Undercover with the Hottie (Investigating the Hottie)

by Alexander, Juli

  “That's kind of sad.”

  I grinned up at him, and he leaned in close enough that I could smell his yummy guy shampoo. Then he kissed me on the cheek.

  “What about me?” he asked.

  What? “Huh?” My mind was fuzzed up with thoughts of warm kisses and sunshine. What was Will talking about?

  He tweaked me on the chin. “What kind of toy would I be?”

  “Oh. Um...” I couldn't think of anything but him. Lips, smile, blue eyes... huggable, strong arms, and soft kisses.

  “Amanda, what are you thinking about?”

  I looked from his lips to his eyes. Like the beckoning water of the Caribbean I'd seen in countless movies, his eyes drew me in. Christie and I used to watch a couple of movies that had horrid plots just because of the ocean and island scenes. I should tell her that his eyes reminded me of... My thoughts of romance screeched to a halt. How could I seriously be mooning over Will and his hottiness when Christie was missing!

  With a gasp, I turned to look across the room where Nic paced back and forth listening to his earpiece. I couldn't stand here and flirt while Christie was in trouble. “Why haven't they told us anything yet? This is taking too long.”

  “Let's give them fifteen more minutes,” Will said. “They must be close to getting the info we need.”

  I started to stress so badly that I wondered if the top of my head could actually blow right off to relieve the pressure. I didn't want to leave a mess of brains for GASI to clean off the ceiling, so I tried to relax. “I'm going to pace,” I said as I walked halfway to Nic and then turned around and made a circle around the space. I seriously was going to jump out of my skin. Waiting had never been my strong suit.

  “Should I walk with you?” Will asked when I got closer to him.

  “I wouldn't recommend it,” I said. I didn't explain the exploding head theory or the skin-jumping fear. He didn't need to imagine me that way any more than he needed to be covered in the fallout from my brains.

  “Are you okay?” Will asked on my next lap.

  “No, Will. I think that answer is pretty obvious.”

  “So you're not okay?”

  In another two seconds, I was going to have to ask if there was a gym in the building so I could go wrestle Will and work off some of the nervous energy. They should have a punching bag up here. And boxing mitts.

  Finally, Nic gave a thumbs up and took out his earpiece. “We've got him.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “We do?” I asked, rushing over to him.

  “You've confirmed it?” Will asked.

  “We tracked him to a roach motel near Times Square. The desk clerk confirmed that he was in his room, and we have agents stationed at the exits.”

  “Is Christie there?” I asked.

  “It's highly likely. We're going to proceed as if she is. If she isn't, we'll take him into custody. We haven't been able to confirm if the second attacker, the woman, has been in the motel as well. We'll go in with enough force to take control quickly.”

  “We're going, right?” I asked. “You can't leave us out of this.”

  “Amanda,” he said, sounding exasperated, “if we could use you two as a way to minimize likelihood of violence, I would. But this guy very likely knows who you are.”

  Section Chief Jobson came out of his office. “We have emptied the room next door to the suspect. We're working on getting eyes and ears. You and your team need to make haste or you'll miss the take down.”

  “Sir,” Nic said. “You don't mean for the kids to ride along?”

  “I do. We have enough firepower to keep them safe, and depending on how it goes down, they may be of help.”

  “Sir, after all they've been through—”

  “That's an order,” he said. “No time for arguing. Suit up.”

  Nic snapped into action. “We're going into a situation with a known hostile. GASI procedures require minors to wear full body armor. Follow me.”

  Will and I rushed after him. He led us to a supply room and tossed us each a black bodysuit. I was expecting something heavy and hard, but this was soft and light.

  “This will stop a bullet?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Nic said. “Go down the hall to the restrooms and get these on. Then put your clothes on over it.” He handed us each a navy waterproof jacket with GASI on the back. They looked like the FBI jackets I'd seen. “Then add this for easy identification. And hurry back.”

