Calculated Entrapment

by K. T. Lee

  Joey laughed and the game was on. While he couldn’t exactly use all of the techniques he’d learned at the Agency, she was an even match for him in a gym. And unless he’d misjudged her, she didn’t want someone to take it easy on her. He upped his game and she laughed. After she scored another point on him, he scanned the class. Everyone else was moving just a little slower, and he realized she’d picked him out for some healthy competition. They were both fully grinning when it was over. Soon, the class finished and was bowing out. He left to change out of his uniform and put it in the washing basket, but when he came out of the changing area, she was gone.

  * * *

  Stefanie drove back home with a smile on her face. If she wasn’t in the middle of all of this FBI and CIA nonsense, her heart might have even been pounding a little. While fully confident in the workplace, she had no idea how to hit on a guy. Considering the circumstances, she settled for a sparring match. Yeah, that checked out. She didn’t know how to flirt, so she delivered a roundhouse kick to his headgear. She sighed. Joey looked to be about the same age as her and was very easy on the eyes. His light brown eyes held intelligence and good humor and he walked with the kind of confidence that was impossible not to find attractive. Good thing her inner chicken high-tailed it to her car. Otherwise, her sister would have needed to run a background check on the first guy she’d had a spark with in ages. When he realized that he had underestimated her, she expected him to be annoyed. Instead, his grin lit up his whole face. She put a hand on her heart. Okay, it was pounding a little bit. Maybe the new guy would stick around, and she’d have a chance to ask him out when this was all over. She pulled into her driveway and locked her car. She shook her shoulders out to loosen them. The CIA was sending someone this week and she needed to keep a clear head.

  * * *

  Joey returned to his new place to clean up, then drove to an address on his GPS. It was time to admit to Stefanie that his introduction in karate class was missing some pretty key details. After their sparring match, he felt infinitely more comfortable bringing her in on the case. It was nice to know they’d have a healthy chance of getting along. It wasn’t required, but an easy working relationship definitely made the job easier. Joey pulled up to a small, well-maintained bungalow. The windows were easy to reach from the ground level. The door was solid, but the locks were old. He could pick them without breaking a sweat. It was a surprise she didn’t have more security. Well, that’s what he was here for. Joey sighed, then knocked on the door.

  Stefanie opened the door the width of the security chain. Her mouth dropped into an “O.” “Hey, Joey. What are you doing here?” All of the goodwill she’d shown him earlier evaporated in a heartbeat. Joey mentally kicked himself for being such an idiot. He’d been so focused on the mission that he hadn’t realized showing up at her house unannounced after meeting her at karate would make him look like a creepy stalker. Stefanie swallowed hard and looked behind her. Ah, so she kept a weapon close to the door. Okay. Coming here unannounced might have been dangerously stupid, not just regular stupid. She held up a finger. “Actually, give me a second.”

  Stefanie shut the door and he sent a quick message to Quinn, asking her to call Stefanie with his information, keeping it more vague than he probably should have. He didn’t need her to think he’d screwed up until he was sure he’d actually screwed up. Hopefully, Quinn was close to her phone. He took half a step back so he could duck behind a porch post if Stefanie pulled her gun on him. A full minute later, Stefanie returned to the door, looking at her phone. She opened the door fully, but this time, her glare was the opposite of her friendly greeting at their first meeting. She flipped around the phone. “That him?” He noticed the earbuds in her ears – he couldn’t hear what Quinn said back. “Yeah. It’s a good thing you called. I was about to call the police on him. It’s not exactly a low-key introduction.” She tipped her head to indicate he should come inside the house. He walked in and she shut the door behind him. “Yeah, thanks a lot. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “I get what this looks like.” Joey held his hands in the air.

  Stefanie’s annoyance had morphed into full-blown irritation. “It looks like you’re acting like a creep.”

  Joey winced. “Yeah, that’s a fair hit. I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

  “Were you just checking on me to see if I can handle the pressure? Your team already did that.” Stefanie glared. “Do you have a trust problem, Joey?” She turned on a heel and stalked to the kitchen.

