Awakening Book One of the Trust Series

chapter 21

The negotiation had been the last straw. Garrett being away was becoming par for the course, which he hated. The Trust was becoming more aggressive in its security measures and had captured several members of the Cine Tofa as a result. It had kept him away from Caitlyn for weeks at a time, but she understood never questioning when he could not tell her where he was going.

The fact was he was feeling quite insecure about his relationship with Caitlyn. The time they spent together was wonderful, he felt like the luckiest man on the planet. But the time they spent together was becoming such a rare commodity and he worried that despite how happy they were, other factors would interfere.

Specifically, Declan. Caitlyn was happy with her new mentor. Garrett should have been pleased that she was content and progressing beyond her wildest dreams, but there was something about her when she was in his presence that set him at unease.

A touch, a glance. It was all very innocent. It was the look or hug that a friend gave one another, but he still did not like it. Garrett had always had an underlying possessive nature. It was a trait he had inherited from his father, and he despised it. He hated that very specific trait was what led him to Declan’s office earlier that afternoon.

He had just returned from an Interrogation, and the Council had notified him that they needed him to head out to ferret out another Cine Tofa member. Garrett was looking forward to some time with Caitlyn when he had received word that he had to leave again that next morning to get down to Georgia.

He consoled himself with the knowledge that at least Caitlyn would be there for the night, and he would be able to see her for a while before he had to catch his next flight. His last trip had been grueling, and he had not been able to communicate with Caitlyn. He knew that she would be pleased to see him.

Garrett was not weary at first when she wasn’t there immediately after he sent her a text. He figured she was in training with Declan. He chilled a bottle of her favorite wine and got started on dinner. As time ticked by, he reached out to her to communicate, but she had a block up, which was par for Caitlyn. When she finally walked through the door, dinner was long cold.

Her smile was ear to ear as she ran over to greet him. “Garrett!”

Despite his frustration, he lifted her in his arms, drowning himself in her touch. “Where were you? I thought you would have been back from training long ago.”

Her eyes lit up and he could only describe her as radiant. “I wasn’t training. Declan had an arbitration to attend and invited me to go. I’ve been gone for the past few days myself. It was amazing, Garrett. I learned so much. Declan is amazing, his negotiation skills are phenomenal.”

Garrett set her down, his tone harsher than he meant it. “Wait. He had negotiations for the Trust with the Cine Tofa and took you along with him?”

Her body stiffened. “Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

Garrett bit his tongue as best he could. “Who else went?”

“It was just Derrick Adair, Declan and me. It was a closed arbitration, and there were only two members of the Cine Tofa there.”

“Where did you stay?”

“Declan and I stayed at the Trusts cabin.” Caitlyn picked up her abandoned bag. “Garrett, I am going to ask you again, do you have a problem with this?”

“It’s just that I don’t think you are ready for that. That is very intense.”

The truth was that Garrett thought she was more than capable of handling the negotiations, but he did not like that Declan and her went on the trip together. Garrett was seething inside. He had worked up in his head that Declan was trying something with his Caitlyn, and he did not like it. Garrett wanted to take her away from all this. In his own way, he wished that he had never introduced her to the Trust.

The next morning, before he caught his flight, Garrett had confronted Declan head on. By the end, Garrett had left Declan’s office, still uneasy about the relationship between them. He had seen Declan’s eyes, knew that he was not lying when he said he only viewed Caitlyn as a friend. But he had this nagging feeling that he was still losing Caitlyn to him. For so long she has been singing his praises, about his training, his personality, his drive.

Garrett knew that he needed to be more supportive with Caitlyn, or else he would lose her. He decided that after this last interrogation, Garrett was going to cut back significantly, despite the protests that he knew would inevitably come from the Trust. By the time the plane landed and he walked into the Trust facility, he had made a decision that he wanted time off from this all, to spend time with Caitlyn, giving their relationship the opportunity it deserved.

He had been sent to interrogate one particular Cine Tofa member that a couple of the other Inquisitors could not break into. This member was strong, his name was Stephan and he had been part of the Cine Tofa for the past ten years. Stephan had been trying to infiltrate one of the Trust’s minor sites, a level four facility in Georgia. Garrett’s role was to go in and figure out exactly how much information had been reported back to the Cine Tofa.

