by Ana Stone
"Do I?"
"Yes." She lowered her eyes and put her hands against his broad chest, running them up to his shoulders as she pressed against him. "You know I've never met anyone like you."
He grabbed the back of her hair and pulled her head back then claimed her lips in a rough kiss. She did not welcome the kiss but she pretended that she did, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly.
At last he released her. "I will expect you very early tomorrow."
"How early?"
"No later than ten in the morning."
"Adrian! I have patients to see."
"Are you saying that your patients are more important to you than me?"
"No, not at all."
"Then cancel your appointments and be at my house by ten." He spoke as if commanding her.
She dropped her eyes and nodded, fully intending on making up some excuse tomorrow as to why she couldn't make their date. "Okay, if that's what you want. I'll be there."
"Now that's the way I like my princess to behave," he said smugly.
Sydney was sure that if she had not been looking at the floor at that moment he would have been able to see the anger and contempt in her eyes. She meekly followed him to the door and he gave her one last hard kiss then left.
She closed the door and ran to the bathroom. She squeezed enough toothpaste on her brush to clean an elephant's tusk, scrubbed her teeth then rinsed her mouth twice with mouthwash. As she was drying her face she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
You're not cut out for this. She didn’tt know if she could play the kind of game it would take to trick Adrian into telling her something she could use against him. Then she remembered the faces of the people she had seen after the bombing and she knew that she had to try.
The doorbell rang and she ran down the hall. When she opened the door she saw Blake standing outside with a suitcase in his hand. She threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped one arm around her, lifting her up and hugging her as he walked inside.
"I'm so glad you're here." She buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"Me too," he replied and set her down then dropped his suitcase. "I want you to meet a friend of mine."
Sydney looked around and her mouth dropped open. The man standing in the doorway had the same expression on his face. Blake looked at the two of them with a curious expression as he made the introductions. "Sydney Forrest, this is George We'zel - Weasel to some of us at the bureau. Weasel, this is Sydney."
Weasel extended his hand and Sydney stepped forward to take it. Weasel winked at her as their hands clasped. "Nice to meet you, Sydney."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. We'zel," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "And why don't you just call me Syd."
"Sure, Syd, and you can call me . . . well you can call me just about anything, but don't call me George." Weasel nodded and let go of her hand then looked at Blake. "Well, dude, you weren't lying. This time you picked a winner."
Sydney turned to Blake with her eyebrows raised. "This time? You mean I'm part of some group?"
He smiled and put his arm around her. "Don't pay any attention to Weasel. He's just pulling your leg."
"Is that so?" Sydney cut a look at Weasel. "Well, I can see that I'm going to have to keep an eye on you …Weasel."
Chapter Six
Thursday, April 20
Washington, D.C.
"Anyone want coffee?" Sydney asked as she stood to gather up the plates from the table.
"Sure," Blake answered and looked at Weasel. "What about you?"
"You know me," Weasel replied with a smile. "I'm always on for caffeine."
Sydney took the plates to the kitchen and started cleaning up. She still could not believe that GW worked for the FBI and was friends with Blake. And why GW had not told Blake he knew her was question she intended to be answered. The only problem was getting GW in private for a few minutes.
As she opened the trash compactor to toss something in an idea occurred to her. She closed the bag, lifted it from the compactor and walked to the kitchen door. "Blake? Would you do me a really big favor?"
"Sure, what?" He stood and started to her.
"Take this down to the trash?" she asked sweetly. "I can't stand for it to pile up."
He smiled and took the bag from her. As soon as she heard the door close she went into the living room. "You want to tell me what's going on?" she asked to GW's back.
He turned from his seat on the couch and looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean Weasel.”
He shrugged and followed her into the kitchen when she walked away. "I can't believe you didn't tell Blake that you knew me. And not only that, why didn't you tell me you worked for the FBI?" she scolded him.
"It never came up."
"Never came up?" She slammed a glass into the dishwasher and turned with her hands on her hips. "Nice try, but that evasive crap won't cut it. You're supposed to be my best friend and now I find out you've been playing me for a fool all along. I could strangle you. How could you let me keep downloading those files like that? God, I can't believe you did this to me. You used me, you−you−"
"Hey!" Blake's voice came from the doorway. "What's going on?"
Sydney ignored him completely. Now that she was started, her anger was in control. "You're a real piece of work, GW. All this time I thought you were helping me when−"
"GW?" Blake interrupted, looking from her to Weasel in confusion.
"Yes! And he's been lying to me. All these years - how long has it been, GW? You've been with the FBI for how long and not bothered to mention it?"
"Who's GW?" Blake asked again.
"Him!" Sydney pointed to Weasel.
Blake's facial expression changed from confusion to surprise and his mouth fell open. "GW?" he looked at Weasel then back at Sydney. "Why didn't you tell me you knew Weasel?"
"Because I didn’t know anyone named Weasel," she replied caustically. "I know GW." She turned on Weasel again. "Just what kind of game are you playing, GW? And why weren't you honest with me when we were talking about−"
She stopped abruptly, realizing that she was just about to spill the beans. Blake looked from her to Weasel. "Someone want to tell me what's going on?"
