Reach For the Spy (39 page)

By ten to nine, we had
a plan. Spider hovered nervously while we walked toward our cars.
“I still don’t like it, Aydan. It’s too dangerous. I won’t be able
to do anything to help you, you know that. You need somebody
like...” His voice trailed off. “...Germain,” he substituted
determinedly. “You should ask him to help.”

I bit my tongue. I
couldn’t tell him Kane would be there to cover our backs. And I
didn’t want to involve Germain at all. He was my backup plan if
things went seriously sideways.

“Remember, Germain’s
still on our suspect list,” I reminded him. I didn’t believe for a
minute that Germain was the leak, but it made a good excuse.

Spider’s shoulders
sagged. “I guess you’re right.”

At Sirius, I held my
breath through Smith’s offensive aura and dove into the network.
“I’m going to go invisible and check my program,” I lied.

My heart pounded. Point
of no return.

I faded into
invisibility and stretched down the data tunnels.

I slipped my fake web
page onto a convenient server before creating a convoluted trail,
ping-ponging through various connections to lead to it. Then I
burrowed into Craigslist and placed my ad.

It was frighteningly
easy.

I suppressed a shudder
at the sheer potential for disaster. I could go anywhere in
cyberspace. Read any document, browse through any server, drift
through firewalls as if they didn’t even exist. And I didn’t leave
a trace.

I had a fleeting
thought that it might have been better if Kane had actually killed
me. Nobody should have this kind of power. And what if there were
other network keys out there? Other people who could do what I
could?

I wrenched my mind away
from the thought. If there were, Fuzzy Bunny apparently didn’t know
about them. And so far, they didn’t know about me, either. All I
had to do was catch Stemp, and I’d be home free.

Yeah, I’d just keep
telling myself that.

I hovered in the
virtual data tunnel, sifting the data streams almost unconsciously.
Waiting.

I almost missed it. I’d
grown so accustomed to watching for communications with Fuzzy Bunny
that Stemp’s convoluted signal barely registered when it whisked
by. With a shock of adrenaline, I hitched my consciousness to the
final data packet and used it to trace the pathway he was using
this time.

When the connection
stabilized, I sank my virtual fangs into the data session and drank
deeply.

About fifteen minutes
later, the connection broke up and I snapped back into Sirius’s
virtual file room, suppressing the urge to vent my frustration with
foul language. Absolutely nothing incriminating. And if it was
encrypted, I couldn’t crack it. It still just looked like banal
conversation to me. Hadn’t even gotten any cheap thrills this
time.

I faded into visibility
again. “Everything looks fine,” I said as casually as I could. “I’m
coming out, unless you can think of anything else I should be doing
here.”

“No, come on out,”
Spider assured me.

When I straightened and
pried open my aching eyes, Mike Connor was leaning against the door
frame, chatting to Spider while Smith looked on sourly. Smith had
been none too pleased about our nocturnal activities, but when we’d
assured him his presence wasn’t required, he’d obstinately insisted
on attending.

I got up and trudged
for the door. “That’s it, you guys, I’m heading home.”

They all trailed me
down the hallway, and my head throbbed while Connor regaled Spider
with a blow-by-blow description of his latest World of Warcraft
escapades. Once again, I envied Spider his youthful energy while
the two of them made plans to head over to the internet cafe for
the rest of the evening.

I had intentionally
left my car in a dark corner of the parking lot in case Kane needed
to get into it, but now it didn’t seem like quite such a smart idea
as I strode over to it, trying to look confident. I knew Bill Harks
was still in jail, but who else might be lurking in the shadows? I
cursed my idiocy. I should have gotten Mike and Spider to walk me
to my car.

My shoulders were up
around my ears by the time I whisked into the driver’s seat and
locked the door behind me. My back prickled. If Kane could hide in
the trunk, who else might? I didn’t dare look while I was still in
the parking lot in case Kane was in there, but I was also afraid to
drive off into the country without looking in case somebody else
was in there.

My hands were clenched
around the steering wheel in an agony of indecision when I finally
brained up. Jeez, I must be more tired than I thought.

“John?” I spoke out
loud, hoping for an answer.

“I’m here,” came the
soft reply from the trunk.

