Unable to have his phone with him while in the NBAF, Eric walked immediately to his car and called Chris. “Focus your efforts on Ji-Ho,” he barked.
“Righty-oh, boss,” Chris responded. “Anything special he’s been up to?”
“Just found out he got very chatty with Dr. Hughes today, and his questions were not in line with what he should have been asking scientifically. He seemed to be drilling her about the security of this facility and those who have a high-level security clearance.”
“Fuck. Okay, I’ve been focusing on him anyway, but I’ll double down. Since I’ve been in contact with Lighthouse Security’s computer people, you want me to get them to work on him as well?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Eric replied. “I trust my instincts and your abilities, but I was told I could form my own team, and right now, I’m teaming up with Mace’s Lighthouse Security group.”
“You got it.”
“One last thing, Chris. If anything comes up tonight, you know how to get hold of me. I probably won’t be in my room.”
“No worries,” Chris said, just before disconnecting.
He was pleased that Chris did not feel like cracking a joke about him spending time with Lydia. While he knew his partner needed to know where he was, his relationship with her was too special to be bandied about by anyone.
Locking his car and setting the security, he headed back into the building to keep an eye on the rest of the journalists, as they were now in the final phases of the seminar. But what he was really looking forward to, was the upcoming evening with Lydia.
15
“Hey,”
Eric held his phone to his ear and stared down at his boots, a smile playing about his lips. Hearing Lydia’s soft ‘hey’ made him want to be with her even more. “Hey, back,” he said. Sighing, he continued, “I really wanted to take you to dinner tonight, but I’m going to have to take a rain check. I’ve got something that I’m gonna have to take care of, and I don’t know when I’ll get back.”
He hoped she would not ask more questions, because he hated lying to her any more than he already was. He heard the hesitation and held his breath.
“Oh, okay. Well, will you be gone all night?”
Not having any idea how long his night’s mission was going to take, he replied truthfully, “I don’t know. My boss needs me to go out of town to check on something, and I can’t be sure when I’ll get back.”
“Oh, okay,” she repeated, and he could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“I’m really sorry, Lydia, because there’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you.”
Her voice firmer now, she said, “It’s fine, Eric. I understand what we have, and it’s okay for us to—”
“No, don’t say it.” He dragged his hand through his hair, frustration pouring off of him. “This is nothing more than me having to take on another job that’s gonna run into the evening. Please, don’t think it has anything to do with you or what we have. If I get in tonight, and it’s not terribly late, can I come by?”
“Absolutely,” she said, relief evident in her voice. “I can’t leave my door unlocked, but I always sleep with my phone next to me, so you can call if you’re able to head on over.” She hesitated before adding, “And if not, then I’ll see you—”
“Tomorrow. If I can’t come tonight, then you’ll see me tomorrow, and I’ll take you to dinner. Promise,” he added.
“Eric, please don’t promise things that you might not be able to keep. It’s okay. I’m a big girl and can handle what we’ve got. So, if you can come tonight, do. And if not, then we’ll try to have dinner tomorrow.”
Sighing, he glanced over as Chris came into his room, bouncing on his toes with excitement. “Okay, I’ll see you as soon as I can.” Disconnecting, he tossed his phone to his bed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. Closing his eyes for a moment to re-center his thoughts on the mission, he inhaled deeply, then let the air out slowly.
Lifting his head, he looked at Chris, and asked, “Are we set?”
Chris nodded, his red hair standing on end, as though he had run his fingers through it one time too many. “I’ve been working with two of Mace’s men, Josh and Clay. I gotta tell you, I’m good at what I do but after spending hours working with them, well…let’s just say that I want to be them when I grow up!”
Mentally rolling his eyes, he pinned Chris with a hard stare. “Just tell me what I need to do and how it’s going to be accomplished.”
“Okay, okay,” Chris said, moving over and sitting down on the sofa. “Using the coordinates that I was able to gather from your tracer, we’ve pinpointed the exact building that you were taken to. While they did not find any tracer on you, they did have a jamming system that was keeping me from getting a clear signal. Josh and Clay were able to un-jam whatever the extremists were using. So, once they knew the building, they were able to figure out its security and how to get around it.”
Sitting down in the chair facing the sofa, he leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees. His interest piqued, he had to admit he loved this part of the mission. The covert action that always resulted in an adrenaline rush, knowing that he was battling an enemy. “Ready.”
“You and I are going to drive there tonight. When we’re five miles out, I’ll contact Josh and Clay, and they’ll be ready. Remotely, Clay can shut down their security so that we can get into the building. He’ll be able to reset any of their cameras so there will be no record of our being there and no skip in the timestamp. Once we get anything we can from their computers, I’ll transmit it through the portal that Josh has given me. He’ll start running analysis on it, and I’ll do the same when we get back. Anything I’m not sure about, he’s going to go over with me.”
“We?” Seeing Chris’ lowered brow, Eric continued, “You said we. We will go into the building.”
“Yeah. We, as in both of us. You know, you and me…we.”
