Calculated Entrapment

by K. T. Lee

  She placed her luggage in the car and found herself in the backseat with Alexis and Waffle. Waffle somehow managed to wedge himself in between the two women and he lay his head on her knee. Ree turned around from the passenger’s seat to face Stefanie. “I’m assuming you have about a million questions.”

  “A million and one. At least. And Alex, no offense, but what are you doing here?” She kept a hand on Waffle’s head.

  Alexis grinned and Waffle thumped his tail. “None taken. Parker and I work together. Waffle is also an employee. There is no one more talented than him when it comes to detecting explosives.”

  Without warning, Ree began fumbling in the glove compartment and pulled out a plastic bag. Stefanie winced when she realized why. After Ree was finished, she took a large swig of water. “I’m fine. Sorry about the noise.”

  “No need to apologize. You okay?” Stefanie looked around the seat to check on Ree. She’d seen some pretty gross things in her undergrad biology courses, so her stomach was stronger than most.

  Ree shrugged. “Okay enough for now. In case you’re wondering, the doctor assures me my occasional nausea is part of the miracle of life. Parker said I can’t tell her I moonlight for the FBI when she says how incredible it is that I can grow a tiny life in my body whenever I complain about my morning sickness.” She took another drink. “Also, fun fact, did you know I can take very little medication that they feel outweighs the risk as long as I’m ‘comfortable enough?’” Ree huffed out a breath. “Sorry, now I’m venting. Ask your questions – it’ll distract me.”

  “I am so sorry, Sis. You have nothing to apologize for – it’s hard work growing a human. And nothing about pregnancy sounds easy.” She moved her hands to her knees. “But, if you promise it will help, I would like to ask a few questions.” A moment after she’d removed her hand from Waffle’s head, Stefanie felt a cold dog nose nudging its way under her palm. She chuckled and resumed petting Waffle, trying to figure out where to start. “Can you fill in the blanks from our call? I get the feeling you left a few things out.”

  “Yeah, about that.” Ree turned around to look at her. “We should probably start at the beginning. First, I have stretched the truth a little where Parker and Alex are concerned.”

  Stefanie lifted an eyebrow. “You are married, right? I mean, if you’re pregnant, that seems like a pretty big commitment to a cover story.”

  Ree groaned. “This is so much harder than working with Cam.”

  “Not for me. This is awesome.” Parker’s grin showed in the rear-view mirror, but he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on Ree’s leg.

  Ree gave Stefanie an extra, full water bottle without breaking stride. “So, Parker and I met when a student on campus was using my lab to acquire weapons components to try to assassinate a foreign head of state.”

  Stefanie had just taken a drink of water, and she very nearly spit it out. “Oh, I’m sure people meet that way all the time.”

  “I didn’t realize what was happening until Parker showed up to arrest me.” Ree shot Parker a mischievous look.

  Parker shook his head. “She means when I came to collect evidence.”

  Ree shrugged, a sparkle in her eye. “Yes, that’s what I meant. So, once he realized I was being framed, Parker and I decided to become a fake couple, since I was in a teensy bit of danger.” Stefanie’s eyebrows shot up. If Ree was admitting she was in any danger, she must have been in a world of trouble. “Somewhere in the middle of it, we fell for each other and have been solving crimes together ever since. Parker’s brother Cam helps too, but we’ll let him fill you in on that. He’ll be there today as well. That’s a huge secret though. You can’t tell anyone that, and the FBI will make you sign some scary forms that say you’ll go to jail if you do.”

  “Noted. I have no plans to end up in jail.” Stefanie took another sip of water. “I’ll sign whatever form you want, as long as I get to hear all the stuff I didn’t know about. For the record, I thought you were nervous at the wedding because you were worried Grandma was going to make an inappropriate comment using her outside voice.”

  Ree laughed. “I mean, I was definitely worried about that too. Do you remember what she said to Uncle Doug about what his tattoo looked like at the last wedding?”

  Stefanie cringed. “She maintains that she only said it because it was true.”

  “I have to know.” Alexis leaned forward.

  Ree shook her head. “Nope. It’s still early enough in our marriage for Parker to make a break for it.”

