Triple Threat

by H. L. Wegley

  She didn’t seem to be the devious, manipulative type, nevertheless he felt manipulated. Probably by his own right brain. “Kate this is a pretend honeymoon, isn’t it?”

  Kate burst out laughing. “What do you think?”

  “Doggone it, Kate. You throw so much baloney at me I’m never sure what you really mean.”

  “The baloney isn’t the wurst.” Kate’s crooked smile gave her an impish look.

  Bad puns and all, life with Kate Brandt, no matter how long or short it turned out to be, would never be dull.

  She hooked his arm with hers. “Come on, Josh, we’ve got a honeymoon to plan.”

  9

  Katie became lost in her plans to gain access to the terrorist’s computer. Her netbook computer would fit inside her mid-sized purse. She could leave her laptop in the car for a backup.

  Josh put his hand on her arm, ending her musings. “What about hacking this guy’s machine without going into his room?”

  She took his hand. “If he’s online, I can probably do that. The main unanswered question is how long will it take for me to hack in?”

  “Kate, now that we know our technical approach, how do we pull off this honeymoon charade?”

  “You just dress casual, but nice. A nice pair shorts and the most expensive sport shirt you own. I’ll make myself look like a blushing bride. It will be fun. Oh, if you’ll drive, I’ll pay for the gas.”

  “What time should I pick you up in the morning? And remember, we’re having dinner at your house tomorrow evening, Saturday night at the inquisition.”

  “Pick me up at 5:00 AM. We can easily get home by 6:00.”

  “5:00. That will put us up there around 8:30 AM.”

  “According to the messages we intercepted, that’s about the time our operational commander corresponds with the big kahuna in Iran. And, Josh?”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “I was only going to say, that if things go smoothly, I’ll have a surprise for you.”

  “You rented the honeymoon suite?”

  Her face grew warm, probably red. “Fat chance of that.” At least Josh was beginning to tease her, too. All in all, it was a good sign. But… “No. I’ll go online and get tickets for us to ride to the top of Whistler peak. You can’t go to Whistler without riding to the top of the mountain.”

  “This is the second or third time you mentioned spending a good chunk of cash. Aren’t grad students supposed to be poor as church mice? What gives?”

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  He gave her the lip zipping sign.

  “I’m doing a little moonlighting, two small contracts with DHS. Now they want to give me a clearance and a job.”

  “But you won’t take it, will you?”

  “I told Peterson five years ago I wanted to work for the FBI, at least part of the time in the field, maybe on the Seattle Division Computer Analysis Response Team.”

  “But you couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen back then.”

  “I was fifteen. That’s when Jenn and Lee rescued me from the traffickers.”

  “Was that in the papers?”

  “Most of them.”

  “I think I remember reading about that. Three girls were rescued.”

  “It was the first time I had to—” she pictured the man with the automatic trained on Lee. Katie flinched as she recalled the burst of shots that split the silence of the night.

  “Kate, what’s wrong?” Josh’s hands squeezed her shoulders.

  “I…I shot a man with an AK-47 to save my dad’s life.”

  “Whoa, dude. You really—but you said the first time.” Josh’s mouth clamped shut. He obviously was reluctant to intrude further.

  “A few weeks later, the international trafficking syndicate captured Jenn. When I moved in too close, they caught me. I may have killed one of their guys. At least I knocked him out, then the explosion…” The noise, the flames, and the pain of the bullets hitting her back were vivid memories.

  “Are you sure you want to be an FBI agent?”

  “Hurting or killing people aren’t things you ever want to do. But I can do the job. I want to do the job.”

  Josh’s arms slid from her shoulders around her back and he drew her into a gentle embrace.

  She laid her head on his shoulder and let it rest there until the memories faded, replaced by an acute awareness of Josh’s arms around her and the comfort they provided.

  Katie raised her head, brushing Josh’s cheek with her lips. She took a step back. “Thanks, Josh.”

  Josh studied her face. His gaze darted between her eyes and the vicinity of her lips. He didn’t move any closer, but what was on his mind was crystal clear.

  “So now you know all about me, killer Katie.”

  “You’re no killer, Kate. You’re a brave, good woman. If I was Peterson, I’d have the FBI flooding your mailbox with job offers.”

  She smiled at Josh’s words. Then she smiled because her gaze rested on Josh’s face. She reached out and squeezed his well-developed biceps. “The FBI could use a few geeks, too, you know.”

  He chuckled. “We can do geek work, but you know something?”

  “Yes.” Kate burst into belly-shaking laughter. “Neither of us fit the geek mold. I played on a national championship softball team, and you played on a state championship football team.”

  “I thought jocks and geeks didn’t mix.” He grinned and shook his head.

  But maybe two jocks who did geek work could mix. She looked up into Josh’s smiling face. “Would you mind taking me home? I rode the bus in today.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’d like that.”

  “Me, too. We’ve got a few more honeymoon details to work out.”

  “Like I said, you’re a beautiful, scary woman, Kate.”

