by Skye, S. D.
He glanced down and lifted her chin with his index finger until her eyes, sad and soggy, met his. “My grandmother used to say ‘Male e bene a fine viene.”
Lana propped her head up with her hand. “What’s that mean?”
“Evil and good come to an end,” he said, pushing her hair from her face and caressing her cheek. “Everything passes away with time, the positive and the negative. You just gotta live long enough to see it through.”
She glanced down and up again. “Your grandmother sounds like a smart woman,” Lana said. “What other words of wisdom did she leave you with?”
Santino’s eyes roamed the room as he searched his memory for something appropriate to the occasion. “I’ve got one. ‘A chi non beve birra, Dio neghi anche l'acqua’ which means, ‘may whoever doesn’t drink beer be denied by God water also.”
Her face scrunched she asked, “What does that mean?”
“I dunno. I think it’s some fancy excuse my Uncle Paulie used to get loaded back in the day,” he said, as they both broke out in laughter. He was happy to see her smile.
“Reminds me of home. Where I’m from, we say, ‘There cannot be too much vodka, there can only be not enough vodka.’”
“Just thinking about this stuff is making me thirsty. I’ve got a couple Heinekens in the fridge and Grey Goose in the freezer. You want some?”
“French vodka, hah! You would be less insulting to offer me a bottle of piss,” she said, tongue only slightly in cheek. “Anyway, I’m not thirsty for anything French or German. I have something Italian in mind.”
“Is ‘at right?”
She gently ran her fingers down his chest and until she reached his waist. Then she tugged on his belt buckle.
Santino purred through his smile. “I like the way you think.”
Chapter 31
Tuesday Night—FBI Headquarters
A hollow silence surrounded J.J. and Tony as they padded along the quiet corridors in the J. Edgar Hoover building. There was no sound except the clack of their heels against the linoleum and the annoying hum of the trash cans wheels. Pounds of exhaustion weighed her body down as she stopped, grasped the nape of her neck, and arched her back into a stretch.
“It’s rough, but at least we’ve got a week,” Tony said.
“At least? These investigations usually take months, sometimes years. You really think we’re going to find an illegal or a mole by next Tuesday…before the Russian National Security Advisor’s trip to Washington?”
“What choice do we have, except to try?” Tony asked. “The current stand-down’s nothing compared to the one we’ll be on during Lebed’s visit. By then this jerk-off will figure out we’re onto ‘em and can use the investigation-free week to cover his ass and maybe even skip the country. That ain’t gonna happen on my watch.”
“Agreed,” J.J. said. “We’ve got authorization for a full; I hope like hell Sunnie and Walter came up with something. Even one identification based on our initial instructions will help us pin this asshole down sooner than later.”
“Come ‘ere,” Tony eased behind her and gripped her shoulders. “Anybody ever tell you, you work too much?”
“Yes. You. But then you go and set bad examples every day by working as many hours as I do,” she said. “If you think about it, my work-a-holic behavior is really all your fault.”
“Anybody ever tell you that you talk too much?” he said with a chuckle. He spread his fingers across her shoulders and moved them in a firm circular motion, unbinding the tight muscles in her neck and shoulders.
“Mmm, that feels soooo gooood,” J.J. moaned, her eyes practically rolled in the back of her head. “But, uhh, we shouldn’t be doing this here.”
Tony stopped and leaned around her side until she faced him. “What? You ashamed of me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” she said, jerking her head back in disbelief. “We mutually agreed to keep the masses out of our business, remember?” She turned to face him, pulling his shirt collar down toward her until his face met hers. “Besides, wouldn’t you like to hurry up and get out of here so you can do that in bed?” She laid a soft, sweet peck on his lips him and continued down the hall.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” he said, smiling as he picked up his pace to keep step with her. Their office was only a few steps away.
When they rounded the corner, J.J. grabbed her badge, swiped it across the infrared light, and punched in her code. She barely got the door open before Sunnie and Walter dashed to greet them at the door. J.J. froze and struggled to stifle a chuckle as she took in the sight of Sunnie standing before her wearing a black headscarf with pink and green hair rollers popping from beneath.
