“I guess his door latch must have been defective,” Kane said innocently. Muscles rippled in his forearm as he turned the ravaged hardware over for inspection. “And now he’s trapped in his office. But I’m sure Maintenance will get him out eventually. If he thinks to call them instead of screaming and kicking the door.”
The world’s largest shit-eating grin stretched my mouth, and I clasped my hands theatrically to my bosom. “You are my hero,” I cooed.
Kane inclined his head in a debonair bow. “I live to serve.”
Stemp strode up behind him. “What is…” He trailed off at the sight of the dismembered hardware in Kane’s hand, and his expression went, if possible, even more bland than usual. One eyebrow rose infinitesimally.
“Brock’s office door jammed,” Kane said smoothly. “I tried to open it, but the latch broke.”
“I see.” The two dispassionate words held a world of meaning. “I’ll call Maintenance.” Stemp turned and headed for his office.
“I’m going to go and get a coffee,” Kane said. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks,” I said, and Spider echoed the sentiment.
Kane withdrew, and I turned to Spider. “I’m sorry about this. I should have known Brock would find a way to make trouble. I’ll keep my distance from now on.”
“Don’t. It’s not your fault, Aydan. Thanks for the hug; I needed it.” Spider straightened as if pulling himself out of his misery by sheer physical effort. “Is everything okay with you? You look really tired. I mean…” His ears turned pink. “You look great, you always do, but…”
I had to smile in spite of myself. “Spider, seriously; working with you is the only thing that makes my life tolerable. Thanks.”
His colour deepened. “You’re welcome. I’m proud to be part of your team.” His troubled hazel gaze searched my face. “But… is something wrong?”
“No, but I wanted to ask you to reroute that information we talked about last night. There’s a little too much of it for me to manage.”
“Oh.” Spider nodded. “Yeah, I thought that might be a problem. I’ll do that as soon as I get a chance.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a smile. “And I’ve got another technical problem I was hoping my favourite electronic genius could help me with.” When he eyed me uncertainly, I added, “That would be you.”
“Oh.” He blushed. “Thanks. Of course I’ll help if I can. Come on, let’s sit down.” We sank into chairs and he added, “What’s the trouble?”
“I hate having analysts watching my house all the time, and it’s not really working anyway. Can you come up with a better surveillance system that would notify me instantly if anybody comes close to my house or garage? Or my gate, or hell; anywhere on my yard? I was thinking about something like a motion-detecting camera that could send a picture to a mobile device that I could carry with me.”
“Oh. Sure, that wouldn’t be too hard…” he trailed off, frowning. “…but what do you mean, the current system isn’t working?”
“If I’m not right on top of my phone I don’t always get the call in time…” I didn’t bother to mention that I’d also developed a phobic reaction to the ring of the phone. “…and the cameras only cover my house, not my garage.”
“We could install more cameras to cover your garage,” Spider offered. “It wouldn’t cost much, and it wouldn’t really be any extra burden on the analysts. The cameras only activate when there’s movement.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, but that’s solving the wrong problem. I hate having people snooping on me at the best of times, and now that Brock’s watching the footage…” I trailed off.
At best, he was a creepy voyeur. At worst, a murderer keeping tabs on his potential victim.
Spider gazed at me with earnest puppy-dog eyes. “I totally get that, but, Aydan, the analysts need to watch so they can send backup if you need it. We can’t afford to lose you, and… I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
My heart warmed despite my worry. “Thanks, Spider. I’m not crazy about something happening to me, either, and I do like the idea of having backup.” I thought for a moment. “How about if my handheld had a panic button on it? I don’t know; maybe with a GPS so they’d know exactly where I was…?” I trailed off with a sigh. “I guess that’s a pretty expensive bunch of technology, though.”
