by Jessica Ashe
Elena and I discuss the case, and we agree that I will try and get more proof that Senator Robertson is up to no good. She told me what to look out for and even gave me a summary of the federal rules around campaign contributions. Assuming I can keep getting access to the senator’s emails, it shouldn’t be difficult to gather some more evidence.
I’ve barely been in the apartment for two minutes when Alec is at the door desperate to get me out of my clothes. I swear it’s like he has a sensor on my apartment so he knows when I’m home. Not that I’m complaining. No matter how stressed I am about work, Alec always knows how to make me feel better. When I’m with Alec, it’s like being back at college again without a care in the world.
It’s only later in the evening when I realize that I described Alec as my boyfriend when talking to Elena. It was always going to be hard finding someone to replace Alec in bed. It’s going to be even harder to find someone who can replace him in my head.
Chapter Eighteen
Alec
There’s always silence after sex with Piper.
It’s not an awkward silence. We’re both completely comfortable with our bodies intertwined together. We’re silent because we’re thinking. Probably about the same thing.
We’re on a timer. I have some degree of control over when the relationship ends, but I can’t delay it forever. I can’t read her mind, but I’m sure she doesn’t want this to end either. Not yet.
“How’s work going?” Piper asks. “I feel bad for talking your ear off about my job all the time. Why don’t you tell me about yours?”
It sounds more like an accusation than a casual invitation.
“I’m not making much progress,” I reply. It’s easier to keep track of my lies if they are at least related to the truth. “I know there’s a story out there for me to write but I don’t know what it is yet.”
“And when you’ve finished the story, then you’ll leave?”
“It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me,” I joke. She doesn’t say anything. I want to stay, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen, but it might be beyond my control. I could tell her that, but then she might get her hopes up.
I’d be lying anyway. The truth is, it’s not beyond my control. If I want to, I can stay with Piper for as long as she’ll have me. All I have to do is not kill Senator Robertson. It’s the easy option, and I can’t pretend I haven’t considered it. He should die. That’s the only way to get justice for what happened to my crew. But maybe this is one of those cases where justice cannot be served. Sometimes the bad guys win.
“I’ll stay for as long as I can,” I promise.
She kisses me on the cheek and then turns around and switches off the light to go to sleep. I wrap my arm around her because I’m not ready to let go yet. I’m not sure I ever will be.
I can’t switch my mind off, which means I’m awake until past two o’clock in the morning. When I finally get to sleep, I wish I hadn’t. I relive that fateful day in the desert in crystal-clear detail. I remember everything, from the smoke trail of the initial missile to the ringing in my ears after the explosion. I remember the bullet flying into Wilson’s face. I remember how cold I felt when I thought I was dying, and the feel of dirt covering my body as Felton’s truck drove away. I even remember the smell of my blood.
I wake up with a start, covered in a sticky sweat even though I distinctly remember being cold before falling asleep.
“Are you okay?” Piper asks. She’s standing by the side of the bed fastening her bra.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Bad dream I guess.”
“Ah, bless,” she says sweetly. “Let me guess, you were naked at school, and all the kids were pointing and laughing at you?”
“Something like that,” I reply, forcing a smile.
She leans over and kisses me, and then resumes getting dressed for the day. I can’t believe Robertson gets to spend more time with this incredible woman than I do.
“I’ll walk you to work,” I say, standing up and quickly getting dressed.
“I don’t walk to work. I catch the bus.”
“That’s fine. I’ll go with you on the bus.”
“You really don’t need to do that.”
“I know, but I want to.”
I want to spend as much time with Piper as possible, because last night’s dream made me realize something. I do have to go through with it. Not just for myself, but for them. Remi. Simpson. Wilson. Granger. Niles. Even for Felton. I thought I’d saved his life, but Shauna hasn’t been able to track him down. Maybe he never made it out of the desert.
As much as I like Piper, maybe even love her, I have to kill Senator Robertson. At least five of my friends died because of him. Now it’s his turn.
I meet Shauna after she’s finished work, and she insists on being in a coffee shop. Apparently, meeting on park benches looks too suspicious. The place is quiet enough that we can maintain a conversation without needing to talk in code.
“I’m going to do it on Monday. Senator Robertson has less than a week to live.”
“I’ll make sure I’m not standing near the senator when he’s out in the open,” Shauna replies.
I shrug. “You can if you want. I’m far too good a shot to miss.”
“I thought you might be changing your mind.”
“I was. I have something to lose now.”
“Piper?”
I nod. “I’m going to do everything I can to get away with it and with any luck, I’ll be able to stay in Chicago.”
“Why take the risk?” Shauna asks. “I set Piper up with the senator’s email account the other day and I’m sure she found something. She came back and asked to look at it again. If you give her a couple of weeks she’ll probably get enough information to have the senator indicted.”
