by David Archer
Clark leaned his elbows on the table and winked at her. “You turn me on,” he said. “Maybe after dinner, if you like, we could go up to my room and discuss some possibilities?”
“I was kind of hoping you might suggest something like that,” she said, her smile more flirtatious than ever.
* * *
“She’s really good at this,” Cody said. “I’d swear she really does have the hots for him, just listening to this.”
He was sitting behind the wheel of their car, with Marco and Renée. All three of them were listening by subcom to what Esmeralda was doing and saying, and she had cranked up the sensitivity so they could hear Senator Clark just as easily.
“She says that most of her responses are still coming out of her programming,” Marco said. “All I can say is they must’ve had some bodacious programmers working on her software. It doesn’t matter what situation she gets into, she’s always got a response ready.”
“I think that’s just all part of life, for her,” Renée said. “I mean, we all get programmed by our environment as we grow up—she just took a shortcut through the whole process.”
They were parked less than half a mile away from the Marriott, just watching and waiting in case Esmeralda needed any kind of help at all. So far she seemed to be completely in control, and all three of them were relaxed.
The tap on the passenger side front window caused all three to jump, and Marco suddenly had a small black pistol in his hand. He spun and looked through the window, and then allowed a curse to escape him. He holstered the pistol and opened the door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked. “Last I heard, you were supposed to be on your way to England about now?”
Mark McCullers grinned at him. “What can I say, mate?” he asked. “Been a slight change in plans. The Dragon Lady pulled a couple of fast ones, you see, and my team suddenly got new IDs and then we were switched over to Homeland Security. Seems our new bosses don’t know where we came from, just that we got transferred in from one of the other alphabet soups, but that’s how we ended up in DC on such a lovely evening.”
Marco stared at him. “But why? What are you supposed to be doing here?”
“Well, it seems we are the security team watching Senator Clark. The Dragon Lady told us to make contact with whatever team came for him. I saw Ms. Esmeralda moving in on our man, so it doesn’t take a lot of thought to know that she’s making her move tonight. Funny, that, I expected it would be at least a few more days. I’ve been pissing and moaning, acting as if I’m trying to get us transferred off this assignment. I didn’t want to have to put on a show of trying to stop you blokes.”
“Where’s the rest of your team?” Marco asked. “If they make a move on Esmeralda…”
“Oh, tosh,” Mark said. “We still work for the same folks, don’t worry. If anything, my people will run interference if she needs it.”
“Well, nothing is going to happen too quickly,” Marco said. “She hopes to go up to his room after dinner, but she doesn’t want to push him too soon. If he gets the feeling she’s trying to get him alone, he might get suspicious and blow her off.”
“He would,” Mark said. “He’s the type. As long as he’s in control, he’s convinced the girl is swooning at his feet, but if she shows any aggression at all, any desire to have power over the relationship, then he’s gone like a rocket.”
“Yeah, she knows. All we can do is wait, see how it goes.”
“All right, good,” Mark said. “I’m guessing you blokes have a way to monitor what’s happening?”
“Yes, through the subcoms. We can hear everything she says, as well as what he says.”
“Any way you can share that with us?” Mark asked. “I’ve got Rocky trying to watch them from down the street, but he can’t pick up any audio.”
“Not really any way to share it,” Marco said, and then he turned to look at the other man. “To be honest, I’m not a hundred percent certain I trust you just yet. How come Noah didn’t tell us you would be staying here for a while?”
“Because he hasn’t been told yet,” Mark said. “Parker was supposed to make the arrangements for that sometime today, but that’s all I know at the moment.”
“And how was he supposed to do that? Last I heard, our place is on a communications lockdown.”
“All we really know is that he has some way to get messages to you guys, but that it’s on a need-to-know basis and naturally, we don’t need to know.”
Marco nodded. “Sounds about right,” he said. “So you might as well just relax, and we will let you know if there’s any problems.”
Mark nodded. “All right,” he said. “I’m sure you’re far more likely to know if something goes wrong than we are, so I’m going to keep a close eye on you. Likewise, if Rocky spots something before you, we’ll share it. We are on the same team, mate. Let’s not forget that, shall we?”
“I know it,” Marco said. “Just make sure everybody plays the part they are assigned.”
“Oh, yes, and speaking of that,” Mark went on. “It seems you are going to have a new assignment, now. Once this mission is complete, you are to have Esmeralda call the number I’m texting to you now. It’s a secure line that will put her directly in touch with Allison, because she says she has a special mission for you.”
Marco’s eyebrows rose. “Special mission? I thought we were supposed to be avoiding any contact with her?”
“Don’t look at me, mate,” Mark said. “I’m just the bloody messenger.”
TWELVE
It wasn’t often that Noah wasn’t sure how things had reached a certain point, but this was one of those moments. He was driving the Bentley, pushing the car for everything it had while still keeping it in his own lane, and instead of having Sarah beside him in the passenger seat, she was in the backseat between Jenny and Molly. Wally was riding shotgun, looking nervously over the seat from time to time, then turning to look back at the road ahead.
