by Amber Lynn
Book two of the Avery Clavens series
Amber Lynn
Copyright ? 2012 Amber Lynn
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Author's note
The bookkeeping of the book
Thanks for stopping by. This is the second book in the Avery Clavens series. I would highly recommend reading the first book, Not in My Job Description, before starting in on this one. If you don't, there's a short recap at the beginning, but you may miss out on what to expect from Avery's quirky behavior.
Here's the part where I try to make it clear that I have never been to any of the places described in this book. In fact, the main town that this book takes place in was just picked because when looking at a map I liked the name. I'm pretty sure the town looks nothing like I describe it, if it does, let me just say, what a cool town. The characters in the book are also fictitious and based totally on whatever image popped in my head as I started writing about them.
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Amber
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
CHAPTER 1
Release the flying monkeys
"I don't want to get on the plane," I said, using my best pathetic puppy dog face. I hadn't practiced it in a mirror, so I was pretty sure I failed trying to pull it off.
"Avery, we've been over this. The plane is perfectly safe. Everything will be fine and we'll be in Montana before you know it."
Nate was trying his hardest to sound reassuring, but it wasn't working. He'd spent enough time with me that he should've known better than try to convince me to go against my nature.
"No. It's a death machine. I'm telling you I am not made for flying," I insisted.
He muttered under his breath something I couldn't hear, before raising his voice a smidge. "I really should've knocked you out before we got to this point."
"I can hear, you know, and it wouldn't have helped. I'm pretty sure the TSA frowns upon you bringing unconscious people aboard flights. Unless maybe it's a sleeping baby and I'm fairly certain I don't count."
"Avery, you're holding up the line. Just get on the plane now and we can discuss this later." He began to literally drag me onto the plane.
"Don't think I don't realize you want to discuss me not wanting to get on the plane, on the actual plane." Nate was such a jerk, and he did a great job of reiterating that fact almost every day.
He made me long for the life I used to have. I was twenty-five years old and had worked for a government agency called the Bureau of Singular Intelligence. I'd been there for seven years without a care in the world, and then two things happen.
The first was the jerk boarding the plane with me came into my life, and I didn't think I'd ever forgive him for that. As far as I was concerned, a word doesn't exist to describe what our relationship was. Enemies was the closest thing I could think of, but it wasn't right. Frenemies could've been closer, but I liked to pretend that word didn't exist.
He came into my life as an FBI agent needing our department's help on a case. We helped all right; I even had a hand in killing the bad guy. At some point he latched on to me, though, and I hadn't been able to shake him free. He claimed we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I claimed he was an idiot.
It was a draw who won the argument, but he was definitely still sleeping on my couch, which only added to the things I didn't understand about him. Who in their right mind stayed for months after being told they weren't welcome? I could understand if he was a relative, but I'd only known Nate for about a week before he took up residence in my apartment.
The second event that disrupted my life was a coworker going all psycho stalker on me and shooting me twice when I tried to run away from him. Even though said coworker remained in a padded room, work just didn't feel right after that. I felt bad leaving my other coworker and boss behind, but I was sure they could find someone to replace me.
Somewhere out there, some teenager was trying to hack into the files that revealed who shot J.F.K. and that teenager would be perfect for the job. The files are an interesting read, and not that hard to get to. Chances were security had been updated in five years, but I didn't doubt they were still accessible if you really wanted them.
After the shooting, I took a little time off. Not really a vacation, since I didn't leave my apartment, but it was time not working. During said time, I evaluated where my life was. I finally ended up deciding I wanted to do more with my life than sit behind a computer. With that decision made, and arm-twisting from the jerk, I ended up joining him at the three-letter agency he worked for.
I'd recently finished going through some stupid training they thought I needed and I was on my way to my first big mission. I wished I could get there without flying. Evidently, it was time-sensitive and the drive from New York to Vida, Montana would take too long. I personally thought they should've waited for my excellence, but everyone I mentioned that to didn't agree.
"You know, my parents live in Montana, why does my first assignment have to be in the state containing my mother? I'm thinking you picked it on purpose, and I'm not finding that extremely fair."
