Third Eye Watch (A Serena Shaw Mystery) (19 page)

Sam had just finished re-reading Soo’s concise report for the fourth time.

“Something’s on your mind since last night. Are you going to tell me or what?”

He looked at Audrey, then said, “Are you sure you don’t have psychic abilities that you’ve chosen not to share with me?”

“Don’t change the topic.”

THE MAKINGS OF A PLAN

“The Criket Club,” he began, “we need to go there again, but this time, inside.”

“Ok, and that’s a problem why?”

His hands formed a steeple as he leaned back in his office chair, resting his elbows on the armrests. His feet were propped up on the edge of the desk. The more he thought about what Serena had said the night before, the more it made sense to him. Serena could be their secret weapon, at least for this case.

He glanced at his partner, who watched him impatiently.

“Serena has offered to help with the case, and although I told her no, I have to agree reluctantly that she’d be a valuable asset. Unfortunately, she is a civilian, and….”

“How can Serena help with this?” She said, pointing to the report.

“Serena can hear thoughts.” He said bluntly.

“I haven’t slept in two days, and so it just may be that I’m hallucinating, but I thought you said she can hear thoughts? Whose thoughts?”

“It means she can hear you think.” Then grinned at the sudden alarm in her face.

“She can hear my thoughts?” Her voice came out in a squeal, and she looked aghast.

“And everyone else’s; well, except mine and maybe a few others.” Then added thoughtfully, “Although, thus far, she says I’m the only one she can’t read.”

“Sam, I’m too tired right now for your jokes. Go away” She said, dropping her head on the desk.

Then hearing the silence, Audrey raised her head and gave him a searching look.

“You’re not joking, are you?”

He shook his head somberly, and Audrey let out a loud sigh, “Mother of God! How many more of you are there?”

He laughed at his partner’s words, thinking he’d feel the same if he was in her shoes.

“Ok, tell me everything, and don't you leave out a word.”

He told her, his mouth curving as he told her how she’d teased him about bragging and then closed his eyes as he felt his body tighten with remembered memories of how Serena had seduced him.

“Earth to Sam!!”

Amusement sparkled in Audrey’s eyes, and Sam opened his eyes, grinning at his partner.

“Have you told her yet?”

“Tell her what?” He knew what she was asking.

This time, she remained silent, and after a moment, he sighed and said, “No, I haven’t told her yet. I’m not sure that she’s ready, and I….”

“Don’t tell me that Samvir Raina, slayer of hearts, a man who has left a trail of broken hearts, is scared about declaring his love to Serena.”

He ignored her sarcasm; then told her the rest of his plan, leaving out quite a few words from his narrative.

“Ok, so, you want to send Serena to the Criket Club to….?”

“No, absolutely not.” He dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. Then he said, “I think we should go to the Criket Club on a double-date; you, me, Serena, and one more person.”

She waved her hand in the air, gesturing for him to continue.

“We can conduct some first-hand surveillance and maybe….”

“Plant a bug, or two,” his partner finished.

“You think perhaps my powers are rubbing off on you, by osmosis?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Audrey laughed; then said, “The Criket Club is the nexus between Fredrik and Sofia; and using Serena’s…..”, she paused, searching for an appropriate word to describe Serena’s abilities, then clicked her fingers once and said, “ESP, Serena’s ESP, we can enter the club and learn things without the need for a warrant.”

Audrey sat thinking, her eyes alive as she envisioned the benefits of having not one, but two mind people, at her disposal. “She’ll be our secret weapon; we can learn things that even you can’t figure out with your supernatural powers. Hah.” She taunted him good-naturedly.

Sam raised his brows and eyed his partner. She was typing furiously on her ipad, and knowing her; he knew she was already mapping out a plan.

“Who did you have in mind for my date?”

“Carter.”

Derek Carter had been one of Sam’s instructors during his time at Quantico, and a fellow agent with extensive experience in surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques. He was only a few years older than Sam, and over the years, they had become close friends.

Besides being his friend, Carter was also a perfect choice because as an instructor at the FBI academy, he taught his students how to achieve “more from afar”; training them on sophisticated modern technology and the use of top of the line listening devices and other equipment, to track and monitor suspects.

They didn’t have a case against the Criket Club, and so if they wanted to snoop, they’d have to rely on his and Serena’s abilities, and listening devices, which Carter could bring.

Sam knew that Carter wouldn’t need much persuasion; he’d agree to participate solely on Sam’s request even though this wasn’t an official case, and was beyond the scope of their investigation into the deaths of Sofia and Fredrik.

“Is he back?”

“Yes. And we’re meeting tomorrow for a beer.”

PLAYING MATCHMAKER

Sam sat in his office, working on a plan for the unofficial breach of the Criket Club.

Audrey was in court today. But something was bothering him as he recalled his conversation with Audrey from the previous day.
 

