A More Perfect Union

by Carsen Taite

  Rook reached for the door handle, but Jack pushed her back, placing a finger over his lips. She nodded that she understood, but willed him to hurry up, and when he jerked the door open and burst into the room, she was right on his heels.

  “Jack!” Sharp called out. “What are you doing here?”

  While he was focused on Jack, Rook surveyed the room. Sharp was seated at his desk, and the other guy, the lieutenant, who’d escorted her to Zoey’s office the first day they’d worked together, was standing beside Zoey who was seated in a chair across from Sharp’s desk. If they hadn’t heard the loud voices, the tableau would seem perfectly innocent, and Rook wondered if she’d overreacted. “Zoey, are you okay?”

  Zoey grabbed her phone out of the lieutenant’s hand and nearly toppled the chair to get away from him. “I am now. We need to get DCIS in here right now.”

  “Major Granger is under a great deal of stress,” Sharp said in a commanding tone to no one in particular. “We were just discussing ways to make things easier on her. It was too much to ask her to work on this McNair thing so soon after the Nine Tech debacle. I’m thinking a short leave is in order, right, Major?”

  Rook watched Zoey for her reaction and Zoey looked her directly in the eyes. “I think Major Granger might be taking a leave,” Rook said, “But only because she deserves it for her act of heroism in uncovering your act of treason. The NSA should be here shortly.” She reached for Zoey’s hand and pulled her to the door. “I need to make some calls. Jack, you got this?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, pulling up a chair right next to Sharp.

  Rook and Zoey were standing in the doorway when Zoey whipped her head around. “Where’s Louden?”

  Rook looked around. “I didn’t see him leave. Is he part of this?”

  “Yes,” Zoey said. “I don’t know the specifics, but he’s definitely involved.”

  “On it,” Jack called out. He picked up the phone on Sharp’s desk. “This is General Sharp’s office. We need to initiate a lockdown. General Sharp’s assistant, Lieutenant Louden, has gone AWOL. Presume that he’s armed and dangerous, but he needs to be apprehended alive. Send DCIS to Sharp’s office pronto.”

  Satisfied Jack had the general under control, Rook led Zoey from the room, determined to put some distance between her and her traitorous boss. Rook tucked her arm around Zoey. “I guess we can’t leave the building right now. Do you want to wait here or back in your office?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Rook. I should’ve listened to you.”

  Rook placed a finger on her lips. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have sent Blake to give you the bad news. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I will be. There’s probably going to be a shit storm to wade through first.”

  “You’re probably right about that.” Rook motioned for Zoey to have a seat at Louden’s desk, and she took a deep breath as Julia’s words from earlier echoed through her head. You really like this one. Not quite accurate. Maybe it was the knowledge that Zoey had been in danger or the rising emotion from this whole situation, but Rook was certain what she felt for Zoey was way past like, and she wanted to bring to life her fantasies about sharing everyday moments with her. This wasn’t the time or the place, but they had a few minutes alone and she had to know if Zoey felt the same way. “We need to talk.”

  “We will, but not now.” Zoey hung her head. “Sharp was like a father to me and he’s been spying for the Russians for God knows how long. How could I be so stupid?” Her voice shook. “I’m not cut out for this.”

  Rook wanted to ask if “this” included her, but she was scared of the answer. Zoey was grieving a loss, and she had to let her be no matter how much she wanted to discuss things between them. Before she could form a suitable reply, her phone buzzed with the sound of an incoming text. She checked the screen and saw a text from Zoey. In Sharps off. U were rt. She laughed and held her phone where Zoey could see. “If I’d gotten this message earlier, I would’ve known for sure you were in trouble. Abbreviated words, barely any punctuation—so unlike you.”

  Zoey smiled. “You try texting under duress without looking at the screen and see what happens. To be honest, I didn’t think there was a chance it would go through, but I had to try.”

