by Marie Astor
“We’ll make sure that the explosives are safely removed from the plant property,” Jake continued. “And I think you’ll be happy to know that Steven Wright was apprehended in his office earlier this morning. He’s being detained for questioning.”
“What about Tian Wang?” Brad asked meekly.
Jake nodded. “Our MSS colleagues in China detained Mr. Wang concurrently with our raid. Now that we have confirmation of explosives planted into sensors under Mr. Wang’s direction, he’ll be facing a very heavy jail sentence.”
“So there’s no way for him to get out? How did you trace the sensors to Wang?”
“The sensors were initially purchased from a major conglomerate, one of the few manufacturers that produce these types of devices. However, before the equipment was delivered to Orion, it was modified by a local factory in Oregon. The factory had been opened less than a year ago. It had a very convoluted ownership structure and we had to work with our overseas colleagues to cut through jurisdictional red tape. Once we weeded through the chain of companies, we saw that Irene Zong was the ultimate company holder.”
“Wang’s niece.”
“Not exactly. She was his lover. I believe “niece” was a term of affection that Wang used. With the help of our MSS colleagues we were able to find supporting evidence in the form of hotel bills and the like.”
“Whew.” Brad wiped his forehead. “I feel like I’m smack in the middle of an FBI thriller movie. This has certainly been an experience.”
“We’re very grateful for your cooperation, Mr. Weiss. I hope we’ll stay in touch.”
“No offense, but I’d rather not.”
Jake nodded. “None taken. Get some rest, Mr. Weiss. You’ve had a hell of a day.”
Brad was about to head out the door and follow Jake’s advice when he saw a familiar figure walking toward him.
“Brad, are you all right? I just heard the news,” Peter Langman stammered. The old man looked as though he’d aged ten years. “I’m devastated. I was such an idiot letting that charlatan Wright fool me. We’ve gotta talk. I see a bright future for you here, Brad.” Langman slapped Brad on the shoulder.
“Thank you, Peter, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather get some rest first. I’ve had one hell of a morning.” Without another glance at his mentor, Brad walked out the door.
Chapter 23 – Three Months Later
Jake was sitting in Marion’s office, waiting for his boss. They had a scheduled meeting, but upon his arrival he found Marion’s chair empty. He checked his watch just to make sure—he was right on time. It wasn’t like Marion to be late. He wondered what she had up her sleeve this time.
“Hey there, Jake. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was downstairs grabbing a cup of coffee and thought I’d get you a cup as well.” Marion walked into the office.
Stunned, Jake accepted the paper cup. In all his years of working for Marion she’d never offered him a beverage. He must’ve done something right this time.
Marion walked over to her side of the table and took a seat. Her tone grew serious, “I wanted to thank you for the excellent work that you did on Tian Wang’s case. I just had word with our colleagues in China. That bastard is going to be behind bars for a very long time.”
“I’m glad I could be of service.”
“It was excellent teamwork. You, Ally, and Delilah all played your part. Very clever how you intercepted the shipment of sensors.”
“We got lucky with our source.”
“If you didn’t stop the installation, the whole plant would’ve gone up in smoke. Tian Wang’s people planted explosives into temperature and pressure sensors—what a sick scheme.” Marion shook her head. “This world is filled with twisted people.”
“Yes. And no one would ever figure out the cause of it because the explosives were specifically designed to go off in the cryogenic temperatures at which the gas is maintained. There would’ve been such a gigantic explosion of gas that the entire plant would’ve collapsed on itself. It would be next to impossible to find any trace of the explosives. It was the perfect plan.”
“Until you got in there and stopped it.”
“I’m afraid I have very little credit to claim. Delilah and Ally did most of the work. Delilah got us the source we needed.”
“We did get very lucky with our information source. But without the guidance of a senior agent such as you, Jake, this case would’ve never received a successful resolution.”
“Thank you, Marion.” Jake accepted his boss’s praise. The reality of it was that this damn case had cost him something so dear that no accolades in the world were going to make up for. Sure, he was glad he helped stop Tian Wang’s evil conspiracy, but his own life was a mess now. Of course he’d known the stakes all along, but that didn’t make letting go of Ally any easier. Even all these months later he still missed her like crazy. A day didn’t go by without him thinking of her and of what they had shared. His longing for her was exacerbated by the fact that they inhabited the same building during working hours. Sitting in his office, knowing that she was there within several feet of reach, which might as well be thousands of miles of distance, made his heartache that much greater. He stayed true to his promise, though. It had been reckless of him to get involved with a coworker, a junior agent to boot, and he was determined not to repeat his mistake. Whenever their paths intercepted he made sure to look professional and keep their interactions to a minimum. He could glimpse through the veneer of calmness on Ally’s face and sense the pain underneath it, but he chose to ignore it. It was for her sake as much as it was for his. He hoped that she understood that.
“Jake, is everything all right?” Marion asked.
“Everything is fine,” he hurried to reply. The last thing he needed was for his boss to suspect of his love troubles.
