Spy Now, Pay Later

by Diane Henders

  “But he was on the Sirius Dynamics phone list Stemp gave me to take to Fuzzy Bunny last week,” I protested. “Could he have quit in the last few days?”

  “No, I searched a years’ worth of records.”

  “Bullshit!” Dermott burst out. “I just talked to the head of security. Last night at eleven-oh-six P.M., the lab door was opened using a fob that showed a valid top-level security clearance for George Harrison. So don’t give me any bullshit about how there’s no George Harrison in the system!”

  “Hang on…” Spider ducked behind his screen, his fingers flying over the keyboard again. “…Okay,” he said a few minutes later. “I accessed the point-in-time rollback for the security database, and George Harrison was listed with a top-level security clearance at eleven o’clock last night. At eleven fifty-seven, he was removed. But he never existed anywhere in any of the personnel databases.”

  “What the f-”

  Spider kept talking over Dermott’s incipient outburst. “So I pulled the surveillance camera records. Here’s our guy going into the lab.” He swivelled his laptop so we could see the screen.

  We all peered at the rotund man with a paper file folder clutched in his hand, obscuring his features. Pink scalp peeked through the top of his slightly too-long thinning hair, and his rumpled casual pants and open-necked shirt could have belonged to any of the dozens of researchers who occupied labs in the secured area.

  “Get his face,” Dermott snapped.

  “Um… That’s a bit of a problem,” Spider mumbled. “He knew where the surveillance cameras were, and he blocked every one of them with that file folder. This is the best shot we’ve got.”

  “Shit!” Dermott bent closer, as though staring harder at the screen could somehow help. “Can you enhance it? All I can see is a piece of his beard.”

  “He slipped up and moved the folder just for a second,” Spider said, zooming and manipulating the view. “We’ve got a bit of cheekbone and temple, too, see? And that ear will help. I’m enhancing the image and running facial recognition now, cross-referencing against all known personnel. We won’t get a positive ID, but at least we can narrow down some basic characteristics. And using the door frame in this shot for reference, I figure our guy is about five-nine to six feet tall, so I’m filtering for approximate height. It’ll just be a minute.”

  Dermott paced while Spider stared at the screen, his knee bouncing with nervous energy. I slouched in my chair, racking my brain for every time I’d heard George Harrison mentioned.

  First, at Parr’s Christmas party. Parr had noticed his name on the phone list Stemp had provided and asked me if I knew his ‘friend’ George. Other than that, I was pretty sure nobody had mentioned Harrison again until Sharkface demanded his photo.

  But if Harrison was a friend of Parr’s, why would Parr need a photo?

  Unless Parr had been lying to me. Well, gee, there was a shocker…

  “Okay…” Spider’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see his troubled face. “It’s a pretty long list.” He turned the laptop toward us again.

  I frowned at the faces and names filling the screen. “Well, it’s a start. I guess there’s no point in filtering by security clearance, since it was obviously faked…” I trailed off, pondering. “Hey, Spider, just for the hell of it, can you filter out everybody who’s checked in for work today? I mean, if our guy was smart, he’d grab the weapon and then show up today pretending to be as worried as everybody else, but if he took it and ran…”

  Spider was already typing. He pressed a key and froze for a moment before flopping back in his chair, blank-faced.

  “What?” I demanded.

  Dermott and I both swooped in to peer over Spider’s shoulder, and I felt my jaw sagging as we stared at the single face remaining on the screen. We exchanged a glance.

  “No, that doesn’t make sense,” I protested. “He’s totally the wrong build and he’s not bearded and balding like our guy. And anyway, he wouldn’t steal the weapon. And even if he did plan to steal it for some reason, he’s far too smart to just grab it and run.”

  The muscles bulged in Dermott’s jaw. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s easy to stick padding under clothes, and a fake beard and hair is a no-brainer. We can’t take a chance.” He spun to snatch up the phone. “Security! Total lockdown on all access for Charles Stemp! If he shows up, detain him!”

  Chapter 28

  I stood rooted to the carpet while Dermott concluded his phone call. Spider gave me a worried look, his hands hovering uncertainly above his keyboard.

