“But—”
“It’s five thirty. Go home.”
With a backwards glance at the Bugatti portrait she hadn’t even managed to inspect, she left the office.
At least she’d found out about the security upgrade, not that it was going to make her life any easier. If Kramer was going to booby-trap the office on Friday, that only left tomorrow for spy shenanigans. She had one day to figure out how to get Kramer out of his office and steal his computer.
Wednesday after work, EOD headquarters
After work, Gabby walked into HQ to meet Valentina for shooting lessons with the same feeling she had going for a Pap smear. Gabby had never wanted a gun. Once, she’d found one in the park. Too scared to touch it, she’d poked it with a stick and then called the authorities. A very polite officer had informed her that it was a cap gun. Better safe than sorry, though.
“Better safe than sorry” meant something new this week. She still didn’t want a gun, even a little—but she needed a gun. She sure as hell wasn’t going to count on the EOD to save her ass.
She found Valentina in the clean room, talking quietly with Alice about some important work things. What wasn’t important at the EOD, though? Everything involved national security. Working at the EOD was like being part of a dysfunctional family with a ramped-up drama level.
Gabby said, “Nice to see you, Alice. How’s your week going?”
“Agent Greene.” Alice gave her a nod in greeting and cut to the chase. “I heard about the laptop in Kramer’s office. We need a plan to get our hands on it ASAP.”
Gabby brightened at the sound of the word “we.” Were they going to help her?
“He keeps the computer behind a painting of a Bugatti,” she reported. Kramer was an overgrown little boy. “All we have to do is break in. I assume one of you is going to crack the safe?” She glanced at Valentina. “Do you know how to do that?” In the movies it was always a beautiful girl in a black catsuit listening to the pins in the safe like a lover’s heartbeat. Valentina fit the bill.
“No, Agent Greene,” Valentina said. “That’s your job.”
“Umm… are you kidding me?” She hadn’t even been able to get in to her high school locker with a code. All those “turn right” and “two spins to the left” directions were too much for her.
“You might not have to open the safe. Just distract him while he has the computer out. Much simpler, don’t you think?”
“You all told me that I was just going to be making coffee,” she said, her voice strident with frustration. “You said this was a low-stakes mission.”
Valentina sidestepped the criticism. “We’re not sending you on any night ops or asking you to leave the office. This can happen during business hours while everyone is in the office with you.”
Bad things happening during the light of day were even scarier. “It’s not low stakes. Do I need to remind you that Darcy died on this mission? Now you want me to steal files from a guy who is working with the Mafia, maybe is Mafia himself. What if he catches me?” She looked around the room. “What is the matter with you two?”
Valentina repeated herself. “It’s a low-risk operation. We’re not putting you in the same position Darcy was in. You just need to get Kramer out of his office and get into the safe.”
“Easier said than done. That man never leaves his office. If heneeds something, he calls me. If I’m not available, it’s Fran’s job. In three days, he hasn’t moved. He has an attached bathroom so he barely even leaves to pee. I tried to stay late tonight, and he kicked me out.”
Valentina shrugged. “There must be something that will get him out of his chair.”
Gabby shook her head. “You’ve got me.” She blew out a frustrated breath and glanced at the clock. “I don’t mean to be pushy, but can we do the shooting lesson? I would like to see my kids before bed tonight. It’s been a long week.”
Alice made a quasi growl noise in the back of her throat. “I don’t like the idea of you with a gun.”
Neither did Gabby, but how else was she going to protect herself? “I don’t feel safe,” Gabby said loud and slow, trying to communicate her real fear with intonation. She sure as hell couldn’t explain the Smirnov issue. For all she knew, Alice was the mole.
“Let’s see how the lesson goes, and then we’ll talk,” said Alice.
Why was the EOD so eager to throw her to the wolves with no protection? She set her jaw, determined to come up with some way to defend herself. She didn’t want to be the only one bringing a leaky bag of trash to a gun fight—again.
Ten minutes later, they were in the EOD gun range. Four stories belowground, it was colder than anywhere else in the building, all concrete, all business. Before they entered the range itself, Valentina handed her ear protection and adjusted the volume knob on the side. Somehow, the gun shots were muffled but the voices were amplified.
Another agent was practicing.
Boom.
Boom
