She seems awfully sad for someone who just got what she wanted. She is just sitting there, looking out at the clouds. She looks like a lost child whose favourite toy was taken away. She was so excited at the beginning of this trip. She was happy and confident, so completely sure that this time, with my help, she would have her answers. I was happy to do this for her. But now that we have it, she should be celebrating and ready to take on the world. Instead she's sad, depressed and in pain, like someone kicked her in the gut and she hasn't quite recovered yet. What did that doctor tell her? She has an appointment with a specialist in three weeks. What kind of specialist? How serious is this? Damn it, hasn't life knocked her around enough lately? Just this once, couldn't she have been allowed to enjoy a little victory? She's rubbing her hand lightly over her stomach again. Whatever it is, I hope she isn't in any physical pain. "Skye?"

She looked over at me. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. "There was a baby in there Sam and I didn't even know it."

A child! She's pregnant! No wait. She said that there was a baby. A terrible feeling shimmered down my spine. Oh God, what if. "Did we? I mean was it something that I did that caused."

Skye interrupted me with a shake of her head before I could finish that thought. "No. It happened before we met."

Of course. Her appointment with this clinic was before she and Jax broke up. They must have found out then. "Are you going to tell Jax?"

"That we lost a child that we didn't even know we had. Probably because of the stress of breaking up, my one night drinking binge and the shock of thinking that I killed my Grandfather."

"You thought that you killed your Grandfather?"

She smiled briefly. "Well, I was angry at him."

"From what I've read you probably had good reason."

"I always have a good reason to hate the old goat, but this time he was in the hospital on life support and I stumbled in drunk and passed out. I woke to the alarms that the monitors were making because the plug on the life support machine had been pulled."

"You thought that you pulled the plug."

"I was the only one in the room besides him. It turns out that he pulled his own plug to try and frame me for his attempted murder."

"He took a big chance, pulling the plug on his own life support system."

"Well that's Grandfather. I think that he's convinced that he's immortal or something. You know what? After having pulled his own plug and framing me for it, the only reason that I'm glad he lived was so the family could trick him into admitting the truth. So does that make me a bad person?" "Hardly. And you're trying to change the subject."

"Yes, and how very rude of you to notice."

"Are you going to tell Jax?"

"I don't know. What would be the point? To listen to him accuse me of trying to get his attention? As long as he is with her, he couldn't care less that he is hurting me."

"He might surprise you and help you grieve."

"Seeing him, even if he does come to comfort me, would just hurt me more. No, the pain is still to fresh."

"When will you be ready to deal with Jax? How much time will be enough?"

"I don't know. I need enough time so that the next time I see him, I will remember that he's no longer the man I thought I married. He's not the man who promised to love, honour and cherish me though better or worse and sickness and health. That man disappeared that day Brenda walked in the door. I need time to remember that I can't run to Jax for comfort or support."

"Do you mean that you ever did?"

"No. But I did like the idea that I could. Now I have to remember that the man I love is now the enemy."

"The enemy? Isn't that a little extreme Skye?"

"Someone who will lash out and hurt me on purpose, someone I can't trust and I dare not underestimate. Wouldn't you call that an enemy?"

"Yes, I guess that is a good description of an enemy."

"Well, that is what Jax has become."

I was silent for a moment. That bastard left scars that I'm not sure will heal. What's really sad is that I can't help feeling that Jax will be back someday to try to reclaim what he threw away. Especially after what I've been reading. "So, do you want to know what's in the file?"

"You're trying to change the subject Sam."

"Yes, and how rude of you to notice." I decided to use her own words against her. That brought out a smile.

"Sure Sam. Tell me what you know."

"First of all, Brenda is definitely ill. The records show that she arrived at the clinic two days after her car went over the cliff."

"So much for her story of recovering on Alcazar's ship. Brenda's mother died in that car crash. How bad was she hurt."

"According to the records, she didn't have a scratch."

"After going over a cliff into the ocean?"

"Considering that she was at this clinic two days later, she probably wasn't in the car when it went over the cliff. Brenda has a regular appointment every two months to run test and to renew her medication, but she skipped her last appointment. That was scheduled three weeks ago."

