Page 16 of The Eagle (Spy Girl 2)
"I'm going to run and find a restroom. I'll meet you back here," I reply, happily. Earlier I saw someone I'd like to talk to.
I'm halfway to the bathroom when Gallagher finds me.
"Huntley Von Allister, how lovely to see you again," he says formally.
"What are you doing here?"
"Paying my respects, of course," he says, but then lowers his voice. "I was hoping to see you."
"Aww, did you miss me?"
"I most certainly did." He hands me a business card with the name and address of a designer shoe store. "And in case you'd like to go shopping for another handbag, I'd highly recommend this place."
"Are you buying again?"
He smiles, kisses my cheeks, and moves away, effortlessly disappearing into the crowd.
I slide the card into my clutch and then reunite with Lorenzo.
Once we're in the limo, and Lorenzo is busy on the phone, I slip the card out and flip it over. On the back, written in neat print is a time. One that is a few hours away.
At the house, I tell Lorenzo that I'm going shopping and will be back in time for the dinner tonight. When I go to the garage to pick a car to drive, I find Terrance and Ari deep in discussion.
"What's going on?"
"We should receive details of our mission sometime in the next forty-eight hours, so we need to be ready," Ari says.
"Ready for what?" I ask.
"The assassin was contracted for not just one hit, but a series of them," Terrance expands. "Our hacker learned how the assassin was contacted. We can't retrieve past communication, so we're waiting to receive the next hit location. Your mission will be to track the assassin and find out who hired him."
"So you don't want us to interfere with the second hit?"
"If you can stop the assassination without alerting him to your presence, that is fine. But following him is your primary concern. You can't risk losing him."
"If we're going to follow him, we'll need disguises. He didn't get to be the best without being really good at his job. If he even thinks he's being followed, he'll be gone."
"Tell me what you need," Terrance says.
I give him a list, explain how I want it all arranged, and the exact look of the backpack I want.
"What about weapons?" Ari asks.
"That's where things get tricky," Terrance says. "We expect that the second hit will take place here in the United States, since we have no indication that he has left the country. But depending on where he has to go next, travel--possibly international travel--could be involved. We have to be prepared for that. This will be a particularly dangerous mission that will be conducted on the fly, so our job will be monitoring and supporting you."
"Our job?" I ask Terrance.
"Remember the hacker friend I told you about in Montrovia?"
"What's his name?"
"Her name is Olivia but in her world, she's known as Plague. She can wipe out anything."
"But you've been referring to her as a him."
"The Plague is believed to be male. It's part of her online persona."
"Very creative," Ari says, not impressed.
Terrance's eyes light up. "I know, right? She is amazing. Seriously. I've never seen anyone do what she can. Her parents were MIT professors, and I'm pretty sure she learned computer code before she could speak."
"Sounds like you have a crush," Ari states, raising an eyebrow.
Terrance blushes. "Oh, no. We have a strictly working relationship."
"Okay," he says, not really believing him.
"Anything else I need to know?" I ask.
"Yes, besides the things you requested, I'll be prepping our communication and surveillance system. We will be live with you during this mission. We will be able to see what you see and communicate with you."
"So we're the drones, and you're going to fly us from your safe little cave?"
"No," Terrance says, slightly offended. "Our job is to help and support you. Try to relax and mentally prepare yourself."
"Which I will be doing by going shopping. I just came to get a car."
"Which one are you taking?" Ari asks.
I point at my favorite. "She's mine now, in case you were wondering."
"Oh, a little sibling rivalry," Terrance teases as I get in the car and take off.
I stop at the estate's gate, taking a moment to enter the address for the shopping center, rather than the specific store, into the navigation map on my phone. I see that it's not far away and realize I still have some time to kill.
And I know exactly where I want to go.
Blackwood Academy.
I take a circuitous route to the school, making sure I'm not being followed. As an extra precaution, I take the SIM card out of my phone and shut it off, then proceed to the place I called home for last six years.
I feel a little giddy when the stately mansion comes into view. I'm excited to see everyone. To find out what they will do after graduation. Who they will be working for, what missions they will be going on. If we will get to work together.
Mostly, I'm excited to see M.
The first thing I notice as I approach the school is that there are no cars anywhere to be seen.
Prickles run down my spine.
Something feels off.
I quickly change plans, based on my gut feeling, and drive by the school without stopping. I continue up the little used road for a mile or so, then flip around in a driveway, pretending to be lost.
As I pass the school again, I don't even glance in its direction. Instead, I go down the road a quarter mile and turn left onto a gravel road, silently praying to the Ferrari gods to forgive me. I drive for another quarter mile, park the car so it's hidden in a thicket of trees off school grounds, then get out and make my way down a path I know well.
This is how M and I used to sneak out to go dancing.
When I get to the fence that surrounds the grounds, I stay hidden in the trees, searching for any sign of activity. I notice the cameras that used to be fixed on the fence are gone. In fact, all the cameras that used to be on the buildings are gone, as well.
I slow my breathing and then make my move, running from the tree I was hiding behind, to the break in the fence, and then across the property to the out building that houses both the gym and the gun range.
The sound of a twig snapping causes me to flatten myself against the wall.
I don't dare move.
I hear the noise again and chastise myself for not bringing a weapon.
The noise gets closer, and I know I have to make my move. I leap out from behind the building, ready to take on whoever is there.
Instead, there are two deer, a mother and her fawn, happily grazing on the lush grass.
I let out a sigh of relief.
But the deer cause me the same concern as the lack of vehicles. If people were around, the deer wouldn't be.
I run to the back door of the range and find it unlocked.
When I get inside, my mouth falls opens in shock.
The building is empty.
Totally and completely empty. There's not even a speck of dust on the floor.
It's then that I realize I'm not wearing gloves. That my fingerprints are on the handle of the door.
I pull the sleeve of my cardigan over my hands and carefully wipe down the door handle while my mind is going a million miles an hour trying to figure out what's going on.
Terrance told me they were closing the school, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. I decide to go into the main building. Maybe they just cleaned the out buildings in prep for the closure. Maybe everyone is inside, hanging in their dorm rooms waiting for graduation to start.
Or maybe they changed the time and it's tonight instead of this afternoon. Or maybe they moved the ceremony to a different location. Although if they had, wouldn't the Dean have mentioned it?
Or did he not want me to come?
No, that's silly. Why would he care? Everyone at graduation know
s who I am and probably now knows my cover. M was obsessed with tabloids. She'd for sure have seen me with Lorenzo in them.
I wonder what she thought.
She would have loved everything about it except for the fact that I'll probably end up behind some desk in a basement because of it. She always joked and said we were too pretty for that.
She could always make me laugh--usually at totally inappropriate times that ended up getting us both reprimanded.
I consider going in the front door, but my goosebumps and the weird feeling in my gut lead me to sneak around the back of the house and go through the kitchen entrance. We used to joke that when something bad was about to go down our Spidey-senses would kick into gear.
That's how I feel right now. My Spidey-senses are on full alert.
I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong here.
And what I see when I step inside doesn't help me feel better.
