Wrong Time

by Mitchel Grace

  After Campbell was off the phone, he called Zane and Dan into his office and explained everything to them.

  “I think that we should step back from this temporarily, sir. I had previously feared that we were walking into a death trap, but now I’m sure of it,” Zane said.

  “I need this op to continue. We can’t just sit idly by after the attack in Texas. We have to strike, and we have to strike now,” Campbell said.

  “Are you sure that we can’t be given a little more time to come up with a viable plan?” Dan asked.

  “No, I have faith that the two of you can lead my men to victory. You did it in Tampa, and I have no reason to believe that you won’t do it again.”

  Dan started to say something else to Campbell, but Zane laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Zane knew that Campbell’s mind was made up and that arguing over it would only lessen the time they had to prepare.

  “We’ll get it done,” Zane said.

  Zane and Dan exited the room.

  “So do you have a plan?” Dan asked.

  “No, not at all. We’re just going to have to hope for the best on this one.”

  The two men walked back to their makeshift office and continued to make phone calls while both knowing that what was just over the horizon was going to be deadly.

  * * * * *

  By three, Jason and the others had woken up and gone back to the office in Washington.

  “I’m still tired,” Lee said while yawning.

  “Get used to it if you’re going to help us out here at the CIA. Everyone seems to always be working strange hours, especially me,” Jason said.

  They walked to John Campbell’s office and went inside.

  “I think that all of you have a lot of things to talk about,” Jason said before exiting the office.

  “I hear that you have all had a large role in helping out Agent Fisher over the last few days. If you could elaborate on what each one of you did and how much you know about our situation, I would be grateful,” Campbell said.

  They explained the events of the last few days and how they were involved in them.

  “All right, I would like to offer you all something different. Ms. Morris, I want you to work with us as a consultant. Your knowledge of our enemy would make you an irreplaceable part of my team. Mr. Higgins, given your ability to work with electronics and your ability to forge passports and IDs, I believe that you would be an asset to us in our tech department. Michael, you had an aim that was rivaled by no one else back in the army, but you also had some mental issues that drove you from the service. I would like to give you an opportunity to work in the field, as long as between missions you’ll talk to a professional located here in Washington. Finally, Ms. Rogers, I have examined your record throughout your school life. You were the valedictorian of your high school class, you scored in the top one percent on the ACT, and then you graduated nursing school with a perfect grade point average. While none of that qualifies you to be an agent, I believe that given your extreme intelligence, you and Ms. Morris should work together to give us advice on our next move,” Campbell said.

  Everyone stared at Jess in surprise. She had never told anyone how smart she was because she really didn’t like to be in the spotlight.

  “There is another scenario, however. Any one of you can simply be put into a witness protection program until this is over if you don’t wish to offer your services. No one would blame you if you wanted out now. You’ve all been through a lot.”

  “I would like to serve,” Michael said.

  “Me, too,” Trish said.

  Very soon after, Lee and Jess also agreed.

  “Great, then! Lee, have Mr. Ellis show you to the floor where you’ll be working. Jess and Trish, ask Mr. Jones to get both of you an office, and Michael, I would like for you to join Mr. Green and Mr. Driver’s operation.”

  Jess shot Michael a worried look. She didn’t like the idea of him going into combat. The truth was that Michael was a little shocked, also. He hadn’t expected all this to move so quickly. They all left his office and found their way to their next destinations.

  Jason walked Lee downstairs to the eighth floor.

  “This is where you’ll be working,” Jason said as the elevator door opened.

  What Lee saw was absolutely amazing. There was tech as far as the eye could see.

  “What do people do down here?”

  “Oh, you know. They look through files, listen to chatter, develop new programs, and make exploding pens,” Jason said.

  “Exploding pens? Are you serious?”

  “No. That’s just a joke around here,” Jason said and laughed.

  The two of them walked across the large floor until they were at the front door of an office. The doorplate read Megan Roberts. As they knocked and entered, Lee found that the woman sitting inside looked equally as beautiful as she was intelligent.

  “I’ve got a new one for you,” Jason said and started walking away.

  Lee turned and looked at him with a surprised expression.

  “Don’t worry. She’ll take care of you,” Jason said.

  Lee turned to look at his new boss. She was tall with long brown hair and gentle blue eyes. If looks could kill, Lee would have been dead in that moment because he was completely stunned. He only stood there and stared. Megan couldn’t help but blush a little, even if his behavior was inappropriate in the work place.

  “I’m Megan Roberts, and I’ll be showing you how everything works. Don’t worry too much. We like to keep things as light and fun as possible around here,” Megan said.

  “I’m Lee Higgins.” That’s all Lee could manage to get out of his mouth.

  “Okay, Lee. Let me show you where you’ll be working,” Megan said as they walked toward Lee’s new workstation.

  There are plenty of people like me around, and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen is here. I think that I’m going to love this, Lee thought to himself and smiled.

  * * * * *

  Michael found Zane and Dan sitting in their office making phone calls. As he entered, Zane was just getting off the phone.

  “What can I help you with, Michael?” Zane asked.