  10

  The house was quiet as Katie, purse in hand and netbook in purse, stood looking out the living room window at the brightening sky in the east. Only a silhouette of the Cascades showed against the red horizon. The red quickly gave way to deep blues and purples above. As she looked at the sunrise, Katie twisted the fake wedding band on her ring finger, hoping it wouldn’t turn green before the day ended.

  The lights of a vehicle turned onto the street and rolled slowly her way. 4:55 AM. Dependable Josh.

  The day had started serenely. She prayed it would end that way.

  Katie slipped outside, locking the door behind her, with Grace, Grady, Lee, and Jenn inside sleeping and safe. She prayed again while she walked toward Josh’s car, a prayer that what she and Josh accomplished today would help keep her family safe. That it would keep her country safe.

  And please…keep Josh and me safe.

  Josh got out and circled the car, smiling as he opened her door. He was wearing jeans.

  “Josh, I told you to wear shorts. It’s going to be a warm day.”

  “Good morning to you, too, Kate.” His smile disappeared.

  “Have you got your passport?”

  “Are you a little antsy about today, or did you just get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

  She pulled hard on the reins of her sometimes sharp tongue. Josh was right. She hadn’t realized how tightly she was wound this morning. “Jeans and a nice sport shirt. That works.”

  “Not a good start to our honeymoon, Kate.” Only a hint of a smile accompanied his words.

  Katie took a deep breath and blew it out slowly as she planted her cheek against Josh’s chest and hugged him. “I’m sorry, Josh.” She stepped back from him and managed a smile. “Can we start again?”

  “I think we just did.” He returned her smile. “Yeah. Got my passport and I assume your netbook is in your purse. So let’s move out. We’re burning twilight.”

  She slid into the passenger’s seat. “That’s not what the cowboys said.”

  “I’m not a cowboy and it’s not daylight yet.” Josh took the driver’s seat, closed the door, and hit the ignition.

  By the time
the sun popped up over the mountains, Josh’s furious pace up I-5 had taken them to the Skagit Valley.

  After her apology to Josh, their words were few and far between.

  They took the Lynden border crossing and were only slowed a little by the weekend traffic on Highway 1 as they passed north of Burnaby.

  After rounding the turn above Horseshoe Bay, the morning sun had topped the mountains and lit the water in Howe Sound.

  The view from the road, high on the side of the mountain, took her breath away. Katie swept her hand across the panorama in front of them. “Look at this view. The Northwest is one of the most beautiful places in all of creation.”

  “Yeah. It’s beautiful, but creation? You sure about that, Kate?”

  Though this might send their honeymoon south, she had to respond to his remark. “We all subscribe to some worldview. Which one do you follow?”

  “Well, I don’t follow my parents’ philosophy.”

  “Following your parents isn’t always a bad thing.”

  “If they’re like mine it is. Pure materialists. Not in the philosophical sense. They’re just…consumers. Buying toys and luxuries until…”

  “Yes? Until…”

  “So you follow Jesus and God because your parents want you to?”

  Katie looked into Josh’s eyes. “I chose to follow Jesus because that’s where I found the truth.”

  “The truth? You’re too bright to fall for a bunch of legends and myths, Kate. Doesn’t it bother you? Leave you with a mountain of doubts? The truth is, at best, empirically derived from scientific evidence, and at worst, it’s—”

  “First, let’s get something straight. My faith isn’t blind. It’s rooted in evidence. There’s ample evidence to provide intellectually satisfying answers to any question you can ask, even the existential questions, the cries of the human heart.” Katie paused as she realized the implication of her words. “The only surprising thing to me is that truth isn’t found in a set of logical propositions, or a philosophy, or by using science, which happens to be based upon the same thing as philosophy, metaphysical presuppositions. And truth isn’t found in any religion.”

  “What? You don’t even think your religion has the truth…or at least part of it?”

  “Truth, Josh, is found in a person, Jesus. He’s not a religion. I’m related to Him as His spiritual child, His follower, and His friend. He said He was the truth and every other thing He said rings true. Check Him out. Test Him. But remember, with Jesus you get a relationship with a real person, not a religion.”

  “Maybe that’s just your truth. If it works for you, that’s great.”

  “Truth doesn’t work that way. It’s absolute. True for all people, in all places, at all times. Try telling yourself that all truth is relative, Josh. See where that takes you.”

  “All truth is relative. That’s…uh, self-contradictory.” A deep frown grew on his brow.

  “See what I mean?” She nodded her head at him. “The nature of truth is fairly simple to discover if you just make the attempt.”

  “I think we need to change the subject. For the sake of the honeymoon.”

  You mean for the sake of Joshua West.

  After her diatribe on truth, Josh went silent for nearly an hour. The snowcapped mountain on the right was Whistler peak. The village was only three or four miles ahead.

  They had to function as a team and play the role of honeymooners. Josh needed to start talking to her or they should call off the honeymoon and drive home.

  “Josh?” She spoke softly.

  “I’m sorry, Kate. I…I wasn’t avoiding you. Just…thinking.”

  “In Whistler you’ll probably have to hold my hand. Maybe even put your arms around me. You won’t be very convincing if you’re mad at me.”

  Josh’s huge right hand closed around her left hand. “I’m not mad at you. See?”

  “So…you’re ready to do this?”

  He nodded.