The air hissed out of
me in a long sigh as I slumped with relief. “Thank God.” I started
the car and drove away, wiping my palms on my jeans.

“You can come out now,”
I told him when the darkness of the open highway wrapped around the
car.

I heard movement in the
back seat, and Kane spoke from behind me. “You shouldn’t park in
such a secluded area at night.”

“Tell me about it.” I
sighed. “That only seemed like a good idea. I was trying to make it
easy for you to get in the car.”

He chuckled. “I could
get in your car in broad daylight if I wanted to.”

“Oooh, big talk,” I
teased him. “Confident much?”

I could hear the smile
in his voice. “Yes.”

“Good. Because I’m
going to need you for this next part.”

“I’m not sure I like
the sound of that,” he said slowly. “What do you have in mind?”

“I’ve set myself up as
bait. I’ll need you to watch my back.”

“You what?” There was a
distinct edge in his voice. “Aydan, I warned you how dangerous this
is. Your first responsibility is to stay safe. Not...” His voice
was rising, and I heard him take a deep breath. “Not put yourself
at risk,” he finished evenly.

“No choice. It’s
already done.” I sounded more confident than I felt.

“Aydan, goddammit...”
There was a short silence. “All right. Tell me what you’ve
done.”

“I’ve relayed a message
to Fuzzy Bunny’s operative and told him he’s to snatch me and bring
me in.” I heard a faint sound from the back seat that sounded like
grinding teeth, but Kane didn’t interrupt me so I continued.

“It’s perfectly safe,”
I assured him. “You know they need me alive.”

“But not necessarily
unhurt,” he grated.

A chill ran down my
spine. Hadn’t thought of that.

“True,” I admitted
reluctantly. “But I’m pretty sure they’ll want me in good shape.
Anyway, I told their mole to call when he had me, and he’d receive
instructions on where to drop me.”

I handed the second
disposable phone over my shoulder. “There’s a recorded message on
here that gives the location of the drop site. The real Fuzzy Bunny
doesn’t know anything about this. So I’m perfectly safe. Even if
our guy manages to snatch me, which he won’t because you’ll be
there, he can’t get me to Fuzzy Bunny. Worst-case scenario, the
phone rings, and you’ll know you can just show up at the drop site
and pick me up.”

“That’s fine as far as
it goes,” Kane said. “But how am I supposed to watch your back?
Don’t forget, I can’t necessarily shadow you constantly. I’m still
officially dead. I can’t take a chance on being seen.”

“I thought you were
Super-Spy. What happened to that?”

“Aydan!” His growl
raised the small hairs on the back of my neck. “This isn’t a
game.”

“You think?” I
regretted the smartass comment as soon as it left my lips. “Sorry.
I know,” I added. “And don’t worry, I have a plan.”

His heavy sigh ruffled
the back of my hair. “I always worry. It’s my job.”

“Well, don’t. I’ve got
it covered. I’m going to advertise my vulnerability at a convenient
time and place, so you’ll only have to show up there, not actually
follow me. I’m pretty sure he’ll go for it.”

“How?” he asked
cautiously. “Remember, you’re not dealing with an idiot here. He’ll
smell a setup a mile away.”

“I think I can get away
with it, with the wonders of modern email. Tonight when I get home
I’m going to email Spider to meet me at the park tomorrow evening
at nine-thirty, for a private memorial to you. I’ll tell him that
I’ll be there a few minutes early because I’m setting up something
special, and that he can come a little later. And then I’ll
accidentally send it to the group. Immediately followed by an
‘Oops, please disregard’ message.”

After a few seconds of
thought, Kane grunted grudging approval. “That could work. The
park’s never busy even in daylight, and it should be abandoned by
that time of night. He’ll think you’ll be alone in a secluded area.
And there’s lots of cover for me to hide in.”

“Yes. And Spider will
actually be in place before I ever get there, also hidden. He’ll be
recording everything that happens so we have the evidence we
need.”

“Oh.” The approval
wasn’t quite so grudging this time. “Good thinking.”

“Thank you.”

“Stop here.”

I pulled over. “Do you
want me to take you back to town?”

“No, I’ll work my way
back on foot. I’ve set up a base in that ravine a couple of miles
out of town.”

