work.”
Everyone looked at Sid.
“Our new case chief?” Eva suggested.
“Well, don’t ask me,” Sid protested. “I get told fuck-all.”
“So what’s next?” Ian asked.
Sid rubbed his hands across his face. All he wanted to do was go home, but that wasn’t going to happen. “No point in us all staying on. Wrap and seal your files, then get yourselves off home. I’ll formulate the follow-ups that’ve come out of today’s investigation ready to show the new bloke.”
He was still working on the official requests for forensic investigation of the river sites at seven thirty when O’Rouke finally summoned him up to the sixth floor. When he did get to the big corner office he wasn’t entirely surprised to find a tall Afro-American in a dark suit waiting to greet him with a firm handshake and an appraising stare. Agent Vance Elston couldn’t have been a more obvious covert government operative if he’d had SPOOK tattooed across his forehead. However, having Aldred waiting in the office as well was unexpected.
The final member of the meeting was secure i-conferencing from her own office in Brussels, showing on the wallscreen opposite the window. O’Rouke introduced her as Charmonique Passam, a vice commissioner for the Grande Europe Bureau of Alien Affairs. Sid had never heard of her, nor her bureau, but the type-recognition was instant. A politician: worst kind. She was in her early fifties, groomed and dressed in a painfully inadequate imitation of the genuinely wealthy. Suit from some Parisian couture house. Dark hair locked rigidly into place and streaked with brown highlights. Indian-heritage skin with pink and blue makeup shaded across cheeks and eyes. It all made her look even older, which Sid guessed might be the purpose. Her advisers must have told her age equated to gravitas. Quite how that much money and intellect could be exhausted to produce an image that was as comic as it was pitiful, Sid couldn’t grasp. The one other thing he didn’t understand was what she was doing i-conferencing here tonight. He didn’t get to ask, either.
“Any progress?” O’Rouke began after he’d run the introductions.
Which was a great start, Sid thought. “We’ve identified possible sites where the body was dumped in the river. However, the most interesting aspect is the identity.”
“Who was it?” Vance Elston asked.
“We don’t know.”
“And you think that’s interesting?”
“Very. We’ve verified he was a 2North. Yet they’re all accounted for. Our current belief is that an imposter is imitating a 2North, probably to advance some type of corporate scam. Once we’ve positively identified the site where the body was dumped into the river, we can begin a backtrack operation,” Sid replied levelly. “I’ve prepared the procedures ready for authorization.”
“By whom?” Charmonique Passam inquired.
“I need to discuss that with the chief constable,” Sid replied cautiously. Her tone told him it was a loaded question, but then her tone was like someone from the royal family speaking in a century-old recording. Patronizing. Sid realized just how bad his opinion of her was growing, and made an effort to stop being so cynical. He knew he’d resort to sarcasm if the meeting stretched on too long, and that wouldn’t be good in any way.
“I’m not referring to which agency you contract. I’m interested in your team’s composition.”
“I’m sorry?” Out of the corner of his eye Sid could see O’Rouke’s face stiffen up as the skin slowly turned ruddy. That blood pressure problem would kill him off one day not far away. Interestingly, there was no reaction from Elston, nothing at all, which was impressive. He was a parent waiting stoically for a toddler’s tantrum to blow out.
“It seems very male-centric,” Charmonique Passam said. “That’s all I’m saying. But I am surprised to have to say it in this day and age, as I thought we were long past such issues after
Everyone looked at Sid.
“Our new case chief?” Eva suggested.
“Well, don’t ask me,” Sid protested. “I get told fuck-all.”
“So what’s next?” Ian asked.
Sid rubbed his hands across his face. All he wanted to do was go home, but that wasn’t going to happen. “No point in us all staying on. Wrap and seal your files, then get yourselves off home. I’ll formulate the follow-ups that’ve come out of today’s investigation ready to show the new bloke.”
He was still working on the official requests for forensic investigation of the river sites at seven thirty when O’Rouke finally summoned him up to the sixth floor. When he did get to the big corner office he wasn’t entirely surprised to find a tall Afro-American in a dark suit waiting to greet him with a firm handshake and an appraising stare. Agent Vance Elston couldn’t have been a more obvious covert government operative if he’d had SPOOK tattooed across his forehead. However, having Aldred waiting in the office as well was unexpected.
The final member of the meeting was secure i-conferencing from her own office in Brussels, showing on the wallscreen opposite the window. O’Rouke introduced her as Charmonique Passam, a vice commissioner for the Grande Europe Bureau of Alien Affairs. Sid had never heard of her, nor her bureau, but the type-recognition was instant. A politician: worst kind. She was in her early fifties, groomed and dressed in a painfully inadequate imitation of the genuinely wealthy. Suit from some Parisian couture house. Dark hair locked rigidly into place and streaked with brown highlights. Indian-heritage skin with pink and blue makeup shaded across cheeks and eyes. It all made her look even older, which Sid guessed might be the purpose. Her advisers must have told her age equated to gravitas. Quite how that much money and intellect could be exhausted to produce an image that was as comic as it was pitiful, Sid couldn’t grasp. The one other thing he didn’t understand was what she was doing i-conferencing here tonight. He didn’t get to ask, either.
“Any progress?” O’Rouke began after he’d run the introductions.
Which was a great start, Sid thought. “We’ve identified possible sites where the body was dumped in the river. However, the most interesting aspect is the identity.”
“Who was it?” Vance Elston asked.
“We don’t know.”
“And you think that’s interesting?”
“Very. We’ve verified he was a 2North. Yet they’re all accounted for. Our current belief is that an imposter is imitating a 2North, probably to advance some type of corporate scam. Once we’ve positively identified the site where the body was dumped into the river, we can begin a backtrack operation,” Sid replied levelly. “I’ve prepared the procedures ready for authorization.”
“By whom?” Charmonique Passam inquired.
“I need to discuss that with the chief constable,” Sid replied cautiously. Her tone told him it was a loaded question, but then her tone was like someone from the royal family speaking in a century-old recording. Patronizing. Sid realized just how bad his opinion of her was growing, and made an effort to stop being so cynical. He knew he’d resort to sarcasm if the meeting stretched on too long, and that wouldn’t be good in any way.
“I’m not referring to which agency you contract. I’m interested in your team’s composition.”
“I’m sorry?” Out of the corner of his eye Sid could see O’Rouke’s face stiffen up as the skin slowly turned ruddy. That blood pressure problem would kill him off one day not far away. Interestingly, there was no reaction from Elston, nothing at all, which was impressive. He was a parent waiting stoically for a toddler’s tantrum to blow out.
“It seems very male-centric,” Charmonique Passam said. “That’s all I’m saying. But I am surprised to have to say it in this day and age, as I thought we were long past such issues after
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