Rogue Asset (Book 3 of the Wade Hanna Series) (6 page)

Leo paused to see if Wade was listening. Wade was all ears. Leo continued his explanation, “I get my assignments directly from the top of the Agency on a special secure line. Nothing I do goes through departments or has any paperwork attached.”

“In other words there’s total deniability?”

“That’s very good. You were listening.”

Wade continued curiously. Something was bothering him, “Why would you ever come to an event like this evening?”

“Good question. I’m not here for this event. I’m in D.C. on assignment to meet a foreign contact that is here for the U.N. meetings. My trip just happens to coincide with the reception tonight. I thought I would come by and see if I recognized anyone.”

“Have you seen anyone you recognized?”

“Yeah. I know some of the guys who have been around for a while. They are all bureaucrats now. There’s one or two of the older guys I had assignments with years ago. If they’re in some important position within the company now, they won’t acknowledge me.”

“How can I get to know more about what your side of the company does?”

“My area’s not covered in the Agency brochures. Why do you want to know?”

“I’m trying to decide which direction to go in the company and not sure I like these social, glad-handing activities. I’m more of a field guy than an office or administrative type.”

Wade felt somehow he was on common ground with Leo even though he didn’t have Leo’s experience and wasn’t sure exactly what he did.

“Do you have any advice for me on which way to go with the company?”

“You’ve got to decide if you want to be in a nice office and a comfortable administrative capacity or some other capacity. The Agency is very large, and there are plenty of jobs and directions for you to consider. You can just serve your remaining time out or make this a career. It all depends on what you want to do.”

Wade paused with a questioning look on his face.

“You see the way I work is not the normal Agency path. In fact, people like me are deniable assets. We work alone outside the Agency and accomplish things Agency people can’t or won’t do. If I’ve done my job right, nobody hears anything about it. We’re ghosts to the outside world and to be more precise ‘deniable ghosts’ within the company.”

Wade still looked puzzled. He wasn’t sure how to find out about Leo’s line of work or who to ask about ‘deniable asset’ positions.

Sensing Wade’s confusion, Leo continued, “You should know there is considerable danger in my line of work. You have to be a survivor to make it in my area. I’ve survived many close calls over my 24 years. You develop ‘street smarts’ or ‘instincts’ for the jobs we do. Some of those smarts come from natural instincts; another part comes from training and experience you can only get in the field. Most of it comes from on-the-job training. If you’re good at it, you’ll get better and learn. If you’re sloppy or prone to mistakes, you end up in a box at a young age.”

“I think I understand. All I know at this point is I don’t want to do office work or attend social functions. I want to be in the field.”

Leo looked hard into Wade’s eyes as he spoke. The dose of reality he just delivered on his line of work would have scared off most new graduating recruits. There was something in Wade that reminded Leo of himself when he was starting out.

They continued speaking for more than an hour. Megan scanned the room several times looking for Wade and hoping he was mingling with other agents and students, but she saw him mostly with Leo. She had never seen Leo before and didn’t know who he was or what office he worked in. She was curious enough to find out something about Leo from one of the older agents she knew.

On the other side of the room, Leo pulled out a business card and handed it to Wade.

“Call me if you decide you want to do something different. This is my Zurich office. Just leave a message there and I’ll get back to you.”

It was clear Leo and Wade had made some connection with each other. Leo didn’t know much about Wade but didn’t want to discourage him. Over the years, Leo had developed good instincts about people in his line of work. He felt Wade had a spark that he recognized. He filed the information in his mind knowing that one day they would meet again.

Wade couldn’t wait to ask the next question that brought him over to Leo in the first place. Holding up his glass next to Leo’s glass Wade asked, “I couldn’t help but notice we fold a napkin around the glass in the same way.”

“It’s an old habit of mine. The fold keeps fingerprints off the glass.”

“It’s been a similar habit for me. I’m trying to break the habit.”

“If you come to work in my line of work in my field you don’t ever want to break that habit.”

Wade thanked Leo for his time and advice and moved across the room to another group by introducing himself.

Megan saw Wade separate from Leo. Her curiosity couldn’t be contained. She went over to a senior agent she had known since joining the Agency. She discreetly pointed across the room.

