by Diana X Dunn
It was Michael’s turn to smile for a moment. “You are absolutely correct,” he said smoothly. “You do deserve an explanation. I would hope, after everything that you’ve seen of Diana’s life, that you have some understanding of what she does and who she is?”
Alex nodded tightly.
“I’m her immediate supervisor. My name is Michael,” he continued. “I was part of the training group that trained Diana, and I’ve been working with her ever since. She is far and away one of the best agents we have and I would do anything to protect her. Anything.”
Alex nodded again. Michael shook his head. “It seems that Diana has attracted the attention of a very determined criminal,” he told Alex. “One that is slowly but surely building up something of an empire in the criminal underworld.”
“What, like some cartoon or movie super villain? Does he have a white cat that he strokes while he plans his evil moves?”
Michael frowned. “I can assure you, Mr. Knight, that I am not joking. The man we are dealing with has an interest in a number of different markets, for lack of a better word. He deals in areas such as human trafficking, drug dealing, and murder for hire. He is very quickly making a name for himself in those specialties and more. He’s managed, over the last three months or so, to eliminate a number of his former competitors in each of those areas, and is now becoming one of a very few providers of certain specialist services.”
Alex shook his head. “What does that have to do with Diana?”
Michael frowned again. “We don’t know,” he told Alex. “He left her a letter once, in which he revealed that he knew a great deal about her. The letter tonight looks very similar and once our team has checked it out thoroughly and we can read it, we can determine if it is, indeed, from him as well.”
“And if it is?”
“I don’t know,” Michael admitted. “I’ll need to meet with my superiors to discuss a strategy for the future. If it is from him, then he’s aware of her latest identity change. That would be unfortunate. Diana can’t keep changing identities every other day, but she can’t be effective if someone knows who she is either.” Michael sighed in frustration. “I’m not sure what we will do next.”
“So it all depends on what is in that letter?” Alex verified.
“Pretty much,” Michael agreed.
Alex smiled and then sat down on one of the chairs in front of Michael’s desk. “This could be interesting,” he remarked as he looked from Diana to Michael and back.
Michael chuckled. “I’m sorry, Alex, really I am,” he told other man, “but you’re not staying to see what is in that letter.”
Alex opened his mouth to argue, but Diana put her hand on his arm. She sat down in the other seat and looked into his eyes. “Alex, please,” she began. “This is my job and something that Michael and I need to deal with. If the letter is from him then we have a serious security issue to sort out. The last thing we need is anyone here from the outside while we try to do that. You need to go home and forget everything you heard from the taxi ride on.”
Alex shook his head. He took Diana’s hands in his. “I’m worried about you,” he told her.
“I’m worried about me, too,” she admitted. “And I’m worried about you and everyone else who is important to me. This man is ruthless and determined and he wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap you or kill you if he thought he could get to me in that way.” She blew out a long breath. “I think you should get out now,” she told him. “Run away from me as fast as you can.”
Alex just looked at her for a minute before he pulled gently on her hands and brought her closer to him. Then he kissed her very softly. After a moment, he released her and stood up.
“I’m going because you asked nicely,” he told Diana, “but I expect you to tell me what is in that letter, at least as much as you can. I don’t know what it is about you, but I’m not ready to give up on you yet. Come and see me later, when you and the boss have figured out what happens next.” He tipped his head and studied her again. “I think I could really go for a redhead,” he teased, getting a chuckle from both Diana and Michael.
Michael buzzed for a member of the security team to escort Alex out of the building and take him home. Then he and Diana sat wordlessly and anxiously in his office, waiting for the letter to be tested for fingerprints, DNA, contaminates and explosives. Once that was done, they could finally read it.
The man from the lab was brief. “There were no fingerprints on the envelope or the letter,” he told them when he delivered the now opened letter to Michael’s office. “There was no DNA or any other type of contaminate on or in any part of the letter or envelope, except on parts of the envelope that were in the agent’s handbag. We picked up a few satin-like fabric fibers from those parts of the envelope.” Diana nodded. It was unfortunate that her bag had contaminated the envelope, but there was no safer way to get it to the lab.
The technician continued. “The paper is not especially unique, but it is very expensive. It comes in a stationery set with the matching envelopes in at least a dozen shops in the New York area. The letter and envelope were written on with a single type of ink, from an old-fashioned fountain-type pen. Again, expensive but not especially rare. I located fifteen outlets for that sort of pen in the New York area, seven of which also stock the paper. The last time we saw this paper and ink combination was in the letter that we took from Julia Randall’s apartment a few months ago.”
Michael frowned. So the letter was definitely from the same source, but they hadn’t been able to get any more information from it this time than before. Diana had been hoping for something more this time around. The technician apologized for the poor results, but it wasn’t his fault. Obviously, whomever they were dealing with was very clever and understood exactly how much scrutiny would be applied to his letter.
Diana and Michael sat together and stared at the letter, now completely encased in sealed plastic, on Michael’s desk.
