Never Say Spy (18 page)

Hellhound cut his eyes at me and picked up the phone.  “Yeah.”

I listened to the one-sided conversation, trying to hide my smile while he defended himself.  He was obviously being reprimanded, but I was pretty sure Kane wouldn’t be too hard on him.

Eventually, he said, “Here she is,” and passed the phone over to me.

“I hope you weren’t too hard on Arnie,” I said without preamble.  “He was good to me.”  The man in question gave me a thumbs-up and a grin from across the kitchen.

“No, I cut him some slack,” Kane replied.  “This turned out a lot better than it could have.  And I still need his help.  I’ve asked him to bring you back to Silverside today.”

“I’ve got my car now, I can just drive myself.”

“No, I don’t want you to go anywhere near your house or car right now,” Kane said.  “When we talked last night, you may remember I mentioned some new developments.  One of them was a dead man on your property.”

“Oh, shit.  Please tell me you don’t think I did that, too.”

Across the kitchen, Hellhound glanced up with a frown.

“No, definitely not,” Kane replied.

I mimed wiping my forehead in relief, and Hellhound’s expression lightened.

“But when we identified him, we discovered that this situation may be a lot bigger and more dangerous than we originally thought,” Kane continued.  “I want you back here, where we can keep a close eye on you, and I need to brief you on what we know so far and see if there’s anything else you can tell us.  Remember, all of this is classified.  All Hellhound knows is that you could be in danger and he’s doing courier duty.”

“Okay.  When do you want us to leave?”

“Ideally, yesterday.  Call me as soon as you’re on the road.”

“Will do.  ‘Bye.”  I hung up the phone.  “He wants us there ASAP,” I told Hellhound.  “Can I mooch breakfast?  Have you got some toast or something?”

“Yeah, I think I got bread.”

He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bag.  We both squinted at the furry, greenish object inside.

“Maybe not,” he decided, chucking the bag in the garbage.

“Fruit?” I asked.  At his blank stare, I shook my head and tried again.  “What have you got in here?”  I pulled open the fridge door and surveyed the cases of beer and the lone pizza box.  “How old is the pizza?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Perfect.”

He handed me a plate, and I plopped a couple of slices onto it and slid it into the microwave.  A couple of minutes later, I sat down at the table and dug in.  He filled Hooker’s food and water dishes and sat opposite me, nursing the last of his coffee.

I took a breather halfway through, and Hellhound reached over to touch the back of my hand where it lay on the table.  “Your knuckles are healin’ up.”

I smiled.  “Yeah, you’ve got a hard chin.”

I expected him to withdraw, but he didn’t.  Instead, he stroked my hand, his lean guitarist’s fingers barely touching me.  Feathery caresses went straight to the pleasure centres of my brain.

I sat very still.

When he spoke, his voice had deepened to the rasping grumble of an idling diesel.  “How ‘bout we go an’ see about givin’ ya orgasm number eight?”  He smiled, his eyes gentle.  “I guarantee, ya do it with me, you’ll never call it the nasty again.”

I swallowed hard, suddenly breathless.  This kind man had flouted orders to comfort me and keep me safe.  He had reassured me and sung me to sleep.  We were adults.  How easy it would be to just take his hand and walk the few steps to the bedroom, no expectations, no strings attached.

My body responded hungrily to the thought, and to his slow, sensuous stroking.  God, I needed to get laid.  To feel those warm, light touches all over my body…

I shivered.  Reached out.

Took his hand.

“Damn, you’re good,” I said as I put his hand back on his side of the table.  “You were nowhere close on the pity angle, but you nearly had me that time.”

He leaned back in his chair and laughed.  “Someday you’re gonna find out how good I really am, an’ then you’re gonna kick yourself for waitin’ so long.  I’m gonna go get dressed.  Finish your pizza.”  He got up and headed for the bedroom.

We went out to the Forester, he carrying his guitar case and a duffel bag, I with my small backpack.  I raised my eyebrows at the guitar case.  “Don’t leave home without it?”

He grinned.  “She’s the most faithful relationship a’ my life.  I take her everywhere.  I might hang around an’ jam at Blue Eddy’s on Thursday.”  He mirrored my raised eyebrows, nodding toward my backpack.  “That all ya got?”

“Yeah.”

“Most women, that’s the size of their makeup case alone.”

I shrugged.  “I’m not most women.”

“I noticed.”