  “That feels like a loaded question.” Not knowing if he was stepping into dangerous territory, he followed her.

  She pulled an electric kettle off of its base and turned to face him. “My friends call me Stef. Quinn assures me that despite the evidence to the contrary, you are a nice person, so I’ll let you do that too. For now. Also, for the record, I don’t mind that you wanted to test me. I’d have done the same. I do mind that you came to my front door with no warning. Next time, send a girl a text before you take a year off her life, huh?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She poured some water into a mug and looked up at him. “Tea?”

  Joey eyed her. “I’m having a hard time reconciling the person who just about kicked my ass two hours ago literally, two minutes ago metaphorically, with the person currently offering me tea.”

  Stefanie lifted an eyebrow. “I’m a complicated woman. Now, do you want tea or not?”

  Joey laughed. “As long as you promise not to poison it.”

  “There’s those trust issues again.” Stefanie dunked a tea bag in each cup and slid one across to him.

  Joey considered how to pitch his concerns without confirming her accusations of trust issues. Then, he quickly recalibrated. If he hadn’t learned that Stefanie Ryland didn’t need to be coddled in the last couple of hours, then he should probably be fired. “Any idea if this house is being watched?”

  Stefanie stilled. “I haven’t seen anything. But I’m not sure I’d know what to look for.” She began to pace around the compact kitchen, mug in hand.

  Joey tensed. Maybe he did need to ease into his approach after all. She was more scared than she was letting on. He closed his eyes for a moment and made a mental note to talk to Quinn about that later. “Do you have any security equipment installed?”

  Stefanie put down her tea, then left the room. She brought back a box filled with several smaller boxes. “Your friends sent me this. I did want to wait until you got here to do the outside cameras and the front door locks, though. I was getting a little nervous turning my back to the street after meeting with your team. Hope that’s not a problem.”

  “Not at all.” Now that he was sure he hadn’t pissed off Stefanie in a way that was unrecoverable, he finally took in the interior of the house. A combination of personal photos and metal sculptures littered the wall. They weren’t overdone or gigantic, they were just precise and beautiful. And he finally noticed the security sensors she’d installed. They were almost impossible to see if he didn’t know what he was looking for. If he’d taken in his surroundings, he’d probably be making better decisions. Time to recover. He ran a hand over his head. “Did you make those?”

  Stefanie nodded. “Every one.”

  Joey studied one a little closer. “You could sell those for a fortune at an art fair. They’re incredible. Aren’t you some kind of marine biologist?”

  “Yep. And a businesswoman when the situation requires it.” Stefanie pulled a tiny camera out of its box. She quickly assembled the small camera and mount, putting it together perfectly without a glance at the instructions. When he just stared after her, she placed it in his palm. “What? Did I do it wrong?”

  “Nope.” He studied the results. “It’s just that one always gives me trouble.”

  “It’s because they have two holes. They should have a slot and a hole to make assembly easier.” She pointed to the camera bracket. “It’s not your fault it’s hard to put together, the design just nee
ds to be tweaked.” He stared at her incredulously. She shrugged. “I like mechanical things. I’m just saying it’s designed sub-optimally for assembly. It gets the job done, but you probably have to fiddle with it to get it just right.”

  “That’s exactly it. I’ll pass along your feedback to the tech team. That wouldn’t be tough to change.” He quickly installed the cameras outside while she kept watch. The door lock took a little longer, but soon, her security system was fully upgraded. He pulled up the camera feeds on his phone and entered the code Quinn had provided. Moments later, he did the same to hers.

  Stefanie breathed a sigh of relief at almost the exact time he did. She took her phone back, then tilted her head to study him. She gave a small nod of satisfaction. “Looks like you’re feeling better too. Which makes me like you just a little bit more than when I thought you were creeping on me after class.”

  Joey cringed. “I couldn’t exactly introduce myself fully in that environment.”

