Darkly - Episode #10

FBI collides with Dark Magic

Want to start at the beginning? You can find the 1st Episode HERE.

Recap: Kinley went to D.C. to meet up with Nina and find a way to escape Ward Six, but it took a turn. She had an attack—an out-of-body experience—and woke up in an ambulance. Kinley never thought she’d return to Ward Six, thinking of it as a safe haven.

Now… onto Darkly Episode #10.

“Guests incoming!”

Gil shouted the terse greeting as I entered Ward Six.

The facility intercom had barely announced my arrival, bringing Gil and Alec into the entry area. I was on time, but they were early and Team B had already vacated the building for their four days off, so it begged the question: Was Ward Six about to reveal her mysteries?

“We got twelve minutes,” Alec assured Gil. “Time for a coffee.”

Gil cringed. “I told Alec about you needing to go to Washington for the Omega case,” he explained.

They both pasted on matching, supportive expressions.

Oh, great, I’d be put on the spot over a rushed cup of coffee. I guessed greeting new arrivals was commonplace to them, but I wanted prep time.

Alec bit his lip, looking between me and Gil. Geez, what else had Gil said? Or what had Alec heard? He seemed tapped into agency gossip.

“I know what the Omega case means to you, Kinley,” Alec said. “I kinda got it out of Gil, sorry, but how’d it go?” Alec came to me and touched my arm. “Coffee?”

“I never turn down coffee.” I smiled, certain anyone who did would be labeled unstable.

We went into the breakroom. Alec headed straight for the coffee machine. He liked it strong, and no one else made it correctly, according to his regular rants. Once, I’d found him dumping out a pot Gil made to remake it. After that, I dubbed him the designated Ward Six barista.

“Did you speak with Agent Wilkes?” Gil asked.

“I saw Wilkes. From a distance.” I made a face. “The whole Task Force is falling apart, not that he’s acting like it.”

Alec looked confused, watching the coffee percolate. “You didn’t talk to Wilkes?”

“Nina did the talking.” I sensed they knew all about the D.C. bar part of my trip, but did they know about the ambulance ride?

Gil made a thoughtful sound. “We heard some odd gossip.”

Damn. They knew.

“Seemed out of character,” Gil admitted. “Did you drink too much?”

“You look okay,” Alec offered, still playing the role of Good Cop.

“I’m fine,” I said, “it was a prank. I fell for it, so I let the agents cart me out. As soon as I could, I got to your car and came home.”

Gil’s lips twitched at the H-word.

“You were right,” I continued, “it was a mistake to go. I shouldn’t have trusted Nina.”

I sighed, trying to sell my lie. It wasn’t hard to fake the emotion; maybe that’s all Gil could read. Nina had put me in a bad position. Of course, I had no idea why I’d collapsed on the floor, but a prank made sense.

Gil leaned against the counter as Alec poured his steaming concoction into three mugs. He gave one to Gil, added milk and sugar to the second cup, and delivered it to the table. Just the way I liked it—sweet. But Alec was being too sweet. Did he and Gil believe I’d needed an ambulance? They both looked at me as if I were fragile.

“Seriously,” I pressed the point with all the conviction I could muster, “it was a prank. I never needed a paramedic.”

They shared a look and relaxed, relieved. They believed me.

Of course, it was true. Whatever happened to me, it wasn’t medical. It was magical. I was certain, but I couldn’t tell them. I didn’t even know the extent of the magic at Ward Six, and I certainly had no idea who’d generated it at the D.C. bar. Their relief was heartfelt, though, and it warmed a bit of my shriveled trust.

“Good,” Gil said, “because our visitors will need our full attention, and this is your first chance to see what Ward Six does.”

“I’m ready. Who’s coming?” I wrapped my hands around the coffee mug, glad to shift to a safer topic.

“Good Samaritans tackled a guy at a local baseball diamond, just after fire sprang out of a Smart Delivery bot. We think we nabbed The Fireball,” Alec said, referencing a name given to a menace responsible for a rash of fiery explosions. He’d struck at various corporate entities and evaded capture for seven months.

During his early hits, The Fireball created actual fireballs. He hurled them at the glass buildings of several corporations, thus earning the label. He always put on a show, setting incendiary devices, even bombs, crippling supply lines that he claimed impacted the environment. The media saw something noble in his targets and turned him into an urban hero.

