by Mae Argilan
"What’s your brilliant plan? You don’t have one, do you?"
"Of course I have a plan, and it’s better than that sorry thing you came up with."
"Enlighten me," Glenn said.
"I haven’t worked out all the details yet."
"I always know when you’re bluffing."
"Maybe I’m not as convinced of our peril as you are. Maybe I don’t think we need rescuing."
"Because she batted her big brown eyes at you? Men. Can’t see the forest for the eyelashes."
"Women. Can’t put two of them together without having a cat fight. I’ve been thinking. When you told her to change our destination, what did she say? Did she say that she had the coordinates?"
"She said she would take us to my apartment. You’re saying that she knows where I live without having to ask?"
"Even if she knew where you lived, she would haveconfirmed the coordinates. Wouldn’t she?"
Glenn felt the answer in the pit of her stomach. "If she was taking me home," she said, quietly. "If she was taking us someplace else, she wouldn’t need to ask for directions, would she?"
"We’ve got to get out of here."
"Isn’t that what I’ve been saying?"
Glenn removed her camera from the case, and checked the film. It was exposed, just like she’d left it after taking the pictures of Lou and Dave in front of Shane’s townhouse.
"What do you think happened to Dave?"
Geoff took her hand, and squeezed it. "I’ll stay right here. Maybe I’ll get a chance to knock her down, and we can get away."
"That doesn’t sound like any better a plan when you say it, than it did when I said it," Glenn said. "Listen, if there’s any lying to do, let me do it."
"Anything to do with lying, cheating, or photography, and you’re up to bat."
"And, what if she comes for me first?"
"You’ve got that camera," Geoff said. "Use it."
"Take her picture?"
"Nail her with it, hard, right on the nose."
"You can use my camera bag. Remember how heavy it is?"
"If I get some elbow room," he said.
Glenn wound the strap around her forearm, and weighed the camera in her hand. A sharp whomp on the nose would bring tears to your eyes.
"Leverage is everything in self-defense," Geoff said. "Sit on the edge of your seat, and use your back leg. Picture yourself springing like an arrow off a bow. As soon as that door opens, hurl yourself forward."
"Show me."
She repeated his movements to varying degrees of success. It would have to do.
"What if we’re wrong?" Glenn asked. "I mean, we wouldn’t be in this mess now if we’d only gone along quietly with Dave and Lou in the first place."
"You mean, instead of me punching him in the nose? So, now this is all my fault?"
"I didn’t say that. I didn’t even imply it. Why don’t you just grow up?"
"You grow up. We’re in a pretty hairy situation here, and we’re going to have to work together to get out of it. You can’t be having second-thoughts, now."
"I don’t. Not really. I don’t have to think twice about wanting to give that lady agent a black eye. You can count on me. Everything is under control."
The car came to a stop. Geoff pointed toward Glenn’s door. She nodded.
"Good luck." Glenn whispered.
Her palms began to sweat, and the camera felt like it might slip. She didn’t dare move. It was her door that flew open, flooding the back seat with sunlight. Then, Geoff’s door opened, too. Instead of scurrying out as they’d planned, they both sat puzzled by the nothingness that lay before them.
Justin Knight ran down four flights of stairs. He squeezed the microphone discs. "Get Mobile Two on the line. What? No. Have Mobile Command patch you through. That’s right. MobileTwo ."
In thirty seconds he was standing beside the car. A man in a Kevlar vest looked up from the driver’s seat, and handed him the receiver.
"Here you go, Chief."
He shook his head. "You call it in. Direct a broadcast to Mobile Two, and see what happens. I’m just here to listen and advise."
"What do you expect to hear?"
"If Agent Anderson keys in, toss the phone here."
The man put the receiver under his chin. "If it’s anybody else?"
Knight sighed. "Put out a general distress. Ask his location."
"Check."
Glenn felt like somebody put her body in neutral, and kept revving the engine. Her brain was working overtime, and not going anywhere. She was stalled.
"We’renot in Bethesda," Geoff said. "Smell."
