by Tina Folsom
He nodded. “I was trying to get into the system administrator’s logs to search for the login.”
“If it’s a ghost login, that wouldn’t have helped you. It’s not in the logs.”
“Shit!” Nick shoved a hand through his hair and tossed a regretful look at his fellow Stargate agent. “Then I have no way of getting at Sheppard’s files either. Sorry. That’s a dead end.”
“You say it’s a login, right?” Yankee asked.
Nick nodded. “Yeah.”
“Before Echo died, he gave me a bracelet for safekeeping. Hidden inside it, I found two strings of names and numbers, all jumbled up. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but he said to find you, Fox, because you would know what to do with it.” Yankee reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and removed a strip of paper from it. He handed it to Nick. “That’s it.”
Nick looked at it. Michelle reached for his hand and pulled the piece of paper closer to her face. Nick exchanged a look with her. “What do you think?”
“It’s got the right length. All logins have a minimum of ten digits. Same with the passwords.”
“Can we give it a try?” Yankee asked, sounding hopeful now.
“We sure can,” Nick said, bracing one hand on his thigh. “Only thing is, if this is the ghost login, then the only place it will work from is from inside CIA headquarters.” He’d known all along that once he found Sheppard’s second login, he would have to get into Langley to execute the rest of his plan behind the CIA’s firewalls.
“Are you telling us that we need to break into Langley?”
“I wouldn’t call it breaking in…”
Yankee tilted his head, giving him a doubtful look. “What would you call it then? A suicide mission?”
“It won’t be a suicide mission,” Nick assured him. “I have a way in. I’ve got Sheppard’s access card.”
Yankee’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Well, not his actual card, but all the data that I can imprint onto a blank card to get me into Langley.”
“That’s stupid,” Yankee interrupted. “And I’ll tell you why: the CIA would have deactivated Sheppard’s access after his death.”
Nick grinned. “Yeah, they would have, but they couldn’t, because miraculously, right after Sheppard’s murder, somebody moved his access credentials to a hidden archive.”
Yankee’s chin dropped. “You?”
“Yours truly. Without the system administrators knowing where the data was stored, they couldn’t deactivate it. Sheppard’s access card is still there. And only I know where the credentials are hidden. All I need to do is hack in, pull down the data, alter it, and transfer it to a new card. Simple as that.”
“When you say alter it, what exactly do you mean by that?” Yankee asked curiously.
Nick motioned to his face. “I’m gonna have to replace Sheppard’s photo on file with mine.”
Yankee scratched his neck. “And you’re sure you can hack into their servers?”
Nick looked at Michelle who sat next to him in stunned silence. “Considering the one person who would have been able to stop me is now on our side, I don’t see a problem.” He squeezed her hand. “Right?”
“Piece of cake,” Michelle confirmed and looked at the other Stargate agent. “Besides, I’ll give him a hand.”
“Well, then, I guess we only have to discuss what you’ll do once you’re inside Langley. What do you need me to do?” Yankee asked. “I’m afraid I’m not a computer expert, but I can have your back.” He put his hand on his gun, stroking it.
“I’m afraid your little friend there will have to stay home for this mission,” Nick said, grinning. “But you can do something else for me. You can be my eyes and ears while I’m inside.”
Nick exchanged a look with Michelle, who nodded instantly, understanding what he meant.
“I can tap into the infrared security system so we can watch any movements,” Michelle confirmed.
Nick nodded. “Let’s set it up.”
19
It took them several hours to organize everything, then, finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Yankee stopped the van in front of a run-down apartment building and looked over his shoulder.
“Get some rest. It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow.”
Nick nodded and reached for Michelle’s hand. She rose from her seat and allowed him to help her out of the van, before slamming the door shut and heading for the apartment building.
Michelle was silent when he unlocked the building door, then led her up to his apartment and ushered her in. She watched him as he flipped the deadbolt and set the chain.
She waited for him in the middle of the living room, arms crossed over her chest. She wanted answers, and truth be told, she was surprised that she’d waited so long. Well, maybe the fact that Yankee had looked a little menacing had contributed to her artificial patience. Or maybe it had taken her a little longer to get over the shock of having had a gun pointed at her head and being locked up in a shed, before she could wrap her brain around what was going on.
Nick glanced at her from under his dark lashes, casting her an assessing look. “How are you doing?”
“Well, let’s see. Considering you threatened to kill me tonight and your new friend is a little overeager with his weapon, and the fact that you two seem to be in some deep shit with the CIA, not to mention that whole weird stuff about being psychic, I’m doing rather splendidly, I think.”
Nick took a few steps toward her, sighing. “I’m sorry, Michelle, but what happened tonight wasn’t something I was planning.”
“I can see that. What you were planning was to use me.”
He nodded, didn’t even refute her claim. “I did. But like I told you already tonight, sleeping with you wasn’t part of that plan.” He stretched his hand out and brushed his knuckles over her cheek.
