Stories by Kiera Dellacroix

by Dellacroix, Kiera

  II

  I'm learning to fly, But I ain't got wings,

  Coming down is the hardest thing.

  - T. Petty

  For the past half an hour, Piper had watched Bailey play with the food on the plate in front of her. She could tell the woman was uncomfortable and it perplexed her. This was the same woman who seemed so dynamic and in charge at the office. It was usually her style just to come out and ask what was wrong, but she had the feeling that any conversation on Bailey's part would be forced. Insecurity began to rear its ugly head and she was beginning to feel that it was just her that Bailey had a problem with. Since entering, she had only spoken to request a booth far in the back and to order her meal. She decided to take the initiative.

  "Bailey, are you uncomfortable with me?" she asked finally.

  "Huh?" Bailey looked up from her plate confused and realized she hadn't said a word in quite some time. She did a quick replay of what Piper had just said and became a little disgusted with herself. If the truth be known, she found Piper to be a breath of fresh air.

  "Not at all. I hope I haven't given you that impression." She saw Piper focus a rather intense concentration on her when she spoke. "I…am… uh…" Good God. "…just not used to being out in public," she finished in a rush feeling immensely stupid and finding her explanation lacking. She held up a hand and looked at Piper. "Let me try again."

  Piper nodded at her slowly, fascinated.

  She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I have to admit I'm uncomfortable, but you've very little to do with that. I… uh… have lived a rather solitary life and… truthfully… feel principally out of place in most social situations and… uh... well…" She took another breath, "…well, I basically suck at small talk," she finished, feeling like she had just sprinted a mile. She risked another glance at Piper and was more than a little distressed to see a slow smile make its way across the woman's features.

  "Why didn't you just say so? If you need me to hold up the conversation I can babble on for hours if need be," Piper said brightly, appeased.

  It had been torturous watching Bailey struggle with herself over such a small matter. She had no doubt that the woman sitting across from her was a very interesting, complex woman and she had to admit to herself that she was more than a little intrigued. She smiled and launched into action.

  For the next half an hour she gave her no less than a dissertation about nothing in particular. Some time later, she was relieved to see her actually start eating the food from her plate and swore to herself that she actually saw the beginnings of a smile on a couple of occasions.

  Bailey was at first greatly relieved that she was no longer on the spot, but soon found herself becoming more and more at ease as Piper continued speaking. Granted, she knew she had very limited experience around people but she had never met anyone quite like the woman across from her. It seemed every emotion the woman had rose immediately to the surface, a trait which she had never encountered before and actually found endearing. She was surprised to have caught herself starting to smile at least twice and to her pleasure found that she was actually enjoying the company of another person for one of the few times in her adult life. Obviously, Piper hadn't been exaggerating and she maintained a steady stream of chatter about apparently any subject that crossed her mind. Conversationally, she had begun to suspect that she was going to be let off easy.

  "So what part of Ireland are you from? You have a charming accent," Piper asked suddenly.

  "Belfast," Bailey found herself answering easily. "And thank you."

  "Really?" Piper asked interested. "How long did you live there?"

  "I left when I was sixteen, I've not been back."

  "Did you like it there?"

  "Yes and no."

  "Do you think you'll visit again?"

  "Someday, perhaps," she said slowly, struggling to keep up with the rapid-fire questions.

  "Have you lived in Atlanta long?"

  "A little over three years."

  "Where did you live before?"

  "I traveled a lot, but I had a place near Portland, Oregon."

  "See was that as hard as you thought?"

  "Huh?" Bailey blinked.

  "Well, it seems you can warm up to a conversation if you have to," Piper stated mischievously.

  Bailey felt a blush begin to creep up her neck and she was stunned to hear a genuine chuckle escape. She had had to hand it to her; she had drawn her out with impressive ease. It disturbed her a little that she had been so easily manipulated by the diminutive redhead but found that she had been eager to share as well and had easily and honestly answered her questions.

  "Pretty tricky," Bailey said with a little grin and was astonished with the real laugh that bubbled to the surface when Piper blew on her nails and buffed them on her shirt.

  "When ya got it, ya got it," she said and then laughed, feeling tremendously pleased with herself and charmed in the extreme when she heard Bailey laugh.

  In short order, the laughter stopped and Bailey noticed Piper staring at her rather unabashedly. Oddly, she didn't feel as uncomfortable as much as she was flattered by the regard. She saw the waiter approaching from the corner of her eye.

  "Anything else, ladies?" he asked upon arrival.

  "Just the check I believe," Piper answered looking at Bailey who nodded.

  The waiter pulled their tab from his apron and placed it on the table. "Come again," he said pleasantly as he turned to leave.

  As soon as his back was turned, Piper quickly snatched up the bill. "My treat," she said with a smile and dug in her purse for some bills that she laid on the table. "We ready to head back?" she asked Bailey who again nodded.

  They walked all the way back and took the elevator in a companionable silence. When the doors opened on seventeen Bailey spoke up.

