Games We Play

by Isabelle Arocho

  “It’s an undercover assignment.” Pete explained, stopping for her to absorb the first bits of information. It would be her first time going undercover. “You won’t be alone though. The Marshals caught wind of Kellermen’s take down yesterday and decided to personally request your assistance. You have the choice to decline their invitation.”

  Sasha didn’t need time to think. “No. I’ve never run from a case before and I won’t start now.” It was a fierce promise and one she was going to be tempted to break as Pete went on to explain the rest of the assignment.

  Chapter 2

  After Sasha agreed to take on the case Pete reached for his phone. “I need you in my office.” With the phone back in its cradle Pete turned his pale grey eyes onto her face. “Nicholas is going to partner you for this assignment.”

  Her first instinct was to protest and ask why one of the other available agents couldn’t assist her but she stopped short of forming the words. Pete always had a reason for what he did and nothing or no one could change it. A pointless argument was the last thing she didn’t to engage in with only four hours of sleep.

  Nick stepped into the office and sat in one of the many empty chairs. He knew about their new partnership for the latest case and Pete went on to explain, “The Marshals are in the conference room waiting to brief the both of you. I know the case involves a twenty year old cold case for an unsub responsible for the death of forty three victims. He works in cycles, killing seven people in every town he hits. In Maple Oaks, Texas, the first body has been found.”

  Sasha felt every part of her body still right down to each blood cell. She knew of the small town her boss mentioned, she knew it all too well. “Is this a coincidence, sir?”

  “That I don not know but I suspect they hand selected you for this case because of your ties to Maple Oaks.”

  If Pete said it then she believed it. Maple Oaks was home until she turned eighteen and left for school. The word home wasn’t quite right to describe the small sleepy town. Hell was a better descriptive. Here in Washington with her small studio apartment, working with her team and making a difference, that was home.

  Nick looked at Pete then Sasha for answers. He had no clue what the hell they were talking about. “What am I missing?”

  Pete was giving her time to accept again the trials that would come with this assignment and allowing her to tell Nick whatever she was comfortable with. Glancing at her teammate she didn’t see a reason to lie. “I grew up in Maple Oaks with my sister.” She turned back to Pete, “You’re right; knowledge of the area is probably why they asked for me.” Right now there wasn’t another reason that made any lick of sense. She did good work but not to be hand selected for something like this.

  Pete stood from his large chair. “Let’s go find out the first piece of this puzzle.” He led the way out of the office and over to the conference room where a man and woman were waiting for them.

  The woman stood first and introduced herself as Marla Gregory, her partner was Tim Gregory. At Sasha’s wide eyed expression the woman grinned. “We’ve been married for the better part of eight years. It gets tough but I haven’t actually shot him in the ass yet.” Everyone took a seat around the table. “Let’s get down to business. The man we’re tracking was labeled 7Xs (times) by the press, out of his forty three victims one survived and she’s been in witsec with a foster family since. She just turned twenty nine and married. We think it’d be a perfect time for her to come out of hiding and return home.”

  Sasha followed Marla’s train of thought. “You want me to assume her identity and force the unsub out of hiding?” it was a smart idea, one reeking of desperation, yet smart nonetheless.

  “Yes, SSA McBain would be there as backup and in the role of your husband to any curious onlookers. Maggie Walker’s story of triumph was big in the papers and there is no doubt he still remembers the one that got away. We suspect it’s the reason he’s decided to hit Maple Oaks for a second time.”

  Sasha nodded as she remembered the story. “I went to fourth grade with Maggie. You know all of these things don’t you? It’s not some big miracle I actually know Maple Oaks like Maggie would.”

  “It’s not.” Marla agreed softly, nearly apologetic.

  Nicholas spoke up. “If Sasha goes in pretending to be Maggie wouldn’t someone know better?”

  “No.” it was Sasha who answered, a light bitter tone lacing her words she chose to ignore. “Maggie and I have similar features and I wouldn’t be someone the town remembered. I kept to myself most of the time and it’s been eleven years since I last stepped foot home.” The weight of the situation ran quickly through her mind as she fingered the case file in front of her. “I can do this.” It was a cold realization brought on by the unpleasant memories of her childhood. She could go to Maple Oaks as Maggie Walker because no one would remember Sasha Madden. She looked up from the file to see Nick watching her. “You don’t have to take the case on.”

  His eyes darkened farther at the challenge she was handing him, again their work becoming personal as they tried to prove something to each other. “I’m in. I don’t have an active caseload and Pete doesn’t want you going in blind.”

  Marla clasped her hands together. “Then that’s settled. Inside those files is everything we know about our guy and what we can give out on Maggie for you to study. We’ll be covering all your expenses, plane tickets, new ID, and keys to your temporary home will be delivered this afternoon. Any questions?”

  Nick raised his hand. “The object is to tempt him with the one that got away and feed into his MO. It’s a pretty big risk for Sasha to take and if he does come after her, then what?”

  Marla’s husband Tim joined in the conversation. “We of course would like him brought in alive but by no means at the expense of either of you suffering for it.”

