“And you think they might bend me too?” he said softly.
“No sir. I don’t believe you’ll bend, which means they might have to remove you from your position.”
Jason had been mulling the same line of thought, but to hear it spoken in the soft gentle voice of Agent Ginkabo turned his blood cold. “I appreciate your concern. I’m not going to tell you it’s unfounded, because it’s not. However, I can assure you I didn’t get to this level by being naïve to the way of politics and influence. I was hand-picked for this assignment, and I believe Dr. Taylor did the picking. The first thing I need to figure out is why. Still interested in field duty?”
Carmella was momentarily speechless from shock, but she quickly regrouped. “Yes sir!”
“Well, you may get your wish, because except for the two of us, I don’t want anyone knowing my paths of inquiry.” Looking up at her pensive expression, he hoped she was up to the challenge. “You can go now. Try to look like I’ve reamed you a new one.”
“A new what, sir?”
He shook his head. “Never mind.” He stood and walked around the desk and opened the door. “Just get the hell out of my office, Ginkabo.”
As she scurried by, he bellowed “Cole, in my office now!”
A few moments later, Cole edged in. “Something wrong?”
Jason glared at his friend. Guilt was written all over Cole’s face. More than anything Jason wanted to beat the shit out of the fool. He thought he knew the man; he thought they were friends. “Close the door.”
Cole closed the door. “What did she tell you?”
Jason stared up at the ceiling. “I am so close to firing her skinny little butt!”
“You want me to fire her, no problem. She’s been a thorn in my side from the day she arrived.”
“We can’t fire her. In case you haven’t noticed, she is the only black woman on my staff. I would have countless equal rights groups hauling my ass into court if I tried to fire her. However, I want her written up on this. I want it clearly noted in her record that her work was inferior and unsatisfactory.”
“I did some asking around while she was in here. Turns out, she spent Friday shopping. She ran the mini-report in the morning and then skipped out.”
“Put that in the report. Put every damn thing you know in the report, including that she had no excuse for her shoddy work. She just stood here while I reamed her up one side and down the other. And she never said anything beyond ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’.”
“Not even an apology?”
“Not even an attempt of an apology. In fact, the expression on her face read to me like she thought she had written a damn fine report and I was just suffering from PMS this morning.”
“You sure you don’t want me to fire her?”
“No, but I want her out of my sight for a while. Let’s send her down to Nairobi to do the fieldwork on Tiburon.”
“Why do we need fieldwork? The Embassy sent us their dossier.”
“I know, which is why this is perfect. I don’t need her fieldwork. However, it will show everyone that we gave her another chance, even after she botched the Taylor assignment. And it gets her out of my sight. Besides she’ll probably spend a week down there and return with a dossier that looks surprisingly like the Embassy’s. And then we’ll write her up again and fire her.”
***
“In my office, Ginko,” Cole snapped as he walked by her desk.
Carmella followed him, knowing the other agents enjoyed her troubles. They had never accepted her, and she had come to realize they never would. Their eyes showed nothing but contempt.
“Close the door,” he ordered. “I’m sorry, but Connors says I have to write you up.”
She reached her hand into her pocket and activated her tape recorder. “But sir, that’s not fair. My report was not skimpy. It was over four hundred pages!” Her outrage was sincere, if misdirected at the chief instead of Cole.
“I know that, but Connors hated it. To be honest, you may be getting a backlash for overkill.”
She frowned, wondering where he was going with this. “What do you mean?”
“Does anyone else go to such lengths to gather so much trivia on their assignments? Most of them just download the database info and slap on a cover sheet. Do you see any of them getting written up for their work?”
“No.” Now she understood. He wanted to train her to mediocrity.
“Neither do I. I think you may be overwhelming the chief with too much unimportant detail.”
“But this was important.”
“To you. But not to him. All he wanted was a brief sketch. Besides all that 1800 shit…What were you doing? A history of the Taylor family? When I tell you brief, give me brief. Four hundred pages of pointless interviews with old colleagues is not brief.”
“Yes, sir. Do you have to write me up? I promise it won’t happen again.”
“I’m sorry, I do. I begged the chief to give you another chance, but he was very adamant. In fact, he wanted me to can your ass today. But I convinced him to just reprimand you and give you another chance.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’re going to send you to Nairobi to do a brief field report on Tiburon.”
“A brief report?”
“Yes. Now it’s very simple. All you have to do is go to the Embassy and ask for a man named Belding. He will provide you a full dossier on Tiburon. From that dossier, write a brief field report.”
“Couldn’t he just send it by courier?”
Cole rubbed his head. “I am trying to help you keep your job, Carmella. Work with me. Go down to Nairobi, enjoy the sights and get the report. Make it brief and to the point. That’s all you have to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now I’ve got to write up your reprimand before I forget all the points the chief wanted me to include.”
This was the one part of the plan she didn’t like. “May I see it before it goes into my file?”
Cole paused. “Sure… once you get back from Nairobi, I’ll let you see it and the commendation I attach for your Nairobi trip.”