“Citizens caught him?” I asked, thinking it was lucky. Not that I believed in luck.

“Yeah, someone butted in where they didn’t belong,” Gil snorted.

Was that meant for me and my interest in the Omega Task Force?

“Worked out this time,” Alec added. “The Fireball has been a hot property. Get it? Hot. Fireball.”

I had to smirk. “But why bring him to Ward Six? I’m assuming it’s not due to proximity.” Digging for intel was probably beneath me, since they wouldn’t reveal anything by accident.

Alec winked at Gil, giving me the impression that he’d been waiting to read me in. Perhaps having a clueless team member wasn’t ideal, especially if candidates only got so far in the process. I had to wonder what happened to my predecessor? No one had said. Could I even ask? The vision of an analyst running from the clinic, screaming at the moon, filled my mind. It was quickly replaced by the image of a body bag. Neither exit appealed to me.

Oblivious to my racing thoughts, Gil actually filled me in on our objective. “The FBI profiles known individuals who might be on the Gray Scale, and when they are caught, they come to us for proper classification.” Gil nodded, as if it should all make sense. “We’ll have him for several days, maybe even weeks. When The Fireball transfers out of Ward Six, we’ll know everything.”

“From his favorite color to his deepest, darkest secret.” Alec winked.

Even though I’d guessed as much, it was the start of a conversation, not the end. I had tons of questions.

“Alec will train you on our suspect entry procedure from the control room,” Gil said. “I’ll be in the bay.”

“Should I pull up Fireball’s profile?” I asked.

Gil nodded, without looking at me.

“Could be explosive,” Alec added. “Get it?”

Gil ignored Alec’s remark and stuck to business. “As soon as we can scan his prints, Kinley, we’ll have a name, and the clock starts for updating the profile. I’ll need any new information you can find for the interrogation.”

“Of course,” I said.

Gil nodded, then turned to Alec. “Can you do me a favor? Can you check on the second floor? See if we’re ready for two more agents.”

“You got it.” Alec downed his coffee and hurried out.

Gil set his cup in the sink. “I need to show you something in my office.” He didn’t wait for my response, but it wasn’t a question. He walked out of the breakroom, expecting me to follow.

Something was off.

I had to jog to catch up to Gil, but he slowed at his office door. He opened it and let me enter first.

The office was broken into two parts. One side had Gil’s desk, and the other had a desk for Team B and visiting agents. They were separated by a glass wall that had embedded tech. It could show any monitor feed, or be set to see-through or opaque for privacy, which was the current setting.

He closed the door and faced me.

Oh shit. Had I been exposed?

Gil’s stony expression melted away, replacing it was concern. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

I was taken aback, surprised to find out he was worried. He hadn’t wanted me to go to D.C., so I was pretty sure he’d really hate that it had all gone wrong. I expected a reprimand.

“Yeah, fine.” I had no idea how to respond. Was this another test?

“We can talk in here,” Gil explained. “I control the monitoring system in my office. It’s off.”

Good to know.

Gil reached forward and took my face in his hands. “I had to see you.”

His touch was gentle. It begged me to bring down my walls and trust him. The temptation was hard to ignore. I wanted to trust people. Longed for that kind of connection, but I never gave myself the luxury. I had too many secrets.

Gil took a moment to breathe, as if he’d been holding back and finally felt comfortable to release his tension. It was a quick glimpse at the real man. Beyond the job. Beyond the shields we all had to keep in place.

What was he doing? I couldn’t let him cross that line, but damn if it wasn’t attractive. It made all my lady bits tingle.

“Are we okay? Are you leaving?” Gil searched my face for the answer.

We? When had that happened? Hadn’t I squashed that possibility?

I put my hands over his.

“Nothing’s changed,” I said. “It was a huge mistake to see Nina. She was tipsy and desperate, but believe me, I am under no illusion that I should be anywhere but here.”

“And that’s how you truly feel,” Gil stressed the point. “You know that I’m not controlling your emotions.”

“I know.”

Gil bent down, resting his forehead on mine. “You know. Amazingly, you know.”

I let myself relax. He was worried about the compulsion. So much had happened since he’d tried the magic on me, I’d forgotten. I had bigger problems. I needed to keep a chart to track all the Gray I witnessed, along with a list of appropriate reactions. Not that I’d have anything on that list to deal with a sexy boss situation.

“I’m sorry.” It was barely a whisper. He leaned in, kissing me.

