Blair shrugged, smiling faintly. 'I didn't exactly beat the crap out of him, though.'
Cam smiled. 'Close enough.' Before she could stop herself, she raised her hand and brushed her thumb across a bruise beginning to form on Blair's cheek where his glove had landed. 'Maybe you should wear a helmet next time, Ms. Powell,' she said softly.
Blair's eyes widened at the gentle caress. The touch was so tender it reached deeper than desire. 'I'll take that under advisement, Commander,' she whispered, unable to take her eyes from Cam's penetrating gaze.
'Good,' Cam said quietly. 'Because I don't want anything to happen to you.'
'Yes, I know,' Blair responded. 'That's your job.'
But there was no resentment in her words, and as they left together, they were both strangely comforted by the first moments without anger they had shared all day.
At a little before seven that night, Cam stepped into Command Central and walked wearily toward her desk in one corner of the room. She had finally finished the briefing with Blair that had originally been scheduled for earlier that day. Blair had been cordial but cool as they reviewed her official activities for the next ten days. When Cam had asked her about any personal engagements, she had merely smiled thinly and said she had none. Cam admitted to herself that she had probably appeared more abrupt than she meant to be too. It was hard seeing Blair after a six-week absence with everything between them suddenly in chaos.
Sighing, she looked at a stack of memos that Mac had left for her along with a binder filled with field reports from the time that Mac had been in charge and she had been on medical leave. Just as she sat down and pulled the pile of papers toward her, Paula Stark stepped up to the side of her desk.
'Excuse me, Commander,' Stark said, her spine stiff and her tone formal. The only thin missing was a salute.
Cam looked up distractedly and said, 'What is it, Stark? Problem?'
'No, ma'am,' Stark said. 'I wanted to apologize for the breakdown in security earlier this afternoon. I take full responsibility.'
Cam leaned back in her chair, studying Paula Stark's serious countenance. Eight months ago, Stark had made what might have been the biggest mistake of her career. She had allowed Blair Powell to seduce her. That one night compromised her professionally and should have led to her transfer or even her dismissal from the service. But Stark had done something unusual. She had come to Cam immediately and she had accepted responsibility without excuse. She gave her word that it would never happen again, and as far as Cam knew, it hadn't. Cam didn't think about whether Stark still had feelings for Blair. That was none of her business. What had happened that morning, however, was very much her business.
'Stark, with this kind of detail, apologies are neither acceptable nor sufficient. You are in charge of the day shift and that means if something goes wrong, it's on you.'
Stark's eyes widened slightly, but she merely said, 'Yes, ma'am. I understand that.'
Cam nodded. 'I know that you do. I also know that Egret can be very difficult to predict. I told the team once before, and it bears repeating, that the safest course of action is to assume that she is an uncooperative subject. That means you have to plan for the unexpected movement. I'd say you got lazy today, and you got lucky. If I hadn't been walking across the street, you would have lost her.'
'Yes, ma'am.' Stark thought about that for a second, her stomach clenching. They had all been lulled into a false dense of security the past few months when it seemed as if Egret had been calming down. She hadn't eluded them for so long they forgot to be on guard. She remembered the sick feeling she'd had that morning when she'd watched on the monitor as Egret walked right past the front desk and out the door. What if thehad lost her, and then what if something had happened?
Cam suppressed a smile. Stark looked like she was headed for the guillotine. Cam blew out her breath and said quietly, 'Stark, you're a good agent. You're a valuable agent, because there are places that you can go with her that no one else can. Be careful, be vigilant, be alert. That's all.'
She had already turned back to her paperwork as Stark replied, 'Yes ma'am. Thank you very much.'
An hour later she had looked through most of the documents and set aside the ones that needed more attention. She just couldn't read anymore. She'd left Florida the night before at midnight and had gotten no sleep for over 36 hours. Ordinarily, that wouldn't bother her nearly as much as it did currently, but the stress of seeing Blair again under such difficult circumstances had worn on her. She was tired, and she was lonely. She stood and stretched and headed for the door. She wanted a drink and to go to bed.
Just as she was about to step through the door, Hernandez, one of the agents assigned to the night shift, called out to her. 'Phone call for you, Commander,'
She turned, suppressing a sigh, and picked up the nearest phone. 'Roberts,' she said sharply, no hint of fatigue in her voice.
'This is Carlisle,' a familiar male voice said.
'Yes sir?'
'Be in D.C. tomorrow for a briefing at 0800,' her supervisor said. 'We'll convene in the conference room at my office.'
Cam was instantly alert, her exhaustion fleeing. This kind of request was unusual, and her suspicions were immediately aroused. Something serious was going on, and it must involve Blair if he was calling her to Washington. 'I need to know if I should institute heightened security with Egret, sir.'
There was a moment of silence that confirmed her suspicions. There was an information blackout and it involved Blair. Out of habit, she checked the monitors, which revealed closed-circuit video images of the entire building, every entrance, the parking garage, the elevators, the hallway outside of Blair's apartment. It was almost as if she expected to see someone attempting an assault.