  Rook reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if—” Her phone buzzed again, saving her from speaking out loud the unthinkable, that Zoey might not have been rescued. She took it as an omen, and rather than finishing her sentence, she looked at the phone which was sitting on the desk between them.

  “Oh, Rook,” Zoey’s voice was strained and low. “About that…”

  Her words trailed off, but it didn’t matter because Rook was no longer listening, her entire focus trained on the second text Zoey had sent. Two simple words—Luv u—and at the sight of them, Rook’s heart pounded, her chest tightened, and heat surged through her.

  This. This was the tipping point. The signal that her growing feelings for Zoey were mutual, and it was up to her to make the next move. But Zoey’s hesitancy, the edge in her voice, and the fact she’d pulled her hand away, forced Rook to recalculate.

  She studied the message. The spelling was casual, juvenile even, but by her own admission, Zoey had been under duress. But she’d taken the time to send the message. It had to be true, right? Or had duress, not love, been her sole motivator? Rook knew better than most that people said all kinds of things in the heat of the moment, not all of them true.

  She looked up into Zoey’s eyes, knowing she’d find answers there, and she wasn’t wrong. Reflected back at her was true affection, but it was mixed with a healthy dose of regret, which didn’t bode well as building blocks for the future.

  A loud crash startled them both, and Rook jerked her head around, looking for the source of the sound. Louden lurched out from behind a file cabinet, heading toward them. She stared, unable to move, and Zoey grabbed her, pulled her out of the way, and ran toward Louden. Rook yelled for her to stop, but Zoey’s arm was already in motion and she landed a punch square on Louden’s face, knocking him to the ground.

  Rook ran to her side. “Are you okay?” But Zoey didn’t answer, instead pointing to where Louden lay, his face red and his body wracking with uncontrollable seizures. As Louden thrashed on the floor in front of them, the door to the corridor flew open and armed soldiers burst in yelling for them all to hit the deck.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Zoey heard the call to attention and stood ramrod straight waiting for the rest of the ceremony to begin. There was a time, when she was a young soldier, that standing in this position for any length of time had been an almost intolerable burden, every thought a distraction, every fluttering breeze a tickle designed to make her feel like she was coming out of her skin, but she’d learned to welcome the peace and serenity of having nothing more to do than stand still. In the calm she was able to dig deep and push out all distractions. She used to joke that standing at attention was like military yoga.

  Not today. Today, a week after she’d watched Lieutenant Louden, a Soviet agent, take his own life with a cyanide pill after she’d confronted his asset, she was acutely conscious of her surroundings.

  Normally, a promotion ceremony would be conducted on base and the full company would be in attendance. But today she would receive her silver leaf in the Rose Garden at the White House, in the presence of less than a dozen people, and the person doing the pinning wouldn’t be her mentor, but a man she’d only met a few weeks ago.

  When General Bloomfield called her name, she broke her formation of one and walked toward him. Then and only then did she glance into the audience, seeking out the one face she truly wanted to see. Rook was behind and to the left of the general, looking as dashing as she had the first time Zoey had seen her. Dressed in a jet-black suit with a royal blue shirt, Rook sat with her legs crossed, leaning back in her chair, looking completely at ease here in the center of power.

&n
bsp; They’d had only casual contact over the past week. Both of them had been debriefed extensively by several federal agencies, and Rook had traveled to New York for Farah Hamil’s mayoral candidacy kickoff event. When she and Rook had spoken, they’d both danced around the subject of anything more than the next conversation, the next meal, and they certainly hadn’t talked about their uncomfortable scene outside of Sharp’s office.

  Zoey knew the lack of connection was mostly her fault, if fault was even the right word. Sharp had been right about one thing. She was suffering from a bit of trauma and was still reeling from the one-two punch of having to turn in peers for fraud, and then finding out her mentor was a kept asset of the KGB and had been for years. The system she’d spent her life to support had failed her miserably, and she wasn’t sure of her place in it anymore. If she wasn’t sure about the rest of her life, she knew for certain she had no business making promises to Rook she didn’t know if she could keep.