  Dermott slapped the receiver down and wheeled to glare at us. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Get your asses in gear! Find him!”

  “Um… maybe we should try calling him first,” I ventured. “You know, see if he answers, maybe find out if he was even around last night at eleven…”

  Dermott’s ruddy complexion deepened its hue. “Webb, check his personnel file. Get me numbers for every family member he has. I’ll try his cell number and home phone while you do that. And trace his cell phone location.”

  Spider went back to clicking keys while Dermott dialled and I stood there uselessly.

  A few moments later, Dermott swore. “His cell is offline and there’s no answer at his home.”

  “The GPS location for his cell phone matches his house, so he must have left it behind. Try this number.” Spider rattled off the digits. “It’s his parents in British Columbia. No siblings or other family listed. His father’s name is…” he hesitated. “Um, Karma Wolf Song. And his mother is Moonbeam Meadow Sky.”

  Dermott snorted laughter as he finished dialling. I bit my lip and managed not to make a retaliatory crack about ‘Brent Shirley Dermott’.

  Maybe Dermott read my expression, or more likely he refocused on the matter at hand. His mirth vanished while he drummed his fingers on the desk.

  After a lengthy wait, he spoke. “Karma Wolf Song or Moonbeam Meadow Sky, please.”

  A brief pause. Dermott’s fist clenched on the receiver and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “This is the police,” he snapped. “Get one of them on the line now.”

  A tide of red suffused his face at the response, and I suppressed a twitch when he exploded, “I don’t care if they’re having tea and crumpets with God himself! You’ve got ten seconds to get one of them on the line, or I’ll charge you with obstructing an investigation!”

  That apparently had the desired effect, and he subsided into baleful muttering. “Goddamn hippy-dippy bullshit. Communing with the earth spirit, my fucking ass… Yes! Mr. Wolf Song?”

  The muscle twitched in his jaw again. “Fine. Karma. Your son, Charles Randall Stemp. Have you seen him recently?”

  His lips twitched and he clamped a hand over his mouth. When he spoke again, his voice came out sounding half-strangled. “All right, have you seen ‘Cosmic River Stone’ recently? …I see. Are there any other family members he might visit?”

  He shot us a scowl and a headshake as he spoke again. “No, not that we’re aware of; we just need to contact him regarding an important investigation. If you hear from him please call me as soon as possible at this number…”

  Dermott dictated his name and phone number before hanging up to glower at us. “Kelly, get your ass over to…” He made sardonic air quotes. “…Cosmic River Stone’s place and search it. Tear it apart. Get me a clue where he might have gone. Webb, hack the public networks, gas station and bank CCTVs, airlines, car rentals, busses, fucking dog sled rental places if you have to. Find him!”

  “Um, what about…” I began before silencing myself. If Stemp hadn’t listed Katya and Anna as next of kin even in his confidential personnel file, there was probably a good reason. “Where’s Germain?” I asked instead. “Can I have him for backup?”

  “Reassigned.” Dermott spat the word as if it tasted foul. “Stemp made sure every agent was assigned to an op except you and Kane before he made his move. Fucking smart bastard. And now Kane’s AWOL. You’re
on your own, Kelly. Better watch your back.”

  “But… what about Jill…?”

  I subsided under Dermott’s glare. “She’s babysitting Mellor full-time. Fucking security breach waiting to happen. Mellor, not Francis,” he clarified. “Suck it up, Kelly…” He trailed off, his face clearing. “Wait. I can give you Holt.”

  Alarm bells jangled in my brain. “Uh, no, that’s okay…” Dermott’s face darkened and I hurriedly changed the subject. “Um, don’t you think we should check some of the other guys that came up in Spider’s search? I mean, can we justify a full-scale manhunt for Stemp based on circumstantial-”

  “He’s gone. The weapon’s gone. He had the opportunity and he fits the physical profile. And he lied about a family emergency,” Dermott snapped.