  "Thank you for lunch, Piper," she said inserting her key in the control panel to hold the doors open. "I had a good time."

  "Me too, thanks for going," Piper said cheerily. "Would you like to go again?"

  "I think I'd like that," she answered honestly.

  "Great, me too."

  "Uhm… I'm going to take the rest of the day off; I've some things to look into. You can reach me on my cell number if anything pops up," she said feeling kind of lame.

  "Okay, have a good evening," Piper said a little disappointed as she stepped off the elevator.

  "You too," she said as she started to close the doors.

  "Bailey," Piper said before the doors closed all the way.

  Bailey turned the key to let the doors open again. "Yes?"

  Knowing she was taking a chance, she walked back onto the elevator and into Bailey's personal space. She saw her tense and she experienced a quick flash of fear that she was about to be flung away violently.

  "Hang tight," Piper whispered in an attempt to put her more at ease as she stood on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on Bailey's cheek. "I'm glad to have met you, finally," she said as she came back down on her heels and walked out of the elevator. "You're a fascinating woman, Bailey Cameron," she said without turning around and walking around the corner and out of sight.

  Bailey stood motionless in the elevator for almost five full minutes, completely dumbfounded for the first time in her life. Eventually and robotically, she turned the key and rode one floor up to her residence. Upon entering her flat, she walked straight to the couch and sat down gingerly. Staring off into space, her hand came up to touch the spot where Piper had kissed her.

  "Wow," she said aloud.

  --------

  Several hours later, Terry made his way back to the Situation room and practically fell into his seat at the head of the table. He was aware that everyone was looking at him expectantly but he didn't care. As predicted, the news had not been pleasant and after finally hanging up the phone, he had sat behind his desk and indulged in a full hour of feeling sorry for himself. Knowing he had to assert some sort of control over a situation that was
fast unraveling, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

  "Okay, we have some complications," he started. "Firstly, I'll assume that you've read enough of the file to know that our rogue is in Atlanta and presides over a rather successful corporation." He paused. "I have people planted as employees inside C-Corp and two hours ago I received word that she is in negotiations for a buy out. Obviously, this could speed up the timetable."

  He took another deep breath.

  "Secondly, my assistant Martin Satterfield, sometime last night made off with her original file. This morning he eluded capture and is apparently on the run. I don't need to tell you how damaging this file could be to the Organization if the right people were to obtain it. However, Satterfield is smart enough to realize that if the file were to go public, it still wouldn't save his life. It is my opinion that he is headed for Atlanta to attempt to contact Cameron and look to her for protection." Terry looked around the table to see expressions that mirrored his own. "If Cameron were to go public, the Organization itself would be endangered." He paused again and looked around the table. "Opinions?"

  "Do you think she would go public, Terry? The file would be damaging to her as well," Bob asked.

  "It's a possibility, but not really her style. That and the fact that I've had her surviving family under manipulation and surveillance for the last fifteen years. Cameron is unaware of their location and I believe that the threat of harm to them has been the only thing keeping her from basically going under and vanishing."

  "What? That information wasn't in the file," Bob said peevishly. "Why don't we just use the family to get her to come in?"

  "That may be exactly what we have to do, Bob. But let me point out that her family has believed her dead for over fifteen years, and if she refuses, then what do we do? Eliminate them? I believe if we did that, we would escalate the existing problem a hundredfold and dramatically increase the chances of her exposing us." He stopped and waited for the information to sink in. "I believe that we should use the family only as a last resort."

  "Any chance of intercepting Satterfield before he makes contact?" Bob asked. "If we could remove him from the picture it would simplify the situation."

  "Agreed. I've dispatched Ben Richards and his team to Atlanta and have them standing by. Kevin Marland, who is onsite at C-Corp, has instructions to eliminate Satterfield on sight. In addition, Mr. Phillips has executed the standard media package, in the hopes that a civilian or local police department can be of aid in ascertaining his location." Terry leaned back in his chair. "However, I don't believe Satterfield so stupid as to walk into C-Corp and ask to see her. He has her file so I believe he will attempt to contact her the way I would."

  "How's that, Terry?" Bob asked.

  "Cameron has in her residence a private line that forwards to her cell phone if she's not there to answer it. The line was installed specifically as a means for the Organization to establish contact with her. I seriously doubt that it's used for any other purpose. I believe Satterfield will use this line to contact her. He may have more information than we suspect and could be aware that we have people inside C-Corp, so I doubt he would attempt to contact her through the company phone system." He stopped and looked at Spicher.

  "Bob, we need to speak to your best Tech."

  "That would be Toby." Bob punched a number into the phone in front of him. "I'm gonna put him on the overhead."

  "Yes?" came Toby's voice over the speaker.

  "We need a tap," Terry said.

  "Alright, what number?"

  Terry gave it to him.

  "Hold on," Toby said with the rustle of a keyboard in the background. "That line codes as secure. Placing a tap on it would be immediately detected if the line was actively monitored."

