The Spy Who Loves Me

“Do you want to fly her?” Finn asked.

She did, desperately. She hadn't flown a plane since her last stint in an F-14. But that wasn't the role she was playing. She shook her head. “I better not,” she said. “I wouldn't know what to do.”

“Nothing to it. It's dual control. Your control stick is attached to mine, and I won't let you do anything that would scare me.”

“Well, with an offer like that, how could I say no?”

She started to take control, then remembered that she was supposed to be clueless. “Um, so what do I do?”

“Just take a hold of the stick,” he said. “I know you can handle that.”

She grinned. “Right you are.”

“You want her to respond to the lightest of touch. Don't force it. Just take it gentle.”

“We're still talking about flying, right?”

“For now,” he said. “But hold that thought.”

T
he tiny lightbulbs on the console winked, flickering like starlight in the dimly lit room. Drake allowed himself a tiny smile as the children's tune danced through his mind—
“When you wish upon a star…”

He'd wished all right. Wished and planned and plotted. Over two years of tracking down information, making alliances, paying off informants. All to ensure that his plan was absolutely foolproof. And soon it would all be over.

He paced in front of the console, his fingers folding the paper without conscious thought. Instead, all his attention was riveted to this one moment. A pivotal, almost sad moment. In fact, all that stood between him and a full-fledged bout of melancholy was the promise of revenge and several billion dollars wired to his Swiss bank account.

Oh, yes. Revenge was sweet. Even more so when it was profitable.

Diana moved closer, and he looked at his hands, realizing he'd crafted a swan. He gently placed it on the top of the console between the origami dragon and the nautilus shell, then he slid his arm around Diana's waist and nuzzled her hair.

“Are we ready for a test run?” she asked, regarding him over the tortoiseshell glasses she wore when she worked. Right now, she was the consummate professional, her perfect body clad in a tailored suit he'd purchased for her during their last trip to Milan. The woman had a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and a libido to match his own. No wonder he loved her.

“We are,” he said, squeezing her hand. “What's our target?”

She turned to face him, one eyebrow raised. “You don't have something already picked out?”

He stroked her cheek. “Don't be silly, my sweet. This moment is as much yours as mine.”

She kissed his fingertips, then turned back to the console, her face full of concentration.

He stayed silent, even though a dozen perfect test locations filled his head, any one of them satisfying in both impact and simplicity. No, he would wait and have the satisfaction of having picked the final demonstration target.
That
was a moment worth savoring. His very own big bang, all packaged up with a nice pretty bow and ready to cajole the highest bidder.

Dollar signs flashed in his eyes, and he pictured Diana in diamonds and silks, lounging on a yacht anchored off Bali. He wondered just how many billions he needed to keep them in style.

He smiled in anticipation. In a plot straight from the comic books of his youth, he intended to hijack one of the government's top secret weapons. Oh, yes. Drake was going to fund his retirement with a great big laser beam from space.

“Something unobtrusive,” Diana was saying, apparently running through a mental catalog of test sites. “Like this.” She leaned forward and punched a few buttons on the console. The projection screen in front of them crackled to life, displaying a satellite photo of the western United States.

“I think taking out a state might be a bit more than we need for a test run,” Drake said.

She cast a sidelong look, but otherwise ignored him, punching buttons until the image zoomed in. She made a few minor adjustments, scanning the image while she focused and refocused until, finally, she honed in on a lone vehicle on an abandoned highway. “That,” she said. “It's perfect.”

Indeed it was. Out of the way. Miles from any signs of life. And as an added bonus, it was an SUV. He hated the way the gas-guzzling vehicles wreaked havoc on the environment. He met her eyes. “You may fire when ready.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She laughed, then started to punch a set of numbers into the keypad. “Okay. That gives us our targeting data. Now all we need to do is take control of the satellite.”

As she moved efficiently down the console to another keypad, Drake fisted his hand. Moment of truth time. He'd taken a risk bringing in a partner. Now he'd find out if the risk had paid off.

Her eyes met his. He drew in a breath, then nodded.

She licked her lips, her finger poised above a flashing red button. “Once I take control, they'll know. Do you want to show our hand so early? The demonstration is almost two weeks away. If they find a way to lock us out once we're in—”

“My darling,” he said, raising her fingers to his lips, “you have so little faith.” He glanced at the digital clock mounted on the far wall. Their timing was perfect. “I assure you, our little experiment will go quite unnoticed.” He tapped the end of her nose. “Trust me. They'll never know.”

She kissed him. “You say the sweetest things.” Their eyes met, then hers darted down to the console. She took a deep breath and pushed the button.

He picked up the swan, cupping it in his palm as his gaze shifted to the projection screen. Any second now the surgically precise beam of deadly light would shoot from space and atomize the car.

Any time now…

But there was nothing.
Zip. Nyet. Jamais. Nada.

No surgically precise laser, no giant pulsing beam of light, not even a pathetic little fizzle and spurt. Just…
nothing.

“Shit.” Diana's voice, barely a whisper, reached his ears. “They changed the code.”

In front of her, the readout flashed red, the liquid crystal display mocking him—
Access Denied. Access Denied.

The veins in his neck tightened, and he felt the thrum of adrenaline rushing through his body.
Double-cross!

Diana turned to him, fear in her eyes. “Are we compromised?”

He ran the pad of his thumb over the swan's perfectly formed head. “I don't know.”

Resolutely, he pushed the doubt away. He needed to have a little talk with his so-called partner. That much was certain. But in the end, Drake would prevail. This was a setback, true, but he'd overcome challenges before. This was merely an obstacle, not a barrier. And in the end, his ultimate victory would be that much sweeter.

“Drake?” she prompted, her voice tentative.

“Two weeks,” he said. “We have two weeks to get that code.” He closed his fist, crushing the swan in his hand. “And I swear I'll lobotomize anyone—
anyone
—who gets in my way.”