by C. W. Stokes
She arrived in the lobby and saw Tabby, Alex and Jo all waiting. They went into a side room and waited for Liz. TAG’s headquarters had seven floors and a small lobby that was guarded at all times. No one was allowed up onto the upper floors without prior authorization from one of them. The lobby was designed with black marbled floors and a black security desk. There was a state of the art camera at all angles. Each camera was angled so that all aspects of the lobby were visible by security. Each entrance and exit were monitored as well as all bay doors down below. The security guards were former military and required to go through the same training as the group. Liz required everyone to be up to date on the latest techniques and training that was available. The second and the third floor were the TAG offices. The fourth and fifth floor housed apartments that were available to all TAG members. The sixth and seventh floors were Liz’s personal residence.
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Max walked up to the TAG building and noticed it was architecturally appealing. TAG was located in Harbor Pointe, Texas. A rural community outside of Downtown Dallas situated on a hilltop. The building was a modern design that appeared to have seven stories. The bottom floor was surrounded in glass with white columns at each corner. The top floors had double columns that led out into an opening. The other floors all looked like normal office floors. He walked into the lobby of the building and noticed it had state of the art surveillance. It was decorated in modern style with black marble and the security desk in the center wrapped in a round black marble counter. There was a wall fountain directly behind the desk. Two men were behind the desk checking people in as they entered the building. He could tell by their mannerisms they had to be former military. He noticed a small waiting area to the right of the security area that had two red chairs and a red couch. A small glass table with a vase with purple and white orchids in the center was situated between the chairs and couch. John Callahan was standing next to the security desk waiting for him.
“John, I’m impressed.”
“They have the most secure building in this city. It’s impressive, especially if you see their security room. Which hopefully we can get them to agree to take this assignment and if they do you will see Shelby’s computer system.” He told Max.
“John, does she know that I am a part of this and that I found out who she was in Mexico?”
“No Max I didn’t mention it to Liz. If I had, we wouldn’t be having this meeting.” He glanced over as Liz walked off the elevator.
###
She heard the voices and realized that their guests had arrived. She walked out just as Liz was getting off the elevator. Liz greeted John and two other men. Instantly she recognized Max Taylor. Her body turned to molten lava the minute she laid eyes on him. She would never forget the way his hands felt on her and how he had rekindled the old spark he had ignited so long ago. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to maintain her composure. She turned back around and motioned for Tabby, Jo and Alex to follow her to the conference room. They entered the room and waited for their guests. The conference room was white with a glass table embedded with monitors that allowed them to pull up any resources they may need during a meeting. She was standing behind the table facing the door. Her back was to the window, which overlooked the street. The glass in the building was made of privacy panes and was bullet proof, so there was no danger by having her back to it. They made it a point to always have their back to the wall, never with anyone behind them if at all possible.
Liz walked in, followed by John and two men in business suits. She had a moment of clarity as the second man walked in and stood across the table from her. She understood at that moment he knew who she was in Mexico. He looked at her and gave that little quirky smile of his. She knew that smile! As she lived and breathed Max Taylor was standing right in front of her. What in the hell was he doing there? She never lost her composure, but damn if he wasn’t the one person that could make that happen.
Liz stood to her right and John Callahan was standing opposite of her at the table. He never took his eyes off of Liz, but with a hand, introduced Special Agent Maxwell Taylor and Special Agent Ross McCade.
Liz turned, held out her hand, “I am Liz Colbert and this is Shelby Matthews, Tabitha Stewart, Alexandra Collins and Jody Prescott.” They each nodded in acknowledgement. Shelby kept her cool, she had too, but she never took her eyes off of Max.
Liz noticed the looks exchanged between Shelby and Max. She gave no indication, but she just watched them. “John, you said this was important. So what is it that the bureau needs that they had to come to us?” No one missed the sarcasm in her voice.
He cleared his throat, “Liz, we have been working on a case around Roger Hawk for several years. You know this, but at every turn he seems to slip through our fingers. He seems to be one step ahead of us at all times.” He was clearly frustrated.
“And that’s my problem, why? You have to be precise with what you want us to do, John.” Liz was getting snarky. She was really good at it too. You could see the exasperation in John’s face. Of course with these two it was almost like foreplay.
“Liz, I know he is a client of yours.” He quipped. If she was surprised she didn’t show it. Liz had never let anything ruffle her feathers.
“John, you know that I don’t divulge my client list to anyone. So I highly doubt that you know anything. But if he were, how would we be able to help you?” she asked.
“We had an undercover agent investigating activity involving human trafficking operations go missing. She turned up dead a few days later. Her death wasn't an easy one. Another agent was working with Le and she has not contacted us since Le’s death. We would like your help finding her.” John said pointedly at Liz.
