Forging a Life—10

They left the hotel for breakfast, walking to a restaurant only a few blocks from the pub where they would be that evening. Riah looked tired, and Casey figured that between her interrupted sleep the night before and the confrontation this morning, she wasn't her usual self. He considered telling her to go back and get some sleep, which was what he intended to do, but she beat him to it, told him she thought she'd stick close to the hotel that day. He walked her back and left her at her room before returning to his.

He slipped the do-not-disturb sign over the door handle outside his room and set the locks. He snapped the curtains closed, set the alarm on the bedside clock so that he would wake in time to clean up before going to the pub, then stripped and slid between the sheets. It didn't take him long to get to sleep.

Casey felt considerably better when he woke. He showered, shaved and dressed again in black jeans, black polo, black socks and black shoes. He nearly checked in on Riah, but if she was sleeping, he didn't want to wake her.

He found a sandwich shop and ate a quick lunch before going on to the pub. Casey was introduced to his co-workers and shown the ropes. They put Casey with a trainer, which irritated him, but he hid it, knew that if he were truly new this would be standard procedure and that when the trainer realized he knew what he was doing, he'd be left alone to do the job.

A few hours into his shift, his cell phone vibrated, which surprised him. Beckman would text him and tell him to get somewhere private, and so would Walker. Bartowski wouldn't dare call him, and that left only Riah. He pulled the phone out, and sure enough, her number was on the screen. "What is it, Cassie?"

He set a beer in front of a middle aged man who sounded like he was from Texas. "I need you," she said, and he heard a tremble in her voice.

Either Laurance had made another run at her when he realized Casey was gone, or something else had happened. "Baby, I'm at work," he said.

The tartness with which she said, "Dad told me to call you," told him she didn't like being called Baby. "There was something wrong with my orders." He looked over and caught a funny look from his trainer.

"Well, if you can't wait," he said in a sexy drawl, "I have a break in ten minutes. Get a cab and meet me at the door."

"Pig," she said. "I'll be there."

The other woman gave him a suspicious look, but she'd been doing that since they'd been introduced. He timed it so that he went on break at the ten minute mark, and he stepped out the door just as Riah reached the corner across the street. She crossed, and he looped an arm around her and walked her away from the pub.

As they walked, she told him softly she'd called her father to tell him about their early morning visitor and that Casey had moved into her room. She told him her father had mentioned the handoff to Rafferty, but she'd told him that it hadn't been in her orders. She then told him her father had insisted she find him and tell him immediately.

When she was finished, they walked in silence a minute. Someone had tampered with her orders, he realized, and he felt better that V. H. hadn't sent her out on this operation as woefully unprepared as he'd thought. Casey filled her in on what she had not been told, and when he finished, he asked, "What would have happened when Rafferty approached you?"

"I'd have played ignorant," she said, "and then I'd have called Dad and asked what the hell was going on."

Casey knew better. In Rafferty's shoes, he would have forcibly taken the drive from Riah and either assumed she was on the other side and eliminated her or tranqed her and put her on the first private flight back to headquarters. "Rafferty would probably assume you were on the list, and you wouldn't get the chance," he told her.

"That's you," she returned, and that stung a little. "He'd detain me and call Dad."

Casey shook his head. She was naïve if she thought the stakes were low enough that detention would be on the table if Rafferty believed she was holding out on him, but all Casey said was, "Don't be too sure."

He had walked them around so that by the time his break was over, they were back at the pub. "I have to go back to work. When you come in tonight, the seat Finn specified will be empty. We'll play the boyfriend cover. Call me Mike. After the drop, I want you to stay put at the bar. When I've closed, we'll both go back to the hotel, copy the drive, and tomorrow you'll meet Rafferty."

They stopped on the sidewalk next to the door. She looked up at him. "You knew something was wrong, didn't you?"