“Who’s that gentleman standing next to the piano?”

Her friend looked over then turned back with a smile, “He calls himself Leo in this country. He’s a ghost operative rarely seen in the U.S. I met him briefly several years ago working on a black ops mission. Except for tonight haven’t seen him since.”

Megan wanted to know more, “He seems to be a loner.”

“He’s very much a loner and rumor has it he’s involved in strange, wet assignments.”

Megan decided to abandon her inquiry for the moment. She saw Wade drifting over to another group and wondered what Wade and Leo had been talking about.

After briefly listening to the new group Wade politely bowed out, turning back to the piano where Leo had been standing. His question would have to wait because all that remained was the napkin wrapped glass sitting on the piano.

Wade introduced himself to other groups of agents and students as he slowly made his way back toward Megan. He waited a while for Megan to get off another phone call dealing with agents’ delayed flights.

Megan saw Wade waiting. She ended the call and took down a message. She headed across the room to deliver the message to another agent. Wade waited for the message to be delivered and intercepted her path back to the organizing table.

She was glad to see Wade and greeted him with a smile, “Well, hello stranger. Are you meeting lots of people?”

Wade seemed a little tired of all the ballroom activities, “I’ve met all the agents and candidates I can handle at this point.”

Megan sensing Wade’s frustration responded, “Do you remember how to get to my place from here?”

“I think so.”

“Let me give you my garage and door key.”

She handed Wade key and card in her cupped hand, “Why don’t you go to my place and make yourself at home. I have to be here for another hour or so and I’ll meet you at home.”

Wade didn’t have to think before he replied, “That sounds like a good idea.”

Chapter 6

Washington, D. C.

It was just after 11:00 o’clock when Wade entered Megan’s condo. He went to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water, folded a napkin around the glass in his typical fashion and picked up a coaster from the table. While wrapping the glass, Wade remembered Leo’s comment.

One of Megan’s comfortable chairs called his body to rest and he reclined his head in its soft cushion. Wade didn’t realize how tired he was until he came to this moment. His body relished the rest, but his mind raced replaying the day’s events. It dawned on him that he was returning home tomorrow. His flight back to Alabama left mid-morning.

He gazed focused on Megan’s bookcase. He wondered,
Should I mention to Megan about being asked about sex with her in the polygraph?
His answer was “No” and that was truthful but how would she react?

Who was asking these questions and why? Who were the people whose names he didn’t know on the polygraph exam? He came back to the thought of his hotel room being bugged. Was Megan part of all this or was she also under the same surveillance? Was her condo bugged?

The questions brought Wade out of his seat. He knew how precise everything in Megan’s condo was placed. She would recognize anything that was even slightly out of place.

Wade began a visual sweep of the condo for listening devices making sure that anything he moved was put precisely back in its place. His inspection was complete, and he didn’t find any listening or camera devices.

He turned to the bookshelf. Three medical books caught his attention. Her explanation that she kept them in remembrance of her father was reasonable. He looked more carefully at the book titles. There was a section of three books that seemed strange. They all dealt with exotic poisons. Wade’s mind instantly went back to his meeting with Morrison and remembered that Lockhart was drugged with an exotic poison that paralyzed him before his death.

The bindings were old, but Wade couldn’t take his eyes off three titles:
Ancient Medicinal Plants and Cures
,
Death by Plants
and
Primitive Warrior Potions
. These books were different than the ones on anatomy and treating heart conditions. Megan didn’t mention her father was in tropical medicine. Wade made a small mark with his fingernail so he could tell the precise placement of the book before he removed it. Leafing through the book caused him to wonder further. There were sections on plants and formulas used by indigenous Indians for paralyzing their prey. The chemistry was over his head but not the purpose of these compounds, describing the paralyzing the effect on nerves, muscle tissue, and organs. He removed the other two books and found similar content using yet different compounds. Was this coincidence or some connection to Lockhart’s murder? Megan would soon be home. How much of this, if anything, was he going to discuss with her?

After completing his review, Wade carefully returned each book to its marked position. He scanned the rest of the bookcase and drawers looking for loose pages of notes or anything that might refer to chemistry or the books. He found nothing.

