I straightened and swallowed the bitterness. Just more lies. That shouldn’t surprise me anymore. At least I could get Dave off the hook.
I took a deep breath. “I met Arnie at the hotel, and we decided it would be smart to lie low. We were sure you’d be looking for me, and I wanted to do everything in my power to help Nichele. We all got in Dave’s truck and got out of the city.”
I opened my mouth to continue, but Kane interrupted, his gaze steady. “I’d like to add some detail, if I may.”
Stemp shot an unreadable glance at him, and raised a questioning eyebrow at me. I nodded slowly. What the hell was he up to?
“I didn’t realize Aydan had been communicating with Webb,” he began.
“Sorry,” Spider muttered miserably, his eyes fixed on the table.
“It’s all right, you did the right thing,” Kane said. He spoke directly to Stemp. “Aydan told Webb I’d killed her husband, and he decided to investigate further before telling me about Aydan’s communication, in case I was compromised. It was the right decision.”
Stemp nodded once. “Noted.”
Spider’s strained expression eased, and Kane continued. “I had been in contact with Hellhound without telling him any details, and I led him to believe I’d lost touch with Aydan and urgently needed to speak with her. As soon as he got her message, he called me. I was hiding at their meeting place when Aydan arrived.”
Kane’s steady grey eyes met mine and held me. “Aydan and I had… had words… before she left. I let my personal feelings get in the way, and I acted unprofessionally. As a result, I botched the operation, and Aydan escaped. I take full responsibility.”
Stemp nodded again. “Noted. Ms. Kelly, please continue.”
A flood of unidentifiable emotion held me speechless for a second. Relief and gratitude and who-knows-what-else. He hadn’t covered his ass. He’d told as much of the truth as he could without incriminating Dave. I sipped some more water, recovering.
After another moment to gather my thoughts, I carried on with my story, pausing at the point where I’d reported the potential hit on Kane. “Is that when you told him?” I asked Spider.
“Yes.” He met my eyes imploringly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“It’s okay. I expected you’d have to. Was James actually trying to have everybody killed?”
“Yes,” Spider replied. “It took us a while to dig it up, but he had contracts out to kill everybody but Hellhound. They were just supposed to capture him.”
A jolt of fear made me jerk up in my chair. “Dante! Did you ever find him? Is he…”
“He’s fine,” Spider comforted. “He wasn’t even in the country. He was at a photo shoot in Milan.”
I let the air leak out through my lips as I sank back. “Thank God. So he doesn’t know a thing about this.”
“And he never will,” Kane said.
“Thank God.” I sipped some more water, trying to ease my aching throat. “Is that when you started tracing my IP addresses?” I asked Spider.
He flushed. “Yes. Well, no, actually, I was tracing you right from the start, I just didn’t…” He trailed off.
“It’s all right,” Kane encouraged. “It was still the right decision.”
I gave Richardson a hard look. “So you were looking for me at the internet cafe. That wasn’t coincidence.”
His eyes darted to Stemp, and a muscle jumped in his jaw as a faint flush climbed his neck. “It was coincidence that I was the one closest to the cafe. As soon as Webb sent the word out, I got over there. Where were you?”
“Hiding in the corner with my hood up and my head down. When Weasel started making a commotion, I slipped out behind you.”
His flush deepened. “I noticed a skinny teenage boy in a baggy sweatshirt slipping out. I was looking for long red hair. That was pure incompetence on my part.”
I wasn’t harbouring any charitable feelings toward him, so I let the silence lengthen for a moment before moving on.
“And at the mall? Did you have the phones bugged? Is that why the police showed up?”
Richardson’s eyes darted to Stemp’s impassive face. “Not exactly bugged…” He trailed off.
“But you knew I was there.”
“Yes,” Stemp said.
In the silence that followed, I realized he wouldn’t elaborate, and clenched my fists in momentary frustration before letting it go to move on. “So at the library, you just happened to be in the vicinity again?”
