by Shawn Keys
“It is equally possible they convinced the person advertising the property to leave it on the market as available, but simply turn down all future offers,” Pam said.
Trisha hummed. “These people are not professional spies, nor do they have deep access to the financials of rich people. Nor are they likely to have roamed the countryside looking at random properties. They fled Lionsgate within the span of a couple days. They needed a safe house. They ambushed our agents, and they knew they would be on the run immediately. They couldn’t plan on hopping from roadhouse to motel to flophouse until they could find a place to settle in. They would have needed a listing to start with. But don’t ignore the sales market. Look at relevant places that were for sale but were suddenly taken down for no apparent reason or because they were rented instead.” She wasn’t happy. It was still all very nebulous.
Pam saw the same problem. “Needles in a stack of needles, Ma’am.”
“Keep looking. Run another probable assessment of how much they could spend per month given their resources on a place to live. Let’s say they were aiming to bankrupt themselves in five years, assuming this affair would be over one way or the other after that. That’ll give us a bracket for their spending.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Trisha sent her off, then refocused on the task of issuing payments to all the vendors for the Farm’s operations over the next six months. Pick-ups would be happening in the next few days, prior to the typical full lockdown over the first month while new students were there. Normally, only the senior instructors were allowed to leave. With the higher measures Fred Reigns had put in place, even that much movement would be unlikely once the gates closed behind the bus that would deliver the new crop of Dawn agents in training to the camp.
Chapter 6
Despite Soo-Yun’s dire warning, Kyle found his car in one piece, more or less. It probably had something to do with the rental sticker itself, proclaiming it a car with high use and little care given to it. It also helped that it was a mid-range sedan with no overtly redeeming qualities and an uninspired beige color, all deliberately chosen to keep a low profile while driving it around. Someone had keyed the word ‘ugly’ into one of the doors. He decided it was a small price to pay and wouldn’t even max-out the deposit they had paid on it.
The near-empty loft had suited Soo-Yun’s personality. She didn’t hoard much in the way of possessions. She had packed two large bags and ended up taking the lion share of what she had.
As Kyle loaded his bags into the trunk of the car, he asked her, “Do we need to stop by your parole officer? Give him a story?”
Soo-Yun flashed him a semi-mocking smile. “Something tells me we aren’t going to be working inside the system all that much.”
Kyle chuckled, then gathered her into his arms. She was pliant to his demand, falling against him easily. Kissing her soft lips, Kyle savored the texture while her perfume hazed over his senses and tempted him toward naughtier thoughts. Lingering as they were by the side of the car in a rough part of town, it wasn’t the place to explore that sort of thing, but it was a pleasant diversion.
Surfacing again, Kyle rumbled a low groan, then got back on topic. “That’s an understatement. Still, if you were due to have a meeting with him, we could have given ourselves that much longer before he starts to get suspicious with you. One less person on our trail.”
Soo-Yun snuggled into his chest and responding with a small purr. “Saw him less than two days ago. Usually we check in once a week. Not sure what is going to happen, but we have time.” She shrugged. “If things drag on, nothing says I can’t come down and meet with him.”
Kyle asked, “He knows where you are?”
She bobbed her head against his chest in a tight nod. “Yeah, of course. Doesn’t know what I do here. Chianne covers for me. Her and George will try to head him off if he drops in unexpectantly. I’ll need to check in with them every couple of days to see what’s happening and get warning if I’m going on the fugitive boards.”
Kyle pulled away far enough that he could open the door for her. She might be willing to be all submissive toward me, but nothing says I can’t still be a gentleman. From the charmed smile she had while slipping into the passenger seat, she agreed. Rounding the hood, Kyle got behind the wheel. “If you want to stay off the fugitive boards, then we’re going to have to deal with your implant more sensitively.”
