NOW

Keel put down his copy of Wyland's report, hot off the press, and glanced out of the penthouse kitchen to where Lucas was now lounging around like one of his yokats. "Well the story matches up."

"Yessir," Rouke said, still fiddling with her hands. "Is...is that all sir?"

"What do you mean is that all? I haven't even got the full story yet. Have you even been listening?"

Rouke shuddered, and was about to say something when her phone buzzed. Glad for a way out of that conversation, she dug it out and her eyes widened. "Cap-Captain Callahan is almost back, sir!"

Keel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Fucking finally. Helipad on the roof?"

Rouke nodded quickly.

"Watch Walker. And play nice - give him food, drinks, just...okay do I have to tell you not to just let him escape?"

"...no?" she squeaked.

"Sorry, I...I need him to drop his guard. I just want to make sure there aren't any inconsistencies." He scribbled down a code on some loose paper. "This too. This address goes to someone in JTF who's consulting for me. Forward everything Lucas said and Wyland's report. If we're missing something he'll spot it."

Rouke saluted shakily. "Sir yes sir!"

He flinched at the volume of that response, which was quite inappropriate for the fact that she was standing right next to his ear. "Just do it," he mumbled, and staggered over to the doorway out the other side of the kitchen.

It had been a good idea, or at least he'd thought so at the very beginning. After all, many of the past century's successful projects had been helmed by the same kind of odd-duck personalities - from Leighton Veers somehow keeping the academically Darwinist forces of the Tartarus Corporation in check to the to the Warringtons' insane brand of brilliance that reshaped a good quarter of the political landscape. The one mistake he could take credit for, he now realised, was the relative autonomy Division Five's taskforces got. Keel knew an authoritarian attitude would not do with the kind of people he had set his eyes on, but perhaps he'd been a little *too* lenient. As he ascended the two flights of stairs that led to the roof access door, he quickly filed the notion away in the back of his head and turned the knob, only to be blinded by the hot tropical sun blasting over the city of Tulgor.

Shielding his eyes with one hand, he watched as the twin-rotor craft hovering above the roof came down to smoothly kiss the helipad and for three other people to jump out, all dressed in thick ghillie suits.

The first pulled off his ghillie hat, and smiled to reveal multiple golden teeth in place of those that had been ripped from his face in a horrific incident years ago. "Minister! What can I do for you?" Callahan's manner of articulation was still slightly off on account of his injuries, but these days it was barely noticeable.

The first place Keel's mind went to was the paintings, but he stopped himself in time and smiled back. "I've been interrogating Mr. Walker. Was hoping you could fill in some gaps about the circumstances of his capture."

"Would that be before or after I take a shower?" He waved the other two members of Delta-8 to head inside. "I've been lying in mud all day trying to figure out if that child-snatcher is back."

This, Keel knew he couldn't deny. He stepped aside. "Your conclusion?"

"I'm still not discounting a ghost imprint. Might wanna get Demshaw's group down here, no?"

"I'll let Director Hennessey know." Keel gave a little wave as Callahan went in too, tracking mud down the steps and into the otherwise clean penthouse.

Keel stayed on the roof, partly to feel the sun on his face and partly for privacy. Into his messenger app he typed:

Choking, suffocating guilt crept up Keel's windpipe. For all their inconvenient quirks, people like Karuchek still did good work. Of course he wouldn't have had that opinion in lieu of witnessing the man's sheer analytical prowess firsthand, but then again that was the point: not judging a book by its very odd, sometimes very repulsive cover.

Perhaps today he had been overly harsh.

The sound of some large machine drew his gaze to the stairs down into the penthouse suite, where Agent Rouke was leading a large cleaning robot up the steps, washing off and sucking up the mud into its blue barrel-like body.

"Agent-" he began.

Rouke tensed up, almost losing her wrangling on the robot and causing it to wobble on the narrow steps. "M-Minister! I didn't know you were up here!"

"Ag...Aisha," he said slowly. "I want to apologise."

She blinked in confusion.

"If I was...unpleasant earlier, please don't take that as...I'm not that kind of person."

Her blank expression slowly shifted into a slight smile. "It's fine, sir. Your job is very important. It affects all of us. I can understand why it might be...frustrating."

"But yours is important too." He put a hand on her shoulder. "And I don't think it warrants being treated like trash. Every team needs supporting members as well as field agents. So again, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she said again...blushing? As if suddenly aware of how she looked in the moment, she grabbed the cleaning robot's lead again. "You might want to go downstairs, sir. I need to finish up here."

"Of-of course." Keel descended back down to the penthouse proper, turned to enter the kitchen, and was immediately struck with the image of a towel-wearing Callahan in all his toned glory, getting a drink out of the fridge.

He turned around and frowned at the frozen Keel. "Something the matter, sir?"

Keel shook his head. "Just didn't expect you to shower so quickly."

"You made it sound urgent." Callahan nodded at the documents on the kitchen counter. "Walker's records aren't complete."

"I'm not done with him. Don't trust him not to keep things from us."

"Want me to bring out the tools?" Callahan flashed his golden smile.

"No, please don't do that. He's a guest, at least for now."

"Well that's no fun." He cracked his knuckles. "What is it then?"

"I'm trying to piece this all together. You made an attempt to penetrate the anomalous communications disruption, correct?"

"D1 wasn't going to do it, so we had to try."

He moved the documents towards Callahan. "Look at these again. In relation to these, when exactly would you say that lined up?"