by D S Kane
After the school day ended, Ann entered at the back door of the house and silently took her time walking up the stairs to her room. She prayed Ms. Leech hadn’t yet called Cassie to arrange their parent-teacher meeting, so she could break the bad news first. She still hadn’t decided what to tell Cassie about having sex with Charles. As she passed a mirror, she stared into it and saw her fear reflected back.
Cassie had made such a big deal about getting Ann into this school. She was supposed to perform but she’d failed. Her knowledge of history on the test got her an A+. But her English composition skills hadn’t come close to passing. The composite result was a C-. She worried how she could ever compensate for missing a year from school. She dismissed her attempt to seduce Charles; it was just something she used to do. But never again.
In the back of her mind, she knew Cassie was a dangerous woman. Did Ann deserve to be murdered? She could almost visualize Cassie reacting to her provocative behavior with Charles by bare-handedly snapping her neck. Or listening to the teacher saying how stupid her daughter was, and murdering both the teacher and Ann with her bare hands. Ann gulped. Well, this is just my overactive imagination, she thought, tumbling into the chair at the desk in her bedroom. She removed her notebook computer from her backpack and popped open the lid. She looked at the math homework.
Ann brooded about the detention she’d earned from having sex, trading her body for grades with Charles Breckenridge. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. How would she tell Cassie all the truth? There were rumors flying around the school. She knew now what she’d done was wrong. I hate that school. Shit!
* * *
Lee paced the floor, brandishing the email incident report from the school’s principal. “She had sex at school. In a public place. What have we gotten ourselves into? What else is there she does that’s…that’s um, that’s—”
Cassie stared away, at the floor. “You mean how far from normal is she?”
Lee agreed, arms akimbo. “It’s not a joke, sweetie. You think you can correct this?” He waved one of his hands for emphasis.
Cassie shook her head, “Lee, I don’t know how damaged she is. But she has no malicious intent. When you were in high school, didn’t you wolf around with the girls there?”
She thought about how Ann survived in the tunnels for so many months without any adult supervision. How Ann had been raped. Just as Cassie had. But Cassie had parents who had taught her how to behave. Was it too late for her to teach Ann?
She faced him. “Sweetie, she’s had no adults to teach her acceptable behavior for a long time. Homeless people didn’t give her a role model. She sold her body to survive. You and I have to teach her what’s normal.”
His face reddened. “Cassie, one thing you should realize by now is we aren’t the least bit normal. How many parents have worked in covert ops, lied, grifted, and killed? We both have. How many have been mass murderers like you?” He waved his arms. “Let him or her who is without sin cast the first stone. Baby, it ain’t you and it ain’t me.”
He shook his head. “Cassie, she knows more about sex than we do. Yes, she fucked to make the money to survive. From what I can tell, she’s never going to be even close to normal.”
Cassie took a deep breath. Lee might be right. “Okay. But she’s smart. We can try to show her what normal is. We have to teach her to keep her behavior under control. It’s not impossible, and that’s what the definition of parenthood is. So talk to her. She’s your daughter too.”
He stared back. His breathing became more even. “So, what do you want me say? What should I teach her?” He’d stopped shouting now. “I mean, what we’ve done together this last year shows we don’t have an iota of human decency. We’re not normal. Not qualified to be parents. What could she learn from me?”
Cassie took a deep breath. “Lee, teach her something that you have expertise in. Something helpful, something that relates to what we do. We may be killers but I believe we still have shreds of moral integrity.”
Lee’s expression showed that the concept mystified him. “Moral integrity, yeah.” Then very slowly, he crooked a smile. “Uh, I don’t know, but, well, maybe I have an idea.”
* * *
Cassie had always thought having a family would be easy, but now, not so much. She still hadn’t talked with her daughter about sex and promiscuity. And after all, it was natural for Ann; she spent the better part of the year as a whore. Cassie cursed silently; she’d been too late retrieving the young woman from the tunnels and now she’d have to find some way to solve this problem.
