Private Eye

by Katrina Jackson

  He smiled, his heart swelling. “I’ll lick it off your lips,” he said, his entire body hot at the sight of her. This was more than he’d ever dreamed.

  ***

  Kenny was tiptoeing into his apartment once again. He and Maya had fallen asleep on the couch again. But this time he let himself carry her to bed. He’d sat on the edge of her mattress, stroking her arm for a few minutes before he’d finally decided to leave. He hadn’t wanted to presume that she wanted him to spend the night. Sure, they’d had that nap, but that was a far cry from a season pass under her sheets. He wished he had asked her if he could stay before they’d started watching that two-star Bodyguard knock-off.

  “Was it good?” Chanté asked, her voice full of glee.

  He sighed and turned toward her. “Why are you up? Again?”

  “Waiting for you,” she said with a shrug.

  “Are you serious?”

  She managed at least ten seconds of seriousness before she dissolved into giggles. “I’m kidding. I’m packing.”

  Kenny’s frown froze on his face. “What?”

  Her smile widened at his question, but he knew Chanté well enough to recognize the tension at the corners of her eyes. And for the past five years he’d associated that look with Asif.

  “What did he do?”

  “Nothing,” Chanté said. “But he’s coming.”

  He put his hands on his hips and began to pace the length of their living room. “Why?”

  “With Lane in West Virginia, you need someone else who can help with infiltrating Mehmeti’s club.”

  “You’re an actual dancer,” Kenny droned.

  “A dancer with a schedule so packed I’ll be flitting around the world for the next year,” she said with a shameless smile and flip of her long, curly hair. “Say it.”

  He rolled his eyes, “No. Okay, maybe we need Asif, he’s pretty good on surveillance.”

  “He’s great at surveillance, you know that.”

  Kenny ignored her, “Don’t we still need you to hack into the computer?”

  “Well duh,” she said. “But I can do that from anywhere once you all give me direct access to his machine. When it’s time, Monica knows how to get a hold of me.”

  Kenny shook his head and stalked into the kitchen, standing across the island, glaring at her, “But isn’t being with Asif what you want?”

  She seemed to think about that for a few seconds. She walked around the island to stand next to him. She put her head on his bicep, since she was too short to reach his shoulder. “I don’t know why I can’t get over him. He’s not worth my time.”

  “You got that right,” Kenny breathed in aggravation.

  “But I love him,” Chanté whispered. “I can’t help it.”

  “So why are you leaving?”

  She sounded so impossibly sad when she spoke, “Because now’s not the time for us. And I’m not willing to let him hurt me again.”

  Kenny’s breath was hard and he was frowning down at the marble countertop, not wanting to frighten Chanté with his fury. But fuck if he didn’t hate Asif for pushing his tiny but larger-than-life best friend to such a sad, whispered admission at two in the morning. She deserved so much more than that and Kenny could hardly contain his own frustration.

  “Ken Doll,” she whispered, her hands settling on his forearms. “Look at me.”

  When he did, he saw her the way he always did, as that round-faced first year in short shorts and glasses with a Capri Sun in her hand and a mischievous glint in her eye.

  “Where are you going?” He finally asked.

  She smiled. “Tracy wants to take me to Mexico.”

  He smiled in spite of himself. “I like her for you.”

  She shrugged, “Don’t get attached. I don’t.”

  Except the one time she did.

  He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair. “Hey, can you do me a favor?” He asked.

  She smiled. “Anything. You know that?”

  He went to the refrigerator and took out a near empty bag of sugar. Chanté frowned at him, confused. He reached inside and pulled out a plastic bag with a charred cell phone inside. He handed it over.

  “What’s this?”

  “Last month, I was on a job that went left. I don’t know why and that’s all I have to show for it. I’ve been waiting to give it to you. Whatever you can get off it would help,” he finished.

  “You know I love riddles,” she breathed, turning the phone over in her hands.

  “I know.”

  “Why me? Why not one of the hackers The Agency officially employs?”

