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“Rita, we’re in our suite. Not the conference center.” Fisher’s dry response is all-work, although there is a hint of exasperation.
“Okay. Here’s the deal, kids. On the off chance our friend Ivan checks out your home in Santa Barbara, or your offices, we have a team setting up both locations for you. Go pretend to be a happy couple. Try to avoid anyone who knows you. Right now, the plan is if he contacts you in Santa Barbara, this operation will get rolled up into an intra-agency task force with the FBI and DEA.”
“How long are they giving this?”
“My bet is a few weeks. Or until Ivan returns home. We’ll keep it open, give you both a reason to leave the country at some point, just in case months from now he reaches out.”
“By chance, did anything happen with their current money laundering conduit?”
“We don’t know. That’s one reason the continuation of this op has been authorized. Burgeoning interest from multiple parties on this one.”
It’s official. This operation is continued, I’ll be in Southern California, but Sophia Garcia can’t be seen as Sophia Sullivan. With wigs and make-up, I can play both roles as it suits me, if I do so carefully.
“When you get your flight rescheduled, I’ll get alerted. When you land, give your Aunt Rita a call. I’ll tell you where I parked the rental car.”
“We’ll have two cars, right?” Aunt Rita’s expression is the opposite of pleased. “I mean, Damian and Sophia Garcia wouldn’t share a car.”
“But you would drive together to the airport,” Rita says. “And your home will be fully stocked.”
I assume she means that includes a car for me. But, if it doesn’t, I can borrow a car from Aunt Alex easily enough. When the call ends, Fisher crosses his arms over his chest and cocks his head with a mock-fierce scowl. At least, I think it’s mock.
“What was that?”
“What was what?” I rise off my seat. It’s time for me to power up my laptop.
“What were you getting at with her?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you want to do?” His eyebrows nearly touch each other. I recognize that look. He thinks I’m up to something. “Why do you want a car?”
“Fisher.” I say his name with distinct authority, but my smiling lips tease.
“Sullivan.” He says my name with a smirk and crowds my space. “I watched you throughout high school. You think I don’t know when you’re up to—”
My calves hit the front of the sofa and I tumble back onto it, laughing.
He stands before me and runs his fingers through his hair. “Ah, hell.” He mumbles something that sounds like he knows exactly what I’m doing. “Two cars.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I guess it makes sense.” He steps away, flicks on the fireplace, and heads to the kitchenette. “Pick a movie. Get comfortable.”
“You want to watch a movie?”
“No. We’re going to play the role of a married couple. Snuggle on the sofa during a blizzard. And do other things married couples do.” With a devilish smirk, he adds, “Got to enjoy the perks of the job.”
The job. It is a job. A job that was just extended for only a few weeks. But that’s okay. Better than okay. Southern California is exactly where I need to be.
CHAPTER21
FISHER
Two days later, our rescheduled flight and the journey through customs pass uneventfully. As promised, inside the glove box of the rental car I find house keys and an address.
“Ready to head home, Mrs. Garcia?”
She lowers the back of her seat and stretches, closing her eyes. She spent most of the flight on her computer. When I glanced at the screen, she was offline, reviewing a spreadsheet. “Wake me when we’re there.”
Given I kept her up last night, her exhaustion today is understandable. If I’m going to hell anyway, I should get as much out of the crime as possible. My philosophy is similar to the adage, “If you’re going to steal, steal a lot.” Of course, when I first headed down this path, I thought we’d be done with this ruse, back on the east coast, unlikely to cross paths again. What happened in Canada would stay in Canada. A momentary lapse in judgment. But here we are with an extended covert operation. And it’s probably going to bore her. If she got bored in the FBI analysis unit, the next stage of this operation will lead her to consider yet another career change.
That’s one thing about the CIA that so many don’t understand, thanks to Hollywood. A lot of the jobs within the CIA are mundane. Because of my military background, I’ve had assignments with more action than most. But I’ve kept in touch with a few from my Langley class. One woman said she meets the informant she cultivated once a month. The rest of her time is spent at her cover job in the US Embassy.
