by Mike Ryan
“I know.”
Turner was sitting down at a table, waiting for Parker to come. He was looking forward to seeing her and was actually starting to think about when the best time to kiss her would be. They’d been seeing each other for a week so he figured she must’ve liked him at least a little bit. But he didn’t want to make a move too soon and make her back away. Though he also figured most men in his position, with a woman that looked like Alex, would’ve tried to kiss her five minutes after meeting her. Turner’s mind started wandering, mostly thinking about Alex. His concentration was broken though when the phone Davis gave him started ringing. Turner hadn’t heard from him since their initial meeting and was starting to think Davis forgot about him. Turner was also getting tired of carrying two phones around and if he didn’t get a call within the next few days was probably going to start leaving it at home. Turner frantically pulled the phone out of his pocket.
“Hello?” he hurriedly greeted.
“Hey, it’s me. You alone?” Davis asked.
“Yeah. I was actually sitting here waiting for a date to come but she hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Good. Listen, our first mission is tonight,” Davis revealed.
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. That a problem?”
“No. No problem. Just doesn’t give me much time to prepare. It’s rather sudden. I thought I’d get a few days to prepare for everything,” Turner explained.
“It’s better this way. Usually when you have more time to think, the more you think about things going wrong. This way you don’t get the chance to over think things.”
“Oh. So what do I do?” he asked.
“Take the flash drive I gave you and go to The Fonda Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Know where it’s at?”
“Yeah. I always wanted to go there.”
“Good. There’s a concert going on there tonight. When you get home you’ll find an envelope with a ticket inside in your mailbox. Be there at eight,” Davis told him.
“OK. What do I do when I get there?”
“When you go through the doors you’ll see a couch against the wall. Take a seat.”
“Who am I looking for?” Turner asked.
“They’ll find you.”
“And what do I do?”
“When your contact sits down next to you, you hand them the flash drive, they’ll hand you the money. Then take the money and go to the men’s room. The last stall will have an out of order sign on the door.”
“Then what?”
“Just sit there.”
“For how long?”
“Till you’re contacted,” Davis said.
“Contacted again? By who?”
“By me.”
“OK. I can do this.”
“Sure you’re OK? We can call it off if you don’t think you’re ready.”
“No. I’m fine. Doesn’t sound too difficult,” Turner said.
“Once I verify the money I’ll send you your cut of it in a few days.”
“Sounds good.”
“Ryan.”
“Yeah?”
“You haven’t told anyone about me, right?” Davis asked.
“No. Of course not.”
“Just making sure. I’ll see you tonight.”
Parker got to the restaurant just in time to see Turner uttering his last words on the phone he said his company gave him. Her heart sank a little, hoping she was completely wrong with what she thought was happening. She approached the table just as he was hanging up. Turner was so engrossed with the conversation that he wasn’t paying attention to anything around him and didn’t even see her coming closer. He was a little startled when she suddenly sat down across from him.
“Oh. Hey,” he greeted.
“Wow. That felt like the kind of greeting you get in the high school cafeteria when someone you can’t stand sits down across from you.”
“What? No, no, no, no. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Turner told her.
“Obviously.”
“Let me try that again. It’s really great to see you.”
“I was only joking anyway,” Parker smiled. “It’s OK. I wasn’t serious.”
“You were right though.”
“So who was on the phone?” she asked, wondering how truthful he’d be.
“Huh?”
“You were on the phone when I got here. Who were you talking to?”
“Oh. Uhh…just work stuff.”
“Work, huh?”
“Yeah. Just had some, umm, stuff going on,” he said, hating how it sounded the moment it came out of his mouth. He thought for a moment whether he should just be honest with her since he really liked her and knew this wasn’t a great way to start a relationship if it had any chance of going further.
“Stuff, huh?” Parker pressed.
“Yeah. Yeah. Not really worth talking about,” Turner said, trying to change the subject, but noticing Parker seemed bothered by something. “Uhh, is something wrong?” he asked.
“Well it’s just…never mind. It’s nothing.”
“No, no. What is it? If something’s bothering you, maybe I can help.”
“Maybe I’m just being a little jealous, and if I am, please just tell me. And I know we’re not actually dating or anything, but with that other phone of yours, I just get the feeling maybe you were talking to another girl or something,” she said.
“No. No,” Turner said, raising his voice for emphasis. “Definitely not! No, no other girls on this phone. No way.”
“I probably shouldn’t even be thinking like that.”
“No, it’s OK. But you have nothing to worry about. Like I said, completely work related. I’m probably gonna ditch the phone soon anyway,” he said.
“Oh. Why’s that?”
“I dunno. I’m starting to think maybe it’s not really necessary. Especially if it makes you nervous or anything.”
“Well, don’t just get rid of it on my account,” Parker said, leaning closer to him.
“Don’t even worry about it anymore.”
“Did you wanna do something tonight?”
“I’m sorry. I already made plans,” he told her.