Weasel's face split in a wide grin. "Sydney Forrest, I'd like you to meet my friend, Blake Edwards. Blake works with me at the FBI. Blake, this is my oldest friend, Sydney Forrest. Syd's a shrink. Now, is everyone happy?"
Sydney sputtered and rolled her eyes. "Cute, GW, very cute. But this time cute won't cut it. What are you up to?"
His smile did not fade but it did change into one of slyness. "I think a better question is what are you up to?"
Sydney's eyes widened. She did not know if he was going to tell Blake about her files. Blake frowned at the comment and turned to her. "Syd, are you up to something?"
She looked at him for a long moment. After what had happened with the man calling himself Needham this morning she was not sure about trying to find out more about Adrian on her own. Right now the idea of having Blake around to protect her sounded very appealing. And maybe it was better that Blake knew what she was up to.
"Well, maybe a little something," she finally answered. "And I guess it's time we were all honest. So, why don't we go in the living room and sit. This might take a while."
They all returned to the living room and sat down. Weasel took a seat in the recliner, throwing one leg over a padded arm while Blake sat down on the couch and pulled Sydney down beside him. For a few moments no one spoke.
"You were saying?" Blake verbally prodded her.
Sydney took a long slow breath then let it out. "It started when I began therapy with a new patient - Senator Tyler. At first I thought he was suffering from stress. But he kept hinting that he was party to something horrible - something he couldn't live with.
“I put him under hypnosis and he revealed something. Something unbelievable. According to w
hat he said, he was approached by someone after he took illegal campaign contributions from someone involved in the mortgage scandal back in 2007 or so. This person used that o blackmail Tyler into attending a meeting. There were three people besides the Senator there; a General, and three men apparently connected with the government.
They told him that it was time for the military budget to be increased. He told them they were dreaming, that the people would never stand for it - that there wasn't a need. That's when the man who arranged the meeting told him that he had a way to change the attitude of the people."
She stopped and looked at Blake then at Weasel. "Tyler insinuated that this group is behind the bombing."
"What?" Blake barked.
Sydney nodded. "That's what he thinks and I'm starting to believe him, Blake. He's scared to death and ever since he told me what he thinks is going on strange things have been happening. First, I suddenly meet Adrian and he starts chasing me like I'm Cinderella to his Prince Charming; then the FBI want me to turn over my patient files and then . . . well, then this morning a man who said his name was Needham came to my office and threatened me."
She reached up and pulled down the mock turtle-neck collar of her sleeveless top to show him the bruises around her neck. "I thought he was going to kill me. He said if I talked that he'd come back and I'd find out what kind of damage a soldering iron can do to human flesh."
A shudder passed through her as she remembered the encounter. Blake put his arm around her. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I couldn't. At least I didn't think I could. Blake, I haven't talked to anyone about what I know until now. So, if someone knows what's been said in my office it's because the office is bugged."
Blake looked away from her and she wondered what was wrong. "I'm sorry," she apologized, thinking he was upset with her for not calling him. "I should have called you but I just didn't know what to do. I thought I could take care of this on my own - find out if what Tyler said was true. But now I know that I can't."
He looked at her again. "Do you have any idea who's behind this plot the Senator talked about?"
She nodded. "Adrian."
"Tyler told you that?"
"No, not exactly. But the night you were here and Adrian showed up while Tyler was here, he told me that I should get as far away from Adrian as I could and not let him anywhere near me."
Blake leaned back and stared across the room. Sydney looked from him to Weasel, wondering what he was thinking. Weasel snapped his fingers a couple of times. "Hey, dude! I see the wheels turning. You want to share?"
"Just thinking," Blake replied then looked at Sydney. "You were right about your office being bugged. It's part of the surveillance the bureau has on Tyler."
"How did you find out?"
"I'm part of the surveillance team."
"You? You mean you've been bugging my −is the apartment bugged? Are my phones tapped?"
"No. Not yet, anyway. But they may be before it's over. Syd, we have to take this to the bureau."
"No!" She grabbed his arm. "Blake, you can't. I can't turn over those files and without them you have nothing."
"You can't or you won't?"
"It's essentially the same thing. Look, you have your obligations and I have mine and I can't turn over those files. There has to be another way to stop Adrian."
Blake didn’t say anything for a moment then he nodded. "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but you might be right. This thing may be a lot bigger than any of us think."
"What makes you say that?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the DIA snatching him while he was on surveillance this morning in front of your office," Weasel spoke up quietly.
Sydney's eyes flew open wide as Blake turned to Weasel with an angry expression on his face. "Hey, don't get your knickers in a knot, my man." Weasel looked completely unperturbed by the anger on Blake's face. "If we're going to put a stop to whatever's going on we're all going to have to be honest with each other. So, why don't you fill Syd in on what happened?"
Blake blew out his breath. "Maybe you're right. But before I say anything more, I want you both to realize that if we go any further, we'll be operating without the support or authorization of the bureau. In other words, we'll be on our own."