“Really?”
“Hey, at 8 am you get Gone with the Wind fabulous. At midnight, you get this,” she said. “Now it’d be great if I could pass on this intel so I can go home and get my beauty rest. Clearly, I need it.”
“No, bella,” Tony said with the flirtatious accent that always made Sunnie melt. “You’re lovely just as you are.”
Her cheeks blushed school-girl red as she looked down at the notebook in her hand. “Okay, Walter ran a query using the NSA’s VECTOR program and the three criteria you gave us—people who regularly entered the conference room during third shift hours, worked in the State Department in 1998, and in the White House from 2006 to the present.” She ripped off the top sheet and handed it to J.J. “Here’s what we’ve come up with so far.”
J.J. grabbed the sheet and held it out so both she and Tony could scan it. “Kendel Phillips, Bryer Scott, Edward Tomlin, and Maddix Cooper. Only four people,” J.J. said.
“At least based on the initial scrub,” Walter piped in. “Sunnie came up with some ideas about how we can drill down a little deeper, but this will get you started.”
“Sweet,” Tony said. “I gotta say, I thought we’d be up to our earlobes in 302s. I won’t say you’ve made our jobs easy, but you sure narrowed down the list.”
Sunnie handed J.J. a stack of thin files. “We don’t have much, but based on the information available, my money’s on Bryer Scott. Former Science and Technology Officer for the CIA and worked at INR,” Sunni said, referring to the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. “He’s also pulled duty as a contracting officer. His last financial report indicates he’s up to his eyeballs in debt. Divorce, wife took half. Yet, somehow he had the money to purchase a Sea Ray.”
“A fish?” J.J. asked.
“Not sting ray, Sea Ray,” Sunnie said. “It’s a boat.”
Walter shook his head. “No, it’s more like a McMansion on water. They can run upward of a half a million.”
“A five-hundred thousand dollar boat? And he’s an FS-what?” J.J. asked, referring to the Foreign Service pay scale.
“If he’s an FS-anything, he shouldn’t make enough money to purchase that boat,” Tony said. “Unless he inherited it from a rich uncle or something.”
“Yeah, or received a payment from Uncle Sasha,” Sunnie added.
“Who are the other two?”
“Edward Tomlin is a former diplomat, defense attaché. He served two tours at the American Embassy in Moscow.”
“CIA?”
“DIA,” Sunnie said. “He’s now serving as one of the President’s key military advisors. His wife’s a foreign national—Ukrainian.”
“Interesting,” J.J. said. “The last one?”
“Maddix Cooper. Ex-Navy. Former CIA and Diplomatic Security. He served as a Security Officer in Moscow, preceded Grayson Chance. He’s now on the White House security detail.”
“Anything interesting on this Cooper guy?” Tony asked.
“Well, Kendel filed a change of marital status form a little over a year ago. Maddix Cooper was the intended spouse. She rescinded it 5 months ago. Guess the wedding’s off. And now they’re stuck working together, too. That’s gotta su—” Sunnie said, shifting her eyes between Tony and J.J. She cleared her throat. “Ahem. I thin
k I need some water.”
Tony tightened his lips. “Or a snack.”
“Okay,” Walter said. “We’ve done all we can do tonight. I’m heading home and I’ll be at Fort Meade tomorrow. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Walter,” Sunnie said. “You were brilliant,” she turned to J.J. and flashed a wide smile. “He’s a smart guy.”
J.J. gave Sunnie the side-eye that said, “Let me find out you’ve got a thing for Walter.”
“It really is time for you to get some sleep,” Sunnie said in response to J.J.’s look. “The long work day has officially made you delirious.”
J.J. laughed. “Get out of here…and thanks for all your hard work. I’ll expect you here looking Gone with the Wind fabulous at 9 am”
Sunnie whisked away to her desk, snapped up her jacket and purse, and bounded for the doorway. “If you see me at 9 am, you better go home sick,” she said as she eased out the door. “You’re hallucinating.”