Throwing his head back, he said, “Jesus, Chris. I know what the word we means. What I don’t know is why there is a we. You haven’t been in the field enough to be able to deal with breaking into a building.”
Chris sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “Eric, man, I know I’m new at this, but I’m ready. Normally, I wouldn’t be going in so that I could be on the outside feeding you whatever information I needed to. But, in this case, we’ll have Josh and Clay doing that.”
“Yes, and they’re in Maine, not fuckin’ Kansas.”
“It doesn’t matter where they are. They’re monitoring all the security, including the perimeter. I don’t even know how they do all of that, but they can, and they will. That gives me the chance to be on the inside with you. Two people working the inside will go faster than one.”
He fought the urge to demand that Chris stay on the outside. Instead, he looked at the eager face of the agent in front of him and flashed back to the first mission he was on. He may have been a SEAL, but he remembered the eager anticipation of getting that first mission under his belt.
Nodding slowly, he said, “Don’t make me fuckin’ regret doing this, but okay—”
Chris jumped up and waved his hands above his head. “You won’t, you won’t, I promise.”
“Don’t promise something that you might not be able to keep.” He recognized that he had just repeated Lydia’s words and shook his head slowly. Focusing back on Chris, he ordered, “You’ll do everything I say and not one thing more or less. You got that? ‘Cause if you don’t, this’ll be the last chance at a mission you’ll ever get.”
Chris nodded solemnly. “You won’t regret this. I’ll give you everything you need for this to be successful, and then we can get what we collect to Josh and Clay, who will help me analyze it.”
“Then go change. Black shirt, black pants, black jacket, black socks, black shoes, and please, God, tell me you’ve got a black cap that can cover your red hair!”
So far, so good.
&nb
sp; Eric knew the success of missions was due in large part to extensive planning and trust in your fellow team members. Part of SEAL training was spending time together twenty-four–seven. This forced the team to get to know each other, anticipate each other’s moves, understand nonverbal communication, and instinctively know where every member of your team was at all times. It also meant that you had absolute trust that each member of the team would be able to improvise as the mission progressed.
Now, he was working with a team he did not know. He had never met Josh or Clay but had to trust what he knew about the Lighthouse Security Investigations company. He knew that Mace had been former Army Special Forces and a CIA Special Operator. He also knew that Mace had filled his company with other military Special Operators. But, placing his trust in people he had never worked with before took a leap of faith.
Chris was another matter. He trusted Chris doing all of the background work and the on-site security, but he was untried in the field. Anything could happen. Glancing at him now, Chris was no longer his usual exuberant self but appeared to be quietly focused. Not knowing him well enough, he could not tell if that was due to nerves, determination, or just plain wishing he were somewhere else. Sighing, he considered asking Chris to stay behind in the car, but if Clay successfully shut down the security, the extra pair of hands would be good.
Even with all that on his mind, he still had to consider that part of a mission’s success was due to luck. He just hoped his held as he and Chris made their way through the building.
Just as planned, they had stopped approximately five miles from their destination and contacted Josh. Once Clay had disabled all outer security measures the FLA had, they moved forward, parking far away from the building. Both dressed in all black, they moved silently toward one of the back doors.
Once he received the signal from Josh that Clay had disabled the security of the building, including the inside, he moved them through the door. He had gone over the instructions with Chris numerous times and was pleased to see that he was following them to the letter.
Using night vision goggles, he led the way down a long hall. The building was only one story and the inside was void of any personality. No pictures on the wall, no carpet, no indication of what went on inside at all. There were several doors standing open from the hall. Peering into the first one, it looked like the room in which he had been taken. It still held the same empty desk and two chairs that had been there previously. Stepping across the hall, they entered what appeared to be a real office. With a nod toward Chris, he indicated for him to download all of the information from the computer. As Chris went to work, Eric took the opportunity to look through the office.
Using a special lamp that would illuminate fingerprints, he found several clear sets on the desk. Pulling out strips of special fingerprint lifting tape, he collected the samples, not being encumbered with using dusting powder. Slipping those into his pocket, he moved over to a filing cabinet and unlocked it easily but found it to be mostly empty. Flipping through a few of the files, he snapped pictures, not taking the time to examine each one.
Chris indicated that he was finished with the computer, and they slipped back out of the room. There were three other rooms that they examined, two other offices and what appeared to be a workroom. He noted few furnishings and nothing personal from anyone who might be working there. He could see the question in Chris’ eyes, but shook his head, having warned him not to speak while they were in the building.
After Chris had extracted all the data that he could from the computers and, sending a signal to Josh, they moved back out of the building, securing it as before. Stealthily walking through the darkness back to their vehicle, they drove away, once more alerting Clay to re-secure the building behind them.
They drove in silence for several miles, Chris unusually quiet in the passenger seat. Not used to asking a team member how they were doing, Eric nonetheless looked to the side as they drove back to Manhattan. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Chris said, his voice strangely unanimated.