“Hmm… no… not necessarily…” Spider sat up straighter, the familiar gleam of technological inspiration lighting his eyes. “Actually, we could do it really cheaply. Your current cameras are fine; if we add a few more to get the kind of coverage you want…” He trailed off and stared into space for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “I still think it would be a good idea to relay the signal back here as well as to your handheld. That way if something happened and you pressed the panic button, they’d be able to see what was happening.”
I was already shaking my head, but he went on, “It wouldn’t have to be intrusive. We could set it up so it wouldn’t activate unless you pressed the panic button.”
“Oh…” I leaned back, considering. “That does sound like a good idea.”
“And it would be super-easy,” Spider said eagerly. “I could program it so it would send a low-resolution photo to you as soon as the motion sensor was activated; that’d be really quick. Then you could switch to streaming video if you wanted to watch what was happening. But if it was, like, just a deer or something, you could just ignore it.”
“Oh, that would be great! It’d be practically instantaneous, and I’d know right away who or what it was…” I trailed off, my excitement fading. “Except it’s a huge pain in the butt to haul my phone out and punch in the password. By the time the notification came in and I entered my password and navigated to the picture I’d already be dead.”
“Oh.” He frowned. “But… we wouldn’t send it to your phone anyway. You should have a dedicated device that would instantly display the picture…” He rose to rummage through the bins of electronics on his worktable.
A whiff of fresh coffee announced Kane’s presence a moment before he spoke. “So.” He strolled in and took the chair beside me. “What was Brock’s problem this morning?”
“Oh, he was just being a-”
“Kelly.” Stemp’s terse voice skewered me like a knife between the shoulderblades. “Webb. Kane. In my office, now.”
I sucked in a breath and rose, trying to convince my racing heart that nothing bad was going to happen. I hadn’t attacked or threatened Brock. I wasn’t in trouble. Stemp wouldn’t lock me up…
Spider shot me a fearful glance and I did my best to look reassuring. Considering the dew of perspiration forming on my forehead, it probably wasn’t convincing.
When we entered Stemp’s office, Brock shot us a gloating look. He stabbed a finger at Spider. “He attacked me.” The accusing finger tracked to Kane. “He attacked me, too, and then locked me in my office. If there’d been a fire or something, I could have died.” The finger jabbed in my direction, and I couldn’t prevent my upper lip from lifting in a silent snarl. Brock’s finger wavered, but he recovered fast. “And she put them both up to it,” he finished triumphantly.
Spider stepped forward, white and trembling. “It’s my fault,” he said quietly. “I lost my temper. John and Aydan didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Kane squared his shoulders, settling into a parade rest that emphasized the sculpted muscles of his arms and chest. “When I arrived, Webb and Brock were exchanging heated words,” he rumbled. “But there was no physical altercation. As you know, I’m not at my best just now. Maybe I misjudged, but it seemed prudent to remove Brock from the situation. I tried to convince him to stay in his office, but he resisted. In the struggle, his door handle came off.”
Stemp turned his deadly gaze on me. “Kelly?”
I tried for an equivocation that wouldn’t throw any of us to the wolves. “Spider didn’t attack Brock. Kane didn’t, either. He just picked him up
and carried him to his office. I asked him to do that.”
“She lies!” Brock began, but Stemp’s cool voice overrode him.
“Why?”
I barely managed to keep my gaze from skittering away from Stemp’s dangerous calm. “I thought it would be the best solution,” I said evenly. “Brock had made some extremely offensive remarks, and everybody needed a chance to calm down.”
Stemp’s reptilian gaze flicked to Brock. “What were the remarks?”
Spider, Brock and I all started to speak but Stemp silenced us with a single gesture that slashed the air to ribbons. “Kelly,” he said flatly.
I gulped in spite of myself. When he didn’t elaborate I ventured, “Yes?”
“What remarks?” Stemp repeated.
“Oh. Sorry. Um… He accused Spider of cheating on his fiancée. With me.” Heat spread up my face despite my best effort to tamp it down. “It’s not true, of course.”
Stemp fixed us all with a cold gaze. The air temperature in the room dropped like a stone and I held back a shiver.
