The Random Affair

by James H Roby

  “What?” Jordan asked. He returned his weapon to its shoulder holster. Everyone returned to their duties. The march to the elevators continued. Once there, the men guarding Random forced him to his feet. He cradled his right arm with the left. Jordan tried to remember if he broke it in the fight.

  An elevator arrived and the men and their two prisoners boarded. Smith headed toward the elevators now. Jordan came along. At the car doors, Jordan saw all the occupants staring forward. Even Thomas and Random looked straight ahead at nothing. The doors slid close.

  “So what,” Jordan asked, “you gonna ‘debrief’ ‘em or something?”

  “Something like that,” Smith said. The second elevator doors came open. More agents got off. Jordan, Smith and the blond got on. “Whatever happens to them, it ain’t your concern.”

  Jordan just nodded. He didn’t really care. He knew enough about the CIA. Whatever was in Thomas’s future was not going to be fun. And Random? After a reminder of who was in charge, he’d probably end up in a secret lab somewhere doing God knows what. He didn’t like that, now thinking about it. The car doors closed on the scene of agents roaming around.

  As they raced for the ground floor, Smith said, “You’re read in, Noble.” Jordan turned to the voice. It was the first time Smith spoke his name. He figured Smith was a Company man and had access to whatever information the Defense Intelligence Agency elected to share – including his name. “You know about Random and you have top secret clearance.” Jordan’s right eye brow shot up and the words, ‘what the fuck, over’ wanted to spring from his lips. He thought his clearance was revoked on his departure from the service. Still, he said nothing, keeping in mind this was something he needed to circle back to.

  “We’ll give the cops Pagani and his boys.” Smith rocked a little on his heels. “Whatever Pagani says about the ‘wonder drug’ crush will be unsubstantiated without Random and Thomas.”

  “So, he’ll go free?” Jordan flashed a hot look.

  Smith bounced a shoulder. “Never can tell – but, yeah, probably.” The fate of drug cartel leadership did not weigh heavy on Smith’s mind. He did lean a little toward Jordan as he said, “Guess we should thank you for bringing in Random. It could have been awkward if some beat cop or yokel had been in on it.” He stood straight again. “Long as he was in federal lock up it was fine, but Random knows too much to be in the wind.”

  Jordan sighed. Now he really didn’t care. He remember the Herculean effort the government went into protecting secrets. Forget the fact Random was moments away from releasing a far more addictive form of cocaine onto an unsuspecting public. Forget a young woman’s life was turned upside down and almost ended. The thought made Jordan wondered how Robin would react to the conclusion of the Random affair. He’d know soon enough.

  The doors opened. Cops were everywhere. Some were setting up a perimeter. Others were engaged in an argument with some more of Smith’s ilk. Portable lighting stood guard in three corners, chasing away the gloom. Jordan, Smith and blondie headed for the north exit on Adams. Just ahead was the group including Random and Thomas. Jordan looked past them to an EMT team surrounding a gurney with a familiar form.

  “E-Man!” Jordan sprinted across the tile floor. Cops and agents turned but no one stopped him. He got to E-Man’s side. His eyes were closed and beneath the sheet covering him, his shirt was cut reveal a thicker garment.

  “It’s not as bad as it looks,” one of the EMTs said, “Had on some kind of ballistic vest underneath.”

  E-Man’s eyes came up weakly, followed by a crooked little smile. “You should see the other guy.”

  Jordan turned to the doorway at the east end of the building. More EMTs were laying sheets over a couple of bodies. Guess a call to the lawyer was still in the cards. Jordan turned to say something to E-Man when a commotion started behind him. EMTs were trying to force their way to Random, who howled in pain.

  “That man’s injured,” a female EMT with a cute curly haircut said. “Dammit! Let us through!” From nearby, Smith made a gesture of indifference and Random’s guards parted. Jordan was brought back by a squeeze on his arm.

  “You did good, Noble,” E-Man said. “You stopped the bad guy, saved the girl and I only got a little fucked up.”

  Jordan grabbed E-Man’s shoulder. “Couldn’t have done without you.”

  “Damn right.”

  “Excuse me, sir?” The EMT pushed the gurney through the open Adams Street door. Jordan watched and from behind a police line, he saw Don and Malcolm. He waved and they waved back. It look like Malcolm was on the verge of tears. Jordan understood. Seeing your friend rushed off by medical professionals – it never gets easy.

  He had enough of this scene and was just about to follow after E-Man when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. It was Smith.

  “Look, Agent -” he cocked his head at the older man, “can we cut the Smith bullshit now? Look, I just want to go home.”

  Smith nodded and did something on a normal person may have been a smile. “I understand. Still, I need to debrief you as well. Nothing formal. I was thinking in your office. Tomorrow, maybe?”

  Smith tried to be agreeable but it wasn’t at all how Jordan saw himself spending the next day. Worse case, he would be on the phone with his lawyer explaining all the dead bodies he could be connected to. Best case, he and Robin would be in a hotel room, more precisely a hotel room bed, undisturbed for at least twenty-four hours. He was thinking the Westin Book Cadillac.