  “Because you’re better,” Kenny said honestly. Chanté smiled up at him. “And also because no one should have even known I was there. It was a nothing job.”

  Chanté’s face cleared and she nodded. “Got it.”

  “How much?” He asked.

  She patted him on the cheek, “How many times do I have to tell you that you can’t afford me.”

  He covered her hand on his face. “Don’t get arrested,” he implored her with a smile.

  “I’ll try,” she giggled. And then she leaned back to look at him. “Next time I see you, you and Maya better be Instagram official.”

  “I can’t have an Instagram, Chanté.” He rolled his eyes.

  “It’s a turn of phrase. You know what I mean. Lock that down.”

  “Ew,” he said. “Come on, let’s get you packed.” He offered her his arm and she took it.

  “I really like Maya,” she said as they walked toward her bedroom.

  “So do I,” he breathed.

  “Well, fucking duh. Who wouldn’t be head over heels for a girl with an ass like that? I’ll marry her, if you don’t.”

  He exhaled, “You really can’t stop yourself, can you?”

  She shrugged, “I don’t even try.”

  “I hope you bought yourself something really big with his money,” Kenny breathed.

  Chanté’s smile was dangerous and expensive, “It’s really small actually. He’s gonna be pissed when he gets that receipt.”

  twelve

  Kenny was starting to regret leaving Maya’s apartment last night. It was the right thing to do, he knew that. But Chanté had kept him up half the night packing a surprising amount of clothes and tech for what had only been a few weeks’ pit stop. By the time she was on her way, he decided to go for his regular run and head into Command. His eyes lingered on Maya’s front door each time he passed. But he had a smile on his face that lasted right until he walked into Monica’s kitchen.

  “Kenny,” Asif called as if they were old friends.

  Kenny stopped short and frowned. “You’re here already?”

  “I was in the neighborhood actually,” he said, his thick Boston accent grating on Kenny’s nerves.

  “Why?”

  “I’ve been tracking down some suspicious purchases from my account. Have you seen Chanté?”

  Monica and Kierra both sipped their cups of coffee. Monica’s eyes were blank but Kierra’s jumped excitedly between the two men.

  “Not in months,” he said with a shrug.

  “Sure about that?” Asif’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  “Last time I saw Chanté she hadn’t slept in almost three days from crying because you left her in Berlin without even bothering to say goodbye,” Kenny ground out. “I’m very fucking sure.”

  Asif at least had the almost decency to look embarrassed, but almost was all Asif could handle and it was never going to be enough as far as Kenny was concerned. Not enough for Chanté. His hands flexed at his side.

  “Well then,” Kierra cut in, “I’m gonna go pick up Maya and uh, hurry back here for the briefing.”

  “Good,” Monica said. They all waited as Kierra scurried from the kitchen. When she was gone, Monica spoke, “Is this going to be a problem?” She gestured between them.

  “I’m fine,” Asif said, his voice light and airy as usual.

  “So am I,” Kenny
hissed.

  “Perfect. Now let’s get this mission underway,” she said, walking toward the pantry.

  Asif grinned at him, big and confident and smug. Kenny glared and clenched his fists.

  He marveled that it had only been a few hours since he’d woken up with Maya’s head on his shoulder and her body curled into his side. It felt like weeks had passed and he missed her.

  He should have grabbed a pillow and hunkered down on the floor next to her bed, he thought, hating himself for not thinking of it sooner.

  ***

  Asif knew Kenny was lying. There was no fucking way someone buying designer purses and size five-and-a-half shoes (Chanté’s exact size!) in the same city where Kierra, Monica, Lane and Kenny were currently set up could ever be a coincidence. He knew his pint-sized pickpocket was somewhere nearby, and he was going to find her. But in the meantime, he was perfectly willing to bring down the Albanian mob. It sounded fun!

