Wrong Place (The Wrong Series) (3 page)

As time passed, she slowly completed all of the trivial task
s associated with boarding an airplane in the post 911 era and made her way onto the plane. She had worried that she would be in a cramped seat or next to a screaming child, but upon finding her seat, she was pleasantly surprised. You’ve got a first class window seat, and there’s no sign that anyone is even going to be sitting next to you. You might just have lucked out, kid, she thought. She sat down and leaned her head back. She gently closed her eyes and began doing what she had grown to love most in this world. She drifted off.

Chapter 3

Sam was startled by the sudden thump of the airplane wheels setting down on the runway. As she gathered her wits from her short sleep, she recounted where she was and why. She waited for what felt like an eternity until the plane docked and the passengers were told that they could exit the plane. She began to gather her bags from the upper compartment when suddenly a realization came to mind. I have no idea where the Royal Hotel is or even where I’m supposed to meet this person who has the equipment I need, she thought. As she exited the plane, clarification on this issue came in the form of a short older man who was holding a sign that said Fisher. She approached him casually. After all, it’s not like Fisher was an uncommon name. For all she knew, this man could be waiting for anyone.

“M
s. Fisher?” the older gentlemen asked.

“Yes, that’s me,
” Sam answered.

“Right this way. I’ve been instructed to assist you in any way possible, but for now, I’m just going to drive you to your
hotel and show you the car you’ll be driving. My name’s Zane, by the way.”

“I’m Sam. It’s nice to meet you, Zane.” 

With all the small pleasantries exchanged that were necessary, for the moment, they both made their way to Zane’s car. 

Upon arriving, Sam couldn’t help but admire the car in front of her and wonder if life as a contact wouldn’t be a bit more fulfilling. After all, she had never received or even been able to drive anything this beautiful. It was a candy apple red Corvette, and it looked brand new. Nice car. The agency must pay the boys in Memphis a pretty penny, she thought as she got into the vehicle. After seeing the strange and admiring look that the car brought upon the face of his new friend, Zane knew he would need to explain on the way.

“It’s not really mine,” Zane said while cranking the car and backing out.

“Well technically it is, but how can I put this? I lucked out when I got put here in this situation. I’ve lived in several different locations throughout the states, and oftentimes I’ve posed as a pretty irrelevant person throughout different communities while waiting to be of assistance to different people like you. I’ve driven in some pretty ragged vehicles and lived in some even worse houses, but a couple of years ago, I was luckily moved here, and for once, I got to pose as a very important corporate businessman. So naturally, and thankfully, I get to drive a car and live in a house that reflects my story.”

“I wish
I could luck out like you, Zane.”

“Well, I won’t lie
to you. It
is
as glamorous as it looks,” Zane said with a grin. “There’s one thing that I don’t get, though. When did they start putting people your age in the field? I mean, no offense, but you just don’t seem quite as seasoned as the other agents I’ve assisted in the past.”

“I’m twenty-four, sir. I am plenty old enough
, and I assure you that I’m more than capable of getting any job done that is asked of me.”

“I’m sorry if I have offended you, miss.  Once again, I truly meant no offense.”

Sam couldn’t help but be a little offended by the notion that she may be too young or too inexperienced to do the job of a so-called “seasoned” agent, but she couldn’t argue with the fact that she was much younger than any of the other agents she had heard about. Her superiors were older, most of the people she had trained with at the CIA camp were older, and without her special circumstance, she probably wouldn’t have been anywhere near as accomplished as she currently was. In fact, the majority of agents had experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, or at least some type of deep military background where they had proven their extraordinary abilities. She, on the other hand, was simply assumed to be extraordinary. She had broken records in every possible area back at her old training facility. She held records that showed her accelerated agility, speed, endurance, marksmanship, and most importantly, her intelligence, but were those things anything more than simple numbers to her? No, in her own mind she hadn’t accomplished anything just yet. After all, this was her first real assignment.  Screw this up and everything you’ve done is for nothing, she kept telling herself throughout the week that led up to now.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t me
an to sound upset. I just want you to know that you aren’t working with an amateur,” Sam said in the most sincere way she possibly could.

Zane quickly accepted her apology and offered another apology of his own, but in spite of
their attempts to rectify their misunderstanding, the majority of the rest of the car ride was oddly silent.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the first thing that she noticed was the large red lettering at the top of the building.
The place looked nice enough to her, and she hadn’t noticed any weird duck things, although she was sure that the people in this town must have an obsession with some awkward fashion style that she wasn’t familiar with. On the way to the hotel, she had clearly seen at least three men in large white and sparkled suits, with extremely long sideburns, and slicked back black hair walking around on the street.

“Your car is parked in there,” Zane said motioning to the large parking garage next to the hotel.

Sam’s mind immediately began to race with wild thoughts of what she may be driving. The hotel seems to be nice enough from the outside, and look at the car they gave this old geezer. Surely I’ll have something that’s at least comparable, she thought. They rode up to the second floor of the large concrete parking garage, then to the third floor, and finally to the fourth floor where Zane pulled into a parking space. He then reached into his front jacket pocket, pulled out a set of keys, and handed them to Sam.

“So
where is it?” she asked while trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

“It’s right next to you.”

Sam immediately looked to her left.

“That’s it?” she asked
in a disappointed voice.

Zane
couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her disappointed expression. What did she expect, he wondered. There, right in front of Sam’s face, sat the ugliest dark green minivan that she had ever seen. While driving this vehicle, she would appear to be a soccer mom, and a poor one at that.

