Lands near Stirling, June 2022
The vast lands of Bannockburn spread out below where Danielle Field stood on top of a hill. It was nice to breathe in the fresh air that smelled of trees and grass and flowers. She recognized thistle, Scottish bluebells, and the small white flowers of cow parsley blanketing the grassy hill.
The town of Bannockburn, with its gray and orange roofs, extended over a large area. These days, it was part of the city of Stirling. Back in the Middle Ages, this was the site of the famous Battle of Bannockburn. The reenactment of the battle would take place in a bright green field where triangular and round canvas tents and a few pavilions had been raised. Dozens of people in medieval clothes trained on swords, shot arrows, and made formations commanded by horsemen. People lined around the perimeter, watching them rehearse for the reenactment, on June 23.
As much as Danielle loved plants, her sister, Jamie, loved history.
“You see the statue of Robert the Bruce?” Jamie asked, leaning towards Danielle and pointing at the statue close to the Bannockburn visitor center. Jamie worked in the museum at Stirling Castle, and was excited to be one of the coordinators of the reenactment for the first time.
By her side stood a medieval warrior. He wore chain mail and a chain mail coif and watched the practice with a dreamy expression. A local actor named Liam, he certainly suited the role, with his ear-length red hair and short beard.
When Danielle had arrived to visit Jamie at the visitor center, he’d volunteered to come for a walk with them. Based on the glances Jamie kept exchanging with him, there must be something going on between him and her little sister. Alarm bells rang in Danielle’s head. Could she trust this bloke to treat her sister well? She scanned him for any signs of there being something off. But he seemed a regular chap who was too much into history.
“Yes, I see it,” Danielle said. It was a large bronze statue of Robert the Bruce on a horse, atop a tall pedestal.
“Fun fact,” said Jamie, her crystal-blue eyes sparkling. “It was built in 1964 by Pikington Jackson for the Earl of Elgin.”
Liam nodded seriously. Danielle giggled and hugged her sister by the shoulders. She was as tall as Danielle and built in a similar way: narrow hips, barely any waist, flat chest. The mean girls in high school had called her a stick.
“Only you would call that a fun fact,” said Danielle.
Liam looked at her, puzzled. He must have found it fun, too.
Danielle grinned. “I missed you. It’s good to take my mind off work.”
Jamie looked at her. “Yes. Work. You came to visit so suddenly. Don’t you have some important operation or something?”
Danielle crossed arms over her chest and shifted her weight. The best way to spoil the mood was to think about work right now. “Not anymore.”
“Where do you work?” asked Liam.
“She’s in MI5,” Jamie told him conspiratorially.
Liam blinked at her and looked her over. “You? A spy?”
Danielle gave him a forced smile. This was why she was glad she didn’t meet many new people outside of work. Because she either had to lie about what she really did, or she would get reactions like that. She had told Jamie and their parents not to tell people, but of course they did.
“I’m not a spy. I’m an investigator.”
He whistled. “A real-life female James Bond.”
“She really is!” Jamie said.
No, Jamie. She really must like this man if she kept trying to make sure he was impressed.
“Not James Bond, Liam,” Danielle said. “I help prevent cyberattacks and sit at the computer all day. It’s quite boring, actually.”
That was what did the trick to tone down the curiosity in people like Liam who asked too many questions.
“But didn’t you have a special operation in Venezuela…or Colombia or something?” insisted Jamie.
Danielle tensed. Jamie shouldn’t know more than she was supposed to. Not only was Danielle now under investigation at work, but she might also get fired in less than a week. Yes, she had had an operation in Venezuela. Her informant, Juan, had gone missing. He’d since been found and was now in the UK receiving psychological care. She was on suspension while her bosses led the investigation. The hearing was in five days, and she was going back to London tomorrow for the first interview. Truly, it had been her own mistake in judgment.
The mission was meant to prevent a large-scale cyberattack where hackers planned to break into UK bank security systems to steal private information and money. Juan had gone to meet with a known and highly sought-after hacker.
And hadn’t come back.
And the cyberattack had happened, but they’d managed to stop any money being transferred. The hacker was still out there. After disappearing for a month, Juan had been found, suffering from PTSD. And who knew what he had told the cybercriminals?
They worked with a local gang that took care of roughing up anyone who crossed them.
“Darling,” Danielle said, “you know I can’t talk about details with anyone.”
Liam put his hands on his waist. “Jamie Field, what other secrets do you have?” He shook his head, an admiring grin on his face.
Yes. The bloke liked Jamie. Protective instincts had Danielle clench her hands into fists.
His face fell when he looked at her. “Wait…Field…” He frowned, and Danielle’s gut twisted. “Danielle Field, right?”
Danielle swallowed hard. He’d made the connection surprisingly quickly.
“You’re that girl, right?” he insisted. “That girl that got kidnapped and kept in a basement by that psycho?”
Jamie’s face got a worried look. “Um…” she said.
Danielle spread her hands wide. “Yes, Liam. I’m that girl.”
“Oh. Bugger.” He looked her over with different eyes now. Surprise. Pity. Suspicion that something may be wrong with her. Those were the typical things she’d seen on people’s faces once they found out. “How are you?”
She gave a fake smile. “I’m fine, as you can see. I’m alive.”
Well, that was debatable. She was alive. But she had no life. No friends. No relationships. No boyfriends.
It was better that way. Trust was what had led her into that bastard’s basement. Sixteen years ago, he’d taught her a valuable lesson. To never trust anyone.
So her work was perfect, really. It was about keeping her distance and being observant and studying patterns. And since she didn’t want relationships anyway, that was just as well.
“She’s fine,” said Jamie with a nervous smile.
“God, I remember that story,” said Liam. “It was all over the news. Your whole town went searching for you, didn’t they? Not just the police. And you were right next door at your neighbor’s the whole time. I remember telling my mum I wanted to go and help. She didn’t let me, of course. You were down in London. I was here in Stirling. But when they found you, every newspaper wrote about you.”
Danielle nodded and pursed her lips. Not everyone in Britain remembered that story, but apparently Liam did.
“Yes,” she said, trying to focus on the groups of people that marched in round formations across the field. “They did. Listen, Liam—”
She was about to tell him she didn’t want to talk about it, when Jamie’s phone rang loudly.
“Hello?” she answered, clearly relieved not to talk about Danielle’s kidnapping any longer. “Oh, yes, we’ll be right back.”
She hung up and looked at Liam. “We need to go back.” She squeezed Danielle’s hand. “Sorry, hun. But you have the key for my flat, and I’ll meet you there later after work. We’ll go to the pub and have dinner.”
Liam looked sheepish. “I’d like to join, if that’s all right?”
No, it wasn’t. Her sister was her best friend, and she longed to spend time with her.
“Great,” Danielle said.
Jamie beamed. Liam was important to her, Danielle could tell. Ah, well. More chances to check this man out.
“Okay,” Jamie said, kissed Danielle, and the two of them were off down the slope...