  "We can be sure of that," Bob spoke up. "But do we really need a tap? Is there any way to detect when it is being used?"

  "Sure, I can flag it for use."

  "Good idea, Bob. Would it be possible to trace an incoming call on that number to its source?" Terry asked.

  "Yes, but again, it would be detectable."

  "Would it be detected immediately?"

  "Yes and no. An incoming source trace could be masked since it's passive and not intrusive. However, depending on the sophistication of the equipment monitoring the line, it would probably register tampering immediately after disconnect."

  "How long to trace an incoming call?"

  "It would register here almost as fast as caller ID, so a matter of seconds."

  "Hold on, Toby," Bob said as he muted the line.

  Terry sat back in his chair. "What do you think people?"

  "It's risky," Keith DeSilva spoke up. "Cameron would detect foul play. The team dispatched to intercept Satterfield would run the very real risk of encountering her."

  "I agree," Bob said. "It's a question of whether or not our team could close on the location, recover or destroy the file, and deal with Satterfield before she arrived."

  "I don't see that we have any choice," Keith said. "Unless Satterfield makes a mistake, we should count on him contacting Cameron. I say we gamble, and if there is an encounter, there's a chance that Cameron herself could be eliminated." He paused. "I would say that the last is very unlikely, but it is possible."

  Terry looked at Bob. "How many people do we have readily available? I'd like to give Richards a little help."

  "Richards and his team are it for the moment. I have everyone coming in but it will be a few days before we'll have the resources we want."

  "How many people are we looking at in the field?"

  "Seventy six, a little more if we include Richards' team and the people you have inside C-Corp. But like I said, it'll be a few days."

  Terry took a deep breath and considered. "Bob, how many Free Agents would you consider stand a face to face chance with Cameron?"

  "Whoa," Bob said leaning back in his chair. "I hadn't considered that. I'd have to look into it, but I can safely say that probably less than a dozen would stand a chance toe to toe." He paused. "Additionally, The Wraith is one of the elite and has an exceptionally fearsome reputation, I'd imagine that most would refuse a contract once informed of the target."

  "I'd suspected as much," Terry said. "Put the word out anyway, let's see what happens."

  Terry got up from his chair and started a slow circle of the table. "Okay, Bob, tell Toby to flag the line. I don't see any other alternative at the moment. If Satterfield is indeed on his way to Atlanta, I'd guess he should arrive either tonight or tomorrow," Terry said.

  Bob reached out and tapped the phone. "Toby?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Flag it, priority notification upon use," Bob said.

  "Will do," Toby said in departure.

  Bob drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the table and watched Terry cease his pacing and reseat himself.

  "What are the chances of a kill shot if she leaves the building to meet up with Satterfield?" Keith asked.

  "Far too risky," Terry said. "Her movements are unpredictable to begin with and if it didn't succeed, we would have a much bigger problem."

  "Alright, what about infiltrating her residence?" Keith said.

  "She lives on the top floor with only one access point and the place is probably wired to the rafters. I'd imagine the only way we could successfully eliminate her at home would be to call in an air strike."

  "What if she was approached on the street?" Bob asked.

  "I'd say that would be suicide unless we put an army on the street," Terry said impatiently. "Look, everyone has read the file, it's not fiction. Let's not forget who we're dealing with here. She's well aware of our capabilities and our limitations. We can assume she's prepared for any move we might make and has taken steps to counter it." He realized he was almost yelling and calmed himself with a sigh.

  "As much as I'd like an immediate solution to our problem, we aren't going to solve this one with the usual tactics," he started again at normal volume. "Any attempt on Came
ron could be disastrous if it failed and not only in terms of lost assets, but to the Organization itself. Neither Cameron nor ourselves can afford entanglements with any civil or federal authorities." He paused. "Consider this scenario; an attempt is made and doesn't succeed. However, with or without casualties, the incident gets the attention of local law enforcement and Cameron is investigated. Now granted she is rather reclusive, but her name is known in the local business community and that would more than likely gain the attention of the media as well." He stopped and looked around the room. "What do you think the likelihood of her going public would be then?"

  He let that sink in a moment before continuing.

  "Now, if an attempt was made and was successful it would leave no fingers to point in our direction, but a living witness, trapped between the law and the media, especially one with her background, could expose the Organization from the foundation up."

  "So let me lay it on the table here. We have a rogue that not only could pose an enormous security risk but is also skilled to the point of being almost untouchable by conventional means. What we need here is a feasible plan to eliminate her quietly without foolishly endangering our people or the Organization itself. Let me also point out that Cameron is well aware that she's a security risk that we can't afford and she knows we have little choice but to remove her. However, she isn't running and that tells me she is fully prepared to deal with the situation." He paused. "Honestly, that fact scares me. She has a game plan and whatever it is, we can rest assured it'll be one that we won't be happy with. So, let's all keep these facts in mind and come up with not only an offense but a defense as well."

  Terry turned away from the table in his chair and sighed.