Her Officer in Charge (19 page)

Standing up from the table, the colonel stepped forward, and in a voice as cold as an arctic blizzard, he said, “It’s over, major.”

“This is wrong, this is a—”

“Major,” the colonel interrupted. “I’ve been on to you for some time. Scott Bateman, your trusted messenger boy, has been working for me. Your cohorts on the other bases are being arrested as we speak. Moses, your contact, is also being picked up.”

“What? No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” the major protested, flailing his arms in the air.

“You started to get worried, so to protect yourself and Bateman, you decided to point the finger at Bella,” Vince interjected.

“Captain Valenti,” the colonel said calmly, “would you please ask the MPs to step in and get this piece of shit out of here?”

“Yes, sir. It will be my pleasure.”

“This is insane,” the major snapped.

“Major, give it a rest. I’ve just been waiting until we were sure we had all the players. You’re done, major.”

“Valenti?” the major stammered after Vince had left the room. “Has he been working for you as well?”

“No, and when I asked you to investigate, it was only because I wanted you to feel secure. I wanted to make sure we had your entire network before I closed in. Tell me, major, why did you ask Bateman to break into an office on your base? We know you have a man there, Bates, I believe.”

“I, uh—”

“Off the record, I’m just curious.”

“Bates has been getting cold feet, he refused to do it, and I’d promised Moses I’d deliver him something from here this weekend. He’s a really fucking scary guy. I had to do something.”

“I see, and having Scott followed when he left here?”

“Just keeping up the pretense,” the major said, slumping his shoulders.

Vince entered the kitchen with the MPs behind him, and ashen-faced, the major stared at him.

“Valenti, why the charade with the prints?” he asked. “If you already knew the colonel was ready to arrest me… I don’t understand?”

“I wanted to make sure there was no way you, or some overpriced, slimy lawyer, could implicate Bella,” Vince replied.

“How did you figure it out?”

“Colonel?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“When you claimed you couldn’t get Bateman’s prints I knew something was off, and when you rushed me home to bring something in from Bella, I realized you were making me run to stop me from thinking.”

“Fuck,” the major grumbled. “That’s all? That’s not much.”

“There was something else, but I’m going to let that torture you. You’ll never figure it out.”

“Fuck you and fuck that bitch!” he exclaimed, lunging across the island.

The major’s unexpected violent explosion sent the MPs into action. Vince stood back and watched as they wrestled him, finally getting him under control and bustling him out. Vince and the colonel stood silently as they heard the front door open and close, then Vince stepped forward and extended his hand.

“Thank you, colonel, for listening to me yesterday, and allowing me to finish this so there’d be no doubt about Bella.”

“There wouldn’t have been anyway,” the colonel said, shaking his hand, “but I know it will give you peace of mind, and I enjoyed this moment. It was like a postscript to the whole sordid business, but tell me, captain, what was the other thing, the something else?”

“It was Bella. She’s an extremely intuitive woman, and I had a hard time believing Bateman was a traitor because of her faith in him. After months on the road she would have picked something up, and she would have mentioned it to me when we talked about him, but she didn’t. The only other explanation was that he was working for us. There’d been documents stolen, and you needed someone on the inside to uncover the network, so you imbedded him. I was in a similar situation a few years back.”

“You’re both very good at what you do,” the colonel remarked. “You were smart to whisk Miss Montgomery away somewhere. Bateman’s been worried about her. The major’s been edgy and unpredictable. Scott thought it was because of Moses. Apparently the man was demanding more, and the major is afraid of him, deathly afraid.”

“Scott mentioned that to me,” Vince nodded. “At least Moses will be in custody shortly.”

“Yes, Scott set up the meeting with him for eight o’clock, that’s very soon,” the colonel said. “I need to return to the base. There’s much to be done. It’s going to be very busy. Consider yourself free for the day. Take care of that girl.”

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate that.”

“Captain,” the colonel said thoughtfully. “I know you’ll have the option of leaving us in a few months, and I don’t know why you left the intelligence service, but we’d love to have you back.”

“Thank you, sir, but I think my field days are behind me.”

