embarrassment working
its way up his neck, and that only intensified his anger. His
system had not only failed, but she had been the one to do
it. He dropped the shoe and ran to the front door, tripping over
the corner of his rug and barely catching himself on the corner of
the couch before he face-planted on the tile. He ignored the sting
to his pride, too curious to see what she’d done to the system he’d
installed. He opened the panel in the wall, but everything was just
as it should be. The wires were intact, and the red light was
engaged, just as he’d left it the night before.
The muscles in his back tensed, and his
palms were damp with sweat. He turned around slowly, wondering if
he could make it out of the building before she got him. He’d seen
the looks Gabe had been giving him lately. He knew the team didn’t
trust him completely. Didn’t think he could handle the pressure or
remain loyal to what they were doing. Well, screw them. He knew
damned well where his loyalties lay, but he wasn’t going to stop
having fun just because everyone else was old. And it might
be perverse, but he was having a good time seeing how far he could
push Gabe before the man snapped completely.
“Relax, Ethan. I’m not here to kill you,”
Grace said.
“Well, that’s a relief. Like you’d even tell
me if you were.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and headed
back to the kitchen.
“Look at it this way. If I were, you’d
already be dead by now. Here, it looks like you could use some of
this.”
He took the coffee she offered him, his mind
split between thinking he was going to die and wondering how she’d
breached his system. Ethan drank from his cup deeply and winced at
the bitterness that touched his tongue. The coffee tasted like it
had been boiled a week and stirred with a leather boot.
“Never eat or drink anything someone you
don’t know or trust offers you. It could be poisoned. Spy School
101.”
“Is that a joke?” He ran his tongue along
his teeth and waited for something to happen, for the bitter taste
of arsenic on his tongue or foam to start bubbling from his lips,
but there was only the bitter remains of too-strong coffee.
“I never joke.”
“My mistake.” They stood in uncomfortable
silence for a few minutes—or at least he was uncomfortable. She had
a way of looking at him that made him think she could see into his
soul. It was a little disconcerting.
He grabbed some cereal from his cupboard and
ate it dry out of the box. “What did I do wrong with the system?
How did you get in?”
“It’s a good system. You had a couple of
secondary traps set up that I’ve never seen before, and I don’t see
anyone outside of this group getting past your security. It took me
almost fifteen minutes to get in, and if I was on a mission I
would’ve had to abort. If it makes you feel better, probably Gabe
and I are the only two people in the world who could’ve gotten in.
We used to practice B&E for fun. It keeps you sharp.”
Ethan relaxed a little at her explanation,
though he was already thinking of ways he could tighten the system.
A couple of more secondary trips and maybe a body-temperature
sensor would take care of it. She’d thrown down the gauntlet, and
he was determined to best her.
“So you and Gabe have worked with each other
a lot, huh?” he asked, curious to know more about the man who
didn’t seem to have a past. Whose records had been wiped so clean
there wasn’t a trace of him anywhere. And Ethan had certainly
looked. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Gabe Brennan was his real
name.
Her lips quirked in either a grimace or an
attempt at a smile, he couldn’t be sure which, but she didn’t
answer the question.
“Now that we’ve had our moment of bonding,
you might want to change out of your jammies for our recon meeting.
Jack lives to torture, and he’ll be here in about thirty
seconds.”
Even as she said it there was a knock at the
door.
“Punctual as
its way up his neck, and that only intensified his anger. His
system had not only failed, but she had been the one to do
it. He dropped the shoe and ran to the front door, tripping over
the corner of his rug and barely catching himself on the corner of
the couch before he face-planted on the tile. He ignored the sting
to his pride, too curious to see what she’d done to the system he’d
installed. He opened the panel in the wall, but everything was just
as it should be. The wires were intact, and the red light was
engaged, just as he’d left it the night before.
The muscles in his back tensed, and his
palms were damp with sweat. He turned around slowly, wondering if
he could make it out of the building before she got him. He’d seen
the looks Gabe had been giving him lately. He knew the team didn’t
trust him completely. Didn’t think he could handle the pressure or
remain loyal to what they were doing. Well, screw them. He knew
damned well where his loyalties lay, but he wasn’t going to stop
having fun just because everyone else was old. And it might
be perverse, but he was having a good time seeing how far he could
push Gabe before the man snapped completely.
“Relax, Ethan. I’m not here to kill you,”
Grace said.
“Well, that’s a relief. Like you’d even tell
me if you were.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and headed
back to the kitchen.
“Look at it this way. If I were, you’d
already be dead by now. Here, it looks like you could use some of
this.”
He took the coffee she offered him, his mind
split between thinking he was going to die and wondering how she’d
breached his system. Ethan drank from his cup deeply and winced at
the bitterness that touched his tongue. The coffee tasted like it
had been boiled a week and stirred with a leather boot.
“Never eat or drink anything someone you
don’t know or trust offers you. It could be poisoned. Spy School
101.”
“Is that a joke?” He ran his tongue along
his teeth and waited for something to happen, for the bitter taste
of arsenic on his tongue or foam to start bubbling from his lips,
but there was only the bitter remains of too-strong coffee.
“I never joke.”
“My mistake.” They stood in uncomfortable
silence for a few minutes—or at least he was uncomfortable. She had
a way of looking at him that made him think she could see into his
soul. It was a little disconcerting.
He grabbed some cereal from his cupboard and
ate it dry out of the box. “What did I do wrong with the system?
How did you get in?”
“It’s a good system. You had a couple of
secondary traps set up that I’ve never seen before, and I don’t see
anyone outside of this group getting past your security. It took me
almost fifteen minutes to get in, and if I was on a mission I
would’ve had to abort. If it makes you feel better, probably Gabe
and I are the only two people in the world who could’ve gotten in.
We used to practice B&E for fun. It keeps you sharp.”
Ethan relaxed a little at her explanation,
though he was already thinking of ways he could tighten the system.
A couple of more secondary trips and maybe a body-temperature
sensor would take care of it. She’d thrown down the gauntlet, and
he was determined to best her.
“So you and Gabe have worked with each other
a lot, huh?” he asked, curious to know more about the man who
didn’t seem to have a past. Whose records had been wiped so clean
there wasn’t a trace of him anywhere. And Ethan had certainly
looked. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Gabe Brennan was his real
name.
Her lips quirked in either a grimace or an
attempt at a smile, he couldn’t be sure which, but she didn’t
answer the question.
“Now that we’ve had our moment of bonding,
you might want to change out of your jammies for our recon meeting.
Jack lives to torture, and he’ll be here in about thirty
seconds.”
Even as she said it there was a knock at the
door.
“Punctual as
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