Soon, Joey and Stefanie were ready and walking to the car. Joey drove, both of them quiet for most of the drive. He pulled into an open garage door in a large building by the harbor and the door closed behind them. When they got out, they were greeted by Cam, Quinn, Alexis, and Waffle. She studied Quinn and grinned. “You did great.”
Quinn fluffed her brown hair, styled and colored to perfectly match Ree’s. Her makeup had shaded features on her face to minimize facial features that were different than Ree’s and there were definitely some small prosthetics involved to get the disguise just right. Stefanie looked at Cam, who now looked more like his brother. “It’s gotta be weird for you, right? I mean, your girlfriend looks like your sister-in-law.”
Cam shrugged. “It is weird. But I watched her do it. I know it’s my girl under all that makeup.” Cam’s changes were more subtle. A change to the color and the way he styled his hair was all it took.
Alexis was the only one in their group who seemed completely comfortable. She was dressed in track pants and a running shirt, and Waffle wore a vest with reflective stripes. She looked no different than any conscientious jogger might. Waffle’s bright energy matched hers. Alexis straightened her visor and pressed a button on her watch. “Okay, it’s almost time to do another sweep. I have a tracker on our friends’ cars, so you should get early warning they are on their way.”
“Did you figure anything out, staying at the hotel?” Stefanie gave Waffle a quick pat and he took his focus off the door to the outside for just a moment to give her an appreciative look and tail wag.
Alexis’s mouth set in a line. “I’m not sure. The three of them were at breakfast this morning but not sitting together. I couldn’t get close to them without raising a few eyebrows. Our teams have been searching call and email traffic and we’re sure something is up, but they’re using ciphers we haven’t been able to crack. So, stay alert.”
“We posted new photos of Ree and Parker at the Golden Gate Bridge on social media, so we’ve done our part at least.” Quinn ran a hand through her hair.
Joey crossed his arms. “Do we have our snipers out there, just in case they want more than a conversation?”
Cam checked his watch. “Yeah, they’re all in position now. I’ll let them know to look out for any scientist carrying a weapon.”
“You mean, besides this one?” Joey gave Stefanie a little nudge.
Cam grinned. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Stef, I keep forgetting you aren’t Ree. You’re armed, right?”
Stefanie nodded.
“You okay with that? I don’t want someone using your weapon against you if you have any doubts about it.”
“I weighed the risk.” Stefanie pushed back the fear rising in her stomach. “I think it’s smarter than going in unarmed. Plus, your guy here tested me pretty good when we first met. I think I passed his test.”
Joey nodded his approval. “I’d hire her.”
“Just don’t get too distracted.” Cam gave Joey a knowing look.
Joey rolled his eyes. “No way. You are the last person on Earth allowed to give me that lecture.”
Quinn made a joke about summer camp that went over Stefanie’s head and Alexis pulled out a toy for Waffle. “We’re going to do our sweep. Do me a favor and let the snipers know I’m coming.”
“You’re wearing a vest, right?” Quinn caught her by the arm.
Alexis nodded. “You?”
“Absolutely. Handing out two more to Joey and Stefanie in a minute.”
Alexis looked Quinn up and down. “Good. Take care of Stef, okay? Dmitri’s team has already put bullets in two of us. Let’s not make it three.”
Stefanie kept checking her watch, but time refused to speed up on her account. However, eventually, the door to the outside opened and Alexis and Waffle entered. Waffle was holding his tennis ball but not the toy Alexis used when he found something explosive. Stefanie breathed a sigh of relief. “Good news, I hope.”
“No news is good news.” Alexis shrugged. “We loaded the replacement parts on your boat and checked the whole thing with the help of some friends from the Coast Guard.” Alexis pulled a small wristwatch out of her pocket and gave it to Stefanie. “Quinn’s already got one of these, but you might need it. It’s a Geiger counter. It’s extremely sensitive and will detect small amounts of radiation that exceed any background amounts, in case they’re bringing any other surprises with them.”
Stefanie accepted the device, only trembling a little as she put it on. “Thanks. Earpieces?”
Cam opened a box and gave one to each of them. “Full disclosure, we’ll be able to communicate on the ship, but we’ll be out of range of the rest of the team shortly after leaving the harbor. Also, the ship isn’t that big. If something bad happens, yell for help. We’ve also got Coast Guard vessels nearby and they’re ready to jump in if needed.”
“Last chance to back out.” Joey looked over at Stefanie.
Stefanie put her hand on her hip. “No way. Let’s go.”
Just like that, the small team headed to the harbor, chatting congenially about the OEG’s projects. Stefanie felt, once again, like she was back on stage in high school, saying lines that someone might care about, but didn’t mean much to her. When she reached The Dog House, she relaxed a bit. This was the job she signed up for, and if she wasn’t using it to catch the people trying