“Not close enough,” Richardson replied. “By that time, we’d discovered the hit on you had been cancelled, and James was trying to capture you alive at all costs. We knew that meant he’d discovered you were more valuable alive than dead, so we immediately made the connection to Fuzzy Bunny. We were desperate to bring you in before they could get to you, so we sent the police on ahead and I came as fast as I could.”
He shot me a frustrated glance. “And missed you again.”
I shrugged. “How did you find us in the industrial park? More to the point, how did James find us in the industrial park? We were just supposed to be meeting Hellhound’s contact.”
Kane grimaced. “James had ears on the street trying to track your whereabouts, and he found out you’d set up the meeting. He ‘convinced’ Hellhound’s contact to tell him where and when. The contact is in the hospital now, but he’s expected to survive.”
He shot a look of approval at Spider. “Webb was digging for anything he could find on James the whole time, and once we realized the connection to Fuzzy Bunny, he had more to go on. At that point, we gave up on finding you and focused on finding James instead. You were too hard to catch, and we expected you’d end up in the same place eventually, since we knew you were searching for him, too.”
He nodded to Spider, and he took up the tale. “James is smart, but I eventually unearthed a connection through one of his aliases in a shell company, and found the cell phone number he was using. We tracked him using his cell phone.”
“So we were able to put people in place at the industrial park waiting for you,” Kane finished.
Fury bubbled up. “And you let Arnie go in anyway. Did you see what James did to him?” I jerked forward, my voice grinding my flayed throat. “Do you have any idea how much pain he went through? For nothing?”
Kane’s eyes reflected the full knowledge of that pain. “We had originally planned to intercept you and extract you.”
Stemp’s cool voice cut in. “But then Webb discovered James had arranged a trap for you, and a transfer to Fuzzy Bunny’s buyer. The opportunity was too good to pass up.”
His dispassionate gaze raked over me. “I required some assurance of your continued loyalty. So we captured the buyer and sent Richardson in his place. It’s unfortunate that your friend had to suffer, but the ends justified the means.”
The air choked out of my body. “The ends… justified…? You… What if James had killed him?”
“It was an acceptable risk,” Stemp replied. “We knew James wanted to capture him, not kill him. I would have avoided collateral damage if I could, but my priority is the security of this country, and the millions of innocent lives that would be at risk if you were compromised. A few bruises and broken bones are a small price to pay for that.”
“Yeah,” I grated. “As long as they’re not your bones.”
Stemp met my gaze with his flat eyes. “I’ve sacrificed my share of bones. I have nothing to prove.”
I shut up, seething. In my heart of hearts, I believed him. I knew he’d been a field agent for years, and I knew the risks that came with that role.
When I could trust my voice, I spoke again. “So you set me up to believe I’d been taken by Fuzzy Bunny.”
Stemp shrugged. “It was the only way we could be sure you were still loyal.”
“So how long were you going to torture me before you could be sure?” I spat. My eyes strayed to the bandage on my arm before I glared at Richardson.
&nb
sp; “Aydan, I’m so sorry,” he implored, his voice raw with emotion. “I…”
“We never intended to torture you at all,” Stemp cut in. “I expected the captivity alone would be enough to break you eventually. The threat of torture was just icing on the cake. I was hoping to speed up the process.” His clinical tone made my skin crawl.
He continued, “When you agreed to enter the network, I wanted to see if you would accurately decrypt the files, or whether you would lie about their contents. We made sure the files contained information that would be disastrous in Fuzzy Bunny’s hands, and we knew you’d realize that as soon as you decrypted them.”
He shot a glance at Kane. “We thought you might have an anxiety-driven loss of control inside the sim, and Richardson had been briefed that he might have seconds to extract you if that happened.”
For once, Stemp allowed expression to creep onto his face. A flash of wry humour transformed him briefly into a human being before the mask closed down again.
“None of us expected you to blow your brains out,” he said.
