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Do the job.
Keep her safe.
Then leave.
That’s how it’s supposed to be.
Yet already I’m calling bullshit on myself.
Back inside my room, I wake up my computer so I can check the cameras, then dial on my personal phone the one man who will smack me around the back of the head and tell me to get the fuck out of this situation.
“Ghost, you good?” Always the same, his instant reaction is that there is trouble.
“Badger. Alive is the answer you need.”
I can hear his sigh through my earpiece. “I’m sensing a but coming, though.” In a way he has been like a father figure to me in this job. He has seen so much in his time in the military and then WITSEC that it’s almost like he has a sixth sense.
“Because you are like a fucking voodoo man. I’m sure you have some weird-ass powers to read minds or some shit like that. We should have called you Wizard instead of Badger.” His laughter, deep and gruff, helps to put me at ease somewhat.
“Yeah, right, you bastards thought it was hilarious to call this old man Badger, with my gray streaks in my hair. But I’ll take that. Better than going bald…” He gives a fake cough into the phone, hinting at my thinning hair.
“Such a funny prick, aren’t you?”
“Someone has to be. You're too busy being the serious one.”
“Yeah, right, you have met Bull, haven’t you? He thinks he’s funnier than all of us.” Both of us are now laughing which is what I needed.
“You on the job tonight?” There's importance back in his voice. That’s one thing about Badger; he is very cut and dry. He thinks I’m the serious one, but we all know it’s a strong part of his personality. It’s what made him good at his job. Up until recently, he was my handler but is now retired. A blow-up with the hierarchy had him telling them to fuck off, and he walked away. We all saw it coming. He struggled to follow the rules after everything he has been through. No one can blame him for it, although I miss him. Best there was in my squad, alongside Bull.
“Yeah, but it’s turning out to be a curly one, with lots of hidden secrets.” Leaning back into the desk chair, I prop my hands behind my head and look up at the ceiling.
“What, the job or the client? Or is it just another WITSEC clusterfuck they’ve dumped in your lap?” The bitterness in his voice is still as strong as ever.
“Hmmm, not sure how to answer that one.” And I’m really not. The more I look into the senator, the more I don’t like what I see. But that’s not the biggest problem with the job.
“Start at the beginning.” There is that fatherly tone that makes me take a deep breath and lay it all out there. The words are flowing freely as I tell him what I know and about Cassie.
“Fuck, Ghost! You know what I’m going to say.” If I could see his face right now, his mouth would be a straight line, his jaw locked, and the eyebrow would be twitching.
“What if I don’t want to hear it?”
“Then you wouldn’t have called me!” And he’s right. Wasn’t that what I wanted? For him to tell me to walk away from this job. Call in for a swap-out with another agent.
“I hate when you're right.”
“You’re saying it like it’s something that doesn’t happen often. Now listen up, buddy, and listen hard.”
“Do I have a choice?” I ask, knowing full well I don’t.
“This is fucking dangerous for both her and for you. And I’m not talking about any of this fluffy shit like your heart getting broken. I couldn’t give a shit about that. But what I do care about is you keeping her alive and in the process keeping your sorry ass safe too. We both know I’m talking from experience. You can’t think straight when you are blinded by thinking with your dick. Your decisions aren’t quick enough, and that split second where you stop to think of her is a second you don’t have. It will end in the worst possible way.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” I feel bad that I have dragged this back up for him, but I needed it to push me back from where I was heading.
“So they say. I fucking knew better.” The low grumble in my ear tells me not to reply, I don’t want to get into an argument over it.
“I hear you, but I’m not sure I can trust anyone else. My head is telling me to get the hell out of here before this goes anywhere, but my body is ignoring every single word I’ve got going around my brain.” I take a breath while Badger sits silent on the other end of the phone. “There’s just something about her… She’s already under my skin and making me twitch, and it’s been less than twenty-four hours.”
“Then nothing I say is going to matter, is it?” Already the tone in his voice lets me know he doesn’t see the point in pushing me on this.