"Let's just say I was surprised that you didn't seem to know what to do after Finn made the drop." He pulled her close and kissed her, aware that they were being observed by the woman who was supposedly training him. When he lifted his head, he said, "Be careful."

He turned into the pub as she walked away, and his trainer said, "You won't last long here if you drop everything to chase after your girlfriend."

Casey grunted and returned to his job. Usually he felt like furniture when he had to play bartender, and usually he was little more than that when Walker and Bartowski were involved—until it all went the hell, of course. He was still trying to figure out why, if he was the officer in charge in Burbank, he spent so much time in the background. Of course Bartowski trusted Walker more than he did Casey, but Casey sometimes got a little tired of missing the main action and then having to save their asses. He had to admit, though, that tending bar was less painful than working the sales floor as a Buy More green shirt.

Before the evening rush started, he piled menus in the corner seat Finn had specified Riah occupy. The manager, who knew only that "Mike," who was going to work there one night, maybe three, was to be given some latitude, said nothing. Casey scowled at anyone who tried to empty the seat for a customer—any customers who tried to empty it, too—and the menus stayed where they were. Riah came in half an hour before she was due to meet Finn, and she put the menus on the bar and sat on the barstool. When he came over to her, she smiled and ordered a Smithwick's and a bowl of Irish stew.

He kept an eye on her as she ate, and when a young, handsome blond sat down next to her and started hitting on her, Casey watched her more closely. She didn't encourage the man, but Blondie pressed. Riah finally suggested he try the brunette on the opposite corner of the bar. When that didn't dissuade him, Casey leaned in and said pointedly, "She's mine."

He half expected Riah to take offense at his assertion, but she smiled at him. The blond moved off to the brunette Riah had pointed out.

The next man to sit beside her was dark haired and a few years older than Riah. Casey moved closer to take the other man's order. The code phrase came out of his mouth, and Casey surreptitiously looked around to see if he could spot Finn, see if the other man might have sent this one in his place. Riah didn't give the correct response, though, and Casey thought she did right when the man began talking to her. It sounded like another attempt to pick her up. Casey caught her eye and nodded, and when the other man talked to her, she answered in monosyllables. She had a look that said she wanted to run away. Casey took pity on her. Finn was clearly not going to show, so he walked up and asked if the younger man needed anything else. He ordered a second Jameson's, and Casey turned to Riah and asked, "And you, sweetheart?"

That incandescent smile he generally only saw when she was performing for an audience lit her face. "No, honey, I'm fine for the moment."

As he poured the whiskey, he heard the man ask Riah who Casey was. She explained that he was her boyfriend, Mike. It wasn't long before Jameson's moved on.

Finn didn't show, and when last call came, she switched to water. She handed Casey her ISI-issued credit card, and he ran it through, handed her the receipt to sign. Amused, he noticed she left him a healthy tip. Casey told her to sit tight, and she did as the other customers began to trickle out. The manager eyed her, so Casey introduced her as his girlfriend Cassie and asked if it was okay if she waited until he could leave.

He slung an arm around her and exited the rear door with the manager. Casey and Riah began walking along Wolf Street. When they turned on to Banff, he saw the man who'd given her the code phrase lurking in the shadows. He thought about pointing him out to Riah, but then he decided not to worry her any further. It was enough of a coincidence, though, that Casey marked his features and intended to keep an eye out for him.

When they were in the hotel room again, Riah told him she was worried about Finn, that it wasn't like the other man to not show up. She was also concerned about the man who'd given her the code phrase. Casey pointed out the Jays had played that day, so it could have been a coincidence. He didn't plan to tell her he didn't think it was, especially since the man had been clearly waiting for her on the street. She wasn't mollified, and she took her nightclothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

He heard the shower, and he quickly e-mailed the General asking for a nine a.m. his time, eleven a.m. her time conference. Given how screwed up Riah's prep for this mission had been, he didn't want to risk ISI's clear breach by talking to Adderly directly.

