Then, in an instant, she remembered the wedding. A man, same height and build, strode quietly into the wedding hall just as the service had begun. He whispered something to an usher—a family member of the groom. The usher nodded and directed the stranger to a seat at the back of the hall. Artie thought nothing of someone arriving late to a wedding. She had watched enough weddings to know someone was always late. But she also remembered the stranger piqued a heightened sense of interest within her as the evening wore on.
She watched as he interacted with wedding guests at the reception, staring in Smythe’s direction from time to time. On a couple of occasions, he began to make his way to her table, but Artie’s teams posing as waiters provided a distraction, causing the stranger to lose Smythe in a sea of people. Artie was unsure if he were interested in Smythe romantically or posed a threat. But now she knew the latter was true.
“All teams move in. Potential suspect to my 4 o’clock.” Artie described the man and asked for a specific protection pattern. “Dennis, start the car!”
All teams quickly took their assigned positions. Seven members in all, four of them began to close in on the suspect. Another two members flanked Artie and Smythe from behind. Artie grabbed Smythe’s hand and took off in a trot to her team’s vehicle. She directed Smythe to get into the backseat and moved in next to her. Dennis sat in the driver’s seat, speeding out of the parking lot and barely giving Artie enough time to close her door. The stranger did not follow. Instead, coming out from behind a gray SUV, a woman headed directly for Artie’s vehicle.
“Boss?” Dennis queried.
“I think I remember him at the wedding. It’s not a coincidence he is here right now. And that female! Her, I definitely remember. Dennis, we’ve been herded directly to her.”
“Teams 2 and 3, hold that suspect. Team 4, we’ve got a female suspect now on our six,” Dennis said into his com unit. Immediately, the teams ran for both the suspect on the beach and the female in the parking lot.
“Smythe, get on the floor! Now!” Artie yelled.
Smythe crouched onto the floor. Artie lay almost on top of her, her back resting on Smythe’s and her weapon drawn, pointing toward the backseat window.
The teams were now in a full sprint for the suspect on the beach. In the parking lot, the female suspect drew her weapon but did not have a clear shot and chose to run down an alleyway of shops that flanked the parking lot next to the beach. As directed, Team 4 went in pursuit of her.
The female stranger eluded the trailing team, which only infuriated Artie.
“Damn it!” Artie yelled. “Find her. We can’t have her trail us. Find her vehicle! And question the first suspect.”
“Boss,” Dennis started, “she’s gone, and there is nothing we can hold the male on. Team 2 is remaining behind to question him—long enough to let us put in some distance. They’ll give us another five minutes, but I’ve got to get them back on the road headed toward us.
Artie poked her head up and looked around.
“Keep down, baby,” she said quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
Dennis made his way onto the highway. The valley was roughly four hours away. Artie sat up, directing Smythe to remain crouched. As she craned her neck, looking in all directions, she spotted her nemesis.
“There she is. Gray SUV on our seven,” Artie alerted. “She seems to be gaining, Dennis. All teams in pursuit. We’re southbound and about to hit the grade. There’s nowhere to run.”
The grade was a steep incline to the highway, completely barren of trees or buildings. At that time of morning, very little traffic traversed the grade, leaving Smythe’s security vehicle vulnerable. Artie continued to eye the suspect.
Smythe, trying to remain calm, sat with her head still covered and bent low in her seat. We’re sitting ducks, she thought. Keep it together. Just follow Artie’s instructions. No need to panic.
The suspect barreled down the highway but patiently held her distance. Artie watched as the SUV continued its slow approach. Either the pursuer seems unaware that my teams are closing in on her vehicle, or she does not care, Artie thought.
“Boss, she is no longer closing,” Dennis said.
“Yeah, I see that, Dennis.”
Dennis spotted an exit sign. Both he and Artie said in unison, “Take the next exit!”