“Is he back?” Those were the three words his partner had uttered. Something about it had struck him as odd then, but he had not pursued it. But today, he had finally been able to pinpoint what it was. When she had asked that question, Audrey’s voice had been tinged with excitement.

Was something going on between his partner and Carter?

No, he thought, if there had been something going on, he’d know. Wouldn’t he? His mind flashed to the operation they had all worked on together; over eighteen months ago.

He and Audrey, along with eight other agents from the local counterterrorism unit had been assigned to a high-visibility operation; their mission was to conduct surveillance at the Islamic Brothers of Metro Detroit, a radical mosque in Dearborn. Derek Carter had been the Agent-In-Charge for the operation, and he had been the one to request Sam because of his abilities.

Back when they had been at Quantico, Sam, during an unusually unguarded moment, had let it slip that he knew why a fellow-trainee had quit training, prematurely, and just a few days before they would all officially graduate as full-fledged FBI agents. Although he had covered up his slip with a joke, the following weekend, at a bar, after they had each chugged down six beers in record time; Sam had followed his gut instinct, and trusted Carter with his secret.

That is why Carter had requested special permission to allow Sam to participate, even though Sam was assigned to VCET; which did not engage in counterterrorism-related operations. Sam had agreed on one condition, that his partner also be allowed to participate; and Carter had reluctantly agreed when Sam had explained that he needed Audrey, who knew of his abilities and who would know how to act upon the information he gathered through his ESP.

The three-month-long operation had ended with the arrest of mosque member Abed Abdul Bazzi, known amongst his terrorist friends as A2B; and two of his cohorts who had been plotting the bombing of a US Army & Army Reserve Recruiting Office, located just a few miles away from the mosque, in Westland, Michigan. The arrested radical Islam follower reportedly wanted to punish the U.S. Army personnel for recruiting people to kill his brothers and sisters in the Middle East.
It had been a good day for the good guys.

A week later, Carter had been assigned to a top secret mission; he had confided in Sam that this time he was going deep undercover in some country whose brand slogan was “Death to America” and where men waited to be sent to “paradise, where virgins awaited with open arms”. Only this time, he told Sam, he would be the one doing the sending; so saying he had pointed an imaginary gun in the air and fired, laughing almost maniacally.

Carter had returned just a week ago and the fact that Audrey even knew that Carter had been away and hadn’t ever mentioned him to Sam, made him more suspicious; something had transpired between the two of them.

And it pissed him off, because neither of them had confided in him.

Hmmm.

His partner Audrey was a beautiful lady; many an agent had tried to curry favor with him in an effort to get close to her, but she had let them all think she had a thing for Sam, which, he thought with a grin, was what now everyone around the office believed.

Another thought jolted him into an upright position.

Could Carter also be under the same misunderstanding, about Sam’s relationship with Audrey? And the misunderstanding may have been further exacerbated when Sam had insisted on Audrey’s participation in the mosque operation.

Yikes, what a convoluted mess.

He pulled at his hair remembering his lone phone conversation with Carter, from two days ago. Carter had said that he had just called to let him know he was still alive, that he had been responsible for at least a thousand men being sent to paradise, and that he needed sleep and would call Sam back when he resurfaced a week or two later. Sam had wanted to tell him about Serena, but had decided to do that in person.

So. Perhaps he could also use this operation; well, not yet an operation, he corrected himself; this unofficial probe into what could overnight become an operation; to play matchmaker between his friend and his partner.
Yes, he thought, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he would kill two birds with one stone. In fact, he patted himself mentally on his back; this was an ingenious idea, one of his best in recent times.

ONBOARDING

The next morning he once again sat alone in his office, Audrey was still in court, and stared at his computer as he continued working on his plan. He had christened the operation
Third Eye Watch
, in honor to his and Serena’s extra-sensory abilities, and snickered now thinking he sure was brimming with inventive ideas of late.

His self-praise was interrupted by the sound of an incoming text. It was from Serena who wanted to know what their plans were for the evening.

“Audrey has invited us to dinner,” he texted her.

“XOXOXO.”

He grinned at her response, and texted her, a kissing lips Emoji, receiving an emoji of a blushing face from her. Then before he could respond, another text arrived; Serena had sent a selfie of only her lips, painted a shining bright red, and puckered up into a kiss.

He’d laughed out loud. Then he enlarged the image on his phone; running his thumb across the lips that filled his screen; imagining their softness. 

Then shaking his head, he texted her a sedate “LMAO”, and made a mental note to tell Serena all about the dangers of unwanted eyes gaining access to her text messages; he should know, he thought wryly, he participated in numerous such hacking activities.

xxxx

Serena reapplied her makeup, then locked the front door and gathered her things, waiting for Sam to arrive, blushing as she remembered their text message exchanges.

Sam arrived a few minutes later, and she thought he looked tired, stumbling when he pulled her roughly towards him and kissed her lingeringly.