“Did you call ahead to let the hospital know you’re coming?” he asked Noah for the fourth time.
“Yes. I made that call as soon as I knew it was time, while Sarah was in the shower.”
“And the doctor, did you get hold of the doctor?”
“The doctor works at the hospital, and will be notified. She’ll be there by the time we arrive, I’m sure.”
“And you got Sarah’s bag, right? It’s got all the stuff for the baby in it, besides her own clothes and stuff.”
“It’s in the trunk,” Noah said.
“Boot,” Wally said. “We’re in England, so it’s the boot.”
“It’s there, whatever you call it.”
Wally fell silent again for a couple of moments, then he suddenly glanced over the seat at Sarah’s sweating face and turned back to Noah again.
“You did call the hospital, right? They know we’re coming?”
“They know,” Noah said. “Everything is under control, Wally.”
“I know, I know,” Wally said, “I just can’t help being a worrywart. You know, it’s almost like I’m going to be a grandpa. And speaking of that, have you let Allison know the baby is coming?”
“I don’t have a way to contact her,” Noah said, “and under the current circumstances, there’s no way she could get here. Hopefully things will smooth over and she will be able to come and spend some time with us and the baby before too long, but I can’t risk compromising the situation just to tell her my child is being born.”
“She’ll never forgive you,” Wally said. “Okay, that’s an exaggeration, she’ll forgive you, but it might take a year or two. Noah, you have to find some way to let her know. She rewrote a dozen different rules for you guys, for you and Sarah. Did you know that in the original rules, the ones copied off the KGB, any female agent who got pregnant was required to sign away all rights to the child, or be terminated after it was born? Allison cared so much about you and Sarah that she ripped out that rule when you started talking a
bout getting married. And we’re not even going to talk about how many rules she had to cut out to let that happen.”
Noah glanced at him, then turned his eyes back to the road. “I don’t have any way to contact her directly,” Noah said. “However, Catherine Potts does. Be quiet while I make a phone call.”
He took out his phone and punched the speed dial icon for Catherine Potts, an image of a little old lady holding a flower. She answered on the second ring.
“Why, hello, Travis,” she said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Forces of nature,” Noah said. “An heir to the Lightner fortune is about to make his entrance into the world.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for about two seconds, and then Catherine Potts let out a squeal. “The baby is coming?” she asked.
“Yes. We are on the way to St. Thomas Hospital on Westminster Bridge Road. ETA is about forty more minutes. Can you make contact with your girlfriend out west, let her know?”
“You’ve got it, luv,” Catherine said. “I’ll take care of that right now, and see you at the hospital.”
She was gone instantly, and Noah put the phone away.
“She’ll let Allison know. She’s coming to the hospital, as well. Molly?”
From the backseat, Molly looked up at Noah, and he saw the excitement in her eyes through the rearview mirror. “Yes, Noah?”
“I’m going to have to leave it to you to ride herd on all the extra personnel,” Noah said. “I’m the only one they’re going to allow back into the delivery room, so the rest of you are going to have to wait. I’ll leave the keys to the car with you, so you can get around the city if you need to.”
“I’ll handle it, Noah, don’t worry,” Molly said. “You just make sure you take care of our girl.”
“I’ll take care of both of them,” Noah said.
In the mirror, Sarah’s eyes met Noah’s. “Both of who?” she demanded.
“Both you and our daughter,” Noah said.
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “But we decided not to ask what sex the baby was,” she said. “Why do you think it’s a girl?”
“Because the doctor slipped the other day,” Noah said. “When she was telling you the baby might come sooner, she said we might be ‘celebrating her arrival’ sooner than we expected. It looked like she was trying to bite her tongue right after, so I think it was just an accidental slip.”
“You knew that all this time, and you didn’t tell me?” Sarah made a sound of exasperation. “That’s just not fair, Noah. And how come I didn’t catch that?”
“You were about to panic at the thought that you might’ve already been in labor,” Noah said. “I think the relief of not being in labor just yet had hit you pretty hard, so you probably just didn’t notice.”
“Relax, Sarah,” Jenny said. “He’s Noah, he notices everything.”
Sarah started to say something, and then it sounded like she was gasping for breath.
“That’s another one,” Molly yelled. “Only ten minutes since the last one.”
“They’re coming closer together,” Jenny said. “Noah, don’t waste any time. This kid is on the way!”
* * *
They pulled in at the hospital at just after midnight, and Sarah was rushed into an exam room with Noah beside her while Molly took care of all the paperwork. She had planned ahead and had all of the information on the identities that Noah and Sarah used, including their corporate health insurance information. Jenny and Wally were sent to the waiting room, where they found Catherine Potts.
“Where is Noah?” Catherine asked.
“He went with Sarah, of course,” Jenny replied. “Why? Something wrong?”
Catherine grinned. “I don’t think so,” she said. “In fact, I suspect this might have been a cue that some people were waiting for. I was just informed that Allison Peterson is going to be replaced as head of the CIA in the morning and will arrive at Heathrow by diplomatic courier tomorrow afternoon.” She suddenly glanced at her wristwatch. “Actually, make that this afternoon. It’s tomorrow already.”
