They glared at each other.
“What?” Madoc asked.
“Sir,” Lawrence protested sharply. “We didn’t miss anything. It was a win when we put Waring under salt. I know you and Bennett worked together, but he’s not on VINE’s side right now. Don’t give him anything he can hang this ridiculous theory off.”
Took scowled at her. “VINE is there to catch bad guys, Agent Lawrence,” he said, “not cover your ass. You’re telling me that if you put the wrong man away, you’d rather let the real killer go than admit you fucked it up?”
“We didn’t,” Lawrence insisted. “Waring did it. Look, I know you’re a basket case these days—”
“That’s enough,” Madoc cut her off sharply. The smoke in his voice curled thickly enough to layer compulsion over what he’d meant to just be an order. She clenched her fists on the table and closed her mouth so hard it made her teeth click. Madoc winced guiltily at the slip, although he doubted she’d realize what he’d done. To even the score, he turned his glare on Took. If he was going to jockey for position like a junior agent, he could get dressed down like one. “What did we miss, Agent Bennett? Or is this just a fishing trip?”
Took didn’t look reprimanded. He paused as he took another drink of coffee and turned to the side, out the window at the brightly lit streets of Appleton. Despite the glare, few of the locals had risked the night. The diner was the only shop on Main Street still open.
“Appleton, the cider capital of South Carolina,” Took said. “Twelve thousand residents and, based on the census, all of them are breathing. Have you ever been here before?”
The compulsion made Lawrence hold her tongue, but she snorted her impatience.
“It’s on VINE’s radar,” Madoc said. He glanced over his shoulder at the local militia, who superstitiously avoided his eyes. “But no. Why?”
Took drained his coffee and wiped his mouth on his sleeve
“Dominic Waring was here,” he said. “You missed that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t intend to spend another night in Appleton, and it’s a long drive home.”
He tossed a ten on the table for his drink, got up, and left. Madoc could have stopped him. Common wisdom said that “if you love them, let them go”, but so far, it hadn’t gotten Madoc anywhere.
“MAYBE WEshould have gone after him,” Lawrence said. She stood at the window of the police station, her arms crossed, and frowned at the prayer group as it reformed on the grass. “People in town still think he’s to blame for those two deputies ending up in the hospital. There could be trouble.”
Madoc looked away from the computer to study Lawrence. Her hair was clipped neatly at the back of her neck, so he had a good view of her reflection in the dark glass. Her lips were set in a tight line.
“Bennett can take care of himself,” he said. “What’s really bothering you, Lawrence?”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said dismissively. “There’s nothing wr—”
“Enough,” Madoc said. He hit Mute on the video call with Philadelphia. It had been on hold for five minutes while the agent on duty ran down Madoc’s request, but he didn’t want anyone to walk back in at an inopportune moment. “Either spit it out, Lawrence, or get over it. Your choice.”
She turned around and stared at him for a moment as she chewed her lower lip. Then she shrugged.
“Like I said, it’s nothing,” she said. Madoc waited. It didn’t take long for Lawrence to fold her arms defensively and blurt out, “I just don’t understand. Our—VINE’s—investigation in the Waring case was above reproach. There’s no question of his guilt. You know that. Bennett, well, he might have been a good agent once, but he’s obviously off the rails now. So why did you hear him out?”
The edge of suspicion in her voice was familiar. No one, so far, had been confident enough to voice it aloud, but the doubt curled through mission briefings and lurked under filed reports. People thought that Madoc’s decisions where Took was concerned were based on emotion instead of logic. After Took vanished, he’d pushed the search too hard and held on to hope they’d find him long after everyone else had given up.
It was true, but that didn’t mean that Madoc wasn’t annoyed by the veiled insinuations. He might make his decisions with his heart instead of his head, but they were still the right decisions.
“We missed something,” he said.
“Becausehesaid so?” Lawrence asked skeptically. “Is he really that good?”
“He’s the best,” Madoc said bluntly.
“Better than me?” Lawrence asked. She flushed slightly as she caught the need in her voice, and she raised her eyebrows as she redirected the question. “Better thanyou?”
Madoc snorted. He spread his hand out in front of him. The brand of that old rank, of Cardinal Madoc and all his sins, on the back of it had faded years ago, but he could still feel it in his bones. When the six Hazastill held court here, the cardinals had been more executioner than investigator. The boyars over the sea hadn’t cared so much for guilt, as long as those they blamed bled.
“Violence has always served me well enough,” he said. “I never had a subtle turn of mind.”
“So just me?” she cracked. Then she sighed in annoyance. “I sound like a jealous girlfriend, don’t I? It’s just… was Bennettreallythat good? People talk about him like he was basically a sorcerer.”
In the corner of his eye, Madoc saw Agent Rory Quick flop back into the chair and peer quizzically at the screen. He held up a finger to buy himself a second as he tried to think how to answer Lawrence’s question. Took had the mind of a con man or a cult leader, unsentimental and observant as a snake, and a moral compass someone had managed to wedge in late in the day. Lawrence might be a better VINE agent one day—anywhere but the Biters, she probably already was—but Madoc didn’t know if determination and hard work could give her the edge on the cold turn that came naturally to Took.