“We’d better read it,” Michael said reluctantly.
“I guess,” Diana agreed. She leaned forward and picked it up. Michael stood up from his chair and came to stand behind her, to read over her shoulder.
My Dear Julia,
(Again, I hope you don’t mind me addressing you as Julia. I suppose I should call you Suzy, as that is who you have been most lately, but somehow, to me, you remain Julia.)
I was very happy to buy you and your friend Mr. Knight dinner tonight. You both deserve many congratulations for your very clever solving of those unfortunate murders. I was beginning to get very worried about things on board The Mirage and then at SunInc. My man on the spot seemed totally incapable of figuring out who the murderer was, and I eventually realized that he was nowhere near as much of an asset to me as I had originally thought.
I suppose I should thank you for helping me to discover that before I had entrusted him with anything more complicated than the simple monitoring of our good friend Maximilian Hart.
I do hope that our paths cross again very soon. I’m immensely enjoying having the opportunity to watch you work and play.
Kindest regards,
Rex
P.S. I have that photo of you next to my bed. The one where you’re looking directly at the security camera in the Paris museum. I was so very disappointed that you wore the screening veil. It did rather ruin the photo that I’d worked so hard to set up.
Diana blew out a slow breath, not trusting herself to speak. Michael took the letter from her hands and sat back down behind his desk.
“I’m not even sure where to begin,” he said to Diana.
“I think I need a vacation,” Diana answered him.
Seventeen
August 2120
Diana stretched out on yet another reclining sun lounger and reached for a drink. Something fizzy and purple sparkled in the bright sunshine as she took a deep swallow. The tall clear glass was covered in condensation from the icy cold of the drink. Diana sighed as she felt the frigid liquid hit
her stomach.
Alex reached across the small space that separated his chair from hers. “Stop sighing,” he told her gently, as he took her hand. “You’re on vacation, remember? You are supposed to be having fun.”
Diana forced herself to resist sighing yet again. The last place she wanted to be was on vacation. She looked around the glamorous resort that reminded her too much of SunInc. It was much nicer, and much more expensive than that honeymoon hot spot, but the sun, the sand, the beach, the exotic drinks, they were all the same, whichever tropical island you happened to be sitting on.
“You’re miserable, aren’t you?” Alex asked, his tone non-confrontational.
“I wouldn’t say miserable,” Diana countered. “I’m just not very good at vacations.” She thought for a moment. “I think this might be the first one I’ve ever had, actually.”
Alex shook his head. “Maybe you need more practice,” he suggested. “Let’s see, we’ve done the lying around in bed until noon thing, and the eat and drink too much thing. Maybe tomorrow we should try squeezing in a bunch of activities that neither of us really wants to do, but are included in our all-inclusive package.”
Diana laughed in spite of herself. “What, like snorkeling or swimming with sharks?”
“Yeah, why not?”
Diana shook her head. “I think I would rather try the lying around in bed until noon thing again,” she whispered to him.
Alex gave her a sexy grin. “That’s my favorite part, too.”
Diana settled back in her chair and picked up her M-ped. She flipped through her messages, stopping and tensing when she saw one from Michael.
Alex was still watching her, and now he sighed. “What does Michael want now?” he asked unhappily.
Diana read through the message twice before she answered. “He hopes we’re having fun,” she told him.
“And?” Alex asked. “I’m sure that isn’t all he wanted.”
Diana chuckled. “No, not exactly,” she agreed. She wasn’t sure how much more to tell him. Security was even more of an issue now than it ever had been, but she really wanted to tell him everything, if nothing else, than because he was potentially in danger because of Rex.
“So?” Alex asked.
“The agency is still trying to work out exactly what to do next,” Diana told him slowly. “It looks like I’m going to be on vacation for at least a few more days.”
“Hurray!” Alex said, lifting his glass and clinking it gently against hers. Diana didn’t share his excitement.
“The biggest problem that they have is that, if Rex isn’t inside our agency, he has to have someone in his employ that is,” Diana continued quietly. Alex sobered instantly and frowned.
“Are they sure?”
“Based on the information in both letters, it seems clear that someone within the agency is supplying him with information and possibly more. It’s perhaps more likely that he himself works within our agency,” Diana told him grimly. She had her own ideas about likely candidates for the role of Rex, but Michael didn’t want to hear any more about M10 and Diana’s dislike and suspicion of him.
Michael was actually more inclined to cast a suspicious eye at Alex when considering suspects for the role of Rex. Diana refused to listen to Michael’s arguments on that subject.
“They’ve discovered who was working for Rex on board The Mirage as well,” Diana continued.
“Really? Who?” Diana had told Alex about that part of Rex’s message, since it was important that Alex know that he could not trust anyone who had been on The Mirage until they discovered which of the guests had actually been in Rex’s employ.
Diana grinned at him. “Peter Palmer,” she replied.
“I knew I didn’t like him,” Alex announced. “Didn’t I say that I didn’t like him?”