"In other words, she couldn't continue to maintain the fiction that she is perfectly healthy and doesn't know otherwise and still go see her doctor. People might get suspicious."

"You did anyways."

"I think that she was counting on that. I don't give out undeserved automatic trust. Jax kept asking me in so many little ways to trust her but she never did anything to deserve it. Quite the opposite in fact. Whenever no one else was there she would taunt me with phrases like she could get Jax back if she wanted. I see no reason to trust someone who puts on a goody two shoe face for one audience then acts like a total bitch when their back is turned."

"This is interesting. Her bills where paid by four different bank accounts. Alcazar paid for the last nine months."

"We already knew that."

"Source A paid the bills for a year. Source B paid for a 16 months. Source C paid her medical bill until Alcazar took over."

"Really? Is there anyway that you could use your resources and find out who those accounts belong to?" She noticed the rather long look on my face. "Damn, there is probably some company policy about using company resources."

"Skye, we should talk to Frisco. I believe that something could be arranged."

"Ah, quid pro quo. I want something from the WSB so they want something in return." Skye was wearing an extremely stern expression.

"Please don't be upset."

"I'm not upset Sam. I'm just trying to figure out what I have that the WSB would find of value."

Should I tell her? Frisco already has plans for Skye. She could have whatever information she wants at her fingertips if she agrees to them. I glanced at Skye. I don't think so. We still have four hours on this flight and I'm sitting next to her. If she doesn't like the idea, those hours could turn into an eternity. I think I will wait this one out and call Frisco when we land. She needs something from us. This could very well be the opportunity we have been waiting for. ____________

All the best laid plans of mice and men. During the entire week before Alcazar's death, no one visited him at night. We had him under surveillance all week. Not one person ever approached his hotel rooms. The one night we need everyone to stay away, everyone shows up on his doorstep.

Damn it. We never intended for anyone to ever be arrested for his murder. What the hell was that Morgan woman doing there anyways? If she had to attack him with a knife, the least she could have done was kill him. Then our people could have made it look like self-defence. But no, she had to drop the knife and kick it under the furniture for the police to find. What was the point of attacking him? She didn't do any damage. To top it off, she's claiming that she doesn't remember being there. A knife with Alcazar's blood was found at the scene with her fingerprints all over it. She would be better off stating the truth. The ditz walked in, attacked him, failed to actually do any real damage and left. The nitwit wasn't standing near any cameras when Alcazar was killed nor was she seen by anyone with a watch.

Now WSB headquarters wants us to get her off. They don't want any innocent parties going to jail for this one. I'm tempted to call them back and ask them to define innocent. The woman stayed willingly with Alcazar for 9 months. She knew what he was. It's not like she doesn't have blood on her hands. How many people died when she set Alcazar's boat on fire and sunk it? Eleven maybe 12 if that one in the coma doesn't make it. I don't see her shedding any tears over their deaths. True, they were Alcazar's men. But she spent 9 months with them. She had to have known them well. What kind of cold-hearted bitch is she? Most of these weren't hired guns. Three from the refuelling boat, a cook, two maids, a nurse, and a navigator. Only three were hired for their muscle. That's 11 counts of homicide that she walked away from. So please, I'd love for someone to tell me how they can refer to this bitch as innocent.

A frantic knock at the door broke my train of thought.

"Come in."

Henri walked in looking rather frazzled. "Frisco, you better come quick."

"What's wrong?" I groaned.

"The new kid is about to get his ass kicked."

"How could he be in trouble? He's assigned to a computer terminal."

"Tori's here." Funny how that name seemed to be more than enough of an explanation.

"Shit. What did he do? Hit on her?"

"Worse. Tori asked about Sam and he started talking about what a babe Skye is and described in graphic detail how he would love to trade places with Sam."

"Oh Hell!" I just might kick the kid's ass myself, if for no other reason than to teach him to keep his trap shut. "Tori's going to think that I sent Sam to seduce Skye." I ran out the door as quickly as I could.

Everyone had already cleared themselves and any breakables from the area. Tori's temper is somewhat legendary. For such a small woman, she packs one hell of a punch. With her training in hand-to-hand combat, no one was willing to get between her and the kid. It looks like she already got in a few good swings. Well if nothing else, Tori's teaching him why he needs to keep his comments to himself.

