“That’s a serious new low for this asshole.He took a young girl with a gift and turned her into what?His personal chess piece?”
Archer liked the analogy.“I think that’s exactly what he did.”
Atticus propped a hip on the table.“I guess the question I have is, why didn’t Martin Calloway take down the Southern Boy Mafia already?With so many chess pieces, it should’ve been a ringer for him, no?”
That was a damn good question.One Archer didn’t have an answer for.
“Decker said Allison was a…” Atticus snapped his fingers.“Some kind of specialist.”
“Surveillance,” Archer supplied.
“Right.That means she watches people?”
“Looks that way.”
“Decker said she reached out to him.Do we have the timeframe on that?”
“Not yet.”Archer went back to the case board and pulled up the timeline.“Based on everything else, I’m going to assume it was sometime between when she started with the FBI in 2015 and September 2021, when the task force hired her.”
Atticus walked up to the board, pointed to a date.“You have pictures of her at the funeral in January 2021, so she was surveilling them at that point.It probably wasn’t a coincidence that she applied to join the task force.”
“Doubtful.I figured that was the next step when Meredith didn’t show at the funeral.Baz has notes stating Allison worked with them on one case as a probationary member, but she disappeared before they solved it.”
“Clearly not invested,” Atticus muttered, staring at the screen.
Archer’s phone buzzed.“That’s the food.I’ll walk out and get it.Be back in a sec.”
When he returned, he found Atticus sitting at the table, staring at his phone.
“Everything okay?”
“Probably not,” he muttered before looking up and shaking his head.“It’s all good.”
Not wanting to pry, Archer proceeded to pass the food out before taking his seat.They ate in silence for a few minutes when Archer felt the need to clear the air.
“I just want you to know, I won’t pry.Your business is your business.I’m sure you’ll see plenty of my business the longer we work together.”
Atticus chewed and nodded.
“But if you ever wanna bounce shit off me, I’ve been accused of bein’ a good listener.”
Atticus grinned.“It’s a fucking mess, that’s all I know.”
“Relationships aren’t easy,” he said, keeping his eyes on his food so Atticus didn’t feel the need to keep talking.
“It’s a new thing.Me and Slade.And Carson.”Atticus grabbed his water.“Three of us tryin’ to make somethin’ work.And those two … they’ve got history.Not the good kind.And now I’m in the middle.By choice.I thought it’d be fun, but it’s getting complicated fast.”
Archer couldn’t hide his reaction.He lifted his head, surprised by the information.
“It doesn’t help that I live with Slade.Roommates.That became a thing after we … you know.”Atticus waved a hand.“Now I’m kinda stuck.I think Slade’ll get over himself.Or maybe he won’t.Fuck, I don’t know.But I don’t have time for it right now.”
Still staring, Archer noticed the instant Atticus realized he’d been on a rant.
“Oh, shit.”Atticus shot up from his seat.“I can’t … Fuck me.I’m sorry.I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.”
“I’ll say it again.”Archer kept his tone even.“Relationships aren’t easy.”
Atticus stared at him.A slow smile began to creep across his face.“Shit.I really am sorry.”