Riah came out of the bathroom dressed in her gown and robe with her hair wrapped in a towel. He took her place in the bathroom, and as he was adjusting the water temperature, he heard a hairdryer.

Leaving the light on when he exited the bathroom, he found she was already in bed. He crawled in beside her and turned out the lamp, and even from his side of the bed, he could feel her tense. He was too tired to try and talk her down, so he decided to ignore her. Perhaps if he went to sleep, she would relax enough to do so as well. She remained rigid, though, and just as he was about to drop off, he remembered that she had seemed to sleep fine nestled up against him. He rolled over and wrapped an arm around her, and for a moment he thought she'd jump out of her skin. He kept his breathing even, in and out, and he gradually felt her relax before he dropped off to sleep.

He woke the next morning with her back snugged against his chest. His nose was buried in the hollow at the base of her skull, and he could smell the lavender of her shampoo and the soap the hotel provided. He lay there, held her, breathed in the smell of her and wondered what she'd do if he tasted her. As soon as he thought it, he reminded himself that she was the boss's daughter and this was business, not pleasure. The echo of her argument with Laurance reminded him of his first priority that morning—making sure Laurance was either gone or would be gone. They didn't need a wild card, especially since this mission had been screwed from the moment it began.

Riah wriggled around to face him, and he went still. She was still sleeping, but he had a feeling that wouldn't last long, so he gently untangled himself and headed to the bathroom. Showered and shaved, he exited the bathroom to find her awake and watching the morning news. She silently gathered her clothes and took his place in the bathroom.

They ate breakfast at an out of the way restaurant, neither of them saying much. Casey was running a mental list of the things he had to accomplish, and Riah was lost in thought. He escorted her back to her room where she told him she thought she would just stick close to the room again, and he took his laptop and left. It didn't take him more than a few minutes to hack the reservations system and find out what room Laurance was in, and he grimly noted Riah had been right. His room was two doors down from hers. Casey checked his weapon and took the stairs back to her floor.

Laurance answered the door, obviously just out of bed to do so. Casey shoved him backward and entered the room, closing the door behind him. "This is the way it's going to be," he told the other man. "You're going to pack and leave within the hour. You're not going to contact Riah. You're simply going to leave, and you are not coming back until we're gone."

"I don't work for you, Casey," the other man said. "You can't threaten me."

"I'm not here to threaten, Laurance," he said with soft menace. "I'm here to see you do what I tell you. You can do it alive, or I can do it for you after you're dead."

Laurance glared at him. "Mariah said she's here on a job. Since when does she work for the NSA?"

Casey narrowed his eyes. That was not something for public knowledge, and he considered Gray Laurance part of that public. "Riah works for ISI."

The other man's brows shot up. "Riah? She lets you call her Riah?" He snorted. "Do you even know what sort of neurotic bitch you're sleeping with?"

Casey's fist slung out instinctively, and he felt great satisfaction in seeing Laurance sprawled flat on his ass before him. The other man's split lip made Casey's stinging hand worth it. He leaned down, but not close enough for Laurance to retaliate in any manner. "Be careful what you say about her," he warned. "So far I'm making nice. Don't tempt me to really hurt you."

Not very deep down, he hoped Laurance really, really tempted him.

Sitting up, Laurance swiped at the blood on his chin. "I heard you'd finally reached the snapping point, Casey," he said conversationally, probing his split lip. "The two of you are probably suited, the crazy bitch and the burnout."

Casey hauled him upright and shoved him hard against the wall. He heard Laurance's head thump against the drywall. "Say what you like about me," he growled, "but Riah's off limits. I know what you did to her. I know how you sold her out to save your own skin. I saw the damage those bastards did to her because you couldn't man up." He punctuated each sentence by lifting Laurance away from the wall and slamming him back into it.

Laurance glared at him. "You know nothing, Casey."

"You'd be surprised what I know."

