face— anger, concern and fear all warring with one another. At that moment, Tracy felt closer to him than ever before.
She got up and walked behind him, slipping her arms around his waist. “Paul, nothing’s going to happen to me.
Most likely they’ll set me up in an office to crunch data on a computer, but I doubt I’ll ever be in any physical danger.”
Even as she spoke, she realized the ludicrousness of what she was telling him—after all, if that was the case, she could have conferenced in from D.C.
He stiffened at her words, but turned and enfolded her in his arms. “Come on, Tracy, I’m your fiance, not an idiot.”
“Then I’d appreciate you treating me as such, and not like a child. I’m telling you not to worry, I can take care of myself.”
Paul sighed. “Just like talking to a brick wall. You’re going to do whatever you damn well choose, aren’t you?”
“If by that you mean I’m going to make the decision I feel is best, then yes.”
“Of course, it’s not like I’d be able to change your mind, but I do wish you wouldn’t take this.”
“Duly noted, and I haven’t decided one way or the other yet. I’m surprised you’ve thrown in the towel so early.”
He leaned back and looked at her. “You’ve got that scrunched little line at the bridge of your nose, which means you’ve already dug in your heels. I recognized that by our second argument.”
“I’ll have to work on that. I don’t want to give you any more tells. Look, would you mind if I borrowed your car?
I’m going to head home tonight—get some time to think on the way.”
“You know you can stay here. I could run you back in the morning.”
“No, staying here will just give me more reasons not to go.”
“So much for my cunning plan,” Paul said.
“Yeah, and don’t think I hadn’t noticed. Look, if I decide to go, I’ll stop by and say goodbye, and if I stay, then our own trip is still on, so don’t let Jennifer know about this just yet, okay?”
He held up his keys. “All right, all right. You’d better go before I try something really silly, like keeping you here against your will until the feebs find someone else.”
Tracy snatched them out of his hand. “In that case, I’m gone.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, holding on to the moment for as long as she could. “I’ll call you regardless.”
He hugged her again, holding her to him before letting go. “You’d better get a move on if you plan on getting any rest tonight.”
“It’s a foregone conclusion I’m not going to get much anyway.” She walked to the door, opening it and letting the crisp night air in, redolent with the fresh smell of the rain.
“I’d certainly miss this down south.”
“Hopefully that’s not all you’d miss. Tracy, just—give me a call later, will you?”
“I will.” Tracy walked to the car and got in, adjusting the seat to fit her smaller frame, and pulled out of the driveway. She navigated the maze of suburban streets around his condo, breathing in Paul’s unmistakable scent in the car. Only when she reached the highway did she allow herself to think about their conversation.
She hadn’t been lying to Paul. The decision still wasn’t clear in her mind. The practical choice would be to take the assignment, but practical didn’t count for much when staring into the eyes of a little girl and telling her you were going away for a while. Indeed, a part of her couldn’t believe that she was this wrapped up in making the call, and all because of a little girl. All her life Tracy had prided herself on being able to make rational decisions, unclouded by emotion, unlike so many other women. Yet from the first time she had looked into Jennifer’s big blue eyes, she had been lost. And even stranger—she actually enjoyed the feeling of being depended on, of having someone in her life who needed her. Not like Paul—their relationship was different. Jennifer was a force unto herself, one that could divert Tracy from the goals she had set for herself, and the direction her career was heading.
And ultimately, that is what it is all about, she thought as she reached into her jacket pocket for the sleek black cell phone the FBI agent had given her. Flipping it open, she listened as the phone automatically dialed a contact number. Oddly, the small screen remained black, the phone not showing the number it was calling.
The phone rang once before it was picked up. “Special Agent Cassell.”
“Stephanie, this is Tracy Wentworth.”
“Yes, hello, Tracy, how are you?”
“Fine, thank you. I’ve thought over your offer and decided to accept. When do I leave?”
“Very good. We have tickets held for you on a morning flight.”
“That will be fine. Thanks very much for the opportunity—I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“Same here. You’ll be taking a company laptop down with you, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll send your itinerary, as well as that file over to your address at DHS—a little light reading on the way down. The phone will connect you directly to me anytime you need to make contact. I suggest daily reports unless something breaks earlier. Good luck, Tracy.”
“Thank you.” She closed the cell phone and tossed it on the seat next to her, then stared straight ahead, putting off the conversation with Paul until she got home. Might as well let him hope for a little while longer.
Kate switched over from Stephanie Cassell’s cell line to the next incoming call, from her agent in Pakistan. “Alpha, this is Primary, go.”
Robert Lashti’s voice sounded winded, as if he had been running. “I’ve been made, Primary. After initiating contact using the disposable asset, she lured the subject back to the room. However, she was caught administering the drug, and gave me up under duress. Subject terminated asset after getting my description, then swept the room and located our surveillance equipment. I’ve left the hotel, but the town isn’t that big, and they’re looking for me.”
“All right, Alpha, time to pull out. Can you make it to your vehicle?” As she spoke, Kate pulled up a window on the touch-sensitive screen that allowed her to juggle multiple projects, conferences and data streams at once.
She contacted the Room 59 hacker on duty and requested a satellite map of the town of Panamik, as well as the quickest route north to China.
“Negative, subject’s men are watching it. They’re good, too—I almost walked right into them,” Lashti said. “Probably ex-military, more Spetsnaz if we’re really unlucky.”
Swearing under her breath, Kate opened a new window to Pai Kun in Beijing to apprise him of the situation. She never liked bringing in more Room 59 operatives to assist with an extraction, but since their Asian director was only half a continent instead of half a world away, he needed to know what was happening to carry the ball when she handed it off.
“I’m attempting to procure another vehicle. However, everything around me seems to be limited to tractors and oxen—hardly suitable for the trip.”
“How did subject and his men arrive?” Kate asked.
“I had thought by SUV, but I am currently unable to locate it.”
“Okay, just keep your head down for a moment.” Kate brought up the overhead view of Panamik, finding it to be indeed a one-ox town, although the largest in the area.
There was a main road that bisected the sparse business section, and off to the northwest was a military base, which was of no help to her operative at all. He needed reliable wheels, and fast.
Kate opened a voice channel to her hacker. “Can you run a thermal scan on the buildings around that hotel? I’m looking for a still-warm engine,” she said.
“I’m on it,” came the reply.
“Damn, where’d they come from!” she heard a muffled shout in her headset, followed by the thuds of several running feet.
“Alpha, what’s happening?”
“They spotted me…kids ratted me out…gonna try to… lose them—”
“Hold on, I’m going to visual.” Kate popped open a third window, this one showing her the view through
