Spy High (24 page)

Sprawled gasping across the ridge on my
stomach, my lips framed the words
‘please-don’t-look-please-don’t-look’, the supplication not quite
audible in my panting.

If Nichele came out now, I’d be busted
for sure. Just stay put, Nichele.
Please-don’t-look-please-don’t-look…

Either the gods or Nichele granted my
prayer. No flashlight burst from the building below and after long
minutes of immobility I finally dared to move again, turning over
to inch feet-first down the slope toward the arbutus branch.

Most of my body was below the peak when
a movement in my peripheral vision made me freeze. Turning my head
slowly and praying, I spotted Orion striding along the path, coming
from the direction of the renters’ land.

He wore night-vision goggles.

Paralyzed, I hunched on the roof,
watching him survey the forest around him as he walked.

Oh God, if he looked up he’d see my
head above the peak of the roof, topped with the damning
night-vision headset.

My heart pounded so loudly I was sure
he’d hear it. His gaze skimmed over the side of the building and I
stopped breathing entirely, but he kept walking without a change of
expression.

Thank God, he must have been using
regular night vision. If he’d had thermographic goggles, my head
would have glowed above the roof peak like a spotlight.

He vanished around the corner of the
path and I sucked in a breath at last, shaking from head to toe.
Goddammit, if I got off this roof and into my bed unscathed and
undetected I’d consider it a miracle right up there with the
parting of the Red Sea.

Which was actually quite apropos, since
it was absolutely pissing rain by now.

I eased down the slope, hands
widespread on the wet shingles, feet shuffling in tiny steps. When
I reached the branch at last, I hooked my legs over it but my icy
hands could barely grip the slippery surface where the tree had
shed its bark in winter. I managed a short hand-over-hand progress
before realizing I wasn’t going to make it.

Stifling my yelp of panic, I let my
legs swing down. My hands slipped off the wet branch an instant
later and I fell for terrifying seconds. Then my feet thudded into
the deep pea gravel of the playground, the shock rolling up my
spine as I overbalanced to sprawl on my back.

Spread-eagled on the ground, I
whimpered in sheer relief. The pea gravel had done its job,
cushioning my landing. None of my body parts hurt excessively. Even
my night-vision headset was still intact and operating, which was
more than I could say for my composure.

I lay there quivering on my back until
rain started to run up my nose. Then I hauled myself to my feet and
tottered toward the path.

Halfway to my tent I stumbled to a
halt.

What if Orion was lurking outside
again? If he had the same kind of headset as I did, he’d be able to
spot me as soon as I saw him. I could take off my headset and
innocently approach my tent, pretending to have just finished my
visit with Nichele, but a simple conversation with Nichele would
prove I was lying.

Undecided, I shuffled my feet for a few
moments before making up my mind. He probably already knew my tent
had been empty late at night before, so it shouldn’t make him any
more suspicious of me tonight.

And his scan of the forest had been the
casual survey of a man travelling from point A to point B with
nothing on his mind but his destination. So whatever he might think
I was doing during my nocturnal ramblings, he obviously didn’t
consider me a threat.

I’d probably gotten away with it
tonight, but I couldn’t keep running around half the night and
still function during the day. There had to be a better way to keep
everybody under surveillance. And dammit, if I was a real secret
agent I’d know what it was.

Too bad I was only a bookkeeper.

Heaving a long sigh, I turned and
plodded back into the forest on aching legs. I might be in far over
my head, but at least I knew where to get some advice. And by the
time I got back, Orion should be safely asleep in his tent.

After fifteen minutes of walking I sank
onto a soggy fallen log with a groan. Soaked to the skin and
shivering, I scanned for heat signatures before pulling out a
burner phone.

My trembling fingers barely navigated
the tiny keys. When I got the number punched in I hunched over, my
free arm wrapped around myself while I counted the rings on the
other end.

One. Two. Three.

“Come on, Arnie, pick up,” I
muttered.

Four.

Expecting his voicemail, I was about to
hang up when a sleepy voice growled, “Helmand.”

Hellhound’s irritable rasp sounded like
the sweet music of salvation. I hugged the phone closer, tears of
exhaustion and relief prickling my eyes. “Hi, Arnie, it’s me.
Aydan,” I added just in case he wasn’t quite awake.

