The Spy Is Cast (3 page)

I turned to Linda.
“It’s a small town. Do people really not know that Granny Lola is
the sex goddess on the other end of the 900 line?”

Linda laughed. “Some
don’t know. Some just pretend they don’t know. Some know and don’t
care. Some get totally turned on by knowing. But we get mostly
outside callers from our website and phone listing.”

I shook my head, still
chuckling inwardly, and followed her into the small office behind
the counter.

The point of sale
program turned out to be just as contrary as Lola had warned, and I
spent the next two hours utterly absorbed in figuring out its
quirks.

On the drive home, my
mind returned to mulling over the meeting with Spider. There was
definitely more to this situation than I’d been told. There was no
way two of the top brass needed to be there in person when a phone
call would have sufficed for our short meeting.

And Spider was really
buffaloed, though I couldn’t tell whether it was by the brass
themselves or something else as well. Stemp and the general were a
pretty intimidating pair, so maybe that’s all it was.

I trailed thoughtfully
back into the house and stripped off my business clothes, sighing
with relief as I donned my grubbies again. My mind still churning,
I went back to fishing in the toilet tank and absently retrieved
and re-attached the broken valve chain.

Recalling my last
spy-related experience, I spent the evening figuring out what to
take with me and trying to pack as efficiently as possible.

I snorted. Planning
for the unforeseen was impossible by definition.

I slept restlessly
that night and rose early to pack the last of my things into my
backpack and get on the road. When I arrived at the office, Kane’s
black Expedition was already parked in front. I glanced at my
watch, realizing I was ten minutes early. Even at that time of the
morning, the sun was warm, and I started to sweat as soon as I
turned off the air conditioning.

Screw waiting. I
plucked my already-damp blouse away from my back and headed up the
walk.

I stepped into the
office just in time to hear Kane’s deep baritone voice raised in
the back meeting room. “Absolutely not! That’s completely
unacceptable!”

Oops. I was starting
to ease my way back out the door when Spider appeared from down the
hallway, catching me red-handed. I gave a guilty start and a feeble
smile.

“That doesn’t sound
good,” I whispered.

He frowned and shook
his head. “Aydan’s here,” he called down the hall. The rumble of
male voices ceased.

“Bring her in,”
someone responded.

I followed Webb’s
suit-clad back down the hallway, wondering what on earth I was
getting myself into. If they were discussing me, it sounded as
though Kane was about to veto the whole thing. Good. Maybe I could
avoid dressing up after all.

When we entered the
meeting room, Stemp, Briggs, and John Kane were seated around the
table. Briggs and Stemp were as formally dressed as the day before.
Kane wore a snug black T-shirt and dark jeans.

Black always made him
look delicious, with his clear grey eyes and short dark hair
shading to silver at the temples. His muscular arms were crossed
over his broad chest, and he was frowning. I was shocked at the
tired lines etched in his face.

The men rose as I
entered, Kane towering over the other two. His square face softened
into a smile as he reached for my hand. “Nice to see you again,” he
rumbled, his eyes crinkling into the sexy laugh lines I remembered
so well from four months earlier.

“You, too,” I replied,
returning his gentle hand squeeze. I nodded to Stemp and Briggs,
and we all sat.

Stemp leaned forward,
his reptilian gaze fixed on Kane. “This is the best possible
solution,” he said, obviously continuing the argument I’d
overheard. “This provides you with a viable cover story, as well as
a second set of eyes and ears and a built-in detector.”

Kane shook his head,
his massive shoulders flexing as he planted his hands on the table.
“Aydan has given enough to this country. She’s a civilian. It’s not
fair to ask her to get involved in this again.”

Briggs spoke with
finality. “Ms. Kelly’s participation is not at issue here. She has
already agreed to do this. You have your orders.”

Kane’s face
hardened.

“Hold on,” I
interjected. “I only agreed to do this on the condition that Kane
approved it. He clearly doesn’t want me. If I’m a liability to him,
the deal’s off.”

“Ms. Kelly,” the
general addressed me, his voice unyielding. “We need you. You
agreed to help us. This mission will go ahead as planned.”