His frankly appreciative gaze caused a slight hitch in my breathing.  Damn, it had been too long since anybody looked at me like that.  Maybe I should have accepted his offer.

We got in the SUV and Hellhound took the fastest route out of town.  As soon as we were on the highway, I borrowed his cell phone to call Kane and tell him we were on the way.  After anxiously observing Hellhound’s driving for a while, I mentally awarded him a gold star and relaxed.

We drove in silence while I turned over the past days’ events in my mind, trying to make sense of them.  What had Kane discovered that had made him concerned enough to call me in the middle of the night?  And if he was willing to tell me about a dead man over the phone, what could he possibly be holding back?  I frowned.

“Hey, Aydan, are ya mad at me for makin’ a pass at ya?” Hellhound asked.

“What?” I shook myself out of my absorption.  “Oh, hell no, you can’t blame a guy for asking.  As long he takes no for an answer.”  I smiled at him, and he smiled back, clearly relieved.

“Ya don’t talk much,” he observed.  “It’s like ridin’ with Kane.”

“Sorry.  I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I was just thinking it all through.  Do you want to talk?”

“Nah.  Just wanted to make sure we’re okay.”

“We’re okay,” I assured him.

We had a pit stop in Drumheller, then got on the road again.  When we arrived in Silverside, Hellhound drove directly to Fiorenza’s.

Strolling into the restaurant, I spotted Kane at the table we had occupied last time, his back to the wall.  Spider sat facing him.  I smiled.  Slipping in front of Hellhound, I walked over and sat beside Kane.  Hellhound surveyed the remaining seat with barely concealed dismay.  I felt for him, but not enough to give up my seat.

Spider looked up at Hellhound as he hovered.  “What, you, too?” he asked.  “Are all you people paranoid?”

“Occupational hazard,” Hellhound grunted as he slid into the chair, twitching it sideways so he could see part of the restaurant in his peripheral vision.  “Watch my back,” he told Kane.

“Always do,” Kane replied, and I recognized what was surely a long-standing exchange.

Conversation stayed general throughout the meal.  Spider chattered away as usual, the rest of us responding as needed.  When the bill arrived, I turned to Hellhound.  “I’m buying.  I owe you big time.”

“No way.  I’m plannin’ to take your debt out in trade later.”  He leered at me, bouncing his eyebrows.

I laughed.  “You’d better take the dinner.  It’s a sure thing.”

We haggled amicably for a few minutes, but in the end we each paid our own way.

Hellhound got up.  “She’s yours for now,” he said to Kane.  “Ya take good care of her.  I got hot plans for this lady.”

“In your dreams, Hellhound,” I said lightly.

“Darlin’, if ya only knew,” he growled.  He flicked the tip of his tongue over his lips and winked at me before turning to leave.

Spider stared after him, open-mouthed.  “He is so…  Why do you put up with that?” he asked, turning to me incredulously.  “If I said something like that to a woman, she’d slap me silly.  Talk about politically incorrect.”  A pink flush climbed his cheeks.  “Talk about sexual harassment!”

I gave him a half-smile and a shrug.  “Unless somebody is deliberately insulting me, I’m pretty hard to offend.  It’s all in fun.  If he was serious, it’d be a different story.”

Kane gave me a level look.  “Trust me, he’s serious.”

I flashed back to the heated memory of the morning.  “Yeah,” I agreed casually.  “But he’ll take no for an answer and laugh it off without getting hurt or mad, and he doesn’t push it too far.  He just lays it out there and waits to see if I’ll pick it up.  It’s like the difference between fly-fishing and gill netting.”

Spider shook his head.  “I still don’t get it.”

I grinned at him.  “Then I suggest you don’t try his approach.”

He looked shocked.  “I wouldn’t!”

Kane and I both laughed.  “Let’s go,” Kane said.  “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

We climbed into Kane’s Expedition, and he headed toward the centre of town.  “Please, not Sirius again,” I begged, reflexively clutching my head.

Kane’s mouth crooked up.  “No,” he agreed.  “Not Sirius this time.”

“Thank God.”

He steered the SUV down a side street and parked in front of a small house.  Two unobtrusive signs at the gate read ‘Kane Consulting’ and ‘Spider’s Webb Design’.  I followed them into the house, discovering that the living/dining room had been converted into office space.  Down the hallway, we entered one of the former bedrooms that now housed shelves and a meeting table.

