I.N.E.T 1

by Brenda Cothern

  Slade just stared at his boss until Fish finally spoke again. “Look, I’ll see if I can fast track him through some of his courses. You said he kicked ass on the range so I’ll look at the tape. If he’s as good as you say then there is no reason for him to endure that asshole Conner any longer. His memory can easily be tested even though there was nothing in his file about a photographic memory.”

  “In the file or not, he has one and it’s fucking scary as shit the way he quotes the manual,” Slade replied.

  “Alright.” Fish grinned. “Let’s get to the reason why I called you in.”

  Slade flopped down into the seat across from his boss and prayed Fisher wasn’t about to tell him what he didn’t want to hear. Of course, no one up there was listening, as usual.

  “Zep reported in and has arranged for you to meet with Fernandez.”

  “Shit.” Slade knew Zep had been trying to arrange the meeting with the trafficker, but last he heard, Zep wasn’t making any progress in getting Fernandez to agree to a meeting. Slade also had hoped that Knight would be finished with his training before the meeting went down.

  “What changed his mind?” Slade asked and hoped Fernandez hadn’t suddenly become suspicious of Zepple and was setting them up.

  “The storm that blew through Acapulco. Apparently, the locals weren’t the only ones who lost buildings. One of Fernandez’s main suppliers lost their production lab. Zep said Fernandez has a big order that he is committed to fill,” Fish updated Slade on the case they had been working on for over a year.

  “When did Zep set up the meeting?” Slade hoped it wasn’t sometime over the next few days. His hope was shattered when Fish spoke.

  “Tomorrow night in San Antonio.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Slade bolted upright in his chair and looked at Fish as if his boss was crazy. “That only gives me tonight and tomorrow to prep! Hell, if I was really coming from Argentina it would take me fourteen hours just to get to Texas.”

  “Slade, you already have the file that is your cover and we both know that Fernandez has already been looking into Enrique Ruiz. Brush up on your Argentinian accent tonight and you will be fine.” Fish reached into his desk and removed an updated folder on Fernandez. He also pulled out a few cassette tapes before pushing everything across his desk to Slade.

  “Son of a bitch.” Slade picked up everything.

  “Deidrick will have your sample product kit and clothes for you in the morning. You know the drill. Do the meet and set up the shipment and you’ll be home in a few days.”

  Slade grunted and stood. He hated being rushed when he had to go undercover, but this wasn’t the first time he had to prep in a hurry.

  “Now, get the hell out of my office and I’ll see what I can do for your partner.”

  Slade glanced down at the tapes he held as he walked out of Fisher’s office. He knew why they weren’t digital. They were wire taps of a cartel that had been based out of Argentina back in the eighties. Whenever they could, Fish tried to get him actual tapes to listen to in order to mimic an accent because it wasn’t just the accent he needed to learn. It was cadence and slang as well.

  Slade headed over to the training facility without a second thought. He wanted to give Knight a heads-up that he would be gone for a few days.

  Knight sat at his small as hell desk and booted up his INET issued laptop. He hated computers. More specifically, he hated doing research on computers. While his laptop booted up, Knight picked up his classmate’s folder. He opened the file and scanned the only page it contained.

  A color picture of a young man was in the top right corner. It was easily recognizable as an INET picture. The same type of photo was on his ID badge. The guy looked plain. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about his brown eyes or brown hair that had no particular style.

  This guy could easily go unnoticed in a crowd, Knight thought as he scanned the rest of the details on the page. There weren’t many.

  Thomas Billinger was twenty-four and had a bachelor’s degree in business administration from a community college in Kentucky. His last known address before going to college was in Nebraska. The file didn’t say if that residence belonged to his parents or not. It did say both parents were still living and that he had three siblings; one older sister and two younger brothers.

  “God, can this kid be anymore all-American normal?” Knight muttered to himself and tossed the file down next to his laptop before he pulled out a notepad from his backpack. Knight scrubbed his hands over his face and wished he had a beer.

  “Well, you don’t have one, so start digging,” Knight said to his empty room and logged onto his laptop with his INET issued ID. The moment his desktop appeared on screen, the soft blue light that glowed under his laptop turned white.

  Really? Are you fucking kidding me?

  Knight kept his expression the same and tried not to frown into the camera that he now knew was activated to record everything he did. He had no idea if anyone was monitoring the feed or not, but he figured it was a safe bet that there wasn’t a tech on the other side. There were just too many trainees for each one of them to be monitored live every time they logged onto their accounts. Knight highly doubted it was his tail, either, but that was still a possibility no matter how unlikely.

  He briefly considered disabling the camera. Knight was sure he could pop off the back of the laptop and find the additional hardware. Even though he barely knew anything about computers, he knew what tapping devices looked like. Of course, if the remote viewer was using software then he had no idea how to counter and shut down the feed.

  Screw it, let’s have some fun. This time, Knight didn’t stop himself from smiling and he wondered what whoever was recording him would think of his grin.

  Sixteen

  Knight decided to do his research on Billinger then leave the INET techs, or his tail, a little note before he shut down his laptop and never booted the fucker up again.

