Park walks over to Todd, pulling out a small needle. “This drug will wake him up. It will take a few seconds for him to get his bearings straight. Lacee and I will slip out of the shed during that time. But once he fully comes to, he’ll immediately flip into his role.” I glance at Lacee. “Are you ready?”
I feel sick, like I’ve never been so out of control on a mission in my life. We’re in the Wild Wild West, where anything goes, and I don’t like it. All of our trust is in an eighty-two-year-old has-been actress with dementia that lives in an assisted living home.
There’s no possible way this plan will work, but I nod at Park anyway. “Let’s do this.”
FORTY-SIX
PARK
I shutthe shed door behind us, running after Lacee to the small trailer parked next to the old building. Derek really came through yesterday, hooking us up with all the technical stuff we needed to pull this mission off.
Lacee drops into one of the chairs in front of the computers, typing in the passcode. The screen lights up, showing the inside of the shed. “Okay, we’re live.”
Todd’s eyes slowly open, and his hand comes to his head.
“It will take a minute for the grogginess to wear off.” I sit down next to her and turn up the volume.
“Why didn’t you give me a drug to wake me up when we were on the run?”
“Because I didn’t want you awake.” I shoot her a playful smile. “I’d rather babysit your lifeless body than deal with hysterical Lacee.”
“Ha ha.” She punches my shoulder. “We’ll see if Mary’s half as good of an actress as I am.”
“What? Are you worried that there’s a contender for the Academy Award for best actress?”
“Hardly. But,” she sighs, “are we terrible people for leaving Mary in there alone with a trained operative?”
“Nah.” I shake my head. “We checked his clothing and took away his gun. He’s unarmed. All he has on him are the two computer chips.”
“Which we’ve already downloaded the information from and sent to Derek.”
“And wiped clean.” I smile at Lacee. “Why are we so good at our jobs?”
Arrogance takes over my expression. “I don’t know.”
“See?” I gesture to the screen. “We’ve thought of everything. Mary will be fine. Besides, we’re so close. If things were to go bad, we’d be inside that shed in a matter of seconds.”
“Yeah, but we probably should’ve tied his hands or something.” She grimaces. “I just don’t want to have the death of an innocent elderly woman on my hands.”
“Neither do I. I mean, she is my mom, after all.”
“Oh, are you going to keep her?”
“Why not?” I shrug. “She could use a friend, and I could use a mom. Plus, half the time, she doesn’t even know what’s going on, so it’s the perfect situation. I promised her that maybe I could spend New Year’s with her to make up for the fact that I missed Christmas day.”
Lacee’s smile widens in amusement. If we weren’t trying to nail the Director of the CIA for espionage and if things weren’t over between us, I’d pull her to me and kiss her. And not just any kiss. It would be like one of those high-striker carnival games where your strength is measured just by hitting something with a hammer. The kiss I have in my mind would reach the top, and every freaking light and alarm would go off. But since that’s not the type of relationship we have anymore, I glance away so I don’t stare at her lips.
Todd’s still rubbing his head when Mary slaps the wooden desk in front of her, causing me, Lacee, and Todd to jump in our chairs.
“Wake up,” Mary snaps in her Russian accent—which actually isn’t half bad. “I don’t have all day.”
“Oh, boy.” Lacee stiffens next to me. “This should be interesting.”
“Relax.” I put my hand on top of hers, then remember that isn’t allowed anymore, so I pull back awkwardly, trying to play off my hand grab as casual. “Mary’s taking charge of the situation. It’s all going to be fine.”
Todd blinks several times, then his eyes stay open, looking around the room. “Where am I?”
“Port of Seattle. Where else would you be?”
