She's an Easy Target, page 28
part #2 of Quinton Target Series
“Is the protection detail still at our place?” she asked.
“No, they’ve been informed their services are no longer required.”
“Do you think it’s really over?”
“Yes, I do. You don’t have to worry about that psychopath anymore or any co-conspirator.”
“I can take some comfort in knowing that, but I still have a stalker, Lucas Taylor, to worry about.”
“You do seem to have a knack for attracting unstable men — excluding me, of course.”
“Of course.”
“We can manage Lucas. Unfortunately, he’s brought another dimension into play with the GIA”
“I agree. I haven’t had a chance before now to tell you a couple of things.”
“Tell me what?”
“Right after the shooting I saw the assassin and I recognized him.”
“He didn’t happen to have a long beard and straggly hair, did he?”
“No, it wasn’t Rasputin. It was former Special Agent John Warren.”
“Wasn’t he on that GIA member list you gave to Mitchell?”
“Yes, he was. He texted me from an unknown phone number right after he left the Dewberry.”
“What’d he say?”
He said, Welcome to the team. We have your back.
“Apparently, he believes you’re now a GIA member.”
“Lucas must’ve informed his GIA handler that I accepted their offer last night and they decided to take out Cayden Mitchell because he was a threat to me.”
“As unpredictable as he was, they were probably concerned he might be a threat to the GIA, too. We won’t shed any tears over Cayden’s demise, but it presents us with a dilemma.”
“It presents me with two. A powerful organization like the GIA doesn’t allow for resignations. I don’t want to betray the NSA, but I can’t quit the GIA.”
“That’s true. What’s your other dilemma?”
“Lucas Taylor is of the understanding that I owe him five nights in the sack for recruiting me into the GIA. I don’t know what he’ll do if I renege on my promise.”
“We really only have one option to get you out of this mess.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re going to have to bring down the GIA.”
“That’ll be easier said than done.”
“I’ll meet with McCoy tomorrow to set up a task force. His name wasn’t on the GIA member list, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t. By the way, did you remove the list from Cayden’s corpse?”
“Yes, I have it.”
“That’s good. We’ll need to make sure while we’re forming the task force, we don’t inadvertently include GIA members.”
“There’s no way to be sure the list is all inclusive. We’ll have to pick people we know and trust. Do you have any in mind?”
“Lieutenant Mad and her cohorts, with their unique talents and distrust of intelligence community, would be ideal candidates.”
After he finished his comment and before Blaire had a chance to respond, they arrived at the townhouse. QT went through his normal routine of checking the scotch tape above his door to alert him of intruders. When there was no sign of any, he unlocked the door and entered their home.
QT noticed that Blaire had become quiet and distant. “Something the matter?” he said.
“Lieutenant Mad is the matter,” she said with anger in her tone.
“I was only suggesting Mad join our task force. I haven’t asked her, yet.”
“Just like you didn’t make out with her on Friday night?”
“I was wondering when you’d bring that up. I heard what Lucas told you. It’s a lie that the lieutenant and I were all over each other and ready to do it in the parking lot.”
“He showed me a photo of you walking with your hand on her shoulder and another one of you kissing. It looked more passionate than you’d kiss a friend.”
“We had too many drinks and kissed. It went no further than that.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“It meant nothing. I didn’t want you to overreact.”
“How can I be sure?”
At this point, QT made the mistake of trying to dismiss his behavior by pointing out equivalent bad behavior by her.
“I didn’t say anything about the dead silence on the recording with Lucas when he asked to touch you. And, I didn’t bring up the fact that you weren’t wearing panties when you took off that white dress to take a shower after being with him.”
“How dare you say that to me to excuse your poor behavior. Unlike you, I didn’t do anything willingly. I had to tolerate him kissing me a couple of times before the sedative took effect. As for my underwear, I deliberately took them off and left them at his house for him to find in order to convince him he’d gotten more than he did.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I was out of line. It was totally insensitive of me to bring that up.”
“At least we agree on something.”