"Bethesda has an odor?" She inhaled. "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. Smells green."
"We’re still in the country."
"Maybe they brought us back to the Arch. I wish I could see something. Sh."
Geoff pushed the camera case on the floorboards. "I’ll get out first. If I don’t get my head blown off, you follow me. You ready?"
Glenn slipped the camera strap over her head, and felt its heaviness reassure her. "Ready."
"Slide over here so you can follow me out."
Glenn backed across the seat, watching Geoff out the corner of her eye. He stepped out, and unfolded himself until he was standing upright. She gripped the 33mm lens, and eased her toe out, testing the water.
It wasn’t as sunny as it first appeared. Clouds tumbled across the sky making sun look like a whitewashed moon hovering over rows of evergreens and oaks. A drizzle set in, driven by an uncompromising wind. The chill was a welcome change from the confinement of the back seat. Glenn tucked the camera under the shelter of her coat, and stepped around the side of the car.
Geoff said, "Weird."
"We can’t be alone." Glenn scanned the tree line on the side of the road.
Geoff looked around. "There’s that sound again."
"Voices."
"Coming from inside." He reached for the door handle, and pulled.
A voice said, "General distress. Mobile Two, do you copy? Come in, Mobile Two."
"A CB. Get inside," Geoff said.
"It’s a trap. Nobody’s going to go to all this trouble, and just let us take the car. Do you know where we are?"
"Don’t have a clue. Could be any woods anywhere. Do you want to drive out of here, or would you rather walk?"
"Steal the limo?"
"Borrow it."
Glenn squinted at the sky. Rain fell in plump drops that sounded like boots galloping across the leaves, and hit the pavement like miniature grenades filled with India ink. She looked into his shimmering face. His ponytail was growing straight under the weight of the water. Tension drew his brows together.
"Come in, Mobile Two."
Glenn inched behind the wheel, her attention focused on a phone in the center of the dashboard. A red light shone next to an oval button that said ‘speaker’. She punched it.
"Ahem!"
Glenn looked up. A man was pointing a gun at her from outside the passenger door.
"Go ahead," he instructed. "Answer it."
"No, thanks." She backed out of the car, and stood beside Geoff.
The man cocked his gun, and steadied it on his forearm. Glenn brought her camera under her chin. The man sighted her down the barrel.
"I’ll shoot."
Glenn lifted her camera to her eye. "I’ll shoot first. Let’s see which of us is faster on the trigger."
Geoff grabbed her, and pulled the camera from her face. "Are you nuts? He’s got agun . You’ve got acamera . The guy with the gun gets to make the rules. Put that down, and do what he tells you."
"No." She squirmed out of his grasp.
Geoff turned to the gunman. "Tell me what you want. I’ll do it."
"No," the man said. "I want her to do it."
"I’m sorry, Sir, but his isthe most obstinate woman in America. I’ll take the call. Is that what you want? Tell me what to say, and I’ll say it. Just don’t shoot her."
"Are you sure
you don’t want me to shoot her for you?"
Geoff looked at her. "Yeah, pretty sure."
He shoved Glenn aside, and got in the car. He lifted the receiver, and looked at the man for instructions.
"Push the button that says ‘talk’, and use it like any other phone."
Geoff activated the button. "Hello. Hello. Who’s this?"
"This is a general distress call, Mobile Two. We need backup. What is your location?"
Geoff looked at the gun, and the man holding it. Then, he looked at Glenn. She had an impatient expression on her face.
"My location?"
The gunman gave him two street names, which Geoff repeated into the phone.
"Who is this?" asked the caller. "Is it Agent Anderson?"
"Yes, this is... Dave. Who are you?" Geoff asked.
"This is Mobile Dispatch. Are you available to answer our call?"
"No. We are on our way to Bethesda, and won’t be available for forty minutes."
"Roger, Mobile Two. Check with Command when you return. Over."
"Over... and out." Geoff hung up.
Glenn said, "I think you have to press that button to clear the line."
"Which button."
"That one." She pointed. "Otherwise, the line is still open. Right?" She looked at the gunman for confirmation.