  The reception following the ceremony seemed elaborate, considering Zoey was the only officer who’d been promoted, but she supposed the general’s presence was a key reason the White House was putting on a show. Bloomfield had announced his retirement the day before and pledged to help the president find an unimpeachable candidate to serve as Head of the Joint Chiefs. Although nothing about the investigation so far implicated Bloomfield in the scandal, he felt responsible for not knowing his deputy was engaged in espionage and, according to Julia, he’d stated his oversight as the reason for his retirement. Zoey was sad to see him go, but she respected him for his decision.

  “I haven’t been to many of these, but usually the person being promoted looks happier,” Rook said, handing her a glass of champagne.

  Zoey reached for the glass and let her fingers linger over Rook’s for a moment, wondering if the heat between them would ever fade. She met Rook’s hopeful expression and wished she could return it with one of her own, but she was leaving and Rook’s life was here with the clients whose controversies demanded her attention. If she couldn’t have Rook, Zoey wanted a mission, a 24/7 distraction from the outside world, preferably in a desolate foreign country where there was no possibility she would be in the public eye. “Sorry, I am happy for the promotion, but conflicted about what’s next.”

  “What is next? Although before you answer, you should know there’s a rule that if you save someone’s life, you have to spend the rest of your life at their side to protect them from further harm.”

  Zoey smiled. “I’m pretty sure that’s just in the movies, but even so, I didn’t save your life. Louden must’ve bitten down on the cyanide pill the minute he left Sharp’s office. The poison takes a few minutes to take effect.”

  Rook waved a hand in the air. “Don’t confuse the issue with science. Seriously, you charged that guy and punched him in the face. Pretty damn impressive. I heard Bloomfield is making sure you get whatever assignment you want.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “So what is next for you, Colonel?”

  “I asked for deployment.” Zoey blurted out the words, hoping rushing the news would make it less painful for both of them. “I can do the most good when I’m in the field.”

  Rook’s smile vanished. “How many times have you been deployed? Don’t you think it’s someone else’s turn to risk their lives for their country?”

  Zoey uttered a silent curse for her insensitivity. Of course Rook was thinking about Rory. She injected her voice with what she hoped was a soft, comforting tone. “I’m in logistics, not combat. No real danger there.”

  “You’re smart enough to know there’s always danger.”

  “Maybe, but it’s the kind I can handle, not the back-biting controversies that swirl around in this town.”

  “Sounds like it’s me and my work you want to get away from.”

  “Look over there.” Zoey pointed across the room at the press corps lining up waiting to catch photos. “I’m supposed to talk to them later so they can all write stories about the fresh faced soldier, new to the Pentagon who punched out a Soviet spy, while helping blow the lid off a major scandal. The headlines won’t be accurate, the stories will only contain the most sensational details, and they will all gloss over the careers that were compromised along the way. That’s what I want to get away from.”

  “What about the text you sent me from Sharp’s office?” Rook said, her voice shaking. “You said you love me.”

  “I did. I do, but when I sent that…” Zoey grappled for the right words to explain she’d sent the message in the heat of the moment, without considering the consequences. She certainly hadn’t factored in the poor cell signal that caused the message to show up after the danger had passed. “I didn’t think, I didn’t know…”

  Rook finished for her. “You didn’t know if you’d ever see me again. So it was like a good-bye.”

  “I guess so. Yes.” Zoey sagged with relief that Rook understood, but at the same time sadness washed over her at the thought of saying good-bye to Rook. Nevertheless, she had to do it. She couldn’t straddle Rook’s world and hers. “Please tell me you understand.”

  “I can’t, but I don’t suppose that matters.” Rook raised her glass and her smile was forced. “It was a pleasure knowing you, Colonel Granger.”