No one commented and after a moment he started to relate what had happened that morning. When he finished, Sydney jumped up and started pacing back and forth. "This is all starting to fit together. Tyler said that a general was at the meeting and now suddenly when you're assigned to his surveillance someone saying they're with DIA suddenly grabs you and tries to talk you into scrubbing the surveillance."
She stopped and looked at the two men. "But what do we do now?"
"Protect the Senator." Weasel's voice was soft.
Blake and Sydney both looked at him and he shrugged. "He's at the center of this and it seems to me that if someone is worried about him talking then the best way to insure that doesn't happen is to take him out."
"You're right," Blake agreed. "But without going through the bureau how can we protect him?"
"I may have a way," Sydney offered. "What if I have him declared mentally unstable or say that he's had a breakdown and have him committed to some private institution somewhere. That way, not only will the FBI stop their surveillance, but whoever the Senator's afraid of won’t have to worry about him. They'll figure that even if he does talk no one will believe him. He's crazy. Not even his own psychiatrist believed him."
"Good idea," Weasel said. "And that brings us to the next issue at hand."
"Which is?" she asked.
"Adrian Zayne. We have to throw him off our track."
"You have any ideas on that?" Blake asked as Sydney sat down again beside him.
"You know me.” Weasel smiled. “ I alway have ideas. And this one is perfect. The way to get to Zayne is to have someone on the inside - right?"
Blake nodded and Weasel’s smile widened to a grin. "And fortunately for us, we already have that. He's already hot for Syd so we just let her play up to him and see what she can come up with."
"No!" Blake's voice was loud and harsh. "Absolutely not!"
"Why not?" Sydney questioned him. "GW's right. I can just pretend to stop running and let him think I've fallen victim to his charms."
"No," Blake argued. "Syd, this isn't a game and this guy could be dangerous. I can't let you go in. You're not trained for this."
"But who's better trained to play mind games than me? Think about it, Blake. He already knows me, and−" she smiled and she pointed out, "−I can let things slip about Tyler and manipulate Adrian so that the suggestion to commit Tyler comes from him. When I act on his suggestion, he'll think he has some kind of control over me and he won't be suspicious."
"And, as you pointed out," Weasel added. "Since we're operating unofficially, it's the best chance we've got."
"Okay, I'll agree," Blake said grudgingly. "Provisionally. But I think we need more than just Syd on the inside. We need something we can use as evidence to take to the bureau."
"Then why not give Zayne another fish?" Weasel asked.
"A fish?" Sydney asked, not understanding what he meant.
"Yeah," he looked at her. "See, Tyler's been his fish. Why? Let's think about it. Tyler has a lot of connections and a lot of clout as well. If this Zayne and his group wants something done on the hill they need someone like Tyler−someone who can influence votes. But now, Tyler's going to be out of the picture, which throws Zayne's plan out of sync. So, we offer him another fish. One we control."
Blake grumbled and leaned back to rake his hands through his hair. "Nice idea, but it's impossible. There's no way we're going to convince some Senator to go along with an operation that is not even sanctioned by the bureau."
"Don't be too sure," Sydney said excitedly.
Blake looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Are you forgetting who my father is?"
"Your father? You want to bring your fath
er in on this? Syd, that's crazy! He'll never go for it."
"I think he will. He doesn't care much for Adrian and if we tell him what Adrian's up to he'll be furious. I think he'll be more than willing to go along with us. And besides, who better than Jack Forrest? No bragging intended, but he is one of the most powerful men in Washington. He's been around a long time, people trust him and he's head of a very powerful committee. Add all that up and what do you have? The ideal man to have on your side if you want something to get done."
Blake looked over at Weasel who smiled and nodded. "She's right. Jack's the man."
"There's one thing you seem to be forgetting about this little scenario," Blake said. "Just how are you going to get Zayne focused on Senator Forrest?"
Weasel's brow knotted together in a frown at the question but Sydney knew how they could do it. "How about though me?"
Both men turned their attention to her as she explained. "You know how political conversations go−this person says this and that person says that−everyone repeats what the people they support have to say. So, I fill Adrian full of stuff like "my father thinks this that or the other." Whatever we decide to feed him to get him interested on focusing on my father. Then if he does show an interest, maybe he'll want me to set something up."
"Yes." Weasel agreed. "Now, the next step requires some hardware. Can I use your computer?"
"Sure, you know where it is. Need any assistance?"
Weasel scoffed at the idea. “Get real, girl. You just sit there and make eyes with honey man and I'll take care of the next phase."
"Which is?" Blake turned to look at him as he started out of the room.
"Let's just call it a little creative programming," Weasel said with a laugh, then stopped at the puzzled expression on Blake's face. "Man, if we're gonna stop Zayne we need to get the scoop on him. And how better to do that than to talk with his little empire's computers?"
A smile formed on Blake's face. "You can do that?"
Weasel looked at Sydney. "Syd, explain it to the man. He still thinks I'm human."
Blake turned to Sydney as Weasel left the room. "What did he mean by that?"