“What’s wrong?” If he hadn’t been awake
before, he definitely was now. His words vibrated with tension.

“Nothing. I’m really sorry to call you
in the middle of the night…”

His rush of released breath cut across
my apology. “No problem, darlin’. Good to hear your voice.” He
chuckled, the deep rough-edged sound tickling my eardrum and
bringing a vivid image of his bulky muscular body reclining on the
pillows, warm lamplight softening the battered contours of his
face. “Ya know how many dumbfuck salesmen I’ve talked to in the
last four months?” he asked. “Every time I see ‘private caller’ on
my call display I pick up in case it’s you.”

“Aw, thanks, Arnie.” I drew an unsteady
breath and swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s really good to
hear your voice, too. I miss you.”

His voice deepened to a caressing
rumble. “Miss ya, too, darlin’. My bed’s pretty damn cold right
now. Wanna warm me up with some sexy talk?”

I tightened my arm around my shivering
body. “More than you can imagine. But that’s not actually why I’m
calling.”

His teasing tone vanished. “Somethin’s
wrong, ain’t it? Tell me.”

“Well…” I hesitated, then let it all
pour out. “You know how I’m supposed to be protecting Moonbeam and
Karma and it seemed like everything was okay?” I kept talking over
his rumble of assent. “Well, now there are three guys I’m worried
about, and in the mean time Nichele has showed up and one of the
guys has a hate on for me and I’m afraid he’ll hurt Nichele,
but-”

“Hang on.” His usual rasp had developed
an edge. “This guy wants to hurt ya? Tell me who he is. Ya got your
gun?”

“I’ve always got my gun,” I hastened to
reassure him. “I don’t know his real name so I’ve been calling him
Ratboy. I’m not too worried about him hurting me. He’s just a
weaselly little shit, but he could probably hurt Nichele. I’m just
afraid he might be friends with another guy I’m worried about,
Orion. If they’re friends it could be bad because Orion had hand
restraints in his pocket the time he was in my tent, and tonight I
found out he has a night-vision headset-”

“Shit, Aydan!” A rustle and thump on
the other end of the line sounded as though Hellhound had lunged
out of bed. “An’ you’re there by yourself? Why the hell didn’t
Stemp send ya a team? Who’s the third guy you’re worried about?”
Muffled thumps formed a backdrop to his words.

“This is all just a gut feeling,” I
protested. “None of them have actually done anything that looks
threatening to Moonbeam or Karma so Stemp doesn’t have any reason
to send a team. The third guy’s name is Skidmark and I’m pretty
sure he’s harmless, it’s just-”

“Fuck that, Aydan. If you’re sayin’
some guy wants to hurt ya an’ his buddy’s sneakin’ into your tent
with handcuffs, that ain’t harmless!”

“No, I didn’t mean that, I just…” The
thumps on the other end of the line had given way to the click of
computer keys. I changed the subject. “Arnie, what are you doing? I
didn’t mean to call you up and worry you, I just wanted to ask your
advice on how to keep an eye on everybody. I’ve got a tracking unit
on Orion, but-”

“Ya want my advice?” He sounded grim.
“Call Stemp an’ tell him ya need backup, right fuckin’ now.”

“But, Arnie, I can’t justify that and
neither can he. I haven’t identified any positive threat to his
parents and even if I had, this isn’t really an official mission.
I’m supposed to be on admin leave and the only reason he can run it
through the department at all is because there’s a tiny chance our
last op might have blown his cover. He’s already pushing the limits
by sending me secured phones and classified gear. If he throws a
team at this and it turns out to be nothing, he’ll be in deep
shit.”

“I don’t give a flyin’ fuck about
Stemp’s problems. If your gut feelin’ is right an’ ya end up
gettin’ dead, he’ll be in really deep shit for losin’ a good
agent,” Hellhound countered. “An’ then I’d hafta rip his fuckin’
head off, too.” He paused. “Okay. I got the eight-fifteen A.M.
flight, gets me in at ten-thirty. I oughta make it there a little
after noon tomorrow. Gimme directions to the commune.”

