Once Burned, Twice Spy

by Diane Henders

  I hissed out a breath and reared up to punch the inoffensive pillow.

  Arnie crossed the room to sit on the bed. “Can’t get back to sleep, darlin’?” he whispered.

  I flopped facedown into the pillow, then rolled over and sat up with a sigh. I matched his quiet volume, hoping we weren’t disturbing Kane. “No. I’m going to get dressed and put Teresa’s face on.”

  “Then I’m gonna sit on your bed ’stead a’ that fuckin’ chair. Christ, I only sat there a few minutes an’ already my ass feels like I spent the night with a chick with a whip fetish.”

  “And you would know that feeling, how…?” I teased sotto voce.

  He waggled his eyebrows at me. “A gentleman never tells, darlin’.”

  “And you’re such a gentleman.”

  “Fuckin’ A.” He grinned. “I’d rip off a fart to prove it, but I already cleared out my system in the can earlier.”

  “For which I am truly thankful.” I kissed him and headed for the bathroom.

  Putting on Teresa’s face and clothing used up twenty minutes.

  Breakfast took a whole fifteen.

  Then Hellhound and I reclined on the bed with our backs propped against the headboard, staring at the dingy walls. Anemic dawn eased listless fingers around the edges of the draperies. Around us, doors opened and closed and plumbing gurgled. Kane slept on.

  I glanced at the glowing red numbers of the clock radio and sighed. Eight-ten. Three minutes since I’d last looked.

  Tension wound up in my guts.

  Dammit, Skidmark wasn’t due to check in with us until noon. Four long hours of our lives, slowly ticking away in the gloom.

  What if Ian had already recognized Skidmark, and he’d been arrested?

  They could be coming for us right now…

  No. Skidmark wouldn’t tell them anything.

  But there had to be something I could do besides wait. My skin itched with the need for action.

  With a sigh, I rolled off the bed and retrieved my laptop. As I settled back beside him, Hellhound leaned over to whisper, “Whatcha doin’?”

  “Just…” I made an impatient gesture. “Surfing the web. I can’t check my email; Holt’s probably tracing it. I can’t do any research because they might have Spider and the rest of the analysts watching for relevant search engine keywords…”

  “So you’re pretty much stuck with LOLCats,” Hellhound summed up the situation.

  “Yeah.”

  He shrugged philosophically and snuggled closer to watch over my shoulder while I browsed to the site.

  The comical memes didn’t hold my attention. I skimmed some news sites, then closed the laptop with sigh. “Now I’m really fucking depressed.”

  “Yeah, the news is best in small doses,” Hellhound agreed. “Now what?”

  “Argh!” I clutched the kerchief that was already making my scalp itch. “This is driving me nuts. There has to be something we can do besides hiding like rats in a hole. The longer we sit here, the more chance Holt’s going to show up outside.”

  “Or Grandin an’ Dirk,” Hellhound offered helpfully.

  “Or Ian.” I punched the long-suffering pillow. “Dammit!”

  Kane’s eyes flicked open. “Status?” he snapped.

  “Everything’s fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

  He nodded and closed his eyes, and within minutes his breathing softened again.

  They were long minutes.

  Long, long fucking minutes.

  My legs twitched and I sprang out of bed to pace. Back and forth along the narrow walkway between the beds and the TV. Six paces. Turn. Six more paces. Turn.

  I had to do something. Maybe I should use my network key to sneak into Sirius’s network. Find out what was happening there.

  What were the chances that I was compromised? Karma had said it was unlikely.

  And Nora was probably lying. She wasn’t my real mother; she was only one of Sam’s minions. She was probably hoping to convince me to work with her, to take up Sam’s treasonous mantle again and sell intel to the highest bidder.

  That had to be it.

  All these other reactions were only my usual fucked-up-ness. So I could just go ahead and sneak a peek into the network…

  “What, darlin’?” Hellhound whispered.

  I peered at him in the dimness, realizing I had been standing stock-still staring into space. “Uh?”

  “Ya look like ya got an idea.”

  “I was thinking I might try… something John and I talked about last night.”

