Out of Sight (Project Athena)

by Trish Milburn

  A few more destitute miles rolled by before Daniel spoke again. “What made you go inside?”

  “I recognized the guy.”

  “The American?”

  “Yeah. Though for the life of me I can’t remember where I’ve seen him.”

  “You have to remember.”

  “I’m doing the best I can.”

  “Try harder.”

  “Screw you, Webster.”

  Jenna grabbed the water bottle out of the back seat and drained it down her throat. Exhausted from her invisibility and the trek through the city, she leaned against the headrest and dozed.

  “Wait.” The whisper jerked her awake.

  She looked over at Daniel, but he was focused on the ribbon of road ahead.That voice, the same as on the rooftop. She needed food, more water and a ton of rest because she’d swear it’d been her father’s voice.

  Jenna came awake later when Daniel slammed on the brakes. She screamed and surged forward against Daniel’s arm. Automatically, her hands went out and braced herself against the dashboard. Her heart beat frantically as she looked out the windshield and saw nothing but pale-lit sky.

  “Sorry about that.”

  She looked over at Daniel, her eyes feeling as wide as saucers. He looked unconcerned considering they’d almost plunged into the abyss. “Are you freaking nuts?”

  “We have to push the car over to make it look like we crashed. I needed to make skid marks so it appears authentic.”

  “And you didn’t find it necessary to warn me?” She slugged him in the arm.

  Daniel grabbed her fist before she could punch him a second time. “We don’t have time for this. Nazim said some soldiers headed our way about half an hour after we left.” He shoved her fist back toward her, then got out of the car. “I’d advise you get out because this car’s headed over.”

  She stepped out and watched as he pushed the little car the rest of the way over the lip of the drop-off. The sound of crunching metal and breaking glass made her blood go cold. It took what seemed forever for the final crash. She didn’t need to look over the edge to know it was a deep canyon.

  “Come on,” Daniel said as he extended her pack to her.

  She grabbed it and followed without a word. Daniel used a shirt to wipe out their footprints as he backed away from the edge of the dropoff. They crossed the road and wound down a similar canyon on the opposite side.

  “Where are we? This isn’t where we came in.”

  “Change of plans.”

  Because she hadn’t carried out the mission and now they were in jeopardy. Maybe she should have taken out Tumeri. Lord knew no one would miss him.

  After the last of the light faded, Jenna followed the sound of Daniel more than the sight of him. Just when she thought they’d never reach the bottom of the canyon, her feet left rock and stepped into what felt like sand.

  “We’re going to follow a dry riverbed north,” Daniel said, his voice seeming to shout in the thick darkness.

  “How far?”

  “Seven miles.”

  “Can we rest a minute? My legs feel like noodles.”

  “No, we have to keep moving.”

  She wasn’t surprised by his answer, but it made her want to lash out at him all the same.

  “Do you have any water?”

  “Yes.”

  She grit her teeth. “May I have some?”

  “No, you drank all yours. Out here, you have to ration.”

  Jenna cursed, then bumped into Daniel. He gripped her shoulders and shook her. “You can curse all you like, but you’ve got to realize the rules are different here. You’re not in Tennessee, you’re not even in D.C. You’re in a harsh country where the leader has no qualms about making people disappear forever.”

  She tried to extricate herself, but Daniel didn’t budge. If anything, he pressed his fingers harder into her flesh.

  “You could have gotten yourself killed today.”

  “Like you’d give a damn.”

  “I would have given a damn!” Cloaked in darkness, those words had enough truth ringing in them to make Jenna hold her breath.

  Daniel evidently realized what he’d said because he let her go with a shove and walked away. “It’d be pretty damned hard to explain a dead American woman in the middle of Tumeri’s palace. And since I’m responsible for you, my life wouldn’t be worth living when I got back. Might not be anyway.”

  Jenna followed as Daniel started up the riverbed. “You don’t think your boss will be pleased that I found out the truth?”

  “I’m not convinced he’ll believe it’s the truth.”

  “Do you believe me?”

  Several moments ticked by before he said, “I don’t know.”

  At least he hadn’t said no.

  The night deepened as the hours passed and they moved farther into the canyon. At least it was cooler, even if the river that once ran through the crevice was a distant memory. Jenna pushed all thoughts from her mind other than putting one throbbing foot in front of the other. Thank goodness they were at the bottom of the canyon so she didn’t have to worry about falling off a skinny trail to her death.

  She’d taken three steps up before she realized they were climbing out of the canyon. What she wouldn’t give to just be able to lay down in the sand and go to sleep for a few hours. Instead, she forced her screaming legs to carry her body even farther. As she was on the verge of collapse, the faint breeze of open space caressed her cheek. The darkness lessened as stars became visible.

  When she stopped, her aches and pains caught up with her. “How much farther?”

  “We wait here until we hear the chopper.”

  “Oh, thank God.” Jenna sank to the ground and sprawled out. “I’m not sure I can take another step.”

