The woman’s eyes widened slightly and her mouth thinned.
“I’ve seen you in the distance a couple of times.”
“You work here?”Even as she bluffed, this Stella glanced around, as if trying to assess the current situation without looking like that’s what she was doing.For her, it kind of worked.
Did that mean she’d just arrived?
“I did,” Rita said, the way she looked around was much more pointed.“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here.”
“I had noticed,” Stella said, dryly.
She had?Then why was she trying to pretend that nothing was wrong?
She looked at him and for a second he saw her panic and realized she was trying to get her feet under her, but didn’t want them to know it.Maybe if she had different shoes?
She was a lady unused to being out of control.But surely, he thought, if she also worked here, she was used to the unexpected?And then he answered his own question.This lady was good at stopping the unexpected before it happened.
Until now.
She was bluffing as hard as she could.Con knew all about bluffing and winging it and all the other coping things one did when out of one’s depth.
What she needed was a reality check.
“We all seem to be in the same boat,” Rita said.
Like that.Con almost grinned.
Stella, with an almost invisible sigh, said, “Yes.Perhaps we should find a more salubrious place to discuss that.”
She needed to take charge and for now, Con decided to let her.If she thought she was running things, maybe she’d talk.
To his relief, she led them up and out of the dim, stale corridors toward hallways that got both lighter and nicer.The stale air didn’t modify that much, though.It all had the feel and look of being empty for a good chunk of time.
The access codes still appeared to work, because she did as Rita had, touched places besides doors that opened for her until at last they entered an office.
Her office, Con was sure.
He walked over to the window and stared at the visible buildings.They were squat, ugly, and looked to be as empty as this one.But beyond them, the mountains looked…familiar.
He’d been almost positive they’d been forced down at Area 51.How ironic would it be if Rita’s home base was Area 51 in the future?Were they further in the future or had something happened to Rita’s timeline while she was out there trying to stay alive?
He turned back to the room and found Rita and Stella having a stare-off.
“You’re Rita, aren’t you?”Stella finally broke the silence.
Rita didn’t confirm or deny this.
“John told me about you.”Stella half looked away, but her chin lifted.
“He told you that he was going to have this Rita killed?”It seemed Rita still didn’t want to confirm it absolutely.
“She wasn’t supposed to be…” Stella stopped.“She was just…”
“Bait?”
“I didn’t like it but sometimes unpleasant things are necessary.”Stella’s attention shifted to Con.She did not look impressed.“And we seem to have caught the wrong…target.”
Con wasn’t surprised Stella wasn’t impressed by him.She hadn’t seen him fly.
