Puppeteer

by Schultz, Tamsen

  “When did you get here?” she demanded as he set her down, keeping his arms looped around her waist.

  “Early this morning, only to find out you've run off with another man. Tell me I'm not too late, sweetheart,” he answered, placing his hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture. “You know I'm the one for you,” he added with a wink.

  “The only thing I know about you, frogman, is that you may not last the day with the way Ty's scowling at you,” she responded.

  “Come with me baby, and we'll make a quick getaway. I've always been able to outrun Folsom and I'm sure I still can, even if I have to carry you,” he teased as he swung her into a fireman's hold. She laughed and swatted him on the butt.

  “I told you you're my kind of woman,” Fawkes grinned at the gathering crowd in the kitchen.

  “Put me down,” she managed to say.

  “Not until you say the magic words,” he teased, oblivious to the stares.

  “Please,” Dani added.

  “Not quite there yet, darlin'. Try again.”

  “You're the man for me and I'll run away with you?” she said, not quite able to keep a straight face.

  “Such sincerity,” Fawkes answered.

  “How about put her down, Fawkes. She's federal law enforcement.” Ty's voice broke through the fun. He knew Fawkes was harmless, but he still didn't like the fact that his hands were on Dani's thighs.

  Fawkes laughed and slid Dani from his shoulder. “See, it's that intense serial killer thing I was telling you about,” he said with a knowing nod and meaningful look at Dani—who rolled her eyes at him.

  “Stop taunting the locals,” Dani smiled at Fawkes as she slipped her arm through Ty's. “He's had a rough day.”

  Fawkes rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I can see how rough it was,” he said with a pointed look at their clothes. Ty was still in his shorts and button down Cuban shirt and Dani was in shorts, her bikini top, and an open shirt.

  “I, on the other hand,” he added, making puppy dog eyes, “have been decked out in a dry suit and making mincemeat out of a certain security system.”

  Dani's eyes widened and went to Ty, who shrugged.

  “You've been called in to help out?” Dani asked, all business now.

  Fawkes picked up a couple of nuts from a bowl on the counter and tossed them into his mouth. “Yep, me and Roddy are here. You guys are good and all underwater, but what can I say? Roddy and I are the best. And certain people,” he added with a wink and jerk of his head in Ty's direction, “suggested it might be better to have the best people on the job than to risk the people you have.”

  Ty sighed.

  “So what are you doing?” she asked as Drew entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, Dani, Ty,” he said in acknowledgment. “You're back. Good. We need to go over a couple of things. In the study, please.” He included Fawkes in his line if sight before turning and leaving without waiting for acknowledgement.

  “The king awaits,” Fawkes said with flourish and held the door open as Dani and Ty preceded him through.

  * * *

  Dani cast a look around the room. Navy SEALs, Portland Vice, the CIA. It almost sounded like a bad joke. But there was an easy camaraderie already and, though Dani noticed it, it felt like something she shouldn't, or didn't want to, question. So she turned her attention to Drew.

  “So, here is the plan for tomorrow,” he began as he pulled out the map of Getz's bay. “Roddy and Fawkes have been testing the systems all morning in the mock-up Jay set up in the bay a bit further north. They nailed it every time.” He gave a nod of acknowledgment toward Roddy and Fawkes, who both gave a sharp, businesslike nod back.

  “We're confident they know their way around those machines and so tomorrow we're going to do a test run. Dani, Ty, you'll go out on the boat again tomorrow. You'll head north but drop Roddy and Fawkes in the water as you pass Getz's place. They'll swim in and have a look around as you two continue to head north. We'll give them about forty minutes for the initial pass. You'll have to swing around and pick them back up.” He looked up from the map to make sure the four of them understood the plan. They all nodded back.

  “I presume a moving pickup won't be a problem?” Drew asked, referring to the fact that she and Ty wouldn't be able to stop the boat during the pickup without calling attention to themselves. The question was directed at Fawkes, who glanced at Ty and then gave a simple shake of his head.

