James woke to a banging on the door. It was a frantic one, and groaning, he pushed himself up, put on a light outfit and walked over. Peeking through the keyhole, he saw Jeremiah standing with a deep frown. Moving the chair and unlocking the door, he opened it up, getting a swift punch to the face. James fell backwards and grabbed his nose in pain, feeling blood fall between his fingers.
"What th-" James stopped talking, feeling Jeremiah's finger placed on his forehead. The man crouched down, eye level to him and smirked, "You're really funny, you know that, James." Jeremiah pushed his finger deeper. James felt a light vibration on his forehead and felt his brain being scrambled. "The ISD, huh. What did you get me involved in?"
James lifted his hands and nervously smiled. "Jeremiah, I can explain." Looking at the finger on his head, he gulped, "First, can you move your hand?" Jeremiah stayed still, digging his finger a little deeper. James took a slow breath, "I didn't know the ISD was involved until after. Rose called me once he was in the system."
"Well, that explains everything." Jeremiah pulled his finger back before delivering a swift kick to James' chest. James fell, taking rapid, sharp breaths, holding his chest. "Why did she call the ISD James? I know he is ex-military, but what else?"
James looked into his eyes, finally getting his bearings back. "I'm sorry."
"No." Jeremiah walked past him into his house. Looking around, he saw his study out of the corner of his eyes and walked in. James felt his heart drop and quickly chased after him, trying to grab him before he could open the door. His hand slowed and shook, colliding with the barrier Jeremiah had around himself. The door flew open, and Jeremiah saw the wall, his eyes opening wide in shock.
Going over to it, he looked at all the people James had catalogued, the places and names. Following Cain's picture, he saw a red piece of string connected to Otto Waltz. Rubbing his mouth, he clicked his tongue and chuckled. Turning around, he looked at James with fury, "When were you going to tell us this?"
"I was going to deal with it." James siad under his breath, unable to look into Jeremiah's eyes.
"Deal with it. Get me to clean up after you again by any chance. Was that your plan?" Jeremiah pulled out his phone, called a number and held it to his ear. "Captain." Saying coldly, he put his hand up, seeing James take a step closer to him. Waving his finger, he smiled, "Yeah, I'm at James' house." Looking back at the wall, he scoffed, "It appears he's been doing some extracurricular activities."
James took a deep breath and waited. "Uh-huh." Jeremiah said, nodding to himself, "Yeah, he left out a lot of information about yesterday. Otto Waltz, you know that name. Oh, and the ISD, I'm sure you can understand from that." Jeremiah was silent for a second, nodding, "Yeah, I understand." Jeremiah hung up the phone and walked over to James, "Badge." Holding his hand out, he smiled, "Captain said you had a deal. Right now, he is preparing."
"Jeremiah, you can't be serious," James said in disbelief. Looking into his eyes, James could tell that if he didn't hand it over, Jeremiah would take it by force. Walking over to his desk, he pulled it out and threw it over.
"You're lucky he isn't firing you, but..." Jeremiah looked back at the wall, "I think it's only a matter of time. No hard feelings, James, but you put a lot of people in danger with this stunt you pulled." Jeremiah was ready to walk out, but stopped and took a picture of the wall, "I at least know you're good at your work. Let us handle this now, just until you are allowed back."
Jeremiah casually walked past and left, slamming the door behind him. James stared at the wall and gritted his teeth.
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Jeremiah pulled up to the station and quickly made a beeline for the Captain's office. Inside, he saw Rose sitting pale-faced and took a seat next to her. The Captain groaned and looked between the two. Jeremiah pulled out the picture he took at James' apartment and slid it over to the Captain.
The Captain stared for a while, his breathing getting slower as he saw the work James had done. Although he recognised the blueprint from the case James took over from Rose, he could tell it had been added to, James finding more information about each target.
"Rose, what did the ISD say?" Rose tensed up, wondering if she was about to lose her job.
"They just told me they were investigating and that yesterday annoyed them because it interfered. I'm sorry, Captain, I would have said something if I knew." The Captain raised his hand.
"You're not to blame, you did the right thing calling them. It was James who decided to leave things out." The Captain stared at the picture and turned to Jeremiah, "But saying that, what do you make of his work?"
"James is an asshole, but good at what he does. Sure, he stole from a dead guy, but to add so much in what, a couple of days? I don't doubt he is right about the names and connections, nor that he is onto something." Jeremiah seriously said. The captain nodded and looked at the photo again.
Seeing the Gentleman, Alannah, Maria, Magnus, and Cain, he could tell James was diving into something deep, with many players involved, many of whom were unknown. The Captain tapped his desk and stared at it. Although he knew the ISD was involved, he made the conclusion that it was only in regard to Cain.
Rose seemed to know nothing about the case James was working on, and the ISD only ever moved on national security, something that only Cain seemed to affect at the moment through his connection. That being said, he knew he couldn't take a risk. "For the meantime, we will not pursue this, but that is only until the ISD acts. After that, "The captain's eyes focused on Jeremiah, "We go after this. But we can't have the whole force on it, lord knows the Gentleman will hear if we did. Jeremiah, make a task force, select only those you trust. If you must, call in some favours and get outside help. It will only report to me, no one else."
"Sir," Rose spoke up, "Are you sure? I mean, this could just be James and his crazed obsession with Hopkins." The Captain looked at Rose in confusion, wanting her to explain more. Rose took a deep breath, "I think he is onto something, but he is only doing this because he doesn't trust Hopkins. That's it."
The Captain took a deep breath and tapped his desk, thinking on it. After a minute, he stopped, "That may be the case, but we have already confirmed that two of these people are linked to Newport's Underworld." The Captain focused on Alannah's picture, "One directly linked to a murder on camera. Even if James is looking for something not there, at worst, we have a new syndicate, at best, mutual interest without direct partnership."
The captain took a deep breath. "We need James to tell us?"
"And put people at risk." Jeremiah countered, "I can't agree, Captain. He's a loose cannon."
"And in Xavier's pockets," Rose said under her breath, making Jeremiah look at her. She glanced at him, confused, "Did you not know? The two have been working together ever since the Alleyway."
Jeremiah let out a dry laugh, "You want him, Captain? That's fine, but if he's brought in whilst being mates with a man who is suspected of being a terrorist, then I'm out."
"This is all hearsay for now." The Captain said, looking up at the camera. Releasing it was off, he sighed in relief. "Jeremiah, build your task force. I trust your judgment. In the meantime, we will keep James at a distance. Figure out the extent of his partnership with Xavier."
Jeremiah nodded and got up, looking to the camera. His mind raced as he turned back to the Captain. "Was he the leak?" Jeremiah asked. He had always wondered ever since it happened, but with how sketchy James had been, he couldn't help but ask.
The Captain stayed silent, but it was enough of an answer for Jeremiah. Scoffing, he shook his head and left. The Captain turned to Rose. "I sent someone to your house. Nothing was stolen, no one was inside, and no bugs were found. You can stay here until this is all over, but you still have to work."
Rose smiled and stood up, "Thank you, sir." Rose left, leaving the Captain alone. Opening the picture of the dead man's wall, he overlapped James' own version on it and sighed.
"What is happening right now?"