Secrets and Lies

After I finally extricated myself from my partner's arms I couldn't help teasing, "Thanks Feebs, I'm touched. I had no idea you'd miss me so much after only a few hours apart."

Sure enough her cheeks coloured immediately at my comment. The busty redhead huffed, "I was just worried because LIES is already down two field agents. We couldn't afford to lose a third, you know?"

"Of course," I responded with a smile. "As the last field agent you'd be all alone, and I'm sure that was very frightening for you."

She just rolled her eyes and pouted, while her cheeks continued to burn. Meanwhile my own expression faltered slightly as I finally took in some of the details of the hotel room I'd appeared in.

It was certainly posh, it looked like another luxury suite. There was a lounge area off to the side next to some large windows. That included a comfy-looking sofa and a pair of matching wingback chairs, along with a proper desk and chair. There was also a small breakfast table in the corner surrounded by three smaller chairs, and behind that was a mini-fridge, plus both a tea kettle and coffee machine along with various related supplies. A large TV hung on the wall where it could be viewed from both the sleeping and sitting areas. And that brought me to the one detail I had to question.

"Phoebe?" I asked as I looked down at my petite partner, "This looks like a very nice room, but there's just one thing I'm curious about. Where's the other bed?"

That was the most dominating feature of the whole suite. The bed was huge, definitely a king size, and it looked very comfortable with lots of soft plush blankets and a half dozen fluffy pillows. The only issue I could see was that there was only the one of them.

The busty redhead's cheeks got even brighter while she explained, "This was the only place I could find that was available on short notice and was close enough to make sense as a base of operations... And that had a proper bathtub. Actually the whole washroom's fabulous! Plus the hotel has a bunch of other amenities, it's in the heart of Canterbury, we've got a lovely view from our own private terrace, and we're walking distance from everything else we might need."

I continued staring at her as I asked calmly, "You picked this room because it has a nice tub? Only one bed, but the bathroom's nice?"

"It's a big bed!" she insisted as she gestured vaguely at it. She was clearly flustered though, as she continued in a much softer voice, "There's loads of room, we can be on opposite sides. It'll be fine."

"Uh-huh," I deadpanned as I continued staring at her.

After another second or two she finally gave in. Her shoulders slumped and she mumbled, "Fine. You can have the bed to yourself, I'll take the sofa. Maybe it folds out or something."

"Let's worry about those details later," I decided. "For now why don't you fill me in on what I missed?"

The two of us ended up sitting together on the sofa while Phoebe explained, "You didn't miss much to be honest. I saw those guys grab you, and that's when I realized that kid messing with my Grandland was just a diversion. But by that point it was too late. The situation was serious enough to warrant my use of magic, but they'd already disappeared into the van with you so I didn't have a clear line of sight on any of them. And I couldn't risk you or some innocent bystanders getting hurt."

"I thought to try and chase after them," she added. That was quickly followed by a sigh, "Except you had the keys to the Grandland. And anyways I can't drive right now because of my probation. So I called Dr. Bishop and explained what happened. She said she'd contact Miss Talbot, and that was about all I could do."

Finally she shrugged, "After that was nothing but waiting and worrying. So I checked in here, and I've spent the past five hours pacing and texting Dr. Grace for updates. She let me know when Miss Talbot acknowledged the message, so at least I knew our boss was looking for you. But I had no idea if you'd be ok or not until you suddenly appeared here in front of me."

I gave her a sympathetic look, "Sorry for disappearing with your keys. And sorry for making you wait so long. Unfortunately I didn't have much control over that."

Phoebe's cheeks coloured again as she looked embarrassed for having been so worried. Rather than dwell on how anxious she'd been she focused on my ordeal instead. "So what happened to you, where'd they take you? I'm guessing those blokes had something to do with the warning you gave Martin a couple weeks ago? About the government's interest in our little operation?"

"Yeah," I grimaced. "Apparently they're a special team within the Security Service. And it turns out they've known about magic for some time. A few of them were friends with some of your former colleagues at the Brotherhood..."

I went on to describe what happened, including how I suspected they'd knocked me out with magic. Then when I told her about that tray full of worrisome items the cute redhead's face went rather pale. She didn't recognize any of them specifically, but she said she had enough experience in the Brotherhood that she could guess what a few of them did. Especially after I related what Mr. Morrison threatened to do to me.