Shelby looked at Max and he never took his eyes off of her. She couldn’t get over that he was here right in front of her. Did he know who she was all along? She began to glare at him and couldn’t help but get the sinking feeling that he had known before she left who she was and that this meeting was inevitable. He just raised his eyebrows as if to say “What?’ as if he was innocent, but she couldn’t help it he was so damn handsome. She took a moment to look at him. He was dressed in the standard business suit, black with a white shirt and black tie. He was clean shaven and too damn sexy. She could see the distinct bulge under his jacket that told her he was carrying his weapon. He was watching her as her gaze remembered what he looked like under those clothes. What he had felt like while he was buried deep inside her. She was getting hot. She heard Liz ask her a question.
“I’m sorry, Liz, what?”’ She pulled her eyes away from Max, but not before she saw the satisfactory grin come across his face. Oh he would pay for that.
“Shelby, you can help Max with some computer surveillance without being detected.” Liz instructed.
Shelby flinched, well crapola she lost track of the conversation, ogling mister hot buns over there and didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. She never lost her concentration. This was not good, not good at all. “Liz, I don’t know that that is such a good idea. We don’t want them in our computer room and giving them access to our data. We’ve never done it before.” Why was she so argumentative? Oh she knew why, it meant spending countless hours in Max’s presence. She had been able to avoid the connection between Amanda and Max. But with him right here it was going to be a struggle. She had noticed the recognition between them for the brief moment they had met.
Aware that Liz was waiting for a response, “Liz, of course I'll help and provide any resources they need.” If Liz asked her to do something she never questioned it. Liz raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She swallowed and saw that Max was grinning. She mumbled, “Jerk” under her breath.
Liz stood up “Gentleman, if there is nothing else you need Shelby will get Max settled in.” John shook his head. He wanted to say something more but Liz dismissed him and walked out the door leaving everyone to follow.
Chapter Nine
She walked out o
f the conference room and right into a wall. She ran into the back of Max Taylor. He turned around “Hello Shelby.” Why did she have to be so clumsy around him?
“Hello Max.” Her chin raised in defiance.
“Imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw the woman who left me high and dry in Mexico standing right in front of me.” He smirked.
“I didn’t leave you high and dry, if you will recall.” She bit out.
“Ah, so what do you call leaving in the dark without a word after having some of the best sex in your life?” he said as his fingertip traced the edge of her ear.
“I call it Karma.” Best sex? Really? Damn! Damn! Damn! How was she supposed to get anything done when he was around her? She turned and walked over to the security desk. Jorge was on duty today. He was Hispanic with deep brown eyes and black hair that was cut short. Liz had hired him several years ago after he retired from the military. He may look like a security guard, but he was so much more than that. “Hi Jorge, would you please access the database and add Special Agent Maxwell Taylor’s picture, biometric data, retinal scan and DNA? He will be working with me on a special project.”
Jorge nodded at Shelby as he turned to Max “Agent Taylor if you will follow me, please.” Jorge started walking towards the elevator. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of satisfaction of being able to dismiss him so easily.
Liz walked up to her with a questioning look. “Liz, meet my spontaneous adventure.” She told her. Liz turned and watched as Max followed Jorge to the elevator.
“How interesting that he just so happens to be your summer fling. Shelby, are you going to be able to do this? You were distracted in there, and that’s not like you.” Liz asked her.
“Yes, I can do this. It was a shock to see him. I mean I didn’t even say anything to him. I just got up in the middle of the night and left. I wasn't supposed to see him again.” Shelby groaned. “Liz, I have a feeling he knew who I was while we were down there.”
“There is no way he could have known who you were.” Liz looked at John, and he was staring right at her. Her lips thinned as she pondered the question. Oh poor John, if he had any way of knowing that Max was down in Mexico and told him who Shelby was, he was in for a world of trouble.
She was sitting in her dark sanctuary watching all the monitors. Her room was circular with a round multimedia desk in the center. The walls were lined with monitors. The monitors on the wall to the left were all focused on all of Roger Hawks’ businesses and homes, including inside his vehicles. The monitors on the wall to the right were all focused on all of TAG’s interests. There were no blind spots in the TAG complex. Shelby made sure of it. She could pull up any angle at a moment’s notice. She pulled up the camera from the security room where Max was being processed. She still couldn’t believe that he was here. She didn't like complications, and he was a complication. However, she was trained to be in difficult situations, and this was nothing more than another job. She could handle Special Agent Maxwell Taylor or so, she kept telling herself.
She turned to the main monitors on the wall in the center and closed the screen so that no one could see the virus developing. She pulled up Roger Hawk’s information. He was the most arrogant man she had ever met. Liz targeted him as her first client with a vengeance. No one knew why, but it wasn't hard to be sold on why and how they were going to ruin the filthy bastard. She had her own reasons for wanting to bring him down. TAG would bend and break the rules, but all within the law. As far as anyone knew that is.
She watched as Roger left his office building and got into his limo. He wasn't a bad looking man. He was fifty-five, with salt and pepper hair. He had a full head of hair that a lot of men his age envy. He was 5’11 and physically fit for his age. His eyes were grey, and he had a perpetual tan. He reminded her of George Hamilton. He had a beautiful wife Celia, of which he was never faithful to. She was slightly shorter than he was and had raven hair with emerald green eyes. She was the trophy wife.