The books he checked hadn’t been used recently. He made a mental note to speak to a professor he knew in the chemistry department about the toxic compounds that were observed.

Wade returned to his chair to finish his water. The pace of his mind was slowing to the point where he briefly dozed off into light sleep when he heard the key slide into the lock on the door. He jumped up quickly checking the peephole before the door swung open.

There stood Megan holding her burgundy shoes in one hand and her purse in the other. Wade took the shoes and opened his arms to greet this beautiful woman with the smile. They embraced holding each other in the open doorway. As she closed the door with her foot, she gradually moved into the room and said, “Finally.”

She kissed Wade in a strong sensual manner like she had never done before. Wade hugged Megan even tighter feeling every part of her body against him. All of his unanswered questions and uncertainties were aside for the moment. At that moment, he knew that both their feelings were genuine, and they were special to each other. Everything else would have to wait.

They separated from their kiss and stared silently into each other’s eyes. Megan broke their trance by asking, “Would you like a glass of wine?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be right back.” She went to the bedroom, quickly changed, and stopped off in the kitchen before returning in a black sexy lounge dress with two glasses of red wine. They moved to the sofa both taking small sips of wine interrupted with sensual kisses that seem to last longer each time.

Their kisses included dancing tongues that probed every part of each other’s mouth for as long as they could hold their breath. Wade slowly kissed her ear, neck, and shoulder taking time not to miss an inch of her lovely body.

He nibbled on her skin, and then slightly inhaled portions of her skin maneuvering his lips and tongue around it. Megan responded with deep breaths and stimulated sighs.

Megan sought a break in the sensual buildup. She was playful, “I want to see all these itchy spots you claim to have from the Poly.”

She proceeded to unbutton his shirt inspecting a few remaining red marks, “I may have a cure for those.”

Wade replied, “I bet you do.”

She didn’t offer medication; she just proceeded around his marks with her mouth inhaling his clear skin with loving bites. Wade’s nipples became erect. She inhaled each like candy. Wade was now erect and Megan could feel his presence probing against her thigh.

Megan took a break in the action not wanting it to climax too soon. Wade took the opportunity to explore further. He slowly dropped one side of her stretchy lounge dress to kiss Megan’s other shoulder.

Wade found several spots he thought delectable. She responded with tense muscles and goosebumps all over her body. Wade slowly moved his kisses down her cleavage delicately stimulating each breast as though each deserved his separate and undivided attention.

Her nipples responded, becoming hard as pebbles as she pushed her breasts against his lips. Their arms and thighs came together in a warm embrace. Words were no longer necessary. Neither spoke as their breathing got heavier. Their waists undulated to the same rhythm as Wade entered her.

Megan pressed against him and immediately started having orgasms. He held his position firmly, hardly moving as Megan bit his shoulder during her next several orgasms. He pulled her thighs into his and both reveled in ecstasy as he came deeply inside her. They held their embrace on the living room love seat like statues frozen in time.

Wade could barely open his eyes. Eyes half-closed he managed to say, “I told you I had a serious itch.”

Megan replied, “Grab your wine and let’s go to the bedroom. I’m not through fixing it.”               The night slowly passed with a constant stream of lovemaking interrupted only by brief periods of rest to catch each other’s breath.

A sliver of dawn’s early light reflected off the dresser mirror touching the two naked sleeping bodies still in a partial embrace. Wade stirred first, slipping quietly out from under the cover to the bathroom.

When he returned, Megan sighed rolling over to greet his body with both hands and legs, attaching herself to Wade’s body. The two embraced without totally being awake. He moved his body on top of hers engaging in their familiar embrace that started their sensual evening. Groans of ecstasy followed from both as they collapsed in each other’s arms once again.

It was Megan who slipped out from under the covers to use the bathroom this time as Wade wallowed in an oatmeal state-of-mind. Half awake and totally spent Wade managed to recognize the sound of a shower. He somehow dragged himself to the bathroom toward the sound. There he stood watching an abstract image of Megan’s body moving from side to side through the frosted glass. He couldn’t resist.

She opened the door and invited him in. They embraced in a kiss leaning against the tile wall that kept them both upright. It was as though they were still in her bedroom only now upright. Her legs grabbed his thigh as she kissed him passionately while the warm water beat against her neck and shoulders.

