Mallory smiled and gave Alex a friendly hug. After they both stepped back, Mallory scanned the room.
“What have you gotten yourself into this time, Alex?”
“I know it might seem strange, but I can explain.”
“Why don’t you tell me on the way,” Mallory suggested. “I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”
“Fine by me.”
Mallory clicked her key fob. Alex eased inside and buckled her seat belt. She waited patiently for Mallory to do the same before explaining the events that led to the laptop theft.
“That’s quite a story,” Mallory said. “How much longer can you go before you run out of cash?”
“Tonight,” Alex said. “I’m paid up through tonight, and then I’m out of cash.”
“Go grab your things,” Mallory said. “You’re staying with me until this thing gets sorted out.”
“I really don’t want to drag you into this, Mal.”
“Too late. I’m here, and I don’t care what you want. I’m going to help you. Friends don’t let friends stay at the Beltway Motel, even if it is for only one more night. Besides, where were you going to go after this anyway? A friend’s couch? The street?”
Alex didn’t say anything.
“You were planning on staying on the street, weren’t you?” Mallory said. She pointed at the room door. “Go get your bag now.”
Alex hustled inside and scooped up scant belongings before shoving them into her bag. She returned shortly to Mallory’s running car.
“I’m going to take care of you,” Mallory said as she drove out of the parking lot and in the direction of the laptop’s tracker. “Whatever is really going on here, I’m sure we can sort it out. I’ve just never known anyone who finds herself in such predicaments on a regular basis.”
“Believe me when I say this, but I wish it wasn’t that way.”
“Pining for your old job as a CIA analyst, are you?”
“Not exactly,” Alex said. “I wouldn’t trade this job for the world. I just . . .”
“Just what, Alex?”
“I just wish a different group of people supported it.”
“You mean like the government?”
“Yeah. Just not some shadowy organization that constantly seems to be at odds with those in the intelligence community.”
“Well, I’ve got an office full of people who would gladly trade places with you. There’s not a day goes by when we all wish we were in your shoes, including me.”
“Even after you saw the situation I’m in now?”
“It’s still much better than the ham-fisted bureaucratic mess we have to deal with. As much as the Beltway Motel is a human-sized roach trap, it’s still worlds better than navigating all the red tape and overinflated egos we have to endure daily.”
“Would you still feel the same way if I told you the cleaning lady yelled at me this morning and called me ‘Toots?’”
“Still more pleasant than getting groped on a regular basis by one of your superiors and ogled by the most recent divorced agent.”
“I guess you have a point,” Alex said.
“And besides, you get to work with Brady Hawk. It can’t be all that bad.”
“I’m not gonna lie. He’s about the nicest eye candy around.”
Mallory cast a sideways glance at her passenger. “Is that all he is? Just some eye candy?”
“I’m not ready to predict anything right now. But I will say things are moving in the right direction.”
“I knew it,” Mallory said, pumping her fist and smiling. “That guy is crazy good looking. I thought you’d be a fool if you didn’t break protocol and entertain the idea of a relationship with him.”
“It won’t come to much of anything if I can’t get my laptop back so I can help him.”
“That bad, huh?”
Alex nodded. “We’d uncovered one of Al Hasib’s hideouts, and he was about to break into the compound when my satellite feed went out. The coms followed shortly thereafter. And this was all a few minutes before the FBI stormed into my apartment.”
“Well, we’re almost there,” Mallory said. “Just let me handle this for you, okay? It’s the least I can do.”
“You’re a life saver, Mal. I appreciate you sticking your neck out like this for me.”
“You know I’m always down for your crazy adventures. Beats looking at numbers and listening to phone calls all day.”
A few minutes later, Mallory slowed down as she checked the address. “Looks like we’re here.”
They both got out of the car and strode toward the apartment.
“Will your tracker tell us which floor they’re on?” Mallory asked, glancing at her phone.
“No,” Alex said, “but I can set off an alarm. There are only three floors here, so I’ll go up to the second floor and you stay here on the ground. Select the alert function and listen. We should be able to tell which one it is.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
Alex hustled up a flight of stairs before signaling to Mallory to activate the alert. It went off for five seconds before Alex motioned for Mallory to join her.
“It’s up here,” Alex said.
Mallory hustled up the steps and pounded on the door with her fist.
“Who is it?” a man asked.
“Mallory Kauffman from the CIA. I need you to open up now.”
“Do you have a warrant?”
“I don’t need a warrant,” Mallory said. “I’m going to give you to the count of three to open this door. Otherwise, I’m coming in.”
Alex heard some rustling in the house and fleeting footsteps. “They’re headed out the back.”
Alex raced down the steps and around the building where one of the men was preparing to leap to the ground. He was focused on his leap and never saw Alex.
The moment the man hit the ground, Alex kicked him in the face. He rolled to his left and felt the corner of his mouth for blood. Once he stood, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Alex.
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for