  “Better wait’ll he wakes up an’ talk it over,” Hellhound advised.

  “We talked it over last night.”

  “An’ since ya didn’t do anythin’ about it last night, I’m thinkin’ ya prob’ly decided it wasn’t a good idea. Somethin’ change between now an’ then?”

  “N-Not really…”

  His expression firmed. “Then you’re gonna hafta wait’ll he wakes up before ya go ahead.”

  “He’s the one who suggested it,” I argued. “I was too scared to try it at the time, but now I’m thinking it might be a good idea.”

  “Okay, so what changed?” Hellhound repeated patiently.

  “I’ve just had more time to think about it.”

  “Or somethin’ clicked in your brain an’ now you’re doin’ what somebody else wants instead a’ what ya know is right.”

  A flood of icy claustrophobia made me shudder. I had to get out of this room. Out of my own skin.

  Run.

  “Thank you very much, damn it!” I hissed, raking my fingernails up and down my arms in an attempt to overcome the creepy sensation.

  “Sorry, darlin’.” Hellhound got up to hug me, but the confinement of his embrace set my teeth on edge.

  “Sorry. I can’t…” I backed away, still scrubbing at my arms.

  “It’s okay.” He eyed me worriedly. “D’ya wanna go for a walk or somethin’?”

  “Yes!” I scurried for the door and shoved my feet into my boots. I was straightening to reach for my parka when my burner phone vibrated.

  A deluge of adrenaline made me fumble the phone. I juggled it frantically for an instant before it escaped my grasp, bouncing off the TV stand with a nerve-shattering crack before thudding to the thin carpet.

  Chapter 44

  Kane jerked upright in the bed as I pounced on the phone.

  “Please, please don’t be broken,” I implored, and pressed the Talk button.

  My anxious ‘hello’ was greeted by Moonbeam’s gentle voice.

  “Good morning, Storm Cloud Dancer.”

  I collapsed onto the bed, my knees weakening half in relief and half in disappointment.

  “Hi, Moonbeam Meadow Sky,” I replied, remembering for once to address her by the full name she preferred.

  Kane let out a breath and lay down again, and I made an apologetic face in his direction and headed for the bathroom.

  “Is anything wrong?” Moonbeam asked as I swung the door shut behind me. “You sound breathless.”

  “Everything’s fine; I just dropped the phone. Is everything all right there?”

  “Yes.” I could hear the smile in her voice as she added, “Karma Wolf Song and I are still coming to terms with the news of Cosmic River Stone’s true occupation.” Her voice warmed. “We are bursting with pride. What a blessing that all our years of training and preparation were not wasted after all.”

  My pulse ticked up. “Have you… said anything to him yet?”

  “No, of course not. Skidmark made your situation clear to us. Despite our eagerness, we will wait as long as necessary for the correct time to bring it up.” Ruefulness coloured her voice. “After all, we have waited over twenty years. Another day or two won’t make a difference.”

  I let out a quiet breath of relief. “Thanks. I’m sorry you have to wait.”

  “It’s quite all right, Storm Cloud Dancer. But that is not why I called. Do you have ti
me to talk about Blaze Featherwind?”

  My heart sank. Poor Nichele. She must be going crazy.

  I sighed. “I have time. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong, exactly, but she is pressuring you for a firm answer as to whether you will attend their wedding this evening.”

  Sickening guilt clenched my stomach. “I… I…” I had to swallow hard to hold my voice level. “I don’t see any way that I can.”

  “I assumed as much.” Moonbeam’s voice softened. “I will try to let her down gently. I’ll tell her that the chances are slim, but that you are doing your best to catch the last flight out of…” She paused. “Did you tell her where you were ostensibly working?”

  “No. Just…” I cleared the thickness from the throat. “Just tell her I’m trying. And then later in the day…”

  “I will break the news to her that you missed the flight,” Moonbeam said. “I’m sorry this is such a difficult situation for you, Storm Cloud Dancer. Just know that Blaze Featherwind would be proud of you if she knew what you were truly doing.”

  I swallowed the growing lump in the throat and whispered, “Thanks.”