  Daniel sat down nearby but he remained silent.

  Jenna looked up at the expanse of stars. Out here miles from artificial light, they appeared to have multiplied into the billions. She was scared, exhausted, frustrated, confused, but the sight of the heavens blanketed with all those pinpoints of light made her smile.

  “Here,” Daniel said.

  She looked over and saw the canteen he held. Without questioning his sudden generosity, she grabbed it and nearly downed its contents before she remembered his earlier comment about rationing. With effort, she took two generous drinks and replaced the stopper. “Thanks.”

  Daniel looked toward the horizon. Jenna listened but didn’t hear any thump, thump, thump of rotor blades. The minutes stretched, and fatigue eventually forced her eyes closed.

  “Are you positive about what you heard today?” Daniel asked suddenly.

  “Yes. If we want to catch the assassin and the people behind him, we’re in the wrong place. And it’s someone with power, money and inside info.”

  “Damn,” he said under his breath.

  “Yeah.” Her sentiments exactly.

  “Have you thought any more about where you saw Tumeri’s visitor?”

  “I can’t place him. It’s like I’ve passed him on the street or something, just a brief flash. But I recognize him.”

  The stillness of the night enveloped them again, and Jenna realized she hadn’t heard any animals out here. Perhaps the land was so devoid of sustenance that no creature could survive.

  “When we get back, the agency is going to be in an uproar. When we’re debriefed, just tell them everything you’ve told me. Hopefully, we’re not too late.”

  Jenna’s stomach turned at the thought of having to go back into the bowels of the agency and tell Daniel’s boss that she’d not followed through on the mission they’d given her. But since she knew about Elliott and his lab now, surely the unseen man would realize she wasn’t just bucking the agency, that what she said was true.

  Daniel shifted, and she heard the distant sound of a helicopter. She followed as Daniel led them to the edge of the rocks. When the chopper landed, they raced beneath its still whirring blades and jumped inside. The pilot lif
ted off before they were buckled in. She looked out the window, but the landscape was just a series of dark and darker clumps. That was okay. She had no desire to ever see Mindu again.

  As they flew toward the northern border, she focused forward and began imagining her speech to Daniel’s boss. She was never entering that building unprepared again.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jenna stared down the hall of the East Wing and felt like she was starting all over. She looked at the faces of the people passing by her and wondered if one of them was the note writer. Whoever that person was had ratcheted up the threats a notch by leaving another note before she and Daniel had even returned to the United States. Attached to a clipping about the president cutting off aid to three countries accused of atrocities against their own people was another, much older article about Kennedy’s assassination and a brief message. “Don’t let history repeat itself.”

  In response, the Secret Service detail had been doubled. The Oval Office was surrounded in a sea of black suits.

  Despite two days of rest Daniel had evidently insisted she be afforded because of her utter exhaustion, her brain wasn’t coming up with any stunning realizations about who the trigger man was. Just because someone high up was evidently involved didn’t mean he was the note writer or the person who’d take the fall as a presidential assassin.

  Jenna sighed. The note writer could be anyone. Everyone from Calvin to the East Room painters to the vice president. The task of figuring out who seemed even more overwhelming than the first day she’d set foot in the White House.

  “That is not the face of someone who’s happy to be at work.”

  Jenna looked over to see Kevin watching her self-pity party. “Just tired.”

  “Noticed you’ve not been around the past few days. Work hasn’t been the same.”

  She smiled. “Sorry to have disappointed you. I had to go out of town, family stuff.”

  “Ah, well, all is forgiven. Especially if you turn in that rain check and let me take you to dinner tonight.”

  She nearly said no, but what could it hurt? After the past several days, she could use a relaxing dinner out and some good, fun company.

  “That sounds nice.”

  ****

  Kevin took her to a little Vietnamese café with outdoor seating, a comfortable oasis in the midst of Arlington’s busy streets.

  “I’m so glad my irresistible charm finally got to you,” Kevin said after they ordered their meals.

  “I’d just gotten what passes for a paycheck. I needed a free meal.”

  He laughed, and Jenna relaxed. From all outward appearances, Kevin was a perfectly normal guy, flirting with a girl and trying to make himself seem attractive. And he was. Tanned, fit, good sense of humor. Provided he didn’t have a penchant for writing threatening notes to the commander-in-chief, what wasn’t to like?

  He looked at her with a quizzical expression.

  “What?”

  “I don’t know. You just don’t seem like someone who’d be on the janitorial staff at the White House.”

  Gulp. “Why not?”

  “You’re so smart and funny, not to mention beautiful.”

  She couldn’t help it, her face flushed. Hopefully, the low lighting hid that fact.

  “So janitors have to be dumb, dull and ugly?”

  “No, but…I don’t know. It doesn’t seem to fit. How did you end up in that line of work?”

  Think fast, Jenna. “Actually, I wanted a job that didn’t require a lot of thought or overtime, just something to pay the bills and allow me to use the rest of my time to write.”