“Oh. Cause I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie or something.”
“I already told a friend I’d help him out with something. Plus there’s nothing really playing in the theaters anyway.”
“I was thinking more about watching a movie at your place,” she said, moving her face inches away from his.
“Oh.”
“But if you already made plans,” she said, her lips almost locked on his.
“I really, really wish I hadn’t right at this moment,” he said.
“Could you cancel?” she asked, planting her lips on his.
After their lips released each other, Turner took a big gulp, wondering if he was cursed for having to pass up a night with her.
“I would really, really like to but I already committed,” Turner begrudgingly stated.
“Oh. Well I guess if a night with a friend sounds better than me,” she smiled.
“It definitely doesn’t. Definitely not. But I don’t like going back on my word.”
“OK.”
“Maybe, maybe we can do it tomorrow night,” he hoped.
“Maybe. So who’s this friend that’s more important than me?”
“Umm, his name is…Keith. Yeah, old college friend.”
“Keith, huh?”
“Yeah. He needed some help moving so I already told him I’d help.”
They talked and ate, Parker trying to find out more about the plans he had for the evening, but Turner not divulging anything other than his original story. Once they finished and headed their separate ways, Parker immediately called Cole.
“Hey. I got stood up for tonight,” Parker told him.
“Understandable. As pretty as you are, nobody would wanna be with you every single night,” Cole teased.
“Funny. No, Ryan told me he�
��s helping an old college friend named Keith move tonight.”
“You think he’s talking about meeting with Davis?”
“Could be.”
“We’ll have to tail him.”
As the night progressed, Parker and Cole sat in his car near the entrance of the complex, waiting for Turner to drive by. Once they saw his car they’d be able to follow him to wherever he was going and find out what he was up to. Parker had a good feeling that tonight was the night they’d finally make some progress. Around seven, Turner finally drove past them, and they followed a few car lengths behind him. They followed him to Los Angeles, where he finally stopped at The Fonda Theatre.
“Doesn’t really seem like the place to meet someone,” Cole noted.
“It’s the perfect place. Lots of people. Easy to be concealed,” she retorted.
“Maybe he just ditched you for another girl,” he kidded.
“Shut up.”
Turner pulled into a parking lot and walked into the theatre, followed closely by the two CIA agents. They tried walking into the show but were stopped by security.
“Need tickets to get in,” they were told.
“Law enforcement,” Cole replied, showing a badge. “We’re tailing someone who came in here.”
“Yeah, like I haven’t seen that before. I get a joker like you at least once a night trying to sneak in here. You’re gonna have to do better than that.”
Cole started getting mad and was about to argue when Parker stopped him by grabbing his forearm.
“Fine. Where can we get a ticket?” she asked.
“Ticket booth is that way,” the guard pointed.
“Thanks.”
Parker and Cole ran toward the booth and tried to buy a pair of tickets but were denied.
“Sorry, we just sold out,” the woman said.
“Figures,” Parker sighed. “You don’t have anything left?”
“Just standing room only.”
“We’ll take it.”
They grabbed their tickets and raced into the theater. They tried to maneuver their way around people to get a better look at the audience but it was tough to make anyone out. After a few more minutes they went back into the lobby and looked around. They noticed Turner sitting on a couch and took a few steps back so they could observe without being spotted. A few minutes later a man sat down next to Turner and put a backpack on the floor. Turner then handed the man the flash drive. Once the man left, Turner did as he was instructed and headed toward the bathroom.
“Doesn’t look so innocent to me,” Cole quipped.
“I’ll stay on Ryan. You follow the other guy,” Parker told him.
“Right.”
Turner went into the bathroom and walked to the last stall and saw the out of order sign on it. He walked in, closed the door and sat down on the toilet, waiting for Davis to appear. He only needed to wait a few seconds though as Davis was already waiting for him in the next stall.
“Is that from the exchange?” Davis asked, leaning down to look at the bag.
“Yeah,” Turner replied.
“Here,” Davis said, reaching his hand under the stall to grab it.
Turner pushed the bag over to him.
“OK. I’m gonna leave. Wait two minutes and then go to your seat. Enjoy the rest of the show,” Davis told him.
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. Everything’s going fine. You’ll hear from me in a few days.”
“OK.”
Davis left and started walking down the hall. Parker couldn’t believe that it was actually him. He was dressed as a maintenance worker in a jumpsuit and baseball hat. She looked up at the ceiling and let out a big sigh. As much as she felt betrayed by Davis, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be the one to actually find him. Parker noticed he now had what looked like the same backpack that Turner had. She had a gun tucked under her shirt in the belt in the back of her pants. She put her hand on it as she started moving forward. She moved into the center of the hallway, plainly visible. Davis had his head down, trying to remain undetected. He looked up and saw Parker and he quickly stopped.
“Hello Heath,” Parker greeted.
“Alex. Great to see you again.”
“What’s in the bag?”