J.J. and Tony both chuckled. Not only was Sunnie pretty sharp, she was good for keeping otherwise heavy nights light.
Tony said, “We’ll call Kendel tomorrow and set up the interviews.”
“Yeah. And to ensure she remains cooperative for as long as possible, we’ll save hers for last.”
“Good thinking,” he replied, looking around the empty office. “Well, we should hit the road. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
J.J. arched her neck to the side and pointed to her shoulder. “That’s the least of your concerns.” She batted her eyes suggestively. “You’ve got to make it through a long night first.”
Tony smiled and popped his eyebrows upward. “Have I ever told you I like the way you think?”
Chapter 32
Wednesday Morning, November 11th—The White House
J.J. and Tony returned to the West Wing early enough to get the jump on their investigation before the previous night’s personnel cranked up the rumor mill. No matter how tightly they intended to cap the lid on the probe, word would seep throughout the staff before long, and once the staff got a hold of it, the press wouldn’t be far behind.
The sand in the hourglass was draining quickly; they only had a week and a day to get the subject off the streets—and at least four initial interviews to conduct.
Hawk, the salty contractor with a heaping grudge against the FBI, met Tony and J.J. at the entrance with his contempt on full dispay. He escorted them up the hall leading to Kendel’s office, grumbling beneath his breath the entire way.
“You know, Hawk. Anger causes heart disease, diabetes, and strokes,” she said.
He halted abruptly in his tracks, turned to face J.J. with a sneer, and snapped, “Agent McCall, anger is a futile and would suggest a level of interest in you that I don’t have.” When they reached the closed door, he said, “Wait here. She’s on a call and will be with you in just a moment.”
“All righty, then,” J.J. said, before mumbling under her breath, “cranky son of a bitch.”
They nodded and eyed him until he disappeared around the corner.
“She kind of took a shine to me yesterday,” Tony said, oblivious to the tension. “Maybe you should let me do the talking.”
“You noticed that too, huh? Clearly you have an effect on the estrogen-dominant among us.”
Tony chuckled. “You should know.”
J.J. jabbed him in the arm, when Kendel’s door opened.
“Morning,” Kendel said, bearing a tenuous smile. “You’re here early.” Her tired eyes bagged and strands of her hair had escaped the tight bun; her suit appeared twice-worn. She locked her eyes directly on Tony’s bright beam, acknowledging J.J.’s presence with only a head jut.
“Ciao,” Tony said in his Italian accent. “Long night, huh?”
J.J. rolled her eyes and tried to suppress the gag reflex induced by his shameless flirting.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Kendel said, her voice flat. She glanced nervously over J.J.’s shoulder, now avoiding both of their gazes. J.J. turned around to see what she was looking at. There’s was nothing except a clock on the wall. “We conducted sweeps through the entire residence. The breach is limited to the Sit Room which isn’t a surprise. If the Russians could plant a bug there, where else would they need to put one?”
“You okay, Kendel?” J.J. asked. “You don’t seem like…yourself.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “This is what happens when you begin the day with three hours of sleep and no coffee.”
“I know that’s right,” J.J. replied. “So, where do we stand this morning?”
“The Sit Room is still locked down.” Kendel’s eyes met J.J.’s for the first time. “ERT finished collecting evidence a couple of hours ago.”
“How many people do we need to neuralyze?”
Kendel let out a strained chuckle. “Men in Black. Glasses. Funny,” she said. “We managed to keep the stir to a minimum. Only essential staff were on duty, and the watch desk staff is cleared Top Secret with special accesses.” Her voice turned urgent. “But I’m not certain we can contain this fiasco much longer. Has your Director indicated when we can remove the device?”
J.J. shrugged and shook her head. “Freeman’s coordinating with your director. They’d both like to find out what we turn up in the investigation. We should know something one way or the other inside of a week, depending on how much cooperation we receive.”
