“What’s flame? You say it every time you wake up.”
Breathing out, she wondered if this was how Strike had felt when she kept questioning him. “You know, by email, I got the impression that you were relaxed,” she sneered, sort of mocking him and hoping that he’d pick up on her displeasure. “So far I’m not getting that from you.”
“I guess neither of us is at our best,” he said. “Hard to just chill when we know the fate of the world is in our hands.”
If he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, she should be working to take some of the burden. After all, a lot of this was her fault. It seemed like her mood was permanently sour these days, and she had to work to remind herself that Junker was new to this and trying his best.
“Don’t worry so much. We’re not the only ones interested,” she said. “There are… contingencies.”
Infused with new energy, Junker leaped on her statement. “What does that mean? If we fail, you think that someone else will stop him?”
Stop him from doing what? That was the question. Rora wasn’t as worried as Junker, but that was because she knew something that he didn’t. The Point wasn’t really in play.
“I know that the world is safe… for now. But if, for whatever reason, it gets unsafe, there are people we might be able to appeal to for help.”
“Who?”
During her liaison with Strike, she’d learned a lot. Part of that education included meeting people who might be interested in saving the world if it came to it. Like Shula’s X… and the NSA. But at the moment, Rora wasn’t going to show her full hand. Not until she knew more about Junker.
It didn’t usually take her this long to judge a person’s character, and she did have history with Junker, who also had Benjamin’s endorsement. But still sluggish after her stay with Bella, Rora was also reeling from being stung by her former lover, making her question her own ability to judge someone’s virtue.
“I’m not ready to answer that,” she said.
“You don’t trust me.”
“No, not really,” she said, figuring that was at least some kind of honesty, whether he liked it or not. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” he said immediately.
Turning to him, some of her aggravation faded. It was impossible to be wary of a person so obviously naïve. “Really?”
“Why shouldn’t I trust you?”
She tried to restrain her scoff. “Why shouldn’t you? Because you don’t know me. Because emailing someone for a few months doesn’t give true insight into what they’ll do in a life or death situation. Often, we don’t know what those closest to us are thinking or how they’ll act on a daily basis. How can we expect to know each other when we’re practically strangers?”
He thought about this for a minute. “Benjamin talked about you. A lot… You guys had a thing, didn’t you?”
“Back in the day, yes,” she said. The glimmer of her good humor faded. “But not recently. I don’t want to talk about me and Benjamin.”
He gazed out the windshield. “We have to find him. If he’s out there somewhere… after all this time. Do you think he’s alive?”
It didn’t even occur to her that Junker wouldn’t know Benjamin’s fate, but she didn’t appreciate being reminded of it. “What did I just say?” she snapped, startling him.
“Sorry.”
Rora had never been a bitch, not like she’d just been to Junker. She could hold her own if she had to, but she couldn’t attack an innocent person for asking a question. “Junker… I cared a lot about Benjamin and it’s been a tough few months. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”
“I’m asking a lot of questions,” he said. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t push. You have been through a lot. Just… if you want to talk, I’m here. You’re not alone anymore.”
Like he’d read her mind, he touched on her biggest vulnerability. Glancing at him, they held eye contact for a score of seconds.
Rora kept looking at him after he faced the road again. “What’s your plan?” she asked. “You said you had one.”
“Exile’s the key to this, sure, but he’s not easy to track down. Do you remember how long it took us to find him the last time?” She nodded. “We don’t have the time to go through that again… One thing you said last night intrigued me… You said if he was in the city, you’d have known where he was. The way you said it… you were confident.” Again, she nodded. “Do you think you could find him again?”
She sighed. “If I knew what city he was in, sure. But I think he’s on the move.”
“Why?”
Revealing her logic wasn’t betraying any big secret. “I think if this device and Benjamin’s work are drawing interest, he’ll want to make himself a difficult guy to pin down. Best way to do that is keep moving.”
That and she’d noticed the chest she’d raided in the loft was light on apparel and tech.
He bobbed his head. “I have to say, I thought the same thing. If we could find out what city he was in, could you track him?”
“Is that why you asked me to help?” she asked, twisting her body toward him. “I’m not a sniffer dog.” Although she had once referred to herself as a cadaver dog after Strike called her a homing pigeon. “I can’t hunt him down.”
“That’s ok,” he said, reaching over to put a hand over hers on her knee. “I’ve put the feelers out. Once I get to my computer, I’m hoping we’ll have something.”
Confronting the truth that she’d have to see Strike again, she slid her hand out from under Junker’s, though that left his palm on her knee. “The device, the top-secret tech you mentioned, what is it?”
She’d seen it, held it in her hands, but she still didn’t know what it was designed to do.
“I don’t know exactly,” Junker said. “But I know he got it from someone in government, someone at the highest level.”
That wasn’t exactly true. He’d picked it up from the carpet after leaving her boneless and aroused on a motel room floor.
Rora cleared her throat. “Why would they hand over something like that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re sympathetic to his cause? He has something on them? I can guess, but I don’t have any evidence of their motive.”
Rora didn’t want to be bitter, but she was definitely sliding toward it. “He doesn’t have a cause,” she muttered, her negative mood returning. “He has a hard head.”
