Devil’s in the Details (83 page)

Walking out to the mini with a box of books in my arms, I smiled at Dale, taking the trash out, "Afternoon Dale!"

The older man grinned at me, leaning on the fence, "Hey there Alex, looks like you're doing some late spring cleaning?"

I nodded, setting the box into the rear hatch before closing the shiny candy apple red door. "Yeah, taking a few things to the Academy library for their book drive." I wiped a few fingerprints off the red paint, "I don't think I can ever tell you enough times what an amazing job you did on the old girl. She still runs like she came straight from the factory."

Dale flicked his hand at me, "Ah, it's nothing. You did your fair share and I'm just happy you like it." He glanced at the house, "I'm heading to the hardware store, you need anything?"

I smiled, "Nope, I’m all good. I fixed the gutters last week and so far they're holding up." I winked at him, "Thank you for that as well."

"No problem, I like to help my neighbors." He pushed off from the fence, "See you later, Alex."

I waved to Dale and headed back inside. The old couple had become a second family to me and a crutch as I dealt with everything after. Between them and my parents, I was always fed and the house was cleaned until I found my legs to do it all again for myself.

Back in the house, I heard Holly barking at the fence like a fool. I huffed and grabbed an iced tea from the fridge before heading out to the patio to see what she was fussing about.

"Holly, settle down!" I hollered at the dog only to find Mary bent down petting the dog at the gate that divided our yards. "Oh hello there Mary!"

Mary grinned at me, ruffling Holly's fur, "I was looking for you, found this eager one first who demanded I throw a tennis ball a few hundred times." She stood up, tossing the ball across the yard. "Do you have a minute?"

I smiled, "Of course. I could use a break from cleaning the house." I pointed at the small patio table, "Did you want something to drink?"

May shook her head, "Thank you, but no." She sat down, setting a thick white envelope down on the table. "How are things lately, Alex?" The way she asked it, I knew she was still concerned about my wavering mental state. I internally rolled my eyes at myself, embarrassed. I had spent many an afternoon explaining my theories to Mary about how Victoria was very much alive and in hiding.

I shrugged, knowing what she was asking, "They're moving forward. Slowly, but surely." I opened the tea bottle, "James is still working on a few leads in New York off the scene evidence. Dani pops in and out once in a while, but it seems she moved into a different intelligence office, at least that's what Ward tells me." I spun the bottle cap, "It's been frustrating to not have any answers in four years. I know that it’s all deep covert secrets, but I wish someone would tell me something, anything to give me some sort of closure." I turned to look at the blooming tulip plants under the far tree, Holly poking her nose in them. "Maybe if I had an answer to something, I could move on."

Mary smiled softly at me, her eyes dropping to the class ring on my finger. "Answers are a funny and tricky thing. They never come when you want them and wash over you like a summer downpour when you don't expect it." She turned to look at the same tree I was, "I had to hide a lot from Dale when we met, right before he shipped off to Vietnam. It was difficult, but at the time I was more in love with the job of keeping secrets than him."

I slowly turned to the older woman, my brow furrowing in confusion, "What secrets did you have to hide as a secretary for the Navy recruitment office?" Mary had told me a long time ago how she met Dale at a Navy recruitment fair at a high school to find volunteers to join the Navy and head to Vietnam. "Aside from social security numbers and personal information."

Mary turned to look at me, her hazel eyes piercing me in a way that shook me for a split second, "I had to hide the secret I was not a secretary and that I was keeping more secrets than the run of the mill intelligence officer." She took in a slow breath, "Dale is going to be gone for an hour, so please listen closely and never ever tell him what I'm telling you. He still doesn't know much and after almost fifty years of marriage, I'd like to keep it that way."

She paused, pushing the envelope towards me, "My codename is Raven and in the Office of Naval Intelligence and with the CIA, I'm still one of the top intelligence agents they've ever seen and one of the most dangerous, working for both of them for thirty five years. Granted as I've gotten older, I've shifted into an advisory role, but I know everything. You can look Raven up in the world wide web and see that I was quite the feared ghost. The male world leaders thought I was a vicious man, not a delicate lady sitting behind a desk for most of her service. Yet, I knew how to extract secrets." She looked at me with intensity, "Extract them in a similar way Victoria did." Mary's eyes clouded over quickly like Victoria's used to whenever she glossed over the things she did.

I felt my heart race and I unconsciously scooted away from the table, "Are you making this up?" I felt like this was a trick, a bad dream or a shitty joke planned by Dani.

Mary chuckled, "No my dear, I'm not. Nothing happens as a coincidence." She set her hands on the tabletop, "I've known about Victoria for many years, since she bought this house and every day after. I had been monitoring Voltaire from a distance as an outside advisor for the CIA. Keeping tabs on that foolish asshole Arthur as he bounced between sane and insane, dragging that girl in to his mess. I knew what Victoria was doing and near the end, I was working with MI6 to advise them on how to pull her out, pull her away from that madman. I even went to Danielle and James after an intel breach inside Voltaire to bring them into the fold of safety and help Victoria get out unscathed."

She laughed softly at the look of disbelief on her face, reading mind immediately, "Before you ask, James only saw me from afar in shadows, an old spy trick I learned way back in the sixties."

I glared at the old woman, "Why didn't you?" I was astonished and furious at this woman for so much. She could have helped me sooner, stepped in and told me all of this a long time ago and maybe prevented Victoria's death. She could have prevented my own spiral into a cracked mental state.