Richardson leaned forward, hands flat on the table, his expression beseeching. “Aydan, I’m so sorry. I’d been told that you usually visualized suffocating or getting trapped, so I thought I’d have a few seconds to get you out. When I saw the gun, I panicked. I knew a pain stimulus would yank you out of the network instantly. I didn’t have time to drop the torch and pull the crystal off you.”
“It’s only a small second-degree burn,” Stemp said.
Richardson spared him a single hostile glance before meeting my eyes again. “I didn’t realize how horrific it is for you to be pulled out of the network like that,” he said. “That was just…”
He shook his head and continued, “And then you went in again so fast. I yanked the crystal off you, and you started to go through hell again, and I…” He met my eyes wretchedly. “I shot you with the trank gun. It was the only thing I could think of to make you stop suffering. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”
I took a moment to process that, letting my whirling mind adjust from loathing the man who’d tortured me to having sympathy for a good agent forced into an untenable position. God, talk about a mindfuck.
I restrained myself from slumping forward to rest my aching forehead on the table for about a year, and settled for a long sigh instead.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “I know you were doing what you had to do. I wish you hadn’t been so convincing, but it’s okay.”
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“So then when I woke up and overheard your conversation with the doctor…” I shot Stemp a glare. “…I assumed I was still with Fuzzy Bunny. So I tried to escape.”
“It was an excellent attempt,” Stemp said. “Both attempts were quite impressive, actually, under the circumstances.”
I met his eyes across the table. “So, are you satisfied? How many times do I have to prove myself to you?”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, the answer is ‘over and over’. You’ve seen for yourself how agents can be turned.”
I slouched in the chair while I absorbed the truth of his statement. Heavy exhaustion oppressed me. This was my life now.
The rest of the debriefing dragged interminably.
Chapter 40
At last we emerged from the meeting room, and I massaged my aching temples. I glanced up at Kane as he paced beside me. “Can I get out of here now?”
He gave me a sympathetic glance. “Yes. Linda is waiting back at your room. She’ll take that IV out of your hand and do the discharge paperwork with you. I’ll meet you down in the lobby.”
I nodded thanks and trailed back to the small room. Linda met me with a compassionate hug, my backpack, and a bottle of orange juice. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “It’s over now, and everything’s going to be okay.”
“Thanks, Linda.” I let her naive reassurance comfort me a little.
When I stepped into the lobby, I was greeted by a familiar smiling face.
“Dave!” I hugged him fiercely. “Goddamn, Dave, you scared the shit out of me! I’m so glad you’re okay!”
He patted me on the back and pulled away to meet my eyes. “Sorry I scared you. I got another muscle spasm, and then when I tagged that guy with the stun gun, he fell on me and wrenched my back. Couldn’t even move, it hurt so bad. Tried to tell you I was okay, but I couldn’t catch my breath.”
“I was so sure you were having a heart attack.”
He smiled. “Told you I was okay. Think I’ve had my fill of excitement, though. The chopper ride was cool, but I’m ready to go back to driving now.”
I gave him an extra squeeze before I released him. “That’s really good to hear.”
“Hey, get your hands off my man!”
I jerked around at the sound of Nichele’s saucy voice. I caught a glimpse of her bruised face before she flung herself on me and hugged me half to death.
“Thanks, Aydan,” she whispered.
I extracted myself from her embrace to frown at her. “What do you mean, your man?” I glanced from her grin to Dave’s flushed, smiling face. “Uh, congratulations…?”
I dragged her a few steps away and bent to whisper. “What the hell, Nichele?” I shot another look at plain, overweight Dave in his nondescript jeans and T-shirt. “Don’t mess with him. He’s a sweet guy and you’ll break his heart.”
“I’m not messing with him. I know he’s a sweet guy. We’ve been talking non-stop since last night.”
“Nichele, he’s not drop-dead handsome, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t own a suit. I know you. You’re just going to screw him and then get tired of him and dump him and break his heart. Just don’t, okay?”
