Page 68 of Secret Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Five

The spring sunshine glinted off the windscreen as Zack drove through the entrance to Fortis. It was the first of May and the last few days had been relatively quiet. Everyone was settling into life at the Cunningham Estate, and things were running smoothly.

The team had uncovered some good information on the Basilica of the Holy Blood and were making good progress. The codes had been found on closer inspection of the Phial and Eidolon had people working on replicating the process to see what kind of drug it was and what the repercussions were.

The only fly in the ointment at this point was that Henderson had gone missing and Hamilton was leading them a merry dance. Hamilton was a canny bastard, and it was almost as if he knew he was being watched or his paranoia was spot on.

He only seemed to go to work, and then go home. He hardly made any calls and those he did were laborious calls to his mother. They were working on getting someone into his office as Zack suspected he was making secure calls from there.

That, however, was a major ball ache because the security was insane. So, there was only one thing to do, and that was to send in Zenobi. Those girls were the best at undercover work, and Hamilton had no clue they existed.

Roz had been quietly smug to be asked knowing that her girls could get in where he couldn’t. Mercy was now ensconced as Hamilton’s new secretary after the current one had fallen ill. Hamilton was notorious for having a weakness for a pretty face, and that had worked in their favour.

Exiting the vehicle, he cast a glance at Ava, she had seemed off the last few days, and he couldn’t figure out why. She wasn’t moody or anything just quiet and subdued and not his vibrant Ava. Holding out his hand, she took it with a smile as she rounded the bonnet.

“You okay Green Eyes?” he asked looking at her intently.

“Of course, I’m fine,” she said and shot him a smile meant to reassure. All it did was worry him more because he knew she was lying.

“Good,” he answered and returned her smile.

Entering Fortis, they greeted Celeste who was knee deep in payroll reports. Zack had handed all of the administration over to Celeste, as he didn’t have time. She was now his entire HR department and was relishing the role.

Moving through to his office he dropped a kiss on Ava’s mouth as she carried on to the conference room. They had figured out the codes for the drug in the Phial of Holy Blood were written in Thracian and Ava had decoded enough for them to start, she was now working on the other text they had found in Marcus Preedy’s possessions. Lauren’s father had been a fountain of information.

Switching on his computer, he found an email for a sports clothing store. It seemed innocuous enough unless you knew what you were looking for.

The email had an image of a woman in running gear, and 50% sign splashed all over it and a link to follow. Clicking the link, Zack got a live feed of Walter Hamilton in his office at the Ministry of Defence.

They’d done it. Zenobi had eyes on Hamilton. Lifting the phone, he called Will, who answered on the second ring.

“You seeing this?” he asked.

“Yep, watching the sneaky bastard now.”

“Good, I want surveillance on him twenty-four-seven.”

“No problem, you know I run on a diet of Pringles, Cola, and Haribo and don’t need much sleep,” he laughed.

“That explains the gaunt emo look,” Zack snorted.

“Zack, man, don’t hate me because this body is all made for loving and I don’t have to eat poached egg whites to get it.”

“Fuck off, that body is made for a science experiment for E numbers,” Zack laughed. “Well, just make sure when you’re not watching, one of the team is. I want this fucker taken down.”

“Sure, no problem boss,” Will said, serious now.

A knock on his door had him ending the call. “Come in.

Dane opened the door and walked in, slumping down on the sofa. He looked like the stunned survivor of a natural disaster.

“How are the babies?” Zack asked.

Dane nodded and happy smile covering his face. “Good, they are still in the hospital, because Leah isn’t feeding well and they are worried about her losing weight. Personally, I just want them home. I can’t protect them there the same as I can at the Estate, but that’s what they need, so I only leave when Lucy and Sly can watch them for a bit.”

“I understand. I would feel the same way. And how is Lauren taking to it all?”

A grin that lit up his face moved over Danes face, “She is amazing. She’s so natural with them, while I’m worried I’ll break them.”