Hidden Figure

Maitho approached the back of the sedan. He tucked the handgun into his jeans but didn't cover it with his shirt. If needed, he could pull it back out without resistance. He raised his palms to show that he was unarmed.

"Miss Yansay," he said, approaching the vehicle and raising his voice so that the occupant of the car could hear him from inside. "I just want to talk."

The house was silent. It could only mean that Bevan had dealt with the agents.

The woman peeked from below the window's level. Her eyes sought Maitho's. She still held a certain degree of fear, but there was something else there. A curiosity.

For a while, the woman didn't do anything. "Stay where you are," she shouted. Her voice was muffled by the pane of glass, but it was audible enough.

Maitho stopped in his tracks, his palms still displayed in front of him.

"Just a conversation, that's all," said Maitho, repeating himself so that his message was clear.

"You can have a conversation from there."

Maitho nodded. "We're going to be yelling our throats raw."

Jennifer seemed to consider that. She pressed her face against the glass, trying to get a better look at Epona, who had stepped into the garage as well. The Celtic Guardian lowered herself and struck the fallen agent against his temple, rendering him unconscious. "You think I'll trust you after what you did to those agents?" said Jennifer.

She said agents. Either she knew what unit these trained professionals belonged to, or she was just using a generic term. "They would have shot us without question."

"And now you want to talk?"

"Would you prefer if I had a gun pointed at you?"

The woman paused, biting her lower lip. "What if this is a trap?"

Maitho waved his hand, as if to indicate the entire garage. "There's four of us and you don't have a choice."

"Your friend wanted to talk as well."

She was referring to Brigid. He didn't want the conversation to divert into a different avenue. Besides, he wasn't about to debate the morality of his teammate with someone who probably needed a lesson in morals herself.

"We just have a few questions," said Maitho.

"I'm going to call the police."

"Why haven't you?"

There was no response. That could either mean that the agents had taken away her phone or that she was afraid of the investigation into her life.

Maitho heard a sigh behind him. He turned to see Epona walk around the front of the car. She opened the driver's side door and leaned in, looking straight at Jennifer. "Listen Miss Yansay. Ma friend here is bein nice. Trust me, he's the only ane wha is nice. Well, there's the other friend, but he is guid wi chargin at things more than speakin tae people."

Jennifer seemed stunned. Perhaps she had never expected the front door to be unlocked. It was such an obvious thing to pay attention to. It was an oversight, but given her situation, one could hardly blame her for it. Eventually, she lowered the window halfway down. Maitho wondered what difference a half-opened window would make but he guessed that somehow, it made her feel safer. So be it.

"There is no easy way to put this," said Maitho. "But we need to ask you a few questions."

"Or else what?"

"We just need some answers."

"They must be really important to you." She tried to straighten her posture, but she still appeared hunched.

Maitho ignored the statement. "Miss Yansay. Do you know someone by the name of Jonathan Cray?"

The woman looked confused. She took a worried peek at Epona. "Do you mean the man running for senator?"

That was something Maitho hadn't known until now. He thought back to the question Adahlia had asked him. About Cray being a president. At that time, he had assumed that she was merely trying to get his opinion on something. But what if it was true? What if Cray was aiming to run the country?

Those were big questions and Maitho didn't have enough information to answer them. Right now, he was here to discover a few things. "Him, yes," he said, playing along.

"Why would I know the senator? I mean, I support him, yes. But I don't know him personally."

"You support him?" asked Maitho. He didn't mean to repeat what he said. It was an involuntary reaction. He wanted to confirm to himself the impact of her words. The wheels in his mind began to run, bringing together various facts and ideas to place them in a coherent order.

"Is that what this is about?" Jennifer asked. She seemed to relax. Maitho realized that it was probably because they hadn't asked her about herself. The focus was on someone else. No need to panic.

Unfortunately for her, Maitho was also going to ask about herself. "There is also the matter of your business."

The woman's shoulders sagged. All the confidence she had mustered seemed to escape out of her. It was like watching a balloon slowly deflate. "I'm just a single mother with a simple job."

"But it's not as simple as you claim is it?"

"I don't think I have anything more to say."

Maitho didn't budge. "By doing so, you're only confirming our fears." He watched as Epona entered the car and made herself comfortable in the driver's seat. She placed the handgun on her lap, but didn't remove her grip from the weapon. She unlocked the passenger side door using the window switch on the door panel.

As soon as Maitho entered the passenger side, Jennifer reacted. She grabbed the door handle and pulled while simultaneously moving her body forwards. Except that she simply ended up bumping into the door. She looked dumbfounded for a second. Realizing her mistake, she tried to unlock the door, which instantly moved back into the lock position. She looked over at Epona, who merely raised her eyebrows. "Really?" That was all Epona said.

Jennifer slumped into her seat. Then she straightened herself up, a look of defiance passing on her face. Her chin rose. Her eyes narrowed. "You're not going to get anything out of me."

