After my little speech, which doesn’t really make me feel any better about the guy, I turn and leave the room.
“I’m going to have to break into GyroTechnics,” I tell Lambert back in his office.
“We’re way ahead of you,” he replies. “Anna Grimsdottir has been busy hacking into their server, collecting e-mails and downloading other secure files. Our analysts are already at work picking them apart. We’re sharing everything we have with the FBI and they’re cooperating with us. The Bureau already knows that GyroTechnics is up to no good. An official investigation is under way for a number of crimes, including providing sensitive and classified military information to foreign powers. We know they’ve been working with the MRUUV material and they shouldn’t have any access at all to that project. Special Agent Jeff Kehoe is now in charge of the investigation into the firm. I’ve told him you would do what you do best and get inside GyroTechnics and see what you can find. In the meantime, he’s searching for Eddie Wu and trying to pinpoint when the guy might be making contact with the Shop.”
“Do you have a photo of Eddie Wu?”
Lambert digs through the pile of stuff on his desk and comes up with one. I memorize the guy’s features. He looks a lot like his brother.
“We have to prevent the exchange of that guidance system,” Lambert continues. “There’s no telling what General Tun is using the MRUUV for. We have to assume he’s built one from Jeinsen’s plans.”
“What does our government have to say about this General Tun?”
“The Secretary of State has been in contact with the Chinese government. We’ve issued a stern warning that Taiwan is not to be harassed. Of course, China’s playing dumb. They say General Tun is simply performing military exercises and war games in and around Fuzhou. He supposedly has no intention to attack Taiwan, nor has the government given him the authorization to do so. So, to make a long story short, our government has assumed a ‘wait and see’ position.”
I stretch and can’t quite stifle a yawn.
“Am I boring you?” Lambert asks.
“I’m exhausted, Colonel. It’s been a tough week. Hell, it’s been a tough couple of months.”
“Fine. You have twenty-four hours’ leave, Sam. Get some rest. Go get laid. Do what you need to do to get recharged. We have a car in the garage upstairs for you to use.”
“Thanks, Colonel.”
Right on cue, Frances Coen enters the office. She looks at me expectantly.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” I mumble. “I have an appointment before I go, right?”
She nods. “The doctor is here. You want to come into the prep room, Sam? I promise we’ll get this over with quickly. It’ll be painless. I think.”
Lambert gives me a grin. “It won’t be any worse than it was when you first had them put in.”
“That’s comforting,” I say. The original surgery was horrific.
I stand and follow Coen into a sterile room where I meet a Dr. Frank and his pretty nurse Betsy.
At least I’ll get a good drug out of the ordeal.
After all that, there was nothing to it. I feel a little discomfort in my ears, kind of like when there’s water in them and you can’t get it out. The doc told me it would clear up in a few hours and I’d be as good as new. The car they’ve given me is a 2005 Nissan Murano, a roomy vehicle with a V6 engine and “continuously variable transmission.” I’m impressed. It’s the best company car Third Echelon has ever given me.
I have no idea where I’m going to spend the night in Los Angeles. While I’m cruising into the city on I-210, I phone my house in Maryland to pick up any messages that might be on my personal answering machine. Much to my surprise, there’s one from Katia Loenstern.
“Hi, Sam, it’s Katia. I know you’re probably out of town but I just, I don’t know, I just wanted to call and say I miss you. I had a nice time with my mom and sister in San Diego and now I’m in Los Angeles. I felt like coming up here to spend some money. What can I say? — I like to shop, and L.A.’s a good place to do that. I just checked in to the Sofitel Hotel across from Beverly Center and I plan on hitting the mall in a minute. I’m probably gonna stay here a few days and then go back to Baltimore. Hopefully by then you’ll be back, too. Anyway, I hope you’re safe and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”
Well. What did Colonel Lambert say about me needing to get laid?
I’m suddenly faced with some decisions to make. On one hand I should probably stay clear of her, get some rest, and focus on the job. On the other hand, I’m dying to see her. But am I ready to dive headfirst into a relationship? Because that’s exactly what it would be if I return her call — a relationship. Damn, just the thought makes me nervous.
Screw it. I need this. It’s been too long. Call it Mental Health Therapy. Hell, call it Gonad Therapy. I may be a Splinter Cell but I’m also a man.
At least now I know where I’m going. After the 210 becomes the 134, I take the 2 down to the 101 and head west. It isn’t long before I get off at Santa Monica Boulevard and make my way to Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega. Right to the Sofitel, across from Beverly Center.
24
I check in to the hotel, go to my room on the third floor, dial the front desk, and ask to be connected to Katia’s room. I expect her to be out so I’m pleasantly surprised when she picks up.
“Hello?” There’s a slight puzzlement in her voice. Who could be calling her in Los Angeles?
“Hi, Katia,” I say. “It’s Sam.”
“Oh, my God, Sam! What a surprise!”
“How are you?”
“I’m… I’m fine! My gosh, I’m flustered. What are you doing? Are you back in the States?”
“Yes, I am.”
“What’s it like in Baltimore? Still cold?”
“I don’t know, I’m not there.”
“Where are you?”
“Two floors below you.”
She’s not sure if she heard me right. “What?”
“I’m in the hotel. Two floors below you. In Los Angeles.”
“What are you doing here?” Now she’s laughing. “Oh, my God!”
“I got the message you left me at home. I was in L.A., so… here I am.”
“This is amazing. I was just thinking about you.”
“Yeah? Well, me, too, you.”
“Do you… do you want to get together?”
“Well, duh.”
“Are you hungry? I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Neither have I. Let’s do it.”
We meet in the lobby twenty minutes later. Katia looks better than I remember. She is dressed in tight-fitting black capri pants that accentuate the shape of her long legs, a red cami, and a short black jacket. I ask her if garlic is okay for lunch and she tells me that as long as I’m having it, too, it would be great. I know a terrific place within walking distance of the hotel, just down La Cienega a couple of blocks, so we decide to hoof it. The weather in Los Angeles is slightly cool but certainly nothing like the winter temperatures back east. Neither of us needs a coat.
“How’s your family?” I ask as we stroll. She takes my hand and I welcome it.
“They’re good. It was a nice visit. My mom hasn’t been well. She had some kind of weird infection in her toenail and the doctor was afraid she might have to lose it. The toe, that is. But the nail was removed and… well, you don’t want to hear about that, do you?”
“I don’t mind. I think I can take the image of a missing toenail.”
“Anyway, I think she’s gonna be fine now. And my sister is fine, too. Nutty as ever. She’s getting her second divorce. I have a feeling she’ll never be happy being married. She’s too much of a free spirit.”