She sat at the desk downstairs in the den with her head in her hands. As for Ann’s problem with school grades, that could easily be handled. She believed Ann was bright and just needed a chance. I’ll hire a good tutor.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about Ann’s promiscuity. The teen was too young for sex. Cassie wanted, more than anything, to go away somewhere by herself. Did everything always have to be so difficult? She needed to find a way to fix Ann. She lay in bed unable to sleep and turned her head to see the radio clock: 3:14 a.m. She left the bed and drew her bathrobe around her. Pacing the floor of the bedroom, she thought. I now have a new trouble, not as black-and-white as hunting terrorists. And I’m exhausted. Lee lay sleeping; she envied his obliviousness.
She really, really needed a vacation. What was it now, two years since her last one? No, it’s almost three years. Shit.
She’d been trained to stay focused, confining her emotions only when they couldn’t interfere with her completion of a mission. But now those feelings were popping out into her life, exacerbating her problems and her indecision about how to care for her teenager. And she was even more alarmed that Lee, who’d not received her training, would continue to react like Lee always did.
She wondered what her parents would do if she had behaved like Ann. She sorely missed them. Their lives had been a bit like hers, having been so closely associated with the KGB in the Soviet Union before her birth. They’d been trained to confine their feelings and keep them from derailing their plans, just like Cassie. They might know how former covert agents should handle parenthood. She knew she didn’t have a clue.
At least Lee had stumbled onto a way he might bond with Ann, so that was possible. The Washington gun club he’d proposed taking Ann to wasn’t inappropriate for a family in covert services.
Cassie remembered her promises to teach Ann to surf, to show her the better things in life.
Not able to sleep, she walked to the computer to see if she had any emails waiting. There was one, from Sanji Morikono. She had no clue who this was. Junk email? But the subject line was “Request for Proposal: Security Audit.” She opened the message:
Dear Swiftshadow Consulting Group,
I am the CEO of the Wailea Spa and Hotel in Maui. Recently, we have had several breaches in physical security and our computers were also hacked. We aren’t sure, but believe the hacker may have compromised the credit cards of our customers. Since we are the vacation place of choice for royalty and celebrities, our business need is urgent. Paparazzi interest in our guests has always been a problem. But when hackers find their reservations, and photographers break into our “secure” environment within the exclusive Nippon Tower, we worry for guest safety.
Please submit a proposal. To facilitate the process, schedule an onsite visit at your earliest convenience. You will be our guest, staying in our two magnificent suites on the top floor of the Nippon Tower. You will stay in the suites for two weeks, to personally experience our current level of security. While there, you can complete your proposal. Then, if selected as our vendor, you can return and commence the engagement.
We require your CEO as well as up to six specialists from your firm, to evaluate our computer vulnerability and physical security.
Note that we are sending RFP’s to several competitors.
Sincerely,
Sanji Morikono.
It was then she was rocked by the answer. S
omething so simple; she should have thought of it sooner. She smiled and removed the robe. Tossed it on a chair in the bedroom and dropped back into bed. In seconds she was asleep.
CHAPTER 12
October 7, 6:24 a.m.
220 East Kirke Street,
Chevy Chase, Maryland
In the early morning light, Ann sat at the kitchen table, preparing to leave for school. She hadn’t found the courage to tell Cassie about either of her problems with school. She wasn’t sure whether the school had contacted Cassie yet, but knew she was running out of time.
She realized that if confessed now, at least she’d have an excuse to leave swiftly before Cassie had the time to digest the news and respond. Ann stared at the slice of toast she held. As if the kitten realized Ann’s state, it jumped into her lap and demanded to be petted. Ann smiled, her first of the day. At least Gizmo was there for her.
When she entered the kitchen, Cassie seemed troubled by something and Ann thought that maybe it was too late. She needed to do something now or risk consequences she couldn’t imagine.