  “May the Earth Spirit guide and protect you, dear. Goodbye.”

  I disconnected and slumped down onto the toilet seat, head in hands. I hated this stupid job; this stupid life. I’d never asked for it. Never had a choice. The course of my life had been steered by the needs and greeds of others since childhood.

  The walls of the bathroom seemed to press closer.

  Trapped…

  I shuddered and sprang up, using all my self-control to step calmly out of the bathroom instead of fleeing pell-mell.

  Out. I had to get out…

  I had only taken a few steps toward the door when the phone vibrated again.

  My already-thumping heart picked up the pace. Moonbeam must have forgotten something. I scurried back into the bathroom and hit the Talk button.

  “Hello?”

  Skidmark’s wheezy voice spoke three words: “Lunch at eleven-thirty.” The connection went dead.

  “YES!” I burst out of the bathroom, meeting Kane’s and Hellhound’s wide-eyed expressions with a grin. I gave a savage fist-pump. “That was Skidmark. He did it! Lunch at eleven-thirty. I’ll call Reggie and see if we can get the lie detector.” I pulled out my burner phone and texted him. Only moments after I sent the message, my phone vibrated.

  When I answered, Reggie said, “Make it quick. I’m just going into Sirius.”

  “Any chance we can get the lie detector around noon?”

  “I’ll call Jack and see. Where do you want it?”

  “I don’t know yet. Hellhound will call you around eleven-thirty if we need it.”

  “Okay. Good luck.” He hung up.

  “Done!” I said to Kane and Hellhound.

  “So far, so good,” Kane observed. “Why are you wearing your boots?”

  The walls closed in again and I hurried for the door. “I was going for a walk.”

  “Alone?” Kane shot a frown at Hellhound.

  “Nah, I was gonna go with her,” Hellhound assured him.

  Kane’s eyes narrowed as he studied me. “Why do you want to go for a walk?”

  “I just need to get out of these four walls. I’m getting antsy.”

  “Ya oughta ask Kane about your idea now, too,” Hellhound prompted.

  “I was thinking I could check… into things,” I said with a significant look at the pocket where Kane had stowed my network key.

  Kane’s frown deepened. “What happened to the objections you voiced last night?”

  “I’ve had more time to think it over now.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Aydan, but I don’t trust that kind of about-face. And I’m concerned that you’re so anxious to leave for no apparent reason. I think you’d better stay in the room; and I definitely don’t agree with your…” He shot a glance at Hellhound and obviously decided not to go into details. “…idea.”

  My pulse ticked up. “I just need a breath of fresh air,” I argued. “I’m feeling claustrophobic.”

  “All right,” Kane said slowly. He rolled to his feet and nodded to Hellhound. “We’ll both come with you. We’ll stand outside the door for a few minutes so you can get some fresh air.”

  Like prison guards.

  The creepy feeling returned with a vengeance, and I scrubbed at my arms again.

  “Ya keep doin’ that,” Hellhound said worriedly. “I’ve never seen ya do that before.”

  “It’s…” I squirmed and scratched my scalp again through the kerchief. “I don’t know whether it’s because I’m so freaked out at the thought of having somebody else’s programming inside my brain, or whether it’s this damn kerchief and makeup giving me the heebie-jeebies, or whether it’s just plain old garden-variety claustrophobia; but I want to climb right out of my own skin.”

  “It’s prob’ly all those things together,” Hellhound said with a sympathetic grimace.

  “Or none of them,” Kane countered grimly. “Maybe you’re having a physical reaction to having your programming thwarted.”

  “Not helping!” I scratched some more.

  “Come on, let’s go outside,” Hellhound said, and stepped into his boots to lead the way.

  When the door opened, we all groaned. Several inches of fresh snow adorned the parking lot, and a bitter wind whipped sharp flakes into our faces.

  I drew a couple of breaths that nearly freeze-dried my lungs, and shivered. “Well, my claustrophobia’s all better now. Let’s go back inside.”

  “Thought you’d never ask,” Hellhound said, and we retreated to the warmth of the room again.

