Never Say Spy (26 page)

The officer frowned at us for a moment before nodding to his team.  “You heard the man.”  The crowd dispersed, and the medic left with a final, suspicious glance.  As the room emptied, the officer turned to Germain.  “What really happened?” he demanded.

Germain met his eyes.  “Classified.”

The man grunted resignation and turned to go.  “Your guys did good,” Germain complimented him.  “They’re really sharp.”

The officer nodded.  “Thanks.  I know.”  He left, and we stood in silence while I shakily dabbed at my nose.

“Sit down before you fall down,” Kane said.  He and Germain each took one of my arms and guided me to the chair, easing me down.  I slumped into it and rubbed my aching head.  “Jeez, I’m ready for this to be over,” I muttered.

When I straightened slowly, I was grinning through my pain.

“What?” Kane demanded.

I dangled the amethyst.  “I found it.  I found the skeleton key.”

“Are you sure?”  He bent to examine it.

“Pretty sure.  I just have to run through the rest of the stuff to make sure, and then I’ll go back and double-check it.”

He shook his head.  “You’re done for the day.  I’m calling this off.”

“No way,” I argued.  “We have to know for sure, you know we do.  And I don’t want to have to do this again.”

“No.  You’re done.  You’ve had a worse reaction each time you’ve gone in.  It’s just not that important.  Sandler and Smith can re-test everything.”

“That last one was my fault,” I explained.  “I was stupid, I got excited and charged through the portal.  Same as what happened at Sirius.  You know I went in again right after that, and I was fine.”

He appraised me doubtfully.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure this is it,” I cajoled.  “If this is the only thing from my pouch that works, I won’t even be going in again.”

He sighed.  “All right.  But if you have another reaction like the last one, it’s over.  End of story.”

“Okay,” I agreed.  “Take this away and put it on the table.  Pass me the next thing.”

I worked my way uneventfully through the rest of the contents of my pouch.  When we reached the last item, I looked up at their relieved faces.

“That’s it,” Germain said cheerfully.

“Good,” I said.  “One last test, then.  Take the amethyst off the keychain and I’ll try it by itself just to be sure.”

He removed it slowly and passed it over, frowning.  Kane stood close beside my chair, poised to catch me just in case.  I popped easily into the network, holding the amethyst at eye level.  I peered at it.  It looked like an ordinary chunk of amethyst.  I shrugged and stepped ever so slowly and carefully back through the portal.

Pain again, one last time.  No worse than usual, though, and I managed not to swear while my breath hissed through my clenched teeth.  I felt Kane’s hands on my shoulders, and as I clutched my pounding head, his strong hands moved up to firmly massage my neck and temples.  I groaned and relaxed, letting my head drop forward.

“You realize I’ll just sit here as long as you keep doing that,” I mumbled, eyes closed in bliss.  I heard his chuckle behind me as he stopped rubbing, and I straightened slowly, mentally kicking myself for not just keeping my mouth shut.

I rolled my shoulders and flexed my neck.  “Okay, I’m done like dinner.”  I handed Kane the amethyst.  “You’d better take this.  Don’t concentrate on the network.”

He grimaced and dropped it in his pocket.  “Trust me, I won’t.”

When we returned to the office, Spider was at his desk, his forehead puckered in concentration while he typed furiously on his laptop.  He glanced up with a blithe hello as we entered, but his cheerful expression changed to startled concern when he noticed my face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, I just had a nosebleed,” I assured him.  As he eyed me doubtfully, I gave him a tantalizing smile.  “Kane has a little something for you.  Want to guess what it is?”

“I’m afraid to,” he replied warily.

“Downstairs,” Kane said, and Spider’s eyebrows went up.  He rose and we all followed Kane down the basement stairs to repeat the previous day’s security ritual.  I held the knowledge of the exits determinedly in my mind, and managed the cramped concrete stairwell with only a minor acceleration in pulse and breathing.

Not trapped.

Just breathe.

When we were seated around the bunker’s meeting table, Kane extracted the amethyst from his pocket and laid it carefully in front of him.  We all gazed at it in silence, and Spider’s forehead furrowed.

“And?” he queried.

“I think it’s the skeleton key,” I said.  “We did some experiments at the warehouse, and I could only get into the network as long as I had this amethyst in close proximity.”

Spider reached out.  “Let me see it.”  Kane passed it over, and he held it up to the light.  “This shouldn’t get you into the network.  Amethysts are just a crystalline mineral.  They don’t have any properties that would provide the kind of access you’re getting.”