  Pete nodded with satisfaction of that answer. “Marla and Tim, it’s been a pleasure.” He always preferred to call everyone by their first name in a field where last names were most likely tossed around. He enjoyed conversation on a more personal level. “Let me show you out and if my agents have anymore questions they have your number.” Nearly out the room he turned and faced his said agents. “Try not to kill each other before I return.”

  As they sat alone Nick smirked with all the mischievousness in the world behind it. “We’re not that bad. So…married. You do know that means we’ll have to play the part, right?”

  Caught up in the gruesome details of the murders and memories of home she had forgotten that lovely bit of detail Nick chose to bring up. She frowned and remembered there was no backing out even if she had to play nice with Nick. “So?”

  “Married couples; they kiss and touched each other. You’re gonna have to fall in love with me Sasha Madden.” His eyes were intense with a dark sensual undertone Sasha refused to give into. She wasn’t entirely sure what kind of game he was playing now to get under her skin but sadly it was working. The heat of his eyes reached down to her toes and everywhere in between.

  “No, Maggie is going to go home to Maple Oaks with her husband…” she flipped to the back of the file. “Connor, and they’ll be the ones telling the story.” She dropped her hands to her lap and wiped her sweaty palms across her pants. “I’m going to catch up on my reading.” It would be easier to read the case files without him watching her every move. She left the conference room and made her way through the maze to her desk.

  First she went over the victimology of the 7Xs killer. It was an odd name but as she read on about the mysterious unsub she saw why he had been labeled as such. His MO always coincided with the number. He always killed in cycles of seven and this year would be the seventh cycle and why it was profiled he was going back to where his first cycle began. It was all very ritualistic and there were long detailed notes and profiles on the unknown man they had been tracking for exactly twenty one years. The behavioral unit upstairs was working hand and hand with the Marshals.

  Next Sasha read o
ver what they had on Maggie Walker and her husband, they wouldn’t be anywhere near the unsub but it would be easier to assume their identity as close as possible. Maggie was twenty nine now, no children, sole survivor of the 1991 Maple Oak cycle. Her parents were both apart of the first seven victim cycle. Her new name was withheld for obvious reasons, the less in the public paper trail the safer the woman would be. For the unsub to evade capture this long it was safe to assume his contacts were endless. Pete always said it was better to suspect too much than too little and find yourself unprepared.

  In the picture attached Maggie was smiling with light in her eyes. It was nice to know she hadn’t let what happen affect her life in the wrong ways. Sasha noted if she wore her hair down and applied lighter tones of make up it wouldn’t be hard at all to pass for Maggie. Personality was going to be the tricky part.

  Two hours passed her by as she sat there going over every detail inside the file. After she read all there was on Maggie and her parents murder she moved on to the other victims. The victimology was scattered all over the place, this unsub chose both men and women of all races, backgrounds, cities.

  Her brows were pinched together in concentration when Nick walked over to the front of her desk. “What is it?” he asked.

  She didn’t look up. “Have you read the case files over yet on this guy?”

  “No. I still had other work to catch up on.”

  “He’s all over the place. Except for the cycle patterns there’s nothing to tie these victims together to figure out how exactly he picks them.”

  “Those are all the reasons why they cooked up this idea. If we don’t catch him this go round there’s a good chance he’ll stay in the wind and go down as another Zodiac.”

  Sasha really hated the sound of that. “What brought you over here?” she knew it wasn’t so he could ask what was on her mind. That was a little too selfless for Nick’s standards.

  “I was meeting with Pete and he told me to give this to you.” He handed her a copy of the flight schedule set to leave tomorrow morning and address of the rental they were using for the duration of this case. “See ya later, wifey.”

  Sasha chuckled as she watched him go back up over to his desk three rows away from hers. A small flicker of fear lit up in her belly. If they were working together they couldn’t compete and try to one up each other on the field but it looked like Nick was still going to find a way to get under her skin.

  Chapter 3

  Sasha found herself rushing that following morning. It took longer than she had expected to dress as Maggie Walker. She copied the makeup style from the photos the Marshals had given her and after digging through her closet and finding nothing that went along with Maggie’s style it was time to take a trip to Wal-Mart.

  After an hour of grabbing summer dresses and other colorful girly outfits that had no place in Sasha’s closet but belonged perfectly in Maggie’s she still had to take all the tags off and pack the stuff in her luggage set. She absently heard the long honk of a car horn three different times and not once had she assumed it was for her until the horn was replaced by a loud knock on her front door. “Crap.” She ran from the room over to the door, she swung it open and raced back to her room. “I’m running late and forgot we were meeting.”

  “I can tell.” Nicholas said rather annoyingly as he moved at a slower pace inside her apartment. “You should’ve planned better. I had all my packing done last night.”

  “I don’t need to hear how perfect you think you are right now. If I didn’t have to go buy all this stuff I’d be ready too.” She grabbed another dress and ripped the hanger off first then the tags. “You can help me instead of standing there. It’d look pretty bad if we miss the fucking flight.”

  “Oh, this must be serious if you’re cursing.”