  After we had divested ourselves of our outerwear, Kane studied me. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Better. It was just that… sitting here in the dark, it was like being in a dungeon.”

  “All right.” He sank back onto the bed. “Traffic will be slower than usual with this weather, so we’d better allow an hour to get into position. That gives us half an hour to kill. I’m going to sleep some more, and you should, too.”

  “I already tried. I can’t.” I flopped down on the bed. “But at least it’s only half an hour.”

  “You should take off your disguise,” Kane said. “Nora will need to recognize your face; and if Holt catches us it won’t matter whether you’re wearing makeup or not.”

  “Right. Thank God!” I popped up from the bed. “That will help. Go back to sleep, then. I’ll manage not to scream for the next thirty minutes.”

  He smiled and lay down again, and I hurried to the bathroom.

  I spent the remaining time staring at the clock and imagining all the ways our plan could go wrong. Lost in his own thoughts, Hellhound hadn’t spoken; and every tired cell in my body envied Kane’s ability to sleep under any conditions.

  When the glowing red digits finally showed ten-thirty, I sat up. “Showtime.”

  Kane rolled off the bed and onto his feet, looking so wide awake that I wondered whether he’d actually been sleeping after all.

  “How ya doin’, darlin’?” Hellhound asked.

  “Okay,” I lied. “I’ve been running over everything in my mind. At least this snow will make our little traffic jam more plausible when we grab Nora. It’s a good thing we don’t have any deadlines after we get her.” I picked up my gear and headed for the door, still babbling. “And if this works; and if we can get the lie detector this afternoon; and if Nora talks; and if it turns out that she was lying about the programming; or even if there is programming but it’s not an immediate threat; you could both go home tonight; and then I could investigate Grandin…”

  I ran down. I had no idea how to prove that Grandin was framing me. And even if everything went exactly as planned with Nora this afternoon, there was still no way I’d get to Nichele and Dave’s wedding tonight.

  I sighed and slung on my parka with a heavy heart.

  At eleven-twenty-five I jittered in
the back seat of the Saturn while Kane sat calmly behind the wheel. His brown truck idled ahead of us in the alley, the cloud of exhaust in the icy air nearly obscuring it.

  “Got them.” The phone on the seat beside us spoke in Hellhound’s voice, and the truck pulled out onto the street.

  Kane followed at a leisurely pace, and I attempted to look relaxed while scanning for the taxi that contained Skidmark and Nora.

  “I see them, too,” I said, and pointed at the yellow cab wallowing along the snowy street ahead of us.

  The brown truck appeared to be having difficulties. The rear tires spun frequently, making the tail end of the vehicle bobble uneasily. So far, so good.

  Kane eased into the other lane to pass Hellhound on the left. The Saturn’s front-wheel drive chewed ungracefully through the ridges of snow between the lanes, but it slithered into its assigned position tractably enough. The vehicles around us moved slowly. A timid driver ahead of us seemed to be obstructing traffic, and the taxi extended its lead.

  “Is that Rand?” Kane snapped.

  “In the blue car that’s holding everything up?” I strained my eyes. “Nope. Not Holt, either; or anybody else I recognize.”

  “Good.” Kane changed lanes again, speeding up enough to pass the dawdler without looking unduly rushed.

  Behind us, Hellhound fell back a car-length, still apparently struggling to maintain traction in the truck.

  “He’s going to burn out my transmission,” Kane muttered. “Let’s hope it doesn’t go before we get this done.”

  We were approaching the taxi. In the back seat Skidmark and Nora sat close, their heads together as though enthralled with each other.

  My heart hammered my ribs and I tried to look in all directions at once. Any bugs or locator devices on Nora should now be lying on the floor of the cab; but Ian wouldn’t be far away. Like us, he would be cruising a few car-lengths ahead or behind and watching the taxi like a hawk.

  “Where the hell is he?” I muttered.

  “I don’t know. Hellhound, can you see Rand?” Kane asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Dammit.” Kane let out a short breath. “Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s set this up.”

  He changed lanes again, easing up on the right side of the taxi. Nora’s side.