I doubt it will even take her that long. Once Piper gets her nose into something she quickly uncovers the truth. Why hasn’t she uncovered the truth about me yet? She’s clearly suspicious, but as far as I know she hasn’t dug into my past at all. Perhaps she just doesn’t want to know.
“Prison is too good for that man,” I reply. “You’re not going soft on me, are you?”
“Hell, no. My brother died in that mission. I know killing Robertson won’t bring Wilson back, but it will make me feel a lot better.”
“Then why do I get the feeling you’re always trying to talk me out of it?”
“Because seeing you in prison won’t make me feel better. And it sure won’t help Piper. She’s a nice girl. I don’t know her as well as you, but what I do know, I like. She doesn’t deserve to get hurt like this.”
“I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
“Eventually. But she will be hurt.”
“We’ve only known each other a couple of weeks.”
“So? Sometimes things move quickly. She’s fallen for you big time. I can tell by the way she smiles when she replies to your text messages.”
I smile. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one grinning when we text shit to each other.
“I’m going to try and get away with it,” I say. “Best case scenario, no one suspects me and I can live a normal life with Piper until she sees sense and gets rid of me.”
“How will that work? Officially, you’re dead. You don’t exist, and you’ve been lying to her the entire time.”
“Yeah, I haven’t figured out that out yet. If I can get away with finishing my mission then I will find some way to get a new identity.”
“Can’t you just come clean as Alec Costa? Tell everyone your full story?”
I shake my head. “Then I risk being connected to Robertson.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ll keep my ear to the ground for someone in that line of work. It won’t come cheap. How are you for cash?”
“I have enough. My rescuer was very generous.”
He had far too much money for a soldier, and he never explained where it came from. That man is a mystery I’d love to unra
vel if I ever see him again.
“No kidding. All right, so you complete your mission, get a new identity, and then what? Pretend you’re a political correspondent?”
“I’ll have to come clean about that. Might have to grovel a bit.”
“A bit? Last time a man lied to me that badly, I wouldn’t fuck him for a month.”
“Piper couldn’t last a month without me fucking her.”
“We women have ways. I made him go down on me every night, but wouldn’t let him get any. Never underestimate the power of a woman to take revenge for man’s lies.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I could handle eating pussy every night for a month. Piper’s taste is enough to get me hard, and watching her come is almost as satisfying as coming myself.
“How do you plan to get away with it?” Shauna asks. “Obviously being officially dead helps, but you’d be amazed what the police can find when they start digging. And this is a senator we’re talking about. If he’s killed, you can bet your ass people will come forward with any piece of evidence they might have.”
“I know where every camera is in the city. I’ll keep my face hidden.”
Shauna shakes her head. “You don’t know about every camera. You know about the surveillance cameras, but these days everyone has a camera with them. I bet every time you walk the city streets you’re in the background of someone’s picture or video.”
“I’m good at hiding.”
I’ve been trained to stay hidden in environments from deserts to jungles, and I know how to blend in with a crowd. I don’t have as much field experience as Felton and the boys had, but through my sniper scope, I watched Felton assassinate someone in the middle of a crowded market without being noticed. My skills might be a little rusty, but I can manage.
“You should plant a few false flags,” Shauna says. “Go to a few libraries around the city and use their computers to send emails to the senator. He’s already getting death threats, so it won’t raise any immediate alarms.”
“Good idea,” I agree. “He has plenty of enemies. I’ll just drop in a few choice words to make it look like it’s coming from someone who hates him due to his tax policies or something.”
The coffee shop starts filling up as everyone spills out of work. We stop talking about the assassination, and instead Shauna tells me stories about Piper from work. They both hate Robertson and they spend they days insulting him behind his back.
“What are you going to tell Piper?” Shauna asks.
“I’ve no idea,” I reply.
“How about you start with the truth?” I look up to see Piper standing next to me looking confused. “What’s going on, Alec? Shauna?”
Chapter Nineteen
Piper
Alec and Shauna look like two teenagers who’ve just been caught by their parents looking at porn on the internet.
It shouldn’t be that unusual or surprising for a political correspondent to be seen talking with a researcher from a politician’s office. After all, how else do they get their stories?
In this case, though, it does take me by surprise. Partly it’s the coincidence of my boyfriend talking to the one person I happen to get along with at work, but also it’s the shock of seeing Alec actually looking like a political correspondent. This whole time, I’ve been assuming he was lying to me. He’s never once acted like anyone with an interest in politics and has even said blatantly wrong things about the US political system. If I can correct someone about politics, then it must be obvious.
They must be up to something, because the moment I approach their table I hear Shauna ask Alec what he is going to tell me, as if they have something to hide. Alec’s response isn’t exactly reassuring.
“What’s going on?” I ask. “Alec? Shauna?”
“Piper, would you like a coffee?” Shauna asks awkwardly.