Since I didn't want to go, I was going to find everything I could whine about the whole way there. Maybe next time, he'd think better of taking assignments for us without consulting with me.?It wasn't like he didn't know where my parents lived, or that my mother had the ability to drive me crazy with a single look.
"My little butterfly, you're just being a baby now. Man up and get in your seat," he said, sitting me in what evidently was "my seat".
I quickly grabbed the seatbelt and fastened myself in. I didn't feel any safer secured in place, but I didn't see a flight attendant walking around offering bubble wrap. The poppable plastic would've made me feel better, and kept Nate from talking to me.
"Fine," I said with a huff.
At least he got us first-class seats. If I was going to fly for the first time in my life, I wanted to do it in style. Before the unfortunate incident, I was totally a tires on the pavement traveler. I had a feeling the new job meant I'd have to get used to having to traveling faster than my motorcycle could take me, which didn't sit well with me.
"Sometimes I really wish you drank alcohol or wouldn't get totally pissed at me if I slipped something to calm you into your drink," Nate said, making sure I fastened my seatbelt correctly in my rush to feel secure.
He often forgot I spent most of my hours on the Internet, so I was well versed in educational videos. None of them helped me with my anxiety, but I was well aware of every way I could die on the plane.
A voice sounded over the intercom, telling us that we were about to take off, so I put my head between my knees and started praying, loudly. When the plane began moving, I moved on to h
umming. At that point, Nate had wrapped his arms around me and was whispering that everything would be okay.
What in the world did he know? He'd never been on a plane with me. Maybe I was some kind of bad luck plane demon no one knew existed.
The plane leveled off into a smoother ride, allowing me to relax a little. I decided once we were in the air that there was a good chance I'd make it through the experience. I just needed something to distract me for the three stops and thirteen or so hours.
I was glad to know that when we arrived at the final airport I had a two-hour car ride before I was expected to have a decent conversation. I hoped after that amount of time I wouldn't sound like a total moron.
"So, tell me again why I'm torturing myself by flying to Vida, Montana." Hearing about the stupid case we were going on sounded like a good start for my hours of fun.
"As you've been hearing and reading about for the past couple of days, we're going undercover to one of the government's think tanks. Apparently, someone is leaking secrets from the lab and we need to find out the who, what, where, when and why, so those secrets don't get used against us."
There was a reason why I didn't think Nate and I were boyfriend and girlfriend. A true boyfriend wouldn't have been concise with his description in my time of need. Clearly, he could only be a distraction when it irritated me, because I knew firsthand he could be a great distraction.
"That was boring and short. Talk about something else," I demanded.
He laughed, which only earned him a short glare from me. "You know, you being nervous is quite cute. Let's see, something to talk about. How about the fact that when we get back we need to start looking for a bigger apartment? It's getting awfully crowded with the two of us in your tiny studio."
"It always seemed roomy enough before you took up residency. I have a great idea, why don't you move out?"
I knew it wouldn't do me any good, but I had to say it anyway. I'd asked him almost daily to move out, starting about a week after I got out of the hospital. It was usually like talking to a wall, because he ignored the suggestion.
"I'm not leaving, so you should just stop asking. Do you want to stay in your current neighborhood, or should we move to one of the other boroughs?" he asked.
"I don't know. I haven't had to think about it before. Since I've been in New York, I've lived in that apartment and I'm not looking forward to leaving it."
"Fine. When we get back I'll come up with some options and take you around to them, so you can decide which one feels the best to you. I want a little more room, but you being comfortable is the most important feature I'll be looking for."
"Whatever," I said as a flight attendant walked by and asked if there was anything she could get us.
We both declined, but she slipped Nate a piece of paper. There had always been times in my life when I felt invisible. I couldn't help that I was nothing special to look at, but I wasn't a total dog.
"So, does she want to meet for a little nookie at our first layover?"
I waited until she was out of hearing range to ask. The urge to chase after her and announce that he was taken, at least by his standards, was strong. Thankfully, I was too afraid to undo my seatbelt to carry out the action.