  Three hours later, Knight had all the information he was going to find online about Thomas Billinger. Not only did he have everything he needed for his report, but after digging very deep, he discovered Billinger’s secret as well. Little Tommy was born Tiffney.

  Knight was disappointed this surveillance assignment wasn’t that difficult and he was able to complete it in only a few hours. He wrestled his temper down and reminded himself that at least he was having fun fucking with his classmates. There was only one more thing he needed to do before he shut down his laptop for good. Knight opened a Word document and began to type.

  I.C.U. If this is a typical INET surveillance technique, it is amazing anyone is ever caught because if a ‘trainee’ can detect you, you are definitely doing a shit job. Oh and pass this along to whoever the fuck recruited me… I am not learning shit and I am sure the DEA or some other alphabet agency would make better use of my time… and skills. If this is my little brown haired friend, your time is almost up before you’re orange banded, too.

  Knight added that last bit just because he could, saved the doc under the file name ‘Lame Training’ before he closed it, and shut down the laptop. The white light that glowed from beneath the laptop went out, but when he turned his laptop over to make sure it was really out his eye spotted another light. A small red light glowed from between the bottom of the laptop and the keyboard. Had he not turned over the laptop in the direction he had, he doubted he would have spotted the light at all.

  So, we’re still listening, then. Knight smirked at the laptop and considered where the loudest place on the training grounds could be so that he could give the techs something to really listen to instead of him.

  A knock on his door broke through his contemplation. The knock wasn’t soft or timid so he doubted it was his neighbor, Stacy. After the tongue lashing he gave her the other day, she hadn’t dared to come near him again even when he was getting all buddy-buddy with his classmates.

  Knight opened his door and grinned when he saw Slade standing o
n his threshold. His partner’s hands were buried deep in the front pockets of his jeans, but it wasn’t the way his hands framed the bulge in his jeans that made Knight’s gut twinge. No, it was the way Slade’s hair fell that made it look like the man had run his fingers through it repeatedly in frustration and the way Slade looked tense as a spring ready to be sprung.

  “Hey, you got a minute?” Slade asked as if he thought Knight might have plans for the night.

  “Yeah,” Knight looked down the hall and noticed his tail’s door was cracked open and the man was peering out. He glanced back at Slade before looking over his shoulder at the laptop.

  Slade watched Knight and when his partner looked back into his room, Slade immediately thought that Knight had company. The thought that his partner was entertaining one of his classmates in the privacy of his room made Slade’s jealousy appear and he regretted coming to talk to him tonight instead of in the morning.

  Knight returned his gaze back to Slade and wondered if his new partner was aware of INET’s monitoring techniques on trainees. Because the more Knight thought about his laptop, the more he believed the tap was too high tech for his classmate to pull off. However, whether Slade was aware that INET tapped trainees or not, Knight lifted a finger to his lips before he opened his door further and gestured Slade inside.

  Slade frowned when Knight indicated he should be quiet. He prayed he didn’t need to add paranoia to his concern about Knight’s anger management issues. When Knight lifted his laptop and flipped it sideways, Slade raised a brow and almost exhaled in relief that Knight wasn’t really paranoid.

  “Recording?” Slade mouthed and Knight nodded affirmative.

  “I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat,” Slade said and pointed at the laptop then the bathroom.

  “Let me jump in the shower first,” Knight replied and they both made their way to the bathroom.

  “Sure. I’ll wait out here,” Slade said before he followed Knight into the small space.

  Slade watched as Knight set the laptop down soundlessly on the sink before he started the shower. Once the water was running steadily, Knight lifted the lid off the back of the toilet and set it quietly on the seat. He then rustled the shower curtain before turning back to the toilet.

  Thankfully, Slade didn’t say anything when his partner followed him into the bathroom. Slade just stood leaning against the door jam and watched him as he removed the chain from the handle. Knight carefully lifted the drain plug and wedged the chain beneath it enough that the plug couldn’t seal. Slowly, the water started to drain and the tank refill hose turned on. Knight placed the toilet lid back on and moved the laptop to lean between the back of the toilet and seat. He grinned at Slade.

  Slade resisted the urge to chuckle when Knight grinned and shot him a wink before turning off the shower. He knew what Knight had done with the toilet to make it continuously run. As close as the laptop was, the running water would sound like a waterfall to whoever was listening. Knight waved him to leave the bathroom and toward his door. Silently, he opened it and they stepped out into the hall. Neither man spoke until they reached the stairs.

  “What the hell was that?” Slade finally asked quietly.

  “Audio tap,” Knight replied sarcastically.

  “I know what it was, smartass,” Slade shoulder bumped Knight. “Do you know who is tapping you or better yet, why?”

  Knight laughed as they pushed through the doors to the courtyard. He didn’t get the impression that Slade was joking. His partner sounded truly concerned that he was being tapped.

  “Yeah,” Knight shot Slade a sideways glance. “INET.” Slade’s eyes grew wide, but Knight finished before his partner could comment. “As to why, I suspect it has something to do with having my first class on surveillance.”

  “So, they told you that you would be tapped and had to discover how? My class never had to do that.”