  The body armor was an upgrade from what I'd read about in the manual. At first, I was worried that Nic had selected a size too small and that I'd have to struggle to get into it. Instead, I slipped into it easily. Then it contracted to fit me like a second skin. Startled, I let out a squeak. Nic could have warned me. I was already on edge.

  After adding my clothes, I put on the jacket and checked myself out in the mirror. Very spy chic. Agent couture.

  A rap on the door reminded me of the hurry. I opened the door to find Will and Nic. Nic handed us each a backpack fitted with the standard agent gear. “Let's go.”

  “What about Grandma?” Will asked.

  “She stays here, but she'll be monitoring our communications and handling the support for the operation.”

  The black SUV raced through the streets toward Times Square.

  The team at the roach motel contacted Nic and he put them on the speakers.

  “We have eyes on Agent Douglas,” the deep voice announced.

  “Oh thank God,” I said, grabbing Will, who sat beside me, and hugging him.

  “She's alone with the suspect. She is restrained and blindfolded. Gagged as well.”

  I trembled at this confirmation of her misery.

  “Has she been shot?” I asked.

  “That's a negative, but the suspect is armed. He hasn't made us. He's watching reruns of Matlock on the crappy television and checking his watch like he's expecting someone.”

  “Could be the woman. Any sign of her?” Nic said.

  “Nothing yet.”

  “Update us if anything changes,” Nic said.

  “Approach from the southwest and enter through the basement.”

  Nic disconnected. “She's there.”

  She hadn't been shot. She might be okay.

  The agent driving the van fist-bumped Nic. “Yes, sir.”

  “Is this the first time she's been abducted on a mission?” I asked.

  Nic turned to meet my eyes. “We haven't had a mission go bad like this since we've been partners. I don't know about her early days with the Agency.”

  “We're two minutes out, sir,” the driver said.

  Nic pulled out his gun and checked the ammo. “You guys have your tazers where you can access them?” he asked.

  I had clipped mine to the waistband of my jeans.

  “Yes, sir,” Will said.

  I gave him a look. Sir? Really.

  Nic turned back to us. “I don't require the use of 'sir,' but I do require absolute and immediate execution of my orders during an operation. Got it?”

  We both nodded.

  “That's the building up ahead, sir,” the driver said.

  We all unbuckled and prepared to jump out. When the driver pulled to a stop, we moved out and then slid the door to the van shut.

  Nic spoke quietly as we went inside the dank basement and found the stairs. “The motel should be secure, with our teams already in place. However, I want to caution you that the motel is home to more than a few criminals. They may see us and assume we are here for them. I want you to be vigilant until we get you into the staging room.”

  I was tempted to take off the GASI jacket so I wouldn't attract that kind of attention.

  We left the stairwell at the fourth floor and crept across the soiled shag carpet to room 406. The hall reeked of mold, and I struggled to hold in a sneeze. Note to self—need allergy shots to further spy career. Inside room 406, two agents sat at a laptop. They'd made a small hole in the corner and had a live feed of the movements in room 4
08 on the screen.

  The mercenary stood with his back to us. My aunt sat bound to a sturdy wooden chair. Her head slumped to her chest.

  “Is she conscious?” I whispered.

  “We think so,” the Asian man said. “We don't know that she hasn't been drugged though.”

  Drugged. I struggled to take a deep breath, but that only resulted in me sucking in more mold spores.

  “And the suspect?” Nic asked.

  “A bit antsy. Chain-smoking like a fool. He muttered to himself at one point, but we couldn't isolate it from the television in the background in the time we had.”

  Nic put his finger to his earpiece and asked, “Team two, any movement at the entrance?”

  “That's a negative.”

  “Team three, are you ready to breach the room?”

  “Affirmative, sir.”

  “Wait for my signal. We need this guy alive.”

