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"I don't know!" He barked then lowered his voice. "I thought we were more than just workmates. I thought we were becoming friends." And more, if he had anything to say about it.
“Oh? I’m your friend? Whose friend am I?” She stood slowly, as if stiff from the long spell of sitting in one position. “Am I the friend of the chatty guy who got a nasty infection and scar when he wrecked his skateboard on a dirty rail? Am I the friend of the man who can disappear from an empty hallway when he doesn’t want to be seen?” She advanced on him. “Or am I the friend of the man who kissed me last night and hasn’t said a word about it since?”
He stood and stepped forward until they were nose to nose. "All of those men are me! I'm those men, that boy. I'm a mixed-up mess of a man who doesn't know where the undercover agent stops and the real man, if there is any left inside me, starts."
Her eyes went from angry to pain-filled. "Oh, Gavin."
He stepped closer to her and cupped her face with his hand. “If there is any of the boy left in me, Rachel, it’s in the man who kissed you last night. That wasn’t anyone else or a façade. It was me.”
She let her head lower until it rested against his collarbone and he laid his cheek on her warm soft hair, breathing in her sweet scent. “I’m scared, Gavin.”
He smiled into her hair. “It’s okay. There are enough security agents around here to wrestle an elephant to the ground.”
She lifted her head and touched his mouth with a single finger, staring at it. “I’m not scared of the situation we’re in, though I’m realistic about it. I’m scared about us. About falling in love with a man who isn’t sure of who or what he is.”
He stepped away from her, startled at the pang of hurt her words caused. “You’ll have to decide if I’m worth the risk, then, huh?”
She opened her mouth to respond when Dallas strode into the room, speaking as she entered. “It’s after midnight. I’ve been ordered to tell you.” She advanced and leaned against the table, her arms crossed over her chest. “Make any headway?”
Gavin shrugged and Rachel waggled her hand in front of her. Dallas grunted, “Great. You guys going to continue? Mrs. Finch said if you are, she’s going to put a thermos of coffee on the maker so it’ll be fresh for you.”
“I am,” Rachel said even as Gavin continued to work. Dallas nodded. “Vince and Bear are finishing up a game of poker and the Senator is on yet another phone call. I’m going to bed. If I have to go over that surveillance plan one more time tonight, I’m going to drink poison. Oops, bad analogy. Getting out before I embarrass myself again. Night.”
She swept out of the room, leaving behind Rachel who breathed out a laugh before returning to her job. She’d enhanced three of the photos but hadn’t looked at them. She wanted to get through the other four before she took the time. Suddenly, a cup of coffee was the only thing she could think of. She straightened then stood and stretched. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Can I bring you one?”
Gavin looked up and smiled vaguely, his mind still on his task. ”Thanks.”
“Black, right?”
“Actually, if you could dump in some sugar, it’d be good. I’ll need the extra energy.” He said to his monitor.
The action of walking through the house and pouring coffee revived her tired and stiff muscles, giving Rachel hope she’d be able to continue her work that night. She wanted the photos to be ready for the Senator and her to review the next morning.
When she walked into the room, she noted Gavin scribbling on a piece of paper with her pen. She set the coffee near the paper and tilted her head. “Reverting to earlier evolution?”
He grinned at her and threw down the pen before getting the coffee and taking a healthy sip. "I realized I needed to jot some things down to get it organized in my head." At her bark of laughter, he held up his other hand. "What can I say? You were right. Sometimes the old-fashioned way is the right way."
She returned to her side of the table and sank into the chair, feeling more energized by the minute. "And computers can do some marvelous things. This enhancement program is great."
“Do you recognize any of the men?” He said and sipped on his coffee, his eyes on her face.
“No, but I haven’t done more than make sure the clarity is good in the stills and the videos. I want to get all of these done by morning so the Senator and I can both look at them.” When he remained silent she explained. “I haven’t been on assignment that long and there may be some people I can't identify but the Senator knows everyone in that building, from security to the highest-ranking politicians and their spouses, or girlfriends, as the case may be."
“Only girlfriends?” Gavin joked and she grimaced.
"I guess I should have said lovers, one-night stands, and assorted transgressions. It's a regular soap opera, from what I hear."
“Hence the rumors about you and Senator Mitchell.”
“Yep. I’m just another victim of DC’s gossip mill,” she mocked then sipped her coffee, relishing the rich cream and sugar. “So, have you made any progress?”
He gestured toward the paper pad. “Maybe. This needs to go through my brain for a bit. If I push it, the code just gets jumbled more. The computer program is good but sometimes I can see patterns it doesn’t pick up. Odd ones that don’t have an algorithm.”
She stared at him, wondering at the brain that could solve a puzzle that a computer couldn’t. Her expression must have given her amazement away because he laughed. “I’m not a genius or anything, I just think a little differently.”
“You were a geek in school, weren’t you?” She said lightly as she pulled up the next video clip and started the enhancement program.
"Yep, and terrible at skateboarding. If I remember right, I was only doing the rail thing to impress a girl."