Junker was innocent in his confusion. “I… don’t know what that means. You mean he’s logical?”
“No, I mean he’s stubborn,” she said. “Imagine the worst-case scenario and assume that’s how he got hold of it.”
Junker sucked in a breath. “Then I’d guess he got someone else to get it for him. That he somehow conned them into it… Maybe they didn’t even know what they were getting. Then he could honestly say he didn’t receive the tech from a government agent; that it was given to him by the innocent party. Less of a crime to get it from a willing civilian than to blackmail or bribe a government official.”
To distract herself, Rora popped open the glove box. “Willing,” she muttered.
Junker watched her investigate and pick out a candy. “He’s a smart guy,” he said. “No denying that he knows what he’s been doing.”
“He’s been doing it a long time,” she said, sucking on the candy and fashioning its paper into a triangle in a series of folds and tucks.
“Did you… spend time getting to know his history?” Everything he was comfortable with sharing. “You never told me why you and he fell out. Seems like you were friends at one time.”
She shook her head and sucked hard. “Not friends. Exile isn’t interested in making friends. I can make my own assumptions. No one gets a reputation like his unless they know what they’re doing.”
“Have you heard what people say about him?”
Narrowing an eye, she let her focus creep around to him. “That better not be hero worship I hear in your voice,” she said
and was taken aback by his open smile. It had been a while since she’d seen a man smile.
“I keep my hero worship in my other pants,” he said. “But I have heard about some of the jobs he’s done. I wouldn’t mind asking him a few questions. I’m capable, but sometimes he shows ingenuity that’s… unparalleled. He thinks of contingencies that the rest of us wouldn’t even imagine planning for.”
“That’s how you stay out of jail,” she said. “Those of you who do this for research and ethical purposes don’t have to worry about going to prison for life. He does.”
It was obvious that Junker was intrigued, and it was interesting to see Strike from an innocent person’s perspective. “Do you think that’s why he flies so low under the radar? Prison? Must get lonely, don’t you think?”
She resisted the urge to laugh in his face, but it was difficult. “He doesn’t like people.”
“Might make him difficult to tail,” he said.
“Is that your plan?”
“The plan is to find out what he has, what he plans to do with it, and how to take it from him.”
And Junker thought Exile would reveal that through his actions? Rora didn’t need to waste her time. “Let me save you some time,” she said. “You said he has this top-secret tech? I’d guess he plans to use it to his benefit. And if you want to take it, you better be willing to put a bullet in him. Exile won’t give up his computer for anything.”
That got his attention. “You think it’s in his computer?”
She knew it was in his computer because she’d seen Strike sitting in Buddy’s living room installing the device in Opal. But she couldn’t give Junker those details. “If that’s what it’s for, why wouldn’t he put hardware in his computer?”
There was suspicion in his eyes when they next met hers. Oops, she hadn’t meant to put herself in the spotlight. “I don’t know what it looks like, its size, or if it needs to be integrated to work. It might have an independent power source and operating system.”
Time to backtrack and downplay her knowledge. “True. So, you have to find out. But, I don’t have a clue how you’re going to find him.”
“I’ve got people looking,” he said, and she folded her arms, unconvinced. “Oh, ye of little faith.”
Her dubiousness wasn’t doubt of Junker’s skills. Though she knew Strike could avoid detection and that even if they did locate him he could shake a tail. But the truth was, she didn’t know if she wanted Junker to find him.
No, even that was a lie. She knew that she didn’t want Junker to find Strike. If the men came face-to-face, one of them was going to have to blink first, and she doubted that it would be the one determined to kill her.
FIVE
For four days they were on the road.
Rora was getting used to living life on the move, but it wasn’t any rooted attachment to the lifestyle that caused her to be unhappy when they finally stopped to make camp in a hotel room nicer than any she’d stayed in since this ordeal started.
Hugging her pillow with one arm, Rora held open the hotel room door for Junker. “I am so glad you like this plan,” Rora muttered when he passed her carrying two heavy backpacks full of supplies.
On the road, she’d had time to get to learn more about the man she’d only known through email until this. While she didn’t understand much when he talked about his work, she found it refreshing to hear the joy in his voice whenever his sister came up. Rora envied his fervor; she barely remembered what it was like to have a family, let alone to be proud of them.
Closing and locking the door, she examined the space. The room was spacious and cleaner than most of the motels she’d stayed in with either Junker or Strike, though she’d discovered that the former had a better appreciation for comfort.
After picking up Junker’s supplies, they’d set up in a motel to give him time to check his sources. The whole time he’d been connected to the internet, she’d been jumpy. Rora hadn’t been able to sit down and relax; she was up, poised, pacing, listening for every sound outside and wringing her hands.
As she’d expected, none of Junker’s contacts had a line on Exile. But they did have a rumor for him to follow up. Rumor, the internet seemed to be full of those.
Unfortunately for her, the rumor Junker wanted to follow up involved the Black Jewel, who, it turned out, was looking for Exile too. Junker thought nothing of telling Rora that the Black Jewel was easier to trace and to follow, like he’d forgotten what she’d just been through with the woman.