Dennis immediately veered off, and the suspect watched in fury as Artie’s vehicle suddenly took the exit from the highway, giving her little chance to follow. With no other choice, she continued up the grade. One team continued the chase up the grade while all remaining security teams pursued Dennis off the exit. Dennis followed the road and took a quiet street that held the cover of trees. He stopped and got out, quickly opening the door for Artie and Smythe. Artie got out first, followed by Smythe. She quickly walked Smythe to another of Artie’s team vehicles.
“All teams, I need an inspection of your vehicles. Now!” Artie said. She was furious. She did not have time to dwell on her growing feelings of inadequacy, nor second guess her protection strategy. Dennis pulled Smythe’s vehicle far enough away from the other team’s vehicles that the cluster of SUVs hid her vehicle parked at the edge of a grove of trees. He got out and began to inspect the car, quickly finding what he was looking for—a tracking device cleverly mounted on the undercarriage of the car. He continued to search the vehicle until he found another tracking device mounted under the front bumper.
Another team found a tracking device located under their vehicle. Artie was in a cold sweat. Each car had been methodically swept each time they moved locations, including Smythe’s, and each team member had been with their cars. Had someone infiltrated her team, or had a team member been turned? She looked over at Smythe. Had she allowed her personal feelings for Smythe to override her judgement? She swept the thought away, focusing on the next course of action. She signaled Dennis and he gave the all clear, driving Smythe’s vehicle toward Artie.
Smythe sat in the team vehicle in dead silence. For months, no attempt on her life had been made. It was a risk, she surmised, for her to attend the wedding, but she had been insistent.
My insistence on coming could have cost Artie her life again. It could have cost Sue or members of her family their lives. This is no longer about me, or Artie. This about everyone. Dear God, what have I done?
Artie got into the front passenger side of the team vehicle, where she had secured Smythe. Dennis entered the car from the driver’s side.
“Um, who’s driving my car if it’s not you, Dennis?” Smythe questioned. Although Dennis had not driven Smythe’s car since her first encounter with him at her apartment several months ago, over time, she developed a deep sense of trust for Dennis and his driving ability. They were four hours away from home, and she not only wanted everyone to return home in one piece, but she also wanted her new baby SUV to arrive home undamaged.
“Another team member,” Artie replied. “I don’t trust anyone but Dennis to drive us back to the valley. If you recall, Dennis didn’t drive your car to the wedding either.”
“I know. But a couple of the guys I don’t know. Do you trust whoever to drive my car back to the valley?” Smythe asked.
“Yeah, I do. Believe it or not, if you are not in your car, there is little chance that it would be damaged. They’re after you, baby, not your car,” Artie explained.
“But they know my license plate by now. Why not just blow it up from a distance?”
“Because the suspect we just lost knows you were not in your car. That’s why she was tailing this vehicle. Your car is safe.”
“So, then this vehicle is targeted,” Smythe replied.
“In a way. But all of the cars look alike—dark with tinted windows, and they’re each specially equipped. Remember, we only brought your car so that you would not draw attention to you or the teams by chauffeuring you from place to place. Our vehicle and two others will leave together. Your car and an additional team vehicle will leave ten minutes behind us an
d take a separate route to the valley. But our pit stops are going to have to change. If you need to go to the bathroom, you might want to do that now because we won’t have much time in between stops.”
“Yeah, I gotta go, especially after this,” Smythe replied. Artie got out and walked behind Smythe. Smythe led them to the grove of trees and began to relieve herself. “Damn it, no TP!” she said to Artie. Artie was behind her doing the same. “You wouldn’t do well camping or hiking, would you?” Artie asked.
“Nope. I prefer the comforts of running water and toilet paper,” Smythe replied with a smirk on her face. They returned to the team vehicle. Dennis had been reviewing the route and suggested an alternate to Artie. They knew that all routes back to the valley had the potential to be monitored; however, given the time of morning, the major highway would be more densely populated. They chose a longer but more secluded highway to make their way back to valley.
