Isquare my shoulders and take in a deep breath. “Okay, then.Let’snot get caught.”
CHAPTER 5
NOT QUITE JAMES BOND: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SPYING
OLLIE
Iuse my badge to unlock the door to the records room andDaisyandIboth slip inside before shutting the door.
“Soyour friend is a spy?”Daisyasks me as she sets her insulated bag on the floor beside the door. “LikeJasonBourne?”
Inod. “ExceptJaceis less haunted and relentless, more… suave,Iguess.Andkind of stylish and charismatic.I’dsay he’s closer toJamesBond.”
“So,”Daisytaps her lips, “likeConneryBondorBrosnanBond.”
“Exactly,”Isay asIglance around the room for a spot to place the bug.Thisroom is much longer than it is wide.Weare standing in the open space at the front, where there is a desk with a computer and an empty table to place a box on at our right and a copy machine at our left.Bigmetalshelves line both the side walls and go down the middle, making two aisles that go from the front to the very back of the room.Andall the shelves are filled with cardboard storage boxes that hold files. “Andhe said he’s an intelligence operative, not a spy.Weare the ones being spies.”
Daisysuddenly looks around the room, wary. “Doyou think this room might already be bugged by the bad guys?Shouldwe be talking in code?”
AndnowI’mwary, too.Ihave no idea.Ihaven’t seen that many spy movies—only a fewJamesBonds, oneJasonBourne, and several movie trailers.It’snot likeItook notes on any of them.Ididn’t think there would be a quiz.Jacejust told me to go be a spy, yetIhave no idea what that entails.Normally, before stepping into a situation this unfamiliar,I’dhave done a lot of googling.Butthere wasn’t time.SonowI’mleft without a clue about what to expect. “Maybewe should just to be on the safe side?”
Daisynods. “Okay, um…Pineapple.Weneed to find the pineapple’s nest.”
Iblink. “Right.Thepineapple’s nest.”Ithink she means a place to hide the bug.Ipoint at the first file box. “Maybethe nest is behind the shrub?”
Daisyshakes her head. “Anelephant might amble by or a fox might come for a treat.Ithink it’d be safest with the eagles.”Shepoints up.
Idon’t exactly know what she means by the foxesand elephants, but she’s pointing to the vent in the ceiling, which is a good ten feet high.There’sonly a chair with wheels and a table to stand on in here, andIworry that if the bug is that far away and has air whizzing by, it might not pick up voices well. “Eagleslike their nests to be in windy places so they don’t have to hear the whispers of the ants below.Maybethe squirrels can keep a better eye on it.”I’mthinking maybe at the base of one of the shelves.
Ihope she gets whatI’mtrying to say, but judging by her raised eyebrow,I’mnot entirely sure. “Squirrelsprefer the sound of feet over voices.Andsometimes they get their tails stepped on.Ithink it’d be better to go with a monkey.”
Tailsstepped on?Monkey?
“Oh,” she says, pointing down the aisle toward the back of the room. “Doyou think they like traveling to the other end of the jungle?”
Thephone in my pocket buzzes with a text, soIpull it out.It’sfrom a numberIdon’t have in my contacts, and all it says isTryhiding it on a shelf about shoulder height.
Myeyes go wide andIglance all around the room asItellDaisy, “Ithink there are cameras in here because someone is watching.Theyjust texted me.”
Hereyes go wide, too, and she comes over and stands close to look at my phone.Closeenough thatIcan smell her citrus shampoo and the faint scent of coffee and cocoa. “Isit the bad guys?”
This is Jace.
There are no cameras, but I can hear you. The bug in your hand is live.
Daisycups her hands over her mouth asIrub a hand over my forehead.Thenshe drops her hands and mouthsOops!
Itry to picture whereTadand his client might stand if they were having a meeting in here.Myguess is they would either stand by the table and desk, each of them partially sitting on one of them.Orif they decided to get further from the door, it’d probably be most natural for them to go down the right aisle.
“Okay,”Isay out loud asIwalk toward the shelves, now knowing thatJaceis going to hear me, “the framework for the shelving is round metal poles.I’mplacing the bug on the backside of one that’s near both the front area and the aisleIthink they’d go down if they didn’t stay at the front.”ThenIpeel off the backing and stick it to the metal pole.Itwas probably made to go on a flat surface, but it seems to stick well anyway.
Iget another text.
Great work! Thank you, Ollie. You’re the best.
“You’rewelcome,”Isay.It’sweird to have a conversation where he’s texting andI’mtalking.Ido wishI’dknownIwas having the conversation sooner.
Inod my head toward the door, andDaisypicks up the insulated bag she’d brought in, and we exit the room.Wedon’t say much as we walk down the long hall and to the elevators.Wejust act professionally.Likewe know what we are doing as we go about a normal day.