I whistled to get everyone's attention. "Okay, break it up." Tori backed off and shot me a look that said she would love to take a few swings at me too. "Tori, I want to see you in my office. Someone take the kid and patch him up. Everyone else, clean this up and get back to work." All around me, people were putting things back to their original positions. Tori whizzed by me and stepped into my office.

"Maybe you should show her Skye's file while you're explaining why you assigned Sam to Skye." Henri suggested.

Show her Skye's file? With Skye's history of seduction? Not a chance. "Henri, have you read Skye's file recently? I want to reassure Tori, not give her incentive to break Skye's neck."

"Frisco, Sam's on line one."

Thank God. He better be back. I may need him to calm his wife.

I walked to the phone and picked it up. "Sam, where the hell are you?"

"At the airport. We just landed. Frisco, you know that opportunity that you have been waiting for?"

"Are you sure it isn't to soon?"

"I think if we sell this right, she will jump on it. I'm going to take her home to rest and then we will come by tomorrow."

"Negative. Sam, you need to come straight here."

"Frisco, she is to tired to be reasoned with tonight."

"Sam, if you value your marriage then you will stop here first."

"Tori's there?"

"She's here and in a very bad mood. Some idiot left her with the impression that you were sleeping with your latest assignment."

"Shit! Frisco, we will be right there."

I hung up and sighed. Now all I have to do is convince Tori that I'm not ordering her husband to seduce another woman.

And I thought that I drove like a bat out of hell. I sunk my nails into the upholstery as Sam ran another light and avoided a near collision. When Sam said that we needed to get to headquarters ASAP, he meant it. This is something that I definitely need to remember for the future. When Sam is in a hurry, take a taxi. I will live longer. Sam skidded to a halt so quickly that I was thrown forward against the seatbelt. He shouted something that sounded like an apology as he threw on the emergency brakes, jumped out of the car and ran into the building. Geese, he didn't even take the time to shut off the engine. I turned off the engine, locked the door, pocketed the keys, and ran after Sam.

This is headquarters? I have never seen such a chaotic mess. No one was at their desks. Everyone seemed to be in the process of setting up computers and monitors in the back corner of the room. Maybe they are still unpacking. No that isn't right. It looks more like the area had been cleared in a hurry and now they were trying to put it back into place.

I caught sight of Sam up ahead and ran to catch up. Whatever the hell is going on, it is usually better to be in the middle of it, getting the information first hand than sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to tell you when to duck. I caught up to Sam as he approached some computer geek toward the back of the building. "Hi Henri." I heard him say. "Where's."

Crash. "If you think for one god damn moment that I am going to just sit back while you order my husband to seduce some vulnerable little housewife." just then a door slammed and the voices became mumbled.

"Your wife is in there." Henri pointed out unnecessarily. Sam was already striding toward to door and opening it. "I swear to god, If my husband has so much as looked at another woman in that way on your orders, then." Sam closed the door before I could hear the rest of the threat.

I looked at Henri. "Sam's married?"

Henri nodded. "Five years now."

"Oh thank god." Henri looked at me in amusement. Opps, did I just say that out loud. "Uh, what I mean is, just wait a minute. Did she just call me a vulnerable little housewife?" Okay, maybe I am a little vulnerable but who in the hell would describe me as some little housewife.

Henri looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to stay and answer me or run and hide to avoid the chance of having another potentially dangerous angry woman on his hands. "Well, uh, Tori, Sam's wife, somehow had the impression that Frisco sent Sam to seduce you to get you to agree to help them. Frisco might have given her the impression that you were a housewife in order to reassure here that she has nothing to worry about. It's not that anyone sees, ah, thinks of you as a little housewife."

"Frisco is trying to get his ass out of a jam." I suddenly found this entire situation to be rather amusing. "So how did she come to the conclusion that Sam was there to seduce me?"

"Well there is sort of a precedent of using sex as a means to an end in the WSB. Sex can be a means of creating false intimacy or trust. It can make a person more inclined to accept their lover's ideas."