Maitho sighed. "Listen, you can choose to talk to us right now. Or I could call law enforcement. Then you're going to have a lot of questions. That means, your face is on the news for all your hundreds, or maybe thousands, of followers to see. Then there is the small part of the one who actually sent these agents to guard you. Something tells me they wouldn't like an investigative team looking into them."

The woman hesitated. She seemed to weigh the odds. Her eyes began to shift, as though she was contemplating her options.

It was at that moment that Brigid entered the room, her handgun raised in front of her. She relaxed when she saw Maitho.

Jennifer pushed herself back into her seat, as though she had seen the devil. "What is she doing here?"

For a second, Maitho wanted to let Brigid know that she should step out of the room. But that wouldn't serve anything. Jennifer had noticed her already.

"She's not going to do anything," said Maitho. "Not if you choose to talk right now."

Jennifer breathed in and out. It almost seemed like she was hyperventilating, but she was simply taking deep breaths to compose herself. She couldn't stop staring at Brigid, but she made an attempt to look away.

When she seemed ready, Jennifer exhaled deeply through her mouth. "What do you want to know?"

"Your salary alone shouldn't be able to cover the expenses on your apartment." It wasn't just the location of her residence, but the sheer amount of decor he found inside. Everything from the upholstery to the paintings seemed to scream money. Yet she wasn't in a job that could afford all those luxuries.

A fire rose in Jennifer's eyes. She looked defiant. "I'm not responsible for where people spend their money. They chose to believe me."

"Oh but you are responsible, aren't you?"

She didn't respond. "I only sell."

Jennifer's eyes went wide. Turning around, Maitho saw that Brigid had stepped closer to the vehicle. He held up his hand. The Celtic team leader frowned, but didn't say anything.

"She listens to me for now," said Maitho, playing along to the fact that he was the leader. He hoped that Epona would not interrupt. Nor mind the facade. "But she can be really impatient. We just want you to talk so you can go back to your kids."

The mention of her children must have conjured some primal part of Brigid. Her lips quivered. "I just do what he tells me to do, damnit."

Maitho saw Epona look at him out of the corner of his eye but he didn't return her reaction. He didn't want to give the impression that this was surprising news to him. He needed Jennifer to believe that he knew something. By simply showing that he had knowledge of something, he was denying her will to lie. But who was this 'he' the woman was referring to? Was it the same person who sent the agents to protect her?

"I know you do," said Maitho, immersing himself fully into his act. "But why?"

Jennifer hesitated. Then she spoke. "All I know is that he wants everyone, and I mean all my," she looked up, "customers to support Senator Cray."

The realization hit Maitho hard. Of all the things that he expected to hear, that was not one of them. He found himself struggling to think. He didn't want to show Jennifer his hesitation and so he faced forward. He looked outside. At Brigid standing there with one hand on her hip and the other gripping the handgun. At the agent who was unconscious on the floor.

Then it hit him.

"Is that why he sent this many agents to protect you?" said Maitho, turning around to face Jennifer.

"Yes," she said.

"I'm surprised he's getting this desperate," said Maitho, pretending to understand the situation. "He should have sent more." He looked back at Jennifer. "So does he still call himself Amon these days?" Maitho did not know. But he was throwing in a bluff to show that he knew something. He needed the woman to believe that he wasn't ignorant.

"No, he used the name Sachiel when talking to me."

The name meant nothing to Maitho. It could be anyone.

"I see," said Maitho. "So that's what our old pal Sachiel has been up to. Has he changed his appearance as well?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I don't know what you mean. We only talked over the phone. Or emails."

"Yer email an password," said Epona.

"What?" exclaimed Jennifer.

"Dinnae make me repeat it."

Jennifer didn't. She gave he email and the password to unlock it. Epona instantly opened her smartphone and powered up her browser. She navigated to the email site and entered Jennifer's login details. Within a few seconds, she had gained access.

"How could you trust someone you hadn't seen?" said Maitho.

At that, Jennifer seemed to withdraw into herself. It was like as though her body was curving inwards. A reaction to show that she was crumbling under a massive weight. "He knew everything about me," she said. "Everything. What I did. My past. Where my children were at any point of the day." A single tear rolled down her face.

At that moment, Brigid knocked on the window on Maitho's side. When it was lowered, she said. "The cops are on their way. We need to go."

She didn't have to say twice. Maitho and Epona were already out of the vehicle. Epona took out her handgun and fired a shot. One of the tires of the car on her side exploded. Then she shot the other one as well. "Juist in case."

"Where's Bevan?" said Maitho.

"He's already waiting for us outside. I told Quinn to meet us in front of the gray house, since the cops are headed here."

Maitho nodded. It was good thinking.

Without looking back, the trio made their way towards the front of the first house they had entered. On Maitho's mind, there was one name.

Sachiel.