Mackenziewaves back and says, “You, too.”
Weturn and nearly bump intoGianna. “Oh, and this is my coworker,”Inearly say “Gianna,” but she looks nothing at all likeGiannaright now, and since she’s a field agent,Idon’t want to give her real name, anyway.Icould say her cover name, but since she is a dead-ringer right now forMiaCardell,Ifinish with, “Mia.”
Mia/GiannagivesMackenziea hug.Thenshe says, “Oh,I’mso glad to meet you!I’veheard so much about you.”
Idon’t exactly go around the office talking aboutMackenziein a non-work capacity, because in this environment, that would be weird.One-on-one with another agent or a family member, sure.Tothe group, though?No.Evenstill, everyone in this room has technically “heard so much” about her.ButMackenziedoesn’t know that, and hearingGiannasay it makes her beam.
Ican’t remember the last time that someoneIwas interested in showed up to surprise me at work.Ithad to have been in college whenIworked as a tutor in the science lab.It’snot actually convenient for anyone here to have her show up, butIam touched by it.Andit’s giving me a boost thatIreally needed to make it through a day like today.
AsIshow her around,Isay things like, “Thisis where we have brand marketing meetings,” except we call them mission briefings, and “Thoseguys over there do market analysis.”They’reanalysts, all right.Justnot the kind that look at the position of a certain company within their market.Unlessthat company is doing some very sketchy things, of course.
AndItell her things like, “Theserver room is downstairs.Iwould show it to you, but it’s dark and cold andEmersonswears there are spiders hiding in the corners.”That’smostly true— we do have a server room in sub-level three.It’sright next to the advanced propulsion labs.ButI’mnot keeping her from it because of something as crazy as there being spiders in a clean room.It’sbecause she would need a security clearance level of three or higher to even open the elevator doors.
Ithas only taken a few minutes to show her literally everythingIcan legally and ethically show her.Ican’t even show her the restrooms because of the face-detection software in the mirrors.Asmuch asIwould really love to haveMackenziestay for a while and just hang out, not only would that never actually work, but my internal clock is ticking down to the start of my mission withGianna, and is telling me to wrap this up quickly.
SoIsay, “Iam so glad that you came today.IwishIcould have you stay and hang out here for longer, maybe even show you the grounds, which are pretty incredible.ButIhave a security briefing with a client on-site in just a bit.Andthey’re our top client, so there’s no way we can be late.”
Mackenziedoesn’t look upset at all. “That’sokay,” she says. “Ididn’t expect you to drop everything afterIshow up without warning.Iknow you have to work.”Ithink she’s liked seeing whereIwork, even if it doesn’t look like it does whenI’mactually working.ButIalso think her subconscious is telling her that something here isn’t quite right, and it’s making her itchy to leave.
“Letme walk you to your car.”
Wehead out of the building the same way she came in, and when we are outside,Iopen her car door for her.Shegets in, starts her car, and immediately lowers the window as she’s pulling the door shut.Ilean over, resting my crossed arms at the base of her window. “Thankyou again for coming.Thiswas a nice surprise.”Aproblematic surprise, for sure, butIhave to admit that it is nice.
Foras much asIcame into this mission with the full intention of faking my interest inMackenzie, the emotionsI’mfeeling are nothing but authentic, andI’dbe the worst operative ever at analyzing motives and unmasking hidden agendas ifIcouldn’t admit that about myself.
“Areyou still planning to come to myOutsidetheBubbleclub event tomorrow?”
“Iwouldn’t miss it for the world.”Andby that,Imean thatIwouldn’t voluntarily miss it for the world.Thereare plenty of things in this business that could cause me to miss it.ButIplan to do everythingIcan to keep that from happening.Allmy feelings and desires to be there aside, she is my mission.
Entirelyunbidden,Ifind myself glancing at her lips, which makes me think about how muchIdesperately want to kiss her.Butnot here.Notwhen she’s feeling uncomfortable from visiting my work.NotwhenI’mminutes away from wheels up on a mission.Itell her goodbye, and then watch her car as she heads down the long cobblestone drive back towardMossat the gate.
Iget back inside to what feels like a collective sigh from everyone as the place transforms back to the agency we all know and love.Ledgerclaps me on the shoulder. “Thatwas a close one, bro.”
Inod.Itreally was.
CHAPTER20
SKY FALL SPECULATIONS
JACE
Forthe record, changing clothes in a moving helicopter isn’t easy.ButIcan’t exactly show up atMackenzie’sOutsidetheBubbleevent wearing my full black infiltration gear when she said to dress casually.Istand and steady myself in the swaying aircraft so thatIcan zip up my jeans.
Ipull on an olive-coloredT-shirt.Idon’t usually get compliments on the shirt itself, butIget plenty of compliments on my eyes wheneverIwear it.ThenIrun my hands through my hair and, lacking a mirror of any sort,IaskLedger, “DoIlook okay?”Ishout the question to be heard over the roaring of the helicopter’s engine and the thumping of the rotor blades.Iraise an eyebrow in question and hold two thumbs up with a shrug because he probably still can’t hear me with the open side of the copter.
Ledgerglances up from where he’s preparing the nylon ropeI’mgoing to rappel down and holds a hand out, palm down, tipping it side-to-side in a “so-so” gesture.KnowingLedger,Itake it to mean thatIlook fine.
Istep into my rappel seat, secure the safety belt, and test the ring, and thenLedgerhands me the rope.Ithread it through the rappel ring and he hooks it to the anchor point.Everythingfeels good on my end, soIput on my helmet.Aswe get to the drop-off point— an empty lot about a block from the library with plenty of trees for cover—Iglance toward the ground soIknow what kind of terrainI’llbe dropping into.It’smostly packed dirt with a few grasses poking through.
Assoon asLedgergives me the thumbs up,Itoss my deployment bag away from the helicopter.Imake sure it reaches the ground in an open area, then maneuver into position with the balls of my feet on the skid, the rope in my brake hand at the small of my back, and my guide hand in position.
ThenIpush off the skid and out into the air asIdrop toward the space in the middle of a ring of trees.Istart the braking process about halfway to the ground and continue my descent until my feet are on dirt.ThenIcontinue pulling the rope until it’s free of my rappel ring and giveLedgera thumbs up.
Hedrops the rope down to me, andIquickly gather it up and put it in the deployment bag along with the rest of my equipment as the helicopter flies away.
Istash the bag in the crook of a tree with lots of foliage where it’ll be hidden untilIcan grab it later tonight.ThenIrun my hands through my hair again, straighten my shirt, and start walking toward the library before remembering thatIstill have my earpiece in.Iremove it and push it into my pocket.Thisis technically a mission sinceI’mhere to protectMackenzieand to be near if any adversaries poke their heads out of hiding.ButI’mreally here becauseIwant to seeMackenzie, andIwant to do that withoutCharliein my ear.
Besides,Charliewas my handler on the mission last night that stretched into the middle of the night and then into today.She’sin need of some time away and definitely in need of sleep.