“Aydan, I swear I won’t.” She grimaced. “I’ve developed a sudden allergy to men in suits. And when I found out what a hero Dave is, I realized maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong place. I’m going to give him a chance.”
I sighed. I knew Nichele. She had a heart of gold, but a ‘chance’ would probably last a few weeks at best.
“At least let me give Dave fair warning,” I begged.
“Okay. But I’m going to surprise you this time.”
I couldn’t help smiling at her. “You do that.”
I walked over to Dave. His smile dissolved at the look on my face.
“Dave, we need to talk,” I said.
He eyed me worriedly. “…’Kay. About what?”
There was no way to be tactful about this. I rubbed my headache. “Dave, I’m sorry, I need to say something that’s going to… that you’re not going to want to hear.”
He squared his shoulders. “…’Kay.”
I suppressed a groan. “Dave, Nichele is… um, flighty. She changes her mind really easily. Um…”
He relaxed and grinned. “Aydan, it’s okay. Look at her.” We both looked, taking in her tasteful, expensive clothing and impeccable hair, nails and makeup. Dave chuckled. “A guy like me with a woman like her? Maybe for a couple of weeks, tops. But I’m ready to celebrate life a little. I’m just going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts.”
I squeezed his hand. “Dave, you’re an amazing guy.”
He flushed. “Thanks. You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
“Come on, Dave, let’s go.” Nichele bounced over and hugged his arm to her impressive cleavage.
They made their way to the door, arms locked around each other. Dave’s beaming face could have lit up the entire town of Silverside.
I was standing there smiling and shaking my head when a familiar gravelly voice spoke from behind me. “Looks like a happy endin’ for Dave.”
I turned to see Kane and Arnie approaching. I grinned. “Yeah. He gets the girl, and he gets away with a small indiscretion involving an illegal weapon.” I met Kane’s eyes. “Thanks for leaving that part out.”
He smiled back, but his eyes were serious. “I owed him after all he did for you.”
“Will he get his truck back?” I asked.
“Yes. And he’ll be getting more than the truck, although he doesn’t know it yet,” Kane said. “Sirius will compensate him for his lost load this week, and I’ve recommended him for a Medal of Bravery for risking his life to save you.”
“That’s wonderful.” I savoured a glow of pure happiness for Dave. This probably marked the end of his mid-life crisis.
I shot a look at Hellhound’s bandaged face. “There’s somebody else here who deserves a medal or three.”
Kane turned to regard his friend seriously. “I wanted to recommend him, but he wouldn’t let me.” His lips quirked up. “He’s already got a drawer full of them anyway.”
Arnie shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, anyway…” He gave Kane a look. “I gotta talk to Aydan.”
He laid an arm across my shoulders and guided me toward a couple of unoccupied chairs. I looked up at him. “Drawer full of medals. I believe it.”
He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. “He’s exaggeratin’. Listen, darlin’, we need to talk.”
“Uh-oh.”
He didn’t smile. “Let’s sit.”
Once settled, he reached for my hand and gave me a steady look from the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “Aydan, there ain’t a good time to say somethin’ like this, so I’m just gonna say it. I’m gettin’ too attached to ya.”
I blew out a breath as my heart contracted sharply. “I was going to talk to you about that, too,” I interrupted. I was glad my voice had been nothing but a hoarse whisper to begin with. It couldn’t betray me now. I continued quickly before I lost my nerve.
“It’s too dangerous for you to be around me. Every time we’re together, you end up suffering. Sooner or later, luck will run out, and your death will be on my hands. I won’t take that chance. Thanks for everything you’ve done. You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me.”
I squeezed his hand, wanting to hold on for all I was worth. “Goodbye, Arnie. Thanks.”
I made myself let go of his hand and stood, turning away quickly so he couldn’t see my face.
Tell Me No Spies Page 31
