Rogue Asset (Book 3 of the Wade Hanna Series) (3 page)

“Isn’t the Agency concerned about using a public hotel facility for an event like this?”

“No, the company owns the hotel. It’s run by a management company that the Agency also controls. The hotel is ideal for the event. There are multiple back, side and underground guarded entrances for agents to enter and leave without being seen.”

“That’s helpful.”

“Arriving agents are picked up at the airport by special cars with darkened windows. They take them on different routes back to the city past certain lookout points along the way to check for tails. They sometimes make several secure stops along the way to maintain cover and sometimes switch cars.”

Megan paused when she saw Wade’s expression of understanding.

“The reception takes place at the same time every year when there are U.N. and Pentagon conferences and private international security briefings going on around town. A number of our agents also attend those briefings.”

“Sounds like everything is covered.”

“Yep.”

As they approached Megan’s condo, Wade glanced up at the modern condo eight-story building above. Megan turned into the underground parking garage of her condo. She pushed the clicker on her visor to activate the steel gates.

“Here we are.”

Her assigned parking space was not far from the elevator. Megan’s surroundings for some reason relaxed Wade. He just followed Megan into the elevator up to the lobby that opened into a beautiful glass enclosed surround lined with large palms.

Chapter 3

Washington, DC

The modern, open, well-appointed lobby caused Wade to gasp. It was more upscale than he had imagined and certainly several steps beyond his student apartment in Greenstone, Alabama.

“This is nice.”

The guard turned and acknowledged Megan with a smile. He tipped his hat as they passed through the elevator doors. Megan’s other key card activated the elevator door, and they ascended four floors. Wade stood briefly paused in the doorway as Megan swung the door open.

“That didn’t take long at all from work.”

“I have the street lights timed pretty well and will take the best route depending on traffic. Sometimes I get tied up when we have heavy snow. I’m also able to work from home when I need to.”

“That’s nice of the Agency.”

Wade was stunned by the beauty of Megan’s unit. The appointments inside were all done in exquisite taste. Everything was bright and clean with furniture perfectly placed. Everything he could see was decorated in a wonderful contemporary-eclectic style. Wade thought to himself,
I should have known her place would look like this.

They walked into the open-plan living and dining room combination. A beautiful polished wooden tabletop reflected the modern glass sculpture centerpiece. Wade noticed each chair was set precisely the same distance from the table.

The living room continued the contemporary look with a mixture of antique and modern chairs set around a traditional love seat. Each fabric was a mixture of texture and pattern, but all carefully coordinated in complementary tones of beige and light gray.

Along one wall was a built-in bookcase over a serving buffet painted a soft white. The buffet extended out from the bookcase, so it worked as a serving platform. Wade expected nice from Megan’s place, but this unit was a showplace demonstrating her mastery of both design and attention to detail.

Wade immediately felt embarrassed about his student apartment in Greenstone, Alabama. He told himself,
I won’t be there for long
. Trying to keep from overreacting in awe, Wade concentrated on reducing the size of his gauging eyes that seemed to be taking in everything in the room all at once.

“This is beautiful!”

Megan downplayed the compliment and the effort it took to get everything the way she wanted it.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it. I’ve thrown together a few pieces I’ve collected from here and there. It’s been a fun project to work on.”

“It’s just amazing,”

“Can I get you anything?

“A glass of water would be great.”

Megan returned from the kitchen with a glass of ice water sitting on a napkin and coaster and handed it to Wade. Wade thanked Megan as his hand slipped under the napkin to hold the glass. He folded up the napkin around the glass so that he kept the napkin between his fingers and the glass. He set the glass down on the coaster. With habit and ritual precision, Wade unfolded the napkin and rewrapped it around the glass, so the lower half of the glass was covered by the napkin. Megan noticed how Wade wrapped the glass and wondered if it was one of his southern rituals.

Wade took a sip from the glass and went over to one of the antique chairs to sit down.

“Why don’t you make yourself at home while I go freshen up? I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.”