“Just some old clothes,” Davis lied.
“Tell me you really didn’t think you were gonna get away with this?”
“Get away with what?”
“Stealing classified information,” she whispered. “I mean, really? Did you think they were just gonna let you go without doing everything within their power to stop you?”
“It was worth the risk.”
“How? Look how far you’ve gotten.”
“Think I haven’t planned for something like this?”
“I can’t let you go,” Parker said.
“Alex. It’s me,” he moved closer. “I just want out from the CIA’s stranglehold. I know you want that too. I know you do. You can’t fool me.”
“But this isn’t the way.”
“A couple more deals and I’ll have all the money I’ll need to disappear and they’ll never find me.”
“They’ll always be able to find you.”
“Come with me,” Davis told her, putting his hand on her waist. “Just you and me.”
“You know I can’t. I’m gonna have to bring you in.”
“You won’t do that.”
“I can’t just let you go,” she said, agonizing over the decision she had to make.
“Yes you can,” he replied, backing away. “You won’t do that. Not to me.”
“I have to,” she sternly said, her jaws clenched.
“If you wanna stop me you’re gonna have to shoot me,” Davis said. “And I don’t think you’ll do that.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Parker saw Turner emerging from the bathroom. She took another couple of steps back. Once Turner saw Parker standing there with Davis in front of her, he stopped in his tracks and wondered what was happening. He then took a few steps to the side and moved toward the wall.
“Alex, what are you doing here?” Turner asked.
“Helping a friend move, huh?”
“I take it you two know each other,” Davis stated.
“She just moved in next to me,” Turner said.
“Did she?” Davis smiled.
“You two know each other?”
“Alex and I used to be partners…among other things,” Davis replied.
“Oh…wait, what? Partners…as in CIA partners?” Turner asked, looking at Parker.
“It’s complicated,” Parker told him. “How’s he involved in this?” she asked Davis.
“Only knows what I’ve told him.”
“So you’ve been stringing him along?”
“No more questions. We’ve stopped and chatted long enough,” Davis said. “I have to go now.”
“I’m not letting you go,” Parker replied, taking her gun out and pointing it at him.
“Alex,” Turner said, astonished.
Parker briefly looked at Turner, which was all the time Davis needed to get away. He swung the backpack, knocking the gun out of Parker’s hand. Parker quickly gathered herself, clenched her fist, and tried to strike him. Davis blocked her punch and responded with one of his own. The punch hit her square in the eye, knocking her off her feet, stunning her.
“I’m sorry,” Davis said, standing over her. “I never meant to hurt you.”
Davis briefly looked at Turner, then took off running down the hallway. Turner wasn’t sure what was happening but looked like he was in shock, standing there almost frozen. After a few moments he knelt down to Parker’s side to make sure she was all right. He helped her to her feet and she grabbed her gun, putting it back in her belt.
“Would you mind explaining what’s going on here?” Turner asked. “Cause I’m about to start freaking out.”
“I’ll explain in the car. Let’s go,” she told him.
Turner fo
llowed her as Parker started running after Davis. She was only a minute behind him but it was plenty enough time for Davis to slip away. They ran out the front doors and looked around but there was no sign of him. They started walking toward Turner’s car, and Parker called Cole to see how he was faring.
“How are you making out?” Parker asked.
“Ahh, the guy slipped me. Got into a car that was waiting for him. Couldn’t make out the plate. How’d it go on your end?”
“Well, I found Davis. He was here.”
“Great.”
“But he got away.”
“Fabulous.”
“And blew my cover with Ryan in the process,” she said.
“Wow. This night can’t get any better.”
“We’re going home. I’ll meet you there.”
“Roger that.”
Once they got to Turner’s car and started driving back home, neither Parker or Turner were eager to start the conversation about what just happened. There was an uncomfortable silence that filled the car for several minutes, neither wanting to be the first to start talking. Parker didn’t really want to admit to anything and Turner didn’t want to hear that his world had been flipped upside down again.
“So…,” Turner finally said, not knowing what else to say.
“I really hope you’re not as involved in this as you appear to be.”
“In what?” he asked, slowing down.
“Just drive,” Parker said.
“So you’re actually a CIA agent?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve been lying to me this whole time. Why?”
“I haven’t lied about everything. Just who I work for and it was to try and find out who you are and what you know,” she told him.
“I’m me and I don’t know anything. I don’t even know what’s going on.”
“You obviously were working with Heath. You just performed a drop for him, have a second cell phone for contact, how do you not know?”
“Listen, I haven’t even talked to the guy since college.”
They arrived at the apartment complex a few minutes later and Parker told Turner to follow her as they walked to the porch of Turner’s place. Cole was already standing there waiting for them. Turner was a little surprised when he saw him, recognizing him as his other new neighbor.
“Aren’t you my other neighbor?” Turner asked.
“This is Jim Cole. He’s also a CIA agent,” Parker told him.