I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Daniel and I left Robin’s house, him dejected, me buzzing with excitement. I was sure the DVD I had stashed in my shirt, now transferred to my computer case while Daniel wasn’t looking, would provide all the answers I needed. Robin had been an odd duck, and as mad and disappointed as I was in her choice of allies, if, in the end, she helped me out I was willing to forgive. Sure, she was a murderess, but when it came right down to it, a lot of spies were. Sanctioned murder, yes, but perhaps not justifiable. There are always unknowns, and you always have it in the back of your head that who you think is the bad guy might not be. I was willing to give Robin the benefit of the doubt that at the time, she was operating under the widely-held belief that Jason was a traitor. I didn’t know her reasons for killing Robert, if it had been an order or of her own volition, but I couldn’t feel bad about that. Not after what that weasel had said about Sandra.
I dropped Daniel off at his car, telling him I’d meet him at the bar in a few hours. The team was going out for a mini-celebration for having the Jason and Robert murders cleared. Daniel hastened to ensure me that it didn’t mean they were backing off Sandra’s killing, and I assured him that I understood. In this business, you needed to let off steam occasionally. Even if, to outsiders, it might seem inappropriate. I also knew there would be fond and not-so-fond stories of Robin told. Even though she died a traitor, she’d still been one of us. And she’d still done a lot of good work. Not to mention the ground rules for divvying up her office supplies would have to be set. I told you it might seem inappropriate, but it’s the way we did things.
The office was quiet and deserted, but the cleaning crew hadn’t been in yet. I stationed myself at a terminal not too far outside of Nate’s office. In a place this sensitive, even the cleaners had high clearance, and I had to keep in mind that they, too, were trained professionals. Most of them were training to be field agents, and often the instructors would try to trip them up during their cleaning duties. It was going to be a tricky job, or so I thought. Until I saw that evening’s cleaner.
She was hot, even in the baggy cleaning crew uniform. I couldn’t get a good look at her face, but she was curvy in all the right places and had the most luscious, er, flowing hair. I saw the perfect opportunity to play up the stereotypical male and get what I needed, all without her being the wiser. Sure, she’d think I was an uncouth lout, but as that wasn’t far from the truth I could live with it. I ducked back into the cube when she unlocked Nate’s door. It was important she didn’t know I’d seen her before. Surprise was the key element to my plan.
As she came out of Nate’s office and re-locked it, I picked up a hefty file and started reading it. When I saw, out of the corner of my eye, that she had started working her way down the row of cubicles, I stood up and, still holding the file, started to walk down the aisle while reading it. When I got to her cart I looked up, prepared to act surprised at seeing such a beautiful woman and ‘accidentally’ trip over the garbage can. It was genius. Except for the part where I was actually surprised and I did actually trip over the garbage can. I ended up on my ass, looking up into a gorgeous, and utterly familiar, face.
“Jake,” she giggled, surprised. “Fancy running in to you here!”
It was my youngest sister’s friend from elementary school. I used to baby-sit the two of them. My stomach heaved as I remembered the lusty thoughts that had just been running through my head. “Patty! I didn’t know you were training with the agency.” I reached out to lever myself up, and my hand closed around the crumpled chip package with the bug inside. It seemed my improbable luck in the spy business was still going strong. I hopped up, slipping the package into my pocket in the same motion. She never batted an eye.
“Just started a few weeks ago,” she admitted. “I was sorry to hear about Sandra.”
“Yeah. Hey, I’m sorry, let me help you clean that up,” I said, reaching for the toppled garbage can.
“No!” She threw out a hand to stop me. “I mean, no thank you. It’s my trash, and I’m responsible for it. I can get it.”
I grinned at her. “It wasn’t a test, but good for you. I am sorry, though, I didn’t mean it. I was so caught up in the file, and seeing you was a big surprise. Last time I saw you, you weren’t so…” I floundered for a non-offensive term.
“Tall?” she asked with a wink.
“Yes, that’s it.” I grinned back at her. “Well, I should leave you to it, I’m really sorry again! Good luck with your training, let me know if I can ever help.”
“Thanks,” she said, and bent to pick up the mess I’d created. I tried not to stare at her perfect bottom as I backed away. I finally got myself turned around and going in the right direction, giving myself a stern talking-to. What can I say, I’m a guy. We appreciate a fine feminine form.