Ann closed her eyes and focused, trying to find the confidence to speak, but just as her lips began to form the words, Cassie interrupted and said, “Ann, remember how I told you I’d teach you how to surf?”
Ann replied, “Uh huh. Listen, I have something bad to tell you.”
“Huh? What bad thing?”
“My teacher thinks I need a reading tutor. She wants to tell you this face-to-face.” Ann frowned.
Cassie smiled as if she already knew this. “Okay. I’ll get you a tutor.” Then she looked up from her coffee cup and stared into Ann’s eyes. “Is there any other bad news for me?”
Ann was sure now she knew about Charles. It was time to confess her other nasty act. Cautiously, she answered, “Yes. I was caught having sex with a boy under the school’s grandstands. The janitor saw us and told the principal. I have detention forever. This place has too many rules. When I did that in the tunnels it wasn’t bad.”
Cassie started to speak but her lips froze for a few seconds, and Ann prepared for the worst. “Ann, I know this is a big change for you. You have to understand that there are rules everywhere, some easier to follow than others. But, we’re lucky they didn’t kick you out of school. And even if you want to have sex with someone, being careless can get you pregnant or even worse, get you some terrible disease. It’d be better if you didn’t do it again. But, just in case, I’ll take you to a doctor and get you birth control pills and sex education. The tunnels are a barbaric place. It’s different here. In the normal world, there are standards for behavior. If you feel uncertain about whether it’s okay to do something, ask Lee or me. Are you okay with this? Will you do as I say?”
Ann was amazed that there would be no punishment. She could feel relief showing on her face. “Yes. Thanks. You’ll have to meet with Ms. Leech about my school performance. But do I have to do detention?”
“Yes, you do. It’s punishment for doing what you did. You need to remember this when you’re about to do something that can get you in trouble. But since the school is punishing you, I won’t”
Ann smiled back, showing her sense of relief. And Gizmo purred as if she could sense Ann’s relief.
Cassie nodded. “Okay. I’ll call the school and set it up. Don’t worry. You’re smart. This’ll be a piece of cake for you.”
Ann nodded. “Okay. There are just so many new things I need to understand. Will I be okay?”
Cassie saw the concern on her face. “Surely, you must know that Lee and I knew everything before you spoke up. The school sent me an email incident report late yesterday. And even if they hadn’t, remember, Lee and I are spies, experts in detecting what’s hidden. So it doesn’t pay to hide what you do. Now, back to my question. Do you want to learn to surf?”
Ann felt confused at the pace at which the conversation had changed. “Well, yes. Sure I do.”
“Okay, then. Ann, I think we need some time together as a family. You, me, Lee. Road trip. I haven’t had a vacation for almost three years. So, I’m taking us all to California for a long weekend. You and Lee will meet my parents. Then he has to come back to Washington and work. Meanwhile, you and I will head to Hawaii and spend a few days there. You’ll miss a total of four days of school. I’ll send you back. Lee will pick you up at Reagan and I’ll stay in Hawaii for a few more days.”
Ann felt her biggest dream had come true. “But what about school?”
“As soon as we can set an appointment, you and I will meet with your teacher. I’ll get recommendations from her on a tutor. But, when I was on the run, one of my covers was being a substitute teacher for a few weeks in Manhattan. So I have some experience and can help you. I know what to do until we have a real tutor. Your first meeting with one will be when you return from Hawaii. Ann, I want you to meet your grandparents in Half Moon Bay. So, I’ll spend some of our time there tutoring you myself. Sort of like home schooling. Okay?”
Ann weighed the difference between this wondrous dream trip and the drudgery of school. “Um, okay, I guess.”
“Good. There’s a school holiday next week on Monday. I’m going to make air reservations and Hawaii hotel reservations. It will be fun to take a break. I’ll teach you to surf. You have to promise to bring all your school textbooks with you so you can continue making progress in your studies. You do have a long way to go but I believe you can do it.”
* * *
Ann didn’t need much convincing. But Lee did. He shook his head. “I’ve just returned to the agency. How can I ask Greenfield for a vacation?”
