Page 1 of Skin In the Game (The BlackWater)

Maddie woke, turning her alarm off before it had even gone off. She stretched, twisting her neck to get the stiffness out of it, before she half sprang from her bed.

The rising sun was already dazzling through the window and she smiled looking down over the city beneath her. It was going to be a great day. She could feel it in her bones.

She walked to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face before quickly brushing her teeth and then throwing on some running gear. She had at least an hour before she needed to get into the office and on beautiful day like today she knew of only one way to spend it.

The streets were busy, even at that time, but that was central London for you. She rolled her eyes at the cyclist that nearly knocked her over as she ran, cursing him under her breath before half jumping down the steps that led to the river’s edge. This was her favourite run route. Her favourite part of the city, truth be told. The air was cold, catching in her throat as she ran but she liked that too. The feeling of it made her feel alive. Made her feel almost invincible.

She sprinted down the stretch of path ahead of her, making the most of the few moments of solitude before more commuters started pouring out from the Underground down the road.

And then she turned around and headed back home, back to her apartment. Back for a quick shower and turnaround.

She liked to get to the office fast, to be one of the first in. Not that it really mattered because no one kept track, no one logged in, the office was unofficial, off the map. But still, she liked to be one of the first. Lead by example, she always thought.

She walked in, pass in hand, though truth be told she didn’t need it because the security on reception always let her in. She’d made sure to take her time getting to know them, getting to know everyone in this office, because she didn’t want to create the wrong impression, the wrong reputation. She knew what people said about her, what they’d said at her old office, that she was a hard-nosed bitch, that she was too ambitious for a girl, too driven as if that was even a thing. Coming here though felt like a bit of a fresh start, that she could be herself, and not have to fight to prove herself because she’d already done that; she’d already proven herself more than enough back in Shanghai when she brought down the infamous Ming Xie almost singlehandedly and managed to get him to international waters so he could be arrested and extradited back to face justice.

She dumped her bag under her desk and headed straight for the coffee machine. Burke was already there, coffee in hand and he passed her a mug, already at the perfect temperature.

“Milk?”

“Just how you like it boss.” He replied and she rolled her eyes. He insisted on calling her boss even though technically they were the same rank. She half thought he’d done it to tease her, to make her feel intimidated at the start and then she realised it was his way of showing respect, and for making sure everyone else on site treated her accordingly. Not that she cared. She’d faced off enough over inflated egos before, she was more than happy to put someone in their place if and when the occasion called for it.

“Listen up everyone.” Holden, the big boss’s voice hollered from the main office and Maddie frowned looking at Burke who gave her a confused look back. Holden was rarely ever in, and when he was he was usually busy locked in his office with his head stuck in something way above Maddie’s pay grade.

She followed Burke out into the main office and saw everyone now gathered. It wasn’t a big office, despite it being the main London one. Shanghai’s had been bigger, more impressive but she liked the low profile of the London one, she liked the fact that she knew everyone she worked with now and wasn’t constantly bumping into strangers. She sipped her coffee, letting the caffeine sink in and glanced around seeing everyone else’s confused faces too. She bit down the irritation. She didn’t like surprises. No one in security did, because surprises meant they’d not anticipated something, they’d misread something, they’d screwed up.

“We have a surprise visit today.” He announced and Maddie could hear the edge to his voice. He wasn’t happy either. “Our great overseers have decided to honour us with a visit so I want everyone looking the part. No fuck ups, nothing but perfection. You’ve got two hours people. Get your desks in order and your asses wiped. Lead Agents, get in the briefing room.”

He turned then, knowing everyone would be springing into action at his words before strutting out of the office and down the corridor.

“Sounds like someone fucked up.” Burke muttered and Maddie narrowed her eyes.

“Who?” Maddie asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine boss. You made any mistakes recently?” Burke said.

“None that I care to mention.” She replied with a smirk.

He laughed. “What am I saying, you’re a machine. Machine’s don’t fuck up. They just follow their programming.”

“Seriously? I’m not a machine.” She retorted following him out to the briefing room. She didn’t want to be late and risk Holden’s wrath especially when he was on the warpath already.

“Tell me you didn’t go for a run this morning then. And tell me you haven’t got a tuna salad for lunch just like every Monday.”

“Urgh stop it.” She muttered.

“You know the fraud guys have a bet running on you right.” He said and she frowned.

“What bet?” She asked narrowing her eyes. They’d all made a bet about her in Shanghai too, around who would get her into bed first and she’d taken delight in knocking out the main orchestrator and leaving him lying cold on the office floor when she’d found out.

“How long before you replace Mathers as Squad Lead.”

“What? That’s ridiculous. I only just got here.” She said as they walked in and quickly grabbed a seat. Not too far to the back but not right up front like a suck up either.

“Mathers is old school and there have been complaints.” Burke stated.

“About what?”

“What do you think?” He asked and she sighed. Mathers was like a stereotypical cop from a tired detective series with too many reruns. He liked things his way, the right way, except he was about ten years out of date with how investigations operated. He was stuck in the 90s while the world was already hurtling full throttle into the twenty first century.

“So you think they’ll get rid?” Maddie asked him.

“Why are you interested in his job?”

She laughed. “No thanks. Fraud is not my thing. And I like being Team Lead. My team are great and right now it’s what I need too.”

He gave her a look like he wasn’t convinced but Holden clapped his hands together throwing a look at the last two Team Leads who sill weren’t seated.

“Come on people. We don’t have all day.” He half shouted.

“Sorry.” They both muttered and sat down in the last remaining seats.

“Right, in two hours Curtis will be touring this vicinity along with the CEO from Bright Links. They’re particularly interested in the fraud department, apparently some of their higher ranking employees have been very naughty of late…”

A few people snickered but most stayed quiet. The very thought of Curtis, their European President wandering around was enough to set them to silence.

“They also want to speak to the Serious Crime teams…”

Maddie frowned. What would Bright Links want with Serious Crime she wondered. They were an intuitional investment company, what serious crimes could have gone on there.

“Cooper I want you and Burke to be obliging. Anything they ask they get..”

Maddie nodded. “Yes sir.”

“And Burke. Get a clean tie will you.” Holden snapped and Burke looked down at where the coffee had dripped onto it.

“Right that’s it folks. Get back to your desks and get your teams in order. I want this visit to go off without a hitch.”

Maddie got up and walked quickly back to her desk. She wasn’t bothered that they had a visit, not really, she was more curious as to what had prompted it and why in particular they wanted to speak to her department.

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