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“Thanks,” she said again.
There was a sudden commotion behind her. She turned to see a man standing just off the elevator, shaking hands with one of the other Special Agents. He was average height but heavyset. His hair was white but full, and he wore a light gray suit with a white shirt and red silk tie. “He looks familiar,” she muttered.
“He should,” Ainsley said. “That’s Senator James Weston. He’s here for an informal visit before he’s off to Asia on official business. He’ll be with us for a few days, checking things out. He’s on several committees that can help with what we do.”
Great.Another politician. No wonder Cross is all hyped up about finding the Navy’s weapons. It would be a big score for him. “Well, I won’t hold you up then.” She started to walk away as the senator came in their direction.
“Senator,” Ainsley said as he extended his hand. The man barely acknowledged him and kept going toward Cross.
Ouch. She quickly headed for the stairs and made her escape. She entered her floor and headed toward her desk when she saw Rutledge. He was speaking quietly into his cell, but he stopped altogether when she got closer and hung up abruptly. That was the third time he’d done that in as many days. She let out a sigh.
“What did Ainsley want?” Rutledge asked as she walked by his cubicle.
“To tell me I passed my probation, and I’m now permanent.”
“Congratulations. Casper told me the same thing a couple of days ago.”
“Congrats.” She paused by his cubicle. “I don’t know why Ainsley told me, though. Why not Casper? Ainsley said he was busy with the Navy issue, but he could have sent me an email or something. It was weird.”
Rutledge chuckled. “Seriously? Ainsley rushed up to tell you some good news and you wonder why? He’s known for dating some of the women that work here. Does that make it clearer for you?”
“Oh. Yuck.”
Rutledge grinned. “Yup. Lucky you.”
Shit. Well, that sucks.She rounded the corner to her desk and stopped abruptly. Her coffee was cold and her muffin was gone. It was going to be one of those days.
CHAPTERTHREE
Dane hit the deck of the cargo ship and swore. His back was a mess, but he couldn’t stop. He quickly moved away from the rope and scanned the deck with his machine gun raised, fighting the glare of the sun off the water. Reaching the first row of containers, he did a quick peek. Empty. He moved quickly across the opening to the second row. He was leader on this incursion, so he was One.
His earbud crackled. “One, coming up on your six.”
“Roger that, Four,” he responded. A second later, Tac Holden joined him next to the container.
“Two, Three, are you in position?” He peeked around the corner of the container, looking to the far side of the ship’s deck. The rest of his teammates should be at the other end of the row of containers. From here, they would fan out across the deck and then proceed to clear the areas they’d been assigned on the small container ship.
“Roger,” came the response from both Koa and Jace.
“Five?” he asked.
“Roger that,” Cass responded.
Dane glanced up. He couldn’t see her but knew she was perched on top of the first container, gun up, sweeping the deck, ready to lay down cover fire if necessary.
He nodded to Tac. “On my mark.” He waited a beat. “Now.”
He stepped out from behind the container, kept his gun up, and cleared the deck. He moved rapidly over to the forecastle and then turned, keeping his eyes sharp until the other three were next to him. He turned and swept his weapon in an arc, ready to lay down cover fire for Five as she jumped down and crossed the open expanse.
When Five made it to the corner, he turned, and ducked inside the forecastle. Suddenly a whistle blew, and he straightened, pointing his gun at the floor. He stepped back onto the deck and waited for his team leader.
“Did we do something wrong?” asked Jace.
Koa, Jace’s partner for the drill, answered, “No.”
Cass shook her head. “I agree with Koa.”
Tac looked at Dane, but he just shrugged.