“Bella’s show, it’s a great cover,” the colonel continued. “Bateman’s in place; she could tour anywhere in the world. You and Bateman, her sound man and bodyguard.”

“Oh, sir, I don’t think—”

“Please, I want you to think about it,” the colonel interrupted. “I’m glad the major decided to pick you to track down the supposed culprits. Even though we were going to nab him soon, Scott was concerned. The major was becoming unglued, and it’s entirely possible he might have disappeared. Who knows what would have happened if you’d not become involved.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s been a bit difficult with Bella, she’s naturally curious.”

“You know we don’t give civilians any information they don’t need to know.”

“Yes, sir. I do.”

“Goodbye, captain. We’ll be speaking soon.”

Vince walked him to the door, shook his hand, and watched him stride down the path.

Me, Bella, and Scott doing covert operations together? I don’t think so. I’d be out of my mind with worry every second. I’m worried now, I need to talk to Scott and make sure everything’s okay, and I need to hear her voice. God forbid that Moses character has gotten wind of something.

Walking quickly into his study, he picked up his burner phone and called Scott.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Scott, how is everything?”
Why is your phone on speaker?
“As fine as a snowy day in the Alps,” Scott replied.

“Good to hear it, let me say hello to Bella.”

“Hi, Vince.”

“Hi, sweetheart. I’ll be seeing you soon. Keep the faith.”

“Vince?”

“Yes?”

“I need to tell you, oh, never mind, I have to go. Breakfast has arrived.”

“No worries. I’ll see you when you get here,” Vince said calmly, then, ending the call, he raced into his study, retrieved his gun and dashed out the door.

Chapter Twenty-Four

‘As fine as a snowy day in the Alps’ was an SOS.

“Fucking Moses,” Vince muttered as he jumped in his car.

He’d grabbed his shoulder holster, but with no time to put it on, he stuffed the gun in the waistband of his trousers, and as he sped toward the hotel, his mind was swimming.

Do I call the colonel? I don’t want a parade of troops turning this into some kind of hostage thing. Moses, what’s his play? Think, Vince, step away from the emotion and think. Fuck. He could have moved them to his room. Probably has. Why did I put Bella in that hotel? Shit, there was nowhere else. Shit. First things first, Vince, get there and assess.

As Vince was racing to the scene, Bella and Scott were still in their suite, sitting on the couch watching the overweight man struggle to move a dining room chair. He was holding his gun in one hand, and attempting to move the chair with the other, but he was having trouble. He’d broken out in a sweat and looked extremely uncomfortable.

“I don’t think you can move that,” Bella said softly. “It’s so hot in here. I don’t think the thermostat is working. I think it got stuck on heat. I’m burning up myself, and moving that chair is such hard work. That chair is extremely heavy. I tried to move it too and it wouldn’t budge, it’s stuck on the floor, completely stuck, like it’s glued, and it’s getting hotter in here, hotter by the second.”

“Shut up,” Moses barked, waving the gun at her, “just shut the fuck up.”

Scott turned and looked at her, a disapproving scowl on his face.

“It is hot in here,” she repeated, her eyes boring into Scott’s. “It’s really hot. Can’t you feel how hot it is, Scott? You must.”

Scott was staring back at her, completely bewildered, then he suddenly realized what she was doing.

“Yes, very hot, I couldn’t get the thermostat to work this morning.”
Bella,
y
ou’re a genius. If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.

“It’s so hot I’m starting to feel faint,” Bella continued, keeping her voice even and calm, “and I’m starving and incredibly thirsty. I’m starting to feel really strange, weak and faint. Sir, you’re feeling it too? I can see it in your face. Hot and faint, so hot and faint, dying for water, desperate to drink something. It’s so hot in here, so hot and dry, and that chair is made of concrete, it won’t move.”

Moses had almost forgotten the chair, and had been focused on the attractive girl on the couch. She was right, it was suffocatingly hot, so hot he was feeling muddled. He had to put her in one of the chairs. He’d never get what he needed out of Bateman, but if he hurt the girl, Bateman would answer his questions. The problem was, the chair weighed far more than he’d thought it would. He couldn’t get it to budge, not even an inch.

“We should go to my suite,” he mumbled.

