“Absolutely.”AndIdo believe it.Still, though, hearingEvelynLancasterinsinuating thatI’mperfect for this mission sends a thrill through me like nothing else.
“We’reeach perfect for this job on our own,”Ledgersays. “We’reless so together.It’llbe disastrous.”
Iknow he’s thinking of that mission we were on together a year and a half ago. “Disastrous” is the same wordIuse wheneverIthink of it.Gladto see we’re on the same page about it.Andat least we’re on the same pagefor wanting it to never happen again.Wehadn’t crossed paths before that mission, and it was our first time working and spending every hour together.Afew sparks might have ignited between us then— whether they were real or not didn’t change the fact that those sparks then scorched the earth.
ThenDirectorLancastersays toLedger, “Soyou’re saying thatIshould choose a different intelligence operative for this mission?Onewho is less perfect for the mission but who can better work withOperativeSteele?”
Ledgercrosses his arms, which,Ihave to admit, shows off his impressive muscles.Hemust get that it isn’t a question that she needs to have him answer because he keeps his mouth shut.
ThenSullysays to me, “ShouldIchoose a different operative who can work better withOperativeLancaster?”
Idon’t answer, either, but whenLedgerstands again and takes a step to the corner of the conference room, turning away from us a bit,Isuggest, “Whydon’t you just split us up?Haveus each take two art pieces.”
DirectorLancasterpulls her eyes fromLedger’sback to meet mine and shakes her head. “Thatmight be doable for the first art piece, but the other three can’t be done solo.Besides, neither agency is willing to give up point on this mission, so it has to be a joint mission.Thepreferences of either of you to not work together isn’t going to change that.”Sheglances atLedger. “Pleaseexcuse me for a moment.”Shestands and walks over to him.
Itake the moment to say in a low voice toSully, “Thisis a bad idea.Afterlast time, he’s never going to trust me again.”
Hestudies me for a long moment, and then he says, “Butisn’t that a specialty of yours?We’lljust have to make one of your objectives for this mission be to getLedgerLancasterto trust you.”
CHAPTER 6
INSIDER INFORMATION
LEDGER
“I
don’t trust her,”Isay to the director.Ikeep my voice quiet enough thatDirectorReynoldsandZoeshouldn’t be able to hear.NotthatI’munwilling to say it toZoedirectly, but it doesn’t feel right to say it in front of her boss.
“Thatis what’s at the root of this?”
Inod. “Anddon’t give me some line like, ‘Youdon’t have to trust her to work with her.’Haveyou ever had a successful mission with a partner you didn’t trust?It’skind of a requirement.”
“I’mnot going to tell you that you don’t need to trust her.ButIam going to tell you that it’s never too late to build trust.Ithink the two of you can get there.”
Idisagree, but it doesn’t seem like that really matters, soIbreathe through my frustration until the heat of it dissipates, and thenIstep back to the table and sit down.Mydirector takes her seat, too.Ilean against the back of my chair, my arms crossed. “Sohow would this work?”
“Well, you’re in luck,”DirectorReynoldssays, “because the first art piece is inDublin, and theIrishAmbassadorto theUnitedStatesjust happens to be traveling home toIrelandtoday for his daughter’s wedding.He’sbeen read in on the part of your mission that is need-to-know.Sincehe would like to keep organized crime and terrorism out of his country— especially anything having to do withCallidAragundi— he’s willing to let you hitch a ride with him.Soyou’ll get to fly there on a luxury business jet.”
Ismile.We’llget a private plane with nice seats instead of flying coach, where these legs of mine don’t exactly fit into the designated “leg room” area.Mywould-be fellow seatmates and would-be flight attendants would rejoice right now if they knewIwouldn’t be joining them on their flight.Atleast one thing is going right.
“Yourflight leaves at six p.m. fromWashingtonDulles,” my mom says, and bothZoeandIimmediately look at our watches.It’salmost three now, and it’s a good hour’s drive to the airport, without traffic.There’sa lot hereI’llhave to do to prepare for the mission, and thenI’llneed to go home and pack before making the drive.
“Theplane will be in the air for roughly seven hours, andDublinis five hours ahead of us, so you’ll arrive at about six a.m.You’llneed to be at theÉireannExpressionsGalleryat nine, which means that tired or not, you’ll need to sleep on the plane.”
Itmight sound like we’ll be taking the redeye flight, we’ll actually be in the air from six p.m. until one a.m. our time, which is really not my standard sleeping hours.Ican fall asleep anytime, anywhere, as needed.It’swaking up at odd times whenIhaven’t gotten enough sleep thatIstruggle with.
Iglance over atZoe, and she’s wearing an expression of confidence like she has no problem at all with the sleeping constraints.Ofcourse, she doesn’t.
“Theowner of the gallery inDublinhas been briefed and is willing to let you plant the tracker,”DirectorReynoldssays. “Apparently, finding out that your prized piece will be stolen makes a person not only more willing to up their security but more than willing to have a tracker placed so that they can recover it if it does get stolen.
“Thatshouldn’t take too long, so you won’t need to stay the night inDublin— we’ve got a flight lined up for you tomorrow at three p.m. that will take you toBelgrade,Serbia.That’sa five-hour flight, and with the one-hour time difference, that will put you pulling up to your hotel by ten p.m.”
“Theleg of the mission taking place inSerbiawon’t be as easy,”DirectorLancastersays. “Especiallybecause the owner,ZoranSavovic, is a highly distrusting individual, and he is especially distrustful of foreign governments.Sowe can’t partner with him to place the tracking device— you’ll have to sneak it in.Bothagencies will be working on a recommended plan while you’re traveling and placing the tracking device on the art pieceinIreland.”
Zoeleans forward, tapping a finger on the conference table. “Thehotel inBelgrade— you gottwo separate rooms, correct?”
Thatgets my attention, andIsit up straighter. “Yeah,”Isay, making my voice firm and commanding. “Noneof this business where there’s ‘only one bed available’ so we have to share or one of us sleeps on the floor.”Zoeis one attractive woman who is impressive in nearly every way, and every single guy everywhere would probably kill for the chance to share a room with her.ButI’veexperienced it.I’veexperienced how she can lead you to believe that she feels one way about you, then go out and prove just the opposite.Oncewas more than enough for a lifetime.