“Aydan tested it thoroughly,” Kane assured him.  “We can’t find any other explanation.”

Spider rose and carried the stone over to one of the desks, pulling out a sliding shelf that held a microscope.  He positioned the amethyst under it and peered through the eyepiece.

“Whoa,” he breathed.  Everyone at the table sat up straight, eyes riveted on him.

He looked up from the scope.  “Where did you get this?” he demanded.

“I found it in my back yard.”

“You
found
it?” he repeated.  “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No.  All kinds of weird stuff gets tossed over into my yard from the green space behind my house.  Usually it’s empty booze bottles, but I’ve had garden statuary, shoes, you name it.”

“What is it?” Kane asked.

“I don’t know for sure yet,” Spider replied.  “But there’s micro-miniaturized circuitry inside this stone.  The stone has been cut and hollowed to contain it, and the cut sections have been reassembled along the facet edges.  The cuts and re-assembly are so finely done and the circuitry’s so tiny that it’s not visible unless you look at it under the microscope.  I’ll need to take it over to Sirius and get Smith to help me disassemble it and figure out what it really does.”

“How long have you had this?” Kane asked me.

“I picked it up sometime last fall before the snow started, so maybe mid-October.  I was just doing the fall garden cleanup so the yard would look good when the house went up for sale, and there it was.  It was pretty, and its reputed magical properties appealed to me, so I put it on my keychain.”

“Reputed magical properties?” Germain’s eyes crinkled with amusement.

“Yeah, when I found out amethyst is supposed to protect you from drunkenness, it seemed like a must-have,” I joked.

Spider was vibrating with impatience.  “This particular amethyst is a lot more important than that.  I need to get over Sirius with it right away.”

Kane nodded.  “Agreed.  This could be the key to everything that’s happened to date.  Wheeler, go with Webb to Sirius.  That stone doesn’t travel anywhere without a security escort.”  Spider snatched up the stone and his laptop, and he and Wheeler left hurriedly.

“There’s one more thing that’s been bothering me,” I said slowly.  “Why is there an open Sirius network portal in that warehouse?”

“I questioned that, too,” Kane agreed.  “I got James Sandler out of bed last night while you were sleeping, and he was over at the warehouse half the night.  It looks as though that network is not actually part of or connected to the Sirius network at all.”  He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face tiredly.  “That’s a huge relief.  If we’d been hacked, this would be a complete disaster.”

“So Fuzzy Bunny has created a counterpart of the network?” I asked.

“So it seems,” Kane replied.  “That, in itself, is worrisome.  It shows they have resources we weren’t previously aware of.  We need to dig more deeply into that issue.  We also need to finish questioning Mercer and the detainees.  Once Webb and Smith have cracked that crystal, we might know more, too.”

“How are we going to do this?” Germain asked.  “Aydan still needs to be protected, but we have a lot of research and questioning to do before we get to the bottom of this.”

Kane sighed.  “We’re short-handed, as usual.  I’ll get some more CSIS analysts on it.  This is so big, I should be able to pull priority.  That’ll cover Webb’s role while he works with Smith to figure out the stone.  Until we get this sorted out, Aydan stays here.”

Alarm kicked my heart into high gear.  “You mean here, underground?”

He nodded.  “I’m sorry, there’s no other option.”

I took a deep breath and slowly released the fist I hadn’t realized I’d clenched.  “Is there something I can do to help while I’m here?”  My voice came out tight, and I took another deep breath to steady it before continuing.  “I’m going to need something to occupy me.”

Kane gave me a sympathetic look.  “You aren’t a prisoner.  If you really need to leave, one of us will go with you.  But it would be best for you to stay here where it’s safe.  Maybe you should try to get some more sleep.  You probably need the recovery time.”

I nodded, the stiff muscles in my neck responding reluctantly.  “Okay, I’ll try.  Just keep me busy if you can.”

Kane turned to Germain.  “I’ll go over and carry on with the questioning.  You can stay here and coordinate the research data as it comes in.  I’ll come back and join you as soon as I’m done.  Call me if anything breaks.”

He departed, leaving me sitting at the table with Germain.  I realized my fists were clenched again, and deliberately relaxed my hands.

Germain regarded me with his keen gaze.  “Everything okay?”