“Energy consultant.”  I raised an eyebrow at Kane as we sat.  “I wondered about that at Blue Eddy’s.”

Kane nodded.  “We need to bring you up to speed on a number of things.  Our priorities have shifted based on what we’ve discovered to date.”

I wondered what that really meant.  Could it mean he was starting to believe me and I might not get charged?  Or did it just mean he’d get around to arresting me when it was more convenient for him?

“I’ll fill you in with some background information to start with,” Kane said.  “Then we can get into our latest developments.”

Spider interrupted.  “Do you want some coffee or a Coke or something?”

“I could use a coffee,” Kane agreed, getting up.

Spider got up, too.  “Aydan?”

“Just a glass of water, thanks.”

They left to collect the drinks, and I sat quietly, reflecting that their leaving me alone must indicate some level of trust.  That seemed like a good thing.

Spider returned first, bearing my water and a Coke for himself.  Kane brought up the rear with his coffee.  He turned to Spider.  “You did the sweep?”

Spider nodded.  “Right before we left.”  He took a small device out of his pocket and walked around the room, eyeing its steady green light.  “Clear.”

Kane sat down heavily, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the table.  “Aydan, everything we are going to discuss here is highly confidential.  There could be serious repercussions if this information becomes public.  I need to know you understand the importance of the non-disclosure agreement you signed.”

“You keep reminding me of that,” I said, feeling miffed.  “I understand non-disclosure.  I
live
non-disclosure.  I’m a bookkeeper, remember?”

He nodded slowly.  “This goes a little beyond the realm of bookkeeping.  There’s more at stake here than some public embarrassment and a potential lawsuit.”

I studied his face.  He was very serious.  I felt a flutter of apprehension, thinking of what I knew already.  Department of National Defence.  Counter-terrorism.  A brainwave-driven virtual reality network.  Shit, and now he was going to tell me something
really
secret?

I took a deep breath and met his eyes squarely.  “I understand the importance of the non-disclosure agreement.”

He held my gaze for a few seconds.  “Good.”

He sat back in his chair.  “I’ll begin at the beginning.  You noticed I introduced myself to you initially as an RCMP officer, to Connor as a member of the security division at Sirius, and to Blue Eddy as an energy consultant.  All of those are true, but not complete.  When it’s necessary for me to identify myself in an official capacity, I’m an RCMP officer.  All other times, I’m a consultant.”

I eyed him.  “And Spider is a CSIS analyst and a web designer.  Mike Connor is a security analyst at Sirius and a paramedic.  Does everybody lead a double life here?”

“No,” Kane replied.  “Officially, Sirius Dynamics is a research and development company for the oil and gas exploration industry.  They maintain regular contracts with petroleum companies.  That is public knowledge.”

He leaned forward again.  “Unfortunately, you stumbled upon Sirius’s real role, which is as a government and defence research facility.  We were hoping to hide that from you, but you discovered too much on your own.  We now think it’s safer for all concerned if we give you more information.  If you’re a spy, you’ll already know what I’m about to tell you anyway.  If you’re just an innocent civilian, you could endanger us all simply through your ignorance.”

“Not everyone who works for Sirius has a security clearance,” he continued.  “Those who do, take on additional roles to help protect the secrecy.  That’s why Mike Connor maintains his paramedic’s credentials.  If something happens to a Sirius employee, we have medical staff who can maintain confidentiality.”

I pondered that.  “Dr. Roth is one of them, isn’t she?”

Kane looked up sharply.  “What makes you say that?”

“Mike Connor told her to put me in Wing B.  He rode along in the ambulance specifically to talk to her because he thought I was a Sirius employee.  So Wing B must be reserved for Sirius employees to be attended by Sirius’s own medical staff.  And I bet Sirius is the anonymous donor of the MRI, too, right?”

Kane rubbed his forehead.  “This is why we decided to fill you in.  You’re too quick to put together the clues you have.  Why couldn’t you just be stupid?”

“Sorry,” I apologized insincerely.

“You have to realize you are our worst nightmare.  You’ve discovered a highly classified network and you have complete access, seemingly without any external aid.  My first instinct was to bury you in the deepest, darkest hole I could find.”

My pulse quickened as I stiffened in my chair.  Where was he going with this?

“However,” he continued, “That wouldn’t solve the problem.  If you exist, and especially if this is all random chance as you say, then there’s a very good possibility there are others like you.  And if that’s the case, our enemies are almost certainly actively recruiting them.  The more we can find out about you, the better.  And it’s essential that you don’t fall into enemy hands.”