  A scream split the room and all heads turned toward it. Cody Random pushed away the woman with the cute hair. He had stolen his guard’s weapon and stood over him. Random whirled to the other guard and fired twice into his chest at point blank range. All over the lobby, guns were sliding out of holsters, but it was too late. Random spun and fired again on Thomas. The shamed CIA agent took a bullet between the eyes.

  Smith shouted, “For God’s sakes, don’t -”

  Whatever he was going to say will never be known. Jordan’s P7M with its built-in cocking lever located at the front of the grip, enabled him to cock, aim and fire faster than anyone in the room. A single shot leapt forth and 9mm fury travelling at 1,152 feet per second snapped Cody Random’s head backward with deadly finality.

  “Damn, killed him after all,” Jordan said not so much with regret as indignation.

  Beside him, Smith went into a cursing fit. Jordan was forced to the ground by a hard, sudden blow to his back. He impacted the tile floor and was momentarily senseless. He opened his eyes and looked up to more guns pointed at him than he had seen in a very long time. Someone pulled him to his feet. He twisted his head and saw the blond, teeth in a snarl. He whipped Jordan around to face Smith. A pair of cops was just behind and Smith was half-turned explaining something. National security or the like, Jordan figured. When he was done, Smith stepped to Jordan. The old man was furious and Jordan half thought Smith was going to smack him or something.

  “Damn it, Noble, why?”

  Jordan’s brows rose. “You’re kidding, right? Guy had a gun. A guy who was really bent on killing me.”

  Smith’s frustration got to him. He looked down, a brief conversation with himself. He looked back to Jordan. The rage almost a living thing ready to spring from his mouth. “Get him out of here.”

  The blond tugged hard, half dragging Jordan to the door. Once outside, the blue sky and sunshine illuminated the world. A group of looky-loos had gathered – cellphone recording everything. A couple of news vans were readying for broadcast. Cops struggled to keep the scene under control. Jordan looked but couldn’t find his partners. Probably for the best – if Malcolm saw this, he would never hear the end of it. The blond was joined by another agent and they frog marched Jordan to an awaiting blue sedan on Woodward. Jordan was pushed into the back seat, another agent with harsh features was already there. The engine came to life and shrieking tires carried them away.

  He wasn’t too worried. If neith
er Don nor Malcolm saw him, plenty of others did and one thing the CIA didn’t like was witnesses. He sank into the seat and breathed in and back out again. The car turned and entered the Chrysler Freeway. He was still going to be debriefed, just not as nice as it would have been in his office.

  He thought about Robin and decided she would like this ending to the story more than what the CIA had planned. He smiled and was just beginning to relax when a bag came over his head and everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Cage Door Opens

  Thirty-seven hours later.

  He watched her go from the ticket counter to the security line. She didn’t look around much, just studied her tickets endlessly, only popping her head up when the guy ahead of her took a step forward. She was almost at the TSA agent when she did survey her surroundings. Just a casual loop of her head as if checking to see if she was missing something or leaving something behind. She was.

  Robin Summers’ shoulders dropped, he could see that even from the ten yards separating them. She lifted her carry on bag - a large black thing, too big for a purse, too small for a duffel – exited the line with excuse me-s and walked straight to Jordan Noble.

  Jordan waited as she crossed the terminal at Detroit Metro Airport. People scurried by in the McNarmara Terminal heading for destinations far and wide. She cut through them, patiently waiting sometimes for a group to go by, other times dancing ahead of a walker going too slow. Finally she reached him. Robin dropped the bag. She wore jeans, a green T-shirt and a light jacket – just something to defend from the cold usually found on commercial aircrafts.

  “I don’t know if I should be delighted or angry that you followed me.” She looked up at him with tired eyes. The eyes of a woman whose business had just collapsed under the weight of a criminal investigation and the massive sucking sound of every investor fleeing as far and quickly as possible. The eyes reflected the pain of her lover betraying her only to be rescued by a former lover she had gotten quite comfortable hating.

  “Go with delighted,” Jordan said, “It’s easier.” He showed up to this encounter with his gray Tom Ford suit. He would show her his best self and she would leap into his arms. Looking into her eyes, he saw that fantasy vanished like a half formed dream. His heart broke and he went with humor to shield himself from the sting of honest emotion.

  “How did you find me?”

  His eyes got distant and memories closed in on him. The ride with the agents twisted and turned through the city in a surveillance detention route. Under the hood, Jordan had laughed at the notion someone was tracking them in a city where most people would be more concern about jobs and next meals.

  When the hood came off, they had finally deposited Jordan in an uncomfortable seat in a plain square room which could have been anywhere. They took his gun, his watch – everything in his pockets and his belt. He expected a long time in solitude – an old spy trick to wear down the subject and in the eagerness for human companionship, speak more freely. He did not expect to be left alone for over twenty hours.