Oh yeah. I know all about that. Sex can be a great weapon, but I thought that the WSB already had what they wanted from me. Then why is Sam still here? I can move about on my own. Yet they haven't reassigned him. Hmm. Something else is going on. Henri said that Sam's wife thinks that Frisco sent Sam to seduce me in order to agree to help them. Yes! I have something to bargain with. My mind was practically singing that phrase over and over again in my mind. I wonder what Frisco wants. I wonder how much Henri knows. "I have to be honest. There was a part of me that thought Sam had been sent to seduce me to help them out too. I was sort of waiting for Sam to make his move but it never came."

"Really! Would you have let him?"

I slowly moved closer to Henri. "I hadn't decided yet. A girl has needs." I laid my hand on his chest and looked straight into his eyes. "But now that he is married, I guess that I will have to start checking out my other options." I sighed.

Henri gulped. "So Henri, since Sam might not be sticking around much longer, why don't you save us all some time and explain to me Frisco's proposal." I whispered in his ear as he backed up into his desk.

"I, ah, well, that is."

"Yes Henri?"

"I think that I better leave that for Frisco." He blurted out as he swiftly moved to the other side of the desk.

I looked at him with some amusement. He is so nervous over there. He is kind of cute in a geeky sort of way. In fact, if he were dressed in the right clothes, I might even call him handsome. This really is mean of me. I know. I should put him at ease and reassure him that he has nothing to worry about. He really isn't my type. It's not his looks. It's his attitude. I like my men to be a lot more confident than this guy. But at this moment, he is my only source of amusement. I really don't feel like hurting his male pride by telling him that he didn't have a chance in hell of ever being dragged into my bed.

Things sure have been quiet in there for a while. I looked up as the door opened. Sam, Frisco, and a woman walked out. No one is bleeding. I guess that they must have worked something out. Time to play nice. After all, I need this woman to be my friend if I want to keep Sam around for a while.

Frisco said something to Sam and Sam nodded. He turned to his wife, pointed me out and then returned to the office with Frisco. Meanwhile, his wife came walking toward me with a small box in one hand, handcuffs in the other, and a glint in her eye. Oh god, I hope they were able to convince her.

"Hello, I'm Skye." I looked at her cautiously as I introduced myself.

"I'm Tori." She stood there quietly and assessed me for a moment.

Oh hell. Well if I'm going to get into trouble, I may as well go for broke. "So, has your husband always had that disgusting habit of walking around in nothing but his sweats in the morning, or does he just do that to annoy me?"

Tori's face lit up in amusement. "No, he has always done that. I was ready to belt him the first time my parents came over and he walked in the kitchen in nothing but his sweatpants. He had the nerve to tell me that if I wanted him to leave the bedroom dressed then I should bring the coffee to him so he doesn't have to search for it."

I started laughing. "He told me the same thing. So what are those for?" I pointed to the handcuffs and the small box."

Tori opened the box and laid out an assortment of small tools. "These are lock picks." She held up the handcuffs. "Skye, have you ever wanted to learn how to pick a lock?"

"Are you sure it was wise to leave your wife out there with Skye?" Frisco asked from his desk.

"Why do you always assume the worst when in comes to my wife?"

"Because when she isn't threatening me over some dire consequence if something happens to you then she dropping a shit load of trouble on my door step." Frisco watched me watch my wife. "Has she tried to kill her yet?"

I shot Frisco a nasty look. Then I shook my head. Why do I bother? "Actually they are laughing."

"Laughing?" Frisco said with disbelief. He got up and walked to the window. "What is she doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? She is teaching Skye how to use a lock pick."

"Is she nuts?"

"What is wrong with teaching Skye how to pick a lock? I was planning to teach her how anyway."

"The problem in this scenario is that once Skye knows how to do something, she will feel compelled to use that knowledge. Do you know how much trouble Skye could get into with a lock pick?"

"Were you or were you not going to ask Skye to help out the agency?"

"I want her to do what she does best. I want her to go into the business world and make a company a big enough success that we can hide behind. I don't want her going around the world playing spy. Her degree is in business not sleuthing 101."

"I believe that I found some information that will help."

"Do tell."

"First of all, she won't spend her own money to buy a business. She always finds a backer."

"Okay, that would explain your cover. You are investing in whatever business Skye will be running. When the time comes, the funds will be there."