The other man laughed at him then. "You're so in the dark here you'll never find the light." Laurance's words made Casey go cold. The man knew something. The question was, about what? There were too many things nearly all of which revolved around Mariah Adderly that had gone wrong or not been what they seemed. The other man apparently read Casey's hesitation. "She's a pawn, Casey, a pawn in a game for which you can't even begin to fathom the rules, and you live by the rules, Casey. Tell me. How dearly did V. H. sell her to you?"

Casey smashed him against the wall again. "He didn't sell her to me, Laurance."

"So she's your reward for being a good boy," the other man said snidely, "for snapping to and doing what Daddy says."

"You're the one who knows nothing," he snarled. "You can't play divide and conquer here, Laurance. You lost; I won. Live with it." He released the other man and stepped away. "I'll give you an hour to clear out. If you're still here, I put a bullet in your head."

He headed toward the door. "Casey," Laurance called after him. "When you're fucking her, do you ever give any thought to the fact that she's a time bomb, ticking away, and no one knows when she'll finally blow." Laurance gave him a cold smile when he looked back. "She's damaged goods, Casey. For me, she's a means to an end. What's in it for you—other than that delightful little body of hers?"

"An hour," Casey said and walked out the door.

Poison, he decided. Laurance was spewing poison. It was an old ploy. Make the other side doubt. If he'd really been Riah's lover, it might have worked. As it was, he had images of her and Laurance he really didn't want. He let himself into his room and sat at the table. He had five minutes before Beckman would call, so he checked the equipment and waited. While he waited, he puzzled over what Laurance had said. Casey ignored the personal and the slurs on Riah, and focused instead on what the other man had said about him being lost in a game for which he didn't know the rules. It was clear Laurance knew why Riah was here, and Casey wondered if he played a role in her botched orders. The question was whether or not the other man thought he could bail her out and make her grateful, or whether Laurance was playing on the wrong team this time. Whichever it was, it was clear the other man hadn't expected Casey.

He reported to the General, told her that Riah's mission was tainted and explained about the incomplete orders. He told her he was concerned for Riah's safety, explained about the man who had turned up with the code phrase and who had been lurking afterward. Then he told her about Laurance, ignored the personal once more and, as a first for Casey, didn't fully share the rest. He told the General only that Laurance was there, might possibly interfere, and that he wasn't sure about the man's loyalty or role in the unfolding debacle. The General looked as unhappy as he felt, and she asked if he'd talked to Adderly. Casey confirmed that he had, but not since before Riah told him she'd learned her mission was compromised. Beckman told him to carry on and be careful before she hung up.

Casey hacked into the hotel registration system again, and a few minutes before Laurance's hour was up, he saw the man checked out. Putting on his coat, Casey raced down the stairs and saw the other man loading luggage into the back of a sports car. He watched him drive off and hoped Laurance was smart enough to leave town and not just the hotel.

Their second night at the pub went much like the first, only no one showed up with the code phrase, and Finn still didn't put in an appearance. With Laurance gone, he had no reason for staying in her room, but when she suggested he might go back to his room, he told her that just because the other man had stayed out of sight didn't mean he wasn't lurking around somewhere.

In the night, they gravitated toward one another again, and he woke up with her clinging to him, cradled against his chest, one of her legs between his. As he had done the morning before, he carefully untangled himself from her. Once again they ate breakfast together and separated. Casey did laundry since he'd wound up wearing the better part of a pint the night before. He also checked in with Walker.

Everything was under control, and when Walker fished for where Casey was and what he was doing, he evaded her questions and cut the conversation short.

By last call, Casey figured Finn would be a no-show again, but then the man settled onto the barstool next to Riah. He watched Riah's face light up as Finn hugged her, and he gave her the code phrase. Riah gave him the right response, and one of Finn's hands moved lower. Casey sat two pints of Guinness in front of them, moved away, but kept an eye on them. The two talked, and Casey caught a few snatches, mostly about nothing. When Finn finished his drink, he tossed money on the bar and wished her luck. Casey came, took the money and the empty glass, and asked, "Okay?" She nodded back.

