Chapter 116 - Four Days

Anya entered the office room with Major Reth and Cobain behind them. Major Reth assured her, "I will inform you once the PSR enters the waters."

"Thank you." Anya nodded as she pointed towards the Chief Justice and Commanding officer for Major. 

Jason grabbed the sandwiches his driver had brought for Anya and took her out of the room.

Major Reth greeted Chief Justice and requested for the sharpshooter from the Commanding Officer Brown. The latter immediately contacted the officer without delay.

… Outside the office room …

Jason unscrewed the water bottle and handed it to her like a gentleman he was. "Drink water first."

Then she realized her throat was indeed dry after a long meeting. She obediently accepted it and sipped.

Then he handed her a set of vegetable and bacon sandwiches, "Most of the restaurants are closed around the area." He shrugged, asking her to make do with it. He was aware she hadn't eaten properly for more than twenty-four hours. He wondered if there was nothing on the yacht.

Anya didn't mind the sandwiches. There were times she did not have time to grab anything for the whole day. She passed half of the sandwich to Jason, "I am sure you haven't eaten anything, Chief," This man sometimes forgets he has a stomach while working.

A faint chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head in resignation. He couldn't decline the stubborn Anya anyway so both ate half a sandwich looking outside at the harbor. "How is the situation?" Jason asked.

Anya's indifferent expression changed at the question. Anya shared with Jason, if he could give her an idea, "Chief, I am wary of the Container site but I am not able to come up with a proper plan." And that feeling was weird. 

Prevention is better than cure. Hence they always choose to be cautious even though it might waste some resources and their. So knowing that a particular area was dangerous and being helpless about it made her unsettled.

Jason was silent while chewing his mouthful and he gave a thought. He shook his head after a few seconds, "We could only keep a watch there." 

There were a few buildings in the harbor premises that were evacuated and sealed but it was easy to hide and wait in the containers. If anybody was planning an attack from there, they couldn't do anything until they noticed the movements. They could add sensors to find out the movements but the budget will be high and they also don't have so much time.

Anya had some ideas to create a trap in the container site but it was also too late as the attackers might be already keeping an eye on every movement.

"Hopefully, Harper just stays out." She won't be able to see military men losing their lives.

Jason, who finished the half sandwich in three bites, laughed at her. Both undoubtedly knew it wasn't going to be so smooth. Rather Jason was concerned if she was sad by the intervention of Cobain. Even if she was sad, this stubborn person wasn't going to show it to anybody or voice it.

—----

Meanwhile, inside the office room, Major Reth waited for the update. The commanding officer informed him that a special police team will be approaching there for their assistance in half an hour. 

A team wasn't required, anyway, Major Reth didn't decline and left the office to check on his work.

Since the door was open, Kennedy and Cobain watched the two eating and scoffed. "Is it time to eat?" They murmured to themselves before pretending, "Chief Jason never misses to take care of his team members." There was a hint of sarcasm in the tone.

The Chief Justice who was checking a file paused briefly before resuming. 

Kennedy noticed it. So to provoke Chief Justice against Anya, he asked Cobain, "How is your progress in the mission?" He signaled Cobain to answer carefully.

Cobain nodded as he responded, "Team leader, Major Reth and his team were studying the wrong ship layout. I helped them get the right layout for PSR. Officer Owen has less knowledge about team tasks so she was standing and listening to our discussion without disturbing anybody." On the surface he put on a good word for Anya, in reality, he said she did nothing.

Kennedy was satisfied Cobain smartly put his words instead of directly defaming Anya. "Well done, don't be nervous thinking as it's your first. Be active and learn more."

The Chief Justice ignored their blabbering. Whereas his assistant wanted to kick those two out. He doesn't admire Anya Owen just because she does the job so well. She never complained about the troubles and struggles she goes through. It was always the external sources who reported to them about her hard work.

This time, Jason already briefed Chief Justice why Anya had to take the yacht by jumping to the water with Alvin Matthews. The Chief Justice and his assistant were expecting to see her sick and bedridden. They were surprised to see her active and working. So the petty remarks and lies of these people won't change their opinion so easily. 

The assistant asked, "Mr. Cobain, how did you find out the military was studying the wrong ship layout?"

Kennedy unawarely held his breath at the question. The smile on Cobain's face stiffened. He glanced at Kennedy as he responded in jittery, "I-I was prepared before coming."