“Hey
! Stop laughing, Mr. Illustrious Businessman.” 

“Well, I guess
we can’t all live the good life, but I suppose I could give a poor fellow agent a ride to the front door of her hotel,” Zane said while chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah, just start dr
iving,” Sam said while showing a hint of a smile.

As they reached the front of the hotel and Sam got out to retrieve her bags
, Zane pulled out a medium sized black bag from the car.

“Here are some supplies for someone of exceptional skill. Oh,
and I almost forgot. You’ll need the key to your room,” Zane said while handing the key over to her.

She was grateful for the bag, but now she had three bags, and only two hands. She draped the long strap from her largest bag over her shoulder and took the other two in her hands. Zane, of course, immediately offered to help her carry her bags inside
. She politely declined. She didn’t like feeling like a weak girl who needed someone’s help. In fact, she never asked for help at all. It was hard enough for her to come off as capable or as a threat to anyone when she probably only weighed one-hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet. The underestimation that she often received, because of her size and her gender, would turn out to be her greatest strength. After all, no one would ever think that this small, frail looking girl could be a well-trained killer.

“No
, thanks. I’ve got it,” Sam said.

“Okay, but if you need anything else
, my number is on a card in the bag I just gave you. Don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

“I won’t
, and thanks for the ride, Zane.”

“Anytime.” 

Sam then began to make her way inside.

Ho
pefully my room won’t be as disappointing as the car, Sam thought to herself as she got on the elevator.

* * * * *

Back in Washington, Burt’s plan had gone off without a hitch, and Jason couldn’t be happier. He quickly began typing out their plan in order to send it via email to Sam. Sure, he could have simply explained it to her over the phone, but he knew that many operatives found it helpful to be able to visually look at and study a plan instead of simply hearing how everything was supposed to happen. After he finished typing out everything, he hit the send button. With that task completed, Jason finally decided it was time to go home. He had been there since the previous night, and quite frankly, he was running on fumes. If anything comes up they’ll just call, Jason thought. He grabbed his coat and keys and headed for his car.

* * * * *

Later that night, Sam couldn’t help but notice that Jason hadn’t called, and she was still pretty much in the dark about what she was supposed to be doing. I have his number for emergencies, but I doubt this actually qualifies as anything close to an emergency, she thought. The truth was that Sam wasn’t usually this impatient. Normally, she would be able to wait a few hours for information without freaking out and calling an emergency phone number, but honestly, she was a little bored. She had found the hotel room to be to her liking, but she could only sit in the small room for so long and flip through television channels before her mind began to wonder. This was her first opportunity to work in the field, after all. It was probably a bit normal to be anxious in a situation such as this one. Without any more hesitation, she picked up the phone and made the call to Jason.

Jason awoke to the ringing sound of his phone. He reached for his cell and saw who was calling.
He thought that it was almost ironic. He, the one who had always called and woke this kid up at very early hours, was now getting the favor repaid to him. He slowly hit the talk button and placed the phone up to his ear.

“Hello,
” Jason said sleepily.

“Are you
asleep this early?”

“No, I
was
asleep,” he responded sarcastically.

“Oh
, don’t be like that. Besides, I thought you were supposed to fill me in on some details when I got here.” 

“Don’t you ever check your email? It’s all there
,” he said, sounding aggravated.

He di
dn’t mean to sound so upset, but over the last few weeks he had spent as Sam’s handler, he had learned two things from their conversations. One was that she was brilliant when it came to the most complicated matters, and the second was that the simplest things like checking an email, or waking up on time seemed to elude her. In fact, over the last few weeks he had come to think of her as his genius little sister, who was also a little odd.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sam said.

“It’s okay. I probably needed to get back to work anyway, and besides that, I guess you did kind of owe me for this morning.”

“Oh
, okay. Well, I’m glad that you’re not mad. I’ll let you get back to it then.”

“
All right. I’ll make sure to call you later, like around five in the morning later!”

“You better not!”

“All right then. Bye,” he said while chuckling to himself.

As
Sam heard the click on the other line, she too hung up the phone. She felt pretty bad about waking Jason up. He always seemed to be working into the late hours of the night. After some time, she pushed the thought of it from her mind. After all, she was excited to see what it was that she would be doing here in Memphis. She quickly opened her email on her phone. After waiting a few moments to receive Jason’s email, she saw two new messages. One of them was from Jason, and the other one said something about natural male enhancement. Yes, even government agent’s email addresses receive these odd and often troubling junk mails.

“No enh
ancement needed for me,” Sam said as she quickly hit the delete button. How would I have gotten on a mailing list like that anyway, she wondered. She then opened the email from Jason. She read and reread the plan over and over again until she had memorized every little detail of it. There was just one thing that bothered her. This plan is just too simple. Well, hopefully this Driver guy will come through with an adequate distraction. It could take quite a bit of time to transfer all the important files from Fields’ computer, she thought. She eventually decided that there was really no need to fret over the little details of this operation. If the guys back in Washington thought this was good enough, then it must be, she concluded. She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes. I should go scope this solar plant out tomorrow morning, she thought. Sam opened her eyes back up and reached for the remote. It was still too early to sleep. She watched a few television shows before drifting off. That night, like she had on many of the nights that preceded it, Sam dreamt. Only this time the dream would be more vivid, and for once, she would remember it.