He finished his duties when the pub closed, and before he and Riah left, the manager handed him an envelope. Casey knew it was his pay and share of the tips for the three days he'd worked. He put his arm around Riah as they said good night to his co-workers and stepped out the back door. As they left the others, rounded the corner of the pub, Casey looked around them and spotted two shadows detaching themselves from dark doorways, one in front of them and the other behind them. He felt certain there would be more and wasn't surprised when he saw two others come up fast from a cross street. The one who had approached from behind went around Casey and grabbed Riah, shoving her against the wall of the building they walked beside at the same time two of the others grabbed him and did the same.

Casey decided to bluff, see if they were really who and what he suspected they were. He played it like a robbery, told them that if they'd let them go he'd hand over his wallet. The one who held Riah pulled her away from the wall and slammed her back against it hard enough her head came forward and the side of it struck the wall solidly enough Casey heard a crack. Unlike his morning confrontation with Laurance, he felt a little sick at the sound and wondered if she was even still conscious. Casey struggled against the two holding him until he felt the muzzle of a handgun against his temple. He would have to watch this play out for the moment and hope for an opportunity. Perhaps the two holding him would get caught up in the drama and he'd get a chance.

The one holding Riah grabbed her parka at the collar and stripped it off. He repeated the move with her jacket and took her gun from her holster. He ground her cheek against the wall's stucco as he leaned in and asked, "Where is it Adderly?" One mystery was cleared up for Casey—they knew who she was and what she was doing there. The remaining question was how.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, and Casey watched the man press the muzzle of her sidearm against the base of her skull.

"Hand it over, and you'll get to live."

"Look, Elmore," she said and he pulled her head back by her hair and then shoved it back against the stuccoed wall. Casey tensed at the blow, rolled his eyes to the side and wondered if he could get them out of this alive—preferably before Riah got a bullet to the head. She clearly knew the man crushing her against the building, and that said ISI to Casey. He'd bet this Elmore was on the list.

"No, Adderly," the man snarled, "you look. I want what Finn gave you."

Casey partly admired her for saying what she did then and partly wished she'd hand it over. They could get it back. "Finn didn't give me anything," she said. Elmore slammed the side of her head against the wall again, and Casey watched her fall. He was surprised at her forethought, given he was almost certain she was on her way to unconsciousness, when she used her elbow and her body weight on the way down catching Elmore in the crotch hard. It was the perfect distraction for Casey, and he used it to his advantage, dropping the man holding him against the wall with an elbow to the throat. He took out another of the two with a solid punch, and then he heard Riah tell Elmore not to move unless he wanted his skull ventilated. Casey dealt with the third man, and then he took Elmore by the neck and smacked him against the wall, making sure his head hit harder than Riah's had.

"Care to explain who sent you here?" he growled.

Elmore was collecting spit, and Casey leaned a little closer and narrowed his eyes. "Don't." The other man froze, and then the colored lights of an RCMP squad car hit them. A couple of Mounties stepped out, and Casey saw Riah where she still sat on the ground, her backup weapon in one hand as she fished for her ID with the other. Casey didn't release Elmore, knew the man would simply run. Riah struggled to her feet, and Casey could see she was fighting dizziness. She had to try twice before she made it upright with considerable assistance from the wall of the building. "Ma'am, drop the weapon," one of the Mounties said, drawing his own, and the other Mountie told Casey to release Elmore.

She held up her ID and said, "ISI." She waved the hand with the ID at Casey and said, "He's NSA. We're here on government business."

One of the Mounties stepped forward and took her ID, shining his flashlight on it and then on her face. Casey carefully stepped back from Elmore, put up his hands, then slowly reached for his own ID and badge and handed it to the other Mountie. Riah apparently realized Elmore could claim the same status and possibly turn the conversation into a big misunderstanding. She said, "He's an ISI operative we were sent to arrest. One or two of the others may be as well."