***
Jason stared at the fish in his fish tank. He was recalling Tiburon’s words about being a puppet when the phone rang. He recognized the voice on the other end immediately.
“So, Mr. Connors, do you know who I am?”
“Yes, Dr. Taylor, I believe I do. How did you get my private number?”
“I am a man of many resources. There is almost nothing I can’t do if I set my mind to it.”
Connors recognized the subtle threat in his words. “What can I do for you, Dr. Taylor?”
“How did your arrest go this weekend?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”
“Don’t play coy with me, young man. You’re no virgin to the way of things. Now tell me why Tiburon hasn’t been deported.”
“There is no evidence to indicate the marriage isn’t real. When we made our morning house call, we found the couple snuggled in bed.”
“That’s impossible! Tiburon wouldn’t dare sleep with the woman.”
“And why is that, sir?”
The silence on the other side told him Taylor had said more than he wished.
Finally, he spoke again. “The woman, how did she look?”
“Very well rested.”
“Any sign of illness?”
“No. Why, has she been sick?”
“The woman is in great danger…”
“You said that before. Exactly what do you mean? How is she in danger?”
“I can’t believe he would sleep in the same room with her! You have to deport him, Connors. That woman’s life depends upon it.”
“I can’t deport the man without a reason. You’ve got to give me more to go on.”
“Stay close to the woman. You may be her only chance of survival,” the doctor warned before he hung up.
Connors stared at the phone several minutes and then dialed a num
ber.
“Winston, its Jason. I need a very big favor…”
Chapter 11
Cole had been watching Jason’s door ever since the spook had entered his office an hour prior. He still wasn’t certain Ginko hadn’t blown his cover. When the door opened, his heart skipped a few beats. Jason motioned for him to come in and then bellowed “Ginkabo, in my office.”
Both Ginkabo and Cole entered together.
“Agent Ginkabo, you keep asking for a field assignment, so I’m going to give you one.”
She seemed to grow an extra inch in height. “Thank you, sir.”
“You will fly to Nairobi tomorrow morning. I’m giving you a week to provide me a background check on Tiburon. I hope the results will be better than the last assignment.”
Cole’s teeth clenched, waiting for her to protest, but instead she gave a single nod and replied, “Yes sir. They will.”
“Kyle Banks will be accompanying you. He’s on loan from the CIA and knows the area.”
Carmella looked at the sour-faced black man. Banks was obviously unhappy with his assignment. “That won’t be necessary, sir. I don’t require a bodyguard from the CIA.”
Jason slammed a book down on his desk. “Don’t you dare tell me what you need to carry out an assignment! You will go to Nairobi accompanied by Mr. Banks. You will write your field report and you will provide the report to Agent Womack. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir. One question, sir?”
“What?”
“Is it because I’m black?”
Cole was shocked by the audacity of her question. He knew Jason had to be itching to fire her now.
“Is what because you’re black?” Jason’s voice was almost growling in anger.
“The assignment, sir. Is it because I’m black?” she asked, her head held proud and angry.
“You are out of line, Ginko,” Cole warned.
Jason glared at her. “Is that what you think, Agent Ginkabo?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I chose you for many reasons, Ginkabo, but your color wasn’t one of them. Mr. Banks, however, was chosen for his color and his sex, both of which were chosen to compliment you. So, the only one who has a right to complain about this assignment is Mr. Banks. Is there anything else?”
“No, sir,” Carmella replied studying her shoes.
“Then you are all dismissed.”
***
Cole and Banks had left the room when Carmella returned to Jason’s desk and stretched out her hand. “I just wanted to thank you for this assignment, sir. You can trust me to do my best.”
Jason stood and took the hand she extended, surprised to find it held a small cassette.
“Very good, Ginkabo. Close the door on your way out.”
***
Cole and Banks had stopped by the door listening. When she pulled the door close behind her, Cole just shook his head. Banks leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Look around you, babe. You were definitely chosen for your color.”
Carmella frowned and stared at her shoes.
“What do you think you were chosen for? Hell, I got zits that weigh more than you.”
Cole sighed. “Enough Banks. It’s not her fault you don’t like your assignment.”
“My assignment is to babysit a dwarf Fed. Hell, what’s she doing in the Bureau at all? You guys that desperate for warm bodies?”
Several of the agents overheard the comment and glared at Carmella.
“In my office now, Banks,” Cole ordered.
Once inside his office, Cole closed the door behind the sulky CIA agent and motioned him to a chair as he sat down across from him.
“Look, I realize you don’t like your babysitting job, and honestly I don’t blame you. However, you got it, so make the best of it.”
Kyle glared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Make a vacation of it. Ginko may be a sorry ass excuse for an agent, but she’s not bad looking. Have a little touch and feel if you want. No one will believe her if she complains.”
His expression darkened. “What the hell are you guys sending her down there for anyway?”
“To get her away from here. She’s bad for the men’s morale.”
