“Honestly, I was kind of hoping a case would come up in the near future,” Michael continued.“I’m not happy that you lost an old friend, but I am very much in favor of you having case work to do.Take this case.Work it like everything’s normal.Don’t worry about David.I’ll call Rogers and Hammerton after this and lay some ground rules.Home before dark, doors and windows locked, curtains drawn, no one allowed inside unless it’s you, me, or Jessica and we call them from the door instead of knocking or ringing the bell.Which reminds me, make sure you call when you get home, so they don’t freak out when you unlock the door.”
Faith smirked.“Will do.You’re sure it’s—”
“I will not repeat myself.You having a case is a good thing.We want the CIA to think that we don’t suspect anything, and David’s decided to stay away.The bodyguards are understandable.The CIA won’t begrudge him that.We’ll all act liked David just made some good friends, and we don’t realize their real purpose for being there.”
Michael sounded confident.Faith wasn’t sure it was as easy as he was making it sound, but she understood why he wanted her to act normally.She bit her lip and asked, “Do you think… Do you think maybe they’ll leave him alone?If he really stays away?”
“I don’t think he’ll stay away,” Michael said quietly.
The corners of Faith’s mouth turned down.“No.Probably not.”
“Definitely not,” Michael said.“But we can make it look like he’s staying away.”
“What about you?You murdered a CIA agent.I mean, itwasn’tmurder, but it’ll look like that to a prosecutor.”
“They don’t know it was me.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m still alive and not incarcerated.”
Faith took a deep breath.“That’s encouraging.”
“It should be.It means the CIA isn’t omniscient.Even if they were, I am one hundred percent certain that the CIA will do everything in its power not to attract anything that remotely resembles attention.That includes prosecuting the death of an agent who isn’t supposed to be an agent who is also part of a project that isn’t supposed to exist.The last thing they want right now is publicity.
“Don’t worry about me and don’t worry about David.David is a thorn in their side, but a thorn is not a good reason to stab yourself.”
Faith smirked again.“I’m not sure about your metaphor there.”
“Doesn’t matter.I’m right.”
She laughed.“Okay, then Special Agent-in-Charge Prince.”Her voice softened.“Thank you for talking me down.I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”His own voice softened.“Try not to worry, Faith.I know that’s an impossible ask, but really, do your best.We’ve got the right idea on how to handle this.We can get through it.”
“Okay.”She took a deep breath.“Sounds good.I’ll talk to you soon.Drive safe and text me when you get home.Tell Elle and Honey I said hi.”
“I will.Maybe I’ll bring Honey down to visit this weekend.She’d love seeing Turk again.”
Honey was an elderly golden retriever that Faith had met while investigating her owner’s murder.She had talked Michael into taking her when she realized that Honey was probably going to die in an animal shelter.
“Yeah, do that,” Faith said.“Maybe bring Elle too.”
“Elle’s with her parents this weekend, but maybe the week after.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay, kid.I’ll talk to you later.Chin up, okay?”
“Okay.”
He hung up, and Faith took a deep breath and released it in a rush.“Okay.We’ll be okay.We can do this.”
Turk barked supportively, and Faith reached over to scratch him behind his ears.She believed they were okay, really, she did, but silence was a breeding ground for the worst possible thoughts, so she called Jessica a minute later.Her partner answered with only the vaguest irritation.“Hey, Faith.I’m here already.I know you’ve got a way to go, but I figure I’ll be four cups of coffee into the meal and maybe able to keep my eyes open when you talk to me.”
“I really appreciate this, Jessica.Thank you for helping me.”
Jessica’s tone changed when she heard Faith’s.“Yeah, of course.Anytime.What’s going on?Did you know the victim?”