  “But he might have said ‘family’ if it was a close friend,” I argued. “And if he was with somebody in a hospital, he’d have to turn off his pho-”

  “Shut the fuck up and get going!” A vein pulsed in Dermott’s forehead. “I’m reinstating Holt, effective now. Meet him at Stores in five minutes where he’ll be picking up his weapon. Five seconds after that, I want your ass, and his ass, hauling ass over to search Stemp’s place. If you find him, bring him in. If he resists, use deadly force if necessary. Got it?”

  The vein bulged dangerously and I nodded, my gaze riveted to it with the jittery fascination I usually reserved for watching someone inflate a balloon.

  “Good! Now. Get. Your. Ass. Out-of-here!”

  I withdrew, my mind whirling.

  This couldn’t be happening. Stemp couldn’t have stolen the weapon. He might be a dickhead sometimes, but I’d stake my life that he wasn’t a traitor.

  I trailed to a halt in my office.

  Shit, I was staking my life.

  What if he’d been leaking information to Fuzzy Bunny all along? He knew everything about me. I was as good as dead.

  Oh, God. No, I was worse than dead. If they captured me, death was a mercy I wouldn’t be granted.

  Sticky hot/cold sweat prickled my body, my knees wobbling. Oh, God, he couldn’t be a traitor…

  “Aydan.” The whisper from close behind me galvanized every muscle. I spun, my fists flying up.

  Spider yelped and jumped back, stumbling over his own feet and thumping into the wall.

  “Shit, I’m sorry, Spider! Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” He straightened and gave me a weak smile, rubbing his shoulder. “I’ve got to remember not to sneak up on you.” He glanced toward the hall before stepping closer to whisper again. “You didn’t mention Katya.”

  “No.” I studied his worried face. “I just… Maybe that was stupid, but… if he didn’t put her in his personnel file, I feel like maybe she’s in danger if anybody finds out about her…” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Shit, Spider, I just don’t know!”

  “Me neither.” His brow furrowed. “All we know is that they’re lovers. What if she’s actually an arms dealer and he’s giving her the weapon?”

  “I…” I trailed off.

  I couldn’t breach Stemp’s trust. Spider and Kane were the only other people who knew about Katya, but nobody else knew about little Anna. If she was harmed because I blabbed, I’d never forgive myself.

  “I know some things I can’t tell you,” I said finally. “I don’t even want to think about the consequences if I’m wrong, but if I say anything it could be just as bad. Maybe worse.” I looked up into his unhappy face. “If you think it’s the right thing to do, tell Dermott about Katya. I can’t make that decision for you.”

  “No…” he said slowly. “I… Stemp isn’t always the nicest guy, but I just can’t believe he’s a traitor. If you think so, too, I won’t say anything.”

  A slow knot formed in my belly and I gave him a sick smile. “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.”

  “Me neither.” He grimaced and handed me a scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it. “Here’s Stemp’s home address. Maybe you’ll find something.”

  “Thanks.” I hesitated, but there wasn’t anything more to say. I turned my palms up in a gesture of defeat and trudged down the hall toward Stores.

  When I arrived, Holt was just buckling a holster on, grinning from ear to ear. He let out a long breath as his fingertips drifted over the grip of the Glock. “Ah, that feels so much better. I’ve felt naked for the last six months.” His steel-blue eyes blazed with frightening intensity above his grin as he tossed me a lightweight bulletproof vest that matched the one he already wore. “Let’s go catch ourselves a traitor.”

  I put the vest on, wondering how bulletproof it really was. With any luck I wouldn’t find out.

  Holt turned away impatiently, and I donned my parka over the vest and followed. “Um, we don’t actually know he’s a traitor,” I offered as we strode down the hall.

  Holt shrugged. “I didn’t necessarily mean Stemp’s the traitor. But he’s a hell of a good place to start looking. Here.” He handed me a pair of disposable gloves and an earpiece with a small transmitter. I threaded the earpiece over my ear and dropped the transmitter into my pocket.

  “Test. How’s that?” Holt inquired, his voice sounding simultaneously through the earpiece and beside me.

  “Fine. You?”

  He nodded and picked up the pace.

  “Don’t we need a warrant or something to search his house?” I asked as we hurried across the lobby.