“No, thank you. I want to know what this is all about.”
“I’m just doing my job,” Alec replies eventually. “Shauna is helping me with a story I’m working on.”
“Where’s your notepad?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be writing things down?”
“I told you, I have a photographic memory.”
“You said that was just for numbers.”
“It’s true,” Shauna insists. “I’m helping him with a story.”
“Then why were you worried about telling me?”
“We thought it looked bad,” Alec says. “Me talking to someone from Senator Robertson’s office.”
“It does look bad,” I agree. “Your political contact in Chicago just so happens to be a friend I work with.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. The truth is, I’m investigating Senator Robertson. I don’t want to go into too much detail here, but I have reason to believe he’s been accepting illicit campaign contributions.”
For the first time since we met, Alec sounds like a political correspondent. I should be relieved. I’ve had this nagging doubt in the back of my mind that he’s been lying to me. I haven’t asked too many questions because I don’t want to catch him in the lie. Now it looks like I don’t have to worry about that.
Something still doesn’t quite add up, but I can’t put my finger on it. Shauna and Alec look shifty as hell. I’m sure neither of them wants to be seen meeting together, but it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone.
“I’m going to leave you to it,” Shauna says. “Probably best I’m not seen talking to you. See you tomorrow, Piper.”
I sit down opposite Alec and meet his gaze.
“So you’re really a political correspondent?”
Alec nods. “Of course. What did you think I was?”
“I don’t know, I just… I don’t know.” I’m surprisingly disappointed by the revelation that my boyfriend’s been telling me the truth, and then I realize why. “So you really will be leaving town at some point?”
“I don’t want to,” Alec replies. “But yes, probably.”
If he leaves town, I’ll never see him again. He’s never once mentioned me visiting him or him coming back here to visit me. It’s like if he leaves, then that’s it. I don’t know why. I don’t understand him; I don’t understand any of this.
But if I don’t have long with Alec, I want to make the most of it.
“Let’s go home,” I say firmly. “I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Chapter Twenty
Piper
I’ve gone from hating my job to never wanting the day to end. The second my mission turns from protecting the senator from a killer to trying to find evidence of him committing fraud, my job goes from a chore to a pleasure.
There’s nothing I want more than to see the senator behind bars. Every time the senator has a meeting I’m not allowed to be in, I pretend to wait outside and do my best to get photos of everyone attending. Then, once the doors are shut, I ask Shauna to set me up with the laptop and begin going through his emails.
I do my best to focus on just the illicit campaign contributions, but it becomes next to impossible to ignore the senator’s other issues with the law. I find multiple emails from human resources stating that former interns and employees have sought legal advice for sexual harassment claims against him. The senator’s response is always the same—‘deal with it.’ After that, the allegations seem to just go away.
There aren’t many emails as obvious as the first one I found, but when you start digging through long chains of conversation you soon find people slipping up and saying things they shouldn’t. The senator is almost impossibly naïve about online security. His ‘deleted emails’ folder is a treasure trove of emails that he doesn’t want anyone to read. I’ve even seen him specifically request conversations be kept to email instead of using the phone, as if an email is more private than a phone conversation.
I’m nearly finished when I find a chain of emails that is more horrifying than anything I’ve seen so far. It’s nothing to do with the case, but I take photos anyway
.
By starting at the bottom of the email chain, I see that human resources notified Senator Robertson of another former intern planning to sue him for sexual harassment. He gave the usual response and a few months passed. Apparently, this intern didn’t give up and the case nearly went to court. Then the senator sent a few emails to her new employer and ensured she lost her job. He even instructed the leak of false information about the intern to make her sound like someone who accuses men of sexual harassment on a regular basis.
It’s nasty stuff, but completely in keeping with his character. I’m not even slightly surprised, until I see the final email. It’s from human resources and just says “FYI” followed by a link to a news story.
The girl killed herself. The senator destroyed her life and he didn’t even bother replying to the email.
I’m deathly pale, and can’t think about anything else for the rest of the day. I know it’s already happened and is far beyond my control, but God damn, I hate this man. There’s no way I’m taking a bullet for him.
The second I’m off work, I dash back to the police station and catch Elena before she heads home.
“Do you have time to look at what I got on the senator?” I ask.
“Definitely,” she replies. “But let’s not do it here. My husband gives me grief if I work late while in this condition.” She motions to her large pregnant belly. “Let’s go to his bar and pretend we’re just friends having a drink. A soft drink in my case.”
We head out to a bar called Hard Times, which is vaguely familiar. I’ve never been myself, but I often hear people talk about meeting there after work. The bar is underground, but it’s not as dingy as I’d expected. There’s a decent mixture of professionals and blue-collar workers, so the place has a good vibe.
“I can recommend a few good wines,” Elena says. “I put together the wine list here, so I like to think it’s half decent. You should have seen the wine list they used to have.”