“How? If my implant goes dark for longer than it would take to go through a tunnel somewhere, someone is going to notice. I’m not that special, I know, but Gord… that’s my parole officer… he’s not an idiot, and he actually sort of cares about his job.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Kyle reminded her. “Remember, everyone gets pressured by the FDPC in some way. Sure, you aren’t violent. He isn’t watching you in case you start killing people. But the FDPC will give him a nice, fat bonus if you turn up pregnant and the shadow-FDPC gets themselves another baby that’ll likely be above baseline.”
Soo-Yun shivered. “Baseline. Superior. Eugenics. I never thought I’d hear any of this connected to this country. I never went into North Korea, but I grew up in Incheon. Can’t live that close to the DMZ without hearing a few horror stories about what they do up there, especially since Persterim struck.”
“You came over here for medical school?”
She nodded. “Managed to get a work visa before my time ran out.”
“Not sorry you stayed after all that happened?”
She shook her head firmly. “Korean traditions didn’t really suit me. There was so much beauty in that country, but I never felt like I belonged.” She shrugged. “Besides, everything that happened here was my own fault. I might be pissed that my colleagues didn’t stand up with me when the heat came down on us, but they were still my choices. I suffered a lot more because I wasn’t willing to say I’m sorry.”
“Want to talk about it?” They had been… busy. There hadn’t been a lot of time to delve into the specifics of what had happened to her. What he knew only scratched the surface of what she’d been through, and he didn’t want to pretend he knew every emotion buzzing around inside her.
Soo-Yun gave him a kind smile but shook her head. “If you think it’s important.”
Kyle leveled a firm look her way. “Trying to get me to make your decisions?”
Nibbling at her lower lip rather fetchingly, she struck an innocent look at him. “Depends on what sort of leash you’re going to keep me on.”
That mental image took half-a-minute to work around. Only once he was sure he had cleared the cotton from his mouth did he dare to say, “Not sure I should for the rest of forever. But alright, if that’s still what you want. We can talk about what’s working for us after.” He sighed. “For now, I need honesty from you, alright? There’s a lot of us mixed up in this, and you might have to patch us up. That means we have to trust you.” He reached over to stroke her leg. She was back in her white-denim shorts and black tank-top again; it was a breezy look despite the chilly weather settling in on the area, but he liked the way it showed off her gorgeous legs. “With that said, let’s say it’s only important for you to tell me if you need to get anything off your chest in order to concentrate on what we’re about to do.”
Soo-Yun leaned her head back against the chair, affection in her eyes. “Celia was like that. She had a right to know anything she wanted, but only took what she needed to make sure things went right.”
“Guess I’m in good company.”
She nodded, then said, “Stirring up all the details about way back when won’t help with anything. If that changes, I’ll tell you. You seem to trust the people you are with, so that means I can start there, too.”
He nodded. “Already trusted them with my life, more than once.” He started the car and got them moving.
Another sort of smile clung to her lips: clever and probing. “Anything else you want to tell me about them?”
“Hmm?”
Soo-Yun l
aughed. “Look, you already gave me enough clues to know that I’m not the only one whose enjoyed that monster of yours in the last little while. You mentioned having kids, and you don’t seem like the sort to quit out on your own children. Hopefully not their mother, either.”
A faint blush rose to Kyle’s cheek.
Soo-Yun guessed the source. “Or…mothers, plural? Well, well.” She laughed again. “After what we did last night? Yeah, I knew that wasn’t the first time you claimed a woman. Not sure what else is going on, but that much is true. Can I ask what I’m getting into with those I’m going to meet? Help make it a little less awkward?”
Suddenly, Kyle was awfully glad that all his other current lovers were back up at the chalet. “I was being honest about the kids, though none of them are here quite yet. Couple months at most for the first. Danielle, Yvette and Megan are all carrying. I admit, I love ‘em to death, though they’re all quite a bit different. Maybe that helps a bit. Each one speaks to me in a different way.” He sighed at the pleasant reminder. “Lily and I aren’t together, though we had a moment. Think she wants it to explode into something bigger. Hope you’d be alright with that.”