Junker had tried to insist that he wouldn’t let her be hurt, but his naivety and compassion had made her so uncomfortable that she’d stuttered some excuse about needing to soak in the tub to help her relax. The only reason she’d said it was to buy herself some time alone. The trouble was, she hated taking baths, hated it. From the minute she’d sat down in the water, she was bored. As much as she’d wanted an escape from Junker, she couldn’t find any escape from her thoughts. Damnit.
After killing some time in the tub, Rora had got out to have Junker declare that the Black Jewel was on the move and had an open-ended reservation that they had to chase down. Determined not to show Junker that she was reluctant to sneak up on the Black Jewel, Rora didn’t flinch. She’d told him to pack up and get the truck.
Since then, they’d been on the road, resolute that they’d get to this city before the Black Jewel, and they’d succeeded. They were here and Bella, was due to arrive tomorrow at a hotel a block over.
The Black Jewel’s reservation was flexible, suggesting she could be planning to stay in town for a while. They had no word on whether Exile was coming into town with the Black Jewel, or if Bella’s plan was simply to sit still and wait for Strike to come to her. Probably the latter.
Without knowing what to expect or how long they’d be stuck here, she and Junker had stopped to get supplies of anything they might need on the way. Given Junker’s understanding of comfort, and Rora’s willingness to spend Strike’s money, they’d spared no expense.
Finally, Rora had enough clothes that she could spend some time choosing an outfit. They had bought snacks and playing cards to keep them occupied, and Junker had a ton of tech that he planned to use to help them achieve their goal.
All they had to do now was settle into their hotel room and wait.
Since she’d left Bella’s dungeon, Rora’s neck had been stiff, something the various motel room pillows didn’t help soothe. After one of his solo shopping trips, Junker had surprised her with an orthopedic pillow. His generosity had overwhelmed her into silence. Sure, it made sense to have a pillow that would help her neck, but she hadn’t expected him to think of her comfort.
Tossing her special pillow to the bed, Rora thought about a shower.
“Do you want a bath?” Junker asked. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff to setup.”
Telling him that taking baths relaxed her had been a mistake. Junker suggested it every time they stopped somewhere new. But, to cover for that first night’s lie, Rora had to maintain the pretense.
“Do you need help?” she asked, watching him lift both packs onto the end of the big bed.
There was a wall-mounted TV in this room above a nice oak dresser that had a matching coffee table in front of it and a couch and armchairs around it. Kicking off her shoes, she wiggled her toes in the pile of the carpet and delight coiled through her.
Junker must have noticed her smile because he stopped unpacking to smile back. “Happy?”
“This carpet is amazing,” she said and scanned the clean walls and crisp coving. “The drapes look heavy too.”
They were on the bottom floor, so their room opened onto a porch that faced the parking lot and then the street. Convenient for a quick getaway… another lesson she’d learned from Strike.
“Nicer than some of the dives we’ve been in, huh?”
Oh, he had no idea. Wandering around, Rora admired the picture on the wall and ran a finger along the dresser to find there wasn’t a speck of d
ust in sight. Junker unpacked more tech, laying things out on the bed.
Rora went over and sat down to pick up something that looked like a tiny camera. “Where are you going to put this stuff?” she asked.
“Anywhere that will give us a view of the Black Jewel’s movements. I’ll go have a look around her hotel. This is why I was so determined to get here before her. I should be able to sneak into the hotel’s system and figure out which room is hers and where it is in the building. I’ll find outside locations to position the cameras to get footage of the inside of the room. Covering the lobby, the restaurants and bars is easy, but I won’t be able to get into her room. The cameras are discreet and can be switched to night vision. When she arrives, we’ll be able to see her… And if Exile shows up, we’ll see him too…”
Parting her lips, Rora was about to speak, but stopped herself to draw a breath between her teeth. Junker was still unpacking and she hoped he hadn’t noticed.
If Exile showed up, rather if Strike showed up, he wouldn’t be visible on camera. Well he would be visible, but his image would be distorted. That meant if Bella was close enough to him, her image would be distorted too.
Her stomach churned. If Strike showed up for Bella, which Rora guessed he would at some point, she might have to watch footage of them… together. Whether his image was distorted or not, Rora really didn’t want to watch that. If he was naked, he couldn’t be carrying the tech that messed up his image and voice on recordings, meaning they’d see every detail.
“You ok? You look a little pale?” Junker asked. She swallowed her nausea, sure her expression was queasy. “I thought you were starting to feel better.”
She was getting over the trauma of her imprisonment. Her appetite was back, but she wasn’t sleeping great. The same nightmare kept waking her up, night after night. No matter how many times she fell asleep, whether it was in the truck or at night in a motel room, she had the same nightmare every time.
“I’m going to get in the tub.”
Having a bath might not be her idea of great fun, but it gave her space and she appreciated the time away from Junker. If she wasn’t in the room with him, she didn’t have to lie to him, something she was appreciating less and less. Rora had embraced her new friendship with Junker and was beginning to believe that he was a good person.
Kiss Chase (Exile Book 2) Page 4