“So hot,” Bella continued, ignoring his comment. “A soda, please, may I have a soda, I’m so thirsty, I need soda, you need soda. We all need an icy cold soda drink.”

“A soda drink,” he repeated. “Why is it so fucking hot in here? A drink, then we’ll move.”

“You’re right, we need a drink, it’s stifling,” she moaned. “It’s so hot, you’re sweating so much. If you don’t have something to drink you’ll pass out. You’re already feeling faint.”

“Get me some soda,” he ordered, leaning on the immovable chair for support.

“Thank you,” Bella said, slowly standing. “I’m not sure I can make it, I’m so hot. The minibar, may I go to the minibar and get it?”

“Yes, get it,” he stammered.

“I’m feeling like you, so faint, so very faint,” she continued.

Opening the small refrigerator, she grabbed a can of Coke, and, crouching to hide it from him, she shook it vigorously.

“I’ve found some cold soda. It will feel so good to swallow this cold drink. I know you’re about to pass out. I’ll bring it to you.”

Scott was inching his way to the end of the sofa, giving himself a clear path to dive across the room when the opportunity arose. Scott had seen Bella work her magic many times, and he knew how to spot the signs. Moses had fallen under her spell. He was in a highly suggestible state. He was sweating profusely, his face was bright red, and Scott knew every time Bella repeated the key words, Moses fell deeper into hypnosis.

“Here you are,” she said, standing up and moving toward him. “A cold drink. You want it, you’re so hot, you poor man. So hot. Look, the sweat is dripping down your hands and making them slippery.”

Scott watched, amazed at the control she had over Moses. His eyes dropped to his hand, and a deep frown crossed his brow.

“You need this cold drink very badly, but you need your right hand to drink it. That metal thing in your hand is hot, so hot it’s burning your hand and you can barely stand to hold on to it. The metal object is slipping from your grip because of the sweat. I have the icy cold drink, but you must give me that hot piece of metal so you can take the drink before you faint from the heat. You don’t want to hold it anymore, it’s hot and burning and getting hotter with every passing moment. You’ll give the metal thing to me now and take the icy cold drink.”

“Here,” he panted, offering her the gun. “Give me the drink, I must have the drink.”

“Here you are, icy cold, you’re so hot, you poor man.”

Calmly taking the gun, she handed him the Coke, then backed up just a few steps. As he raised the can, breathing heavily, the sweating pouring down his face, his entire focus was on lifting the tab on the top of the can.

Bella had been so focused on the process, she’d passed through her fear, but now, holding the gun and knowing she’d been successful, her heart began thumping wildly and she started to shake…

I have the gun, it’s safe now, he’s not armed. I have the gun. Take a breath. God, I can’t stop trembling.

Grunting, frustrated, and feeling dizzy, Moses was finally able to break the tab, but the built-up carbonation burst through the small opening, spraying his face and sending him tumbling backwards. Leaping from his spot, Scott was on him in seconds.

Vince had just arrived and had bolted up the stairs. Approaching the suite, he leaned his ear against the door. To his relief he heard Scott’s voice, but what he heard completely surprised him.

“You were brilliant, Bella, it’s over, deep breaths, it’s over.”

Placing his weapon back in his trousers, Vince slid his cardkey through the lock and opened the door.

“Vince,” she exclaimed, running across the room to him.

“Hey, you’re shaking,” he said, holding her tightly, staring down at Moses hogtied on the floor with a leather belt and the tie off a bathrobe. “Scott? What the hell?”

“Bella here, she’s the hero of the day.”

“Heroine,” she quaked.

“What did you do?” Vince asked urgently. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, honestly,” she said. “I just can’t stop shaking.”

“Scott, I want to know what happened.”

“I have to make the call,” Scott said, raising his eyebrows, “and you need to take off, so I’ll leave that to Bella.”

“Come on, Bella, come with me and help me get our things into my suitcase,” Vince said, breaking their hug and taking her hand. “It will help you.”

“It will?”

“It will, trust me.”

It only took a few minutes and, watching her, he saw that focusing on something was having the desired effect. When he was sure they had everything, and her purse was zipped up and around her shoulder, he hurried to the closet and retrieved his leather pouch, tying it to the loop on his trousers.