Page 79 of Exit Strategy
“Aye, and we’d like to keep it that way, Love.” He sighed and his hands went to my hips and gave them a squeeze. I resituated myself so I was sitting across his lap again. “You’ve not got anything to fear from the likes of them, but I think New Eden does.”
“God, I hope so,” I said.
A bird flew overhead and swooped down to the water and Kurt stiffened under me his eyes sharp as he looked at it. His hands tightened with excitement.
“That’s a Double-crested Cormorant, that one,” he said, nodding in its direction as it settled out of sight, likely in the shallows of the Chesapeake.
“It was big,” I said, eyes wide.
He nodded, grinning.
“You like birds?” I asked.
“Oh, aye.”
I smiled faintly. “Is that how I got the moniker Cardinal?” He lifted a hand out of the water and traced a finger along my braid.
“It is,” he said. “Ever seen one?”
“Once, I think. I glimpsed a flash of red in a tree on a winter DC trip. It was dusk, so I don’t really know if it was one or not.”
“Likely it was.” He nodded.
“I think I’d like to watch the birds with you,” I murmured.
He smiled. “No time like the present, Love,” he said. I settled back against him as he held me and we looked to the surrounding trees and property for birds and listened for any stray song.
It was nice.
Peaceful.
I think I could like this.
24
Madeleine Oberisk…
Canvassing was slow work, but it had to be done right, otherwise there was no point doing it. We had been in Indigo City for a day and a half, cruising through neighborhoods that seemed to fit Kurt’s profile for privacy and independence, as well as checking campgrounds and the cabins we could find. There was no luck on picking up the trail of his truck, and just finding the sole truck was problematic. There were tons of the vehicles here, and even being a decades-old model didn’t help. It seemed like for every twenty normal trucks, there would be a retro or vintage model cruising around.
It made my eyes hurt; my head hurt. There was so much riding on this, and I had to find Calanthe. I had to be the one to rescue her.
I almost dropped my coffee when my phone rang. It was Alexander Soren, the August Emerson’s high priest of misogyny, and the man that was going to have my ass exiled from New Eden if I didn’t bring Calanthe back safely.
“What?” I answered, sharply.
“I have two bits of wonderful news for you, Oberisk.” His voice was tight, but cordial. “We’ve gotten a lead on our missing pet and your hunch was almost correct.” The way he was speaking, there were probably people in the room who weren’t cleared at this level of security.
“Go on.” I had to prompt him.
“It seems they have a place in Maryland, on the opposite side of the Chesapeake. It’s a cabin in the middle of one of the parks over there. There are so many of them.” I bit my tongue to not curse. I was right but was on the wrong side of the bay.
“I told you I was going in the right direction,” I said.
“And so you were, which is why I have some good news for you. If you are able to give Sigma Team support when they move in for extraction, I’ll let you remain at the New Eden Centre.”
“You’ll let me stay in security?” I asked.
“Oh, absolutely not. Either way, this is your last job. Screw it up, and you’re gone. If you do it well, you’ll get to come home to a lateral transfer to a job more suited to a woman.”
