by Annette Mori
“Oh, I have no doubt you have multiple resources at your disposal and you are a clever one, but someone that is close to you and your friends has been talking to the wrong people. It’s the only explanation for how they have your picture. I don’t think they know where you live or where your base operations are, but they know your face and Sophie’s. They might know Kim’s face as well, but we don’t have confirmation of that just yet.”
“How do I know that it isn’t someone from whatever organization you work for that is causing our current predicament? You seem to know an awful lot about me and yet I know nothing about you.”
“I plan to rectify that. By the way, what did you embed into your business card? It’s some kind of biological substance, right? How does it work? Would you have been able to track me to our base of operations?”
“I’m not about to tell you shit. You’re so fucking brilliant, you figure it out,” Toni bit out.
“I don’t suppose getting naked with you is still on the table now. Damn, I was so looking forward to that.” Char grinned.
“Fuck you. You’re an arrogant little shit and here I thought Soph was the most arrogant woman I’ve ever known. Sophie will track you down and she’s got a mighty short temper.”
“Oh, yes, I know that about her. We’ll have to work on that. It only gets in the way. She does have other talents though, and we’re anxious to have her come on board.”
“You ever heard of free will? Who the fuck do you think you and your people are?”
“We are the ones who are going to save your asses.”
Toni crossed her arms across her chest and remained silent. She knew she was being ungrateful and something in her really wanted to trust Char, but she needed to take a stand on principle alone if nothing else. She was worried about Kim and Sophie. What if those goons had pictures of her friends, as well?
Toni broke her self-imposed silence. “Can you tell me if Kim and Sophie are in danger?”
Char looked at her and Toni thought she saw a hint of concern in her expression.
“I don’t know, Toni. I promise we’ll know more when we get to the compound. Ronda might be able to tease critical information from Viktor’s lackey if he survived the crash.”
Toni’s eyes got wide as she heard Char mention Viktor. “Viktor Borsky?”
Char nodded.
“But why would Viktor have my picture. We haven’t even targeted the Russian mob yet,” Toni blurted out before she had time to censor her statement.
“As I said before, there’s a mole somewhere and we need to combine forces to flush him or her out.”
“You think it’s someone close to us, but we really don’t have many close friends. It’s been the three of us for as long as I can remember. Kim and Sophie were the first friends I had that actually treated me as if I was a normal person—not some cerebral misfit. Sophie left…shit. How do you do that?”
“What?”
“Make me blurt out stuff that I know I shouldn’t.”
“Toni, I know you don’t trust me yet, but believe me, there is very little you’ve said that we don’t already know. I already know Sophie was an FBI agent and she left shortly after Natalie died. I can assure you there were no witnesses left that evening but you, Sophie, Dani, and me. Unfortunately, someone knew about the meeting and that someone is our mole.”
“So it could just as easily be someone from your organization.”
Char frowned. “Yes, I suppose that’s possible. However, I’m putting my money on someone in the FBI—someone who used to work with Sophie and who knows about your special talents with surveillance technology. They did try to recruit you, didn’t they?”
Toni had to admit to herself that it was more than possible. Sophie had worked with her to pull them completely off the grid after Natalie’s death along with her resignation from the FBI. But, they did not go as far as allowing themselves to go under the knife to change their physical appearance—a decision she was now regretting.
“Yes, they did, but I only agreed to be an independent consultant for them. I don’t play well with others,” Toni acknowledged.
Char frowned.
Toni noticed her expression. Hmm, I guess she doesn’t like that little character trait. I suspect her organization only wants good little soldiers. Well, I’m not the type to follow orders blindly.
Toni looked outside and discovered that they were in a remote part of Maryland. She didn’t remember traveling this far outside of DC. Toni smiled to herself with the knowledge that the tracking program would pinpoint their exact location. She congratulated herself for insisting that Sophie put the program on her phone. It wouldn’t take Sophie long to track her down when she didn’t show up for their ritual coffee in the morning. No matter what Toni was doing the night before, they always got together for coffee every morning to touch base and make sure whatever plans were in motion stayed on track.
†
The car crunched noisily on the gravel road as they meandered farther into the wilderness. The property didn’t look like much. There was a small log cabin nestled between the trees.
“This is your super-secret compound?” Toni asked incredulously.
“You sure do make hasty judgments. Come on, let me show you around.” Char pushed a button and the car turned off. She exited the vehicle and looked at Toni, who remained sitting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.
“I’m not sure I’m interested in being shown around. How do I know you’re not some homicidal maniac who lures unsuspecting women to your lair?” Toni inquired.
“Oh, for God’s sake. If we wanted you dead, you’d be dead by now. How many times do I have to tell you, we’re not the enemy?”
“Well, then you won’t mind if I just keep the gun.”
“I thought you didn’t know how to use a gun.”
“I lied.” Toni smirked.
“Fine. Keep the gun if it will make you feel better, but if you accidently shoot me or any of my associates due to your inept skills with a gun, I’ll hand you to the mob myself.”