He snorted. “She ain’t doing my morale much good either.”
“As I said, make a vacation of it. Think of it as a blind vacation date. If you don’t like her, find someone else. Quite honestly, we don’t care if she comes back, we just need to give the appearance of caring. If you lose her while down there, nothing will come back to you. Am I being clear?”
“Yeah.” He paused and then resumed his glare at Cole. “You guys are picking up the bar tabs, right?”
Cole laughed. “That’s right. So enjoy yourself.”
***
Carmella noted that Banks seemed far less surly when he left Womack’s office than when he had entered it. This concerned her greatly. Any friend of Womack’s was not a friend of hers.
Chapter 12
Jason Connors’s business card in Catina’s pocket seemed to burn against her skin. What had she gotten herself into? She trembled as Tiburon ran his hand across her back. They had been home three days now, and Tiburon seemed to grow more agitated by the day. His intensity frightened her.
Almost seeming to read her mind, he withdrew his hands and instead ran them through his own glossy black hair. He had not pulled it back into a ponytail this morning and it rained over his shoulders and down his back. It was so beautiful, like glistening silk. She longed to reach out and pet him…
For a fleeting moment, the thought crossed her mind that he wasn’t human at all. She shook the thought from her mind and moved to the fence to study Sheba. The lioness left her cover in the foliage and came to the fence. After studying Tiburon several moments, the she pressed against the fence and purred as Catina caressed her neck.
“You intend to reinstate her into the wild?” Tiburon approached the two of them. She could hear the doubt in his voice.
“Sheba? No. She’s much too domesticated. She came to me from a private owner who had bought her as a cub. He raised her as a family pet. Most of the time she behaves like a pet…”
“What happened?”
“She mauled a child visiting the house. Animal control wanted to put her down, but the man took it to court and saved her life. I testified on her behalf and the judge awarded me custody at the end of the case. The child’s parents sued and won a fifteen-million-dollar settlement against Sheba’s owner.”
“Serves him right. Do you know how many lions probably died to procure him his exotic pet?”
Catina looked up at him in surprise. “Of course, I do. I’m the cat lady, remember?”
Tiburon smiled and caressed her blonde hair. “How could I ever forget, my most beautiful bride.”
Catina frowned and stared down at her feet.
“You want out of this marriage?” He evidently sensed her change of mood.
She shook her head. “It’s not that. It’s…well…we’ve never consummated our marriage.”
“Haven’t we?” He took her hand in his and walked deeper into the cat refuge. “Do your dreams not fulfill you?”
Catina continued down the line of cages. “How do you know about my dreams?”
Tiburon turned her to him, caressing her cheek with his giant hand. “Am I not a part of them?”
“Yes. What are you telling me? Are you saying you have the same dreams?”
He smiled and looked at the cat that slept behind her. “That panther is very ill. How long has she been here?”
Catina turned and looked at Tabatha. “Only a few months. Animal welfare rescued her from a traveling petting zoo. She was so dehydrated and beaten when she arrived, I wasn’t certain she’d make it, but I think she’s turned the corner now. Her hatred for men is quite extreme, so you might want to keep your distance.”
Tiburon smiled. “Do you think she’d mistake me for a man?”
At first Catina h
ad thought he said, “for a man” but then decided he had said, “for a white man,” since the panther’s prior owners were decidedly white. “No, I suppose she wouldn’t.”
Tiburon looked at her in surprise. He paused and then took her hand. “I have a request to make.”
“Yes?”
“I know you would prefer to remain with your cats, but I need you to show me around the town.”
“If you wish, of course.” Catina tried to hide her disappointment.
“We can rent a limo and have a little privacy as we drive about.”
Catina smiled. “It’s sounding better all the time.”
Tiburon kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled away, she could feel the tension in his body. “What’s wrong?”
“I should have never gotten you involved in this.”
Catina studied his bleak expression. “I know our start was a bit unorthodox. But I’m not sorry, not in the least, that I married you.”
Tiburon pulled her to him and held her tight. “With the conviction of innocence,” he murmured into her silky blonde hair.
***
It was the strangest tour Catina had ever taken. They never left the limo. For hours they drove down streets, some speckled with mansions, some filled with abandoned warehouses. It didn’t take Catina long to determine that Tiburon was looking for something in particular.
“Is it your sister?” she finally asked.
“What?” He seemed startled by her question.
“We appear to be searching, not touring. Is it your sister you are looking for?”
He kissed her hand and pressed it to his cheek. “It is.”
“But how will you find her driving around like this? It would be very unlikely that she would be standing in the street as we passed by,”
“Extremely unlikely.”
“Then what is the purpose? Wouldn’t a private detective be better?”
He sighed and petted her hand. “I tried that before. Nothing. The only person who can find her is me.”
“But how?”
“If I can get within a mile of her, I will sense her presence.”
Catina accepted this without further questions. She realized there were things about her new husband that she was better not analyzing, things that defied rational explanation.
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