Casey squinted in the bright light the Mountie eying his ID shone on him.

"Don't you know your own operatives?" the second Mountie asked.

"Do you know every Mountie in Alberta?" she shot back.

Casey snorted at that. He let her do the talking, and not just because it was her operation. He was an American, and if they checked, he had not entered the country under his real name.

"We need them held until the ISI team can get them and take them back to Ottawa," Riah continued. One of them took the radio from his shoulder and stepped away, probably calling for backup. If this went the way Casey thought it would, they'd all go to the detachment's station, and V. H. would be called. He suspected they'd also be run through the RCMP's databases and CSIS's for good measure.

Casey was more than a little pissed that the Mounties chose to cuff them all, but Riah made no protest. He was worried about her, however. She'd taken three hard blows to the head, and she obviously was in pain. Both their guns had been taken, and the Mounties held on to his ID and badge. Two more squad cars drove up, and they were loaded into the cars. Casey and Riah were put in the same car and driven to the station. They were separated there, and Casey was led to a small interrogation room.

As he sat there and waited impatiently, it occurred to him that police interrogation rooms were much the same the world over. He'd sat in enough of them in his time, though the ones in feudal warlord territories tended to be less bright, less clean, and less comfortable.

They sent a woman in to talk to him. He would have been amused if he hadn't been worried about Riah. When the woman sat down across from him, he asked, "My partner, Agent Adderly? She had her head slammed against the wall three times—hard. Could you have her checked by a doctor? I heard a crack, and she seems a little disoriented."

"You're an NSA agent?" she asked, ignoring his request.

He tersely agreed.

"We have no record of your entry into Canada," she said, and she stared at him expectantly.

He gave her a stony look. He might as well shut up and find out what kind of bait the Mountie would fish with, and once he knew, he could deal with her. When the silence stretched, she opened the folder before her and scanned a sheet. "You hold the military rank of Major?" He nodded curtly.

She sat back and stared at him, clearly expected him to elaborate, but Casey stared impassively back at her. "Where do you live in the States?"

He chose not to answer, and the silence stretched again. "Do you often partner with ISI?"

Casey met that question with more silence. The woman was a lousy interrogator, he decided, and he wondered if they were simply wasting his time. A sergeant stuck his head in the door and motioned to the female Mountie. "A word?" the man said, and she stood, picked up the folder and stepped out into the hall with the sergeant.

Certain he was being watched, Casey sat still, took great care to make sure he appeared completely impassive though he was actually impatient and annoyed. He wasn't very surprised when the sergeant stepped in the room without the female officer. The man sat opposite Casey. "You came across the border under an assumed name," he said. "There's a flag on you, but the Director General of ISI vouches for you." The sergeant gave him a hard, steady look. "The RCMP has a rather fascinating file on you, Major Casey. Might I suggest you choose to visit another part of Canada when you've finished here?"

"My partner," Casey said, not acknowledging what the other man said. "She took several cracks to the head. Has a doctor seen her?"

The sergeant studied him carefully. "As a matter of fact, yes. The doctor says she has a concussion, possibly a skull fracture. Miss Adderly asked to talk to you, and then we'll escort her to the hospital." Casey stood, and the sergeant looked at him. "You didn't ask about the four operatives you were allegedly here to arrest."

It wasn't a question, he noticed, and he looked down at the sergeant. "I take it you're still holding them?"

The other man nodded. "The Director General made it very clear we were to hold them until he arrives and that none of my officers were to interrogate them."

Casey was led to another room. Riah had her head down on the table, and when he called her name, she didn't move. He repeated her name, this time saying "Mariah," but she still didn't respond. He knew he shouldn't move her head, but he went down on his haunches and gently lifted it anyway. She looked sick for a moment, but she opened her eyes. She appeared to have difficulty focusing on him, and she looked confused. He was about to say something when she mumbled, "Right boot," and collapsed against him.