“There’s no place for this kind of childishness here,” he said at last, his voice dripping icicles. “You’re all suspended for two days without pay. The office is closed for the parade on Thursday morning, and when you return on Thursday at thirteen hundred I expect you to put aside your differences and show some professionalism. Kane and Kelly, you may retain your weapons. Don’t make me regret that decision. Dismissed.”
He turned to his computer and began to type, ignoring us completely.
Chapter 28
“You can’t do that!” Brock yelped. “I’m the victim here-”
“I said ‘dismissed’,” Stemp repeated without raising his gaze from the computer screen.
“That’s bull hockey! It’s not my fault! They attacked me-”
Stemp picked up the phone. In bored tones, he said, “Please send Security to my office to remove Mr. Brock. Confiscate his security fob and escort him outside.”
It was tempting to stick around and watch Brock dig himself in deeper, but I didn’t want to take a chance on getting caught in the fallout. Kane and I exchanged a look, and he strode out.
Spider was still standing motionless, chalk-white and staring straight ahead. “Come on, Spider,” I said quietly.
He blinked and his lips moved but no sound came out. Or maybe his words were just drowned out by Brock’s escalating complaints.
“Come on,” I repeated, and tugged gently at his arm. After a moment he blinked again and let me tow him out of the office, shambling along like a marionette operated by a particularly inept puppeteer.
Kane was waiting a few yards down the hall, and he glanced at Spider before coming over to prop up his other side. Together we piloted him back to his office and lowered him into his chair. I squatted to look into his ashen face while I patted his hand.
“Hey, Earth to Spider,” I kidded gently. “Come back to us.”
He blinked, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. “How could I be so stupid?” he quavered. “I’ve never even had a reprimand before and now I’m sus…” He sucked in a ragged breath that sounded like a sob. “Suspended. Linda will be so disappointed in me. And Tammy…” This time there was no mistaking his sob. “I just wasted two days. Two days we could have used to help her…” He sprang up and fled for the men’s room.
I started to follow, but Kane put out a restraining hand. “Let him go,” he advised. “I’ll check on him in a few minutes.”
I blew out a breath and flopped into Spider’s vacated chair. Two days wasted. How could I save Tammy from jail now? My stomach twisted into a queasy knot.
And I’d dragged Kane into the mess as well.
I groaned. “Shit, I’m sorry, John. I shouldn’t have involved you.”
“It’s all right.” Kane lowered himself into the other chair and gave me a grim smile. “I’m not sorry. My only regret is that I didn’t give in to the urge to smack Brock while I was at it. If I’d known I was going to get suspended anyway, I’d have made it worthwhile.”
“Probably better you didn’t know, then.”
“Probably.”
We fell silent, watching while two security guards frog-marched Brock down the hallway. As they passed the doorway he spotted us and hissed, “I’ll get you for this!” The threat segued into a list of creative though physically impossible instructions, but the guards kept moving and his vituperation faded in the distance.
Kane said, “For a brilliant guy, he’s not too smart, is he?”
“Nope.”
“Still, though, you need to watch your back. Webb should, too.”
I sighed. “I know.” Keeping my voice down, I related the previous night’s activities while Kane listened, his frown deepening.
“That’s… interesting…” he said when I was finished. “I wouldn’t peg Brock for a murderer, either. And as you say, it’s only a scrap of hearsay. I think you’re smart to keep it under the radar for now, but if anything changes you should tell Stemp…” He broke off, giving me a rueful look. “I’m sorry, of course you know all this. I didn’t mean to imply that you need my advice.”
“Oh!” I blinked. “No, I didn’t feel that way at all. I appreciate your help.”
Hell, how often had he held back useful information because he thought I knew what I was doing?
“Any time you have an idea, please tell me,” I added. “I always want to hear your input.”
He relaxed into a smile. “Thank you. It’s so nice to work with an agent of your calibre who doesn’t have an ego problem.”
