The adrenaline that had been ebbing and flowing since I’d stepped onto the plane sliced through the final bit of brain fog. “If I were to, say, become one of your operatives, would I be allowed to stay with Savannah, watch out for her, make sure you do right by her?”
“Are you asking for a job?” X smiled. “I’m flattered. Any agency like ours would be happy to have a man with your skill sets join the team.”
Savannah touched my arm. “Ben, no. You have the job in Chicago waiting.”
I laid my hand protectively over hers. She was one of the few people in the world who could make signing myself over to another government agency worth it. “Can we cut the bullshit?” I asked X. “What’s the shortest-term contract I can get?”
“Six weeks,” she answered. “You’ll be stationed at the same facility where Savannah will be staying. You’ll be allowed to work with us on her case. If that’s resolved in less than six weeks…”
“I’m all yours for other missions.” I held out my hand. “I bet you have another contract in that briefcase with my name on it.”
X pulled out more paperwork and handed it to me.
Savannah stared wide-eyed at me. “Ben, I can’t let you do this for me.”
I smiled at her. “Sav, I’ve lived through literal hell. I can do anything for a mere six weeks.” I held out my hand again to X. “I’m also going to need that pen.”
I read the terms, signed, and handed back everything to X.
She tucked the contract into her briefcase, crossed one knee over the other, and clasped her hands in her lap. “Welcome to the Headquarters for the Elimination of Advanced Threats, known to the few who are aware of it as HEAT.”
15
SAVANNAH
Alittle over two hours after we’d left Chicago, we arrived in Somerton, a small town in Maryland that was an hour west of Annapolis, where Ben, Mai, and I had attended high school together. I’d heard the town name, but I’d never been here. Kyle, who was driving, kept up small talk with Ryan, who was riding shotgun. Ben and I had scooted to opposite sides of the back seat, but a few minutes into the drive, he’d placed his hand over the middle line, and I’d wrapped my fingers around his.
“Here we are, home sweet home.” Kyle glanced into the rearview mirror at us. “For now.”
We were in front of a brick office building on a street with both homes and office buildings. The light from the street lamps illuminated well-manicured lawns and neatly trimmed bushes in front of mostly dark homes. After all, it was the middle of the night. I wondered if the neighbors worried about what was happening on their block at this hour.
“Our facilities are right out in the open?” Ben asked.
“Right along with the other civilians,” Wheeler said. “You’ll get briefed up tomorrow, but the quick version: There’s no problem with you telling people you’re former military or a government contractor. They’re used to thataround here. But the party line is that we provide security services.”
“And do we?” Ben asked.
Wheeler glanced at both of us without answering, then stepped out of the car.
The front door was secured with a series of locks that appeared to include numbers, Kyle’s thumbprint, and his retina scan. The four of us stepped inside the single-width metal door and into a large space that was instantly lit by automated overhead lights.
I furrowed my brow. “It looks like a big gym.”
“Give the lady a prize.” Ryan grinned at me. “The team does indoor workouts here. There’s also lots of workout space outside, and of course, there’s always the option of running through our quaint little town.” He glanced at Ben. “I know how you Ranger boys love to run.”
Ben tensed his shoulders but remained silent.
Kyle spoke in a loud, tour-guide voice. “To our left, you can see through the half-glass walls that we have IT, then the logistics and tactical team rooms.” He pointed to the right, which had identical half-glass walls. “Over here, our unclassified conference room and the team leader’s office.” He pointed straight ahead. “Along the back of the building, we have the team lounge and the kitchen. Back exit to our left, stairs to the upper floors to the right.” He glanced at me. “There’s an elevator over there, as well.”
“How many floors are there?” I asked.
“Four,” Kyle said. “Second floor has more offices, the medical bay, the SCIF. That’s the Secret Compartmentalized Information Facility. Basically, a conference room for classified work. Third and fourth floors are efficiency apartments.”
Ryan signaled for us to follow him. “We’ll take the elevator,” he fake-whispered to me. “Your friend looks pretty wiped.”
Ben was a study in patience as he ignored Ryan’s goading.Maybe he really was tired. Or maybe, like me, he was preoccupied with what would come next. We’d each have our own efficiency apartment, but I didn’t know how far away from him I’d be or whether anyone would even care if we wandered into each other’s rooms for the night. I didn’t know the rules of an organization like this.
We exited the elevator on the third floor. Kyle hitched his thumb to the right. “Wheels and I are down this way.” He pointed left. “All the rooms down that way are set up but unoccupied. Help yourselves.”