  He fell asleep, as one is not lonely while asleep. He was awoken by Smith, a bit more rumbled then last they were together. Smith dumped all of Jordan’s belongings onto a table before him. The men exchanged looks – Jordan’s quizzical, Smith’s more of the same fury. This was not in the spy book of tricks.

  Without a word, Smith left, leaving the door open in his wake. Jordan got to his feet gathered his things, checked the gun was loaded and followed Smith’s path.

  The building was a collection of offices and halls. Tan walls and thin cheap carpet. Jordan crept through the building, yet found nothing or no one. A pair of glass doors led outside. He went through and found himself in a strip mall on Middlebelt Road in Livonia. He imagined worst places existed to be left. This one was at least within taxi distance of home. En route, a phone called to his partners revealed E-Man was resting comfortably at Henry Ford Hospital.

  He arrived at his apartment and he collected Galahad who was going insane with separation anxiety. He leashed up the little puppy and took another cab to the office building. There, Mrs. Steed caught him on the building’s second floor. With tears threatening to fall, she handed him a note, folded with the single word: Jordan. He had seen this movie. He handed the dog off to his secretary, got in the Vette and head to Southfield.

  Robin’s apartment formed like a townhouse had a sign in the window: For Let. An elderly woman watering a plant box next door was more than willing to tell Jordan about the nice young woman at whose door he stood. She hired a truck and took most, but not all (well, it couldn’t be all, she had a two bedroom unit and not enough furniture came out of the house for that – not that she was watching). Robin had a little meeting with the property owners and an agreement about subletting was reached. Then the nice young woman asked the elderly woman to collect her mail as she was moving. Jordan asked a few more questions, the elderly woman gave up that the nice young woman was flying out tomorrow.

  Tomorrow was now today. The rest was easy – thanks to Don who, yes, was far better than Jordan at wrestling secrets out of the internet. Flight number in hand, Jordan raced to the airport.

  “I am a detective.”

  She allowed him that this time and they laughed. Both had their heads down as the swirling crowds moved around them – a stone in a stream.

  Robin cleared her throat, “Look, Jordan -”

  “You weren’t going to say good-bye?”

  Robin looked as if someone had punched her in the stomach. She gathered her courage to look Jordan in the eye. “No, baby, I wasn’t. It’s just too hard.”

  Jordan looked at her. Breathing became a task. Yesterday he woke up next to her – today, the world was falling apart.

  “Jordan,” her eyes found the floor again, “too much as happened. It would be too hard to go on.”

  “Too hard for love?” He reached and touched her arm. Robin looked up again and breathed so deeply, he thought she would take in all the air in the room. Her arm crossed her body to reach for where he touched her. For a moment, it seemed like the world was ready to make sense again.

  She coughed out a laugh. “That’s your problem, Jordan. “Everything is so simple for you. So easy.”

  “Isn’t it?” He drew away his touch and the hand flew in frustration. “Seriously, screw all this deep thought and double talk. It all comes down to, do you love me and do I love you!”

  “No, it doesn’t. Jordan, I can’t be who you need me to be, not now.”

  Jordan smiled a cocky little smile, “Isn’t that my line?”

  “Don’t make fun of me!” A passerby tore his face from his phone. “Not now. I mean it. This…adventure has cause me to question who and what am I? I told you that I hated you for a long time. I was wrong about that, I see that now.” Tears sprang from her eyes. “But I was wrong about Kevin, too. In so many ways. Don’t you see? What else am I wrong about? I can’t start a new relationship with you with so many doubts.”

  He understood. Vaguely. And to be honest, he did ask himself how could she be so in love, so tied to a man who could, in an instant, leave her to die. His arms went around her. Robin buried her face in his chest. She was crying full out now, coughing and choking for air. After a moment, she got her composure back. She looked up at Jordan. Tears rolled down her face and pooled at her chin.

  “You can’t believe that, Bird,” emotion gripped his voice. “I would do that to you.”

  She took his face in her hands. “Oh, baby, I don’t know much, but I know that will never happen. It’s not that. I need to find out who I am. How can I be with you, if I don’t know myself. Can you give me that? Please, I need you to give me that.”

  All the bullets and punches and kicks Jordan had experienced was not killing him as much as these words. No one would ever know, but Jordan reached deep inside himself and found a courage he never knew before. He nodded and granted his one true love her request.


  “How long?” The sounds were barely words.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. But don’t wait. No, love, I know you would, but don’t. Live life. You waited too long for me already and I can never repay you. If it was meant to be, we’ll find each other.”

  Nothing else to say. Nothing more to be done. Save taking her chin and kissing her. So, he did. Jordan Noble kissed Robin Summers as if life itself depended on it. He kissed her like they were only ones in the terminal. His hands touch and held her with thoughtless passion. Two full minutes when by. Robin broke away. She dipped down and picked up her bag. She walked away two steps and turned.

  “You are my heart, Jordan Noble,” she said through red eyes and sobbing throat. “And no matter what…” her voice vanished, overpowered by tears.