Maggie ran to Emily and held her by the arms.
“Emily, what is it? What’s wrong?”
Emily stabbed a finger at Danielle. “It was her. She was the one who killed that guy.”
Maggie straightened and stepped between Danielle and Emily. Her mind raced to catch up, to figure out what was happening.
“It was her,” Emily cried again. “She’s with the British government, I heard her tell my mom at the party. She said she worked here in New York.”
Danielle’s crew lunged forward, shoving Maggie out of the way. Before she could retaliate, one of them snuck behind Emily and jabbed a needle into her neck.
Emily blinked a few times, her face a map of confusion, before she slumped forward. Maggie lunged and caught her before she fell, holding the unconscious little girl in her arms.
“What was in that?” Maggie demanded.
“Relax,” said Danielle. “It’s a sedative.”
Maggie lay Emily down on the floor and sprung to her feet. In two strides, she grabbed Danielle by the shoulders and pinned her to the nearest wall so hard the framed picture hanging there fell to the wooden floor. “Why the fuck are you drugging her?”
Danielle’s men reached for their concealed weapons.
“It’s okay, boys,” Danielle assured, before turning back to Maggie. “She was hysterical. We can’t exactly take her down to the van kicking and screaming.”
Hysterical. There was that word again.
Maggie released her hold of Danielle and backed away. “Is what she said true? Were you the one she saw kill the UN official?”
“Yes,” Danielle admitted, straightening her suit, the only one of the detail not wearing an overall.
It started to sink in then, Maggie filling in the missing pieces she was kept from knowing. “Which UN official?”
“Dimitri Udinov.”
“The Russian ambassador?” Maggie said, everything rearranging and falling into place. “You tricked me. You made me believe the Russian’s killed a British official, but it was the other way around.”
Danielle frowned. “I don’t remember telling you anything of the sort. We refrained from telling you the full story in case you were compromised, as you yourself pointed out in our first meeting.”
Danielle and Jonathan Cole had told the truth in that Emily was indeed a witness. What they failed to mention was that she was a witness to a British operation.
Maggie inched closer to Emily, her chest rising and falling in a chemically induced slumber. “Why did our government want Udinov dead?”
“He was spotted in multiple meetings with former KGB affiliates,” Danielle said. “Our intelligence on the inside reported they were planning to assassinate select world leaders at the next UN summit, including the Prime Minister.”
“And the Americans were in on this, too?” Maggie guessed. They had to be to allow the operation to take place on their turf.
“The President was one of their proposed targets, too,” Danielle confirmed. “We had their backing in taking Undinov out.”
Maggie counted six men in Danielle’s detail. “And the Russian’s were holding Emily as proof against us?”
Us. The affiliation tasted like ash in her mouth.
Danielle’s lips thinned. “They got to the girl before I could. We have reason to believe that was their intention. Thanks to you, now they won’t be able to.”
Aleksandar had grabbed Emily like she said, but it wasn’t to kill her. It was to protect her. Protect her from the very people Maggie worked for.
Thinking back on it, the Russian’s had opportunities to shoot Emily dead. In Central Park, on the Subway. Even during the chase through the streets, one of them could have leaned out the SUV and pulled the trigger. Maggie hadn’t considered it at the time, too busy trying to escape the Russian’s clutches and stay alive, but there it was. They didn’t take the shot because they wanted Emily alive.
Seven sets of eyes stayed on her, and Maggie considered her odds at taking them all out. “Why kill Udinov if you had proof of his plans?” she asked Danielle, trying to understand. “You could have outed him publicly.”
“It was a matter of national security that he be eliminated.”
Maggie laughed, but it was bitter and burning with rage. “You mean, you didn’t have sufficient evidence to prove his plans?” Or at least, no proof the British government could use. Not if they attained it through illegal means.
“His plot was a legitimate threat,” Danielle said, voice sharpening. “Now it isn’t.”
Maggie couldn’t bring herself to care about any of it. All she cared about was why they were here. “Where are you taking Emily?”
Danielle raised her chin. “The situation must be contained.”
“Contained?” Maggie closed her eyes. She already knew what it meant.
“We can’t afford any loose ends.”
“Her name is Emily Wallace,” Maggie said through gritted teeth. “She’s twelve years old.”
“A pity,” Danielle said, loftily, “but collateral damage is unavoidable sometimes.”
Maggie balled her fists so hard her knuckles cracked. “It would have been entirely avoidable had you done your job right. What kind of assassin gets caught by a child?”
Danielle crossed her arms. “I regret what happened, believe me I do. But our hands are tied.”
Maggie’s mind raced for a solution. For anything that could save Emily. “There must be another way. A way that doesn’t involve killing a little girl.”
Danielle waved a hand at Emily sprawled on the floor. “You heard her. I was a guest at the party representing the consulate, and she witnessed me killing Udinov. She knows too much.” Danielle stated, her words hard and unyielding. “The decision has already been made.”
With Emily able to connect Danielle to Britain, it linked the government directly to the murder of Udinov. Emily was a risk they couldn’t afford, no matter how deplorable it was to eliminate her.
“You’re just going to kill an innocent child?” Maggie searched each of her colleagues faces, making sure to stare each of them in the eye.
She was met with blank stares.
“Why not have me do it back at the consulate?” Maggie asked, her blood boiling. The tremor from before was back, but it wasn’t fear for herself or the life growing inside her this time. “Why have me break Emily out and keep her alive if you’re just going to kill her anyway?”
“We need to question her,” Danielle said. “Find out what the Russian’s already knew and what they gleaned from her before you arrived.”
Bile rose in Maggie’s throat. “Interrogation first, then death.”
“It will be quick and humane,” assured Danielle, like a vet telling a bereaved owner their pet was going to be put down. “A doctor will administer a lethal injection tonight. It will feel like she’s falling asleep.”
“You can’t do this,” Maggie yelled, stepping forwards.
“Stand down,” Danielle ordered, like she could ever be Maggie’s superior.
In a wave of fury, Maggie made to swing for Danielle, but her men grabbed Maggie back.
Danielle clicked her fingers and one of the men hoisted Emily’s small frame over one shoulder. She stopped at the foot of the door and turned back to Maggie. “You did well, agent. The Consul-General expects an in-person report tomorrow morning before you leave. We’ll take things from here.”
And just like that, Danielle and the man carrying Emily left the apartment, followed by the rest of her team.
Maggie fell to her knees as the door slammed closed.