Shelby heard the door open, and Jorge walked in followed by Max. “Hey Shelby, Agent Taylor is all setup.” He turned to Max, “Agent Taylor, I'll leave you in Shelby’s hands from here. Just let me know if you need anything.” Max nodded at him.
“Thank you Jorge, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Max said. Jorge left them in her sanctuary.
She always thought of the room as being rather big, but with Max standing there the room suddenly seemed to close around her.
Max walked up to her and swept her hair behind her ear. “You have no idea how disappointed I was to wake up and find you gone. I ran next door only to find the house all packed up and empty.”
“What can I say, we had just met. You can’t tell me you have never had a one night stand.” She folded her arms in defense.
“My past isn't in question here, besides one night stands don’t include several days of foreplay, now do they?”
“Well it’s over and done now. We have to work together apparently, so it’s business.”
“Can you keep it all business Shelby?” he asked as he tipped her chin up. “Somehow I don’t think you can.”
Her back stiffened and she pushed him back away from her and said “Give it your best shot, hot shot. What you don’t seem to realize is that I’m always in control. Make no mistake about it; what happened in Mexico was a onetime deal. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it, but Shelby; there were three times, not one.” He winked at her and with that quirky smile. Breathe Shelby, you can do this. She turned around and had a seat. She motioned for him to have a seat next to her.
“How can I help you Max? What information do you need?”
“Stubborn, I see, but alright for now. Roger Hawk is one of your clients. He is also a person of interest in the death of one of my agents. Kim Le was deep undercover investigating human trafficking when she disappeared. A few days later they found her body or what was left of it. She had been decapitated, and her hands had been severed. She was identified by using DNA.” He paused. “I require all of my agents to submit their DNA into our database just for these purposes. I had hoped I would never have to use it. Patricia Young is the agent that we have not had any contact with since Le’s death. She went deep undercover to infiltrate a group that is dealing in human trafficking. We sent Le in to try to find her.” He stopped for a moment to breathe air into his lungs.
Shelby wanted to comfort him. She could tell he was in turmoil, but she had to keep it strictly on a business level between them. She waited for him to continue. “What I need is all the information you have on his corporation Entertainment Consultants. I need his financials, any video surveillance and traveling that may have occurred outside of the US.”
Shelby looked at him for a moment. “Why don’t you give me the information on Agents Le and Young so I can start cross referencing in our databases and search videos for facial recognition to see what we can come up with? If either of them show up in any of Hawk’s systems, I’ll find it and I'll give you the information you are requesting.”
He eyed her warily. “You are supposed to cooperate with this investigation.”
“I will, once I can confirm that what you are looking for can be obtained within our systems. I am not going to open up our information for the bureau to go on a fishing expedition.”
Max sputtered in exasperation, “You really don’t like the bureau do you?”
“No Max, I don’t and for reasons that are my own.”
“You won’t budge on this?” he asked running his hands through his hair.
“No Max, I won’t. I have to maintain the integrity of my network and I will not compromise it for you or anyone else. Until I feel, it is absolutely necessary all information will remain confidential. We all sign non-disclosure agreements with our clients. It’s why they trust us explicitly. So unless I find your agents in my network, he’s off limits for now.” She could see the muscles in his jaw start to twitch. “I can always compel you to turn over the information.” H
e told her smugly.
Shelby couldn’t help but laugh. His eyes narrowed, and he stood up. “Think about it Shelby. I’ll be back later to see what you have found.” He walked out of her office. As soon as the door closed she pulled up the screen that followed his progress down the hall. Oh yeah, it was good to be the Queen of her domain. She could see everything that was happening in the TAG compound except Liz’s floors. That was off limits. She watched him go down to the lobby and talk to Jorge. Jorge gave him a card key. Wait, what? She zoomed in on the card key. That was a card key for the fifth floor. Shelby got up in search of Liz.
Liz was sitting behind her desk typing away on her keyboard. She looked up at Shelby and raised one of her perfect eyebrows. “Is something wrong Shelby?”
“Liz, please tell me he isn't staying here and if he is why? Why?” Shelby began to screech. She never screeched.
“Shelby, I thought it would be better to allow him to stay on the premises while you look for the information that he has requested. This way there is no waiting for meetings or transportation. He’s right here and the quicker you are able to give him what he needs, the quicker he will be gone. That’s what you want isn’t it?” Liz smirked.
Shelby let out a sigh of resignation. “I see your reasoning, but it just took me by surprise when I saw him in the lobby with the card key to the fifth floor.”
“Shelby, why were you watching him on the monitors? I had just advised Jorge to give Max access.” Liz looked at her suspiciously.
Shelby felt as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her face began to get hot, and her palms were sweaty. Well hell, now what? Liz was one of the most observant people she knew. How was she going to get out of this? She acquiesced. “Alright, but I don’t want him under foot while I’m researching Hawk. Liz if they even begin to suspect what you are doing, they will shut us down.”