  “What?”

  He grabbed one of the shirts and started removing hangers. “You only curse when you’re seriously pissed off. Why did you go buy all of this?”

  “For the obvious reasons. My style and Maggie’s are very different.”

  “No one in town is going to know that.”

  “Anyone who knew her as a kid and her friends would know her personality wouldn’t change that drastically. I want to look unsuspecting and approachable.”

  “That’s gonna take a lot of work.”

  She glared at him. “We’re not even on the plane yet and already my trigger finger is itchy.” the case wouldn’t be solved quickly, they were guaranteed to be pretend married for a week at least and she wasn’t sure they could make it that long.

  With a smirk and nothing to reply he kept removing the hangers and passing her the clothes to put in the waiting bag. With his help she was down in less time and they were out the door and headed for the airport only fifteen minutes late.

  “Pete called me last night.” Nick revealed as he drove.

  “You’re his favorite, of course he called you.” Sasha was going over the case file one more time over her laptop. After they landed she’d no longer be able to take a risk and log into the FBI database.

  “You didn’t sound jealous at all. He called to wish us luck and said your ringer was off.”

  “Yeah, I was trying to make up my three hours of lost sleep. Luck for what? Us being stuck together for the foreseeable future with no other alley and trying to not kill each other before this crazy maniac can?”

  “Yeah, he said it exactly like that.” Nicholas replied sarcastically, cutting her a dry look. “I think he’s amused we’re actually working together outside of a group effort.”

  “Stranger things have happened. Pete’s been trying to make us get along for the last year and he’s probably hopeful this will change something. I wouldn’t hold my breath for hell freezing over.”

  “Ouch that one kinda of hurt. I do hear hell is getting a cold front soon.”

  “Yeah right sure, like you want to be my friend. How much longer until we’re there?” it would be a disaster to miss the flight after all the rushing they had done to pile into the car.

  “Five minutes at most.”

  Sasha powered down her laptop and put it back in her carryon. Like Nick said they were pulling into the airport entrance five minutes later.

  She let out a long sigh of relief once she was in the plane seated comfortably in her seat. She kept her pillow in her large carryon and pulled it out now. The next several hours in the air she vowed to get some sleep. She snuggled close to the window and closed her eyes while the plane was still boarding the first class up above. Her eyes flew open when Nick’s elbow hit her shoulder. It was an accident as he was trying to get comfortable in the seat. “What the hell is going on with you?” there was a look of despair across his face.

  “Nothing.” He grumbled, still moving side to side in his seat trying to find some magical known spot.

  Sasha glanced at her partner and saw something she never seen along his face in all these years they had known each other; fear. “Are you scared of flying?” she asked, it would have been amusing if he hadn’t looked so frightened.

  “No, everything will be fine unless we crash and turn into a ball of fire.” Nicholas said, holding on tight to the armrest.

  “You are scared.” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing; the big tough FBI agent that could do no wrong was sitting stiff in his seat terrified out of his mind.

  “Yeah right, ha-ha very funny. Let’s talk about something else.”

  She thought about reminding him she was trying to sleep and hadn’t been the first one the bug the other but seeing him so out of character was freaking her out. “Like what? We don’t really have anything in common.”

  He turned his head to the left and looked at her. “You don’t know that but you’re probably right. There’s something I forgot to give you.” he dug in the side pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small black ring box. “We have to make it look real and Pete had me pick this up.”

  Sasha caught it with one hand and looked at the box
like it had thorns oozing something nasty. “I don’t understand why the marshals just didn’t add this in the package with the house keys.”

  “It must’ve slipped their mind and Pete being crazy about details went over everything he could think of. You have to put the ring on, Sasha.”

  She knew he was right and the fear of putting on a ring was stupid, none of this was real. It was supposed to be Maggie and Connor’s story but it wasn’t Connor who picked out this ring, it was Nicholas. She snapped open the box and inside sat one of the most beautiful rings she had ever seen. The pilot announced they were taking off and in a second Nick stopped caring about the ring and his hands went back to the armrests where he held on with a death grip. She snapped the ring box closed and put it in the front pocket of her bag. “We’re not going to crash and burn. Thousands of planes land safely every day.”

  “If you’re trying to help its not working.”

  Sasha opened her mouth to protest that yes she was helping when she realized she was trying too hard to make her partner feel better. Why? She reasoned she couldn’t argue and banter with the guy when he was pale white with fear. “Do you want to hold my hand? It might help.” She sighed at his look of suspicion. “I’m not always the cold bitch you want to paint me out as. I am nice.” His look of confusion added to the ball of thoughts she couldn’t sort on the subject. “Plus we’re supposed to be practicing this touching crap anyway for when we land.” She gripped his hand in her own.

  “I guess so…” Nick’s navy eyes grew wide as they drifted to the open window. They were in the air now and climbing higher.

  She lowered the shade and leaned her pillow against it. “Stop being such a baby. Let’s keep talking, why are you scared of flying?”

  “I’m not scared.” His hand shaking said differently but his ego wouldn’t let him admit it.