“An opportunity? What are you talking about?” His boss must have been working on this behind the scenes for a long time, completely without his knowledge.
“An opportunity to quickly solve high-tech crimes, just like the ones you’ve been working on with Ms. Mitchell. We feel that such a cross-disciplinary government team will not only get the job done because of your joint experience base, but it also costs less money than creating a separate agency. In short, you and Mitchell working together-with assistance from special agents such as Jackson and Goldfarb-is a good idea.”
Craig raised an eyebrow at Paige, who stood with her arms crossed looking at him. She tilted her head quizzically; Craig held up a finger as June continued.
“And that brings me to this call. The Director is appointing you as the Bureau representative to an inter-agency mobile technical investigative task force, effective today.”
“What does that mean?” asked Craig. Earlier, he had received the Shield of Bravery, had been promoted to Relief Supervisor for Squad 22-high-tech investigations-and had solved several major cases. Maybe he had attracted too much attention to himself.
“From now on, you are on-call for these types of highly technical investigations, like the ones you cracked at Livermore, the Nevada Test Site, and now at Fermilab. You’ll head up a small inter-agency group that has the authority to pull in additional experts, as needed. They’re going to be more common, and more difficult to solve.”
Craig blinked. The assignment was so unusual he didn’t know if he should be happy or wary. It sounded interesting, but there were other considerations, like Paige.
He snapped his attention back to the phone as June Atwood continued. “… you’ll still be based out of the Oakland office, with your own case load, and Jackson and Goldfarb will be part of your support team. But any time you get the call, this task force takes precedence over your other duties. We’ll discuss details later, but you’ll start as soon as you get back.”
“This sounds great, June,” said Craig. “But what does Paige have to do with this?” She hovered beside him, anxious to know what the conversation was about.
“The Department of Energy representative is going to be Ms. Mitchell, if she agrees, of course. The Secretary of Energy will detail her with an DPA assignment to the FBI-Intergovernmental Personnel Act, good for up to four years, effective immediately. With your track record, you two will continue to work together in the future.”
The news made Craig feel both warm and uneasy at the same time. It was great knowing they’d be investigative partners, and this time in a planned, official capacity instead of letting chance throw them together. But then again, he wasn’t sure if they would have a chance to develop a real, personal relationship; working together on a professional basis might put a damper on that.
Or perhaps the opposite would happen.
Craig nodded into the phone. “I’ll head back to San Francisco tomorrow, then. I think Agent Schultz at the Chicago office can do-”
“No,” said June immediately. “We don’t need you back here until Wednesday, so take some time off- maybe you and Ms. Mitchell can coordinate your long-range plans. You’ve got to talk her into this position, after all.”
“I think I can handle that,” said Craig, glancing at Paige.
“And one more thing. A representative from the State Department will escort you to the Indian consulate tomorrow afternoon. India is making a formal apology for Mr. Chandrawalia’s behavior and wants to officially distance themselves from his radical Liberty for All party. They’re taking the unprecedented step of waiving Chandrawalia’s diplomatic immunity, and they intend to cut off the clandestine weapons work going on in Bangalore, so they’re pulling out all the stops for you. They’re even bringing out a Dr. Punjab, director of the Sikander Lodi Research Institute, to testify that Bretti was involved in smuggling p-bars into India for weapons research.
“And since you were the arresting agent, their Ambassador is flying from D.C. to Chicago tomorrow to give his personal thanks.” June paused and added dryly. “I don’t know how you do it, Craig, but between the Russians and the Indians, you’re making quite the splash internationally. Just be on your best behavior.”
Craig grinned. “Right. You’ll get a full report next week.”
Hanging up the phone, he glanced up at Paige, who looked entirely curious, impatient, but hopeful. He gestured for her to join him out in the hall. As an orderly shuffled by, and an intercom announcement rang from the ceiling, he ran a hand through his hair.
Paige crossed her arms, waiting for him. “Well?”
Craig drew a deep breath. “Got any plans for the next few years?” Then he explained June’s offer.
She stepped close, so that her blue, blue eyes were within inches of his face. He could feel her breath lightly on him. She swept strands of her blond hair over her shoulder. As she was bringing back her hand, Paige rested it lightly on his lapel. “I always thought we should be working together,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “Who says the government can’t do things right?”
“Given enough time,” Craig said.
“I saw you saying goodbye to Trish,” she said, fishing. “It looked permanent.”
“It was something I had to do.” Craig’s eyes focused on the elevators down the hall. “She was an important part of my life, but that’s over now. It’s time to move on.”
Paige pressed her lips together, nodding. “You know, I think I feel the same way about Fermilab. After what happened last year with Uncle Mike, I couldn’t bear to go back to Livermore -there were just too many memories for me to deal with. But after living here in the Midwest for a year, and now after all this with Nels and Dumenco and Bretti, I think I’m ready to go back.” She ran a hand through her hair and smiled. “But as teammates with you this time.”
Craig nodded and tried to keep his broad grin from making him look like an idiot. “The Bureau is big on partners. June wants me to stick around here for a couple of days to relax before I head back-maybe we can talk about a few… details? We’re going to be plowing new ground, setting a standard for interagency teams.”
Paige looked up at him. She put a hand on his lapel. “Then maybe we should try to set a new way partners work with each other-starting this weekend. What do you think? You’ve got a lot to see around Chicago, and this may be my last chance to do some of the important sights. They don’t dress up as much in the west, either.”
Craig flushed, then laughed at his own embarrassment. He thought he was really going to enjoy this new assignment… no matter how things turned out. “Yes, ma’am, whatever you say. And speaking of dressing up, got any plans for tomorrow afternoon? There’s an Embassy function I’d like you to attend. You might find it interesting.”
Paige’s eyes grew wide. “Sounds exciting, Special Agent Kreident,” she murmured. “I’ve never been in an Embassy before. You must be an important man.”
Craig shrugged, more to shake off the giddiness he felt from her presence than anything else. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’ll fill you in on the details on the way over tomorrow afternoon.”
Paige looked up with her blue eyes. Her voice was so soft Craig had to strain to hear the words. “If you’re not busy, why don’t we start tonight?”
