He looked at me. “I thought I’d be staying here with Cami.”
“She’s in good hands.” She gave him a stern look. “We made an agreement and you have my word.”
“And the NDA?” he asked.
“Just as we agreed.”
“Thank you.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Cam, will you be okay?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. While he was there, I felt reasonably safe. Once he left, I might melt into a pathetic puddle. But as far as I could tell, X wasn’t giving usa choice. I laid my hand on top of his for a moment. “I’ll be fine.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll see you shortly.”
He left, and X sat in the chair across from me. She handed me a clipboard with a stack of papers on it. “You’ll need to initial and date each page at the bottom, and sign on the last page,” she said.
“I don’t suppose I can have a lawyer review this.”
“No, I’m sorry. And I understand if you’re not comfortable with signing, given that limitation.”
“I’ll read through it and let you know.”
She smiled. “Very good. There’s not much legalese in it, and there are no “gotchas.” If you have any questions about the terms, I’ll be happy to answer them.”
I read the three-page document, then flipped back a page and pointed to the paragraphs on classified data. “I’m not sure I’m clear on this.”
“Ah.” X leaned forward. “That’s a direct quote from regulations, which is why it’s hard to follow if you’ve never had a security clearance. Basically, you will not be given any classified data because you don’t have the clearance. And if you ask any HEAT agent, and that includes Kyle, about something that’s classified, he will not be able to discuss it with you.
“If there are exigent circumstances and you must have the information, you will be brought here or to another government facility with a SCIF to receive it. That’s an acronym for sensitive compartmented information facility. There’s also close-hold information, which, while not subject to the same limitations as classified data, should not be shared with anyone outside of HEAT.” She frowned. “Despite what pop culture would have you believe, we don’t exchange the US government’s secrets in shady parkinggarages, nor do we carry home classified documents. No one does thatlegally, anyway.”
Her harsh tone indicated it was a sore subject for her, and I’d heard all I needed for clarification, so I nodded. “Thank you for the explanation. And thank you for allowing me to do this.”
“It’s not for you, Dr. Vaughn.”
“Well, for accepting Kyle’s request on my behalf.”
She fiddled with a button on her suit jacket. “I and the agency have two years invested in him. We know he didn’t make the request lightly.”
I got the distinct impression our conversation was over. I initialed and signed the document in all the appropriate places. I handed the clipboard and pages back to X.
“Good. Now you can follow me.” She led me to the reception desk and reached over it to press her finger into a reader that was impossible to see from the lobby.
The center of the desk retracted and the lock on the door behind it clicked. I glanced behind me, out through the glass doors, to the parking lot and the world beyond it. I hesitated. My instincts warned me entering Kyle’s world would irrevocably change mine. But learning more about him was the only way I’d be able to put my full faith in him.
I threw back my shoulders, braced myself, followed X into HEAT’s inner sanctum. And hoped to hell I hadn’t just made a terrible mistake.
19
CAMI
We entered the building behind the façade. To my left was an exit door to the side parking lot where Kyle had parked when we’d arrived. To my right, the enormous space opened in front of me. The entire center of the space was a gym, complete with exercise mats, free weights, benches, and machines. Kyle had said fitness was part of the job, but this was far beyond what I’d imagined.
“Rogers can fill in more of the details about HEAT,” X glanced at me, “within the boundaries of classified and close-hold regulations, as we discussed. But HEAT, Headquarters for the Elimination of Advanced Threats, is a covert agency of the US government.”
“As in, something that doesn’t show up on any official budget?” I asked.
She arched an eyebrow.
“I watch spy movies.” I licked my lips nervously. “That’s what this is, isn’t it? A spy organization.”