She huffed and let out an exasperated sigh. “So, what do we do until then?”
“Issue a notice and post a sign indicating the communications systems are under repair. This is the U.S. government. That shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.”
“I’ll take care of it today.”
J.J. glanced down to check the time. “In the meantime, time is tight. We’ve identified a few subjects we’d like to speak with. Who can we work with to review personnel files and coordinate the interviews?”
“Can I see the list?”
“Sure,” J.J. said, digging the list from her pocket. She’d rewritten the list before they arrived, omitting Kendel’s name from the one she carried. “The list is short. Only three people for now. Anyone you know?”
Kendel scanned over the list, while J.J. watched closely for any discernible reaction. There was none. “All of them,” she said, her voice growing more coarse.
“All right, then,” Tony turned to J.J. sensing her increasing hostility. “We should get started. Where to?”
“Sheldon Vance is our Senior White House Staff Assistant.” Kendel’s gaze shifted nervously between the two before she pointed down the hall. “Make a left at that corner; his office is the last on the left. I’ll call and let them know you’re on the way.”
A crawling sensation permeated J.J.’s scalp. She tried not to scratch herself but the itching intensified by the second, driving her mad.
“Stop by and see us before you leave for the day,” J.J. said, scraping her nails through her hair. She tugged at Tony’s arm and motioned her head. “We may need to speak with you later.”
Kendel rubbed her arms and shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “Why don’t I just strap on a GPS? Save your special ops guys the trouble.”
“Excuse me?” J.J. snapped.
Tony grabbed J.J.’s arm and pulled her down the hall before she could unleash the response on her tongue.
“Did she give me attitude?” J.J. asked. “That was uncalled for.”
“She’s obviously tense. This all happened under her nose.”
“No, no. Something more is going on with her. Couldn’t you tell how nervous and irritable she was? She rubbed her arms and shifted her eyes and legs so much that I’d think she was coming off of a high…if I didn’t know better.”
“I can’t argue with you on the strange behavior,” Tony said as they rounded the corner. He pointed down the hall. “His office must be right there.”
“Yep. That would be the last door on the left,” J.J. said with a chuckle. “Shel
don Vance, ha! I’m picturing a cross between Steve Urkel and Newman from Seinfeld.”
“You can’t tell anything from a name.”
“You wanna bet? I always win.”
“Twenty-bucks,” Tony said as they approached the entrance. “Shhh. Here’s the door.”
He tapped on the doorframe and walked inside. The room was split by a service counter. On the side closest to the entry door four waiting chairs were lined against the wall; on the other side, there were six empty cubicle spaces. J.J. longingly eyed the M&M dispenser on the countertop.
She tapped the head of the bell with her palm and a man appeared. A tall gorgeous man with bronze skin, a square jaw, and at least a hundred bucks worth of precision-cut layers in his dirty blond locks. His steel-silver eyes and a chiseled body made his custom-tailored suit sing Amen in the Hallelujah choir.
“Good morning. May I help you?” he said.
“You’re,” J.J. gulped, “Sheldon Vance?”
He smiled and replied, “Kendel said you were on the way. I took the liberty of calling for the files already. They’ll be delivered in maybe another five minutes.”
J.J. reached into her pocket, pulled out twenty bucks and passed it to Tony who snatched it from her fingers midway.
“Thanks! We really appreciate your cooperation.” J.J. said with a little too much enthusiasm judging from Tony’s sneer; it was visible in her peripheral vision. She looked at him and noticed what appeared to be a circular birthmark at his neckline. “Is everyone in the office today?”
“Except Maddix Cooper,” Sheldon said. “He’s out of the country. All the contact information you need is in the files.”
A stinging, crawling sensation crept up the back of her knees into her thigh causing her legs to buckle briefly. Tony grabbed her arm to steady her gait.
“You okay?” Sheldon was concerned with his scrumptious self.
“Ohhh, I’m fine. Skipped breakfast.” By then, her smile had disappeared and the professional agent kicked back in.