He ran his hand over his face and looked at the living room beyond where the television played reruns of theDog Whispererfor Turk.“I just hate thinking that Sierra’s going to die while I’m hiding.”
“She might,” Faith said bluntly.“But if we do it your way, we won’t help her, won’t stop them, and probablywillget you killed.”
She counted each item off on her fingers, each one a knife through David’s chest.
“What if it was Turk, Faith?”
She stiffened.He’d made this argument before, and she’d relented.
Not this time.
“It was almost you, David.You almost died accomplishing absolutely nothing.”
That last sentence was more than a knife.It was an axe blow severing him in half.
Because she was right.He’d accomplished nothing.He’d nearly gotten himself killed and made no progress in his case, nothing that brought them any closer to stopping the 93rd.
He hated it, hated it so much that bile rose in his throat.
But Faith was right.If he got in the way, it would almost certainly make things worse.“Fine,” he said curtly.“Fair enough.Keep me posted and let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
Faith relaxed.David hated the relief in her eyes.Like he was a child who had just promised not to mess with Daddy’s fishing equipment so he didn’t get a hook stuck in his finger.He wasn’t proud of feeling this way, but he couldn’t help himself.
“We should…Youshould look into Dr.Maldonado’s death,” David said.“The person who sent us that email said to start there.He also said to be quick because they were expanding the project.”
The email was a list of names emailed to him by the informant within the 93rdTesting Brigade.The names allegedly referred to veterinary researchers who were either involved in the 93rd’s project or whose research was used to inform the project.
Faith bristled at the edge in David’s voice, but Michael, who had perfected being easygoing almost to the point of weaponizing it, only nodded.“Yep.She was an animal behaviorist.That tracks with what we know about the project.I’m doing some surface-level research into her body of work looking for threads to pull.”
“We shouldn’t rule out the possibility that the email David received is bait trying to see if he’ll keep pursuing this investigation instead of letting it go,” Faith said.
“Yep.That’s why it’s surface-level work.We’re going to be very prudent with our approach.But if it makes you feel better, there’s no sign that any CIA assets are following any of us.I think we’re all right for now.”
They fell silent again.Turk looked between Faith and David and whined, sensing the tension between his humans.When the silence became awkward again, Michael looked at his phone.“Well… I should probably start back.I have a long drive home.”
Michael was the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Philadelphia Field Office.He was still spending most of his time up there but donating his weekends to this investigation, hiding it behind involvement in some FBI planning committees.It was Sunday night, meaning he needed to get pack to Philly to work at the field office the following morning.
“I’ll check in with you guys in a few days.”He looked at David.“Before I go, I’m going to encrypt your laptop.Just in case.My NSA contacts gave me a program that should make it at least difficult for anyone to look at your computer and see what you’re doing with it.It’s the same program we used on your office computer.”
David’s cheeks burned.He knew what just in case meant.The gratitude in Faith’s eyes when she looked at Michael told him she knew too.
No point in trying to act like he wasn’t going to do what they already knew he was going to do.“Thank you.”
Faith laid a hand on Michael’s arm, and David reminded himself not to be jealous.He succeeded, mostly.“Thank you, Michael.”
“Yeah, of course,” Michael said.“Don’t mention it.”
He stood and settled his fedora on top of his head.The fedora and trench coat made him look like a film noir detective, an obvious and intentional look that had become a signature for the hard-boiled former field agent.He grinned at them, tipped his cap, and said, “Shee ya later, shweethawts,” then headed out.
Faith waited until Michael’s headlights turned away and accelerated up the road.Then she looked at David.“Do I have to screw your brains out so you’ll stop being jealous every time I look at Michael with something other than revulsion?”
David rolled his eyes.“No, Faith, I’m good.”
“That was flirting,” she said softly.“I was trying to flirt with you.”
“Were you trying to flirt with me or distract from the real reason I’m upset?”
“Are you trying to fight with me or distract from the real reasonyou’reupset?”