The assistant sneered in his mind. Other than people who were closely involved, nobody knew it was the PSR ship. "Mr. Cobain, are you saying military officials didn't do their work properly?" The assistant asked.

Just with two interrogative questions, Cobain's forehead filled with cold sweat. "I-I-" He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything negative against the military so he wondered if he could blame anything on Anya.

The assistant cut him off hearing him stutter, "Officer Owen." He called loud enough to reach Anya's ear who was drinking water.

She quickly wiped her lips and ran inside, "Assistant Wen?"

"How did you find out about the PSR layout?" He questioned.

Anya responded without knowing why that question popped up, "PSR base model is available on the Johnson publicly available website. However, when I was checking the guest lists and crew details on their database, I found the modified design of PSR. I confirmed it after going on the PSR."

The chief Justice sighed, shaking his head. His assistant couldn't endure the unfairness to the ones who work hard. He wasn't surprised his assistant took the chance to get rid of Cobain for Anya Owen.

Assistant Wen looked at Cobain who had lowered his head. His voice was sharp and fierce, "Mr. Cobain, that's how you would have answered my question instead of stuttering or thinking of a lie." He snapped at Cobain, "did you truly think you could take credit for others' work? Should I invite Major Reth and question him?" He threatened bluntly and saw Cobain edgy and shaking. 

The assistant didn't stop there, "If you had been truly helpful in the meeting, Major Reth would have discussed the follow-up with you. He…"Assistant Wen had to stop when Chief Justice glanced at him.

Jason hid his smile and looked at Kennedy. The latter was nervous. Jason was expecting Kennedy to reprimand Cobain so that he could escape getting into the bad books of two men.

As Jason expected, Kennedy stood up and faced Cobain, "Cobain, is this what I taught you? When did you start lying?..."

"Quiet." A low calm voice of the Chief Justice froze Kennedy.

The Chief Justice closed the file and looked at Anya. He didn't lose his temper whatsoever, "Officer Owen, how did Mr. Cobain perform?"

Anya promptly responded to the question, "Mr. Cobain completed the tasks as per the instructions." She had asked Cobain to fetch the PSR Layout and get a printout. He did it. So she reported it, nothing more, nothing less. 

Jason was satisfied with the response. When working as a team, blaming a teammate shows a lack of coordination and weakness. Importantly, Cobain had no experience in these types of cases so blaming him for something he doesn't know shows short-sightedness. He was proud of Anya who learned from watching him.

Cobain wanted to breathe in relief but Chief Justice chuckled. Other than finding her indifference for everything, he couldn't find any faults in her regarding work. He extended his hand holding the file towards Anya, "Take a look. Choose the cops to work on this case. You will be leading them." That's an extra special power.

Anya was surprised however it didn't appear on her face. She stepped ahead and collected the file. "Thank you, Chief Justice." She needs time to select. She had the complete information on the cops who work in the capital. The coastal city data still has to be studied. 

Then Chief Justice turned to Kennedy, "Officer Owen had complete right to reject the assistance of Cobain. She accepted it on my orders. That's called respecting seniors." 

Kennedy awkwardly smiled and tried to speak for Cobain, "Chief Justice, Co-"

The old man's face turned cold and raised his hand to stop Kennedy, "I gave him a chance to follow Officer Owen and learn. But he proved to be unfit. "

The two men paled. 

Assistant Wen instructed a security officer, "See these two out of the harbor right away."

Thus Anya maintained the pride of Team Ace making her Chief smugger. Well, Chief Justice popped the bomb for her, "Officer Owen…" He stood up. His assistant passed the overcoat to him.

"Since a high profile name is involved in stealing of the hard disk, you have four days to summon every person related to the case for the first private court session." Finishing his words, he walked out nodding at the commanding officer.

The high-profile name that needs a private court session is Bernard Collins. 

Anya's eyes widened behind the old man. He was purposefully making things difficult for her because she is acquainted with Alvin Matthews who is linked in the case. She will lose the mission and the special officer title if she tries to cover up for Alvin Matthews. In other words, he was asking her to go hard on Alvin.

'Today is Tuesday. Four days…. Saturday.' Anya wanted to smack her forehead with the file that was in her hand. She will be seeing Alvin on Saturday. 

'How will he react?' She wondered by forgetting for a moment that she was on a tight schedule.