“Are you saying that Pierce Connolly is responsible for my daughter’s disappearance?” Andrew Rogers asked from his seat at the head of the large conference table. Kelly stood before him while Simeon and Barbara were at either side.

            “Yes sir, your daughter mentions him several times in her diary,” Kelly said.

            “We didn’t find a diary in Sarah’s room,” Barbara said.

            “It was under a loose floorboard,” Kelly said. “My team leader found it.”

            “Nicely done,” Simeon said. Kelly nodded her thanks.

            “Mr. Prime Minster, we should bring Pierce Connolly in for questioning,” Kelly said.

            Andrew looked over at Kelly and stared at her for a moment before speaking.        “Young lady, I realize that you Americans drag anyone in for questioning that you please, however, in Britain we have a different way of doing things.”

            “All due respect, Sir, this is the only lead we have on recovering your daughter safely. It would be ludicrous not to follow up on it simply because the Connolly family is well-connected,” Kelly said.

            “Ms. Nixon, if you are correct and Mr. Connolly is responsible for the abduction then we could be endangering Sarah’s life by bringing him in for questioning. He could disappear with Sarah and never be seen again,” Barbara said.

            “Granted, but there’s no guarantee that he won’t do that after he’s been paid the ransom,” Kelly said.

            “The Connollys are old family friends,” Andrew finally said.

            “Sir, Pierce Connolly was in possession of incriminating intelligence, suggesting he was part of a plot to kill you,” Kelly said.

            “Then why didn’t you have him arrested?” Andrew asked.

            “It was raw intelligence; there was no information on what his plans were,” Kelly said.

            “In other words, you had no proof. Why should we believe you now?” Barbara asked.

            “Listen, why would a family friend of the Prime Minister have flight plans, security details and other protocol on his person if he didn’t plan on using them? And why would a man in his twenties befriend a 10 year old girl and ask her to lunch on the day she was abducted? Who cares who his father is, he’s responsible for your daughter’s disappearance!” Kelly yelled.

            “It’s not enough!” Andrew yelled back. “You have the diary entries of a ten year old girl going against one of the oldest families in Britain! I can’t just drag Pierce Connolly in for buying my daughter a treat at the park!”

            “How’d you know about that?” Kelly asked.

            “Sarah and the security team told me,” Andrew shrugged.

            “Did she tell you that she was supposed to have lunch with him on the day she went missing?” Kelly asked.

            “I was overseas, Mrs. Nixon. I’m sure she would’ve told me when I got home.”

            “I’m sure she would’ve too, if she hadn’t been kidnapped!” Kelly shot back. Simeon stood and put his arm around Kelly’s shoulders.

            “Do excuse us, Mr. Prime Minister,” Simeon said, leading Kelly out of the room. “Mrs. Nixon, while I admire your zeal you need to remember who you are speaking to.”

            “His daughter is in harm’s way and he’s worried about disgracing an old family,” Kelly said.

            “No, Mrs. Nixon, he’s worried about the future of this country. The IRA has laid dormant for a decade, and when they were active they never did something of this magnitude. If this is the Connollys then we have much bigger problems to deal with than a ransom.”

            “Like what?” Kelly asked.

            “Like how did the Prime Minister become such good friends with the heads of an organized crime syndicate?” Simeon whispered.

            “You think the Prime Minister is in on this?” Kelly asked.

            “It doesn’t matter what I think; what matters is what the Prime Minister’s opponents think. Hence Andrew’s extreme hesitance to act against the Connollys in a public manner. Not to mention Barbara.”

            “What about Barbara?”

            “She’s the one in charge of vetting candidates for knighthood, Mrs. Nixon. If it turns out that someone she vetted does indeed have ties to the IRA then she will be in a bit of a spot.”

            “**** politics,” Kelly muttered. “Has everyone else forgotten that there’s a ten year old missing?”

            “No, not everyone,” Simeon said. “Your team is very good, Mrs. Nixon, especially for it being so new. I shudder to think what it will be capable of in a few years’ time. But you need to learn your place.”

            “What exactly is that supposed to mean?” Kelly asked, pulling away from Simeon’s arm. He chuckled.

            “Not what you think, dear. What I mean is that no politician wants to know what you do. They don’t want to think about the fact that you exist. They just want to live in their cocoon and reap the rewards for your hard work. Your job is to keep the nasty truths away from them so you can keep doing your job without their interference.”

            “What do you suggest we do about the Connollys then?”

            “You need to give the Prime Minister what he wants; his daughter. He doesn’t care how you do it,” Simeon said. Kelly nodded.

            “Thank you Mr. Quinn,” Kelly said, offering her hand. Simeon shook it with a smile.

            “Oh, I spoke with my granddaughter and she is of the impression that Kate Mitchell is the best team leader no matter where the team is working. Do you concur?”

            “Most definitely,” Kelly said.

            “Very well. Give my regards to the team and my apologies to the team leader, I was simply doing what I thought was best for my country.”

            “Yes sir,” Kelly said, leaving the compound. The others waited outside, leaning against their black car. “Team leader,” Kelly started, staring at Kate. Kate smiled.

            “Yes Senior Agent Nixon.”

            “If you were a solo agent still what would you be doing with the intelligence we gathered this afternoon?”

            “I’d have Pierce Connolly under surveillance to start. Then things might get a little… messy,” Kate grinned.

            “Let’s avoid messy as much as possible. Are those bugs still in place?” Kelly asked.

            “Yes, we’d just have to set the listening station back up,” Jack said.

            “Let’s do it, maybe Pierce was stupid enough to tell someone where he was going,” Kelly said. “Iris, your expertise has been severely under-utilized and I apologize.”

            “What expertise is that?” Iris asked, eyebrows up.

            “In finance; the kidnappers are going to give the Prime Minister a bank account and a routing number to pay the ransom to. Obviously, that will be untraceable. I want you to look into the Connollys’ holdings and tell me why they’d be kidnapping a little girl for ransom. Emily, did you make any contacts when you were bartending at the Connolly home?”

            “One or two, I’ll give them a call to see if they know of any work, see if that gets my foot in the door,” Emily said. “I may have another connection I can work in Scotland Yard.”

            “Do it,” Kelly said. “One more thing. What is our mission?”

            “To bring Sarah Rogers home,” Kate said.

            “And how are we going to accomplish that?” Kelly asked.

            “By any means necessary,” Emily said.