Pop Travel (18 page)

FBI Outpost
10:30 p.m., Thursday, July 25

Miki paced the length of the too-bright room, staring at her feet, ignoring the round, porthole, two-way mirrors as she scuffed along the gray linoleum floor.
Why are we still here? What do they want? If they wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead.
She stopped short.
What am I saying!
Since being caught, her mood had evolved from anger to sadness to desperation. She swam around in circles, a goldfish stuck in a baggie. How long would she last?

She paused to check on Jared, huddled in a ball on the floor, leaning against one of the white, white walls and trying to get some sleep in the glaring, furnitureless room. Maybe these guys were trying to break them so they would talk. But she didn’t have anything to tell them. She had already spilled her guts.

After a light knock, the door opened. Miki rushed the guy.

“Do we get to go home now?”

The younger counterpart of the first guy they met at the office said nothing. He just looked at her with sympathetic eyes and let in a couple of guys to set up cots with blankets.

Miki frowned.

“I’m guessing that’s a no.”

When they left, Miki yelled at the center two-way mirror, shaking her fist. “Why won’t you tell us what you want from us?!”

Jared stirred, saw the cot, and went over to settle in. Miki watched him and shook her head. She refused to use one. She banged on the mirror and shouted again. “Hey, in there! I need to get out of here! My sister’s wedding is Saturday! I have obligations! Can’t someone please tell us what is going on?”

“My mom is gonna kill me for staying out all night.” Jared pulled the blanket over his head.

No, she wouldn’t. Jared’s mom let him do whatever he wanted. Miki’s mom remained calm and quiet. She would punish Miki with silent guilt and snide comments for years if she missed her sister’s wedding. Maybe even sell her on the black market as a mail order bride for the irony. She’d be better off living in this cell.

The lights blinked out.

Geri’s apartment
11:00 p.m., Thursday, July 25

With a little shiver, Geri slipped under the covers. She turned down the volume on Teddy Carson’s late night talk show program and checked her electrogun to be sure it was charging. All settled in, she could put off reading Cooper’s extended bio no longer. She picked up her plate and opened his file with a sigh. He looked younger in his picture. And happier. Too bad she didn’t meet that guy.

The beginning of the file recapped what she already knew. Jameson Layton Cooper, a recovering alcoholic and ex-lawyer turned private investigator, lived in a small town outside Atlanta. These small bits of information had helped her form two assumptions: unlucky loser.
We all have problems to deal with and don’t have to get sloshed to do it.

His big mistake had been stumbling upon some high level secret she needed to relieve him of, and, apparently, he posed a threat to Hasan Rakhi, the Creator. After spending a couple of hours with Cooper, her original suspicions matched the file, so far. He was a reclusive, gullible, ill-fated bumpkin. He had been nice enough, and Geri had been pleasantly surprised at his trim physique and soothing blue eyes, though he was very rough around the edges. If she had to get a little intimate while coercing what she needed from him, it wouldn’t be so bad.

As she kept reading, she skimmed over the fundamentals, birthplace, schooling, etc., but paused at some good parts. Arrested for a prank in college; that made her smile. And he had been a respected partner at his law firm.
So he isn’t completely dull, or wasn’t.
His current attitude seemed too serious to break the rules.

And he had been married, but his wife died tragically. What a shame. That explained his difficulty with her flirtations. Knowing this could give her the upper hand, if she needed it. The file went on about his lapse into alcoholism, losing his job—he basically let everything go to hell until he got help from his brother and went through rehab.
He must be a passionate guy to take the loss of his wife so hard. I wonder what motivates him now.

She sat back and thought about how she would handle him. Cooper had it all, then lost it all. Geri linked his loss with his move out of the city. He wanted to get away from the world. And after rehab, he didn’t want to rebuild his lawyer life with all those painful memories.

Cooper wasn’t slow-witted; he chose his words carefully, deceptively intelligent. She easily could have bought his architectural hobby crap and he had resisted her charms, not asking to see her again. Her reassessment showed him as a brooding, cautious, incisive snoop. This was more like it. She was glad he had good reasons for his humble pretense. Unlucky, but not necessarily a loser.

When she read Blake’s detailed report about the ATC incident, she got the impression Cooper had handled himself professionally in that situation. Blake had followed Cooper after the cleanup crew arrived. His notes said Cooper kept his cool and could think on his feet, to get into the locker room.
I bet he did find something in that Audrey person’s locker.
Geri got a chill of excitement. Cooper wouldn’t part with his treasure easily. Geri would have to gain his trust. She rubbed her hands together, looking forward to the challenge.

