Tanner seemed remarkably unphased by Bree’s reprimand; if it wasn’t for the numbers Ethan would never have known he was embarrassed, the man was stellar at concealing his emotions. Whether he was embarrassed because he was actually ashamed of what he said, or simply because he had gotten caught, that was a far greater mystery. Of course, her reprimand also did nothing to change Tanner’s certainty that there was some sort of foul play going on, and while he would undoubtedly keep it on the low-down now, it was still only a matter of time.
“Very well, Agent Walsh,” he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Until next time, Ethan.” He gave Ethan one last searching glance before walking away. Somehow, the whole exchange between the group had passed unnoticed by everyone else in the area.
Ethan let out a tired sigh as he scooped up the bag of candies from the drawer, only barely noticing that he had grabbed it upside down before the whole bag would have dumped out on the floor. He quickly switched his grip, rubbed his brow, and followed after Bree. This was, indeed, going to be one of those days.
The story he gave to the FBI was identical in every respect to the story he had just given to Agent Royce Tanner. Not once did he fumble or misstep in his story, but nor was he so clean that it seemed as though he had memorized the entire thing. He was able to flip the story on its side, recite it from any angle, and maintain both the face and attitude of a victim. Such a shame that the only one there who could truly appreciate his acting skills was Bree, and he somehow doubted that she was going to nominate him for a Grammy.
When the questioner finished with him they both stood up and shook hands, before he was politely escorted to the door. Only once he was certain that no one of significance was watching did he cup his head in his hands and let out a sigh. It had taken a lot more effort than he had expected to keep the numbers in place to ensure that his acting skills did not slip. Ethan was not a liar at his core. Most of the time he simply implemented enough deception to keep the bouncers and money managers from getting suspicious of him. He grabbed one of the Werther’s from his pocket, unwrapped it, and began sucking on it. How he prayed that all of this was not going to go to waste because of Tanner's meddling.
“I guess that was it.” Ethan finally said, turning to face Bree. “Goodbye, Agent Walsh. I’ll see myself out.”