"Stop that mess that happened in front of you? Because no one in the world other than Victoria, Danielle and one more set that plan in motion. I found out about it when you came home, devastated and searching for answers." Mary leaned back in her chair, "James has been working with me and many others and finally some answers fell into my hands last night." She slowly pushed the envelope towards me, "I found someone in Scotland, at the University of Edinburgh who has more information on Voltaire and the woman responsible for Victoria's death."

Mary stood up, "Your flight leaves tonight if you want to go. The details are in that envelope along with a plane ticket." She then glanced at Holly running towards her, "Go to Scotland, Alex. The answers you've been searching for and needing to move on, are there."

She folded her arms across her chest, "If you don't want this. Burn that envelope and we will never speak of this again." She turned to walk towards her gate, "But remember, I never spoke to you about anything other than the weather and book donations."

Mary left my yard with a smile and a knowing look.

I stared down at the white envelope before curiosity took hold and ripped the thing open. There was a plane ticket as Mary said and a thin sheet of paper with a name scribbled on it.

E.A. Lamont – Medieval Studies - University of Edinburgh
.

I blew out a slow puff of air, looking up at the bright blue sky and the sun shining down. I would wait until nightfall to start up the fireplace to burn the ticket and the note.

I had to move on, but chasing secrets from old spies was not the way to do it. It would only send back to the closet of secrets I had created in search of the truth. 

Twelve hours later and a lengthy nap to chase out the jet lag, I was standing at the admissions desk of the University of Edinburgh, listening to a young girl with bleach blonde hair and a thick Scottish accent look up where I could find a E.A. Lamont. Telling her I was sent by an old Professor back in the states to search out this one to help get me set up for the fall semester.

"Och, here we go." The girl scribbled on a pad, "Third floor, second door to the right is Professor Lamont's office."

I took the piece of paper, smiling tiredly, "Can you tell me what it is that Professor Lamont teaches?"

"Aye, it says Ancient Medieval History." She grinned at me, "Perfect place to learn that here, so many old castles about."

I laughed and nodded, "True." I held up the piece of paper, "Thanks again!"

I then walked towards the staircase and climbed up the old wooden staircase, smiling at the way the creaked under my feet and how insane this was of me. Fly across the ocean and search out a complete stranger who my secret agent next door neighbor told me about. It was ridiculous and as I stood over the fireplace, ready to toss the envelope in the bright orange flames, my gut spoke up. It had recently fell into silence as I drifted into a form of silent living, but as I lifted my hand, it shouted at me to wait. Take a chance and follow Mary's trail. The least that could come of it, I would find out the whereabouts of the woman who killed Victoria and maybe pass it onto James.

My gut wouldn't stop until I boarded the Loganair flight and settled in for the journey. I would do this one last thing, follow this silliness and when it became more twisted secrets, I would go home and finish packing up and maybe call up Diana for an apology dinner.

I shifted my bag on my shoulder as I reached the third floor. There were two glass paned doors to my right, each had the ubiquitous name plate next to the door. First a
R. Maxwell – Theology
and then came
E.A. Lamont – Ancient Medieval Studies.

I sighed, folding the piece of paper up to tuck in my coat pocket before reaching for the door to knock. The door was cocked open and I could see someone sitting at the desk through the frosted glass.

"This is stupid." I rolled my eyes and tapped lightly on the glass with my knuckles and opened the door a bit more, "Excuse me, I'm looking for a Professor Lamont?"

I plastered a pleasant smile on my face as I stepped in and looked up when the Professor stood from the desk. "Hi, my name is Alex…."

All of my words fell to nothing the second I made eye contact with E.A. Lamont, my heart doing a freefall into the bottom of my stomach. Her slate grey eyes sparkling as they glassed over. Her hair was a slight shade of strawberry blonde, but everything else was exactly as I last saw her before that fateful night.

When she was alive.

I clutched my bag strap, swallowing hard as my eyes welled up, "Victoria?" Her name came out barely above a whisper. I blinked a few times to clear away the tears, she was still standing there, pulling off black framed glasses and smiling that same soft smile that captured my entire being so long ago. Victoria was standing in front of me, smiling at me, very much alive and breathing. Her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink the longer I stared at her.

She licked her lips, nodding, "Hello Alex."

Chapter 27

Some would say that four years is a long time, but to me it passed in the blink of an eye.

I sat in the small old office, reading over essays and daydreaming as I looked out the even older paned glass windows. I had arrived at the University of Edinburgh six months ago, returning to the role of Professor and oddly enough it was bringing me much needed peace. The old man had placed me here for many purposes, to keep me in MI6 jurisdiction while I continue to seek out the Colonel.

I had spent four years hunting and dismantling Voltaire from the inside out starting that night in New York when I gave up so much to keep her safe from Arthur and the Colonel. I fell quickly into the old version of me in the black hood and shoved all emotions away as I killed ruthlessly and with a deep conviction fueled by revenge for everything that greasy man and his fat cohort had put me through.

After I killed most of Arthur's plumbers, all of them caught with their proverbial pants down as news of my death spread throughout the company, I continued on. Each gruesome death I handed down, revealed more and more secrets that drove me harder to find the end to Arthur and the Colonel. Maggie stayed out of my way, only providing the tools and transportation to keep my hands freshly covered in blood. Then six months ago, she put a halt to my activities, stating that I was drawing unwanted attention by the CIA and the NSA. She placed me in the University, let me choose my cover name and told me to wait for the seas to calm and I would be set free again. Free to carry out my personal vendetta against the Colonel and everything he had done to me and Dani. Things that grew to be horrible, manipulative truths of how I was captured and the true nature of my torturing.