Theflight attendant shows us to our area as the plane starts slowly taxiing toward the runway.Shetells us that the plane is used most often for flights overseas during the night, so the seats can transform fully into beds, and that she will be back with bedding after our meeting.
Shealso says that there are dividers that close off our two seats from the rest of the plane, and she closes them as she leaves.Ivow to make friends with every single ambassador to theUnitedStateswho flies on a private jet soIcan increase my chances of traveling like this again.
Theplane engines get louder as they pick up speed, and we take a seat.Beforelong, the plane’s wheels lift off the runway, and the noise quiets soon after.Thereis a small table between our two chairs, andZoepullsa tablet from her bag, sets it on the table, and says, “Doyou want to look at this instead of our phones?”
Amental image fills my mind of the two of us leaning in as we look at the same tablet, our faces close, heat building between us at our proximity, andIimmediately divert my thoughts.Ipull out a tablet from my bag and hold it up, giving it a little shake. “Nope.I’vegot my own.”
Weboth connect through our secure phone lines and pull up the briefing.Zoe, in her need to always be fifty steps ahead, scrolls through the briefing, and says, “Itlooks likeI’llbe impersonating an international art appraiser when we get toBelgrade.ElizaCholmondeley, code name ‘MonaLiza.’She’sgoing to be appraising the entire collection at the fortress where the sculpture is.Whenshe flies in, theCIAwill delay her in customs so we can show up in her place.”
Iglance atZoe.She’sholding the locket of the necklace she always wears between her thumb and finger.Inoticed she tends to do that when she’s reading or thinking, and it draws my eyes to the little dip at the base of her neck.She’salways had a great neck.
Amoment later, she says, “Apparently,Elizais well-known in name, but rarely in photos.Sheand the owner of the mansion have never met, so allIhave to do is wear a wig and they thinkI’llpass for her.ExceptIdon’t speakSerbian…Oh!Perfect.Neitherdoes she.She’sfrom theUKand will be speakingEnglish.Andit looks like there’s aSerbiannative who’s aCIAoperative who will be meeting us on the ground.”
Shealso says things like “Ibet we can pull off a secret art exchange during theVeniceBiennale,” and “Lookslike we’ll be in the historic part ofAnkara.”WhatI’mconcerned with is the mission we are going to be doingtomorrow morning.Asin half a day from now.Everythingelse can wait.
TogetZoeback on track,Isay, “Itlooks like the gallery owner inDublinwho is on board with us planting a tracker is out of the country right now.Andshe really doesn’t want her employees to know we are planting the tracker because they are quote, ‘talkers,’ and she doesn’t want her employees to have information that the suspects will want to extract from them if they come by to steal it.Shesays the less they know, the better.Goodchoice on her part.”
“Sowe’ll have to plant the tracker covertly.”Zoequietly scrolls on her tablet for a moment whileIkeep reading.
“Okay,”Isay. “Thereare security cameras in the room, but the gallery owner has access to those from where she’ll be, so we don’t need to worry about disabling them.She’llpull the footage just in case her employees suspect anything and go back to look at it.”
Zoenods. “Thegallery opens at nine, with the first group tour at nine-fifteen.Whatdo you say we join the tour?Thenwe can just be stragglers and get the tracker planted.”
Icheck the address of the gallery to see how long it’ll take to get there from the airport and what our transportation options are. “Okay, we can take a taxior—Oh, they even haveUbers.Orwe can take the shuttle that will get us pretty close.There’sone that leaves every fifteen minutes.Itlooks like whichever we choose, we’ll need to plan forty-five minutes or so to get from the airport to the gallery.Nine-fifteen should work and still give us plenty of time to get breakfast from theBlarneyBeanCaféthat overlooks the gallery.”
Zoerolls her eyes.
“Hey,”Isay and pat my stomach. “Thisbody needs fuel regularly.Speakingof which, do you think the flight attendant is bringing us dinner?Snacks?”MaybeIshould’ve picked up food on my way to the airport.
“Okay,I’mbuying gallery tickets.”Herfingers fly across her tablet for a bit, then she pauses. “So, what’s our cover?”
Isay, “Notspouses,” at the same timeZoesays “Nota married couple.”Good.
“Siblings?”Isuggest. “Oneof us can be visiting from out of town.”
Zoenods. “Thatworks.Siblingsannoy each other, right?”Sheworks her way through the form, mumbling things as she enters them. “Twotickets…Personone’s name:ShaunaGlazier.”
“Shauna?Shauna?”
Zoelooks up at me, eyes narrowed. “That’smy cover name.What’swrong withShauna?”
“Nothing.Shauna’sgreat.Butgenerally, operatives choose something closer to their actual name.Like,Idon’t know,ZoraorZurior…Oh,Chloerhymes withZoe.Doyou know what? ‘ZeroChill’ rhymes withZoeSteele.Shaunadoes not.”
Zoenarrows her eyes at me like she’s telling meIdon’t get to have an opinion about her cover name.Andshe’s right—Idon’t. “I’mZoeall the time,” she says. “Sometimes,Ijust want to beShauna.”
“Fairenough.”
Shestarts typing. “I’mputting you in asLinusLightweight.”
“Nowsee?Aninsult only works if it hits home.”Iflex my biceps. “‘Lightweight’ doesn’t really do it for me.It’sthe equivalent of me saying thatIdon’t like your purple hair.Youdon’t have purple hair, so it doesn’t work as an insult.”
“You’reright.You’renow ‘LennyLaggard.’Becausewhen it comes to which of us wins, you are always lagging behind.”
“Ouch.Thathurt.”
Shelicks her fingertip and then draws an invisible tally mark in the air. “I’lltake that as another win for me.”
There’sa knock on the divider between our small area and the rest of the plane, andIquickly turn off the screen of my tablet beforeSaoirseslides the divider open, her arms laden with bedding. “Areyou ready for me to set things up for you?”