Soo-Yun arched an eyebrow. “Sounds like one of those decisions I’m going to leave to you.”
Kyle chuckled again. This is going to take a little practice. Sure, Megan defers to me most often, but she’s never afraid to speak her mind and even tell me I’ve gone bad-shit crazy if it’s true. Aloud, he said, “Oh? And what if I decide I want you to help me when I show Lily how special she is?”
Soo-Yun nibbled at that lip again, running a light finger up the inside of the leg he kept glancing at to admire. She’d noticed. “Sounds like one of those decisions I’m going to leave to you,” she repeated with a little more sexual weight behind it.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Kyle did his best not to run into the next lamp post. He didn’t miss by as much as he should have.
She grinned widely. “Eyes on the road.”
“You’re the one trying to kill us both.” He shook his head, then went on. “Laura’s the last one I’ve shared a few moments with. She’s amazing. Practical. If anyone is going to keep them safe while I’m away, it’ll be her. She’ll be like a tigress looking after her cubs.” He grinned, then offered, “Claire is the last one I have to mention of those hiding out away from the city. You’ll get along well with her, I’d think. Not just because you’re both in the medical field. She’s not a doctor, but you can tell she cares. She was a real believer before this all went south. She thought she was saving people. She still wants to.”
He gestured out past the buildings of Olympia toward Tacoma. “But they aren’t here. The only ones risking their lives down here are Dazz, Chloe and Jackie. Dazz is my second oldest friend. We’ve been through everything together. Chloe is the sister of my actual oldest friend. I would have said once that she was like a sister to me, too…”
“Until you both grew up and she got boobs.”
Once again, she managed to get a chuckle out of him. “Yeah. I didn’t do anything about it since Nathan was my friend. There are rules about that sort of thing. But he’s already forgiven me if anything happens.”
“But nothing has?”
“Not yet. Not with either of them, actually.”
Her eyebrow quirked up. “Dazz, too?”
Kyle sighed. “She’s amazing. I would in a heartbeat. Might be too many complications, though. We’ll see. But don’t get me wrong; she’s insanely wonderful, I trust her completely, and love her all the way to my bones.”
That brought out Soo-Yun’s smile. “Can’t wait to meet her.” Her sharp mind clicked over to the last name. “And Jackie?”
“Ahh, right. Jackie. She’s our resident DOJ agent. Scary, I know. A part of that society none of us trust hanging out in our room. But she’s been through a lot with us, and she hasn’t turned us in. I think she can smell something is wrong, and she’s beginning to realize she really doesn’t know who she can trust. She’s trying to keep us on the straight and narrow path, but she isn’t afraid to let us play fast and loose with the rules. She wants answers as badly as the rest of us.”
“But you two haven’t…?”
He shook his head fast. “Have I thought about it? Well, yeah, I’ll admit to that if we’re going to be perfectly honest. But not sure it’d be wise. She’s trying to keep herself as the honest broker, you know? If she gets with me, her impartiality goes right out the window. Not sure we can afford that.”
Soo-Yun’s smile never wavered. “Thanks for that.”
“For what?”
“Being honest. Not trying to protect me from what I need to know. I promise. I won’t crumble on you.” Her affectionate eyes grew flinty. “I can count on you, and that loyalty goes both ways.”
Letting that thought warm his heart, Kyle turned them onto a larger avenue that would carry them out of the city core and put them on their way back into Tacoma.
* * *
The doors of the Alpha Marquee elevator opened, and Kyle restrained himself from jogging down the corridor with Soo-Yun in tow. Connecting with her had been an enjoyable distraction that might even save their lives, but he was starved to know how things were going.
