"Something like that." It was obvious from the annoyance etched into Rose's features that Sam had managed to stop her. And had been shot for her efforts. He hoped she wasn't too badly injured
"It's unfortunate, you know, as it calls for an extreme change of plan."
And he was supposed to be sorry about that? Anything that sidetracked this woman's mad schemes had to be a good thing. "Try my shape again. You never know. You might get through a second time."
"I am not a fool, Assistant Director. Please don't treat me like one."
There was no point in replying. He carefully ran his fingers up his broken arm till he found the laser wound. The cut felt clean, but his arm was definitely broken. Which was no real problem, because his shapechanger bones healed extraordinarily fast. He just had to set the bones straight, and the healing would begin. He could also feel an ominous damp patch under his right shoulder, but he had no idea where that blood was coming from.
"You stated before that the SIU does not bargain for its operatives," she said. "You'd better hope that you're wrong, because it's your only chance to live."
"Then there's no chance at all." Nursing his shattered limb with his right arm, he rolled fully onto his back. To say it hurt would be an understatement, but he needed to see where he was. The room was small, and the only exit points were the window behind the desk and the two doors, one opposite to where he lay, and the other close to his left. He could hear no sound beyond this room. Hopefully, it meant it was just him and Rose here.
"I want Director Byrne's silent number," she continued.
He gave it to her. If she thought to get around the automatic tracing by using Stephan's silent number, then she was very wrong.
He waited almost impatiently for her to grab the phone. All he needed was for her attention to be diverted for a second or two, and he was up and out the door. His arm might be shattered, but he still had two good legs. And the desperation to survive was a mighty fine pain killer.
Rose picked up the laser near the phone and pointed it in his direction. "Move and you die."
She set the phone to speaker and dialed the number he'd given her. After several rings, Stephan's familiar voice came on-line.
"Byrne here."
"Director Byrne. How nice to finally speak to you."
There was a brief silence. Though the trace was automatic, he knew Stephan was now ordering a second trace to start, this time involving the satellites to track the exact location.
"Who is this?"
Rose glanced at her watch. As a cop, she'd know the call would be traced, but he doubted if she knew it could be tracked via satellite as well. That capability was a well-kept secret.
"I think you know who this is, Director. Shall we cut to the chase?"
"What do you want, Rose?"
"You know what I want. I have something to offer in exchange."
"You must know we do not make exchanges for the lives of our operatives. We can't afford to."
"Then you condemn him to death."
The silence seemed to stretch forever. Gabriel nursed his arm and wished, for the first time in his life, he knew what was going on in his brother's mind. They both knew the rules — they both knew the risks of being caught in a situation like this. Both knew that, in the end, there no real choice.
But had it been him on the other end of the phone, he would have found some way to give them another choice.
"Let me speak to him," Stephan said eventually. "I want to know if he's still alive."
"Oh, he's alive. Bleeding, sweating, and silently cursing me, but he's definitely alive." She motioned toward the phone with the gun. "Speak to the man, Assistant Director."
"Here, sir," he said.
"Situation?"
Rose clicked the safety off the gun. A soft whine filled the room as the laser powered to full.
He took heed of the warning. "As she said."