  “So what you’re telling me,” Asif said, cutting into Monica’s brief of the mission thus far, “is that Captain America over there catfished this Amazon – who’s way the fuck outta your league, by the way,” he leaned over to aim at Kenny. “And you’re not going to report him? And,” he yelled, “she gave him a world class blowjob last night, but nobody recorded it?” He laughed while shaking his head, “This place is bizarro world. You’re all gonna get fired for fraternizing with yet another civilian, and that woman is a saint.”

  “I’m gonna break your nose,” Kenny hissed.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s a fucking promise.”

  “Oh,” Asif sat up straight in his chair, a broad smile on his face, “I like new Kenny.”

  “Will you both shut the fuck up,” Monica yelled. She might not have actually raised her voice, but it definitely boomed.

  They sat back in their seats like chastened children. Asif turned his head to smile at Kenny, who glared back. Oh good, he thought to himself, this is far from over.

  “As I was saying,” Monica continued, “Now that we know where Joseph Mehmeti is and we have an invitation inside his club, we need to move forward as if we’re only going to have one shot inside.”

  “One shot inside to do what?” Asif asked.

  “Our orders are to apprehend Joseph and turn him over to a black ops team for interrogation.”

  Kenny exhaled an angry breath. For once Asif agreed.

  “So this fucker has been buying guns from terrorist cells in Russia and selling them to white supremacists and they’re sending us in to arrest him?” Asif scoffed and dropped his head to inspect his perfectly manicured nails. “On second thought, I might actually be busy.”

  “We also need to clone his hard drive so we can track his global contacts. We need to know exactly who he’s been arming.”

  When Asif looked up, Monica was watching him. She’d said those words to pique his interest; dangle the hope of Chanté. It worked. “We’d need a hacker for that,” he breathed.

  “We will.”

  He clapped his hands together and stood. “Well fuck, why didn’t you say so. Count me in.” He put his hands in his pockets and leaned across the table to whisper to Kenny, “Tell my little rabbit that I’m coming for her and I hope she bought a very slinky dress to match those shoes.”

  Kenny pushed up from the table and Asif laughed. There were few things more exhilarating than pissing Kenny off. Well, at least when Chanté wasn’t around.

  Kenny’s face was red with fury and he was taking deep breaths to calm himself. When he finally spoke, however, Asif’s glee seemed to seep out of his pores. “I wonder,” Kenny said in an eerily calm voice, “if the person making those suspicious purchases from your account has bought anything recently.”

  Asif’s entire body stilled. Dread washed over him. He tore his eyes away from Kenny and pulled his phone from his pocket. He logged into his banking app, which Chanté always found a way to hack no matter how many times he changed his password or how random the string of numbers, letters and symbols, and not even now that he’d instituted a two-factor authentication system with a biometric screening. All of which he’d changed almost a week ago after a very expensive pair of shoes had been bought by someone in New Jersey from a custom boutique in Milan. The shoes were neon pink with crystals up the ankle strap. He’d seen a picture. They were absolutely Chanté’s style and they would look fucking fantastic on her.

  “What the fuck?” He yelled. He looked from Kenny’s smiling face to Monica’s impassive glare. “She bought a diamond encrusted thong!?”

  Kenny fell back into his chair howling with laughter.

  Monica locked eyes with him and said seriously, “Please never tell Kierra or Lane that’s a thing.”

  ***

  Maya thought she’d be waking up to Kenny’s arms wrapped around her. Not Kierra leaning over her with a smug smile on her face.

  Maya rolled her eyes and ducked her head under her covers. “Go away!”

  But Kierra just plopped down on the bed and stretched out next to her. Her friend’s short body was a poor replacement for Kenny’s. Maya peeked over the edge of her comforter and glared.

  “Was it so good he put you to sleep or were you two up all night going at it like rabbits?” She raised her hands and crossed her index and middle fingers, “I know what I’m hoping for.”

  Maya growled and threw the covers off of her. “If you must know, we watched a romcom and ate the rest of the ice cream.”

  Kierra sprang up and glared down at Maya, “Bitch, if you ate my berry crumble-”

  Maya smirked, “All gone.”