***
Blaire and QT had barely spoken to each other for the rest of the day. Blaire had called the hospital to check on Nurse Louise’s condition. Her recovery was going well enough that Blaire was able to talk to her on the phone for a short while. The good news seemed to lighten her mood.
QT had called McCoy and filled him in on Cayden’s assassination. He didn’t mention the GIA connection, but arranged a meeting which he planned to use to propose the task force and get McCoy’s suggestions for participants.
Neither Blaire nor QT felt up to going out for dinner. They ate leftovers in different rooms, Blaire in the kitchen and QT in the den while watching TV.
Later in the evening, QT had wisely pleaded guilty to the crime of kissing another woman and begged for forgiveness with the promise it would never happen again. As usual, he was clueless about the workings of the female mind. Since she’d forgiven his discretion, he thought he was off the hook, however, there was still a chill in the air between them. Apparently, he hadn’t completed his penance.
They went to bed early. If QT read that to mean she was ready for make-up sex, he was sadly mistaken. They lay side-by-side on their backs, each ensconced on their own half of the bed. She was uncovered and dressed in a flimsy, silk negligee that exposed the full length of her legs. QT tried to sort out the mixed signals he was getting from her.
“Are you going into the office early tomorrow to talk to McCoy about forming the task force to go after the GIA?” she said.
“Yes, do you want to come with me?”
“I better not. For now, I need the GIA to continue to believe I’m loyal to them. I’ll go to work at the JUIAF.”
“You’re right, you don’t want to raise suspicion.”
“I’ve been thinking about it and it makes sense for Lieutenant Mad and her team to work with us on the task force when you get it set up.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Don’t sound surprised. I have a rational side to me.”
“Does that mean you believe my version of what happened between Lieutenant Mad and me on Friday night, not Lucas’?”
“I don’t believe most of what Lucas tells me. Besides, I know when you’re lying because you have a tell.”
“What? I don’t have a tell.”
“Yes, you do.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not going to point it out because then you won’t do it anymore.”
“I’ll have to meet with the lieutenant tomorrow to ask her to participate. Do you want to join us?”
“No, I trust you.”
“You do?” he said. Thinking that he’d received a go signal, he rolled over onto his side and moved close enough to put his arm around her waist and rest his hand so that his fingers barely touched her breasts.
“Yes, I do,” she said as she gently picked up his hand and dropped it on the bed before rolling over onto her side with her back to him. She bent the knee on her top leg and slid it up her other leg.”
Apparently, he hadn’t suffered enough. He shook his head and turned over. As they lay back to back, each on their own side of the bed, he thought, I’ll never understand women.
Chapter 61
Quinton watched through the window as Lieutenant Mad approached the Coffee Shop. She was wearing what he now considered to be her work uniform, which was army green shorts, a camouflage shirt with first lieutenant insignias, and a UVA baseball cap.
He greeted her with a smile when she joined him in the booth. “Finally, we meet again at the Mudhouse,” he said.
“It hasn’t changed much. You’re buying as usual, right?”
“Yes, I am. I already ordered yours.” He handed the cup to her. “Your choice hasn’t changed has it?”
“No.”
“Here’s the Danish I promised you to go with it.”
The lieutenant smiled and accepted the gift.
“Have you heard anything about Dr. Bit’s condition and Chloe’s?” QT asked.
“Dr. Bit is home and doing well. He found out this morning, Chloe’s out of her coma. He’s on his way to the hospital to visit her.”
“I bet he’s excited.”
“Did you ever confirm whether she was working for the Feds?”
“Yes, she was consulting for the NSA. A jealous ex-boyfriend shot Dr. Bit and her.”
“So, she wasn’t really smitten with Dr. Bit?”
“Probably not.”
“He still has a thing for her.”
“Then he should have an honest talk with her when she’s capable of communicating. Who knows, maybe she has genuine affection for him. He’s a likeable guy.”
“How are things between you and Blaire?”
“Our personal relationship is a little strained at present. Her boss showed her a photo of you and me kissing on Friday night.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to cause you problems. We were a little tipsy and got carried away.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I was the one who initiated it.”