Toni opened the passenger door and climbed out. The gun felt foreign in her hand. Sophie had tried on numerous occasions to show Toni how to operate a handgun and she now regretted not paying more attention to those lessons. But she was damned if she’d let Char know that little factoid.
Toni followed Char into the cozy cabin.
Char headed straight for the well-crafted stone fireplace and touched a spot on one of the stones. Toni didn’t see a button or any type of discoloring that would reveal the spot, but an invisible panel shifted and opened to reveal a cement set of stairs leading into some kind of basement.
Toni was shocked to discover that the long stairway preceded a cement tunnel with bright lighting leading further into the depths of the earth. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, but was probably not more than four hundred feet. At the end of the tunnel there were two separate passages—one that veered to the right and the other to the left.
Char continued down the passage to the right where two hundred feet ahead was what appeared to be a solid oak door.
On the other side of the door Toni gasped as she laid her eyes on what looked like an enormous control center complete with computers, lab equipment, and other apparatus that she couldn’t readily identify. She would bet all the gadgets before her eyes were top of the line with several prototypes thrown in for good measure.
A red light was beeping above the door and Char quickly placed her hand on the biometric panel. The light turned yellow and then Char moved her eye to the crystal-shaped orb off to the side. Finally, the light turned green.
“Why don’t you have the biometric panels on the outside of the door instead of the inside?” Toni asked.
Char shrugged. “Maggie is a little eccentric and didn’t want to set up security in any manner that would normally be expected.”
“So what happens to someone who enters and is not able to override the secur
ity?”
“Ronda’s specialty is explosives. Everything is blown to smithereens.”
Toni shuddered. “You people are nuts.”
Toni looked around the room at the four sterile white walls creating an institutional cube, like the room where she spent the better part of her teenage years. She felt her memories bubble to the surface. Just like school. She’d be a lab rat again.
Toni turned her attention to a middle-aged woman who entered the room via a door at the far right of the control center.
Char smiled at the woman and greeted her with a hug. “Hello, Maggie. I trust that Ronda filled you in on the latest developments. Maggie, meet Toni.” Char looked back at Toni. “Toni, meet Maggie.”
Toni looked skeptically at Maggie, but shook the outstretched hand.
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Toni. I do apologize for how this all unraveled. We had hoped to contain things for a bit longer until Char had a chance to gain your trust.”
Toni glared at Char. “You really have been stalking me,” she angrily spit out.
“Guilty as charged, but I have to admit to enjoying this mission far more than any other.” Char grinned.
“You can’t just go around kidnapping people and expect to get away with it.”
“Kidnapping? Is that what you think we’ve done?”
Toni thought Char looked genuinely perplexed.
“Char, why don’t you take Toni to the other part of the compound so she can rest? I imagine this whole evening has been quite a shock to her system. We will have plenty of time to fill her in later. Ronda is on her way and she assures me that the little problem that surfaced this evening was resolved.” Maggie bowed. “Please accept our hospitality while we regroup and decide our next course of action.”
Toni noticed Maggie looking at the gun in her hand.
Maggie pointed to the gun in Toni’s hand. “My dear, are you planning on shooting us? If not, I believe it might be safer if I were to take possession of Char’s gun.”
Toni shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Deep down, she did not really believe either woman would do her harm. She relinquished the gun to Maggie and smiled sheepishly.
Char grabbed Toni’s hand and laced her fingers with hers.
Toni was about to protest, but it just felt right and something within her allowed the simple gesture of goodwill.
Char led her out of the control room and backtracked to the part of the tunnel where they were able to go in the other direction. The tunnel seemed to turn into a kind of tributary as the branches led in several different directions.
Char gently tugged her toward an offshoot to the right. “Come on, I’ll take you to my quarters. They’re actually quite nice and I even have a guest bedroom to offer, unless you’d like to bunk with me.”
I would like to bunk with you, but I’m not about to admit that, Toni thought. “And then you woke up—dream on Ms. Arrogant.”
“And to think I got farther on the night of the fundraiser and I didn’t even have to buy you dinner. Now you play hard to get.”
Toni sputtered, “You…you…knew who I was. How? Oh, never mind, I don’t want to know.”
“Yes, you do and I promise we’ll explain everything, but Maggie is right, I think it might be a good idea to just chill for tonight. Can we do that, please? I promise I won’t bite. That is unless you want me to.”
Without letting go of Toni’s hand, Char opened another door and directed Toni into a cozy living room with hardwood floors and a fake fireplace that looked almost real enough to burn your fingers. Fake windows were scattered about the chamber creating the illusion that both the mountains and the sea surrounded the room.
Char kicked the door shut with her foot and, without releasing Toni’s hand, she pushed her up against the wall. Before Toni could guess what was happening, Char covered her mouth and kissed her like she’d never been kissed before. Toni felt herself melting into Char’s embrace and was powerless to stop her reaction.
Char broke away and touched her forehead to Toni’s. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since I saw you enter the café. You have no idea how sexy you looked when you took off your helmet and shook out your hair.”
