"I can't accept this assignment. I'm on the list. That's a conflict of interest." Kris smiled sardonically. "Besides, what if it's me? I could stymie you at every turn."
The hairs on the back of Earl's neck stood on end. He'd considered that possibility and hoped for all of their sakes that it wasn't true. To have her as an opponent would be catastrophic.
"First off, you don't have a choice. You're the best we have, and I want you on this. Secondly, you're too smart to do anything as dumb as interfere with an investigation."
Earl returned her smile. "Nice try, Kris."
Kris bit off a retort. This would be the assignment from hell for more than one reason.
He stood up. "Dennis McNabb is standing by. He'll answer any other questions you have and set you up with the analyst. Any questions?"
"No. But I want you to know that I am accepting this assignment under duress."
"Duly noted." Earl ran a hand through his thinning gray hair. "I probably don't need to tell you that if word of this investigation gets out, it could get dicey."
Kris rolled her eyes, the action hidden behind her sunglasses. "Yeah, Earl. So what else is new?"
Earl routinely dealt with some of the most cold-blooded men and women in the world, but this one had to be the deadliest of the lot. Her ability to turn the charm on and off at will put people, himself included, at a distinct disadvantage and it wasn't a position he liked being in. Earl had pulled her because he wanted a quick resolution to this case, but he felt a pang of sympathy for the analyst she'd be working with.
Kris was thoroughly enjoying the effect she was having on Dennis. When Earl had introduced her as Blue, he'd been unable to hide his shock and his mouth had dropped open. Since she was being saddled with a desk assignment, she intended to find amusement wherever she could.
Still grinning at Dennis' reaction, Kris would've loved to know what image his mind's eye had conjured up prior to meeting her. She was well aware of the exaggerated rumors floating around headquarters regarding both her and a few of her peers.
Earl had been gone for five minutes, and Dennis was still trying to recover. And it didn't help that she sat there watching him with an unreadable smile on her face, and her eyes covered by sunglasses. You couldn't very well gauge a person if you couldn't see their eyes. Damn, Earl could've at least warned me.
Deciding to keep it brief, Dennis quickly explained how Shelby had come up with the information, totally unaware Kris had already seen the report. Finished, he said, "Um.. if you could be back here tomorrow at nine, I'll introduce you to Shelby."
Kris nodded. "I'll be here," and walked out the door.
Dennis watched her appreciatively, but knew that was all he'd ever do.
Kris paid the cab driver and walked into the Sheraton. She was completely aware of her surroundings and everyone in the immediate vicinity, although she scanned the area so unobtrusively only someone similarly trained would have noticed her scrutiny.
Satisfied, she took the elevator to the fourth floor and entered a room near the far end. Kris was emotionally and mentally exhausted. The constant stress of worrying why her assignment had been terminated and keeping her public persona in place had taken its toll. She quickly removed her suit, hanging it on one of the hangers provided. Most of her clothes were in storage at the Company's expense, and a visit was going to be required very soon if she was to blend in with the Company's support staff.
After a quick shower, Kris walked out of the bathroom and donned a bathrobe before sinking onto the bed. She called room service and ordered a chef's salad only because she knew she should eat something.
Her thoughts turned back to the events over the last three days. She wasn't the least bit happy to be back at headquarters, although her worst fears had not been realized, and that in itself was a tremendous weight lifted from her shoulders.
The analyst she would be working with had to be fairly sharp to have picked up the pattern on the assassinations. That could be both good and bad. Time would tell.
After eating, Kris checked her gun, and laid it on the nightstand next to her bed. She never went anywhere without it. It was the only friend she had. Turning off the light, the tall woman was asleep almost before she hit the pillow.
Kris jerked upright in bed, and breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered the disturbance was the phone ringing. She glanced at the clock and saw it was eleven. She answered the phone more out of curiosity than anything else, having absolutely no idea why anyone would be calling her.
"Yes."
"Your Uncle wants to talk to you."
Still brushing the cobwebs from her mind, Kris said, "You've got the wrong number."
"I don't think so Natasha Lubinyenka."
Kris' head began throbbing as she squeezed the phone until her knuckles turned white, matching her equally pale face. She felt like she'd been punched in the solar plexus and couldn't breathe. No. Not now. Not here. Not while I'm under such close scrutiny.
CHAPTER 2
SHELBY SLEEPILY EXTENDED an arm from beneath the covers and turned off the alarm clock on her nightstand. Bright green eyes suddenly popped open when she realized it was finally Monday. Shelby smiled to herself, knowing this was the first time she could ever remember being glad the weekend was over.
Tossing back the covers she sat up, wondering for what had to be the hundredth time whether Jeb had decided to assign her the case. On the few occasions that she uncovered data concerning a field operative, Dennis had forwarded it to Central Affairs and she relished the challenge the case would offer, but was uneasy, too.
Shelby had an excellent memory, and had recognized some of the names on the list, but five stood out starkly in her mind. Atlas, Blue, Jet, Roman, and Silver. She had seen each of those names mentioned in wet operation cases she'd reviewed. Would one of them be assigned to work on the case? What would it be like to work with someone from wet ops? Even if none of those five were assigned to the case, she could still end up working with a killer, and she found that thought scary, but fascinating, too.
Shelby began chuckling at her overactive imagination when a picture of Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs formed in her mind. Shaking her head, she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.
After eating a bowl of Maypo, Shelby leisurely enjoyed a cup of coffee since she had a little extra time, which was a rarity. In her excitement she'd gotten right up instead of falling back to sleep until the second alarm clock on the opposite side of her bedroom had gone off. Snooze buttons had never worked for her and when she almost missed an exam in college, she had finally given up on them and bought another alarm clock.
Shelby left her apartment a short time later, quickly descending the steps to the surface parking lot. Enjoying the warm sun on her arms, she walked to a new red Mercury Sable, turned off the alarm and unlocked the door using her hand held keypad. A couple of minutes later, she merged with the rest of the traffic for what would be a slow drive to McLean, Virginia.
Kris sat at the small round table in her hotel room drinking coffee. She seldom had access to American television and had mindlessly flipped through the cable channels before settling on CNN.
She had awakened early from a fitful sleep with a gnawing tension headache that had finally subsided to a dull throb. In the course of three short days, the carefully constructed fabric of her life was unraveling one thread at a time. It was bad enough to be recalled from the field to assist in an investigation based upon circumstantial evidence, but the implications of the phone call the previous night had been disturbing.