  “I don’t scare that easy.” Parker gave her an incredulous look. “You also thought I’d run because you shot a suspect who was trying to kill me and that didn’t happen.”

  This time, Stefanie fully choked on her water. Once she’d cleared her throat, she leaned forward, still brushing droplets off her shirt. “You shot someone?! That’s a little different than the stories you told at your bachelorette party.”

  Parker pulled into a parking garage outside of the FBI Chicago office and showed his badge to an attendant. “Here we are. Let’s get you checked in.”

  Stefanie reached for her things, stealing one more glance at her sister and wondering if she was truly ready to pull off the blindfold of what her family really did for a living. Ree was intense, but pregnancy had slowed her down to the speed of most normal humans. And she was working with a team that had her back. Alexis and Parker both watched her when Ree didn’t think they were looking, and Stefanie liked them both just a little bit more for it. Waffle kept nudging his nose into Ree’s hand, and she gave him multiple pats on the way in. While there would always be a special place in her heart for marine wildlife, she was also a sucker for a sweet dog and Waffle definitely qualified.

  It felt like two hours but was more like thirty minutes later when the team finally settled around a long rectangular table. She signed a short version of the paperwork Ree had warned her about with a very stern representative of the FBI before getting whisked away to a conference room. A man she recognized as Parker’s brother walked in. The last time she’d seen him, he was standing up as Parker’s best man at the wedding. She rose to greet him, her experience as a businesswoman taking over despite the odd circumstances. “Cam Mitchell, I recall?”

  “And my plus one.” Cam stepped out of the doorway.

  Stefanie eyed the woman she had, up to a few seconds ago, believed was Cam’s girlfriend who worked in finance. Ree had talked about Quinn and Cam, but it was a little off-putting to have them all in a room together, clearly with shared experiences she knew almost nothing about. “Is Quinn also a…consultant?”

  “Something like that.” Quinn reached out a hand. “Hey, Stefanie. Good to see you again.”

  “You, too.” Stefanie just gave in to the moment. If she kept on being incredulous, they wouldn’t get anything done. She turned to Ree. “How many people at your wedding worked for the FBI?”

  Quinn grinned. “We’re CIA. But that’s not common knowledge.”

  “Of course it isn’t.” Stefanie shook her head. “Off the record, or whatever you guys say, what the heck is going on?”

  Quinn pulled out numbered Manila file folders and gave them to everyone at the table, pausing when she reached Stefanie. Before she released the file, she made eye contact. “Stefanie, before we start, did they offer you an out yet?” Before she could answer, Quinn continued, “We’re dealing with an extremely dangerous person and you have every right to back out before we put you in an uncomfortable or unsafe position. And the more you know, the riskier this gets. I assure you that ignorance, in this case, truly is bliss.”

  “Will my sister be in more danger than she is now if I don’t help?” Stefanie kept a hand on the folder.

  Quinn’s mouth set in a line. “Possibly. This man coordinated the successful murder of a CIA officer and has attempted much more.”

  Stefanie wiggled the file loose from Quinn’s grip. “Then you should probably let me take a look at this so I can
help protect Ree and that sweet baby she’s carrying.”

  “I’m not helpless.” Ree eyed her sister.

  “I know, Sis.” Stefanie put a hand on her hip. “But, even I, an untrained marine biologist, have read enough spy novels to know it’s harder to work undercover if you’re puking as much as you are.” Parker’s mouth was carefully still, but the corners of his eyes held a little bit of mirth at Stefanie’s newfound confidence. Stefanie placed the file on the table and rubbed her hands together. “I’ve also read enough spy novels to know that when the gathering is this big, with this many caveats, it’s going to get interesting.”

  Quinn gestured for them to open their folders. “Everyone in this room has gone up against Dmitri with varying levels of success. We’ve included summaries of each operation we’ve conducted under code names. Dmitri truly believes in his endeavors and thinks he’s helping his country, regardless of what anyone says to the contrary. I probably don’t have to tell you that’s what makes him dangerous. Their diplomats have assured our diplomats he won’t cause trouble. This team has kept him from ascending into more power and has thwarted his most dangerous schemes. However, we’ve all seen enough to be worried if he’s working on something else. Even with multiple teams working to stop him, Dmitri has killed a CIA operations officer, blown up a rocket, kidnapped a vaccine scientist, and his hitman shot both Alexis and myself. And that’s just in the last year. Worse, my injury happened when one of his spies visited Ree’s front porch looking for more information, so Dmitri has gotten too close for comfort for all of us.”