Six hours later, and without incident, Smythe’s caravan arrived back to her apartment. Shortly after that, Smythe smiled as her vehicle was pulled into its parking stall—undamaged. Artie and Dennis met in private and reviewed their protection strategy. In the end, without confiding in Dennis, Artie surmised there was a mole. Only she was unsure what agency held it—hers, the FBI, or both.
Removing the Mask
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS, ARTIE MORE HEAVILY RESTRICTED Smythe’s movements. Only Dennis was allowed to do the grocery shopping for Smythe and pick up her medication refills, and what errands Smythe was allowed to run were done in haste. Smythe’s usual dawdling marathon pace through the aisles in whatever merchandise store she entered now became a sprint. Artie even went so far as to personally pick up food from the baker, delivering Smythe’s loving notes to him and returning notes from the baker to Smythe.
Overall, Smythe took it all in stride. If this was the price to pay to keep her promise to Artie and remain out of WitSec, so be it. She stayed in her lane and rarely veered off course. It also helped that Smythe’s second conference was fast approaching, and her performance would determine if she would be certified in the tenets her mentor taught.
Each day, she coupled action with visualization. She reviewed the necessary material to prepare for her twenty-minute presentation. She wrote her script, memorized and practiced her group activities to drive home learning objectives, and then she visualized. She visualized delivering her presentation—what it would feel like and look like to have done so well. She visualized the clothes she would wear, the breakout room where she would deliver her presentation, and who the other participants were in her small group. She watched herself move confidently throughout the room as she delivered her presentation. Those actions she found contributed to her growth in confidence.
Yet, one morning, during her visualization, she felt the gentle touch of her Beloved.
“Do not seek to be,” her Beloved whispered. “Simply be.”
Smythe understood. She had just recently recognized that she was striving, and in her striving was becoming weary. Why does this have to be so hard, she remembered thinking. Here-now, in the midst of her visualization, her Beloved answered the query of her heart.
“It is unnecessary to demonstrate who you already are. Simply grow into the awareness and know.”
Smythe took in a breath. She was stunned at the revelation. Immediately, she understood that her striving to be something only ensured she would not be the thing she wanted to be. She realized in that moment of clarity that striving comes from a place of lack, whereas knowing comes from a place of abundance. And, in that knowing is a greater awareness of what she must do to grow into who she already is. She could only smile to herself and nod, making a conscious effort to practice listening to her internal GPS from there on out.
While Smythe prepared for her conference, Artie continued to deliver her weekly reports to the FBI director, but, over time, out of an abundance of caution, she began to withhold information from him—including Smythe’s daily movements or future plans for travel. She was deeply concerned that her security vehicles had been so easily tracked during the wedding excursion. She believed her security protocols were sound, and her teams were thoroughly vetted; therefore, she held a deep suspicion that a potential informant to the crime ring was coming from within the FBI. If her suspicion proved correct, she wanted no surprises during Smythe’s upcoming conference.
From Artie’s perspective, not only had Smythe been resolute in completing all of the requirements for her certification, but she had lived into the tenets that her mentor taught her. Smythe seemed different somehow; grounded in her movements. She slept longer into the morning, spoke with confidence, and made choices in favor of herself. Smythe, Artie believed, earned the right to revel in the company of her peers unencumbered.
Much like her plans for Smythe’s attendance at the wedding, Artie meticulously planned for the multi-day conference. She obtained hotel and conference center schematics and blocked specific rooms for Smythe and her teams, inserting members of her team into the hotel employee roster. Artie would be present as well, lying in wait on the opposite side of the curtain that would separate the larger conference room from the smaller conference area.