Wade placed his glass on the coaster at the small table next to him and began picking up more detail in the room. Obsessively wrapping the napkin around a glass had been with him for a long time. He couldn’t remember how he picked up the habit and wondered why the obsession had stuck with him for so many years. Instinctively he kept his fingerprints on the napkin and off the glass, but why? He realized how weird he must look to others. He just couldn’t seem to help himself.

After a sip of water, Wade looked again at the bookcase, and pictures around the room. He heard the shower running in the next room. There were several pictures in nice contemporary frames that captivated his attention. The pictures drew him out of his chair.

One picture showed Megan standing between what looked like her father and mother. He held the picture closer for a better look. Megan must have been a young teenager at the time. Everyone in the picture had a pleasant smile. She seemed happy.

He wandered over to a picture frame on the bookcase. The picture was Megan in a Taekwondo Dobok uniform accepting an award from an Asian man dressed in all black. In the background, there were trophies and a banner hanging from the table. Wade squinted to read the writing on a banner covering the table behind where Megan was standing. The banner read 5
th
Degree Black Belt Ceremony. The picture was signed with just the name Tso.

All of the books were stacked perfectly in line, sorted by subject matter and set exactly the same distance from the edge of the shelf. Wade’s attention focused on the books that seemed to cover a wide variety of subjects. Half of the top row contained books on literature and poetry.

The second half of the top row contained books on languages including Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and German. The second shelf was filled mostly with what looked like medical books covering anatomy, chemistry, biology, surgical procedures and several books on drug formulations. The lower shelf contained books on design, color, great painting masters, and art history.

Wade heard the shower turn off, and he returned to his chair. He finished drinking his water as the bedroom door opened. Megan stood in the doorway in a beautiful black cocktail dress holding a small black purse. He was stunned by her beauty once again. Words just seemed to fall out of his mouth.

“Wow. You look beautiful!”

“Thank you. I’m starving. Are you ready to go to dinner?”

“I sure am.”

On the drive to the restaurant, the conversation turned back to details of tomorrow’s events still on Wade’s mind, “Am I supposed to meet anybody in particular at the reception event?”

“I’ll introduce you to my boss, Tony Shaw. I guess he’s your boss too. Everyone just calls him Shaw. There are a couple of other people I want you to meet but other than that you should just mingle and try to meet people. There will be many field agents and other graduating students like you. Feel free to go up and introduce yourself. The senior agents are supposed to answer any questions you might have and get to know the upcoming class of new candidates.”

“What do you suggest I talk about?”

“You can ask details about their assignments but don’t be surprised if you don’t get much information. In fact, you probably shouldn’t ask probing questions about their assignments. The senior agents are all very experienced and won’t let the discussion get off base, so you don’t have to worry about making them feel uncomfortable. They’ve all heard the questions before. Just be you. Some may have already read your file.”

After driving for a while in silence, Megan said, “We’re coming up on Cappito’s. I’ll pull into valet parking.”

The southern gentleman in Wade was ready to run around and open Megan’s door. Before he could pull the handle, an attendant had already opened Megan’s door and extended his hand to help her out.

They entered the upscale restaurant to the wonderful aroma of roasted garlic and herbs. The décor was upscale like one in Rome and smelled like grandma’s Italian kitchen. Megan stepped up to the
maître d’.

“We have reservations for two under Megan Winslow.”

“We have a nice table for you and your guest in the corner as you requested. Please follow me.”

The soft red leather booth was in a quiet corner to one side facing into the main dining room. It was the perfect spot to enjoy a private conversation. Although never having discussed the subject before both preferred to have their backs to the wall and often selected tables for precisely that reason.

The
maître d’
handed them menus and asked, “Can I get you anything to drink while you’re looking at the menu?”

They both looked at each other and replied, “No, thank you.”

Megan put her menu down and just looked into Wade’s eyes for a moment, “Well, after four years we’re finally at our first dinner together. I’m so glad to see you in person.”

