AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In my rearview mirror, I see a man in a pickup truck start his car, too. He falls in line behind the car behind me.
CHAPTER26
FISHER
“They should be here any minute.”
Ivan gives a curt nod and heads outside, presumably to wait for her. He’s definitely acting in a security capacity, but it’s odd to me he left Rafael here alone. If I were pulling security for two people, I’d insist they stay with me.
Unless someone is with Gemma right now, but is so good at his job, even a trained officer is unaware of his or her presence.
“Your office lacks a little something.”
I glance around the paneled walls, attempting to see the space through Rafael’s eyes. The team planned for a brokerage space that said moderately successful. The planned message had been one of a brokerage owned by a competent individual yet overextended. A business that would float by below the radar of the public eye.
“What’s that?”
If he says diplomas, I actually have two fake ones framed in a closet. The team created them, but whoever hung them didn’t nail into a stud and one of the frames crashed down.
“There are no photos of family.”
I point to the framed photo of Sophia sitting on my desk. The photo is AI generated, created by some CIA genius, with the use of our two photos and then digitally enhanced with a background at the beach and my arms around her, her red hair blowing in the wind, us both laughing.
“Yes, yes, your wife.” He paces back and forth, hands thrust in his slacks pocket. “But your parents? Siblings?”
Ah, and here it is. The conclusion to the interview process. He needs to know if there are people I love who he can hold over my head. He needs insurance.
“No siblings. My mother is in a nursing home.”
“You don’t take care of your mother?” He practically spits out the words, and I second-guess the wisdom of the team that developed my back story.
“She has Alzheimer’s. It was the best place for her.”
“My condolences. That must be difficult. Is she nearby?”
“No.” I let out a breath of air and furrow my brow. “Research has shown that patients do better with the semblance of freedom. In Europe, they discovered that if you create a village…it’s not real, you know? It feels real, though. A grocery where they can buy things without paying, a clothing store, a toy store, that kind of thing. Basically a little town straight out of a Lego village. And she can walk around freely. Nurses dress as people living in the town. It’s…experimental, but she’s happier there.”
This is all made up. My actual parents live in Minnesota for part of the year and will soon winter in Florida when my father finally retires. There’s no way I’d let my backstory for my parents match reality.
“So, where is this magical village?”
“In Kentucky.”
“Huh. They have horses there, right?”
“You’re thinking of the Kentucky Derby. Famous horse race.”
“Yes. Your mom…did she ride horses?”
“No, and they don’t let…there are dogs and cats in the town, no horses.” I smile as if his line of questioning is amusing in a conscious attempt to cover up the uneasy feeling I’m getting at him blatantly digging for someone to use as a threat. Because based on my backstory, the only person he can leverage is Sophia. The CIA brainiacs screwed this up.
He pulls out his phone and reads the screen.
“What about you? Any siblings?”
He glances at me, then back to his phone. “They’re here.”
He heads out of the building. He passes Patel without so much as offering recognition. I glance back at her, and she gives me a questioning look.