Megan couldn’t believe she was having yet another wonderful orgasm. Wade was too spent and exhausted to do anything but hold on. Feeling her leave his body, he grabbed Megan to keep from falling. She responded with another deep sensual kiss.

Megan was now limp with exhaustion. Both needed each other and the tile wall to stay upright. Somehow words came out of Megan to break the stream of sensual silence.

“I have to get to work.”

Wade managed a humorous reply, “You forgot to schedule this.”

They both laughed as Megan soaped and got out of the shower to dry off on shaky legs.               After they were dressed, Megan stood at the door to her condo. She kissed him and asked, “Please call me tonight when you get home.”

“I will.”

Still in a state of euphoria Wade somehow got checked out of his hotel, returned the rental car and made his flight to Atlanta. Staring out the window of the plane Wade’s mind bounced back and forth over scenes of the last four days.

During his three-hour flight, he drifted in and out of much-needed sleep. He thought about the things he wanted to discuss with Megan, but last night was just not the time. He glowed with the thought of his new relationship with Megan and how this special woman was now a serious part of his life. This trip also meant his career had reached several milestones. Although he would not be attending any formal intelligence graduation ceremonies, last evening with Megan was enough to celebrate everything he had worked for over the last four years.

The realization finally sunk in that he had completed college and all of his intelligence training. Even more, he was starting a new relationship with a very special person. His gut told him life would be different now. He just didn’t know how it was going to change and who would be pulling the strings.

Two incomplete grades had to be made up to formally graduate from college. The thought didn’t bother Wade. He told himself,
I’ll take care of those as soon as I get back.
Wade felt a sense of uneasy freedom and wondered,
How am I going to spend the large chunk of time taken up with college and intelligence training over the last four years? How long will it be before someone reaches out to me for a new assignment?
At that moment, Wade promised himself he was going to make the best of his freedom for whatever time was left.

Last year Wade saw his father only twice. His father was doing well, but he didn’t feel his long absence was right for either his father or himself. Several issues were confronting his father and Wade wanted to be there for him. He committed to himself to make more frequent visits to see his father.

Wade’s mind wandered to the Lockhart murder. He wanted to know what happened in the dispute over the jurisdiction of Lockhart’s body. He thought senior Agency personnel might somehow be involved in Lockhart’s murder and found it worrisome not knowing if they were going to be looking for him. Perhaps his friend Detective Jake Pisano knew of this Georgia detective, Gabe Morrison. Wade made a mental note to call Jake when he got home to find out.

As the sound of the engines conveyed their sleepy vibration, it was hard trying to imagine Megan not his handler. It wasn’t difficult imagining her as his lover. Wade could visualize Megan right next to him. He wanted to take her home to his humble one-bedroom apartment and treat her to some real southern cooking. He was no longer embarrassed about her seeing his place although he would have to do some serious straightening up.

His apartment lease was up in three months. He didn’t know where he would be moving but after seeing Megan’s place he needed to take a step up. The change of planes in Atlanta and the short trip to Greenstone went smoothly.

It wasn’t long before Wade found himself staring at the messy room he left a few days ago. The two-hour time difference meant Megan was at home. He moved his luggage bag past the accumulated mail on the floor and sat down to give her a call.

She greeted his call with delight, “Hi, I thought it might be you.”

“I said I would call and here I am. I couldn’t wait to get to the phone. How was your day?”

“Great. I was walking on clouds all day although it took me a while to get into focus.”

“You mean from last night?”

“Of course I mean from last night. How was your flight?”

“I was strapped in looking out the window at clouds. I thought I saw you dancing.”

“Tell me how you felt.”

“I was in a daze – couldn’t get you out of my mind the whole flight. Last night was very special.”

“For me, too. I tried to visualize your coming home and just want you to describe your place.”

Wade saw this as an opportunity to inject humor. He put on his southern drawl.

“You want me to describe my humble little country cave?”

“Take me through it piece by piece. I want to be there with you.”

Wade continued his country accent that Megan always enjoyed, “Well, I put the key in the door and opened it. Walking past the door my accent suddenly came back just like I never left. The first thing I did was kick all the empty beer cans and trash out of the way to make a path.”