“I’m just a little claustrophobic.”  I drew a deep breath and willed calm.  “I’ll settle down as soon as I get distracted with something else.  What can I do?”

“Why don’t you go and get cleaned up first, and then try to get a nap?  If you can’t sleep, I’ll find something to keep you occupied.”

“Thanks.”  I got to my feet and went down the hall, walking slowly and staying calm.  I was
not
trapped.  I could leave any time I wanted.  I clutched the thought like a life preserver.

In the bathroom, I discovered I hadn’t done a very good job with the gauze cleanup.  At least I didn’t get any blood on my clothes for a change.  I snorted.  If I’d been wearing anything better than my workout clothes, I had no doubt I’d have managed to wreck the outfit.

I took my time cleaning up my face before making my way down the corridor to the bunkroom.  Bending carefully, I crept back into the lower bunk and tried to relax.  I breathed slowly and deeply, concentrating on letting my muscles soften.  Time dragged by.

Dammit.  I was hungry.

I rolled over, trying to ignore the sensation.  Breathe.  In.  Out.  Ocean waves.  I scowled at my watch in the dimness.  This wasn’t working.

Lying tensely in the bunk, I reflected that my every move was controlled by someone else.  I couldn’t even eat without someone else’s say-so.  No food in the bunker, and I wasn’t supposed to leave.

Unable to lie still any longer, I jerked out of bed, growling at the painful bruise.  I paced the length of the room.  Four steps.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.

I tried to control myself and calm down, but my turmoil kept building.  I stopped beside the bed and lashed out a fist at the mattress on the upper bunk.  The jolt of pain fed my growing frenzy.

Trapped.  Hurt.  Hungry.

I punched again, ignoring the pain.  Then again, with some shoulder behind it.  Punch.  Punch.  Left.  Right.  My fists made satisfying thuds against the mattress.  My stiff muscles began to warm up while I hit harder and harder, pain and frantic effort escaping in animal-like whimpers and grunts.

A sound at the door made me whirl, fists at the ready.

“Aydan?” Germain asked cautiously.

I glared blindly in his direction, barely in control.  My voice came out harsh and ragged around my panting.  “Just… give me... a minute.”

He nodded and left.

I pounded the mattress until my muscles rebelled.  Gasping for breath, I doubled over the fiery pain in my abused stomach.  My trembling knees dropped me onto the lower bunk, and I brought my breathing slowly under control while I examined my abraded knuckles.

I sensed rather than heard Germain at the doorway again.  When I glanced up, he stepped into the room and handed me a bottle of orange juice before perching on the edge of the opposite bunk.

“Thanks,” I muttered, not meeting his eyes.  I twisted off the cap and took a gulp, managing not to spill it down my chin only by clenching the bottle in both shaking hands.

I sipped in silence for a few minutes, staring at the floor.  “I forgot about your surveillance system,” I said finally.  “I don’t suppose there’s any way to delete that little performance.”

“The cameras are turned off in this room while you’re here,” he reassured me.  “I was just coming down the hall and it sounded like somebody was taking a beating.”

“Sorry to bother you,” I mumbled.  “I’m not normally this wacko.  You should go back to what you were doing.  I’ll be okay now.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think that mattress is ever going to be the same.”

The humour in his voice made me look up, some of the tension going out of my body.  I gave him a weak smile.  “Oh, so now I’m on the hook for abuse of government facilities.”

He laughed.  “It’ll be our dirty little secret.”

I gave him a real smile this time.  “Thanks.  I’d appreciate that.”

He sobered, watching me closely.  “Are you really okay?”

“Yeah.  Just embarrassed.”

“You don’t need to be embarrassed.  I’ve been known to punch the hell out of inanimate objects on occasion, too.”

“Maybe, but I prefer to do it without an audience,” I replied ruefully.

He stood.  “Come on.  Let’s go upstairs.”

“No, it’s okay.  I’ve blown off some steam now.  I’ll be fine for a while.  You might as well get back to work.  I’m sure you’ve got enough to keep you busy without babysitting me.”

He grinned.  “That’s true, but it’s lunch time, and Hellhound is going to be arriving with pizza any minute.”  He reached a hand down to me.  “Coming?”

I beamed up at him.  “I think I may love you.  And him.”

He shook his head in mock disapproval.  “You’re so easy.”

“I know.”  I gave him a sunny smile.  “That’s why all the guys love me.”  I took his outstretched hand and he pulled me carefully to my feet.