Stefanie leaned forward conspiratorially. “If he isn’t helpful, I’ll give him something else to keep him busy and tell him it’s very important. Then, I’ll help you myself. Rework the assembly instructions, and I’ll see how quickly I can bring him in. If he doesn’t get in your way too much, he might be just the help we need to get the modified platforms out the door on time.”
Nash gave her a little salute. “Sounds great, boss. Stef.”
Focused on her work instead of international espionage, Stefanie’s good humor began to return. She quickly got into the groove. Being a lab manager was an interesting balance of hands-on work, people management, and heaven help her, budgets. It wasn’t the math of the budget that made her head spin, it was the vocabulary and rules. Depreciation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, ugh. Give her good, old-fashioned calculus any day. She sent a note to Cole, letting him know the good news about the new student and his grant, along with the reason for bringing him in. Her heart beat a little faster than normal when she hit send. There was no taking it back now. Whether or not Nash’s idea would help them learn something new remained to be seen. But the opportunity it presented to bring in the CIA officer was irresistible. She had a few more moments of reprieve from budget tasks when she texted her sister that the CIA could send their operative, along with a description of what she’d communicated to Cole and Nash. Her phone dinged and she jumped. Ree said that help would arrive within the week and she’d send more information to the other phone. The secure phone. Provided by the FBI. Her stomach did one last little flip, then she got back to work.
10
Joey Pacelli placed the last of his neatly folded gear into a travel bag. Finally, he’d get to do something about Dmitri besides just sitting in the office running searches in obscure corners of the internet. Not that the searches had been fruitless. Between him and Alexis, they’d found enough information to get one step closer to the man hell-bent on hurting other people to make himself more powerful. Joey hefted his bag over his shoulder and looked out at his land from the back window – the rolling hills and groves of trees would never get old for him. He’d spent the weekend turning downed trees into firewood, mowing, and cleaning up landscaping. He was on call for the fire department, but it’d been a relatively quiet weekend.
Time spent doing physical work had given him ample opportunity to speculate about what might be happening at the OEG, but he needed to be there in person to form any conclusions. The last thing Joey wanted to do was to put an innocent person in danger, but Quinn assured him Stefanie Ryland was aware of the risk. Joey shook his head. Maybe in theory, but no one truly understood what Dmitri was capable of if they didn’t have all the facts. And Stefanie Ryland most assuredly did not have all the facts.
Joey skimmed the email from Quinn one last time. Posing as a scientist of some sort was probably a prerequisite, but Ryland would have to help him fake it. He’d double majored in Russian and finance through the Army ROTC program; however, the description of the work happening at the Oceanic Exploration Group was something else entirely. Joey double-checked to make sure he had everything he needed, placed his bag in his truck, and drove to the airport.
Half a day and one flight later, Joey landed in Oakland, California. He drove to the correct suburb of the sprawling metropolitan area and entered the code that unlocked the door to his new temporary home. He did a walk-through, and when he was satisfied everything looked secure, he unloaded his bag. He organized his belongings and checked the time. Stefanie was aware someone would be coming. That was close enough to permission. Joey secured his weapon, set the security system, and drove his rental car to a small karate studio nearby. Despite the unusual nature of his job, he found some measure of comfort in the familiar environment. While he knew no one, the tradition and routine at the studio were similar no matter where he trained. The front entry was buzzing with activity as the next class was about to begin. A quick check of the schedule while he waited confirmed that the next class was primarily adults with their black belts. Once it was his turn in line, he stepped up to the front desk. A friendly woman in a black uniform with a black belt greeted him. “Good evening, sir. How can I help you?”
“Hi, ma’am. I’m new to the area and was hoping to do a trial class. I’m a third-degree black belt, but I left my uniform at home.” Joey gestured to the schedule on the wall. “Is there a good time this week that I could jump in to see if it’s a good fit?”
“You’re just in time.” The woman reached out a hand and he shook it. “I’m Master Kim. If you don’t mind borrowing a uniform, I’ll let you observe and join in if you’re comfortable.”
Joey smiled. “That’d be great. I’m Joey. Thanks for letting me try out your class, ma’am.”
Soon, Joey had changed into the standard new student uniform, all white, with a white belt. By the time he was done changing, the class was just getting started. When Master Kim directed him to his place, he found himself standing next to a woman with brown hair pulled up into a messy bun and bright hazel eyes. He’d managed to end up standing right next to Stefanie Ryland. She turned to nod a greeting and stared at him just a little too long. It would have been nice if he’d sent a picture