  The two best friends had never really fought, but Kierra’s eyes were full of murder. She was so small. If forced, Maya was certain she could take her. They were both momentarily sizing each other up when Kierra seemed to think better of her odds and pushed from the bed, staring down at her friend. Her arms were crossed.

  “I’m going to let that slide,” she said in a restrained voice, “but only because I’m moving out thanks to you.”

  “No one told you to start banging your bosses and fall in love, little bit.” Maya yawned and stretched. “How soon?”

  Kierra shrugged, “Don’t know. Lane’s gone silent wherever he is. At least with me.”

  Maya sat up in bed, “Is everything…”

  She shrugged again, “Monica says he’s fine. But I don’t really know.”

  “I’m sorry, short stack.”

  “It’s okay,” she breathed, and turned away with a surreptitious swipe of her hand along her cheek. She turned back to look at Maya with a raised eyebrow, “I mean, it would have been nice to eat my feelings in ice cream this morning-”

  “But you can’t. Oh well.”

  “You’re terrible, you know that?”

  “I try. Why are you in my room?”

  Kierra’s eyes lit up, “Oh yeah, I’m here to get you for a briefing.”

  Maya lowered her eyes and tried to sound nonchalant. “Why’d they send you?” She whispered.

  Now a good friend might have been sympathetic and answered Maya’s question directly and lovingly, noticing the apprehension in her voice. And Kierra was a good friend. But Maya could accept that she had eaten the rest of her pint of ice cream. So really, when Kierra started cackling, she guessed she deserved the response she got.

  “I fucking knew you liked him! That blowjob last night must have been damn good. Girl, maybe you should teach a class!”

  Maya threw one of her pillows at Kierra’s head. It made contact. Kierra did not stop laughing.

  Not at all the morning Maya had been expecting.

  ***

  Monica had led lots of different kinds of teams on all kinds of missions. The trick, she had learned over time, was not to choose the best technical agents or the agents who always got along. Her style had always been to construct her teams based on who was willing to do exactly what she said, when she said it. It was too much to hope for the kind of devotion Lane
gave her, but he was her benchmark. Would an agent run into a burning building if she told him to? No? Then he could fuck off and work with someone else. Yes? Great, now listen up: she would never send anyone into a burning building unless she went in first. She needed people who could follow her orders and watch her back until the bitter end if necessary. This kind of leadership had inspired an incredible amount of loyalty over the years.

  But she had also come to realize that the people who had proven to be loyal to her were not particularly loyal to one another, or at least not in any demonstrable way other than as a mission imperative. So her best team was usually a sarcastic comment – probably from Lane – away from a full-on implosion at the best of times. And this did not feel like the best of times, she thought as she glared across the conference table at Kenny and Asif. Both great agents and both utterly useless if one of them decided to shoot the other.

  “We’re heeeere,” Kierra called from the foyer as if they weren’t spies planning a secret mission. She stopped in the doorway and fixed Monica with an impish smile and fluttered her eyelashes.

  Monica sighed, “Is your skirt shorter than when you left?”

  Kierra smiled and clapped her hands, “I hiked it up, thanks for noticing.” Monica really missed Lane in that moment.

  “Move, smurf,” Maya said from the hallway and Kierra pitched forward.

  As soon as Maya stepped into the doorway Kenny stood up, his ears reddening and a stupid grin spreading across his lips.

  “Hi there, sweet girl,” Asif said to Kierra as she bounded across the room to Monica.

  She stopped in her tracks and frowned down at him. “If you call me that again, I’ll have Chanté buy a small island with your money,” she hissed. And then collected herself, “Wherever she is.” She walked to the front of the room to plant a small kiss on Monica’s cheek, her hand slowly stroking Monica’s clenched fists, urging her to relax.

  “Hi,” Kenny breathed.

  “Hi,” Maya said with a blush.

  “Well, isn’t this sweet,” Asif said with bared teeth.

  Kenny’s back stiffened but he kept his eyes on Maya as she walked toward him. She turned to Asif.