  “Dani, Marmie's got the pictures you took of the boathouse with your sunglasses today?” he asked. Still displeased with her actions, his voice thinned a bit. Which she ignored.

  She nodded and then pulled up the blueprint of the boathouse. “There's a door here,” she pointed to a section of the wall that went straight into the cliff side. “And one here,” she pointed to another spot. “There was a huge boat parked in the other bay so I couldn't get a good look around it to this wall,” she said, drawing a line down the wall farthest from the bay. “But I think it's safe to assume this second door goes up to the house. I'm not sure where this first door goes but I'd bet some money there is a good dry storage space cleared out of the cliff right behind it.”

  “Intuition?” Drew asked.

  “That and the door,” Dani inclined her head, studying the map. “The door was a vault-like door. Steel, probably thick, and I could see the sealing—like they wanted to keep the moisture out. And there were a few locks on it. I saw at least three but I bet we'll see more in the pictures.”

  Drew nodded and turned to Ty. “We've got the maps finalized?”

  Ty nodded. “The information was transmitted to Marmie from the boat. I suspect she's taking the information and overlaying it on the topographical map to get a better image.”

  Drew nodded and reached for his phone. Placing a quick call to Marmie, he confirmed that the detailed maps would be available within fifteen minutes.

  “I'll make sure you get copies of them as soon as we do,” he said to Fawkes. “Do you and Roddy need anything else? Any equipment, space?” he added.

  Fawkes thought for a moment before answering. “Just a room would be good. We'll need to take a look at all the maps, find the best entry and exit points. It would be nice to be able to spread out.”

  Drew glanced at Dani. “The library is open,” she offered. “So is the breakfast room.”

  “Isn't this the library?” Fawkes asked with a glance at the books surrounding him.

  “This is the study. The library is on the second floor,” Dani answered as she looked back down at the maps.

  “Oh, well, yes, of course,” Fawkes responded, done with business for the day.

  “I could put you in the dungeon,” Dani shot back with a small smile.

  “You going to chain me up?” Fawkes shot back.

  “Okay, kids,” Drew broke in with sympathetic look at Ty. “Time to get back to work. Dani, Spanky will be here in a minute, we need to go over a few things.”

  She didn't give Drew another look, she knew what they were going to be talking about. She stood and walked with Fawkes, Roddy, and Ty to the hallway and pointed them in the right direction. Ty gave her a questioning look that was more professional than personal, before he turned on his heels and headed up the stairs.

  As she turned back toward the study, Spanky rounded the corner and together they entered the room where their director was waiting for them.

  “Spanky?” Drew said without pretense as soon as the door clicked shut behind them.

  “Keogh is definitely involved,” he said, handing each of them a file. “All our intel indicates that Smythe doesn't have a clue.”

  “Which doesn't come as a huge surprise, though it's nice to know we won't be having to tell MI6 that one of their diplomats is an arms dealer. What about Nelly?” Drew asked.

  “She's a different story.” Spanky handed them photos of Keogh and Nelly together in various settings, including walking hand in hand through the cargo area of the airport.

  “When was this taken
?” Dani asked, holding up that last picture.

  “Two days before the crate of weapons showed up in Smythe's staging area.”

  “Scouting mission?”

  “That's my guess.”

  “Do we have anything more concrete?” Drew asked.

  “We're trying to tap into the phones, but don't want to go through the regular channels, for obvious reasons.” Which meant they were relying on satellite interceptions. The technology was good, but unless they had the funds, or power to keep it locked on a specific target, the intel they got would come in fits and spurts, as various satellites moved into, and out of, position to pick up the conversations.

  Drew nodded, then glanced at her, before picking up yet another file. “Dani, I told Spanky about our conversation the other day. I had him dig to see if he could come up with any people who might possibly have the connections, access, and motivation to manipulate this situation.”