“Oh, no, you’re busy with your P.I.
cases, I didn’t mean for you to-”

“Darlin’,” he interrupted. “You’re
wastin’ your breath, an’ you’re wastin’ time. It’s already done.
Just gimme the directions.”

I let out a breath, my aching muscles
relinquishing their tension for the first time in days. “Thanks,
Arnie. It’s going to be good to have you here.”

I had just disconnected after giving
him the directions when the distant clanging of the Spirit bells
made me groan.

“Fuck,
really?
” I demanded of no
one in particular as I jogged through the dark forest, my night
vision headgear thudding my forehead while a burgeoning headache
thumped my skull from the inside.

Deciding to use my breath to better
purpose, I concentrated on pacing myself. I was probably a little
less than a mile away from the commune, so if I kept up a good pace
I should make it to the main building in ten minutes or so. Since
everybody else would be waking from a dead sleep and throwing on
clothes before running to the Calling, I’d probably arrive around
the same time as the last of the stragglers.

That would look normal, except that my
clothes were soaked and I’d be red-faced and sweating by the time I
got there. But what the hell, everybody would be half-asleep
anyway, and it was dark. They probably wouldn’t notice. And it was
still raining, so I wouldn’t be the only one looking like a drowned
rat.

I spared a moment of envy for Nichele.
She’d be warm and dry in the main building, all set to meditate in
comfort. I hoped she’d brought a jacket with her this time. She’d
need it for our hike to the field.

I groaned at the thought of another
hike and forced my legs to keep moving. God, if I lay down to
meditate I might never get up again.

A sudden report made me duck and leap
sideways. Panting with the extra exertion and adrenaline, I shook
my head at my own idiocy and kept jogging, too winded to even
swear. The fireworks continued in a sporadic exchange, getting
louder as I neared the commune.

I glimpsed some distant heat signatures
hurrying in the direction of the main building and halted to stuff
my headset into my pocket. Orion likely wouldn’t be wearing his,
but I couldn’t take the chance.

Slowed to the careful pace required by
my tiny flashlight, I had almost regained my breath by the time I
trotted up to accept my mat from Aurora. A few other people crowded
in behind me, so I didn’t even merit a disapproving look.

Spreading out the mat in my designated
spot, I collapsed onto it, managing to stifle my moan.

A sharp elbow in my shoulder made me
jerk into sitting position, staring wildly around the dim room.
“What?” I snapped.

“Shhh!” The man beside me gave me a
dirty look. “You were snoring. Again.”

“Oh.” I sank back onto the mat.
“Sorry.”

“Shhh.”

Suitably chastened, I stretched my eyes
wide, fighting sleep. That worked for a few minutes, until a
porcine snort from my own throat roused me from slumber again. I
shook my head vigorously, digging my nails into my palms.

Do not fall asleep. Do not…

Snort.

I jerked awake again and chanced a
sidelong look at my neighbour. His eyes were tightly closed and he
was humming determinedly, but a scowl knitted his brows
together.

Do not fall asleep. Do
not
fall
asleep…

At last the gong released me from my
misery and I dragged myself to my feet, mumbling an apology to my
neighbour. He shushed me severely for a third time, and I hung my
head and shuffled out with everybody else.

Half asleep, I slogged along the
winding path, mindlessly following the woman in front of me. In the
field I sank to my aching knees and closed my eyes. At least it was
harder to fall asleep kneeling in the rain. I phased in and out of
awareness, not sure whether I was fighting sleep or
hypothermia.

At last Aurora and Zen offered us the
Earth Spirit’s blessing in offensively cheerful tones, and I
creaked to my feet. I was plodding across the field with my eyes
half-closed when Nichele’s voice chirped beside me.

“Well, that was freaky-deaky! How weird
is it to get up in the middle of the night to hang with some wacko
Spirit in the rain?”

“Too fucking weird,” I growled. I pried
open an eyelid to survey her in the reflected glow of her big
flashlight. A bright yellow rain slicker enveloped her completely,
framing her bright-eyed face and perky smile. She looked warm and
dry and wide awake.

I came very close to hating her.

“Aydan, you’re soaked!” She lifted a
sodden lock of my hair and let it fall against my jacket. “You’re
going to catch your death of cold.”

“That’d be a mercy,” I mumbled. “Just
shoot me now.”