I managed not to choke on the irony, and managed a sickly smile in return.
Kane leaned back, linking his hands behind his head to offer me a delicious view of double-barrelled biceps. “So, what do you plan to do with your two days of freedom?”
I tore my gaze away to glance at my watch. Only nine AM.
Ordinarily I’d be thrilled with a chance to spend some time at home. The assassin had taken the fun out of that, though.
I sighed. “I guess I’ll call Lola and Eddy and see if I can do their books earlier today. And then I have to go to Calgary, if I can set up the meeting I need.” Before I could stop it, my palm scrubbed against my thigh in unconscious distaste.
That didn’t escape Kane’s keen observation. He frowned. “What’s in Calgary?”
I hesitated. Kane probably didn’t know about Weasel, and enlightening him seemed like a bad idea. Hellhound’s interpretation of the law tended to be considerably more elastic than Kane’s, and I didn’t want to cost Hellhound his informant.
Hell, I didn’t want to cost myself an informant, either, no matter how slimy and repulsive he was. I needed that information.
My silence had stretched too long. Kane’s frown deepened. “If you’re going down to see Hellhound, you don’t need to conceal it from me,” he said stiffly.
I bit back the angry urge to tell him I had no intention of asking for or waiting on his permission. “Uh, thanks,” I muttered instead, mentally patting myself on the back for my restraint. “But I have other business there.”
His gaze searched my face. “Is it dangerous? Do you want backup?”
I sighed. “No, and no. But thanks anyway.”
“If you’re suspended, you shouldn’t be working on any cases,” Kane prodded.
“Personal business,” I clarified. “And trust me when I tell you; you really, really don’t want to know any more than that.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I see.”
“Actually, you probably don’t see,” I said with resignation, and stood. “And if you did, you’d need to bleach your retinas afterward. Are you going to go and check on Spider or should I?”
He looked as though he might not drop the discussion, but after a moment he rose, too. “I’ll check on him.” He reached for my hand and held it in a gentle grip. “Be careful. Call me if you need help.”
“Thanks, but I won’t. I’m not doing anything dan
gerous.”
Kane gave me a twisted smile. “Famous last words.”
“Don’t even joke.” I retrieved my hand and made for the door, then paused. “Actually… would you please give Spider a message for me? Just ask him to take over monitoring the data, if he feels up to it. I won’t be able to stay on top of it while I’m travelling.”
“All right,” Kane agreed. “And if he can’t do it, I can. I have time.”
“Thanks.” I gave him a smile and headed for the stairs.
When I signed out at the security wicket, Leo gave me a conspiratorial wink. “So I hear you and your friends are taking a little unscheduled vacation.”
I dropped my fob in the turntable and spun it around. “That’s some grapevine you’ve got there.”
He offered a modest shrug. “It’s my job to watch the surveillance footage. And I get the list of who’s approved for fobs.” He winked again. “And who’s not.” He leaned closer. “That Tyler Brock is some piece of work. You should have heard him mouthing off when they threw him out. I’m surprised nobody’s offed him yet.”
“Does that happen a lot around here?”
Leo laughed. “Not as often as it should. See you Thursday.”
“Right. See you.” I summoned a smile and trudged over to the door, where I peered out through the glass.
No visible gunmen. Hopefully there wasn’t one perched on top of Sirius Dynamics, ready to shoot me in the back as I left.
Suddenly feeling very old and tired, I sidled out the door and hugged the wall of the building until I got to the parking lot. A few moments of fearful exposure to the open space assured me that there were no assassins on the roof, and I turned my attention to inspecting my car for bombs.
Finding none, I crept into the driver’s seat and pulled out my cell phone. After a couple of calls, my morning was rearranged to complete my bookkeeping duties by noon if necessary. Reluctantly, I dialled Hellhound’s cell number.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, darlin’. How’s it goin’?”
Spy Away Home (The Never Say Spy Series Book 10) Page 21