“Do you need anything?
A blanket or something? It’s chilly tonight.”

Kane laughed as he got
out of the back. “No, Mom, I’m fine. Thanks.” He opened the
driver’s door and leaned in. “I have everything I need in that kit
you gave me. Those mylar blankets work for both warmth and
shelter.”

Then he gently raised
my chin and gave me a long, soft kiss.

“Have you changed your
mind about the friends with benefits thing?” I asked when I could
catch my breath.

“No. But the next time
I see you, you’ll be in danger. It’s a good plan, and I think it’ll
work. But just in case.” He kissed me again before fading into the
darkness beside the road.

I drove the rest of the
way home convinced I was an idiot. For many reasons.

At home, I sent my
‘accidental’ email and its follow-up, and then jittered my way into
bed.

I was definitely an
idiot.

I didn’t sleep
well.

The day dawned cool and
cloudy, and I sighed relief. I’d be able to wear a sweatshirt and
use my easily-accessible waist holster. At least something was
going well. Maybe it was a sign.

I groaned at my
hollow-eyed reflection in the mirror and shuffled into the shower.
By tonight, it would be over. One way or the other.

“Idiot,” I mumbled.

At Sirius Dynamics, the
morning crept by. Spider seemed as antsy as I was, and I hoped
Smith hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.

As I swore and groaned
my way out of the network at lunch time, I questioned my sanity yet
again. Shit, I could still call off the whole thing. But then Stemp
would get away with his betrayal, and everyone who cared about Kane
would suffer longer.

I let out a final
heartfelt groan and straightened. When I squinted my eyes open,
Germain was standing just inside the doorway. His face was pleasant
and open as always, but I sensed tension in his posture. He smiled,
his eyes crinkling in their usual cheerful lines.

“Hey, Aydan, can you
join me for lunch? You, too, Webb, if you want.”

“Sure, where do you
want to go?” I matched his breezy tone.

“Let’s go over to Blue
Eddy’s. I could use a beer.”

“Sounds good to me. I
could use a beer, too.”

Boy, could I. I tried
to hide the trembling of my hands as I stood.

“I’ll take the key down
and then meet you in the lobby,” Spider offered, and we all walked
out, leaving Smith sitting at the desk. I felt a pang of sympathy
for the man. Did he have any friends at all? But I wasn’t feeling
sympathetic enough to endure his stench while I ate, and I had a
feeling Germain’s invitation had specifically excluded him
anyway.

My surmise was
confirmed when we relaxed at our usual table in Blue Eddy’s.
Germain glanced casually around the bar and then leaned forward,
pitching his voice just below the level of the music.

“Aydan, about your
memorial in the park tonight...”

Dismay rushed over me.
He had been Kane’s right-hand man, and I considered him a trusted
friend, too. I hoped he hadn’t been hurt that I hadn’t invited him
to my fake memorial.

“Could you consider
doing it another day?” he asked quietly.

“Um... why?” My mind
raced. How could I justify not inviting him? I needed him to be far
away from the park, just in case things went desperately wrong. If
Kane was killed and I was captured, I needed an experienced field
agent to retrieve me.

“I don’t think it’s
safe for you,” Germain said. “You realize you emailed everybody
that you’d be alone and unguarded in an isolated area. If Fuzzy
Bunny’s operative is looking for an opportunity, you’ve just handed
him one.”

“Oh...”

Shit, shit, shit.
Think!

“Um... I would, but,
um...” I seized on the first excuse that came to mind. “Today would
have been, um, a special day for us. It has to be today.”

An unreadable
expression crossed Germain’s face, and he reached for my hand and
held it.

“Aydan,” he said
gently. “Kane would have wanted you to be safe. He wouldn’t have
wanted you to take a chance like this. And it won’t matter to him
now, whether you do this today or tomorrow or next week.”

I gulped down the shame
of lying to the pain in his eyes. “But it will matter to me,” I
murmured.

He gazed at me
unhappily. “Aydan...” He sighed and squeezed my hand. “Just be
careful, then, okay?”

“I will. Thanks, Carl.”
The guilt threatened to strangle me, and my voice emerged in a
choked whisper.