"Second, Skye needs our help."

"Does this have anything to do with your recent trip?"

"Yes. We found a couple of facts. First off, Brenda really is sick. Someone paid for an elaborate set up to make it look like that Alcazar was lying to Brenda."

"Really. That could come in handy." I was thinking of my orders to not let Brenda go to jail for Alcazar's murder.

"Don't use it right away. I think that Skye has her own plans on how to reveal that information."

"I won't do anything as long as Skye finds a way to get the truth out there before Brenda is sentenced to life in prison. She's not currently in jail anyways.

"That's fair. Second, we found four bank account numbers in the payment slips at the clinic. The last one is Alcazar's but Skye wants to know whom the other three belong to. This could be your chance to set up a business deal between us and Skye. I think that she would go for the idea of a long term business partnership if she can see some of the benefits, namely having access to people who can find the answers to her question."

"I'll come by tomorrow before lunch to try to work out a deal. You better go out there and rescue Henri. It looks like Skye and Tori handcuffed him to the desk. Are you sure you can handle those two?"

"Frisco, didn't anyone ever teach you that a little trouble can be fun."

"Skye or Tori could be a little trouble. Skye and Tory just managed to handcuff Henri to the new kid Tori beat up. You better get out there. That kid now has the good sense to be scared of your wife."

Oh to be that happy and in love again. I'm happy for them. I am. I've grown to like and respect Sam. And Tori, well, after that first moment of wondering whether or not she would kill me, I found that we have a lot in common. I really didn't mind to much that the occasional moan or scream of pleasure woke me up at odd hours during the night. I really am glad that they worked things out. It's just that seeing them together like this makes me feel so, I don't know, lonely. I miss him. Okay, I can admit that to myself. Of course from here on out, I will never admit that to anyone else. I love him. I'm not sure that I could hide that one. For God's sake, I just married the man not that long ago. He may have been able to turn it off like a light switch but I can't. Though damn it, one way or the other, I will find a way to live without him.

"Good book?"

I looked up startled. Sam was walking toward the kitchen in his sweatpants for his morning cup of coffee.

"You should try putting on a shirt before leaving the bedroom."

"Why? You see more of me than this when I go swimming."

"Among other things, a shirt would hide the scratch marks along your back. How can you stand to go swimming out there? The water is freezing."

"I just go in long enough to wake up."

"One toe in it should be enough to do that."

"So, what's the book about?"

"Brenda's illness. The doctor at the clinic wrote it. I thought that I would read it then wrap it up and give it to Jax as a present. That way we both know what we are dealing with."

"Skye, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What's that?"

"Jax thinks Brenda isn't ill."

"He's a bright man most of the time." I turned the book over. "See the picture?"

"It's kind of hard to miss." The picture took up the entire back of the book.

"This is the good doctor, the same one that Jax thinks came here and told him that Brenda wasn't ill. The doctor never made it to New York and he sure as hell never talked to my husband. Jax is very observant. He figured out that Courtney was hiding with my brother by seeing the top half of a sweat suit at AJ's and the bottom half amongst Courtney's things. Not everyone would have noticed that."

"I get it. You're going to dump everything he needs in order to find the truth on his doorstep."

"Jax can be rather dense when he doesn't want to hear something. Right now, he doesn't want to hear anything from me that might put his precious Brenda in a bad light. If I just tell him the truth, he wouldn't listen to it nor would he believe it. IF he did by some miracle believe me, he would resent me for making him see the truth."

"This is a case of shooting the messenger."

"If that messenger is me and it is bad news about Brenda, then yes. So, I'm not going to tell Jax anything. I'm just going to feed his doubts."

"Good plan."

"I hope so. Speaking of plans, I would like to go by Frisco's office and speak to him about those bank account numbers today."

"That won't be necessary. Frisco will be coming out here in about an hour."

"Really? That's convenient." Now what exactly does one wear when the WSB comes calling for something? I shouldn't get to cocky. I need something from them too, but there's no reason why I should make it easy for them. Like Adam Chandler taught me, never let the opposition know that your willing or they will walk all over you.

"Hello Frisco."