Smythe would be equipped with a tracking device in order for her to have greater movement, but, similar to her conference earlier in the year, she would be required to remain in the hotel. Finally, instead of driving eight hours to the new hotel venue, Artie arranged for a private flight to their destination. Her previous connections and agency’s reputation garnered her favor with a pilot who flew privately. Artie had provided security for a friend of the pilot a few years ago. After the security job, the pilot told her he knew how to mask the identity of a passenger into and out of airports, and would fly her to any destination she requested without asking questions. It was his way of thanking Artie for the protection of his friend. For Artie, it was an offer she rarely used, but her annoyance with the crime ring’s hunt for her client made the offer a reasonable one to employ.
On the day of departure, Smythe, Artie, and four teams boarded their flight at dawn and headed north. As Smythe entered the aircraft, she was astonished by the interior space, which looked more like a luxurious living room. Elegant in its presentation, the seats were upholstered in pearl gray hand-stitched leather with finely woven navy-blue fabrics splashed within the space of the cabin. Composite wood veneers were used throughout, providing a less grainy look often seen in luxury cars.
“Who do you know?!” Smythe exclaimed.
Artie grinned as she followed Smythe into the cabin. “It’s good to know the pilot.”
As Smythe sat down, she immediately noticed how acoustically insulated the cabin was. The external noise of the airport was dulled to barely a whisper. Once was seated, she was treated to imported coffee from the Netherlands and pastries.
“All we need are some malasadas from Joao’s,” Smythe mused.
“No time. Had I thought about it, it would have been arranged.” Smythe shook her head and stared out the cabin window.
After less than an hour and a half of travel time, Smythe and Artie arrived at the hotel without incident. Once she checked into her room, Smythe roamed the hotel “looking for trouble,” as she would say.
On her first day, she met up with members of her cohort and sat at the bar whiling away her time reacquainting herself with various people. She laughed easily and hugged often. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed the presence of these beautiful souls until their company lit a spark within her dimly lit heart.
Whisky had become Smythe’s go-to drink as she mingled with her group. Artie, who sat inconspicuously at the bar, stared Smythe down as she requested a second double. With an earwig in her ear, Artie reminded Smythe she had to remain alert.
“Joy killer. I barely drink, and after tomorrow night, there is no drinking until the final night!”
“Just need you to be on toes. Besides, I see a couple of women who seem to have more of an intere
st in you than before. Should I be worried?”
“No need to worry. Are you jealous?”
“Nope, just cautious,” Artie replied.
“No need to be cautious, love.” Smythe glanced into the wide mirror which spanned the length of the wall behind the bar and smiled. The mirror reflected Artie’s face, and she smiled back, raising a glass of ginger ale in Smythe’s direction.
The pre-conference reunion celebration lasted well into the evening. Returning to their room, Artie swept it before allowing Smythe to enter. It would be a daily ritual that would grind on Smythe’s nerves at times, especially on days where she would have to make a quick trip up and back during conference breaks.
“Seriously, Artie? It’s only been an hour since we were up here. Look, housekeeping hasn’t even entered the room,” Smythe said as she pointed to the unmade bed. Artie didn’t offer a comeback, understanding the pressure Smythe felt to perform well during the conference. As far as Artie was concerned, Smythe’s vocal annoyance at Artie’s insistence to sweep the room was an acceptable way to blow off a little steam.
Smythe’s investment in preparation served her incredibly well throughout the conference. While her mentor was pleased with her performance, the true payoff for Smythe was her internal sense of confidence while giving her presentation. She later reflected that she did not need to demonstrate anything to anyone. She simply needed to grow into the awareness of what she already knew. For the sake of her mentor—and her certification—she simply demonstrated her knowledge.
As the conference week began to wind down, Smythe had an opportunity to talk about her own life’s journey.
“We’ve had a wonderful week together,” her mentor began. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch many of your presentations. It was evident that you put in a lot of time and effort, not only to deliver the material here, but it was obvious that you are living into the tenants it—especially given your examples. As we wind down the conference, I would like to offer you an opportunity to come on stage and talk about whatever is on your mind? Who would like to start?”
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