“Aydan,” Kane said
quietly. “Are you sure you want to risk this?” His eyes searched my
face, and I frowned.

“I don’t know what
you’re talking about. I was told yesterday there was almost no risk
associated with this. I was hoping to find out more today.”

Kane’s shoulders
bunched as he loomed threateningly over the table in Webb’s
direction. “You didn’t tell her?” he grated.

“I… had orders,”
Spider stammered. His eyes darted between Kane’s glower and Stemp’s
smooth, deadly face. His trapped gaze skittered toward me. “I’m
sorry.”

Alarm shot through me
as Kane lunged to his feet. “Sorry doesn’t cut it!” he barked.

He took a deep breath,
visibly calming himself. When he turned to me, his voice was even,
but I could read the tension in his posture. “Aydan, these people
have lied to you. There may not be risk to any other agent we might
send, but there is substantial risk to you. The reason I’m going to
this event is that we believe there’s a connection to Fuzzy
Bunny.”

I didn’t realize you
could actually feel your own face going pale. A burst of adrenaline
made my head feel light, and my lips were cold and stiff when I
uttered the first words that came to mind.

“Oh, shit.”

“Kane!” Briggs
snapped. “You are dangerously close to insubordination!”

“Yes, sir,” Kane
growled. With the small part of my mind that wasn’t racing with
fear, I noted it sounded more like agreement than obedience.

I forced my breathing
to steady, slowing my whirling thoughts. Fuzzy Bunny. The deadly
international corporation that dealt in arms, drugs, espionage and
laundered money. Their incongruous cover as an exporter and
manufacturer of children’s toys. They hadn’t been kind to me in
March. My body had healed, but the thought of attracting their
attention again filled me with dread.

I took a deep breath
and controlled my voice so that when I spoke, I sounded almost
casual. “Don’t they think I’m dead?”

“Yes,” Spider
reassured me. “We’re positive of that. That was the last report
Sandler sent them before you ki… before he died.”

Stemp leaned forward,
fixing me with his flat eyes. “There’s no reason to believe you
would be identified at tomorrow’s event. And we need you,
specifically. Even if we had another female agent available, she
wouldn’t be able to do what you can do.”

I eyed him, heart
thumping. “Which is what, exactly?”

“Access a
brainwave-driven virtual reality network using a password-cracking
key hidden inside an attractive necklace.”

I recoiled against the
back of my chair. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Been there. Done that. Got
the T-shirt. Can’t get rid of the fucking T-shirt.”

I shuddered, pushing
away from the table. Men around the table. Bad memories. Barely
realizing what I was doing, I stumbled to my feet and backed
away.

“Aydan, you’re safe.”
Kane’s voice was deep and forceful. “It’s over. You don’t have to
do this.”

I shook my head
vigorously, snapping back to the present and shaking off the
repugnant flashback. I straightened and took a deep breath,
squaring my shoulders. Chin up.

Kane and Webb both
regarded me with troubled eyes. Stemp watched impassively, his
immobile posture reminding me of a coiled snake. I held down a
shudder. That was one creepy guy.

General Briggs leaned
forward in his chair, his piercing blue gaze scanning my face. “I
understand that accessing the network comes with some difficult
memories for you,” he said quietly. “But if our suspicions are
correct, and if there is another network at this venue, your
ability to detect and access it could protect others from what you
experienced. And it could safeguard many other innocent lives.”

I stood for a couple
of long moments while his words sank in before letting my breath
out slowly and releasing the fists I hadn’t realized I’d
clenched.

“You’re right, of
course. Sorry. It was just a shock.” I sat down in the chair again
and interlaced my fingers to still their trembling. “Okay. So
what’s the plan?”

“Aydan.” Kane’s voice
was hoarse, his face set in grim lines. The general raked him with
a look, and I knew another word would land Kane in serious trouble.
I met Kane’s eyes and gave him a tiny headshake. A muscle jumped in
his clenched jaw, but he said no more.

“The plan is quite
simple,” Stemp said smoothly. “You and Kane will dress up and
attend a gala event. Enjoy the food, wine, and entertainment. And
while you do so, you will scan for a network while he notes the
layout of the venue. Elegant, unobtrusive, and easy.”