“You had a strange, faraway look on your face, but never mind. Speaking of information sources, I have a feeling that Brad Weiss is going to be useful to us in the future.
“You think?” Jake asked. “If I were him I’d steer clear of this place. Hell, I’d get out of the industry.”
“Apparently he’s of a different opinion. We helped him get an executive position with Helion. Naturally, going forward, we’ll be able to call in a favor.”
Jake whistled. “Helion, the oil giant? Nice going for Weiss. So he’ll be moving to Houston now, huh?”
“No, we got him into the New York office. That was where the opening was.”
“I’m sure he’s happy as a clam.”
“I should hope so. His credentials are excellent. Helion was happy to snap him up. Langman tried to keep him, even offered him the CEO job, but Weiss wouldn’t hear of it. I think he wanted a fresh start. I can’t blame him. Langman was an idiot not to recognize his talent in the first place. I hope it works out well for him at Helion. I get a sense that you don’t like him?” Marion asked curiously.
“Guilty as charged. I don’t like men who think with their penises. In this case it played to our advantage, but the fact that he went after Delilah speaks poorly of his character. She was just an intern, for crying out loud.”
Marion smiled slowly. “But she wasn’t actually an intern, Jake. She was only pretending to be one. Don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh on the man? Besides, it takes two to tango. Things happen. People aren’t perfect. Maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on the others. Maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, either.”
“Excuse me?” Jake asked, alarmed. His conversation with Marion was starting to turn into a relationship counseling session.
“I only meant that lately you seem tired, overworked. Maybe you should take a well-deserved vacation.”
“I’ll think about it.” No way in hell was he going to take time off. At least work gave some sort of substance to his life. Otherwise he’d be sitting on his hands thinking of Ally the entire time.
“I hope you’ll take my advice. Oh, I got distracted and almost forgot. I called you in here is to tell yo
u that you got promoted to the next grade. Excellent work, Jake.”
“Thank you, Marion.” There were several seniority ranks in the agency and with this promotion Jake now reached the most senior grade in the agency ranks. The next level up would be a department chief, like Marion, which he doubted was ever going to happen. The old girl was never going to retire. Still, it was nice to be recognized.
“Thank you for being a top notch agent, Jake. The agency would be lost without you, but work shouldn’t be your life. Go out and live a little,” she paused. “Rules are meant to be broken, you know.”
Jake stared at Marion, his mouth agape. Was his boss advising him on his personal life? “But I thought that you didn’t approve of me and Ally—”
Marion raised his hand. “What you do during your personal time is no business of mine, as long as your personal life doesn’t interfere with your professional one. That was all I said, Jake. I might’ve said it a bit forcefully, but then I never said I was one for mushy talks. Now, get out of my office and enjoy your weekend.”
“You too, Marion. Enjoy your weekend.” Jake knew exactly what he was going to do now. It was embarrassing to admit it took nudging from his middle-aged female boss, but he finally figured it out.
“Thank you. And would you please tell Ally that I want to see her?”
***
Ally left the office with mixed feelings. She decided to walk home to clear her head. It wasn’t as if she had anywhere to rush to this Friday night. She had just been promoted to the next seniority grade. She was no longer a junior agent, the lowest on the totem pole. A few months ago that was all she wanted, but now this much yearned for achievement brought her little happiness. Yes, she was succeeding in her career, but her personal life was a mess. She would’ve gladly traded all the promotions in the world to be with Jake. She’d been so confident that the break in their relationship had been temporary, a necessary precaution for their safety during the Tian Wang case. She’d been sure that they would reunite once their work on the case was over, but three months had gone by and Jake was still as aloof as ever. She’d tried to see him, to get him to talk to her, but each time he acted as though they were nothing more than coworkers, refusing to understand her hints at them being anything more. Well, she was done with that now. She too had pride and she wasn’t going to beg him to come back. Yes, she missed him like crazy, but she was just going to have to live with that.
As she approached her building, Ally reached for her purse to get the keys and nearly dropped it on the ground. Jake was waiting for her on the front stoop. At least she assumed that he was waiting for her, or else why would he be at her building?
“Hi,” he said, coming close to her.
“Hello.” She eyed him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. After all the speeches she’d made to him in her head, that was all that came out.
“Can we go upstairs and talk?”
Ally nodded. After months of avoiding her, all Jake had to say was can we go upstairs and talk? It’d better be something good.
They rode up in the elevator in silence, awkwardly avoiding each other’s gazes. Ally couldn’t help remembering the previous rides they had shared in this very same elevator, with Jake hugging her, kissing her, making her laugh. But that was the past, and in the present there was endless distance between them.
The elevator doors opened and they got out on her floor. Ally opened the front door, letting Jake walk in and then followed him inside.
Jake took a seat on the couch. “Do you have anything to drink?” he asked.
Ally couldn’t help softening at the feeble sound of his voice. It was obvious that he was nervous. “Yeah, sure.”
She went to the kitchen, grabbed two beers from the fridge and uncapped them. She handed him a bottle. “Here you go.”
She sat down, waiting for him to speak. After all, he was the one loitering on her building stoop, asking her to let him inside.