Garrett had gotten to the facility only to find the other two Inquisitors, Brandon and Lana frustrated beyond belief. They nodded at him entering the room. Garrett was surprised to learn initially after taking this line of work that he was significantly stronger than most Inquisitors were. It was just what the Council had wanted, someone strong enough to step in when the other Inquisitor could not do their job sufficiently. Garrett was damage control. Unfortunately, he had been needed more often than not.

Brandon had led Garrett to a room where Stephan lay in a room by himself. The room was uninviting, with only two chairs and a table, the walls painted black. Garrett stared at him for a moment; Stephan looked vaguely familiar to him, his sneer stirring some memory long forgotten. It didn’t matter; Garrett wanted to complete this mission swiftly and efficiently, so he could head back up to Maine.

“Let’s get this completed now, shall we?”

The dark haired fellow snickered. “I can’t believe they sent another one of you. You will not be able to penetrate my mind, you know.”

Garrett laughed coldly. “Well, we will just see about that. I am a bit stronger than the other two. Corporate sent for the big guns you see. You should feel flattered. I understand that you have been spending some time in our facilities. Why don’t you save me and you the trouble and tell me what information you stole?”

Stephan smirked. “Not gonna happen, but thanks for asking.” He cocked his head to the side and his smiled widened as if remembering a fantastic joke. “Well, now that is interesting.”

Garrett was quickly getting bored. He had a job to do and it annoyed him when he had to listen to inane chatter. It happened more often than not. A lot of people in the Cine Tofa were too full of themselves. With an irritated tone he asked, “What do you find so interesting?”

Stephan threw his head back in laughter. “I know you.”

Garrett rolled his eyes. “Sure you do.”

The man laughed harder. “Oh, this is rich. What would your daddy say if he knew that you were here, as a lapdog for the Trust?”

Garrett clenched his fists. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Of course you don’t. You’re pathetic. You would have been prince to an Empire, and here you are, as an Inquisitor, of all things, for a group whose ideals don’t even fully line up with your own. How many people here know the truth? I cannot picture many, because I am sure the members of the Trust would not be so open to knowing that Nathaniel Livingston’s son was walking among them, pretending to be one of them.”

Garrett seethed at the mention of his father’s name. “I think it would be in your best interest if you shut up right this instance.”

But he had not. “Garrett Livingston in the living flesh. After you left the Cine Tofa all those years ago, your actual existence became a thing of legend amongst the Cine Tofa. If I had not been one of your father’s devoted and met you myself when you were eighteen, I would have questioned your existence as well.”

Garrett’s mind reeled, his jaw clenched. He had worked so hard these previous eight years to erase the past. He knew somehow that the past would always catch up to him and he was on borrowed time within this organization. He should have been surprised it had not happened before. But it would not catch up to him today.

Garrett walked over to the man. He towered over him, his figure imposing when he wished it to be. “I gave you ample warning.”

Garrett placed his hands on the man’s head and closed his eyes, concentrating. Stephan had a complicated block, but nothing that he could not penetrate. He felt the member of his former organization fight against him, trying to push his attack back. The fact was, he could not establish his defenses quick enough to repel what Garrett threw at him.

Garrett probed his mind for what he was looking for. Images of Stephan befriending on the guards at the facility appeared. Stephan sneaking in, accessing records of floor layouts of various facilities, including the one in Maine, as well as hacking into the mainframe to gain access to passwords. Garrett retrieved every password, every floor plan, so the Trust would be aware and react appropriately.

He also saw that he had released this information to someone, a man. It was fuzzy at first, it appeared that the memory had been tampered with, which was very unusual, but Garrett pushed forward, digging deeper. He had seen this before, and with his advanced skill, he knew that he could get the answer. His face began to dampen with sweat as he probed the memory again, focusing specifically on the man’s face he handed the information to. With suddenness, Stephan’s mind gave out, unable to fight his advances any longer. Garrett saw the face that had taken the information.

With a final attack, Garrett erased the memory of Stephan and his encounter, and sent Stephan into a deep slumber. When he awoke much later, he would have no memory of Garrett and his Inquisitor session, only someone as powerful as he would be able to recall the memory now, giving him more time within the Trust. No one would know his secret that had not been privy to it in the first place. No one.

Garrett walked out of the room, Brandon and Lana waiting outside. They stood up, ready to hear if he had been successful. The information he needed to release needed to be done, and done now. “I need a plane to Maine. Now.”