  She touched her glass to Zoey’s, took a drink, and walked away. Zoey stood, torn between chasing after Rook, and standing her ground. Before she could decide, General Bloomfield appeared at her side.

  “Colonel, may I have a word with you?” he asked, effectively making the choice for her.

  Duty called and she’d pledged her life to it. Someday Rook would understand or maybe she’d just forget her. Zoey wasn’t sure which one she wanted most.

  * * *

  Rook sat across from Julia’s desk and pretended to listen to her fill in the final details of the investigation into General David Sharp, but she was distracted by thoughts of when Julia had first called her here and she’d learned she’d be working the case with Zoey.

  “Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” Julia asked, her raised voice cutting through Rook’s thoughts.

  “I heard you. Sharp was a Russian spy. I thought you’d already figured that part out.”

  “Yes, but we didn’t know why. Contel,” she said, referring to the attorney general, “agreed to offer Sharp a life sentence in exchange for a full accounting of all the leaks he’s been responsible for over the years. Aren’t you the slightest bit interested?”

  “Sure.” She wasn’t, but she knew Julia didn’t want to hear that. Rook hadn’t been interested in much of anything since she and Zoey had parted at the reception following Zoey’s promotion ceremony over a week ago. Since then she’d started, but hadn’t sent, over a dozen texts to implore Zoey to reconsider her decision to go overseas, but every time she was paralyzed by doubt.

  Maybe she just needed to focus on something else to take her mind off wondering about Zoey. “Tell me everything.”

  “Turns out the alleged act of heroism that got Sharp the Medal of Honor was the same thing that got him caught up with the Russians,” Julia said. “The KGB had officers in Grenada at the time of the US invasion, and one of them witnessed what really happened when Sharp’s squad was attacked. Sharp threw an injured man, one of his own, into the line of fire to avoid being hit himself. He may have actually saved them all in the end, but only because he sacrificed one of them to save himself. Hardly a hero.”

  “So what, the Russians blackmailed him?”

  “Exactly. They waited until after he received the medal and then started sending him messages. They had photos seized from local journalists and alleged witness accounts that they threatened to release if he didn’t work with them. Who knows if they really had any evidence, but apparently, he believed they did and that was enough. A better man would have faced the consequences of his actions, but he worked with them over the years, providing mostly small bits of intel to various Soviet spies. They were careful to keep it small until lately when he
was poised to either be the right hand of the Head of the Joint Chiefs or be the nominee himself.”

  “And Louden?” Rook asked. “How did he fit in?”

  “We may never know everything, but it appears he was a sleeper agent, activated to work Sharp as an asset once Sharp was assigned to the Pentagon.”

  “Unbelievable. And most of this information will never see the light of day, correct?” Rook asked.

  “Not for a long time. The files have been ordered classified. The Post is no longer interested in the McNair sex scandal since Bloomfield is retiring, so we dodged a bullet there.”

  “Is this the part where you try to get out of paying me because you don’t need me to spin the story?”

  Julia leaned forward. “Actually, this is the part where we play let’s make a deal. Would you like to collect your fee for this case or see what’s behind door number two?”

  Rook felt a surge of anticipation at the prospect of a new case, but her excitement was tempered with apprehension. But she quickly realized she was being silly. What were the chances whatever Julia was proposing involved another beautiful woman in uniform who’d steal her heart? Still, she proceeded with caution. “I’m willing to hear you out. That’s the best I can do.”

  “Fine. I want you to come work with me.”

  “Didn’t we just do that?”

  “I’m thinking of something a little more permanent. We’ve been rocking along without a communications director since Timmons retired. The president hasn’t been happy with any of the names I’ve floated for consideration until I happened to mention yours. You’d be doing me a big favor.”

  Rook’s mind started spinning in a dozen different directions. “A few things come to mind starting with, working for you would hardly be permanent since you only have a few more years left until you’re all out of here.”