  Holt handed in his security fob at the wicket and waited for me to do the same before answering as we headed for the door. “Dermott will get one, if he hasn’t got it already. Don’t worry, he’ll back us up. Not like Stemp.” He nearly snarled the name.

  Shit, if Stemp was home I’d better find him before Holt did.

  “We’ll take my car.” Holt’s voice interrupted my thoughts. He jerked his chin in the direction of the parking lot, and I didn’t argue. No need to piss him off unnecessarily.

  We got in and Holt headed for the town’s small residential area. “I’ll take the front door; you cover the back,” he said. “We’ll clear the place, then search.”

  His automatic assumption of leadership might have irritated me if I’d been a real agent, but under the circumstances it suited me just fine. I nodded and said nothing, hoping he couldn’t see my hands quivering.

  ‘Cover the back’. Yeah, right. What would I do if Stemp ran out? I couldn’t stop him. He’d pull some martial arts move on me and drop me in seconds.

  But screw Dermott; I wouldn’t shoot to kill. Unless Stemp was actually trying to kill me. But if he was, he’d almost certainly succeed…

  My heart drummed my ribs.

  Holt slowed and jabbed a finger at a small brown bungalow down the street. “That’s it. I’ll drop you in the back alley.” He turned into the alley and stopped a few houses away. “Give me about a minute to get in position around front. Let’s do it!”

  I didn’t trust my voice so I just nodded and hauled myself out of the car, wincing.

  As I turned to close the door, Holt shot me a look. “You okay?”

  “Smashed my knee last night,” I mumbled.

  He grimaced sympathy before jerking his chin toward the house. “Let me know when you’re outside the gate. Hold until I say go.”

  My fears did their best to convince me to run far, far away while I watched his car recede and turn the corner.

  This was stupid. Stemp was an ex-agent and the director of clandestine operations, not to mention a computer expert in his own right. Surely he had some kind of external surveillance system on his house. He’d know we were there long before we ever got in.

  And anyway, he wouldn’t hide here. In the first place, he wasn’t a traitor, so he didn’t have any reason to hide. And in the second place, even if he was a traitor, he was far too smart to steal a top-secret weapon and then hide inside his own house.

  I hoped.

  I hesitated at his back gate, swallowing hard.

  If he was here…<
br />
  I clenched my teeth. If he was, and if I had to shoot, I’d aim for his hip. Disabling but probably not lethal.

  I drew a deep breath and murmured, “I’m in place.”

  “Roger that.” A few moments later Holt spoke again. “Get to the back door.”

  Clenching my teeth, I scuttled up the sidewalk to jitter on the back step. “I’m there.”

  Should I stand to the left or the right? Against the house?

  Oh. Duh.

  If Stemp ran out while I was standing here, he wouldn’t even need martial arts; he’d knock me out cold when he hit me with the door. I pressed my back against the house, using its support to still my trembling.

  “In three… two…” Holt’s voice in my ear made me twitch.

  “ONE!” Holt’s shout was half drowned out by a tremendous thump and a grunt that sounded like pain.

  A second later he gritted, “Are you in yet?”

  What, I was supposed to get in?

  “Um, no…”

  His irritation hissed over the comm link. “So much for the element of surprise. He’s probably not here anyway, but stay sharp…” His voice trailed off. A few moments later, he spoke again. “Pick-proof locks. It’s fucking Fort Knox. I’m drilling out the lock now. Can you get that one?”

  “No.”

  No need to point out that I didn’t even have a clue how to try.

  I drew a breath and let it out slowly.

  Stay calm.

  Stemp wasn’t here, I was sure of it. We were just going to clear an empty house…

  Should I draw my gun?

  I shot a nervous glance around the yard. What if the neighbours were watching? I was supposed to be a bookkeeper.

  I left my Glock in its holster.

  Okay, breathe. I could do this. I knew how to clear a building. I’d seen Kane do it often enough. He always looked so cool and collected, though. My heart skittered like a frantic rodent inside my chest.

  Focus. Just get in. Clear the house. Search…

  Shit! That’s why Holt had given me the latex gloves.