  “You’re a writer?” Kevin leaned forward. “What do you write?”

  Lies, lies and more lies. “I’m working on a historical novel set on a plantation just after the Civil War.” Now where had that come from, the Grand Ether of Lies? At least she’d been to some plantations and had an idea what one looked like.

  Kevin’s eyes lit up. “How far along are you?”

  “Not very. I have to admit I get caught up in the research. Guess I’m just good at digging until I get all the information there is to be had.” Please don’t ask me to read it.

  “Really? That’s got to be interesting.”

  “Yeah.” Quick, change of topic. “What about you? How’d you end up painting the East Room of the White House?”

  “I guess I’m a little like you. The painting is a means to an end. I inherited my grandparents’ old farmhouse, and it needs a lot of fixing up. I could get along fine with the occasional house painting job, but the repairs require more money. So I hired on with the company I work for, and now I’m glad I did.”

  “Because you get to see the inside of the White House?”

  “Yeah. And I must say there are no pretty ladies out on the old farmstead.”

  That was it. The man was perfect.

  They spent the meal talking and laughing, and she had to catch herself twice when she was on the verge of saying something that would have been out of sync with her cover. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a good time, very strange indeed when she considered she’d been in the line of fire only a few days before.

  When Kevin finally walked her from the restaurant to her car, Jenna wondered where the intervening hours had gone. It had been the best night of conversation and laughter she’d had in months, maybe longer. Between her job and her animals, she didn’t have time for much beyond an occasional movie with friends or the once-in-a-blue-moon date. Now that she knew what she’d been missing, she was going to make time. Too bad Kevin lived in a different time zone.

  “I had a really nice time tonight,” Kevin said and moved a step closer to her.

  Jenna was proud of herself for not retreating. Actually, she wanted him to kiss her at the same time part of her brain screamed at her that she didn’t really know him. How could she be sure he wasn’t the person she was after?

  She’d cross that bridge when she came to it if there was a bridge to cross.

  “Me too. I’d never had Vietnamese before.”

  He smiled that incredible smile as he took yet another step. “Then I’ll have to bring you here again.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re not nervous, are you?”

  “Who me?”

  He lifted his forefinger to the side of her face and slid it down the length of her jaw. And then he lowered his mouth to hers. When Kevin ended the kiss, it took Jenna a moment to focus.

  “Why, Miss Walker, you look stunned.”

  She was, damn the cocky man. “It was okay.”

  He chuckled at that and gave her a quick peck on the forehead. “See you at work tomorrow.”

  “Yeah.” Now where had she misplaced her ability to speak?

  When she pulled up in front of her town house, she had no recollection of how she got there but was fairly certain she’d grinned like an idiot the entire way. She fumbled her way inside and turned off the alarm.

  An unexpected but familiar sound greeted her. Pegram ran into view and jumped up on her leg, demanding to be petted. Jenna crouched down and fought tears she was so happy to see his little face. He’d grown just in the weeks since she’d seen him, and she hated that she’d missed it.

  “Hey boy, I’ve missed you. How in the world did you get here?”

  Pegram wasn’t saying, but he was so excited to see her that she was afraid he was going to wet himself.

  Even though she’d asked him the question, she knew the answer. Daniel was the only person who could have done this. Maybe he’d picked up on her homesickness and brought a little bit of home to her.

  She sank down onto the floor and wrestled with Pegram. Nothing had brought her so much joy in weeks, not even the evening with Kevin. How would Kevin like knowing he’d been outranked by a ball of wiggling fur?

  When Pegram finally tired of the play, he scurried off to explore the rest of the rooms. Jenna wandered into the living room and found a note on the bar separating it fro
m the kitchen. “Thought you could use a familiar face.”

  Either Daniel Webster actually cared how she felt or he was doing everything to ensure she wouldn’t pack up and head back to Nashville. She wished she knew which.

  For several minutes, she sat and waited, expecting Daniel to knock on the door and not sure how she would react to him when he did. It seemed to be the night for men surprising her though because he didn’t show up, didn’t call. She ignored the odd disappointment as she climbed the stairs. She owed him some thanks for both taking up for her with his boss and for bringing Pegram to her. Some thanks, that was all.

  She pushed Daniel and Kevin from her mind. She had to get a good night’s rest because in the morning, all thoughts would shift to her mission. She was going to catch their cat-and-mouse assassin not only because of the high stakes for the president, the country and the world, but the guy was beginning to tick her off.

  ****

  Jenna was never so happy for someone to need dental work. Since Patti was in having a root canal, leaving Barb in charge for the day, Jenna took every opportunity to go invisible and investigate. She moved in and out of rooms, eavesdropping on the conversations of everyone from secretaries to presidential advisers. Unfortunately, the conversations didn’t reveal much of interest other than the president’s chief speech writer was having an affair with an intern in one of the senator’s offices. More than she needed to know.