THE ASSET AND THE SPY
MACKENZIE
Icross my arms. “Soyou’re telling me that the ‘ClandestineServicesAgency’ is a real agency.”
Jacenods. “Iam.”
“Thenwhy haveInever heard of it?”
Ishift my weight as the truck we are traveling in slows down quite a bit, then goes over a small bump and then an incline before coming to a complete stop.There’sa small jerk thatI’msure is the vehicle being put into park.Sowe aren’t at a stop light or sign— we must have arrived.Andwe must be inside a garage becauseIcan hear a big door closing.
“You’llneed to completely shut down your phone before going into the safe house,”Jacesays. “It’sprotocol.”
Inod and pull out my phone to turn it off.
“Andyou’ve never heard of it because it’s asecretagency.Justlike theNationalReconnaissanceOfficewas at the beginning— it stayed a covert agency for thirty-one years.”
Okay, nowIknow he’s just making things up. “That’snot a real agency, either.”
Jacelaughs as the back of the vehicle opens, andIsee the two agents who must’ve been in the cab this whole time.Onewho has blond hair is taller than average; one has brown hair and is— well, not shorter than average, but shorter than the tall one.Andwe are definitely in the garage of a house.
“Thankyou so much for the ride,”Isay. “Andthank you for your help in saving us from bad guys.”
Theyboth look amused at my choice of words (but really, what do you call them other than “bad guys?”).Thetaller one says, “You’rewelcome,” as he offers a hand to help me down.
Theramp we drove up on hasn’t materialized from under the truck like it had when we were on the motorcycle, soIaccept his hand and jump down.ThenIask, “Isthe…”Ilook atJaceasItry to remember the acronym for the agency he just mentioned, “NROa real agency?”
Theshorter one smiles. “Itis.”
Oh.Iam itching toGoogleit.IbelieveJacewhen he says he has only ever lied about things he was required to.Butthere’s still a part of me that wants to verify.
Ofcourse, this could be a thing that he’s required to lie about…
Jacejumps out of the truck, landing next to me, and says, “TheNationalSecurityAgencyused to be secret, too, and it’s now one of the largest intelligence agencies.”Helooks at the shorter agent. “Tellher what they used to call theNSAbefore it became public knowledge.”
Theagent throwsJacea look that seems to ask how muchIknow and if it’s okay ifIknow as much asIknow before he turns to me and says, “NoSuchAgency.”
Huh.Okay.MaybetheCSAis real andIshould accept that the woman so well versed in spy movies doesn’t actually know a lot about the spy world and its agencies.OrmaybeHollywooddoesn’t.Ormaybe they’re the “less sexy” agencies, soHollywooddoesn’t care.
Youlet me down,Hollywood.
“Wait.SoisJaceeven your real name?Oris that a cover name?”
Hegives me one of my favorite smiles.Bothsides rise equally and he looks pleased. “ApparentlyIwas thinking ahead whenIfirst introduced myself becauseIgave you my real name.Ineverdo that.”
Okay, that makes me give a pleased smile, too.Henaturally didn’t lie to me at a time when it would’ve been natural to lie.Ifeel honored, like he found me worthy of something he carefully guards.Ican’t sayI’veever felt so privileged to know someone’s real name before.
Butfor the record:I’mstill mad thatJacelied.Knowingthe reasons helped, but it didn’t make the anger go completely away.
Theagents lead us through the door from the garage to inside the safe house, which is pretty much just like a regular house.It’ssmall but neat and clean and well-lit.Beforethey head off to make sure every room in the house is secure, they introduce themselves.Thetall one isTreytonand the shorter one isVince.
AsI’mlooking around,Inotice how utterly exhaustedJacelooks now that the adrenaline from the chase is coming down. “Jace, when was the last time you ate?”
Hiseyebrows draw together likeIjust asked a hard question. “Probablybefore we got into the helicopter.”
“Beforethe gala?Jace!”Ican’t believe we had to leave the restaurant before even taking a bite of our meal.WhenTreytoncomes back into the room to let us know that everything is safe,Iask, “Isthere food here?”
Henods. “Thefridge and pantry should be stocked.You’rewelcome to anything you find.”