  “Will and Amanda, you'll stay here with Agent Choo. Agent Mathews and I will take the door. Team three will enter through the other room. Do not leave this room under any circumstances.” Then he reached in his backpack and pulled out four small circles and placed them at the corners of the wall between our room and the room Christie was in. He tapped one of the circles twice and a bullet-proof shield covered the wall.

  “We're a go,” Agent Mathews said, taking one last look at the screen and then walking to the door. Nic nodded in our direction and left.

  Agent Choo turned the monitor so we could see as well. “Brace yourselves. They'll go in loud.”

  Loud?

  Agent Choo pulled earplugs out of his pocket and stuck them in his ears.

  “Oh no,” I said as Will struggled to unzip his backpack.

  We'll never find them in time.

  The earthshaking blast penetrated my skull a millisecond later.

  I expected to see dust and smoke on the monitor but the breach from the other room had been clean and left a perfect square the width of two doors. Nic and Agent Mathews had pulled the door off and into the hall. The only compromise to visibility was the flash bomb Nic had thrown at the mercenary. GASI had fine-tuned them enough that the effect only extended out a few feet in either direction, reducing the bad guy's ability to see but not impacting the rest. They had the guy on the ground and cuffed in a matter of seconds.

  Then Nic started talking to Christie. He gently removed her blindfold and then he knelt in front of her and started working the gag from her mouth.

  Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw her relax her shoulders as she realized it was Nic and that she was safe. After the gag was free, he placed his hands on her cheeks and spoke softly to her. I couldn't hear much because my ears were roaring from the blast. He spoke to her for a few moments and then she nodded. He pulled out his knife and freed her hands and then her legs. He took one of her hands in his and rubbed it to restore the circulation. Then he did the same with the other. He rose to his feet, stooped to reach under her, and lifted her in his arms. He was out of that room and into ours in seconds.

  “Christie!”

  When he set her down on the bed, I practically attacked her with my hug, holding her close.

  “I'm okay,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “I'm okay, baby girl.”

  “Amanda, honey, let go so I can give her some water,” Nic said. “Can you hold it, sweetie?”

  Christie shook her head. He scooted next to her on the bed, supporting her and bringing the bottle to her lips. She drank several sips.

  Nic looked over at Agent Mathews. “Team three is securing the scene. Go ahead and call the medics up here.”

  “Nic,” she whispered. “Outside. Please get me out of here first.”

  He nodded. “Tell the medics we'll meet them at the front entrance. She's dehydrated. Did they drug you, sweetheart?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Let them know. Then Agent Choo can lead us to the front. Amanda and Will stay close.” He put his arms around Christie again and prepared to lift her. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded.

  He lifted her and held her close as he carried her out of the room behind Agent Choo.

  There was an ambulance waiting at the front door. Christie argued when he put her in the ambulance.

  “Agent Douglas,” the medic said in a calm voice, “we can examine you more easily if you'll lie down on the stretcher.”

  After some grumbling, she agreed.

  Nic carefully laid her on the stretcher. Then he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I'll be back in a few minutes. Amanda and Will are here with you.”

  She nodded and then followed the instructions of the medic.

  “I'm going to start an IV for fluids. You are severely dehydrated.”

  Christie spent two hours in the ambulance. They gave her two bags of saline, drew blood, and gave her a couple of shots of vitamins. She also drank a few glasses of ice cold Sprite which she insisted were sent straight from heaven. Nic checked in on us several times.

  “Ready to go home?” he asked, peeking back into the ambulance.

  “God, yes!” Christie said, her voice stronger now that she'd had some liquids.

  “Can you walk?” he asked.

  “I am walking,” she said. “I won't appear weak in front of my team.”

  I wanted to slap her silly. “Don't be ridiculous, Christie! If you need to be carried, then admit it.”

  Nic held up a hand to silence me. “Don't minimize her concerns.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Let's go back to the loft so I can get my hug-time.”

  “First I have to delouse,” my aunt mumbled. “That place was creepy crawly nasty.”