  “What time is it?”

  “Don’t you have a watch, Kate?”

  “Yes. But someone captured my watch hand and won’t give it back to me.”

  “Yeah. Someone did. Maybe someone wants to keep it. I’ll look at your watch for you.” He lifted her hand. “It’s 8:20.”

  “8:20! That’s thirty-five minutes faster than the computer said it would take. You’ve got a lead foot, Joshua West.”

  “And you’ve got a nice hand, Kate Brandt.”

  “We’re supposed to be pretending.”

  “Thought I was doing a pretty good job of that.”

  “But you’re not pretending.”

  “I was doing such a good job I even fooled you.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Their intense discussion was behind them. But the subject would come up again. She would see that it did. “There’s the entrance to the village. Time to get serious. The person here is dangerous. We can’t afford mistakes.” She opened her map of Whistler.

  “You can count on me, Kate. Where should we park?” He turned in to the village.

  “Take the first left and in about four blocks turn right. We can park in the big lot by the grocery store. We’ll hide your car in plain sight. The hotel should be two blocks south of the lot.”

  “Parking is tight here. They won’t tow my car again, will they? We don’t have Agent Peterson here to get it back for me.”

  “Your car should be fine in the grocery store lot. We won’t be here that long, anyway.”

  “Hope you’re right about that.” Josh pulled into a spot in the center of the parking lot.

  Katie grabbed her purse, slung it over her shoulder, slid out, and met Josh on his side of the car. Her heart had already kicked into high gear. She offered her hand and Josh took it, wrapping his big, strong hand around it. The secure feeling he gave her calmed her rapid heartbeat. It would be wonderful if every time she had fears a hand would hold hers and drive the fears away. She had the biggest hand of all, God’s hand. But Joshua West would be next on her list. She forced a smile onto her face, and looked up at Josh. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

  After they crossed the parking lot and walked another block, the International Pinnacle Hotel building stood in front of them.

  “First, let’s find a quiet spot to sit so I can get on their Wi-Fi.”

  “But what if it’s secured, Kate?”

  “Don’t worry. I can get past the router three or four different ways.”

  Josh pushed open the large entryway door and escorted Katie in on his arm.

  “The lounge area here will work fine.” She took his hand, pulled him toward a couch, and sat down.

  Josh plopped down a couple of feet away.

  Katie slid close to his side, leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered, “It’s our honeymoon, Josh. Remember?”

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  She drew a sharp breath and her heart kicked into double time again. “I need to concentrate now.”

  “Don’t let me distract you,” he whispered back.

  Not willing to admit that he was a big a distraction, Katie opened her netbook and checked the Wi-Fi connections. She pinged the hotel’s router, and used the information to launch the appropriate exploit. Within sixty seconds she was on the router and checking its Wi-Fi connections. She didn’t see the IP address of the target laptop. Maybe the router had reassigned that IP address. Or, perhaps the person wasn’t online at the moment.

  Please. Don’t let him leave. I need him to be here.

  She looked up at Josh, and then leaned her head on his neck. “He’s not online at the moment,” she whispered, trying to keep a smile on her face.

  “So what are we going to do?”

  A flicker on the screen caught her attention. Some device was connecting. The IP address matched, but did the machine? She checked the machine’s operating system. It was him…or her. Probably him.

  “He’s on, Josh. I’m going to monitor his signal strength to locate him. We need to walk
the halls on each floor until we find him.”

  “Lead the way, honey pie.” He grinned.

  She slapped his knee in mock annoyance. It was a corny term of endearment. Something one might hear from a country bumpkin. But hearing it from Josh, it seemed rather—she needed to get focused or things could go very badly for them and their mission.

  They started down the hallway that opened into the lobby. She cradled the open netbook against her stomach hoping that it did not draw attention. “I think he’s above us somewhere. The signal is a little weak down here.”

  Josh took her free hand and led her to the elevator. “We’ll try the second floor.”

  The elevator door popped open when he pushed the button. They boarded and the small elevator jerked and groaned for a few seconds, and then shuddered to a stop, bonging its arrival at the second floor.

  They stepped out and Katie pulled Josh to a stop. “Wait here for a second.” She turned her back to him, then walked to Josh’s other side and repeated her maneuver. “Let’s go. She stepped off to their left. “He’s down this way.”

  Josh moved alongside Katie and hooked his arm around her waist.

  It would’ve been a warm, cozy feeling if the hair on the back of her neck wasn’t screaming danger.

  They passed three rooms, and she slowed, swiveling to her left, then her right, trying to find the signal source. “Room 207, Josh. It looks like a large suite. And our man is in there right now.” She glanced up at him.

  His face was drawn and his brown eyes grew more intense than she had ever seen them.

  “We’ll stop and sit on the seat by the window at the end of the hall. I’ll work from there while you watch the door to the room.”

  When they sat down, something changed on her screen. The signal from the laptop had disappeared. “He either closed the laptop or turned it off. Let’s see if he’s leaving.”

  A man and a woman exited the room.

  “That’s a surprise,” she whispered to Josh.

  Both people had dark hair and dark complexions. They walked away from Josh and her, toward the stairwell.