  Michael explained how he had been assigned a position on their team. Zane felt bad about the situation. He didn’t want Michael to be walking into what they were about to be walking into. Zane explained the whole situation to him.

  “I have a lot of doubts about this op. I don’t know if we’ll be coming back from this one,” Zane said.

  Michael was a little troubled by Zane’s doubts, but he knew the risk of any combat mission from personal experience.

  “When do we leave?” Michael asked.

  “We’re leaving tonight, so if there’s anything that you’ve always wanted to do, then you need to do it now.”

  Michael thought for a minute and exited the office. He walked straight to Jess in her new office and pulled her up from her chair. Then he kissed her. She quickly pulled away from him.

  “What are you doing?” Jess asked.

  “I’m leaving tonight, and just in case anything happens, I wanted to do that at least once.”

  Jess was sad. She didn’t want him to go, and she feared what would happen if he did leave. She leaned in and gently kissed Michael again.

  “If you don’t come back, you’ll never be able to do that again,” Jess said after she pulled her lips back from his.

  “If that’s the case, I’ll definitely be coming back,” Michael said and smiled.

  * * * * *

  That evening, Jason gathered all of them back together, and they got into his car.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you three,” Jason said.

  Jess was in no mood for surprises because she was worried about Michael. Suddenly, the car stopped in front of a house.

  “What are we stopping for?” Trish asked.

  “This is where you three, and when Michael gets back, four, will be staying,” Jason said.


  They all piled out of the car and made their way into their new home. It was a three bedroom home, so now no one would ever have to sleep on the floor, much to Lee and Trish’s relief.

  “Oh, and there’s also a car in the garage, so I don’t have to keep coming to get you guys.”

  “Thank you,” Jess said.

  “Don’t thank me. The agency needs your help. It’s their responsibility to make sure that you have a place to stay and a car to drive.”

  After a short while, Jason left them to their new house. Jess went straight to her bedroom because she was the perfect mixture of tired and worried that makes a person just want to go straight to sleep. Lee and Trish, however, made their way to the kitchen.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Lee said while searching through the pantry where he found several different types of food.

  “I am, too. What did you have in mind?” Trish asked.

  “How about some spaghetti?” Lee asked while holding up some noodles that he found.

  “That sounds good. So how is your new job?”

  “It’s absolutely wonderful! I’m working with people who are just like me, and I think that I may have met someone who fits the description of exactly the type of woman I was talking about last night.”

  “Really? What’s she like?”

  “She’s beautiful, and most of all, very intelligent. She’s probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  Trish got really quiet after hearing this, and her mind began to wander. So she’s the most beautiful woman he has ever seen? What am I, she wondered. The truth was that she was a little offended, and maybe even a little jealous, but she really didn’t know why. Lee noticed her silence and the look of irritation coming from her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. You don’t want to hear about my relationship issues. It was nice enough that you listened to me last night,” Lee said.

  The night went on, and the two friends made small talk, but no matter how much she tried to, Trish just couldn’t shake off the feeling of jealousy that she had for a woman she had never even met. What is happening to me, Trish wondered.

  * * * * *

  Back in Houston, night had fallen, and Chloe had been discharged from the hospital.

  “We aren’t going to have a transport ready for her until tomorrow morning,” Sam said as the three of them rode in the car.

  “I have a name,” Chloe said in irritation.

  In truth, she was already irritated enough by the fact that she was handcuffed to Sam in the backseat.

  “So I guess that we’re going back to the hotel then?” Nathan asked.

  “Yeah, unfortunately. I don’t know where we’re going to put you, though,” Sam said while glancing over at Chloe.

  As they arrived at the hotel and took the elevator to their top floor room, Chloe broke the silence.

  “Just so you two know, I am not sleeping on the floor or in a bathroom. I’m sleeping in a bed, and I’m not wearing these handcuffs all night long,” Chloe said.

  “What makes you think that you have a say in any of that?” Sam asked.

  “If I don’t get to sleep normally, I’m going to make enough noise to get all of us kicked out of this place, and then none of us will be able to sleep.”

  “Fine. We’ll sleep in shifts and watch you,” Sam said.

  As they entered the room and shut the door, Sam took the handcuffs off of Chloe. Chloe walked straight to the bed and got in. Sam handed Nathan a gun and followed her.

  “What about me?” Nathan asked.

  “You get the first shift. Wake me up in four hours.”

  Chloe lay there wide awake, and it wasn’t long before she could hear that Sam was fast asleep. Chloe raised her head from the bed and turned toward Nathan. She was going to get to know this guy. He was compassionate and extremely naive. Chloe knew if she could build some level of trust with him that she could use that to her advantage later. Yes, this guy’s stupidity will be my ticket out of here, Chloe thought to herself and smiled.

  Chapter 6

  “So you don’t really seem like the government type. What’s your story?” Chloe asked Nathan.

  He was hesitant to tell her anything about himself. Should I really be telling a prisoner my life story, Nathan wondered.

  “Okay, so you don’t trust me. I understand that, but maybe if I told you my story it would loosen your tongue a little bit,” Chloe said in a flirty tone.