She let it happen, the touch having an oddly calming effect on her. “I know you explained. It’s just a little hard to believe, particularly since it looks like there’s so much at stake for you and your friend.” Too much to really be concerned about the feelings of a woman. “So you were CIA? I’m sure they taught you not to let your feelings get in the way of a mission.”
“They tried. But there are times in the life of a man when he has to make his own decisions. And making love to you wasn’t part of my mission.” He looked down at his feet. “But I understand if you don’t want to believe that. You don’t know me.”
Surprised by his quiet demeanor, she sighed. “No, I don’t know you. I don’t know what’s going on. You said you’d explain everything. So explain. What is this? Your talk about visions, is that all just a smokescreen?”
He lifted his head. “I wish. But it’s very real. For all of us. For all of Stargate. It changed our lives. It connects us. But it also makes us a target.”
“I want to understand,” she said softly. “I need to understand.”
“I promised to tell you, so I will.” He took her hand and motioned to the sectional that filled half the room.
She followed him to it and sat down next to him.
“What I’m telling you, you can never tell anybody else. Anybody with knowledge about this is a threat to our enemies as well as to us.”
Michelle nodded quickly. “I wouldn’t know who to tell. I’m on my own.” And she certainly wouldn’t want to draw any attention to herself by telling fantastic stories. Who would believe her anyway?
“My special skill… I think of it as a genetic defect. To my knowledge nobody from my family has it. At least nobody ever told me about it. Not that I’m close to any of them these days. My parents are divorced, and I guess neither my father nor my mother wanted to be reminded of the mistake their marriage had been. I think they were both relieved when my visits became less frequent, and they were able to concentrate on their new families.”
“That’s a shame,” Michelle threw in.
Nick shrugged as if he didn’t care. “It is w
hat it is. I already had a new family, one that understood me better. I was already with the CIA when Henry Sheppard recruited me. At first I thought it was for my IT abilities, which was the field I was in at Langley, but then I realized he knew that I had ESP. He’d already started a top secret program within the CIA, hiring others like me, training them. We were unique. But Sheppard understood us. He knew what it was like to be born with a special ability that you couldn’t switch off. That would sometimes haunt you.”
“The visions?”
“They would come out of the blue. Like a movie playing in front of your mental eye. So real that you thought it was happening right in front of you.” He met her gaze then. “I saw you. The day you took me back to your apartment.”
“You saw me?”
“You crossed the street without looking to the left. The taxi hit you. It flung you over its roof and tossed you on the asphalt behind it. You didn’t move.” He sought her eyes. “You didn’t make it, Michelle.”
Her breath caught in her throat, panic rising with it. “No!” She slapped her hand over her mouth.
Nick reached for her hands, pulled them into his lap, his thumbs stroking the back of them. “That’s why I ran to catch you before you could cross the street. That’s why I was there.”
“You saw me die?” Her voice was a whisper.
He released her hands and cupped her face. “I couldn’t let it happen. And when you invited me to your place to take care of my bruises, I knew I couldn’t leave without making love to you. I know I should have just thanked you for the icepack and left, but knowing what had nearly happened made it impossible for me to keep my cool. I needed to feel you.”
Tears stung in her eyes. “You really saved my life…” She sniffled. “But then why did you almost kill me tonight?”
He closed his eyes for a short moment. “I thought you’d been sent to kill me. Michelle, the Stargate agents are hunted. Somebody killed our leader three years ago, and the rest of us have been on the run ever since. Somebody is after us and will kill us first chance he gets. Whoever it is wants to wipe us out. We’re a threat to him. And I think I know now why: he’s planning something big.”
“That premonition, the one with the inferno,” Michelle murmured.
“Yes. It’s an event in the future. And only Stargate agents know it’ll happen. If we can figure out what it is, we might be able to prevent it. And I think the person who killed Sheppard knows that. That’s why he needs us all dead.” He brushed a hand through her hair. “When you showed up at the meet tonight, I thought you were one of his hired assassins. I’d guessed already you were working for him. I just wasn’t sure whether your expertise went beyond computing.”
“So you think Smith is the man who killed Sheppard?”
“Absent of any other leads, I have to assume it. At the very least, he’s connected to whoever wants us dead. He got you to try to keep me out of the CIA’s servers. He knows I’m trying to get at files so I can resurrect Stargate. That’s why he used you to deny me access. But I have to get at those files. With them we have a better chance of finding the others.”
“Don’t you think he’s using those same files to find all of you?”
“He probably is. We have to be faster, or he’ll pick us off one-by-one.”
Michelle shivered. “We can’t let that happen.”
He smiled suddenly. “We?”
“Well, we’re a team now, aren’t we? Or are you planning on pointing your gun at me again?”
He chuckled softly. “Not that kind of gun.”
Michelle sucked in a breath of air, releasing it on an outraged huff. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that. What is it with men? Is there ever a time when you’re not thinking of sex?”
Nick winked at her. “I’ll let you know as soon as that happens.”
