terrorists pause?"
Both Jason and Bradley looked up quickly. "Terrorist" wasn't a word the FBI used without good cause. That their boss had done so said a lot, and from the smirk on the man's face, he was very aware of it.
"You saved my ass," Agent Dalton assured them. "Rhaven's little press conference hit the national news. Someone asked the President about it at an event. He asked the Director. The Director wanted to know why he wasn't in the loop, and I was more than happy to hand him all of your reports and your attempts at escalation. There's no one to blame but the higher ups." Then he dropped his arms onto his desk and leaned over them. "And you're being assigned a team of Analysts. I want you to funnel them all of the data you've been tracking."
"Sir..." Bradley breathed, glancing over at Jason.
Agent Dalton just lifted a hand. "The clean version, because I'm getting the impression that a few liberties have been taken with this case?"
"Sir?" Jason asked. "Any improprieties are on me."
"Is it going to compromise this fucking case?" Agent Dalton demanded.
"There could be some questions about objectivity," Jason admitted. "Kitty Rodriguez named me as her son's godfather."
"Because you saved her life," Agent Dalton said. "Yes, I already made a note about that."
"Sir - " Jason tried.
But Agent Dalton stood, cutting him off with a glare. Then the man walked around his desk to the door and closed it. He didn't say anything else until he was sitting back down, but the tension in the room had just gone up to unbearable levels.
"Look," Agent Dalton said, "let's cut the bullshit. You've been on this case for far too long, and you have connections that I never would've expected. And yes, I know that Samir Arheez paid for your apartment. Just..." The man sighed. "I just need to know what I'm dealing with."
Jason leaned back in his chair and dropped his hand down to rest on his service dog's head. "Immediately after taking out the man who'd tried to kill Destiny Pierce at Deviant Games, I let both her and Chance Hunter know that if they wanted to catch these people, that I would need a game to trap them in. Deviant Games made Eternal Combat. It's where and how we're getting most of our data. Deviant Games has given me full access to all of their games and the back code. Through that, I began tracking Logan Weiss. I realized he wasn't Soul Reaper - just a gamer with a valid reason to hide his identity. That led me to Riley Andrews, sir."
"The woman called QQ." Agent Dalton nodded, showing he understood.
"Yes, sir. Thing is, I didn't expect her, sir. Riley? She's not just a gamer. She's..."
"Is there a tangle?" Agent Dalton asked.
"Yes, sir," Jason admitted. "Although, it's probably not the kind you're thinking. Riley Andrews has built herself not only a family, but an entire army. Gamers, hackers, developers, and more. She's the reason we've gotten as far as we have, and you would never know it if I didn't tell you, sir. Her communications with me are locked down so tight that I can't even detect it. Her little brother is a ghost online, and he comes with a team. The game outfits of Paradox, Executive Pain, and PsychoDreads are all three cleared and approved to be trusted. They're our spies."
"Fuck," Agent Dalton breathed. "You've gone rogue."
"No, sir," Bradley assured him. "We took a calculated risk, just like with any investigation. This one is just bigger, sir, and the two of us aren't enough to be in all the places on the internet at the same time. The gamers, though, are."
"And you approved this?" Agent Dalton asked Bradley.
Jason's partner nodded. "Yes, sir, I did. Agent Raige has been doing his best with limited resources, and when lives are in danger, we've had to make judgement calls."
Jason looked at him, unable to believe what Bradley was saying, then just shook his head. "No. Bradley is trying to use his exemplary reputation to cover my mistakes, sir. I'm not going to let him go down for this. Yeah, I went off the reservation when I had to. I also saved a few lives. Sir, you want this with no bullshit? You sure?"
"I need to know what's coming," Agent Dalton told him.
"Destiny Pierce made a trap and called it a game. Riley Andrews is playing bait, convincing KoG to go after her. Adam Degrass has taken a