I shuddered as unobtrusively as I could.

Kane drank some coffee, still eyeing me.  “Before I knew how deeply involved you were, I told you we suspected Samir Ramos of espionage and terrorism.  We have confirmation of that now, thanks to you.  Because you drew attention to that data record, we were able to get the search warrant.  We retrieved the hacked Sirius security fob, as well as his phone records.  And that led us to some information we didn’t expect.”

He leaned back in his chair, cradling his coffee cup, and directed a piercing grey gaze at me.  “What do you know about Fuzzy Bunny Enterprises?”

“What?” I faltered.  Talk about hitting them out in left field.  “Fuzzy Bunny?  I’ve never heard of them.”

He watched me a few seconds in silence before explaining.  “Fuzzy Bunny Enterprises is an importer and manufacturer of children’s toys.  They ship worldwide, selling retail and wholesale.  For some time, we’ve suspected them of shipping arms, intelligence, and drugs with the toys, as well as laundering money.  We’ve never been able to prove anything, but many times when we’ve uncovered an operation, Fuzzy Bunny has been peripherally involved.  Nothing we can nail them for, but they always seem to be there.”

“Fuzzy Bunny.  You’ve got to be kidding.”

Kane smiled.  “What, you think all the bad guys name themselves something sinister like ‘Evil Incorporated’?”

I laughed.  “I guess you’re right, that would be stupid.  But Fuzzy Bunny just seems so… incongruous.”

He sobered.  “And that’s why it works.  We discovered Ramos had made calls to contacts within Fuzzy Bunny in the past week.  And then things got a lot more complicated.  We went back to look at Ramos’s apartment again, and it had been trashed.  Somebody had been there since we initially searched.  We’re guessing they were looking for the fob.  If he had an arrangement to deliver it to Fuzzy Bunny, they may have decided to go and take it for themselves when he didn’t show up for a meeting.”

He put his cup down on the table and leaned further back, tipping his chair onto its back legs.  The chair creaked ominously, and he leaned forward again, dropping it back onto the floor.  “We found a call record between Ramos and Mike Connor, and also between Ramos and another security analyst at Sirius, a Eugene Mercer.  Connor and Mercer both had simple explanations for the calls, but it makes them suspects for hacking the fob.”

I thought that over.  “So you think Mike Connor and this Mercer may be connected to Fuzzy Bunny?”

“If so, we haven’t been able to find a connection so far.  But Connor disabled the alarm system so that a fob could be taken out of the building unnoticed.  And he concealed the network containment breach and the data record that showed Ramos in the portal.  He’s our prime suspect right now.  We’re still digging to get solid proof.”

I frowned.  “But what has all of this got to do with me?  I don’t know a thing about fobs, and I’ve never even heard of Fuzzy Bunny before now.”

“That’s where things get complicated.  I told you about the dead man on your property.”

I nodded.

“He died of hypothermia,” Kane explained.  “You know how cold it was the night before last, and there was a high windchill.  The RCMP found his car parked beside the highway.  There was still a bit of snow left, and they could see footprints leading away over the fields.  They thought his car had broken down and he’d walked for help, so they followed his tracks and found him just about a quarter-mile from your house.”

Sick dismay tugged at my heart.  “That poor bastard.  If he’d made just it a bit further, he’d have been okay.  I was home that night.”

“Lucky for you he didn’t,” Kane said grimly.  “He was armed, and he was carrying a stun gun and nylon ties.”

A surge of horror washed over me.  I had been home alone, as usual.  I would have answered the door, letting the poor half-frozen man in.  And I would have been captured, no one to know I was even gone until I didn’t pick up my car at the impound lot the next afternoon.  I breathed slowly and deeply, my hands shaking.

“It gets worse,” Kane said, watching me closely.  “We didn’t discover that until late in the day.  Once we found out, we started digging into the man’s identity.  He had connections to Fuzzy Bunny, too.  Ramos or Connor must have told them about you.  And it looks like they’re serious about finding you.  First Ramos tried to carjack you, then there was the failed abduction at your house in Calgary, and now this third attempt here in Silverside.”

I closed my eyes.  “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” I chanted quietly.

“That’s why I called you late last night.  I didn’t actually expect you to answer.  I thought they’d have you for sure.”