Shades of Grey: Book Two of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles

by Phelps, J. C.

  I had fully recovered my better attitude and decided to read while I waited for dinner to cook. I hadn’t been able to read much of anything I chose for quite some time now. I was going to take advantage of my time away from the job.

  Funny, I thought, time away from the job wasn’t time away at all. I was preparing this dinner for the job. I was still quite content with the path I had chosen even if my time really wasn’t mine at all.

  I didn’t get much read because not long after I finished reflecting on my current life the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “So, are things set for tonight?” It was Mr. White. The sexiness of his voice made me forget everything for a second or two.

  “Uh, yeah. Did you want to come for dinner?” I asked him as I turned to smile at the closest camera.

  “Not tonight.” His tone was one of an unfinished sentence. Almost like he would add something like maybe tomorrow or maybe never. For a fleeting moment I knew his thoughts, but then the next moment I wasn’t too sure. It had something to do with my insecurities I’m sure.

  “Is that all?”

  “I thought we might go over things again, if you want to.”

  “Actually, I don’t. I know what I’m going to say.”

  “That’s fine. How did the job go today? The one with the embezzling hacker?”

  “I think I’ve completed the job, although, it feels unfinished to me.”

  “Red told me that you were finished. Sometimes it feels like the job is unfinished. Just remember you did what was asked of you. Just because you don’t know the outcome doesn’t mean the job is incomplete.” Then White put me on hold. If it weren’t for the cameras I would have been practically drooling over any conversation with White, but I knew that he was probably watching me. I still found myself fixing my hair when he got back on the phone.

  “So, does that dinner invitation stand for another night?” he asked, a definite change in his voice. What was this? My breathing became heavier and I literally jumped a little. Remembering the cameras I composed myself and turned to face them.

  “Sure, if you think you can stand my cooking,” I said with no hint that I got his implications of something more than dinner. I was entirely shocked, but I tried to not let it show on camera.

  “It’s not your cooking I’m interested in.”

  This had me at a total loss for words, but not for long. I had turned away from the cameras before he said this, thankfully, but within a second or two I was normal again and turned back to the cameras. I put my hand on my hip and put my perturbed look on my face.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I didn’t think this was for real. I had caught some of the glances that Mr. White had stolen and he had stood a bit too close once or twice, but he had never been this bold before. It was not his style, something was up.

  “Nothing, just checking body language,” he replied with an innocent tone.

  “Did I pass?”

  “The cameras did and your body language was quite subdued. Good work hiding it.”

  “Excuse me. Hiding what?” I was offended and embarrassed.

  “Your shock,” I could hear the smile.

  “Do you want information tonight or do you just want to spend the evening watching me and my family visiting? I don’t appreciate being used in that way.”

  “I’m sorry. We were going to tell you that someone died or something like that but we thought we better not use that, so Red thought of doing this,” White pawned it off.

  “Whatever. Are we done now?” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Yes. But first, what time is dinner?”

  “6:00 PM!” And I hung up.

  I was angry so I went to my room so I wouldn’t have to worry about my body language. After a minute or two of being pissed I decided to fight fire with fire. I ransacked my closet for something subtle but sexy. I would get even. If they were going to play those kinds of games, I could do better. I could dangle it there for them to see, but they can’t have it! I had to find something that Mom and Dad wouldn’t slap me for wearing while serving them dinner, but something that screamed sex to all other men.

  Finally I found the perfect dress. I still had a few hours before dinner was ready so I decided to shower and fix my hair. I laid my dress out on the bed and took my robe with me to the bathroom. Once I was cleaned up it took me a while to get a hairdo that I was happy with. I was going for the casual look, but I didn’t want my hair on my neck or shoulders, so I opted for a ponytail. I traipsed around finishing up the table settings and such, all the while in my robe. I didn’t want to spoil the fun of my dress. Eventually it was time for me to dress for dinner.

  I went back to my room double checking everything first to make sure I wouldn’t have to come back out until Mom and Dad showed up at my door. I put on the dress. It was a casual, full-length dress with spaghetti straps. My neck and shoulders would be exposed with my hair up. The dress had what seemed like hundreds of little buttons down the front so I was able to undue just the right amount at the top and just the right amount at the bottom to show a bit of cleavage and a lot of leg if I moved just right. Another selling point of this dress was if I stood in front of a light source my figure would be nicely silhouetted. I sat on the edge of the bed impatiently until I heard the knock.

  “Come in!” I yelled as I walked to the kitchen to take the food out of the oven. I was going to take every opportunity to show some skin, so I bent a bit more than I needed to when I took the food out of the oven.

  Mom and Dad walked in, said their hellos and sat at the table.

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve done this,” my mom said.

  “It’s past time,” I answered.

  “What are we having? It smells good,” Dad interrupted.

  “I made a roast. Simple, easy, but good.” I set the roast in the middle of the table and sat down; making sure my bare leg was visible to the camera.