  “Does he know where Ree lives now?” Stefanie swallowed hard.

  Parker put a hand on Ree’s. “We don’t think so.”

  Stefanie ignored her racing heart. She just had to focus on the facts, organize them into a to-do list, then tackle it. One step at a time. She forced a light tone. “Any good news?”

  Alexis leaned forward. “We stopped his hitman a couple of months ago. That’s huge. Since our government talked to their government, Dmitri has been quietly demoted. We can only assume he was also reprimanded for his role in operations we’ve been assured were not government-sanctioned. I have no doubt they’re telling the truth. Dmitri’s operations were a little too sloppy to come from the top. He’s running out of people willing to work for him, so if we find the sleeper agent he planted at the OEG, we’ve got a chance to stop him.”

  Stefanie thumbed through the file, buying time so that they didn’t hear the nerves in her voice. “That’s good, right? That means he’s not there personally, so we just have to find a sleeper agent?”

  “I don’t want to scare you, but we need to take this pretty seriously.” Parker exchanged a look with Ree. “What Dmitri lacks in finesse or on-the-ground resources, he makes up for in his single-minded focus. While he’s lost some of his teeth, his motivation to cause harm and prove himself will have likely increased. He doesn’t care about collateral damage. It’s not an incentive, nor is it a disincentive. It’s easiest to think about him as a gambler who truly cannot quit when the chips are down. It’s not even a conscious decision for him – he just won’t let it go. So, even if it’s just one person, we need to be careful.”

  “It seems like you know much more about him than I ever could figure out.” Stefanie shifted in her seat. “What do you need me for?”

  Cam, who had been silent up to this point, made eye contact. Stef had only met him a few times for wedding-related events. Each time, he’d seemed like someone with a healthy amount of confidence. Today, however, uncertainty had snuck into his expression. “For starters, we need you to be our eyes and ears at the company. Especially right now, we are going to be very careful and deliberate about how we engage you. The Oceanic Exploration Group hired multiple new employees during the timeframe when we aren’t sure of the sleeper agent’s whereabouts. We’ll need you to keep an eye out for someone asking strange questions. We need to figure out why Dmitri is so interested in the company.”

  Quinn crossed her arms. “And I don’t want you to go up against him alone.” She turned to Alexis. “Alex, I know the FBI didn’t want to bring anyone new into this and you’ve been talking to my teammate at the CIA pretty regularly lately. What do you think about bringing him in further?”

  Alexis considered. “He’s smart. Detailed. Don’t know him personally but seems like a decent guy. What is your opinion?”

  “I think he’s good people. He’s invested, obviously, but so am I. He’s up for it if you all give the go-ahead.” Quinn leaned back in her seat.

  “I think he’s our best option.” Parker looked at Stefanie. “Do you have the budget for a lab assistant?”

  Stefanie shook her head. “Not exactly.”

  Ree took a sip of herbal tea. Unlike Stefanie, who was treating herself to her third cup of coffee of the day – she didn’t often go for a third cup, but a girl could only take so much – Ree was limiting her caffeine intake. However, she had a non-coffee-induced twinkle in her eye. It was the same look she had when she was about to win at Monopoly at a family holiday gathering. “How about an unpaid intern? I could send him from Indiana Polytechnic.”

  Parker laid a protective hand on Ree’s back. “Do we want to bring your name into it so soon?”

  “If he comes from Indiana Polytechnic and anyone gets suspicious, we’ll find out quickly.” Ree leaned in. “Even if we don’t want to bring my name into it, we could say he got some kind of grant to subsidize his trip. Then, I could just be available to fabricate information as needed.”