  “Any luck?” she asked. Finding that kind of connection was an almost impossible task. They might be able to find someone who knew Getz, Eagle's Wing, and Keogh. And they could probably find someone with the power and influence to set everything in motion. But finding someone with both?

  “We're trying. And we're going to keep trying. We're working all the angles,” Spanky responded.

  “What do you think?” she pressed.

  “About whether we'll find the link? Or our theory?” he asked.

  “The theory,” she clarified.

  Spanky paced in front of her and ran a hand through his hair. “I don't like it. Not because I don't think it's a good fit, but because if it is, whoever is doing the manipulations is a powerful bastard. Probably more powerful than we can imagine.”

  “But you think it's possible?” Dani pressed.

  Spanky frowned. “Yeah, I do. Drew and I talked about it a lot after he talked with you in San Diego. It's the only thing that makes any sense. Not only are some of the players involved natural antagonists, some are even directly at odds.”

  Dani didn't waste her time feeling gratified that her theory was looking to be true. Turning to Drew, she spoke. “So what do you want us to do now?”

  * * *

  Hours later, Dani and Ty were making their way up to her room. She was carrying yet another manila file filled with photos but she doubted she'd get to any of them tonight. She and Spanky had spent hours poring over possible links between the parties involved in the case, researching where and when they'd traveled, and then trying to connect the dots with known players who would have the kind of influence needed to orchestrate the operation. And, like she suspected, they could come up with a few potential links and a few potential names, but they could not get any of those to connect.

  “It's two in the morning, you might as well sleep here,” Dani commented to Ty as they climbed the stairs.

  “Right after Drew kicks my ass twice, I'm sure I'd make a perfect bedfellow,” Ty smiled.

  “Twice?” Dani asked, tossing the file on the bed. A scattering of photos fell out and slid across the quilt. Dani ignored them in favor of brushing her teeth and washing her face.

  “Once for professional reasons and once for personal ones,” Ty raised his voice so she could hear him over the running water.

  “You're growing on him,” Dani replied, emerging from the bathroom as she dried her face with a towel.

  “Yes, but not enough to let me sleep with his top agent—and quasi little sister—in the middle of an operation,” Ty stood by the window and watched Roddy's car disappear down the drive. When Dani didn't answer, he turned from the window and seized at what he saw. Dani was standing at the foot of her bed, sheet white and shaking.

  “Dani, Christ. Are you okay?” he asked moving to her side. Only he didn't make it. She turned on her heel and ran for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Ty made it to the closed door before he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone getting sick. He hesitated for a split second, wondering if Dani would want her privacy, and then decided to hell with it and burst in.

  “Go away,” she managed to say between heaves.

  “Not going to happen, sweetheart,” he mumbled under his breath as he crouched beside her and held her hair as she retched again. Blindly, with his free hand, he reached over, felt around, and found the discarded towel. He dumped it in the sink, turned on the cold water and let it soak. Pressing it against the side of the sink, he squeezed a fair bit of the water out before dabbing it against the back of Dani's neck.

  After a few minutes she seemed to be done retching, so Ty flushed the toilet and helped a still-shaky Dani to sit on the closed lid, head down. When she looked steady enough, he stood, grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and handed it to her. She looked up and then took the glass from his hand and took a sip.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling beside her again. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded.

  “Um, out of curiosity, could you be pregnant?” Ty asked. That got Dani's attention. She looked up and gazed at his face, as if looking at a complete stranger, and then frowned.

  “Why would you ask that?” she said, her voice quiet and hoarse.

  “The sickness came on so fast. I remember my sister telling me about it. One second she'd be fine, then the next she'd be on her knees. And it has been a couple of weeks since that night. I know we used condoms, but they aren't foolproof,” he added.

  Dani looked at him for a long time, as if it were taking her a very long time to process his statement. And then she shook her head. “I get those shots, too. Four times a year. Between the two, I don't think I'm pregnant.”