  “That’s fair.” Stefanie tapped the phone in her palm. “And sorry I didn’t cut you much slack. I have a tendency to just come out and say what I’m thinking. My brain-to-mouth filter is pretty porous.”

  “Fine by me. I’d rather be around people who say what they think versus having to guess.” He took a sip of his now almost room temperature tea. “So, now that I know you’ll tell me, how do you feel about having the CIA invading your lab?”

  Stefanie began to clean up her dishes from making tea without making direct eye contact. “I mean, it’s better than not having someone there and wondering why a spy would want to mess with my company. And, it’s a lot better to know the truth about my sister and be able to protect her. Our family is close and if I found out something terrible happened and I could have prevented it, I don’t know what I would do.”

  Joey closed his eyes for a moment, guilt washing over him. It did that sometimes. It would pass in a minute.

  Stefanie’s mouth dropped open. “Oh no. Please tell me you haven’t lost someone in some kind of terrible accident related to the CIA.”

  “The woman who was killed by Dmitri.” Joey rubbed his neck. “She was my girlfriend.”

  Stefanie stopped dead in her tracks. “And they let you come help me? No way. Aren’t you too close to the case or something? Also, are you okay? That would be awful. I can’t imagine.”

  Joey winced in the face of her questions. She wasn’t kidding. Stefanie Ryland did not have a filter. Despite the somewhat jarring lack of social niceties, there was something refreshing about not playing games. So, he answered her questions honestly. “It wasn’t the best time of my life. And I’m not okay with anyone getting hurt on my team. They let me be a part of this operation on the condition I keep personal feelings out of it. I’ll do my best on that front and if I can’t, I’ll tap out. I wouldn’t have come if I thought that would be an issue, and I think this will help me find closure.”

  “I mean, what if you don’t catch him?” Stefanie put a hand on her hip. “Will you still have closure?”

  Joey felt the question in his stomach. He straightened a little. “Then I’ll have to figure it out. But at least I’ll know I tried. That’s what I owe to Rory and that’s what I promise to my team: to have their backs.”

  Stefanie looked at him like he was holding a puppy. “You know, you look a little scary, and you fight like a pro, but underneath it all, you are actually really sweet. Hm, interesting. Quinn was right again.”

  “Thank you. I think.” Joey laughed and took another drink of his tea. It wasn’t half bad, even cold. “How do you know Quinn so well?”

  Stefanie began rummaging in drawers. “Oh, you know. Book club.”

  Joey almost did a spit take. “We’re going to have to work on your lying if we’re going to pull this off.”

  “I’ve done very well so far, thank you very much. My coworkers believe I’m bringing you into my lab under a grant. It allows you to have a few weeks to intern anywhere you like. You’ll be working on assembling equipment. I hope you’re comfortable with that. If not, I can teach you.” She poured more hot water into a mug, then refilled Joey’s. “Do super spies like Earl Grey or were you just being polite?”

  Joey smiled. “I usually stick to coffee, but Earl Grey is great. And I don’t feel sick, so I assume you didn’t poison it. Thank you for that. As far as turning wrenches in your lab, my work in the Army was pretty mechanical and I volunteer with the local fire station. Give me some instructions and tools and I can handle it.”

  “My work is a little more delicate than using an axe to take down a door.” Stefanie eyed him skeptically. “Think about carefully assembling something more like a pocket watch. You’ll get instructions though.”

  Joey nodded. “No problem. Anyone else in the lab?”

  Stefanie ran her fingers through her hair. She’d let it down and changed into athletic clothes since he’d seen her at karate. “A number of folks will be in and out of the lab, but I have one employee who works pretty closely with me. His name is Nash and he’s been supportive. Inquisitive and interested in the details. He’s young but has talent to spare. You’ll want to be careful what you say around him – he doesn’t miss much. My boss is Cole Davidson and he is the VP of Research and Development. He stops by when he’s in the office but he travels a lot, so it’s not as disruptive as you might think. I let him know you were coming.”