  “That would work.” Quinn looked at Stefanie. “It would definitely solve the problem of how to get one of our people in the lab with you if it gets hairy. Let me check with my boss, get formal approval to get him involved. Then we can share his information. We’ll get him a place close to yours, so he can keep an eye on you and you can get him into the lab as soon as possible. Until then, just lay low, don’t ask too many questions.”

  “That was efficient.” Stefanie checked her watch. “What are we going to do for the rest of the weekend?”

  Alexis smiled and Waffle thumped his tail. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

  * * *

  When Stefanie boarded her flight to return home, she hurt everywhere. She tried to read a book on the way, but the words blurred as she replayed the weekend in her head instead. While the CIA and FBI had asked some additional questions about her fellow employees and her life in San Francisco, the bulk of her weekend had been spent training with Alexis and a man who called himself Sensei John. He was quite a bit different from the instructors who had trained her in more theoretical circumstances. It had been nice to learn some new techniques. She was sure she would be even more appreciative once she could move again. Very occasionally, Alexis brought Waffle to visit her during training, either as a reward or an apology, she wasn’t sure. As a result, Stefanie found it impossible to be annoyed with the spunky agent and her canine companion.

  Stefanie straightened her back and winced. Okay, not completely impossible. There was a muscle down her spine that ached even when she was sitting. She had even taken some anti-inflammatories before she left for the airport. Ree had told her not to be a baby with an affectionate hug and then slipped a travel-sized bottle in her hand. Her dad would be proud of them. And even more proud that Ree took her to the range to brush up on her skills before she got on her flight back home. Like Ree, Stefanie had a concealed carry permit, but she didn’t carry her weapon in her purse like her sister. Or at least, she hadn’t up to this point. Her large bag usually held her laptop, not a gun. It wasn’t allowed most places she visited anyway and until recently, she’d felt relatively safe in her small neighborhood and workplace. However, when talking about her neighbors with the FBI and CIA teams, she found she could only recall their first names and almost no one’s occupation. She shivered – what else might she have missed?

  Stefanie rolled her shoulders and made one last attempt to read the paperback she bought in the airport to
no avail. She just couldn’t get invested in the characters when her own life was proving to be a little more exciting than the book. She took a deep breath and sat quietly with her thoughts instead. While her sister was more likely to worry and fuss, Stefanie was generally a little more patient. Her fear was rational. She was far more scared than she was when she’d known nothing about her family’s FBI work, but she was probably quite a bit safer. Unless they’d all missed something important.

  8

  Dmitri tapped his hand on his desk impatiently and resisted the temptation to reach out to his associate. It wasn’t time to send his regular email. Each contact point increased the risk of discovery, and he knew better than to tempt fate. Their initial test had been successful; he just needed to let his plan unfold. Still, the last update from his ally had generated more questions than answers. There were so many opportunities he could exploit, well beyond his original plan. While the job his government assigned him was to safely manage nuclear waste, he had ideas much more ambitious than the assignment they had given him. He could do his job with his eyes closed and even pursue some personal interests in ways they were too shortsighted to recognize. He stepped away from his computer, away from temptation. His plan was already in motion; its successful conclusion, inevitable. An associate was hand-carrying a package that would prove very useful in the right hands. While Dmitri wanted to know more, he didn’t need to press his luck. Desperation fed stupidity and he was the opposite of stupid.

  * * *

  When Quinn returned to Langley on Monday, she was filled with the familiar adrenaline that came with starting a difficult operation. They hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to stop Dmitri before he did something terrible. Maybe all of their small, seemingly lateral moves on the chessboard would finally lead to checkmate. When she remembered the conversation she was about to have, tension crept into the edges of her enthusiasm. Joey was a professional, but he wasn’t a robot. And like her, he’d lost a friend when Dmitri killed her partner. Fortunately, she saw Joey when she first walked in, at least keeping her trepidation brief. She waved at him as he stood by the watercooler, filling up a large bottle. He was built more like an athlete than a desk jockey and was a little more laid back than she, despite – or maybe because of – the time he spent in the gym. However, she’d only once mistaken his easygoing nature for a lack of attention to detail. Since then, she’d learned to look past the surface to realize his time at the gym wasn’t about vanity; it was about preparation.