"Sorry, sweetie, it's just a regular old phone number. No requests for my services. I may have mentioned this before, but if you let me hold your hand and give you kisses every once in a while, people might actually think we're dating," he said as he grabbed my hand to emphasize his point.
"You're the only one in this relationship who believes we're actually dating. I just think of you as an annoying growth the doctors think is better left alone." He was an incredibly attractive growth, especially when his brown eyes lit up almost like they were on fire if he got jealous.
One of the main reasons I didn't touch or become affectionate with him was because he always shocked me. It was like when I went to plug in an electrical device and touched my finger to the metal as it initiated contact with the current, shivers all up and down my body. Most of the time, it annoyed the hell out of me, but during stressful times, like going on my first plane ride, it had a bit of a calming effect.
"Let's talk about what we're actually going to do once we get to Montana. The tease you tried to get by with isn't good enough in my current state."
"The super-condensed version wouldn't have been good enough for you in any state. You're crazy about having to know everything, and we both know you already know everything I'm going to say. But, since you're my girlfriend, I'll be nice and occupy your time with stuff you already know.
"I'm going undercover on the security team at the Progress Institute. I'll be assuming the identity of Sean Krieder. It's my job to see if anyone is physically carrying the confidential information to the outside world."
Nate had leaned in and was whispering softly in my ear. He was particular about letting people hear things they shouldn't. I couldn't blame him for making sure no one on the plane knew what we were up to.
"You, on the other hand, Peggy Richards, will be on one of the teams in this particular think tank. With your knowledge of computers and electronics, you'll get to work with other geeks on making artificial intelligence devices. When you're not playing with your little robots, you'll be logging on to their system, trying to find out if someone is sending emails or has some other kind of file transfer worked out to get the information outside the building.
"I really don't know what else to tell you, since this isn't new information," he sighed, acting as if telling me the information was a real drain on his energy reserves. "It goes without saying that we're playing the part of boyfriend and girlfriend to legitimize talking to each other so much and living in the same house. You wanted to be brother and sister, but I vetoed it, just in case you were actually feeling amorous.
"The town consists of only people who work at the think tank, so it's really small and full of extremely smart people. We'll have to be on our toes to make sure no one suspects anything. The only reason we even know there's an issue is because someone came across a few documents recently that shouldn't have been available to the public."
I thought about giving him a gold star for eating up a bigger chunk of the time before my feet were on solid ground. Then I remembered it was his fault my feet had ever left the lovely earth I was so fond of, and any good will he'd earned vanished.
"Did they ever tell you what was in the documents they recovered?"
"No, evidently it's classified information from one of the biolabs on site. Who knows, it could've been a cure for cancer or directions on how to make some bio bomb or a secret formula that turns us into the creature from the Black Lagoon. You'll learn quickly in this job the more questions you ask, the fewer answers you'll receive. It took me a couple of years, but I've come to understand to do as I'm told without asking questions."
"And yet you believe this is the perfect career move for me. I've always had issues with authority figures."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, and just think, you have me to help. Why don't you try to sleep, it might make this trip easier, since we've gone over everything on the mission and you don't want to talk about our relationship." He took out his laptop and started typing.
"You know, we do have more to talk about than those two topics. We could talk about hockey, movies, motorcycles, how I kicked your butt at the gym last week, computers, food, or any of a million other topics."
"We could talk about a lot of things, you're right, but you're also sleepy. That's why you've been so cranky. You want to pretend it's because of flying, but that's only part of the issue. You stayed up all last night worrying about the trip, so now you need to sleep. I'll wake you and make sure you make it through the other stops." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. It was warm and it soothed me even more than his touch had.
When I was listing out all the things that made Nate a jerk, I forgot to mention that he always had to be right. The absolute worst trait for t
he person in a relationship opposite of me to have.
"Fine. Just make sure you don't leave me on a plane somewhere thinking you'll get the apartment all to yourself. I promise to find and hunt you down if you do." I reclined the seat back and snuggled in for a little nap, making sure our conversation didn't continue.
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