Purpose - A New Beginning - 5. Chapter 5

Only the chief could see me as her subordinates entered the room. Odds were, one of them had let whomever bugged the chief's office into the room. The rest, however, would be useful in finding who had Detective Griffin.

I didn't listen as the chief started talking in vague terms about security and the need to be sure that information is kept confidential. Instead, I focused on the sound of the ten heartbeats in the room. When she started speaking about a potential leak of information that could only have come from her immediate office, I heard two hearts start to pound much faster.

Walking behind the men and women in the room, I noticed the chief's eyes following my movement. When I stopped behind the first person, the already rapid heart rate increased to dangerous levels.

"Commander Guthrie helped someone gain entry to your office," I said after reading his mind to confirm his participation. For a moment, I almost let him hear my words, but I decided to wait until we separated both accomplices from the others. "He doesn't know who the woman worked for, but he got fifty thousand dollars to do it."

The chief stared a hole into Commander Guthrie, and I could feel the heat rising from his skin. I let her twist the knife into the man's soul as I searched the line for the second traitor.

Two places down from Guthrie, Captain Baker stood next to an assistant chief. Her pulse was so fast I feared she might pass out once she became the focus of the chief's attention.

"Chief?" I waited until she tore her gaze away from Guthrie. "Captain Baker also helped with the infiltration. She also received fifty thousand dollars."

"You?" There was more hurt than anger in the chief's voice as she focused on the second person who had betrayed her trust.

All eyes in the room turned toward Captain Baker; everyone except Commander. Guthrie. If I hadn't been standing behind her, Baker would have slumped onto the floor.

"Chief?" When she looked up, I circled the room with my eyes. "It would be best if the others waited outside."

"Everyone except Guthrie, Baker and Harper please step outside and wait for me there."

I raised an eyebrow at the inclusion of Assistant Chief Harper, but a quick scan of the chief's thoughts told me that Harper was her most trusted colleague. I held my tongue using the time to search Harper's thoughts. A thorough scan convinced me that Assistant Chief Harper could be trusted.

The other officials didn't move immediately, appearing confused by what had just happened. I didn't want this to drag on, so I 'told' them to follow the chief's instructions immediately. As for Guthrie and Baker, I kept control of them so they didn't try to leave.

After the six who were asked to go outside had left, I told the others in the room they could see me. Assistant Chief Harper, in a move reminiscent of her boss, pulled her gun in one motion pointed it at my head.

"Who the fuck…."

Chief Rawlings put her hand on the top of the slide and slowly pushed the gun down. "He's with me."

Harper stared at her friend, as if looking for some hint that the chief had been compromised. The chief shook her head, and walked back to the chair behind her desk.

"I'm fine, Jen. You'll need to trust me until I can explain everything."

To her credit, Harper didn't question her boss's request. That didn't stop her from giving me a long hard stare.

"Like the lady said, I'm not the one you need to worry about." I turned my head drawing all attention to the still bodies of Guthrie and Baker. "Your colleagues here decided MPD didn't pay enough, so they accepted money from someone to allow them to bug the chief's office."

"What!" Any animosity Harper had towards me was quickly transferred to the two subordinates standing in the office. She seemed to focus her attention on Captain Baker. "How could you? After all Chief Rawlings and I did for you."

"She can't answer." I moved over so I stood in front of the two suspects. "At least not until I release them."

"Linda?" Harper turned towards her friend and boss. "What's going on?"

She stood up and folded her arms across her chest. "I requested help trying to find who had taken Detective Griffin. If you remember, Danny made contact with an unusual informant."

Harper's eyes went wide as she turned her attention back toward me. "Him…?"

"In the spirit." I open my arms wide and gave her a mock bow.

"Yes, this is that one." She turned to me and I could tell she wanted me to explain.

"The chief asked me to help find Detective Griffin. I don't like to announce my presence when I come and go, so I slipped into the chief's office to wait for her return. Needless to say I was a bit surprised to find listening devices secreted throughout the office."

Harper's gaze went from me to the chief, to the two officers standing in front of the desk. "And how do you know these two are involved?"

Before I could answer, the chief spoke first. "Gar can read minds."

"He can…."

"Read minds," I completed her thought for her. No one said anything for several seconds. This wasn't my fight. Oh, I was certain the two events were connected, but what she did with her traitors, was her business.

"Now what?" Harper asked looking between the chief and me.

"Now we use these two would be Judases to find who bugged the chief's office." I left out my hope that finding them would lead me to Griffin.

"What if they don't cooperate?"

"Have no fear." A wicked grin stretched my lips. "I'll make sure they'll play ball."