“Tell him I’m planning to have you meet my parents. And Lee, that job of yours has to end soon anyway. You promised. I only need to have you for four or five days, including travel to and from California. Please?”
“I still feel uncomfortable about leaving work so soon before I resign.”
She shrugged and waved her hands. “People do that all the time. Look, we can travel to California over the weekend, say on Friday night. If you take a red-eye home, you can be in the office on the following Wednesday. You’d miss out on going to Hawaii with us, but at least you can meet my parents.”
He shook his head, his lips clammed together. “Uh, too long. How about I fly home on the redeye Monday night? That way I’ll be back at the end of the holiday.”
Cassie felt sick of negotiating. She nodded. “Okay.” Then she picked up the phone to arrange the meeting with Ms. Leech and negotiate a few days of school absence for Ann.
* * *
The next day was bleak and gray, and even through her zippered black hoodie, it chilled Ann to the bone. She shivered, more from what she held in her hands than the painful chill. The outdoor practice range of the Washington Gun Club was large, with the breeze charging down the hills blowing her hair into her face.
It was a few minutes past noon, both Ann and Lee were on their lunch hour. Lee took the Beretta from her, aimed and squeezed the trigger. “Watch my hand, Ann.” He took a deep breath, and fired again. “See how I take a deep breath before I fire to steady myself?”
Ann nodded. “Uh huh.” She wondered why she had to learn this.
Lee handed the weapon to her. As if he could read her mind he said, “I think that you need to know how to use a gun, since Cassie and I have been terrorist targets. Cassie thinks that time is over, but I’m not so sure. You’ve led a pretty rough life, and I think it’ll be valuable to learn how to protect yourself, in case something ever happens.”
Ann suspected that he hoped practicing with her would create a bond between them. She wondered if she would ever have to kill someone? Would she need to know how? Would she someday be hunted? For the first time since she’d lived with Lee and Cassie, Ann wondered if the tunnels under the streets near Grand Central Station weren’t a safer place for her. She accepted the obvious answer. “Okay, sure. What do I do?”
Lee said, “Okay. I’ll take you through this one step at a time. First…”
Cassie sat on a folding chair in the conference room next door to Shimmel’s office, shuffling papers representing assignments that needed to be staffed. When she heard her cell phone chime to indicate an arriving email, she examined the screen. It was marked “Urgent,” from Shimmel. She wondered why he’d sent an email when his office was right down the hall? Unless, he wanted her to read this without the interruption of questions. Cassie opened it:
Sashakovich—
We have received an RFP from Achmed Houmaz, to find the identity of the killers of his brothers. I recommend that we formally decline, but please also know that he has sent the RFP to other companies.
—Shimmel
“Shit.” Cassie spat out the word. She never thought that it would come to this. “It just never ends! Dushov was right; I should have killed Achmed when I murdered his brothers.” She thought about how hard she’d worked to recover her life from the terrorists who’d stolen it from her.
She bit her lip. I’ll be damned to Hell before I let this mess destroy my life again.
She drew herself up straight, found she was shivering. She tried to cast off the bitterness she felt. Shaking her head to regain focus, she decided to go ahead and live her life as if nothing was wrong. She sat at her desk and doggedly prepared her vacation plans. First step for this to happen was for her to get Swiftshadow’s “house” in order. She sent an email to Adam Mahee, William Wing, and Avram Shimmel, her three Directors of Operations, copying Judy Hernandez: set a meeting in the unfinished conference room for 1:30 p.m. today, thirty minutes from now.
Pizza arrived at their reception desk, and one by one, they took slices on paper plates and ate separately.
Just after lunch they began to drift into the room. By 1:30, all had assembled.
Cassie scanned their faces. “Please be seated. Consider this our first weekly status meeting. When will the offices be ready for occupancy?”
Hernandez replied, “Construction completed and cleanup done by the end of next week. Telecom service ready about the same time.”