  “Okay. Who are you exactly?”

  This was the perfect opportunity for Chloe to tell Nathan some sob story, and that’s exactly what she did.

  “When I was fourteen, my mother died. I never really knew my father, so I was all alone in the world. I was about to be placed into foster care, so I did what I thought was the best thing at the time. I ran away.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “I lived on the streets.”

  “How did you survive? You were only a kid.”

  “I did whatever I had to do to eat. For three years, I did everything from sleep on the street to work in a number of businesses that I’m not too proud of. Then one day a man gave me a way out of that life. I wasn’t qualified, but even Markus Boyd has a heart apparently. He gave me a chance for a new life. If I had only known where that life would lead me, I might have stayed on the streets that day, but here I am. I’m imprisoned by two people who will probably take me straight to some government scum who are going to torture me, and when that’s all over, Markus is going to find me. When he does find me, what he does will make whatever your people do to me look like child’s play.”

  “I’m not going to let them hurt you or let Markus find you. I do know what it’s like to be thrust into a way of life with no real choice or way out,” Nathan said.

  “Really? How exactly?” Chloe asked.

  Nathan recapped how he had met Sam and how he was pulled into this whole situation.

  “I guess I’m just lucky that I’m in a situation I actually don’t mind being in,” Nathan said.

  “Yeah, you are. I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” Chloe said as she started to cry. The tears were fake, but Nathan didn’t know that.

  Sam had been pretending to be asleep, but she was actually awake through Nathan and Chloe’s whole conversation. I can’t believe he’s actually buying this, Sam thought. Nathan set his gun down and walked over to Chloe.

  “It’s going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Nathan said as he stood over her. Just then, Chloe reached up and grabbed Nathan’s face. She pulled it toward hers. He tried to pull away, but this girl was much stronger than she looked. All of a sudden, Sam started hearing some strange noises.

  “No, mmm,” was what it sounded like. Then there was this smacking sound. It almost sounded like two people kissing. She turned in the bed to see Nathan and Chloe kissing. As Sam’s eyes met Nathan’s, he placed his hands straight in the air as if to say “I didn’t do anything.” A rage built up in Sam’s mind that she hadn’t previously known she had, and she formed a fist and punched. She just grazed Chloe and hit Nathan squarely on the cheek. He crumbled to the floor. Chloe jumped to her feet and started moving toward the gun that Nathan had put down.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Sam said as she stood up on the bed and launched herself onto Chloe’s back.

  As Nathan looked up, he could see Sam hitting Chloe in the back of the head over and over again. Has she forgotten how to knock someone out, Nathan wondered. The truth was that Sam hadn’t forgotten how to do anything. She was simply enjoying every blow that she delivered to Chloe. Finally, after about a half dozen blows, Sam delivered a knockout blow. She stood up and grabbed her handcuffs from the hotel dresser. Then she grabbed a sock from one of her bags and drug Chloe into the bathroom where she handcuffed her with her hands behind her back to the bathtub railing and shoved the sock deep into her mouth. As Sam started to exit the bathroom, Nathan was in a panic. Oh my God. If she did that to her, then what is s
he going to do to me? What do I say? Think, Nathan, think, he thought in desperation. Sam was extremely angry, and she had initially planned to rip Nathan a new one, but upon seeing his panicked face, she softened a bit. It really wasn’t his fault, after all.

  “Just get in the bed,” Sam snapped.

  Nathan immediately complied with her command.

  “I can explain all of this,” Nathan said after Sam had gotten into the bed.

  “I was awake the whole time.”

  “Oh, then you know that I was just trying to help her, right?”

  “Oh, I get it now. You were trying to help her, so you stuck your tongue in her mouth,” Sam said sarcastically.

  “You know what, never mind,” Nathan said as he attempted to wrap his arm around her.

  Sam swatted his arm away.

  “Okay. You’re going to stay on your side of the bed tonight, and you’re not going to go in the bathroom tonight or tomorrow morning before I’m awake.”

  “What if I have go?”

  “I don’t care. How would you feel if the situation were reversed?”

  “Well, if you kissed Chloe I wouldn’t know how to feel. I guess I would be a little bit confused,” Nathan said as he held back laughter.

  “Oh, come on. You know what I mean. I’m your girlfriend, and you kissed someone else. How do you expect me to feel about that?”

  Nathan knew that the situation was bad, but he couldn’t help but notice that Sam said she was his girlfriend. She had actually never done that before, even though they were obviously together. The sound of those words coming from her was like music to his ears.

  “Look, I’m really sorry. I tried to pull away, but she just caught me by surprise. I would never want to purposely kiss anyone besides you,” Nathan said while rubbing the small of her back.

  “Fine. You can come to my side, but you still can’t go to the bathroom,” Sam said as she moved closer to Nathan.

  Nathan learned something about Sam that night. She was a deadly spy, but as a jealous girlfriend, her rage was rivaled by no other. Nathan never kissed another girl after that night.

  * * * * *

  Later that night, Michael was on a plane with Zane and Dan going to Atlanta.