  “Yes and no.” Knight opened the door to the cafeteria and they walked in. He didn’t speak again until they retrieved their food and sat at the table that was quickly becoming ‘theirs’ when Slade joined him to eat.

  “The assignment is to do surveillance on a classmate and catch who is doing it on you.”

  “Ok, we did have that assignment when I went through training, but how do you know that whoever is supposed to tail you didn’t just get ahold of your laptop?” Slade had to ask. He doubted Knight would have left his assigned equipment lying around for anyone to fuck with, but he really doubted INET was spying on trainees.

  “I’m pretty sure my tail didn’t. He wasn’t the one listening in or the one who was watching me while I researched my classmate who is my target for this assignment.” Knight paused to let that sink in as he swirled his pasta and took a bit. “I was assigned my laptop after the class and didn’t even boot it up until today. It’s been in my room the whole time.”

  “What you’re telling me is that INET loaded the laptop so they could watch and listen to you?” Slade stared at Knight unbelievably and Knight nodded. “Why?”

  Knight shrugged. “Dunno.” He took another bite of his dinner and didn’t seem too concerned about the whole thing. “I am sure they bugged all of the trainees’ laptops. Either to evaluate our methods of research or just to see what type of porn we like to watch,” Knight said with a smirk.

  Slade returned Knight’s smirk with a grin. He was surprised that his quick to anger partner wasn’t fuming over this invasion of his privacy. Slade took a sip of his sweet tea and thought for a moment before he continued the conversation.

  “They usually cover electronic surveillance techniques in class,” Slade started, and Knight interrupted.

  “I am sure they did even though I tuned out most of what Monroe said after I elaborated on her statement about the correlation between target contact and the level of danger an undercover operative could be in.”

  Slade just shook his head. He could easily picture Knight educating Monroe on how rubbing elbows with a target had a greater risk of being killed than sitting in a van listening to shit did. She knew that, but just the thought of his partner pointing it out to her was amusing to Slade.

  “What if they are testing you guys to see if you could detect being under surveillance and just not telling you?” Slade offered the theory since when he went through training they had to use PCs instead of laptops.

  “That’s what I am thinking.” Knight continued to eat and after several bites, added, “I left them a note before I shut down the laptop.”

  “Oh God,” Slade groaned. If Knight was anything like him, and he knew his new partner was a lot like him, then the note was sure to be sarcastic as hell.

  “Please tell me you didn’t call them out to the point where they will kick your ass to the curb.”

  Knight shrugged and laughed at the expression on Slade’s face. “I just told them I was bored.”

  Slade doubted that whatever message Knight left for the INET techs that were monitoring him was that short, sweet, and polite.

  “Good thinking with the toilet,” Slade complimented and could admit he was impressed with his new partner’s quick thinking. Slade still couldn’t figure out why Knight was wasting his time with TPD so he decided to ask.

  “Why were you working at TPD? You could work for any of the alphabets.”

  Knight grunted to acknowledge Slade’s praise, ignored Slade’s question, and continued to eat. He watched Slade in silence and the longer the silence stretched, the more Knight noticed Slade’s demeanor change.

  “What’s wrong?” Knight asked because he knew Slade’s change in behavior had nothing to do with their discussion about INET spying on him.

  Slade glanced around at the tables closest to them. Aside from a lanky guy who quickly looked away when he noticed Slade scanning the room, no one was paying them any attention.

  “Don’t mind him,” Knight grinned around a bite of bread. “He’s my tail.”

  Slade raised a brow and
covertly glanced at the dark haired guy again. He could see that the guy’s trainee badge hadn’t been orange banded yet.

  “Why haven’t you flagged him yet?” Slade was almost afraid to ask.

  Knight shrugged. “Not sure if I am gonna.”

  “Oh God,” Slade groaned again. “You’re fucking with him.” Knight chuckled and that was all the confirmation Slade needed to know he was right. “How much misinformation have you given him?”

  “Me?” Knight feigned innocence. “Now would I do something like that to him?”

  “Yep and you’re loving every minute of it. So spill, how much?” Slade grinned.

  “None,” Knight replied seriously and chuckled again when Slade studied him.

  “You haven’t talked to him at all,” Slade said with surety.

  “Nope.”

  “You just let him overhear you talking to the others.” Slade glanced around the cafeteria again and noted the number of orange bands on trainee badges.

  “How many of those are yours?”

  Knight looked around Slade and grinned. “Twelve of the fifteen if I had to guess.” Knight returned his gaze to Slade. A few more of his classmates that he had engaged were now banded since his last count at lunch.

  “So, you’re gonna let your tail file his report?” Slade asked because that’s what he would do.

  “Well, he’ll file a report on someone, but I doubt it will be me.” Knight grinned.

  They stood, and Slade laughed loud enough that several heads turned to look at them. “Poor Monroe. She’s gonna blow a gasket when she gets that report.”

  They pushed their way through the door to the courtyard and Slade angled their direction toward the gym.

  “Yeah. She’s gonna blow more than that when the poor guy adds incest to his findings.” Knight winked and laughed when Slade tripped because of his comment.

  “Shit, you’re terrible.” Slade joined in Knight’s laughter because he was totally onboard with his partner’s plan.