They continued in silence for several more miles, and then Chris finally said, “Was that good? I mean, was that a normal mission?”
Unsure what Chris was getting at, he replied, “Yeah, that was good. We got in, we got what we came for, we got out. That’s about the best a mission can go.” Turning to look at Chris again, he asked, “Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just thought I’d be more elated. I was excited about going in, but then, to be perfectly honest, I was nervous as fuck when we got in there. Then we got out, and I don’t know that we actually, really got anything important for all our trouble.”
“Right now, I’m just pleased as fuck we got in and got out,” Eric told him. “I did get some fingerprints, which I’ll send back to DHS, and you’ll send the computer information to Josh and Clay.”
“You’re right,” Chris agreed, sighing heavily. “I think being a little scared probably just surprised me.”
He heard the sound of defeat in Chris’ voice, and added, “Look, Chris, you did good. I was worried, but you did everything I asked. And, I have to admit, with you going in with me, we were able to get things done a lot quicker. For a job like this, quick is best.”
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up to the hotel, and Chris’ good mood had returned. Looking over at him, Chris grinned widely. “This job has been my first real taste of fieldwork and tonight was my first real adventure on a mission. Thanks, man.” Climbing out of the vehicle, he said, “I know you’ve got somewhere you’d rather be tonight, and that’s cool. Do whatever you want to do, and don’t worry about me, Eric. I’ve got everything we collected, and I’ll make sure it gets to Josh.”
Anxious to get to Lydia and glad to see Chris more like himself, he smiled, and said, “Thanks to you, too. See you tomorrow.”
16
Eric drove to Lydia’s house and pulled into the driveway. Her house was dark except for the porch light, which illuminated the front. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was two a.m., and he hesitated for a moment, pondering his options. He knew it would not be hard to pick her lock and enter quietly but wondered about explaining how a journalist would know how to pick a lock. Also, the idea of frightening her was not something he wanted to do. Nor, explaining his actions to the police, should she awaken and dial 9-1-1.
Deciding to take her at her word, he grabbed his phone and pressed the autodial for her number, which he had saved. It rang twice before she answered.
A mumbled “Eric?” was heard, and he was unable to keep the grin from his face. “Hey, babe. Is it too late?”
“Uh-uh. It’s fine. You can come on over,” she muttered.
“Good, because I’m already here.” He got out of his vehicle and walked up the steps. “Can you make it to the front door?”
“Uh-huh.”
The phone line went dead, and he stood for a moment at her front door, uncertain if she had gone back to sleep or was actually making it down the hall. Finally, hearing the latch flip, he turned the knob and opened the door. The sight of a sleepy Lydia, wavy hair tousled about her head and dressed in pink pajama bottoms with a matching camisole, was exactly what he wanted to see.
The idea of what it might be like to come home to her every evening hit him like a punch to the gut. His breath left his lungs quickly, and he was glad that she had stepped forward and slid her arms around him, resting her head on his chest, because he was uncertain that he was able to move.
With her cheek against his heartbeat, he managed to slide his arms around her, encircling her protectively. He knew that she was mostly asleep, but even in that state she had moved instinctively into his arms. Before he gave too much thought about that, he kissed the top of her head, and said softly, “Come on, babe. Let’s get you back to bed.”
She mumbled something incoherent, and he felt her nod against his chest. Grinning, he turned her to face the hall, and with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, led
her back to the bedroom. He had brought a change of clothing and as they entered the bedroom, he tossed his small bag to the side. Kissing the top of her head again, he said, “You get in bed, I’ll be right there.”
He stayed long enough to make sure that she actually made it to the bed before he walked into the bathroom. Quickly taking care of his business, he flipped off the light and padded over to the bed, peering down. Moonlight was coming through the slatted blinds, casting a slight illumination over her. Now her long waves were covering the pillow, and her face was relaxed in sleep. Lying on her side, her hands were tucked under her cheek as though in prayer. He stood, admiring her angelic pose, once again desiring to prolong their relationship beyond just the couple of days that were left.
Sighing at his wayward thoughts, he slid under the covers with her. Curving his body around her back, he tucked her tightly into his embrace. The scent of her shampoo filled his nostrils, already familiar. Closing his eyes, he memorized the feel of her in his arms, wanting to be able to take her with him when he left, in memory if not in reality.
As with most nights after a mission, he assumed he would find sleep eventually, but not right away. But tonight, with Lydia sleeping soundly in his arms, he closed his eyes and soon drifted away.
The next morning, Lydia stood in her driveway and kissed Eric, wanting nothing more than to grab his hand and run back inside. She had no memory of opening the front door to him in the wee hours, which caused her a certain amount of consternation, but waking up that morning feeling his warm heat against her back again made her wish for more mornings like that. Morning sex. A shared shower. Conversation and laughter over breakfast.
It had been hard when Caroline left, knowing that loneliness was going to become her constant companion. Caroline had even talked about wanting her to find someone special to share her life with. And now she had found someone that made her heart race…and it was only temporary.
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