Toni was surprised when she saw the melancholy on Char’s face, but she was pissed and was not about to let this woman know how good the kiss felt. Char had kidnapped her. Maybe it was for her own good, but Toni didn’t like someone else making decisions for her. Toni pushed her away and glared at her.
“I really wish we’d met under different circumstances.” Char sighed.
Char led Toni to the soft leather couch, sat down, and gently pulled her down to sit.
There was a lot more to this woman than Toni imagined she revealed to others. She was desperate to figure out the person behind the mask.
“How did you get sucked into this organization?” Toni asked.
Char looked away as if the answer was somewhere else but in the room. “Maggie saved our lives. Our childhood was not exactly ideal.”
A chunk of Toni’s armor slid off. She believed her words were the most honest statements she’d heard Char make since they met. “Will you tell me about it?”
“Maybe someday.”
The way Char’s expression seemed to change in an instant fascinated Toni. As she looked into her eyes, it felt like a shield went up and a new mask was in place.
“Come on, let me show you to the guest bedroom and bath and then I’ve got to attend to some business. We’ll explain everything tomorrow. Please just get some rest because we need that oversized brain of yours. I know you care about your friends so please just be patient and trust us. Their lives depend on all of us to be at one hundred percent. This is not a game we are playing here.”
Toni nodded. Although she didn’t completely trust Char, she couldn’t say she mistrusted her either. She would wait for Sophie to come get her. She knew that come morning, Sophie would be on her way. In the meantime, she would not let her guard down no matter how charming Char might seem because she still considered her the enemy.
On the way to the guest bedroom Toni spied an enormous door at the end of the hallway. Shit, I bet you could fit a small truck through that doorway. She wondered where it led.
A few feet from the doorway, curiously, forearm crutches were propped up against the wall.
Char showed her a small bedroom furnished with a simple queen-sized bed, matching dresser, and nightstand. A homemade quilt adorned the bed. The bedroom connected to a small bathroom complete with a tiled shower and stone vanity.
“Please don’t let anything happen to Sophie or Kim. I know you are expecting Sophie to come looking for me and I don’t want her to get caught in the crossfire or be mistaken for the enemy.”
“I give you my word—Sophie will come to no harm. We are very good at what we do and we do know who is, and who is not, the enemy.”
Chapter 12
Viktor ended his call with Gregor. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Gregor reported seeing Toni at Taylor’s Bistro. He insisted he had to go because the women were leaving and he wanted to follow them and would call back when he had more information.
He punched in Byron’s phone number. “Get back here right away. I have a solid lead on our problem.” Viktor could hear the excitement in Byron’s voice. “Good, I’ll see you shortly.”
In less than ten minutes, Byron was outside his gate waiting to enter. When he arrived, a guard escorted him into the parlor where they had met earlier in the day.
“Good, you are here,” Viktor said before pouring Byron a glass of Stolichnaya vodka on the rocks. “Share a drink with me.” He could tell that Byron hated the taste, but the uncouth American swallowed it down without protest.
“So, I understand from your call that we’ve had some developments since we last met.” Byron smiled.
“Yes. One of my men verified seeing Toni and a beautiful redhead having dinner at Taylor’s Bistro. He took a quick photo
and is currently following them.” Viktor pulled his cell phone out and turned the screen to Byron. “Do you recognize either of them?”
“The dark-haired woman certainly looks like the picture you showed me earlier and the redhead is familiar to me. Let me think a minute about where I’ve seen her.” Byron snapped his fingers. “She was at the fund-raiser sitting with a table of attorneys. The tall blonde who crashed into my suite with the one that took out my entire security team, joined her table later.”
“The redhead is Heather Stiles. She is one of the attorneys I’ve hired to help with some of my legitimate businesses. I’ve been vetting her to determine whether she has the stomach for other aspects of the business. She is easy on the eyes and very intelligent. Now I am wondering whether her dinner date with Toni is pure coincidence or something more,” Viktor added.
“If she was at the Republican fund-raiser I suspect I will be able to get a little more information on her.”
“Don’t bother. If she is an integral part of this secret network or organization, all you are likely to find is what they want you to find. Perhaps she is the third woman.”
“No, definitely not—she’s too tall. My date was a very small and petite woman. This woman looks like she might be nearly six feet tall,” Byron clarified.
“Hmm. Then perhaps it is an unlucky coincidence for Heather that she is having dinner with Toni. Regardless, she will now be on our hit list. We cannot take a chance that she is somehow connected and, as I said before, there are more enemies besides these three women. Our source hints at a much larger association that does not hesitate to use force to eliminate any threats to their organization,” Viktor added.
“It seems to be an unlikely coincidence that the tall blonde who crashed my suite with the other bitch and took out my security team, joined your attorney’s table at the fund-raiser by chance.” Byron frowned.
“I don’t suppose you got a picture.”
“Not me, personally, but there were numerous photographers at the event. None of the security cameras captured any photos of their faces. Perhaps we can find a way to collect the photos from the professional photographers. I can certainly track down the press and other public relations firms who were taking photos at the event,” Byron offered.