  Immediately my mom started with the questions about my job. What had I been doing for the past three months? When I told her she actually looked disappointed. I never knew this side of my mother before I took this job. I always thought of her as the reserved housewife. I will admit I spent more time with teachers or my dad growing up, although she seemed to always be in the background somewhere but not always directly involved with me. I wonder why I had never thought of this before. I suppose that’s why I wanted to be a boy instead. I didn’t want to be in the background, I wanted to be center stage. Maybe that was the root of her fascination; she never got to be right in the middle of things, but somehow could through me.

  “Well, what are you going to do next?” she finally asked.

  “We’re looking into Victor Strom. He’s made a request of us that we are unable to comply with.” I said laying it out on the table.

  Over a mouthful of food my dad said, “Unable to comply?”

  “Yes. He wants us to contact Penumbra for him and I guess we don’t have those types of contacts. Do we?”

  I could read the body language in the room and I had no training. Dad practically choked and Mom had stood up from the table before he started choking but then went to his side to pat his back.

  “Sorry,” Dad said. “So did you find out why Strom wants to contact Penumbra?”

  “Not yet. Would you have any ideas?” I asked slyly.

  “No. That’s something I won’t help you with anyway.”

  “Why?”

  “I will not be connected with Penumbra. I am connected to our government and our government absolutely cannot be connected to Penumbra. He or she is an outside contractor and it could cause wars if Penumbra was found out to have worked for any government. Besides, White and Associates is NOT an outlet for contacting Penumbra and why anyone would think it is… One more thing, did you know those gentlemen friends of yours still haven’t removed those cameras?”

  “I know. I was told they would do it sometime soon. Do you know how to contact Penumbra?�
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  “I don’t want to discuss this anymore,” my dad said.

  “I think he’s right, Honey,” Mom added.

  “I don’t know anything about Penumbra except he’s a very talented sniper or snipers. What can you tell me about him that won’t get you into trouble.”

  “Absolutely nothing.”

  “What about sniping? Are they going to train you in that?” Mom asked off the wall.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think they do that kind of thing,” I replied.

  “Yes they do. Maybe that’s why they connected White and Associates with Penumbra.” Dad mumbled the last sentence to himself.

  “What? Have you hired them for a job like that or something?” I asked.

  “No, I hire…,” he left it hang there.

  “Robert, that’s enough.” My mother leveled a stern look at my father.

  “What is the big deal? You asked what I was doing and I’ve told you. What’s wrong with asking you a few questions?” I asked.

  “Nothing, ask away. I am going to answer only the ones I want to though. I have information that no one can ever know and that includes you and your entourage over there at White and Associates. Just know that you are treading on thin ice. There are things you should and should not know.”

  “Come on, Dad.” I had hit a nerve.

  “Young lady, this is life and death information you are seeking. Many lives have been lost trying to decipher Penumbra’s identity and I don’t want you getting caught up in that.”

  “I would love to know who Penumbra is, but that’s not what I’m asking. Now you’ve gotten my interest piqued. You do know who he is and how to get in touch with him, don’t you?”

  “That is not what you were asking, remember.”

  “Assuming we find out why Strom wants to contact Penumbra and it’s for legitimate reasons. Can we go through you to get to him?”

  “Like I said, I will not be connected to Penumbra, even through my daughter and her company. The answer is no. I can’t contact Penumbra for you or anyone else.” He was firm. “This is information you are going to have to acquire on your own. Like I said, I won’t be connected to Penumbra. What information do you have on Strom anyway?”

  “Oh, now you want to know something. I can’t divulge that, you know that,” I countered.

  “You two, stop this right now.” My mom tried to intercede, but didn’t succeed.

  “You’re damn right. If someone out there is trying to find out Penumbra’s identity then that someone has a reason for wanting to know. Hell, the President doesn’t even know who Penumbra is.”

  I paused for a millisecond after he said that. “I didn’t say Strom wanted to know Penumbra’s identity. I said that he wanted us to contact him. What makes you think he wants that information?”

  “Always assume the worst case scenario. First you assume Strom wants a hit. You need to know who, when and most importantly, why. However you should also consider other reasons and the only other reason would be to decipher Penumbra’s identity. Again you need to know why before you proceed. I won’t give you any information on Penumbra or Strom other than what you already know.” Dad said, his tone becoming a bit more even and calculated.

  “I understand why you won’t talk about Penumbra, but why won’t you talk to me about Strom? We are doing exactly as you just described. We want to know who, when and why. That is the reason I am asking you.”

  “I will give you a bit of information that you could not know, since you persist.” His voice became very low and he leaned toward me at the dinner table. “I am the one who recruited Penumbra and his or her identity or lack of identity is of the utmost importance, not only to the security of this country but to people very close to us as well.”

  I was surprised at this admission but I was getting frustrated. “That still doesn’t tell me why you won’t talk about Strom.” I whined at him.

  “Honey,” my mom finally was able to interrupt. “Let’s not ruin the evening. I won’t talk about this any more. We can discuss this at a later date. It’s got both of you in an uproar and one of you is going to end up saying something you shouldn’t.” This last part seemed to be directed toward my dad.

