diplomat so Derek let him talk. “We’re just waiting for the others, and we’ll provide an update. We’ve had a breakthrough. I believe you’ll be pleased.”
“I doubt it,” the older man said. “For an organization that’s supposed to be stellar, I’ve yet to see evidence of that. Of course, I’ve yet to see evidence of anything.” He laughed at his own joke.
Thankfully, the other committee members chose that moment to connect to the conference call so Derek could force himself to swallow his tart retort for Congressman Hougland.
Derek had been raised on a ranch in Wyoming by his reluctant, confirmed-bachelor uncle when Derek’s parents had died when he was twelve. So cursing had been a prevalent part of his upbringing.
But telling a US congressman to kiss his ass was probably not going to help any part of this conference call or overall situation. He could see Steve looking over at him cautiously as if preparing to kick him under the table if he opened his mouth. Derek glanced at him and nodded to let him know he wasn’t going to do anything stupid.
The head of the committee, and much more amiable, Senator Edmundson, opened the conference. “Director Drackett, Agent Waterman, thank you for speaking with us today. We know your time is valuable.”
“Senator,” Steve responded respectfully. “Ladies and gentlemen.”
“Let’s cut to the chase, Robert,” Congressman Hougland said, practically cutting off Steve’s greeting to the committee. “Drackett mentioned they have some news. I’d be thrilled to hear that.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.
Annoyance floated over Senator Edmundson’s face before he reschooled it into its polite mask.
“All right, then. Director Drackett, please.”
“Agent Waterman and his colleagues received a tip earlier today while returning from Chicago. They changed route midflight and headed to Philadelphia. Upon their arrival at the location, they were met with gunfire.”
The men and women were listening attentively from their screens. It made for a nice change from the past two weeks when they’d had nothing of any interest to report.
“One man gave chase, and unfortunately killed himself rather than be taken into custody,” Steve continued. “The suspects also burned the location to the ground while the team was chasing the running suspect.”
“So basically, Agent Waterman, you had a more exciting day, but still have nothing to show for it,” Congressman Hougland jumped in. “Is that correct?”
Derek counted to three before answering. He’d once been thrown from a spooked horse and had to walk the four miles home on a broken ankle. He’d survived that.
He could survive this.
“Actually, Congressman, we were able to retrieve a few pieces of evidence from the house before it was totally destroyed. One piece in particular, a communication device of some kind, looks particularly interesting. Although it was damaged by the fire, we’re hopeful the data on it can be retrieved.”
Most of the committee were nodding, at least accepting that this was progress. Not Hougland.
“Hopeful,” he scoffed. “Not exactly confidence-inspiring.”
“All right, Don, let’s stay positive,” Senator Edmundson said.
“The only thing I’m becoming positive about is that Omega Sector might not be living up to its reputation any longer,” Hougland spat back.
Derek’s lips thinned. As much as he disliked the congressman, the man wasn’t totally incorrect. He and the team had been pretty inept on this Chicago case. They hadn’t caught a single break until today.
“We should also have identification of the dead man soon,” Drackett told the committee. “That will also point us in a direction.”
“The body is there now, at your facility in Colorado?” Senator Edmundson asked.
Steve nodded. “Yes, our lab is or very soon will be, running the prints. We’ll also have any other helpful evidence from the body.”
“And the communication device? When will you know if that will provide anything useful?” Hougland asked.
“By tomorrow morning,” Derek replied. He hoped that would be true. “The lab is working on it tonight.”
That seemed to placate everyone. Since there weren’t any other questions from the committee and Hougland had evidently gotten tired of poking holes at their case, Steve said good-night to everyone, promising to keep them posted. After the last of the committee had disconnected from the screens, Derek ran a weary hand over his face.
Jon and Liam stood up from their chairs in the corner.
“I am so glad I’m not you guys,” Jon said. “That was brutal.”
Derek couldn’t agree more. He just wanted to get home, change out of his smoky clothes and shower. The burns on his back and shoulders were still bothering him a little. Everyone said their good-nights, agreeing to meet back first thing in the morning.
Derek partly wanted to go check on Molly, but decided it was better to just let her work on her own since his presence tended to discombobulate her so much. But he hated that she had more work on her plate—probably a whole night’s worth—because of him. Derek promised himself that when this case was over, he would make sure that Steve forced Molly to hire some more people for the lab.
He needed a good night’s sleep. Once they had this evidence in hand, it would hopefully lead them somewhere, and they’d all need to be able to hit the ground running. Derek was still thinking about the evidence through his meal, shower and even as he was falling asleep. Why would someone kill himself rather than be arrested? What was on that device that was worth burning a building to the ground? Molly’s results would point them in the direction they needed to go. He drifted off to sleep with it on his mind.
The phone ringing at 2:42 a.m. jerked him out of his sleep. This was not the first call he’d gotten from Omega in the middle of the night. Derek looked at the caller ID: Steve Drackett.
“Steve, what’s up?” Derek tried to wipe the sleep from his voice the best he could.
“Derek, I need you to get back to HQ right away. There’s been an explosion at the building. I’m on my way in now, but you’re closer.”
Derek was instantly awake. “Like what, a fire?”
“No. I don’t have many details yet, but I know it was an explosion. In the forensic lab.”
Derek could actually feel his heart stop beating. “Forensic lab?” he parroted.
“Yes. And I know there’s at least one confirmed death.”
Derek’s general idea of “help from above” was a sniper on the roof, but he prayed like he had never prayed before as he broke multiple traffic laws driving back to Omega Headquarters