Jenny and Wally looked at one another, then turned back to Catherine.
“Allison is coming here?” Wally asked. “But won’t that compromise everything?”
“Not according to her,” Catherine said. “I understand that she’ll be an entirely new person when she arrives.”
Wally’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t ask any more questions.
Doctor Mahindra had already arrived by the time they got there, and was smiling as she entered the room.
“I told you I would see you soon,” she said. She looked at the paperwork the nurse had completed showing Sarah’s vital signs and other information relevant to the delivery, then nodded and smiled again. “Everything is looking good. I think you will be a mommy very soon. Are you ready for that?”
“Trust me, I’m ready,” Sarah said. She grimaced as another contraction struck.
“Contractions are coming steady already,” the doctor said. “For your first baby, this is happening much more quickly than I anticipated.” She turned to a nurse and started issuing instructions, and a few moments later Sarah was being wheeled down the hall toward the actual birthing room.
* * *
“Are you ready, then?” Senator Clark asked as the waiter returned his credit card. “We can go on up to my room and get business out of the way, then get to know each other a little better.”
“I’d love that,” Esmeralda said. “I just—I mean, it won’t get you in any trouble, will it?”
“Not as long as we’re both discreet,” he replied. He got to his feet, then held her chair as she rose. He took her arm and they left the restaurant and went directly toward the elevator.
Inside her head, Esmeralda’s computer brain designated a portion of itself to hack into the building’s security system. In less than a quarter of a second, she was visualizing all of the views from all the security cameras throughout the building. She located the one just outside the restaurant and began recording what it saw. Then, using a sophisticated program designed specifically for her, she carefully edited herself out of the video and fed it back to the security system. There were no cameras inside the restaurant, so there would be no evidence linking her to the senator.
As they rode up to his floor, Esmeralda watched the senator closely. He was displaying all the physiological signs of arousal, and she was carefully matching them with her own. He was still holding on to her arm, and his hand was caressing it gently. He only stopped when the elevator arrived at his floor and the doors began to open, but there was no one there. He grinned at her, then led her down the hall to his room.
Esmeralda used the same record-and-edit technique on the security cameras on that floor, as well as the one in the elevator, and even edited some of the senator’s movements, such as when he was touching her arm. There would be no record of her entering or leaving the elevator with the senator, or going into his room.
Once they were inside, he took off his jacket and tossed it onto a chair, then went to the minibar. “Would you like a drink?” he asked her.
“Sure,” she said. “Whatever you’ve got.”
“I make a mean martini,” he said with a grin. She stood by and watched as he mixed the drinks, then poured them into glasses and handed one to her. He held out his own and she touched hers to it. “To us,” he said. “May our future be long and delightful.”
Esmeralda giggled and took a sip of her martini. The alcohol would have no effect on her, and she would simply evacuate it later along with the food she had eaten, but she made a point of nodding appreciatively.
“This is very good,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t drink too much, though. I tend to fall asleep when it starts to hit me, and I’d really like to stay awake.”
Clark chuckled. “We’ll limit ourselves to one, then,” he said. “Now, you had some paperwork for me?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, acting as if she had a
lmost forgotten the package under her arm. “It’s about the gun-control bill. I’m not really sure what’s in it, they just told me to bring it to you.”
“Then it can still wait,” he said. He took the large envelope from her and tossed it onto the chair beside his jacket, then stepped closer to her. “Sophie, I don’t recall that I’ve ever seen you before. Have you been with the firm long?”
“A couple of years. I’m actually in the secretarial pool, but they needed somebody to play courier tonight and I got the job.” She giggled again. “When they told me I was coming to see you, I confess I got excited. Is that bad?”
“Not from my point of view. After all, the good Lord made us the way we are for a reason, right? If he didn’t want us to be attracted to one another, he would have designed a different method for ensuring the propagation of the species.”
He had led her gently toward the bed, and now he reached out and took her glass, setting it beside his own on the nightstand. She looked up at him for a moment, and then moved toward him when he reached out to put his arms around her.
The earlier conversations about intimacy were floating through her mind, and she decided to learn a bit more about it while she had the opportunity. When he leaned down to kiss her, she closed her eyes and raised her face to receive it.
Inside her brain, the computer was running through all the potential scenarios that began with a kiss, and she responded with a low moan and a smile, keeping her eyes closed. “Oh, that was nice,” she said.
“That’s only the beginning,” Clark said. He slipped her jacket off her shoulders and laid it on another chair, then caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Are you ready for more?”
She nodded without speaking, and his fingers moved to the buttons on her blouse. She kept her eyes closed and continued smiling as he opened each button slowly, then slipped the shirt off of her. He pulled her close again and she felt him pop the bra loose with one hand, and then it was gone, as well.
His hands found her breasts and the delicate sensors in her nipples came to life. Her computer brain had been programmed to regard most sensations from them as pleasant, and she found that she was enjoying these current ones.