I whistled. Wow! Talk about a site that was made to distract. Does a dress make the lady or does the lady make the dress. It's a question that comes up often when we are assigned to play a part. Is it enough to just look the part, or is there something more that is needed to carry it off. In this case, I believe the lady makes the dress. The dress and the body may catch my eye. It sure clings to here in all the right places, but it is the woman herself that does the dress justice. It's the confidences in her bearing, the grace in her movements and in intelligence in her face that keeps my attention.

"Would you like to come in?"

That's when I realized that I was still standing at the door starring. I better snap out of it or I'll never get anything done today. I walked into the room and looked around with a smile. "What happened to all the furniture?" All that was left in the room were a couple of plush chairs and a couple of paintings on the wall.

"Oh didn't they tell you? When they came with the new bed, we decided that it was time to pitch a few things. I haven't gotten around to redecorating yet. Tori said that she would go shopping with me this afternoon."

I looked at her in amazement. "Did you have to get rid of everything?"

She threw me a rather mischievous smile. "Well, these two chairs were the only things here that my husband and I didn't do it on."

I groaned. Oh man, I really don't want to go there.

"Would you like something to drink? I have coffee, tea, or if you need something stronger the liquor cabinet is still there in the corner."

"Aren't you an alcoholic?"

"Yes, but just because I can't drink doesn't mean that you can't."

"Coffee would be fine. Is Sam around?"

"He's not up yet."

"It's 11:00."

"I believe that he and his wife are still getting reacquainted in the guest room." The low moan filtering into the room emphasized her point.

Skye filled two mugs and handed one to Frisco.

"Sam said that you needed my help." Frisco said.

"Yes. Sam found some bank account numbers and I was wondering if your people could take the time to find out who they belong to."

"That doesn't sound to difficult. Actually there was something I wanted to ask of you."

"I always imagined that it would be a favour for a favour."

"This is actually more of a job offer than a favour. I have been assigned to create a new company for the WSB to operate behind. I want you to be the face the public associates with running this new business."

I tried to measure how Skye felt about my idea, but her face was completely blank. Nothing. She just starred at me in silence. Was she leaning for or against the idea, or did it come as such a surprise that she was in shock. The later could explain her silence. I really can't tell. Damn, I wouldn't want to play poker against this woman.

"I asked for a simple favour that might take, oh, about a half hour and you ask for a long term commitment in exchange. That seems a little steep for a favour."

"I don't think of it as a favour. Think of it as creating a long-term relationship for future exchanges. How many times in the past would it have helped to have access to people with our skills and knowledge? You always seem to be working on something. One of the benefits of this arrangement would be that you no longer have to ask for these little favours. Someone will always be assigned to help you out with whatever."

"Wow. I must say that it would be nice fringe benefit. However, I have never seen myself as the figurehead type. The idea of twiddling my thumbs while other people tell me what to say has never appealed to me."

"You won't be twiddling your thumbs. We don't want a mindless model to just say what we tell them to. This will be an actual business. It isn't just a name and an address. I need this business to make the New York Times and every other major business periodical out there. I need it to become a household name, go international and make a profit."

"Now let's see. A job like that should of course have a generous salary and stock options."

"If you can deliver what I want, you will of course have all of that."

"I want a written contract."

"That can be arranged."

"I can't promise miracles. You are asking a lot."

"Think of it as a challenge."

"I am. I want that little side benefit you mentioned earlier included in the contract."

"That's easily done."

"Do you have a company in mind?"

"We hadn't gotten around to that yet."

"If you want to go international anytime soon then we should buy out a company that's already known."

"Do you have any ideas?"

All of a sudden Skye burst out laughing. I looked around trying to figure out what set her off.

"Skye, what is it?"

She was laughing so hard that she was shedding tears. "I'm sorry Frisco." Skye was trying to catch her breath in order to talk. "I just thought of the perfect business to take over. It's a perfume company. We are talking major advertising, photos, and marketing. The current owner has had some emotional problems lately and the company has been taking a nosedive because of it. We should be able to get it for a reasonable price."

"I fail to see what is so funny about the situation."

"Well, the reason you want this company is to hide the WSB's activities behind it, correct."

Frisco nodded.

"Well the company is called Deception."