"Look," Geoff said, gesturing with his chin. "Over there. It’s her."
Coming out of the woods on the other side of the road was a solitary figure. She moved with deliberate ease, her eyes on the ground in front of her. Glenn was reminded of a fashion shoot she’d worked once. The woman had the same gait, the same practiced nonchalance of someone pretending to be unaware that every eye in the vicinity was admiring her. Glenn lifted her camera.
"Hey," the gunman said.
Glenn snapped a picture, then lowered the camera, and advanced the film. "She’s beautiful. Isn’t she?" Glenn shot again.
Sadie reached their side of the road, and stood with her hands in the pockets of her beige ‘spy’ coat. Glenn lowered the camera, suddenly afraid Agent Cozzoli would scold her. For some reason that terrified her more than the threat of the gun. Sadie’s gaze landed on the gunman, and stayed there.
"Put that away," Sadie said, quietly. She tilted her head, and stared at the gunman.
The gunman’s sneer became a pout. "You told me to watch them."
"Watch them," Sadie said, in even tones. "Not terrorize them."
Glenn and Geoff stared at him, like third-graders witnessing a peer’s humiliation. Sadie continued staring at the gunman until he rubbed his forehead with his thumb, and turned away. Then, she addressed Geoff who was still in the driver’s seat.
"I apologize for my friend’s enthusiasm."
"No harm done."
Glenn studied Sadie’s profile: delicate nose, dark sweeping lashes, strong chin. Her brunette hair was caught at the nape of the neck like Geoff’s, other than the fact that hers wasn’t as wet. That’s when Glenn realized it had stopped raining.
Sadie said, "I hope he didn’t frighten you too much."
"Naw," Geoff said.
Glenn wanted to barf. Here was a man infatuated with the truth and yet, with the hint of a flirtation, his ethics dissolved like sea foam on a hot beach. Typical . Glenn did the only thing she could. She took a picture of his lying face.
Sadie turned her attention to Glenn, who felt a superstitious impulse to raise a crucifix. She settled for the Nikon. Glenn cocked the shutter, and held the lens before her face like a shield. The agent’s face sharpened into focus. Glenn lowered the camera.
"Why are we here?"
"If you follow me, all your questions will be answered," Sadie said.
"Follow you where?" Glenn asked.
Sadie jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "It doesn’t look like much of a trail, but it widens out."
"You want us to follow you into the woods?" Glenn grinned. Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.
Sadie looked at her. "Is there a problem?"
Geoff stood beside Glenn. "What’s so important that you can’t tell us right here?"
Sadie smiled. "I understand your caution. But, you can trust me. It’ll only take five minutes, and we’ll be on our way again."
Glenn leaned over, and whispered, "I’ll bet that’s what the big bad wolf said to Little Red Riding Hood."
Geoff said, "Ooh, what big teeth you have."
"The better to eat you with. Yeah, I’ll follow her into the woods all right." Glenn looked at Sadie. "Hey, what happened to Dave anyway?"
Sadie crossed her arms over her chest. "Actually, he’s part of the surprise."
"I’ve had enough surprises to last me a lifetime," Glenn said.
"You’re going to make me tell you," Sadie said. "If that’s the only way to get your cooperation. I’ve arranged for you to meet somebody... special."
"Out here?"
Agent Cozzoli looked at Glenn. "It’s your friend. Singleton."
"What about him?"
Sadie smiled the way a delivery room nurse does when she hands an infant to its mother. "He’s waiting for you."
He’s waiting for you. The words came wrapped in layers of emotions and Glenn peeled each one back. Fear. Joy. Curiosity. Suspicion . That was a big one. Suspicion. But, there was one more lurking beneath the surface. And, that was the final one, the one she couldn’t ignore. Love .
She loved Shane, the way a friend loves a friend, the way a daughter loves a father. Was he waiting for her? It might be a trick. But, what if there was the tiniest chance it was true? Was he in danger? Because of her? Could she risk leaving him there, waiting for her, sticking it out until she arrived? A million questions, and each one more sickening than the last. Glenn thought about how Shane waited for her when she came into his house with Phil dogging her. He rescued her. Just as he had always done. In a sense, he was a father to her. The only father she’d ever known. How was it that it took until now, for her to realize it?