“Well, you said you thought he was a murderer,” Diana replied. “I guess that counts as not liking him.”
“How did they discover it was him?”
“He disappeared the day after Captain Grayson was arrested,” Diana told him. “His body washed up off the coast of SunInc yesterday.
“That should keep Luke busy for a while,” Alex remarked.
“Apparently Luke is no longer running the homicide department at SunInc,” Diana said innocently. “He left SunInc to take on a different position elsewhere. The new head of homicide agrees with the coroner who ruled it death by accidental drowning.”
Alex scoffed. “No way,” he insisted.
“Apparently the body was badly decomposed, and had to be identified by DNA sampling, but there are a number of very credible witnesses who have voluntarily and independently come forward to tell the police that Peter was drinking and taking a lot of drugs on the night the captain was arrested. Apparently several of them heard him say that he was going to take a walk down to the dock to quote ‘wave good-bye to Max Hart and his snooty friends.’ The general consensus among the witnesses is that he was drunk, drugged and despondent. If he was depressed enough, he could have chosen to end his own life, but the police seem to favor the idea that he simply fell in and was too drunk to get himself back out.”
“And that’s it? Someone killed him and gets away with it?” Alex demanded.
“Why are you so sure he was murdered?”
“I thought you said that Rex eliminated him?”
“I said that Rex said he was grateful to me for revealing that Peter was less capable than he had thought he was, but Rex didn’t say that he got rid of him. Maybe Peter was despondent because Rex had fired him.”
Alex shook his head. “Master criminals don’t fire people,” he told her.
Diana smiled. “I suspect you’re right, but there is nothing we can do about it. Apparently Peter didn’t have any family or many close friends. He left his company to a distant relative that he’d never actually met. There isn’t anyone to insist on a full investigation, not when all of the evidence clearly points to an accident.”
“I didn’t like him, and he was working for a criminal, but it still isn’t fair that his murderer gets away with it.”
Diana nodded. “I know, and I agree, but the agency is focused on finding Rex, and once we do that, we’ll have the murderer. Not that I think that Rex did the actual dirty work, but he certainly hired the talent who took care of it.”
Alex nodded slowly. “So how do we find Rex?”
Diana shook her head. “There is no we in this,” she told Alex. “Finding Rex is in my job description, not yours.”
“I don’t want to argue about this,” Alex told her. “I want to help. I should have the right to help. I’m involved with you.”
“You can’t,” Diana said softly. “I really appreciate your concern and your willingness to put yourself in danger for me and all of that, but this is a job for me and my agency.”
“Your agency, the one that is probably hiding Rex inside it?”
“My agency,” Diana told him. “That is going to figure this all out very soon so that I can have a life back.”
“A life, not your life?” Alex questioned.
Diana grinned. “You know that my life is one constant variable.”
Alex shook his head. “I hate your job.”
“I know,” Diana said sadly, “but it’s who I am.”
“I know,” Alex said sadly, “and here is the worst part, I love who you are.”
Diana took a deep breath. She had been expecting the words, but they still surprised her.
“Stop freaking out,” he told her, taking her hand. “I don’t expect you to appreciate how I feel or to reciprocate my feelings, but I had to tell you.”
Diana squeezed his hand tightly. “I really do appreciate how you feel,” she told him. “I’m flattered and a little in awe of emotions, especially love. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt it, and I don’t know if I ever will. I’ve spent my whole life guarding against emotions like that.”
Alex frowned. “Didn’t you love anyone who took care of you when
you were a child?”
“The people who looked after us, took care of us, raised us, they were continually changing,” Diana explained. “The agency thought it was best if we didn’t develop an attachment to any one person at any time.”
“That is so sad and so wrong,” Alex told her, pulling her hard so that she fell on top of him on his chair. She wriggled around until she was snuggled up on his lap comfortably.
“It didn’t seem that bad to us,” she assured him. “It was all that we knew.”
“That’s horrible.”
Diana shrugged. “I did love one of the other girls, actually. She was like a sister to me.”
“Where is she now?”
“A job she was on went wrong. It happens. We all know the risks. That’s one of the reasons why we don’t fall in love.”
Alex sighed. “You’re just playing with me.”
“I do care about you, but you know I can’t promise you anything beyond today.”
“I hate your job.”
Diana knew her job was going to come between them eventually, probably very soon. For today, though, she could simply enjoy the man’s company. Maybe being on vacation wasn’t such a bad thing, she thought as she sipped her drink from the circle of Alex’s arms.
Also by Diana X. Dunn
Just This Once
Adopted by an international multi-governmental agency that doesn't officially exist, her only genuine identity is "F6" - the sixth female baby adopted into the program. Now she changes identities regularly, moving through the world completing top-secret missions and keeping her distance.
A chance meeting with a handsome stranger tempts her to lower her guard. A second encounter turns up the heat until he finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation being conducted by one of F6's former lovers. Now F6 finds herself using her skills and training to help a friend in trouble. Something she has never done before. Something she's prepared to do just this once.