Wade was not comfortable in socially awkward moments. The shyness tightened his throat. It had been a long time since he had been dressed up for a real date with a beautiful girl at a nice restaurant. He made the response to Megan’s comment more difficult than it needed to be. Missing her point and mood he responded. “I’m wondering how assignments are given out after we graduate.”

She quickly diverted the question. “I promised myself we wouldn’t talk shop this evening. I want to know more about you.”

Wade lifted his water glass to drink hoping it would give him enough time to think of a better response.

“My life is pretty simple compared to yours. It doesn’t seem fair. You know everything about me. You know more about me than I know about myself. I know very little about you.”

“That’s a fair assessment. What do you want to know about me?”

“Is that a picture of your parents on the table in your condo?”

“Yes, that’s the last family picture of us before my father died. He was a doctor and died of cancer when I was sixteen.”

“That probably explains all the medical books in your bookcase.”

“No. Those are mine. My father always wanted me to go to medical school, and I tried. I finished pre-med and one year of medical school. I just couldn’t do it. I don’t know what happened to this day. I just lost all interest when I realized I was doing it for him and not for myself. I keep the books around to remind me of our time together. Sometimes I feel I left something behind when I left med school. The books bring me back to reality and remind me of why I left.”

Megan knew Wade’s file backward and forward. She wanted to know more about what made him tick.

“Did you find it difficult when you lost your mother?”

Wade paused at the question. His face took on a more serious expression. “Yes, but there were problems between us. I try to remember things in a different way than the way it was. I usually don’t talk about that part of my life.”

Megan could feel that she touched a raw nerve. She thought it best to leave that topic for another time.

Wade was ready with another question, “Was that a black belt ceremony in the other picture?”

Megan thought for a moment, “Yes, that was my martial arts award ceremony. I received my fifth-degree black belt in that ceremony then went on to do more advanced training with the company.”

Shaking his head in silence Wade acknowledged her accomplishment.

Without changing her expression, Megan continued. “I’m trained to kill a man twice my size.”

Caught off guard Wade replied, “I’ll have to remember that.”

It was Megan’s turn for questions now, “What’s this thing you have about the swamp?”

Wade thought for a moment, “I don’t know what you mean about ‘this thing.’ I spent a large part of my childhood living in the swamp and feel at home there. I think it’s a beautiful place, and understand the dangers and creatures there just like you understand D.C. and the creatures here. It’s not very different.”

The owner, Francis Cappito was making rounds greeting his guests. He wandered over from the next table, “Good evening and welcome to Cappito’s.”

He turned to Wade and asked, “You look familiar. Have you been in before?”

“No. This is my first time here.”

“Welcome, it’s good to have you both this evening. Have you made any selections for your dinner this evening?”

Megan replied, “We haven’t looked at the menu yet. Perhaps you can give us some suggestions?”

“I’d be happy to. The veal Milanese and veal piccata are the chef’s specials this evening. The Milanese comes with a berry and red wine reduction sauce, and the piccata comes with a light white wine and butter sauce. Both dishes are very nice. Each comes with fresh vegetables and your choice of pasta or risotto. I would also recommend a dry white wine with either dish.

For an appetizer we have a special Gulf shrimp cocktail with a special southern rémoulade sauce. My relatives are in the shrimping business down south and select the finest shrimp when they come in. They ship them fresh to me overnight.”

Megan glanced at Wade to see him break into a smile.

“Your waiter will be over shortly. Please let me know if you need anything else. Nice meeting you. Please let me know if you have any questions.”

They shook hands and Mr. Cappito moved to the next table as Megan responded, “That veal piccata sounds wonderful to me.”

Wade replied, “I’m going to have the veal Milanese and that shrimp remoulade cocktail.”

Megan looked at Wade with a smile, “I thought you might be all over that shrimp cocktail.”

Infused with laughter the conversation became lighter as the meal went on. Megan was getting a sense of Wade up close, and Wade’s impression of Megan was changing from being in awe of her beauty and smarts as a senior agency officer to warm and friendly. Aided by the exquisite meal, a joyous time was had as the two discovered each other’s humor. They talked about everything from movies to sports and music.