  “Fine,” we both said in unison. The dinner was a bit more subdued after that. I caught Dad looking around at the walls and ceilings, I imagine, looking for the cameras. After dinner Dad went to watch a bit of television while Mom helped with the clean up. It wasn’t long after we got started cleaning that the phone rang.

  It was White. He told me I needed to get back to discuss the dinner. I was to go directly to his apartment because the meeting was to be held there.

  I told Mom I had to go and I would finish cleaning later. She told me not to worry about it, she didn’t mind. So I hugged her, kissed Dad on top of the head and asked if would he please turn off the television when they left.

  *****

  Chapter Five

  As I was driving to see the guys, I had second thoughts about my attire. I hadn’t changed out of my dress and I wondered if it were really appropriate. None of these men had seen me dressed quite like this before. The closest I had come to any kind of feminine attire since I started with White and Associates had been a skirt suit that I had been required to wear for a bank security job. I just hoped that the dress wouldn’t work against me; making them view me as just a woman and not a partner. Well, it was too late now.

  “I’m going to take advantage of it,” I said out loud remembering how I had felt when White had said those things to me on the phone earlier.

  I pulled into my designated spot in the parking garage and went straight to White’s apartment.

  Mr. Black answered the door with a smile. “You look nice.”

  “Thank you.” I knew it was a genuine compliment coming from him.

  We went directly to the room they had labeled C.I.C. but everyone normally called it “The War Room.” C.I.C. stands for Central Intelligence Center and it’s where the company had stock piled, as far as I knew, all of their surveillance and other electronic equipment.

  If I felt self-conscious in my car on the way into work, then I can’t describe how I felt when I walked into that room of men. That’s all they were when I walked in, men, and nothing more and definitely nothing less. Mr. Brown grinned openly, Mr. Red took a double take, but then looked away with a smile and Mr. White had a look that was hard to decipher, he looked almost scared. Hmmm, I thought, I guess the cameras didn’t do me justice. My self-consciousness gave over to my usual pride. I gave Brown a smile and then looked directly at White with a challenge in my eyes. Yeah, buddy, I dare you to say something now, is exactly what I was thinking. I’d actually forgotten how fun it was to be a woman. The attention my entrance received was enough for me, I felt avenged.

  Mr. Black came up behind me and all eyes adverted back to what they were doing before I walked in.

  “Ok, let’s get this done,” he said letting his amusement through.

  As I took a seat, Mr. Red said, “We’re going to use this evening to refresh everyone’s memories on body language and to give Ms. Grey some insight on what her and I will be doing when she comes under my tutelage.” He fast-forwarded the evening to the part right before I mentioned the job. He pointed out that my mother had gotten up from her seat before my dad had started to choke.

  “This is a strong suggestion that she knows of Penumbra as well,” he said.

  “Oh, come off your high horse, Red.” It was Brown. Again, I was a bit shocked at his forcefulness. “None of us are idiots. Just tell us your impressions of the dinner and if we have anything to add we will. I’m sure Ms. Grey will learn enough that way. You’ve been taking things much too seriously lately.”

  “Alright, I believe Mrs. Stanton probably knows as much about Penumbra as Admiral Stanton does by her reactions. Not only did she jump from her seat, but she also was the only one trying to redirect the conversation. I also believe that trying to talk to her would be futi
le and the same for trying to talk to the Admiral again as well. Ms. Grey needs to be taught something about subtlety. However, we did get new information. Admiral Stanton said something very peculiar.” He forwarded the tape a bit and then played a scene from dinner tonight.

  I heard my own voice and thought how childish I sounded arguing with my dad. Then came my dad’s voice.

  “I will give you a bit of information that you could not know, since you persist. I am the one who recruited Penumbra and his or her identity or lack of identity is of the utmost importance, not only to the security of this country but to people very close to us as well.”

  Red stopped the tape there. “Right there he said, ‘his or her identity.’ It hadn’t even occurred to me before this that Penumbra might not be a man. Those of us that don’t know the identity have always referred to Penumbra as a male subject. Now I think we have reason to believe that Penumbra is actually a woman. One more thing I’d like to point out is that Mrs. Stanton is the one that stopped Admiral Stanton from further speaking of the subject after Ms. Grey left. She doesn’t miss much. I had been hoping that calling Grey away before they were ready to go home would have given us a bit more information.”

  “Well, at least we have another place to look. When Blue and Green call in we’ll tell them to look into Admiral Stanton’s background if we aren’t able to get to it by then,” Mr. White added.

  “Oh, yes, you did point that out earlier,” Mr. Red said then added to the rest of us, “Admiral Stanton admits to being the person who recruited Penumbra. If we can find out where he was at the time Penumbra is believed to have started working for our government we could very easily figure out who he or she is.”

  “That pretty much sums it up, unless anyone has anything to add,” Mr. White said. To me, he still seemed to be the boss. I think he was trying to defer to Red, but he was still too used to being in charge. I wondered if the men were just letting him get away with it or if they were just used to him being in charge too.

  “Now, to other business,” Mr. Red nodded to Black.