She went to sleep optimistic, anxious to continue the game.
Bring it on, J.L.!

FBI Outpost
10:00 a.m., Friday, July 26

iki and Jared jerked their heads when they heard the door open. They had been playing Meet Your Maker with some cards their captors had given them to pass the time. Two agents came in and set up some Danishes and coffee on a card table. When they left, the old man who had brought them came in with a stoic expression. Miki gave him the evil eye.

“My name is Agent Lipton. Sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Mabley, Mr. Nertz. It was for your protection.”

Miki slowly stood up, keeping her eyes on him.

“
Inconvenience
! You’ve got to be joking! You kidnapped us!” she shouted and pointed a finger up into his face.

Agent Lipton stared at her without expression, ignoring the outburst, and continued.

“We have information that leads us to believe Mr. Cooper is involved in matters of national security.” His tone fell flat, as if he’d explained this situation a million times before. He was giving them a standard, lame excuse.

Miki took a deep breath, ready to go off again when what he said sank in.

“Wait. Cooper is what?” She squinted as her thoughts leapt from dagger-slinging anger to dumbfounded bewilderment.

“Cooper’s a spy? Awesome!” Jared said with a big grin, working on his second pastry.

“Not awesome. We are looking for him so we can ask him some questions. We are going to need your help,” Lipton said. It was not a request.

“Are you serious?” Miki asked with her eyes growing wider. “You want us to help you now?”

“Would we get cool spy gadgets?” Jared asked, eager to play.

Miki swatted his arm. Would he ever grow up? Turning back to the agent, Miki caught him in a half-smirk before it vanished.

“No. No spying. All you have to do is call us if he contacts you.” He handed them their QVs.

Jared wiped his hands on his pants before taking his. Then he turned it over in his hands, inspecting it.

“You put a bugging device in it, didn’t you?” he asked and looked up at the agent like a puppy waiting for a treat after doing his duty outside.

Jared’s behavior disgusted her, but she examined her QV as well.

“Did you?” she asked, with a furrowed brow aimed at Lipton.

“Yes. We want to know where you are when you call about Mr. Cooper.”

“You mean you want to keep track of us.” Miki frowned. She hated this. Her hunger and weariness added to the pounding in her head. And her emotions still jumped around, from confusion to fear to anger and back.

“You don’t think Cooper killed that guy, do you?” Miki’s face scrunched up in concern. She couldn’t believe it, but braced herself for bad news.

“That’s classified,” Lipton said.

“Gotcha.” Jared winked and pointed at him, then noticed some glaze and licked his fingers.

“Stop that!” Miki shouted at her immature boyfriend and gave him a sharp glare. Then she asked Lipton, “What happens if we call?”

“We will come and pick him up. We just want to talk to him. That’s all.”

She scowled at his answer.
Just like us
.

“I don’t think I believe you.”

“That’s beside the point. If you want to get back for your sister’s wedding, you need to agree to help us.”

Miki raised her eyebrows and pouted at his threat. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Staring at Jared, her jaw dropped as he nodded his acceptance. He was totally on board.

“And it would be better if you didn’t advertise where you’ve been or what we’ve asked you to do,” Lipton advised.

“No one would believe me anyway. What do you suggest I tell them?” She crossed her arms and gave him some attitude, tilting her head.

“Let’s say we eloped!” Jared exclaimed. He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

Miki opened her mouth and squinted at him. Her boyfriend was an idiot. She dropped her shoulders and sulked in defeat.

“Well, that would be up to you.” Lipton grinned at Jared. “We will drop you off wherever you want.”

“What time is it?” Miki asked.

“10:45 a.m.”

“Well, I am missing the brunch as we speak. Mom won’t be happy about that. I wonder if she called the police yet,” she said, talking to herself.

“She hasn’t,” Lipton said.

Miki opened her mouth, shocked again. She shut it and shook her head.
Spying on my mother, too? None of this is right!

She looked down and thought a minute, then addressed Lipton.

“Better not take us home. We need time to work on our story. My car is still at work. You can drop us off there.”

Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Atlanta
10:00 a.m., Friday, July 26

Cooper used to run all the time. It cleared his head. This morning, he needed it. But first, he had to alleviate some stress and deal with the gun. He couldn’t bring it with him, and he couldn’t leave it in the room, or he’d have the local police after him as well. With cameras recording his every move, he had to be cautious handling its disposal.