531

“What do you know about Agent 531?” Wu DaQi was sitting behind Jackson’s desk when he finally arrived at the office. He had his feet up and he leaned back in the chair, his arms behind his neck. He’d been waiting for thirty minutes.

“DaQi, what the hell are you doing?”

“Working. You know that thing we’re supposed to do every morning?”

“Yeah, yeah. Get out of my chair,” Jackson said as he smacked DaQi on the arm. DaQi got up and took the seat on the other side of the desk.

“I know Salin didn’t tell us to investigate 531, so what are you playing at, DaQi?”

“We’re still on the Fulmer case. The way I see it though, the boss wants the rest of Fulmer’s goods. Fulmer is the best way to find them. Therefore, we need to get him back from Agent 531.”

“I’m not interested. I’ll track the goods down the long way. We got the driver who was selling the tech to Fulmer. We just need the manifest to see what’s missing.

“Come on, Jackson. Bastian,” he called him by his rarely used first name. “You knew him.”

“I didn’t.” DaQi was good at spotting a lie. They called him into interrogations because of his ability to root out the truth, but he didn’t need any skill to see this one. 531 spooked Jackson and it was personal.

“I heard him talking to you. I know you two have a past. So, what happened?”

Jackson leaned forward and braced his elbows on his desk. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. But since you were there and heard him, I owe you that.”

It still wasn’t the whole truth. There was a certain glee in Jackson’s eyes though as he spoke. He wanted to tell DaQi about it.

“There was a mission. Seven years ago. You were there. So was Agent 531. He turned on us. There’s nothing else to say. He put a bullet in a window and jumped out. I thought he was dead, but he’s been augmented so many times that he survived. Just like yesterday.”

“So, I knew him too?”

“No. You’ve read the file, right? You weren’t with us yet. You were at the wrong place. Wrong time. The boss recruited you after that, though.”

Lie.

“Was there ever another?”

“Another what?”

“An agent with a number. Why was he 531?”

“Hell if I know,” Jackson said as he leaned back and slid open the computer display.

You know me, Two

“Was there ever an Agent 532?”

The smile died on Jackson’s lips, and his eyes widened. He stood up and leaned over the desk to glare at DaQi, his pulse quickening. “I don’t know what the hell is in that head of yours but get rid of it real quick. Agent 531 was a traitor, and he’s killed a lot of good people over the years. What did he say to you, DaQi? What the hell did he say to you?”

DaQi stood up, smiling to disarm the situation. “Nothing. Why are you so jumpy today?” he asked as he brought his hands up between them, palms out, to calm his partner. “I’m just trying to get the Fulmer case done. I’m sick of it, aren’t you?”

Jackson didn’t answer, but his breathing was returning to normal, and he backed up a bit.

“It’s nothing,” DaQi continued, rubbing a hand through his hair. “I’ve got a terrible headache. Have since he knocked me across the room. I couldn’t sleep last night so I came in early. The pain is getting worse, though. I think I need to get it checked out.”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea. Don’t need you passing out on me in the field.”

Jackson wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t actively looming, so DaQi took that as a win. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Call me if you find any leads on Fulmer without me.”

DaQi walked out of Jackson’s office and back to his own desk. He closed his work out and left the office before anyone could stop him.

He didn’t have a headache. He was going to get himself checked out, though not with the company’s specialist. And not because of pain. The augmentation surgery had messed with his memory. It was time to go back to an augmentation specialist to see if they could repair it.

He had the name of a guy that was supposed to be the best. He just had to hope he was open today, or DaQi was going to have to persuade him.