"Damn Tril I'm sorry," my partner sighed. "I'm glad you're ok. I take it Miss Talbot didn't have any problem dealing with that lot?"

"It would seem," I nodded in agreement. "And thank you Phoebe. I appreciate your concern."

Finally I told her what little I knew of Morrison's fate, and that of his team. I also mentioned that Cindy was planning to help their other victims, then pay their boss a visit to 'discuss' their ties to the Brotherhood.

In the end Phoebe didn't have much to say about that. Instead she asked, "I don't suppose Miss Talbot said anything about finding Owen and Martin?"

"I asked," I replied. "Cindy confirmed they weren't grabbed by Morrison's people. Unfortunately she can't really help us on this one..."

She frowned but listened quietly as I explained Miss Talbot's reason for wanting to sit this one out. Then she sighed, "Alright. So you and I are still on the case. Although I'm not sure how much we're going to accomplish this late in the day."

"Speaking of, how late is it?" I asked. I added with a frown, "They took my phone, and pretty much everything else. Cindy said she'd replace it, but I'm not sure when that's going to happen."

Phoebe replied, "It's just past eight. You've been gone for about six hours."

"Damn," I sighed.

Considering it felt like less than an hour had passed since I'd woken up in that interrogation room that meant I'd been out cold for about five hours. Which left me wondering how far they'd driven me, where that makeshift interrogation site was located. And what else they may have done to me while I was unconscious.

That last thought left me with a bad feeling in my gut and I had to suppress a bit of a shudder. I figured I could always send our boss a message and ask her, but that would have to wait until I had a phone.

Just then we were both distracted by a little swirl of light atop the coffee table in front of us, and when it faded all my missing stuff was sitting there in a neat little pile. As if Cindy was somehow listening to my thoughts, she'd returned my hoodie and jacket, shoes and socks, my phone, wallet, ID, and the keys to my partner's SUV.

"Oh!" Phoebe gasped a moment later, then looked down at her left ankle as she pulled up the cuff of her pants. "What's this?"

I looked as well, then grimaced again. "Oh right. That's a little gift from our boss. Sorry, I asked her to do that but I honestly expected her to check with you about it first."

"She gave me one as well," I added as I showed her mine.

Where I had a cute little stoat tattoo on my right ankle, Phoebe now had a small adorable white bunny tattoo on her left ankle. The two almost matched in a way, while we were next to each other it appeared as though my stoat was eyeing her bun.

My partner sounded a little wary as she asked, "Why did our boss give us tattoos? Is this meant to be some kind of brand or something?"

"Of course not!" I stated. "They're enchanted, as an upgrade to the amulet. And they can't be lost or stolen."

Phoebe listened quietly while I explained what Cindy told me, about how the tattoos offered more comprehensive upgraded protection. I decided not to mention anything about possible bonuses though, since I didn't know if that applied to her. And for that matter I wasn't even sure how it was supposed to work for me.

Finally I suggested, "Now that I've got my shoes and the key fob for your Grandland, why don't we head back out and grab the rest of our things?"

"I already brought all our stuff in," the redhead replied. "It's unpacked and put away in the walk-in wardrobe. And I loaded our drinks into the mini-fridge."

Before I could ask she elaborated, "I forced the door on the SUV. I mean, since you vanished with the key and I didn't have anything else to do I figured it'd be ok. It's my SUV, it's not like I was breaking into someone else's property."

I smiled, "You don't have to convince me Feebs. That's fine."

She still seemed a little embarrassed as she responded, "We could still go out though? I don't know about you but I could use some supper."

I didn't actually feel that hungry, but I knew if I skipped dinner I'd probably regret it later on when I was trying to sleep.

"That sounds good. Have you already picked a spot?" I asked as I got my shoes on.

She had, but I found myself distracted by an unexpected find hidden amongst my belongings. It turned out to be a new badge and warrant card, identifying me as a detective constable with the South Wales Police. And next to that was a short hand-written note from our boss.

"This should help open some doors for you I think," Cindy wrote. "Before you ask, no this isn't a forgery or a fake. It's all official and genuine. You're now listed as a detective with the Heddlu De Cymru, on special assignment working with LIES. So if anyone looks you up they'll find your name in the registry. You've also got remote access to their computers and stuff, incase you need to run background checks or look stuff up."

