THE SECRET PACT

INTRIGGATED, GREGORY EVANS stayed up all night, thinking about every kind of thought about the young Iranian's computer. Sleep had become a distant friend, it hadn't visited him at any time.

In a bad mood, he arrived at the Bureau shortly after dawn, hoping to take advantage of the solitary period to investigate his new discovery more calmly. Normally, the staff only arrived at seven o'clock.

Through the video he had received, he tried to get a picture of the faces of the two agents who approached young Fadiq with enough quality to achieve facial recognition. Unfortunately, the results weren't as good as they usually were in police films.

Damn resolution...

The morning passed without success. Finally, the other agents arrived and Greg had to disguise his tasks, being prevented from continuing with what he was doing.

By the end of the morning, some were already getting ready for lunch and Greg was anxiously awaiting another moment of privacy that would allow him to search further or come up with a good excuse and leave the building early.

Martin approached, making conversation:

— Hey Sherlock Sholmes, I discovered a new restaurant, I mean, it's old, but I just discovered it, well... it's not far from here and it has some excellent meatballs if we go to lunch soon...

— You and your terrible taste in food, Martin... — Gregory said, leaning on his desk with his hands on his forehead.

— Oh, man, you're hurting me!

— You still owe me the money from that Thai restaurant, I won't forget! And also the money for the medicine!

— How would I know you're weak with that food? If I doubt it, you can't handle Thai food either! Come on, I'll pay for today's then...

While they were talking, the cell phone rang and Greg picked it up to answer it. He heard a loud crack, followed by two short beeps, which meant a call was made over a wiretap-proof line.

— Mr. Evans?

Greg recognized Floyd Kenagan's voice and the concise accent in his speech.

Without hesitation, he replied:

— Yes, it's me.

— Again, congratulations on your commitment. — Floyd Kenagan said helpfully, although serious enough not to let anyone forget that this was a conversation about government matters.

— As you may already know, we've made great progress on the case and are on our way to solving it.

— I just found out a few things about it. — Gregory Evans added, in a tone sarcastic enough not to be noticed.

— I want you to pack your things, you're going to Washington. — Floyd said bluntly.

— Are we going to focus the investigation on headquarters? — he asked, surprised.

— No, you're going to take on another case.

— Gregory was confused:

— Another case?

— What are these guys thinking?

— What would be of greater importance at the moment, if not the terrorist attack that the entire country was working on?

— He probably wouldn't know all the national secrets... — he thought.

— I don't understand, sir. What's this about?

— Your trip will be during the early hours of the morning, the investigation will begin early in the morning. You'll have access to the information during the flight. I can't give you any more information at this time.

— Understood. Did something happen at the Bureau headquarters?

— Your case will be at the White House.