Chapter Six
“There isno good place to park this thing,” David muttered as he drove past the Valless mansion.
Bryce had to admit, David was right. Between the boulevard, the filled driveway, and the police vehicles, there was nowhere close to the building. The opposite side of the street was Forest Park, and the nearby driveways hardly seemed appropriate to commandeer. Bryce was pretty sure that they’d get shooed off any property the moment they tried to park.
“Circle around and drop us off,” Bryce said.
“Are we going inside?” Celia said. “I’ve been reading up about the Valless collection and it’s fascinating.”
“You need to sound a little less podcast and a little more agent,” Alex said. “Besides, how are we going to get in there? Our Department of Defense covers aren’t all-access passes.”
Celia dug into the pocket of her jacket. “I had a thought about that, and I think this could be super useful overall.” She handed cards to Alex and Bryce.
Bryce used the flashlight on his phone to read the card.Alexi Romanov, Psychic Detective. He pinched his brow. “No.”
“I think it could be fun. We should do this terribly American thing. Con job, I think you call it,” Alex said, adding on a thick, unrealistic Russian accent.
“No.”
“How else are we going to get in there?” Celia asked.
“Do I want to know what the card says?” David said. “Because it’s not fair to leave the driver out of the joke.”
“Is not a joke,” Alex said, still using his made-up accent. “Celia has made card saying I am psychic detective.”
Sometimes Bryce regretted having such a young team member. “We don’t know if anyone inside knows us. And the director wants us to maintain a healthy distance because Renee Valless already believes the DWO exists.”
“Which is why we shouldn’t go in with a federal cover story. No one expects the psychic detective!” Celia replied.
“Doesn’t that make this more suspicious?” David asked. “Like, how did he know?”
“Um, psychic?”
“Could fake it,” Alex added. “Better. Am actual psychic. Little demonstration will go a long way to convincing American police I am genuine.”
“Stop that.” Bryce turned the card over a few times. He didn’t have a better idea and time was running out. The longer they dawdled, the more likely someone would notice them skulking around. On the edge of resignation, he said, “This is a big exposure risk.”
“Yeah, but we need to get in there.” Alex dropped his fake accent. He moved toward the edge of his seat, leaning closer to Bryce. “If we spot cops we know, then we go with our DoD covers and claim that we were passing through. And if not, then we go with the psychic detective thing.”
They really didn’t have a better option. Bryce said, “Are you okay to use your abilities?”
Alex stilled. “We have to figure out what happened, right? What if there’s an alien loose?”
“And it’s stealing from mansions?” David asked. He shook his head. “This sounds like too big a risk. We should call the director.”
“Mom will just kick the decision back to Bryce,” Alex replied.
She would. Bonnell relied on Bryce to make in-the-field decisions. That was the whole point of being team leader. As they turned the block and headed toward the mansion for a second time, he knew they really only had one shot at this. The situation might go smoother if he only sent Celia and Alex, but he couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to Alex without him there.
“How good is this cover?” Bryce said.
“I’ve got websites waiting to go. Just needed a reason to go live.” Celia was busy on her phone, the illumination lighting up her face. “I’m activating them now. Should be fine.”
“You thought all this out?” Alex asked.
“Hey, before the O’Shay information I was a little bored. I figured eventually a situation like this would come up. I can use my podcast cover, say I’m doing an exclusive on the great Alexi Romanov.”
“Leaving me to play Alex’s assistant.” Bryce rubbed the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t the smoothest cover, but one he could pull off without effort.
