“Good, good,” Faisal said. “Wear something you can be flexible in.”
“Flexible, sir?” she said, puzzled. “Like a leotard?”
My mind wandered as the image of her in clingy clothing filled it. She was working for evil, but even evil could be hot, right?
Faisal chuckled on the other end of the line. “No no, my dear. Flexible as in the ‘I’m going to be climbing, spying, and gee, I hope I don’t get caught’ kind of flexible.”
“Oh,that kind.”
“Yes,that kind.”
“I’m sure I have something,” Jane said, and headed out of her living room into the darkness of the next room over. I switched the goggles over to night vision and suddenly had a perfect view of her bedroom lit in a wash of monochromatic green. The goggles read body heat and I couldn’t help but notice the red-blue swirls it picked up and the curves of her figure. Torn between gentlemanly respect and a sense of duty, I forced myself to keep watching. She headed straight to a chest of drawers. It was already open and clothes hung out of it in disarray. Jane started pawing through them. “May I inquire as to my mission?”
“You may indeed. I need you to check out those two men from the incident at our offices the other afternoon. I need you to tell me if one of them isn’t talking to someone.”
Jane’s face scrunched up, confused, and I found I was making the same face underneath the goggles.Isn’t talking to someone…?
She continued to rummage through her chest of drawers. “I’m sorry?”
“I beg your pardon,” corrected Faisal. “I need you to tell me if one of them is talking to someone who isn’t.”
Jane held up a shirt and stretched it across her body. Slimming, a bit tight, but if she was caught spying, she’d look dynamite in it. Perfect choice.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow you, Mr. Bane.”
“Then follow this!” he barked, causing me to reach for the volume on the headphones.
Thiswas the Faisal I had expected. Jane nearly dropped the phone. She stopped fussing with the shirt and gave Faisal her full attention. “Thanks to that careless object retrieval you scheduled, one of my pet projects has been compromised, Jane. Some very important enemies are becoming all too aware of the Sectarian Defense League’s goings-on and I’m blaming this wholly on you.”
“Sir, the agent I sent to Ms. Blatt’s on the retrieval-”
“Wasstill your agent, Jane. Youdo take responsibility for people under your command, I assume?”
Jane was getting nervous. She started pacing and fell silent.
What could she say? I knew she was way out of her league, probably had been from day one. Right that moment, though, she had to think fast to please her boss. Her newfound career with the S.D.L. was on the line. How she handled Faisal would affect whether she lived or died, even if she wasn’t fully aware of the severity of her situation.
She seemed so small and insecure just then. I wanted to help her out, even if she was playing for Team Evil. I wished I could send thoughtwaves to her.Keep in mind where your bread is buttered and you’ll know to please him above all else to survive.
As if in response, Jane’s face calmed and she said, “Yes, of course I’m responsible for what my people do, sir.”
“Good,” he said, softening. Monochrome Jane relaxed even further. “That’s what I like to hear. Now when I said ‘I need you to find if one of them is talking to someone whoisn’t,’ I meant just that. It is tragic that the Department of Extraordinary Affairs knows about our existence now, but their bursting into our offices was not a total waste of my precious time. There was something one of them said that made me think. They implied they were working with someone I personally know to be out of the picture. Do you follow?”
“I think so, sir.”
“Excellent. You take care of this for me, Jane, and you’ll make me a very happy man. And if you find that thisperson who isn’t is still around, I expect you tocorrect the situation. Do you understand or should I use more monosyllabic words?”
Jane sighed and began to search through a sock drawer. She pushed the socks aside and pulled a gun out from underneath them.
“I’ll do my best, sir.” She held it by two fingers like it was a dead fish and then checked the safety before sliding the gun neatly into the back of her belt.
“See that you do,” Faisal said. “I’ll expect a full report on my desk in the morning.”
Jane threw the phone onto the bed and wrestled her way into the black top she had picked out. This time I watched unabashed. She pulled her blond hair back into a manageable ponytail, and I tried to figure out how a relatively sweet girl had come to toting a gun. She must have marveled at all the changes in her life over the past few months, the feeling of importance that came with newfound power and security. I was pretty sure that no temp job had ever let her have a gun before. She probably chalked up carrying a piece as part of her “benefits package.”
She walked back into her living room and began looking through a stack of folders she had spread out on the coffee table earlier in the evening. I was startled when she picked one of them up and flipped it open to a photograph of me standing in the Sectarians’ reception area. I was a little flattered that I was the one whom she meant to spy on. And obviously Irene was the “someone whoisn’t ” that Faisal was looking for.
Jane wasn’t a killer…was she? I knew she was after Irene, but would she kill me if I got in the way? I didn’t know her well enough after our two encounters, but it had felt like there was a tiny bit of chemistry between us the other night during dinner. Would that prevent her from sending me to the big dirt nap in the sky? Asinine questions-especially those regarding my attraction to a cultist-would have to wait. I had to get back to my place before she did.
I hastily packed my equipment while watching Jane pack hers. I was thrilled to see that she wasn’t in possession of a parabolic mike, which meant she wouldn’t be able to listen in on my apartment the way I had on hers. That was some relief.
I took one last look. Jane was so sinisterly cute, and everything felt more confusing than ever.
I just prayed she wouldn’t have to use her “benefits package” on me.
18
I raced back to my apartment in record time. I had to be there to keep Irene safe. I knew Jane would be watching the two of us in much the same way I had been watching her, and while I felt the whole procedure was just as invasive, I had to admit the prospect was strangely exciting. Knowing ahead of time that someone was going to be watching me all stalkerlike was a godsend. It meant I stood a better chance of controlling the situation.
Now Jane would be the voyeur and I would be the one on display. The possibility that she might attempt to shoot me or do something to Irene did take some of the intrigue out of the sitch, though. But I figured that if I could get the curtains drawn in the living room before Jane got to my apartment, Irene and I would be relatively safe.
On the way home I made the decision not to tell Irene about our possible surveillance. Irene had enough on her plate without needing the added burden of worrying over someone who probably couldn’t do her harm anyway-and I needed Irene to be calm and relaxed. I couldn’t have her flickering in and out with nerves if I was going to keep her safe.
When I got back home, Irene was in my living room marveling over the woodwork of a cabinet I had picked up in New Hampshire. Her gaze was so fixed on the piece that she barely registered I was in the room. She looked up as I shut the door behind me and locked it. I ran to the windows and hastily pulled the curtains over each of them. I started pushing crates and boxes out of the way and up against the bank of windows.
“Hello,” said Irene. “Tough day at the office?”