“Yes, hello,” he said when the poor, hapless agent on weekend duty answered. “This is Agent Darnelle. I need access to some records.”
A long, hushed silence followed this request. Then, quietly: “Henry Darnelle?”
His lips twitched, and that pinprick of heat peppered his cheeks. “Yes, Henry Darnelle. And you are?”
“Agent Terrence Rupp.”
“Hello, Terrence. I’m hoping you can help me. I’m conducting a field agent examination and need access to the apprentice agent’s umbrella data.”
“They didn’t give that to you?”
“They must have forgotten.”
An exasperated sigh came from the other end of the line. “I’m sorry about that, Agent Darnelle. Give me the name, and I’ll get your access set up.”
“Pansy Little.”
Silence ensued. At first, Henry assumed Terrence was merely working the necessary electronic magic. The quiet stretched, no clatter of keys reached his ears, and when Terrence finally spoke, the words were tinged with deep reluctance.
“I can’t give you access to that data. It’s been locked.”
“Locked? What on earth for?”
“The family line has been earmarked for retirement.”
Foregone conclusion, indeed. “Really. Tell me, Terrence, how is that possible when I haven’t completed my examination yet?”
“I’m sorry, Agent Darnelle. It says here in the system?—”
“Can you override the system?”
“Can I…?”
“Can you override the system and allow me access to the data?”
“I’m … not supposed to.”
“But can you?”
The line went quiet again, so quiet that Henry thought they’d been disconnected, which was one way this call could end. But then he heard something that sounded like a hiccup or someone swallowing a nervous sob.
“I’ll get in trouble.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters, Terrence?”
“Yeah.”
“Any still at the Academy?”
“My sister Tori.”
“And if I were performing her examination without the benefit of the data from her umbrella, how fair would that be?”
The seconds ticked by, but Henry was already pulling another laptop from his messenger bag and didn’t wait for Terrence’s response.
“Send me the authorization. As a principal field agent, I can override whatever lock is on her files. I’ll take the heat, and you won’t get into trouble. I promise.”
Another long sigh, this one filled with trepidation. “I can’t leave them unlocked.”