I gathered up the rest of the case file I’d left on my desk and left the building. These were things best sorted through at home, where I could be relatively sure no one was watching me. I couldn’t be as sure no one was listening, which is why spies are never the type to talk to themselves. Or rather, good spies aren’t. You can never be sure you’re the only one listening. It was going to be a long night, going through all of the evidence. And even if I found anything, the ability to nail Nate on anything concrete might be difficult.
I stopped by a burger joint on the way home and grabbed dinner. It was shameful how little I’d managed to eat lately, and I could feel the lack of good food wearing me down. And I’d even done a stint in culinary school on a job, about five years ago. Another handy skill I liked to keep up on, when possible. But I was too eager to get to work on the case to even spend the time to whip up a simple dish, so burger and fries it was. Maybe when all this was done, if I came out of it in one piece, I’d look for a new career. Spying on spies is a tough business, and those of us who do it usually have a pretty short career. Not only is it dangerous, but the burn-out rate is extraordinarily high. At ten years in the business, I was considered a very old-timer indeed. Maybe I could make a switch to a regular spy. It would be less stressful, but still with the occasional surge of adrenaline. Though if the others would accept me, after having spent so long as our version of Internal Affairs, I did not know. Maybe I could just concentrate on my computer business. Boring, but I could make a decent living, and Sandra and I could settle down to a nice, normal life somewhere.
I got home and spread the papers out on the dining room table, propping the computer and the Princess Bride DVD up next to it. I attacked the bug first. Once I plugged it into the computer, it automatically downloaded the file. It hadn’t been left there long enough to run out of storage space, so it undoubtedly got my fast-food order and my conversation with Patty. I flushed at that, but at least I could edit that out before anyone else heard it. The files had a feature where it would show any tampering, and it would show that I had cut off the end, but I’d just tell them it was hours of silence, and that would be close enough to the truth. No one likes to sit and listen through nothing, and if I turned the entire sound file in, they would be forced to do just that. I’d simply make a note of what I cut out, time-wise, and tell them it was just the noises of me retrieving the device and driving home. I plugged a pair of headphones into the computer and got listening.
As I suspected, the first ten minutes were all that mattered. You heard me crunching down the hallway, eating the bag of chips. Then I knocked, and you heard me tell Nate what I was going to do. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of someone moving around the room and a door closing. The next noise could have been anything, but I’m guessing it was Nate picking up and dialing the phone, because his next conversation was one-sided.
“Hey, it’s me. I know, I know, but it’s an emergency. Blast that, I don’t have time for it. I’m the boss, no one taps my phone. Yes, I’m sorry, you’re going to have to destroy this one as… is that a toilet? Oh, I see. Yes, I’m sorry I had to call, but you needed to know they’re on their way. Jake knows something. You’ve been under… oh, I see. So you can’t… That’s a shame. I’m sorry, I can’t help you. You’re on your own. No, I’m not going to guarantee that, either. If you become a liability… Yes, that is harsh. Yes, I am that. Look, I just need to know where you put the… Robin? Robin? ROBIN? God damn it.”
The sound of a phone being slammed down, then picked up and dialed again. “Yes, I need to add time to a cell phone, please. The number is 555-6794. Pin is 5462. Twenty dollar’s worth. Yes, the card that is on file. I can confirm that, yes. 1142. Thank you!”
Hanging up and dialing again. Grumbling. Then the phone being slammed down again. “Don’t tell me no longer in service!” Then the footsteps, a door opening, and nothing else until Patty came in to empty the trash. Interesting. Nate had evidently run out of the office on his way to look for something, to get to Robin before she did what he knew she would. Too bad I hadn’t been able to tail him, as well, though I don’t think he’d be able to lead us to anything. How had Robin arranged that so well? Was it luck, or had she timed it so that he wouldn’t have time to ask her about whatever it was that was hidden?
Now she was off the hook, she hadn’t betrayed him. He wouldn’t go after her family, but he wouldn’t get what he wanted, either. Clever, clever girl, I thought. And suddenly I was very sad she was gone. She would have made a brilliant instructor at the academy.
I clipped the audio file down to the relevant part and added a note explaining what I did. I also tagged the date, time, and location of the recording. Then I turned my attention to the DVD. I opened the cover, and saw the standard disc staring up at me. For a moment my heart sank. But then I saw, behind the official disk, another CD had been stuffed into the case.
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