“That’s true,” she said, “but I didn’t’ resist.”
“I don’t know if you heard the news. Blaire’s kidnapper was killed yesterday. His name was Cayden Mitchell. He worked at the NSA with her as a polygraph examiner. His primary motive was to get two million dollars in ransom money from Blaire’s father, who’s wealthy. Secondarily, he was a sadistic psychopath who got pleasure out of watching Blaire suffer.”
“I’m sure she’s relieved that he’s no longer a danger to her.”
“She is, but we’ve uncovered an even bigger threat. That’s why I asked you to meet me.”
“Lay it on me.”
“We’ve discovered a secret shadow agency called the GIA. They’ve infiltrated all of the legit intelligence agencies.”
“You do realize if I told you what you just told me, you’d think I’d fallen back to my old paranoid self, don’t you?”
“No doubt about it. However, this is real.”
“By any chance is the GIA connected to the Upshaw Corporation?”
“I don’t know if they have a cooperative or confrontational relationship with Upshaw. According to Blaire, Upshaw is under investigation by the NSA to find out if they’re collaborating with the Chinese to develop mindreading devices like the one you found in your room. The GIA also has an interest in controlling the technology.”
“Did Blaire admit to you that she broke into Dr. Bit’s to hack our systems.”
“She was forced by the NSA to do it. She felt bad about it, but if she’d refused, the NSA would’ve assigned somebody else.”
“I know all about the moral conflicts with an intelligence job.”
“Then I hope you can overlook what Blaire did because we need you to help us take down the GIA and Upshaw, too, if they’re doing anything illegal.
“How can I help?”
“I want you and your covert team to become part of a special FBI task force to go after these guys.”
“Will our names be revealed to the FBI?”
“No, you’ll be totally covert with me as your contact for the operation.”
“I’m in. I’ll check with the rest of the group.”
“Make sure they understand what they’re getting themselves into. These GIA members are well-protected, well-funded, and extremely dangerous.”
“It sounds right up our alley. Is Blaire going to have a problem with you and I working together?”
“No, she’s aware I’m meeting with you today. She’ll be on the task force, too.”
“That’ll be interesting.”
“The three of us are professional. We’ll be able to separate the job to be done from any personal relationship issues we may have.”
“You really don’t understand women, do you?” she said and smiled.
“I’ll have to agree with you there.”
“My cup is empty,” she said. “That’s my queue to go.”
“I enjoyed it,” he said.
“Like old times,” she replied.
QT watched as she walked on the red brick sidewalk. He felt a twinge of guilt for the impure thoughts going through his mind. He wasn’t sure if it was his guilt or his affection for Blaire that was driving him, but he had a sudden urge to talk with her.
She picked up on the first ring and said, “Is everything OK? Did you meet with the lieutenant?”
“Yes, she left a few minutes ago.”
“That was a short meeting.”
“All business,” he said.
“Is there a reason for your call?”
“As a matter of fact, there is.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense, let it out.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to take a trip to Georgia to visit your parents.”
“By myself?”
“No, together. It’s been a long time since either of us has taken a vacation. It would do us both good to get away for a while,”
“Wow, this a big step for you.”
“Yeah, I’m not good about taking time off from work. I thought it would be good timing. It’ll give us a break before we go after the GIA.”
“I meant it’s a big step for you in terms of commitment. Have you ever met a girlfriend’s parents before?”
“Not since High School,” he said.
“Let’s do it. You’re already on daddy’s good side by returning his two-million dollars.”
“I’m sure he was happy to get his money back, but he knows as well as I do, you’re worth a lot more than two-million dollars.”
“Are you trying to get back on my good side?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s working. What are you doing for lunch?”
“I don’t have any plans. What’d you have in mind?”
“Meet me at the townhouse at eleven-thirty. I’ll have a surprise waiting for you. Don’t be late.”
“I’ll be there,” he said, quite sure this time he was reading the go signal correctly.
Dean Atwood, She's an Easy Target
