Page 48 of Sebastian
“Gun!” He fired twice, killing Jeffrey, but the six bullets fired by Milo killed him. He was the connection that Jeffrey was using for the warehouse. Of course, he didn’t realize that his own brother had paid the man as well. To kill him.
“What a mess,” said Emelia, looking at the dead bodies. Not one of the gang members was left alive, and all of the elderly had died. Ambulances, coroners, sheriffs, police, FBI, DEA, and every other letter in the alphabet soup was on scene.
It would be noon the following day before they returned to the hotel, showered, and slept for more than twenty-four hours. They couldn’t leave yet.
There were still things to work through.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Emelia, we’d like to offer you the position of Assistant Director,” said the man seated before her.
“Assistant Director?” she frowned. “I don’t have nearly enough experience for that. There are dozens of other agents more qualified for that role. I respectfully decline. Please accept my resignation.”
“Emelia, you’re a wonderful agent. Surely, we can entice you to stay,” he smiled. Sebastian was seated beside her, her father, Hex, Baptiste, and Matthew in the room as well. “I’m certain your family sees the wisdom in this.”
“What my family sees is a man who is attempting to cover up one of the most heinous acts I’ve ever seen,” said Emelia calmly. The director stared at her, swallowing as she continued. “Did you think we wouldn’t find it? Thousands of files were hidden in that warehouse. Thousands.”
“Files? Emelia, it was drugs, guns, cash, a few electronics. That’s all.”
“That’s not all. Thousands of paper and electronic files hidden from the public. Hidden so that you and all the other fucking agencies could so graciously cooperate with one another. Government employees robbed of their true benefits. Millions of elderly patients were not given the care they needed and deserved.
“And you hid it all. Carefully removed from file cabinets when it was all paper, then electronically transferred to some pit of doom. Millions. You’ve been doing this for years.”
The men in the room stared at him as he stood, believing that he could actually walk out. Instead, he spotted the six military MPs on the other side of the door.
“I’m not in the military. They have no authority over me,” he said calmly.
“According to the President of the United States, they do. He sent them. Not me.” Emelia was so calm and cool. Sebastian thought it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.
“You’re so naïve, Emelia. Do you honestly believe that the system we have in place will be able to support your grandparents, parents, hell, you? Do you? Because it won’t. Tough decisions had to be made, and a group of us who believed decided to make those decisions long ago. We can’t support the entire world.”
“No one asked you to. But supporting those in our country who have contributed to the very programs you’re denying them full access to is not out of the question. I’m not naïve, director. I’m honest. I’m direct. I’m by the book. But naïve, I am not.
“I think you forget who I am and who my father is. Who my grandfather is. And all my other aunts, uncles, and beloved friends. We are anything but naïve. We have seen the worst the world has to offer. To think that the worst I would see would be in my own backyard, in my own country, is despicable.”
“I’ve given everything to my country!” he said, pounding his fist on the desk.
“Everything?” smirked Baptiste. “You’ve given barely anything at all. You graduated from Georgetown with a law degree, became an agent, and just climbed the ladder. You own a three-point-nine-million-dollar home in Fredericksburg and drive an eighty-thousand-dollar foreign sedan.
“Your vacations last year included Capri, the Maldives, and others, to name a few. You’ve given nothing, but it seems you got a great deal. I agree with Emelia. You’ve forgotten who you’re dealing with. We know everything about you. Everything. Including those that worked with you on this little experiment of yours.”
“It wasn’t an experiment. We formulated a plan that saved the system. Saved millions and millions of dollars, if not billions.”
“And killed people,” said Sebastian.
“Did people die? Yes. Old people who were so sick no amount of treatment would have saved them. Why would we spend thousands of dollars on medications and treatments for someone who wouldn’t survive.”
“I wonder if you would have said that had it been someone in your family,” said Hex, sneering at the man. He only laughed.
“See, that’s the difference between you and me. I made that decision. I made the decision to deny my wife’s care for lung disease. I denied care for my own father when he had a stroke. I made that decision! I made it because it was the right decision to make.”
Emelia just stared at the man who’d been the director of the FBI for nearly six years now. She’d met him a handful of times and never suspected he was capable of anything so disturbing.
“You nearly make me lose faith in humanity,” said Matthew. “Nearly. Then I see these fine young people standing around here and know that we’re in good hands. Fine hands.”
“Who are you again?” asked the arrogant man.
“No one important,” smiled Matthew. “But I should tell you that your wife and father are ashamed of you. They’re embarrassed by your actions.”