he took everything, but I'm going to tear this place up a little, see if he left anything accidentally."

I trusted my team. There was nothing I could add to their efforts outside. Now was the only chance I'd have to check for any remaining clues, now before anyone had a chance to come in and really scrub it clean. We knew this stretched beyond Irving. If it had been just him, it would have been a simple tag and bag. But we needed to know who he was connected to: his buyers and his sellers. And anyway, until I'd pulled those two files earlier, we hadn't even been sure Irving was who we were actually looking for or not. We didn't know if he was a middle man or the head honcho. It wouldn't be enough to just grab him. Someone wilier would just rise up to take his place. We needed to dig out every tendril we could, leave no piece of his piece of crap group behind to take root again.

"Where's your lady friend?"

"Don't you have anything more important to worry about? It's not like we're in the middle of a mission."

"Nah." 

Scott was lying. He could multi-task like no one else I knew. Right now, his eyes were tracking at least ten screens and probably five audio lines, and he kept them all straight. The man was a robot. A very annoying, nosy robot. Who ate at Taco Bell like it was a religion and Taco Bell was his church.

"She's standing guard outside."

Scott snorted. "Does the pretty little lady make you feel all soft and protected?" he cooed.

"I know where you sleep, Nelson," I threatened, going through the desk drawers. "She has a quick head on her shoulders, though."

"Pulling the fire alarm wasn't a bad move," Scott agreed. "Wait a minute..."

I ignored him. If he was hearing or seeing something I needed to know, he'd tell me. I moved to the bookcase next.

"Uh, D. You said the girl was outside the office?"

Shit. "Don't tell me she's gone looking for Irving."

"It's probably hard to do that when you're unconscious."

"What? What the fuck are you talking about, Scott?"

I should have checked on her as soon as I knew Irving had people on the ground. Damnit. Why had I said it was okay for her to follow? Why hadn't I made her lock herself in her office?

"You might want to check outside, because I'm pretty sure someone stole your princess away while you were storming the castle."

I leaped over the desk to yank open the door. Sure as shit, Miranda was gone. This was why I had kept my life a secret. I knew what a damn stubborn woman she was. And a bleeding heart. She couldn't leave anything alone once she sank her teeth into it. When I'd lied to her, at least she'd been safe. She'd been safe from my world. Safe from the ugliness I fought every damn day.

"Point me," I demanded.

"You want quick or easy?"

"Stop wasting time and give me quick."

"You got your grappling hook?"

I was already unhooking it from my belt. 

"Take a left, classroom door straight ahead, out and down."

I sprinted down the corridor at a steady clip, flew into the room, threw open the window, secured the hook, and was rappelling down the wall in seconds. The rope wrapped around the hooks built into my wrist braces and gloves for just an occasion.

"Head north northwest," Scott directed as soon as my boots hit the ground.

I picked up speed now. The lawn was busy with people waiting for the all clear to return after the fire alarm, but they moved out of my way. I could only imagine the look on my face that sent them scurrying.

"They're getting in a white SUV. You should see it any minute now." 

I crossed a road, then a greenway, into a semi-full parking lot and ran up the front of a small pickup truck. The height was just what I needed to see a flash of blond hair as someone loaded Miranda into the back of a white SUV. I didn't stop moving. I dropped into the bed of a truck, jumped the tailgate to land in a roll, and then rolled up into a run once again. I cut away from the SUV, though, toward the exit, and poured on the speed. I could tell it wasn't going to be enough, but I came within five feet of the vehicle and chased after it as it burned rubber down the road. Not fast enough to catch it, but certainly long enough to catch the license plate. 

"Scott, trace this." I repeated the license plate before I forgot. "Any luck with Irving?"

"He slipped Caz as well. Get your ass on back."

I'd hated Irving before this. Now, it was personal.