Sadie said, "He’s been in on this from the start."
"He has?" Glenn heard the uncertainty in her voice, the quivering tone of naiveté. "Funny, he didn’t tell me about it."
"He couldn’t," Sadie said.
"Shane and I confide everything to each other. He wouldn’t keep this from me."
"You told him everythingyou knew about this?" Sadie asked.
"Yes," Glenn said, without skipping a beat.
She saw it take Sadie by surprise, even though she recovered quickly. "You weren’t supposed to do that. Some might consider it treason."
"Who do you think you are, questioning my loyalty?"
Glenn hardened her voice, determined tosound confident. What she felt was that the world was a circus sideshow, and her life had become the funhouse mirror. No sooner would she take a good look at something, it would twist into some grotesque distortion of what she thought it was. And, nothing was more convoluted than the figure standing there before her. Glenn took a step closer to the female agent to get a better look. The smile crept back to Sadie’s face.
"We took Mr. Singleton into protective custody after Union Station, and stashed him here. I know it would ease his mind to see that you’re safe and sound. He truly cares about you."
Geoff said, "Then bring him here, and we’ll all ride back together."
Sadie wagged her head back and forth, and reached for her gun.
22
Justin Knight ordered, "Get me a map."
"Of where, sir?" Agent Russell asked.
"The far side of the moon, if that’s where you triangulated them."
"The call originated from the Catoctin Mountains, up near Camp Number Three. Is there a problem?"
Justin Knight scowled. "We’ve ‘misplaced’ one of our vehicles, and one of our agents who was guarding two witnesses in an interagency investigation. We find a wounded agent whose last known contact was with one of our most unpredictable agents, who has also gone missing. We key into our missing vehicle to
hear one of our missing witnessespretending to be Agent Anderson. If that isn’t enough, we triangulate their position to be in the map grid of Camp David. You do the math."
"You don’t think our Commander-In-Chief is in danger, do you?"
"Why don’t you get on the horn, and find out if the president is at Camp David today?"
Agent Russell scratched his head. "Sir, shouldn’t the Secret Service be brought in on this?"
"Do you want to be the one to tell the president that the CIA has botched something this simple, this badly? I know you’re a rookie, but evenyou have to have better sense than that."
"But, if our president is in danger we have a duty."
"Don’t lecture me on duty, son. This hot potato isn’t being handed to the Secret Service unless it becomes crucial that the president be informed. Got that? I know you’re green, but you’re all I’ve got. Don’t let me down."
"Yes, Sir. I mean, no, Sir."
"What’s your name, son?" Justin asked.
"Russell, Sir, Agent Russell."
"Agent Russell, you’re going to dig up a detailed map of the Catoctin area. Then, you’re going to call my office, and get Tina for me."
"Tina?"
"My administrative assistant. She answers my phone. Tell her I need the president’s itinerary for today. Tell her I need it ASAP."
"Then what?"
"Then we let Tina do her job. When she calls back, I want to talk to her. Got that? But first, the map. Where is it?"
"In the trunk, Sir. Alphabetized by code," Agent Russell said.
"What code am I looking for?" Justin asked.
"Hm. Look under ‘U’. That’s the code for that area. ‘U’ for ‘Underground Pentagon’."
"The Underground Pentagon is a myth, rookie, you were trained on procedure regarding that."
"Yes, Sir. It’s still under ‘U’, because that’s the code."
"And, maps are your specialty, aren’t they, son?"
"Yes, Sir, I love maps."
"And, you know your maps?"
"I’m sort of a map expert, Sir, if I do say so myself."
"Stick around, kid. You may just be the best thing to happen to me all week."
Agent Russell grinned, and leaned into the car to call Tina while Commander Knight went to the trunk.
"Uh, Russell," Justin Knight said. "Pop the trunk lid."