That little speech was an utter surprise. “It happens to the best of us.”
“Yes, it does. You did an amazing job.”
“Thank you.” She was being so nice, I thought I finally dared ask the question I had to get an answer to. “Director, have you been able to see what was on the drive yet?”
She sighed. Well, the sound was something between a sigh and a huff really. She licked her lips. What she was about to say was very uncomfortable for her. “With all the commotion, with the kidnapping and the aftermath, we weren’t able to keep up with Kamal. We don’t have the drive.”
“Seriously?” My heart dropped and a sick feeling tore through my gut. Immediately, I thought of the Prime Minister.
“No.”
“Well, if you’re up for one of my crazy ideas…”
“I don’t know that I’m up for that, but you can pitch me.”
“I think the Prime Minister is involved in all of this.” Siron was already shaking her head in dissent. “Listen. We’ve known all along that it was someone powerful who was involved with this. I thought it had to be some rich guy or a big corporation that could throw money at people, but it isn’t. I’m certain of it. One of the men who kidnapped Summer and me was at Marias Art Festival and he was protecting the Prime Minister as he spoke.”
“Private security firms are hired for that type of thing all the time. Just because they were together at that one event, doesn’t mean they are always. It’s too flimsy. There’s no proof. It’s all conjecture. We can’t follow up on assumptions when it comes to the Prime Minister and the President. We need concrete proof for that. But, I don’t want you to worry about it. I’ve got men on it. You need to rest. You’ve done an amazing job. I’ll have you know, I plan to put it in your file. Your loyalty is to be commended.”
“Wait. What about the tracked drives?”
“They didn’t work as we’d planned. Someone discovered them and disabled them. We followed them until they went dark.”
“Let me tell you one more thing to try to convince you the Prime Minister is involved. I promise to drop it after you hear this.”
She nodded, but rolled her eyes.
“I know he’s involved in this whole thing. Dufor’s doodling told us everything. His nephew was killed, executed, because he picked somewhere he shouldn’t have. Dufor must have connected information Sécurité Un was storing with his nephew. That’s why he thought it was worth it to go against his company’s mission statement of protecting all information.”
She was shaking her head again.
“Put a tail on the Prime Minister. That will tell us the truth.” I swung my legs off the bed to show her I was still strong.
“Your accusations, while intriguing, are unfounded and without proper evidence. To go up against that man, we would need more. I’m sorry. Besides that, I’ve met him, and he’s an upstanding citizen. The scrutiny he’s under every day considering the investigation around the President right now tells me this couldn’t be true or someone would have uncovered it already. Maybe it’s the stress and confusion with what has happened to you that has clouded your thinking, making your conclusions off. It’s okay. I understand. We know where Kamal is, and we are in the process of detaining Marni. We do believe Kamal would not fold without having an imminent threat to his girlfriend. We’ll arrest him and force him to tell us about Marco and the drives.”
“You mean torture him.”
“If that’s what it takes. I appreciate your dedication to this. Leave the rest to the backup team. You rest. Heal with your team.” With that, she left. I growled in frustration.
“Why won’t anyone ever listen to me?” I said aloud to the empty room. She didn’t have concrete evidence, but all of the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming. Besides, she didn’t know Kamal at all. Siron had stuck her hand in the viper’s nest. From what I knew, he would not respond well to threats against Marni. He’d somehow find a way to set up Siron and get her killed. I was sure of it. Echoes of Kamal cutting into that boy haunted me. I had to get to Kamal before Siron.
I spotted my go bag on the floor next to the visitor’s chair. I turned the machine off and removed the pulse monitor, then the IV, pressing some tissues on the insertion site to stanch the bleeding before heading for the en suite bathroom.
After relieving myself, taking handfuls of water into my mouth, and making a vain attempt at fixing my matted and frizzy hair by forcing it into a ponytail, I opened the bathroom door. I was met by a large, scowling nurse.
“Let me help you back into the bed,” she said in sweet but somehow condescending voice. She put her hand on my back and pressed, forcing me in that direction. “I’ll get someone in here to put that IV put back in and make sure you have some water next to your bed.”
A bit shocked and not wanting to cause a scene just yet, I allowed her to guide me. After I sat, she pulled up a remote looking thing that appeared to be attached to the bed and said, “If you need anything, feel free to press this button here. It alerts us that you need something. That’s why we’re here, to help you get what you need.”
She nodded as if in silent direction to lie back and get covered. I did, and she left the room. While shutting the door, she said, “Someone will be here shortly to help you with that IV.”
I sputtered a laugh as I swung my legs off the bed to get to my go bag and some clothes. That nurse had learned to school her emotions, even if