Oh my.

I might have met him halfway. I didn’t want to be rude.

The contact sent chills across my skin, making part of my brain turn off while another exploded. I should have cursed my body’s reaction, but later. Much later. It’s not like I hadn’t crossed the line first. Once released, lust lingered, waiting to strike.

Gil broke away first, looking me straight in the eyes. “What happened in D.C.?”

“I don’t really know,” I said. “You probably should have come with me.”

“You didn’t ask me to come.” Gil reluctantly released me.

My world felt slightly off balance. I tried to ground myself to the floor and ignored how my senses came alive. “Would you have?” I managed to ask. “Would you have come with me to D.C.?”

Gil briefly looked at his shoes, then back at me. “I would do anything in my power, if you had the nerve to ask me.” I could see the truth in his words.

He went to the door.

“Wait!” The word came out low, urgent.

I closed the short distance between us, practically colliding with his body. Good thing Gil had quick reflexes. He caught me with one arm, and we fell against the door. We kissed, eyes open, full of desire.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I whispered, breathless. “You make this so hard.”

“No, sweetheart, you do.” His eyes flicked downward.

I touched him, wanting more than time would allow.

Damn.

Gil was a tantalizing promise, a sensuous one that said all the right things. He was on my side. He believed in me. Well… fake me. Re-imagined me? Reinvented me? Definitely, FBI me. The new me. What could it matter? The old me was long gone.

An alarm sounded throughout Ward Six. Time was up.

“Alert! Rear entrance request. Alert!” The AI voice sounded like a woman with hemorrhoids. It echoed throughout the facility.

The announcement acted like cold water dumped over our heads. Gil released me, and I stepped back… but those eyes. We couldn’t break that contact. There wasn’t a common name for the way we looked at each other, but it was something like eye sex. Hot. Needy. Intense.

Was that all it was? Physical attraction combined with a few perceptive words? I had to trust someone at some point. Couldn’t last out here all by myself too much longer. Maybe Gil was the one?

“Control room,” I mumbled.

“I’m headed downstairs.” He opened the door, and we nearly bumped into Alec. He glanced between us, a light dawning.

Gil cleared his throat. “Let’s do this by the book, people.” He headed for the stairs.

Alec was wide-eyed and practically begging for deets, but once we got to the control room, he motioned for me to pull up a chair and watch how we welcomed guests.

Like the rest of the security measures, admitting guests to Ward Six was old-school, since the real protection was a magical force field. Not that anyone had explained it to me. The magical barrier had all the hallmarks of protection that would be easier to enter than exit. I envisioned magic that froze any unauthorized departure, although I’d never seen anything like that in action.

“We’ll track them on ten monitors,” Alec explained, pointing at the one showing a huge metal roll-up door, big enough for a vehicle.

Ward Six had two access points: the ground floor bay and the third-floor gauntlet; plus two ways to move within the facility, either by the elevator or the stairs. All required a badge and an access code.

On the monitor, I watched Gil cross to a panel and communicate with the agents. Their black van idled outside. They must have passed inspection, because Gil gave our camera a thumbs up.

“I have a visual, Alec, enter your code,” Gil’s voice filtered through the intercom system. It picked up any sound.

Alec entered a code, as did Gil at the Bay’s keypad. The massive door cranked upward. Gil stayed against the wall, motioning for the van to enter. Once it cleared the threshold, the bay door slammed shut with lightning speed.

The van parked, and two agents got out. I watched Gil greet them. I couldn’t tell much from the brief exchange. All three men went to the side of the vehicle to remove the suspect. He was strapped to a wheelchair and had a dark bag over his head. I assumed it was to protect the facility’s location.

Gil pulled off the bag. It tousled the suspect’s hair—all wavy jet blackness. A thick, full head of hair that reached his shoulders. The man squinted at the sudden light, but his vision didn’t take long to adjust. He winked at the agents, showing off startling turquoise blue eyes.

Oh shit.

I froze.

How the Hell was I going to pull this off? I knew his face. And his name… Dante Hicks.

It had been six years since I’d seen him. He’d barely changed. All that confidence, and a nonchalant way of looking right through people, except for me. Someone reliable in a clutch. The man who’d volunteer to go through Hell. My man. Once. When we were barely adults. Even though we’d gone our separate ways, I always thought I’d see him again.

But not now.

Not like this.

My old life could not collide with my new life.