  “Good.” Joey cocked his head. “Tell me more about how Ree got mixed up in all of this.”

  * * *

  Stefanie turned away from the guy who didn’t look completely unlike the guy with big muscles on her floor cleaner. Suffice to say, while she’d checked her front window more than once at home, she hadn’t expected the CIA to send someone to her karate class. Despite their rough start, though, she was starting to form a clearer picture of the operations officer. Like her, Joey liked to be in charge. After recovering from her initial suspicions, she understood his caution. She might have done the same. However, she’d been working with the CIA all of five minutes and she already had to decide how much she wanted to tell the guy about her sister. He looked intimidating, sure, but his eyes were warm. And he’d owned it when he realized he’d made a mistake. That was a big one in her book. Still, telling a relative stranger about her sister felt like jumping out of an airplane with a parachute. It should be fine, but it was anything but comfortable. Realizing that several seconds had passed, Stefanie took a big drink of her tea. She was cool, calm, and collected. She could do this. She turned around to face him. “Didn’t Cam and Quinn give you background information?”

  “Yeah. I have a stack of reports to get through, but my number one concern was your security. The book stuff will have to wait.” Joey shrugged nonchalantly.

  It took a few seconds for it to click, but in that moment, she pinpointed his act. His shtick was that he was just a regular guy who didn’t pay attention. But she’d already seen his eyes skimming the room, taking it all in. He’d asked about security because she’d done an excellent job hiding the sensors out of sight. She’d worked on teams long enough to know that relationships mattered. Joey was still holding back key information until he was sure about her. And that attitude was going to put Ree in danger. She crossed her arms. “The ‘aw, shucks, I don’t like books’ act isn’t going to work around my coworkers, you know. They aren’t impressed by people who don’t do their homework. And I have a hard time believing that the same guy who correctly deemed my external security system inadequate seconds after arriving didn’t read the file. So, what? Is this another test?”

  “No. That was earlier today?” Joey’s voice was light.

  Stefanie glared at him. “Too soon.”

  Joey sighed. “Look, we don’t usually engage civilians if we can help it. I’m not sure you understand how big of a deal this could be.”

  “I know what I signed up for.” Stefanie narrowed her eyes.

  Joey frowned. “You don’t, though. Have you read the files? All of them?”


  “They didn’t give me any files to keep, but I know enough.” Stefanie grabbed a rag and began scrubbing some invisible dirt on the countertop.

  “You know that a fully-trained CIA operations officer was killed by this guy? In her house. By herself.”

  Stefanie cleared her throat. “I didn’t ask for specifics.”

  “Did you ask for a natural gas detector?”

  Stefanie rolled her eyes. “I already had one. Alexis asked me if I had it. It’s handled.”

  “You armed?”

  Stefanie walked over to a cabinet, put in a series of numbers, and an electronic lock clicked. She pulled a small Glock out, keeping it pointed at the floor. “Do you want to test fire it too?”

  “Yeah. We’ll take it to the range.” Joey reached for the weapon and checked it thoroughly. “You shoot okay?”

  Stefanie nearly growled. “Yeah. Probably as well as you, cowboy. I nearly kicked your butt at the gym. I was taking it easy on you, but I won’t make the same mistake at the range.”

  Joey’s mouth twitched. “Not a cowboy. A firefighter.”

  “You mentioned that.” Stefanie kept her voice flat, deliberately trying to sound unimpressed. She wanted to see how he reacted under stress too. She didn’t need him elbowing his way through her lab, wrecking an opportunity she’d spent years building.

  Joey looked up from studying her weapon, and carefully slid it back to her. “I’m not sure if you’re trying to get a rise out of me or if you’re just stressed.”

  Stefanie crossed her arms in a silent standoff. “You tell me when you decide. Too bad, when Ree was talking about me working with the FBI, I thought I was going to get a cute dog out of the deal. Not a grumpy agent with a stick so far up his backside that he can’t even trust me with the basics. For the record, my dad was Army and you don’t scare me.”