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Authors: Melissa F. Olson
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been removed. “This used to be a second device, sort of a teeny little Taser controlled by remote. When we were gonna put it on a hostile we wanted to be able to zap him with a couple hundred thousand volts. Alex had me remove it for you.”
“And he wanted the brownie points for doing it, which is why he brought it up just now,” she said, sounding unimpressed.
Alex shrugged. “I’m playing it straight with you, Lindy. You need to know that.”
Lindy nodded and told Noelle to go ahead. The engineer picked up a few of the tiny tools and fiddled with the complex latch for a few minutes until it was secure. Then she put the tools back on the tray in precise order. “Damn, I’m good,” she said admiringly. To Lindy, Noelle added, “Do me a favor? Try to rip it off? But, like,
really
try.”
Lindy gave the bracelet a cursory tug, and then at Noelle’s encouraging look, she braced her back against the side of the lab table and
pulled.
The bracelet gave the tiniest creak, but held fast. The shade looked impressed, and Noelle and Chase high-fived.
“If something happens to these two,” Lindy said, tilting her head at Alex and Chase, “will you be able to take it off as well?”
Noelle nodded. “Actually, for the next two years, I’ll be the only one with the code. This is to prevent you from, um . . .” She glanced uneasily at the two male agents.
Lindy gave her a bemused look. “Spitting in their drinks and making them give it to me?”
“Well . . . yeah. I’ll be working in a different department, different building, and my understanding is that someone from the Chicago pod will be with you most of the time. . . .” She shrugged.
“This system isn’t designed to be perfect,” Alex broke in. “It’s designed to communicate our guarded trust in you. I’m really hoping you’ll feel like we deserve the same respect.”
Lindy just gave him a thoughtful look.
At that moment Alex’s cell phone rang, and he stepped a few feet away to answer it. When he returned, there was a new energy to his step. “You’ve got your agreement,” he told Lindy. “The AG just sent it to your attorney’s office. Is it safe to assume she keeps night hours?”
Lindy rolled her eyes at him and dug out her own phone, the metal bracelet jingling on her wrist. She shot Alex an accusatory glare. “Is this like putting a bell on a cat?”
Noelle winced. “Sorry,” she said, looking truly apologetic. “That metal alloy is rare and difficult to work with, but I’ll start looking for a way to muffle the noise.”
Lindy called her lawyer, and they spent the next few hours dealing with the formalities of Lindy’s deal and getting Alex, Chase, and Lindy booked on the 5 a.m. flight to Chicago. Noelle wanted to return to her hotel for a few hours of sleep before catching a later flight during the day. She wished them luck.
Alex offered to stop by Lindy’s apartment so she could pack some things, but she demurred, saying she’d prefer that a BPI agent just stop there during daytime hours and get a suitcase and her cat. The only reasoning she gave was “so we don’t wake the neighbors.” Alex didn’t really understand, but the more he questioned it, the more distant she got, so he just shrugged and relayed the order. Lindy spent the rest of the ride scribbling out a list of items for the agent to grab.
There was no security line at the airport, but they did lose a little time when the TSA agent had questions about Lindy’s medical alert bracelet. Alex eventually just flashed his badge and said Lindy had a rare blood disease. The TSA agent looked her up and down, shrugged, and waved them through.
When they were finally seated on the plane, Lindy asked for the aisle seat, then reached across Alex to carefully lower the window shade. It was still dark outside, but the sun would be coming up during the three-hour flight.
“So the sun allergy thing is real then,” Alex said conversationally. “We suspected as much,
“And he wanted the brownie points for doing it, which is why he brought it up just now,” she said, sounding unimpressed.
Alex shrugged. “I’m playing it straight with you, Lindy. You need to know that.”
Lindy nodded and told Noelle to go ahead. The engineer picked up a few of the tiny tools and fiddled with the complex latch for a few minutes until it was secure. Then she put the tools back on the tray in precise order. “Damn, I’m good,” she said admiringly. To Lindy, Noelle added, “Do me a favor? Try to rip it off? But, like,
really
try.”
Lindy gave the bracelet a cursory tug, and then at Noelle’s encouraging look, she braced her back against the side of the lab table and
pulled.
The bracelet gave the tiniest creak, but held fast. The shade looked impressed, and Noelle and Chase high-fived.
“If something happens to these two,” Lindy said, tilting her head at Alex and Chase, “will you be able to take it off as well?”
Noelle nodded. “Actually, for the next two years, I’ll be the only one with the code. This is to prevent you from, um . . .” She glanced uneasily at the two male agents.
Lindy gave her a bemused look. “Spitting in their drinks and making them give it to me?”
“Well . . . yeah. I’ll be working in a different department, different building, and my understanding is that someone from the Chicago pod will be with you most of the time. . . .” She shrugged.
“This system isn’t designed to be perfect,” Alex broke in. “It’s designed to communicate our guarded trust in you. I’m really hoping you’ll feel like we deserve the same respect.”
Lindy just gave him a thoughtful look.
At that moment Alex’s cell phone rang, and he stepped a few feet away to answer it. When he returned, there was a new energy to his step. “You’ve got your agreement,” he told Lindy. “The AG just sent it to your attorney’s office. Is it safe to assume she keeps night hours?”
Lindy rolled her eyes at him and dug out her own phone, the metal bracelet jingling on her wrist. She shot Alex an accusatory glare. “Is this like putting a bell on a cat?”
Noelle winced. “Sorry,” she said, looking truly apologetic. “That metal alloy is rare and difficult to work with, but I’ll start looking for a way to muffle the noise.”
Lindy called her lawyer, and they spent the next few hours dealing with the formalities of Lindy’s deal and getting Alex, Chase, and Lindy booked on the 5 a.m. flight to Chicago. Noelle wanted to return to her hotel for a few hours of sleep before catching a later flight during the day. She wished them luck.
Alex offered to stop by Lindy’s apartment so she could pack some things, but she demurred, saying she’d prefer that a BPI agent just stop there during daytime hours and get a suitcase and her cat. The only reasoning she gave was “so we don’t wake the neighbors.” Alex didn’t really understand, but the more he questioned it, the more distant she got, so he just shrugged and relayed the order. Lindy spent the rest of the ride scribbling out a list of items for the agent to grab.
There was no security line at the airport, but they did lose a little time when the TSA agent had questions about Lindy’s medical alert bracelet. Alex eventually just flashed his badge and said Lindy had a rare blood disease. The TSA agent looked her up and down, shrugged, and waved them through.
When they were finally seated on the plane, Lindy asked for the aisle seat, then reached across Alex to carefully lower the window shade. It was still dark outside, but the sun would be coming up during the three-hour flight.
“So the sun allergy thing is real then,” Alex said conversationally. “We suspected as much,
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