“Ally, I wanted to say how sorry I am for treating you the way I’ve treated you. I’ve made a terrible mistake and while I know that you could never forgive me, I also know that I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try to ask you to forgive me.”
She felt deflated. Forgiveness—that was all he wanted from her? She’d been hoping for him to drop on his knees and beg her to take him back when all he wanted was forgiveness. “Is that all you want? My forgiveness?”
“Is there more I could hope for?”
“There’s nothing for me to forgive you for, Jake. Your actions were perfectly rational and reasonable. You acted to protect our cover and safety and I understand that. I don’t hold any grudges.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said quietly.
“What question?”
“Is there more I could hope for?”
“I don’t know, Jake. I don’t know what it is that you want.”
“I want to be with you, Ally. I want us back.” His voice broke as he said it.
She felt a lump in her throat. “So why haven’t you said anything all this time? I tried to talk you and you just shut me out. Do you know how much that hurt?”
“I know. I’ve been a real jerk, a complete idiot, but most of all I’ve been a coward. I was so afraid of losing you, of what might happen if you got hurt, that I thought the only right thing to do was for us to stop seeing each other. After that, I thought it’d be better to just have a clean slate, start fresh. I wanted you back more than anything, but I was scared . . . scared of having to give you up again, so I stayed away. I can’t stop thinking about you, Ally. I can’t stop thinking about us. I miss you terribly and I want you back. I’m willing to do anything for you to take me back.”
“I can’t stop thinking about us either,” she murmured. “I miss you so much.”
“Could there still be hope for us?”
“I don’t know. You’ve hurt me really bad,” she paused, seeing the devastated look on his face. “But I tell you what—I’m going to let you try make it up to me.”
“You will?”
“Yes.” She knew she meant it. Jake had hurt her deeply, but she could tell that he’d been suffering just as much as she had, maybe even more. She was going to give him a second chance. “But you’d better work hard at it,” she said teasingly. “And no slipups this time. One strike, you’re out.”
His face lit up. “Oh, I won’t. I promise.”
Without another word he moved closer to her and she could sense the intensity of his yearning for her, not just a physical desire, but his deep feelings for her. His lips touched hers. It began as a tentative kiss and grew stronger and more passionate as their pent-up emotions gave way, overtaking them.
“I want you, Jake,” she murmured. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I want you too, Ally. I love you.” He swept her into his arms, lifting her up and carried her into the bedroom.
“I love you too, Jake,” she said, eager for him to join her in bed.
“You do?” he asked shyly, almost afraid.
“I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you.”
“And I, you. I’m never going to let you go again, Ally.”
Chapter 24
On Monday morning Ally sauntered into her cubicle with a happy grin on her face. She plopped her bag on her desk, turned on her computer, and leaned back in her chair staring at the screen with unseeing eyes. She felt like she was floating on a cloud of pure bliss. The weekend had been wonderful, with her and Jake spending every waking moment together. It was as though those cold months of separation between them had never happened. At first she’d worried if she was being too easy on him. Maybe she should’ve made him work a little harder to earn her heart and her trust back? But deep down she knew how sincere he was. She could sense that during the time of their separation he had suffered just as much as she had. Yes, sure, she could’ve made him crawl on his hands and knees, made him beg for her forgiveness, but she didn’t want to. She didn’
t want to do that to him because she loved him and that’s what loving someone meant—forgiveness. She stretched out her arms, relishing the delicious soreness in her body. She was surprised that her bed was still intact after all the sex they’d been having this weekend.
“Congratulations on your promotion.” Delilah’s voice brought Ally back to reality.
“Thanks, you too!” Ally jumped up from her chair to hug her friend. “I just saw the announcement.”
“Somehow now it doesn’t feel like such a big deal, huh?”
“Sorry, I was just spacing out a bit, still trying to wake up.”
Delilah put a cup of coffee on Ally’s desk. “Here, this should help. So you look like you had a nice weekend.”
Ally nodded. “It was pretty good. How was yours?”
“Boring, uneventful. What’s making you glow this morning? Or should I ask who is it?”
Ally looked away demurely, fiddling with the coffee cup lid. She was going to tell Delilah, but she wanted to hold on to her wonderful news just a moment longer.
“Come on, spill it. I’ve just told you I had a miserable weekend, so the least you could do as a friend is share your good news.”
“Jake and I are back together,” Ally said simply.
Delilah smiled. “I knew it. I knew you guys would figure it out.”
“It took a while though. I was starting to lose hope and then he just showed up on my doorstep Friday night. I don’t know what it was that prompted it, but I could tell that he was sincere. He just looked so miserable, so lost. The truth is I felt the same way without him, so I just went for it. I could’ve made him sweat a little more, but I didn’t want to. I just hope he won’t put me through the same hell again.”
Delilah shook her head. “He won’t.”
“I’d like to hope so.”
“Jake really loves you. I always told you so.”
Ally smiled. “You did. And last night he finally told me that himself.”
“See?” Delilah smiled triumphantly. “Men are an open book. You just have to know how to read them.”