  Ty took a deep breath and let it out, surprised by his lack of emotion at her response. If it had been any other woman, he would have been relieved there hadn't been an ‘accident.’ But with Dani, he wasn't relieved, nor was he disappointed.

  “Are you okay? Do you think you can make it to the bed?” he asked, moving to stand over her.

  “I'm fine…I just…I saw…oh god,” she said before sliding off the toilet, flipping the lid, and retching again. Her shaking was so intense she couldn't hold herself up, so Ty curled behind her and held her steady. When she finished, she went limp in his arms and, if it weren't for the subtle fluttering of her eyelashes, Ty would have thought she'd passed out.

  “Hold on, honey,” he said as he slid from behind her, wrapped a towel around her shoulders, and propped her in the corner. Her head lulled back and Ty considered calling Drew for medical assistance. But then she closed her eyes and he could see her take control of her breathing again.

  Working fast, he stepped into the bedroom, gathered up the photos and pulled the blankets back. Returning to the bathroom he handed Dani another glass of water and she dutifully took a small sip. He rinsed the towel again and used it to wash her face. When he was done, he picked her up, cradled her against him, and carried her to the bed.

  “The pictures…” Dani mumbled.

  “They're on the bedside table,” Ty soothed as he placed her on the bed. Then he stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers and slid in next to her, pulling the covers up over them. Drew could do whatever he wanted, but there was no way Ty was going to leave Dani tonight.

  “I need…Drew. To talk to Drew,” she mumbled.

  “Tomorrow, honey. Not tonight. You're not going to do anything tonight but rest.” To add emphasis to his statement, he pulled her close against him, hoping some of the heat from his body would stop her shakes. Tucking the covers around them, he felt her resist and then, as he soothed her with meaningless words and gentle strokes to her hair, her body relaxed. All but a single hand that gripped his shirt throughout the night.

  Chapter 17

  “WHERE IS SHE?” TY DEMANDED as he flung open the door to the study. Drew stood at his desk, looking grim faced and pissed. Ty couldn't have cared less. It was eight in the morning and he had no idea how long Dani had been gone from their bed.

  “Back off, Fuller,” Drew rep
lied. “This isn't about you.”

  Ty held back from decking the man. He knew something about Dani and like hell would he let Drew keep it from him. He advanced on Drew, who didn't back down. As Ty approached the desk, he glanced down and saw a photo with a red circle drawn around a man in the background. Ignoring it, he raised his eyes and met Drew's gaze.

  “If it's about Dani, it has everything to do with me.” His words were quiet but his tone made it very clear to the man exactly where he stood when it came to Dani.

  Drew stared at him for long time. Ty watched the muscles tick in his jaw and saw the deliberation in his eyes. Drew wasn't happy about something but he didn't think it had to do with him or Dani, not directly anyway. He looked like a man who'd just had his plan shot to shit and was being forced to rely on plan B—when there was no plan B.

  “Where is she,” Ty repeated again.

  Drew swallowed and, for a fleeting moment, Ty could see pain in the man's eyes. But then Drew shook his head and turned away.

  “She said she was going to the shooting range. At least that's what her note said. I didn't see her this morning.”

  Ty didn't take the time to respond, he just turned and stalked out.

  He found her where the note said she would be. He watched her for an hour. She stood three lanes down from his observation point, oblivious to the comings and goings around her. He'd never seen her quite like this before. Yes, he'd seen her intense and focused, but this—this was the stuff of demons. The target at the end of the shooting gallery had a face, if only in her mind. And Dani blew it away time and time again.

  When he couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand to watch her hurt all alone, he pulled on his ear guards and entered the range. The next time she stopped to reload, he stepped behind her, pulled both their ear guards off and out of the way, and wrapped his arms around her waist. For a split second, he could feel her gratitude that he'd come as she relaxed against him. And then, in an instant she pulled away and continued to reload.