20
Before Michelle could throw something at him, Nick pulled her into his arms and immobilized her.
“I can’t help myself with you,” he confessed. “I’m not normally so aggressive when it comes to women. I’m more the shy kind of guy from—”
“Yeah, yeah, from Indiana,” she interrupted, rolling her eyes. “How about you drop the act and show me who you really are? Don’t I deserve that after you nearly shot me tonight?”
“I didn’t nearly shoot you.”
“Pointing a gun at my forehead says otherwise.”
“I’m never gonna live that one down, am I?”
“Not as long as I can use it as a bargaining chip,” she admitted.
“I give in. What do you want?”
She lifted her chin. “You. The real you. Just for tonight. I want you to show me what’s behind that façade.”
“You might be disappointed. The man behind the secret agent isn’t all that interesting. Just a normal guy with a not-so-normal gift. That’s all.”
Michelle smiled a knowing smile. “Maybe that’s what I find interesting: a normal guy. My life is crazy enough. I just want to pretend for one night that I have a normal life with a normal guy and forget that the government is after both of us.”
“Just for one night?”
“That’s all I need.”
He looked deep into her eyes, searching their blue depths for more. Was it really only one night she wanted? And what did he want? Would he be satisfied with just one, knowing that hoping for more was foolish?
“And after that?” he found himself asking.
She looked to the side, avoiding his gaze. He didn’t force her head back, didn’t make her tell him what she really wanted, because he knew instinctively that he couldn’t give her more. “Let’s not think of tomorrow.”
“All right, then.” He lifted her into his arms and stood. “Let’s go to bed.”
She laced her hands behind his neck as he carried her to his bedroom. Nick flipped the light switch on his way in, and the bedside lamps went on, bathing the room in a soft glow.
“Sorry about the mess. I don’t generally have visitors.”
He set her on her feet.
“I don’t care. I just hope you have condoms here.”
He motioned to the bedside table. “Plenty. You won’t have to worry about that.” He caught a curl of her hair and wrapped it around his index finger. “You should worry about how sore you’ll be in the morning.”
Michelle pulled his head to her face. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“What if it is?”
“Then I’m afraid Normal Guy here will have to draw upon his secret agent skills and show you that making fun of him is only gonna get you in trouble.”
She pouted. “But I already am in trouble.”
“Oh, this is a very different kind of trouble.” He reached for her long-sleeved T-shirt and pulled it over her head. “It’s the kind of trouble that is best enjoyed naked.”
Her jeans landed on the floor a moment later, together with her shoes and socks. She looked utterly sexy in her black bra and matching thong.
“Does the rule about nudity apply to you, too?” she murmured.
Nick already tore at his shirt, ridding himself of it. The rest of his clothing joined his shirt only seconds later, until he stood in front of her in the nude. He’d never been shy about his body, but the way Michelle ran her eyes over him now made him more aware of it than he’d ever been before. Her gaze traveled over him until it stopped at his groin.
He took his fully erect cock into the palm of his hand and squeezed it, before stroking from tip to root. When she licked her lips, Nick involuntarily groaned, his eyes focused on those lush lips.
Her gaze shot to his face.
“Strip for me,” he demanded, his voice hoarse from the arousal taking over his body. When Michelle reached behind her back, he stopped her. “Take your time with it. I like watching.”
She smiled sinfully. “So that’s the real Nick. Not the shy boy from Indiana, but the insatiable voyeur.”
“Nothing wrong with a little voyeurism in the right place.” He tilted his chin in her direction. “I loved watching you in the mirror when I took you last night. Call that voyeurism if you like. Either way—” He pointed to her bra. “—strip, baby, or I might just have to bend you over that sink again to get my kicks.”
Nick noticed the visible shiver that raced over her body and the goose bumps it left in its wake. He couldn’t help but smile. Yes, Michelle had thoroughly enjoyed their little interlude in the bathroom. Just thinking of it now ratcheted his own arousal higher, adding more girth to his already hard cock.
Finally, Michelle complied with his demand and slid both hands up her torso, slowly stroking her breasts. She looped her fingers under the straps of her bra and nudged them off her shoulders. The silky fabric covering her peaks started to slide, but caught on her hard nipples and prevented a further disrobing. With a coquettish look Michelle ran her fingers to her breasts and underneath the thin cups, pushing them down farther. Now her nipples were covered by her hands.
Nick gave his cock a hard tug. “Squeeze them.”
Like a good girl, she did. Then she took her nipples between thumb and forefinger and rolled them.
At the erotic sight, a groan burst from him, and a drop of moisture leaked from his shaft. “Take it off,” he growled.
Slowly she moved her hands behind her back to work the clasp. The action thrust her breasts toward him as if she was offering them to him. He was unable to resist and crossed the distance between them with one step.
His hands were on her breasts the moment the bra fell to the floor. They felt warm and firm in his hands. He squeezed them, gently at first, but the feel of her delectable flesh in his palms was too much to bear. He dipped his head and licked first over one then the other peak.