With Dame Wasp confirming that the agents monitoring him from the other side of the two-way mirror had left—leaving only Mrs. Martins—Ace got up, stretching lazily as he prepared to leave the interview room. His work here was done. The C.I.B. had nothing on him but Beyton's story and Matthews' gut. Shaking his head with a slight grin, he reached for the doorknob to find it locked, he wasn't surprised.
With an annoyed sigh, he tightened his grip and wrenched it off with minimal effort. The door creaked open. They appeared to have trusted the effectiveness of the cursed array enough that they hadn't thought to reinforce the damn door. Regardless, it wasn't his problem.
Ace stepped out just as the agent stationed outside turned to address him, "Sir—"
Before the guy could finish, Ace casually handed him the broken knob adding, "The thing got stuck, so I helped myself."
The agent blinked at the broken knob in his palm, dumbfounded unable to say to the latter that the knob wasn't stuck but they had purposefully locked it. After all, the latter wasn't under arrest and only here for voluntary interview to cooperate with the investigation.
"That's destruction of state property! Agent, handcuff him!" Matthews snapped, storming over the moment she saw him leaving.
Ace exhaled sharply seeing her arrive out of the adjacent room, his patience wearing thin.
"Mrs. Martins," he said, his tone edged with warning, "don't test me. You have no idea what I'm capable of, and I have very little patience for your games."
Matthews narrowed her eyes, seizing the opportunity. "Is that a threat?" she asked, her voice sharp, trying to escalate the situation—probably hoping to drum up more charges against him so she could legally detain him.
Ace didn't take the bait. Instead, he kept his voice calm, his gaze unwavering.
"I came here in good faith to cooperate with your investigation," he stated. "I didn't even invoke my rights, against the advice of my friends. But from where I'm standing, you're not just hostile—you're actively trying to frame me for those murders." He took a step closer, looking her dead in the eye, "So either let me go—or arrest me and face the consequences."
The agent didn't budge. He remained rooted to the spot, but his hesitation was clear. Instead of immediately following the order, he turned to EAD Matthews for confirmation, "Ma'am?"
Matthews exhaled sharply, her gaze flicking between Ace and the broken door before waving the matter off and ordering the agent, "Get someone to fix the door."
The agent gave a quick salute before heading off to complete his task. With that out of the way, Matthews turned her full attention to Ace. "Let's talk," she said simply before leading him toward her office. Ace followed without protest, hands tucked into his pockets, his expression unreadable.
Once inside her office, she took in the familiar setting. The office was as luxurious as ever, though noticeably emptier than before as had cleared it out for Bishop this afternoon. Matthews took her seat behind the desk, to Ace to sit across from her and leaning back into the chair like he owned the place.
Ignoring it, She didn't waste time before bluntly stating, "I know you're responsible for those deaths and the threat the C.I.B. received at the exact same time."
Ace blinked, his face the perfect picture of confusion as he feigned cluelessness, "I killed nobody—and what threat?"
"You don't have to speak," Matthews said letting out an exasperated sigh before rubbing her temples and adding, "Just listen."
Ace said nothing, merely tilting his head slightly as if granting her permission to continue.
"I don't know how you pulled this off, but I do know why you did it," she said, watching him carefully. Getting no reaction from him her eyes narrowed slightly. Before deciding to talk something that would, "Do you know why Operation 9Ks was sanctioned in the first place?"
Ace remained silent, but his body language shifted just enough for her to notice. Not waiting for an answer, she continued.
"Twenty-two years ago, Operation 9Ks was signed off by my mentor—just a few months before his retirement, when I was on the verge of stepping up to fill the gap he left behind," She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice.
"You see, Beyton and I were both in line for his position, but as our mentor, he couldn't bring himself to choose between us. So, he assigned us each a different case—planning to judge us based on our results to determine who deserved to be next in line after him," She paused, letting her words sink in, watching Ace carefully for any tells. Ace, however, remained as unreadable as ever.
"Back then, the crack cocaine epidemic was spiraling out of control. The president wanted to shut it down fast before it became too ingrained in our economy. The DEA eventually discovered that the sudden surge was due to cartels employing curse users to smuggle crack across the borders.
"Our mentor assigned me to investigate the cartels, while Beyton was tasked with looking into an up-and-coming cult… But before I continue, you need to understand—back then, I was competitive as hell. Desperate to prove myself. I got results, no matter what it took.
"The me from back then…" Matthews let out a long sigh, rubbing her temples as she continued, "was ruthless. I can't stress that enough. Just thinking about those days gives me a headache."
She shook off the memory and continued.
"Anyway, once I got the case, I wasn't about to waste time on a standard investigation. Instead, my team and I found the biggest and meanest gang dealing crack in the state—along with a handful of corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. And then? We introduced them to each other. That was how the Kingsmen Gang was born.
"The 'King' being me—well, figuratively speaking, of course. You get the point, right?" She waved a hand dismissively before leaning back in her chair.