  If she meant that literally and not figuratively, I didn't particularly want to know.

  “Amanda can keep track of you in the shower. I don't want you getting dizzy and taking a nosedive into the floor.”

  “Nic,” she said, “your operation is complete. Stop ordering me around.”

  He winked at her.

  “Climb in here and help me get off this stretcher.”

  Nic took off his jacket, and put it on Christie. He got her to her feet, then helped her sit on the back of the ambulance. Then he hopped down and eased her to her feet. Will and I jumped down after them. Nic led us to an Agency Town Car.

  “Amanda, sit in the back with your aunt. Will, take the passenger seat. I'll drive.”

  He helped Christie in, and then I ran around to get in the other side. Before I pulled open the door, Nic said in a low voice, “They gave her a sedative to help with shock, but I don't want her getting cold. Cuddle up next to her. Pretend it's for you if you have to.”

  “Will do.” When I got inside, I scooted toward her. “Lean on me,” I said.

  To my surprise, she didn't protest. I put my arm around her shoulders, and she curled up against my chest.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “I love you too.” She yawned and closed her eyes.

  “Can you tell us what you found out back there?” Will asked.

  “Of course,” Nic said. “The mercenary gave his bank account information so we can track the transfer of money. He thinks that the people who hired him set him up to take the fall for this, so he's talking. You have no idea how rare it is to get this kind of cooperation. He had two cell phones on him, and the analysts have started on them.”

  “Did we get the woman?” I asked.

  “The woman left,” Christie mumbled. “Supposed to return but she never did. You didn't grab her before you freed me?”

  “No,” Nic said. “We don't have a name or a face. All we have is a few body parts thanks to your fast thinking with the contact lens.”

  Christie smiled against my chest. “I never saw her. I heard her voice, but no real accent. I'll think about it.”

  By the time we got to the loft, Christie was asleep.

  “Will, can you park the car down the street?”

  “Sure.”

  Will took
Nic's place and Nic opened the door to get Christie. When he gazed down at her and saw her sleeping, his features formed into an expression of tenderness so intimate that I had to look away.

  “C'mon, sweetheart, let's get you cleaned up and put you in bed.”

  “Should I go with you to open doors or stay with Will?”

  “Come with me,” he said. “Christie, wake up and put your arms around my neck.” He nudged her.

  She woke up enough to hold onto him as he lifted her from the car.

  “Be alert, Will,” I said. “We don't know how Christie got targeted.” Then, I got out and followed them in.

  When we got into the loft, the clock read four. I wasn't sure where the time had gone.

  “Run a bath in the garden tub in the master,” Nic commanded. “I'll sit with her while you get it ready.”

  I dashed up the stairs and into the master. The tub was massive, and it looked clean. I started the water and chose a temperature warm enough to be just short of hot. My stomach growled as I watched the progress. When had we last eaten? When the tub was filled to a foot deep, I went downstairs to get Christie.

  She wouldn't let Nic carry her, but he insisted on helping her up the stairs. Will came in the door and stood watching the two of them.

  “Amanda, grab a garbage bag for my clothes. They'll want them for evidence.”

  I found one under the sink.

  “Is she doing okay?” Will asked as I started toward the stairs.

  I shrugged. “I hope so.”

  “It was right at twenty-four hours of captivity.”

  “It was?” It seemed like days to me. I couldn't imagine how it had seemed to her. “I've got to get up there. Do you want to order some food? Now that she's safe, I'm starving.”

  “What kind? Pizza? Chinese?”

  “Italian?”

  “No problem,” he said. “I saw a menu that looked interesting.”

  “Get extra. And touch base with Grandma, find out when she's coming home... I mean here. When she's coming here.”

  After Christie got in the tub, I handed the bag of clothes out to Nic. He'd been pleased with our decision to order food.

  I closed the door and sat on the toilet in case Christie needed me.

  She moaned and sank further into the water.