My eyebrows crept up higher and higher as I read through the note, but by the time I got to the end I was frowning again. Despite her assurances I still had quite a few questions about how legitimate it really was. There was also the small problem where I didn't know Welsh, and while that might not have been a job requirement it felt like the sort of thing that would certainly help convince people the ID was genuine.

I was still thinking about that when Phoebe spoke up, "What's the note say?"

Rather than read it to her I just offered her the piece of paper. She glanced at it then shook her head, "I know a bit of Scots Gaelic, but I'm hopeless when it comes to Welsh."

"Same," I replied. "Except I don't know any Gaelic either."

I was about to ask why she'd brought that up, when I took another look at Cindy's note. And that's when I finally realized it was actually written in Welsh. Except somehow I still understood it perfectly. I stared at the slip of paper for another few seconds, before my eyes drifted down to that enchanted tattoo on my ankle. It seemed as though I'd just uncovered one of those 'bonuses' Miss Talbot was talking about.

After another second or two I looked back at Phoebe and explained, "I don't know how she did it, but apparently I'm now a detective constable with the South Wales Police. On special assignment with LIES, of course."

"So you're Detective Sharpe again?" the redhead grinned. "So much for civilian life."

I nodded slowly, "I suppose. Anyways we can worry about my title and employment status later. Let's go grab some dinner."

Phoebe agreed, and less than ten minutes later the two of us were seated across from each other at a table for two in an Italian restaurant only a couple doors down from the hotel. After a quick look at the menu we placed our order, and soon we were enjoying an appetiser of toasted focaccia with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip along with a bold red wine from Montepulciano in Tuscany.

"So detective," my partner commented with a wry smile, "Seeing as you're the expert with all the credentials, how do you want to proceed? What's our next move?"

I thought it over as I had a sip of my wine, "We know Owen and Martin were here about the angel sightings, and there's no way they'd have ignored yesterday's big event. So I think first thing tomorrow we should visit the cathedral, try and meet with some of the staff and see if anyone saw or perhaps even spoke with them."

"You've only had that pretty new warrant card for ten minutes, now you want to interrogate the bloody archbishop of Canterbury?" Phoebe teased.

"Only if she's available," I replied with a smile. That faded though as I got serious again, "Really I'd just like to speak with a few of their staff who were present yesterday afternoon, after the sighting. Owen and Martin had to have been there, someone must have seen them."

The redhead agreed, "Aye, that's what I'd do as well. My next question is, how are you going to use a Welsh police ID to get you anywhere in south-east England?"

I shrugged, "I'll think of something."

"I'm curious though," I added after another sip of wine. "How would you be handling this, if I hadn't joined LIES?"

Phoebe seemed to think that over as she munched on another piece of focaccia. It took her a half minute to respond, and when she did she kept her voice low. She also seemed a little guilty, which soon made perfect sense.

"A month ago I'd still be using standard Brotherhood procedures," she quietly explained. "You've got your warrant card to open doors and get people to talk, I'd have used magic to do the same. I can be very persuasive, with some of the spells I know. As can Martin, and Owen. Even Terry probably knows this stuff, since he's ex-Brotherhood too."

"Being a LIES operation I'd have been a little more gentle about handling witnesses," she continued, "But I'd still have made sure to cover my tracks, nobody would remember seeing or speaking to me."

She stopped there, as our waiter returned to our table with the food. I'd ordered the spaghetti arrabbiata al forno with grilled chicken, which looked and smelled fantastic. And Phoebe had a generous helping of lasagna that also looked great.

For the next couple minutes the two of us quietly enjoyed our dinner, before I finally broke the silence.

"Anyways I'm glad we're both on the same page as far as our plans for tomorrow," I commented in between forkfuls of pasta and chicken. "When we get back to our room after dinner I think I'm going to do a bit more reading, then try and get a good night's sleep."

I had another sip of wine then added, "In the morning let's aim to be ready for work by nine. I know Alys must be beside herself worrying about her dad, we don't want to keep her waiting any longer than necessary."

"Aye," Phoebe agreed quietly. "I'm sure both she and Grace will be desperate for news."