“Except that as soon
as Aydan enters the network, if there is one, she’s instantly
visible,” Kane ground out. “She might as well send out a press
release inviting all the sickos to come and find her. Again.”

I spoke into the
silence around the table. “Maybe not.” I turned to Spider. “Hey,
Spider, remember how you told me a person could alter their own
appearance in the virtual reality network if they weren’t trying to
maintain another simulation at the same time?”

He nodded slowly.

“So what if I just pop
in looking like somebody else? I wouldn’t be there for long, and I
wouldn’t be trying to do anything complicated.”

Hope rose in his face.
“That might work.”

“So then it would only
be a minor risk that somebody might see me and recognize me at the
party in person. Mixed in with a bunch of other people, that
doesn’t seem too likely. Right?” I looked around the table. Stemp
and Briggs were nodding with obvious satisfaction. Kane was still
frowning, but he said nothing.

“Good, then it’s
settled,” Stemp smiled. The expression was almost as disturbing as
his previous inscrutability. “You can leave for Calgary as soon as
you’re ready. Webb will give you the necklace, prepare your
paperwork and set up your accommodations. I don’t need to remind
you to safeguard the necklace with your life.”

Kane shot him a
murderous look that Stemp fortunately chose to ignore.

“I’ll need to practice
a bit,” I cautioned them. “Can I use the Sirius network for a while
today before I leave?”

Briggs nodded. “Done.”
He turned to Spider. “Arrange it with Smith.”

I jerked my head up.
“John Smith?”

“Yes, he took over as
head of security when James Sandler died,” Briggs replied.

“Oh.”

“Is there a
problem?”

“No problem,” I
muttered.

Stemp and Briggs rose,
nodded goodbyes, and left. Spider, Kane and I sat silently at the
table until we heard the outer door close. As the sound faded,
Spider sprang up from the table, tearing off his tie. He flung the
tie down on the table and wrenched his suit jacket off, too.

“This just sucks!” he
exclaimed. “This just totally sucks!”

He turned to me
wretchedly, bunching his jacket in his fists. “I’m sorry. I’m so…
sorry! I couldn’t do anything. I hoped you’d just turn them down,
but I should have known you wouldn’t. This is all my fault.”

“Whoa, calm down,
Spider,” I told him. “I don’t see how this is your fault. And
anyway, you know it needs to be done and I’m the only one that can
do it. It’ll be fine. We know so much more about how the network
stuff works now. And Kane’s good at getting me out of trouble.” I
smiled at Kane across the table.

He met my eyes
unhappily. “Not good enough.”

I shrugged. “I’m still
here. And a bunch of Fuzzy Bunny’s guys aren’t.” I could see he was
about to argue, so I got up from the table. “Let’s go over to
Sirius. I don’t know how long this will take.”

Webb sighed. “I’ll
call Smith before we leave.”

We piled into Kane’s
SUV for the short drive across town. When we got out at the
nondescript two-storey building, I eyed its bland facade and
discreet ‘Sirius Dynamics’ sign with distaste. No good memories
here, either. I strode straight into the lobby before the other two
could read my face.

When I hung back,
waiting for Kane and Webb to approach the bulletproof security
wicket, Spider waved me forward. “You’re in the system now, too.
Your fob should be ready.”

Oh, goody. I kept my
face expressionless as I stepped up to the window.

“Ms. Kelly. Kane.
Webb.” The uniformed man placed three badges in the turntable on
his side and pressed the lever. The turntable spun around,
disgorging the badges and the sign-in sheet. I signed the sheet and
recorded the time, then stepped back to attach my fob and make room
for Kane and Webb to do the same.

When we stood ready,
Kane nodded me toward the entry door. “Try your fob. Make sure it
works.”

I stepped up to the
card reader, and the door obligingly unlatched. “Second floor
meeting room again?” I asked, but Webb shook his head.

“No, we’re going into
the secured facility this time,” he said, turning toward a thick,
featureless steel door.

I’d noticed the heavy
door back in March, and wondered about it then. Apparently I was
about to have my curiosity satisfied. Suddenly I wasn’t sure if
that was a good thing. It seems to me that the less you know about
secret government research facilities, the better.