whether Dex would be happier in Recon. He quickly pushed that thought aside.
“You’re right,” Sloane said, focusing on the task at hand. “It’s good to talk through it. What have you got?”
“We know Morelli accessed his THIRDS file before he was killed, most likely under duress, since he signed in on his personal laptop. It’s clear Isaac didn’t get what he wanted and killed him. What was he looking for?”
“I don’t know. Morelli tried to log in to Themis, but he would have known he didn’t have access. Only Team Leaders and those with higher clearance levels have offsite access. Isaac wouldn’t have known that. Maybe Morelli was buying himself more time.”
Dex nodded somberly. “Other than that, I can’t come up with any other reason Isaac would have picked Morelli. According to his file, the guy was a regular Lupus Therian agent. He was single, had a few girlfriends, and worked Defense before he moved to Recon. Do you know why he was moved?”
There had been rumors, but Sloane never relied on hearsay. Like any other organization, the THIRDS wasn’t completely void of office politics or gossip. He gave Dex a shrug. “Something about his health. I think it got too stressful for him. That’s not the first time it’s happened to a Defense agent. Everyone wants to be on Defense until someone tries to blow them up.”
“Glamor comes with a hefty price, huh?”
“Yep. A hefty price, a load of flying bullets, and bears.”
Dex opened his mouth, and Sloane held a hand up. He knew his partner too well by now. “Not those kind of bears. Actual bears, with claws and sharp teeth.” Though now that he thought about it, some Bear Therians were probably uh, bears. Trent from Unit Beta certainly was.
“My kind of bears are more fun,” Dex replied with a wink, before his gaze shifted back to the file, his eyes widening. “Shit.”
Sloane straightened. “What is it?”
Dex swiped his hand across his desk’s surface, sending the file onto Sloane’s desk and his connected interface. “Obviously we wouldn’t have thought anything of it before, but look, under the ‘History’ section.”
“Shit.” Sloane stared at the familiar words. “No way in hell that’s a coincidence.” He tapped his earpiece. “Sarge, we found something.”
Seconds later, Maddock came storming into the office, his nostrils flaring. “Give me good news, Sloane. I get one more call from the Chief of Therian Defense asking me for an update on this case, I’m gonna get an ulcer. We had video conference twice in a span of twenty minutes. What the hell was he expecting to happen in twenty minutes while I’m at the goddamn office? Other than exacerbate my growing desire to take his tacky-ass paisley tie, roll it up, and shove it up his—”
“Whoa!” Dex sprang to his feet and gave Maddock a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Easy there, Sarge. Your blood pressure’s gonna go through the roof at this rate. Not to mention you’ve got a few new additions already,” Dex said, putting a finger to Maddock’s salt and pepper stubble. Sloane tried his hardest to keep himself from laughing when Maddock smacked Dex’s hand away, glaring at him.
“Boy, are you crazy? I am royally pissed off, and you’re telling me I’ve got more gray hair? Who the hell do you think gave them to me in the first place?”
Dex blinked at him innocently. “Cael?”
Maddock pressed his lips together and turned away to address Sloane. “Please, tell me you’ve got something before I strangle your partner.”
Sloane couldn’t help his chuckle. “Looks like you’re going to have to leave the strangling for some other time, because it was actually Dex who found it.”
Maddock glanced at Dex, groaning at his son’s dopey grin. When Dex wriggled his eyebrows, Maddock planted his hand on Dex’s face. Sloane cringed. Bad move. Maddock snapped his hand back as if he’d been burned by acid, clutching it to his broad chest. His frown
“You’re right,” Sloane said, focusing on the task at hand. “It’s good to talk through it. What have you got?”
“We know Morelli accessed his THIRDS file before he was killed, most likely under duress, since he signed in on his personal laptop. It’s clear Isaac didn’t get what he wanted and killed him. What was he looking for?”
“I don’t know. Morelli tried to log in to Themis, but he would have known he didn’t have access. Only Team Leaders and those with higher clearance levels have offsite access. Isaac wouldn’t have known that. Maybe Morelli was buying himself more time.”
Dex nodded somberly. “Other than that, I can’t come up with any other reason Isaac would have picked Morelli. According to his file, the guy was a regular Lupus Therian agent. He was single, had a few girlfriends, and worked Defense before he moved to Recon. Do you know why he was moved?”
There had been rumors, but Sloane never relied on hearsay. Like any other organization, the THIRDS wasn’t completely void of office politics or gossip. He gave Dex a shrug. “Something about his health. I think it got too stressful for him. That’s not the first time it’s happened to a Defense agent. Everyone wants to be on Defense until someone tries to blow them up.”
“Glamor comes with a hefty price, huh?”
“Yep. A hefty price, a load of flying bullets, and bears.”
Dex opened his mouth, and Sloane held a hand up. He knew his partner too well by now. “Not those kind of bears. Actual bears, with claws and sharp teeth.” Though now that he thought about it, some Bear Therians were probably uh, bears. Trent from Unit Beta certainly was.
“My kind of bears are more fun,” Dex replied with a wink, before his gaze shifted back to the file, his eyes widening. “Shit.”
Sloane straightened. “What is it?”
Dex swiped his hand across his desk’s surface, sending the file onto Sloane’s desk and his connected interface. “Obviously we wouldn’t have thought anything of it before, but look, under the ‘History’ section.”
“Shit.” Sloane stared at the familiar words. “No way in hell that’s a coincidence.” He tapped his earpiece. “Sarge, we found something.”
Seconds later, Maddock came storming into the office, his nostrils flaring. “Give me good news, Sloane. I get one more call from the Chief of Therian Defense asking me for an update on this case, I’m gonna get an ulcer. We had video conference twice in a span of twenty minutes. What the hell was he expecting to happen in twenty minutes while I’m at the goddamn office? Other than exacerbate my growing desire to take his tacky-ass paisley tie, roll it up, and shove it up his—”
“Whoa!” Dex sprang to his feet and gave Maddock a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Easy there, Sarge. Your blood pressure’s gonna go through the roof at this rate. Not to mention you’ve got a few new additions already,” Dex said, putting a finger to Maddock’s salt and pepper stubble. Sloane tried his hardest to keep himself from laughing when Maddock smacked Dex’s hand away, glaring at him.
“Boy, are you crazy? I am royally pissed off, and you’re telling me I’ve got more gray hair? Who the hell do you think gave them to me in the first place?”
Dex blinked at him innocently. “Cael?”
Maddock pressed his lips together and turned away to address Sloane. “Please, tell me you’ve got something before I strangle your partner.”
Sloane couldn’t help his chuckle. “Looks like you’re going to have to leave the strangling for some other time, because it was actually Dex who found it.”
Maddock glanced at Dex, groaning at his son’s dopey grin. When Dex wriggled his eyebrows, Maddock planted his hand on Dex’s face. Sloane cringed. Bad move. Maddock snapped his hand back as if he’d been burned by acid, clutching it to his broad chest. His frown
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