He reached for the door, but it opened before he could even slide his card in the lock. Dazz was right there as if she had been watching through the peep-hole, waiting for him to show up. Kyle would have described her as frazzled. Her short hair was never mussed in the same way, but there was a little added frizz to it. She was wearing her normal black collar, but it looked like the buckle was sitting a little looser, like she needed a little extra room to breathe. She was barefoot, with a black halter-top advertising the ‘Psycho Bunny’ band topping white, canvass shorts. It was close enough to Soo-Yun’s outfit to be a noticeable coincidence. There were pizza grease stains on Dazz’s short, though, and her top looked like it was tugged out of normal alignment, barely covering her bra.
Behind her, Kyle could see Jackie with her legs folded on the bed, flipping through screens on two different computers and adding notes to the portable projector beaming her research up onto the wall. Chloe had accomplished her mission of attaining some hotel uniforms. She was ripping nametags off and stitching on new ones to match the Ransbury pattern and the first names of their fake IDs. She had apparently created a few false security passes as well, if the scissors and traces of slashed plastic on the table beside her were any indication.
Dazz ignored Kyle completely, zooming in right on his new companion. “Soo-Yun Jin?” Seeing the doctor nod, Dazz jerked her head into the room. For the rebellious young woman normally immune to social niceties, that was a glowing, warm welcome. “Well, nuestra casa es su casa, Doc.”
Soo-Yun didn’t even bat an eyelash at the eccentric woman. She went on in, already looking around and taking stock of what she was getting herself into.
Dazz planted a palm on Kyle’s chest and backed him out into the hall, pushing him up against the far wall. The door into the room slammed shut behind them.
Kyle didn’t fight her, letting out a soft ‘ooof’ as he impacted on the wall. “What the hell, Dazz?”
She smacked him hard on the shoulder. “Remember when you took that earpiece out? You know, the one we were using to stay in contact?”
Kyle objected, “Is this what that’s about? I wasn’t used to it! Nearly dropped it in the soup once! Had to put it in my pocket.”
Without stopping to ask for permission, she jammed her hand into his pocket. He had just been in a car, admiring Soo-Yun’s legs the whole way back to the city, so there was no way to avoid her rubbing her hand against the half-grown phallus lurking in his jeans. That only served to push her annoyance higher, for some reason. She ripped the earpiece out and held it up in front of his face. “Know what this switch is for?” She clicked a small nub on the device back and forth rapidly.
“Sure. It turns it off and…oh.” His eyes closed in pain. “Ohhhhhhh.
Oh, shit. Sorry, Dazz.”
She smacked him again, “I could hear everything! I didn’t tell the others to spare them the gooey details. But I had to listen at least off and on. I had to make sure she wasn’t a psycho who was going to chain you to a wall or something!”
A grin twitched on his lips. “Ended up being sort of the opposite, actually.”
Screeching softly in outrage, she punched him. “Do you know how many times I had to hear her groan about your stupid cock?” She clenched her hands into claws, biting them into the flesh of her hands like she was fighting off both annoyance and temptation combined. “I swear if I have to hear another breathy moan begging for more, I’m gonna lose my shit.”
Now he was starting to laugh a little. Warding her off, he said, “Hey, hey, not so violent! I’m sorry, alright?”
Dazz balled up her hands and planted the meat of her palms against her forehead as if fighting off a headache. “Yeah, yeah. You just have no idea…” She let that thought slip away without ending it.
“You sure you’re alright?”
Shoving whatever torment was going on inside, Dazz shifted gears and pouted at him. “You made me listen to everything you said in the car, too. That’s why I’m really pissed off. I’ve gotten used to your sexual escapades up at the chalet.” She scowled at him, then said grudgingly, “Love you too, jerk face.” With that said, she stalked back into the room.
Kyle thumped his head back against the wall, still laughing. This was just perfect. Pushing off, he marched back over to the door and into the room.
Dazz had said she had kept the sordid details under wraps, and Jackie’s wave and easy-going smile seemed to confirm that. Kyle suspected she’d be a little snarkier if she knew the full truth. Instead, Jackie said, “Looks like the mission was a success. Nice to meet you, Soo-Yun. Lily didn’t have time to tell us a lot about you, but she was sure you could help us.”
