A/N Sorry for the delay, real life came calling last night.
A Man Called Ghost
Chapter 8
Harm slowed his pace to match that of the two men he was following. For almost a week he'd been following these two, and two more just like them. The intel he had on them, claimed they were radical leftovers from Saddam's reign. Chased out of their own country, they had hooked up with Bin Laden and were in the process of planning a strike against numerous targets within the States. At least that's what the intel said. Right now it looked like they were more interested in planning dinner than a terrorist strike. Both men had turned into a small restaurant along the Via Augusta. Harm marveled that once again they stopped at the same place they'd eaten at every day since he'd gotten to Barcelona.
With a sigh, after eight minutes, Harm followed the two men into the restaurant. It wasn't that he hated the food there...it was quite good, he especially liked the paella, but all these guys did was eat. They were here every couple of hours. At first, Harm thought something was up, but after a couple days of surveillance, it appeared that they really liked eating Spanish food.
As he was finishing his simple meal Harm's cell phone rang. Setting down his fork, Harm opened the phone and saw O'Neil B on the call display. What the hell did Beth want? He hadn't seen her since that night at the Farmhouse. Pushing the connect button, Harm held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Honey...I'm finally here!"
"Uhh...that's great Beth." Harm said trying not to sound confused.
"Listen...sweetie I lost that little piece of paper where you wrote down the hotel address...can you give it to me again?"
"Sure...it's Apartamentos Augusta, right on the Via Augusta. I'm just down the street right now having lunch. Why don't I meet you in the lobby?" Harm asked. He sure as hell wanted to find out what was going on.
"That would be terrific lover." Beth purred into the phone. Okay, now Harm really wanted to know what was going on.
Twenty minutes later, he was standing in his hotel lobby waiting for Beth to arrive. He didn't have to wait long, when he saw her get out of a cab with a single suitcase and come through the doors with a big smile on her face.
"Honey!" she called when she saw Harm. Walking up to him she wrapped him in a big hug. "I missed you sooooo much," she cooed.
"What's going on Beth?" Harm asked in a whisper.
"Heard you needed backup. Blaisdale got me assigned to it." Beth whispered back. "By the way, our cover is we're married."
"I figured that." Harm answered quietly. "You must be tired from your long flight...sweetie. Why don't we go up to m...our room?" he asked in a normal tone of voice.
"Lovely idea sweetums." Beth replied cheerfully.
As soon as the door to his hotel room was closed Harm whirled on Beth. "Alright...what the hell is this?"
"Like I said Harm...oh, sit down. I'm not going to stare up at you with you looming like that." Beth said as she playfully batted her eyelashes at him. She waited until Harm sat down on the bed before she continued. "Anyway...they wanted you to have some backup. It was thought a wife would be easier to believe than sending someone else. They were going to pair you up with Debby Richards, but Blaisdale convinced them to send me instead...seeing as we've worked together before."
"Great." Harm muttered. "They know I work alone."
"Not this time cowboy. They felt you needed a wife to keep you in line. Who better than me?" Beth said with a smile and a wink. "So what name are we checked in under?"
"Jason Roberts." Harm said simply.
"Here." Beth said as she pulled a ring out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "Need to look the part." She added, holding up her own hand to show a matching band.
After sliding the ring onto his finger Harm just sat there thinking. How did this affect the op? What plans would he have to change? For now they just wanted him to tail the four men and make note of who they contacted and when...but that could change.
"Any changes to the mission?" he asked Beth after thinking for a few minutes.
"Not that I know of. They packed me up and whisked me onto the first plane to Spain they could find. Why are you so grumpy?"
"I'm not grumpy, I just don't like having things changed half way through an op."
"Yeah right. Come on 'sweetie' this is me we're talking about. I know when you're grumpy." Beth said with a wink.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Harm said rubbing his temples. The headaches had started again the day before and he knew they'd only get worse. Lack of sleep was partly to blame; he got them every time he was on an op that lasted more than a few days.
"Headaches?" Beth asked softly as she moved around behind Harm and started to give him a shoulder massage.
"Just not sleeping well lately is all." Harm tried to dismiss it.
"The way I hear it is that you don't sleep well period." Beth said softly.
"I sleep fine."
"Yeah right...after a case of beer and a bottle of scotch?" Beth said, an edge to her voice.
"Beth..." Harm said with a warning tone. As much as he wanted to give in to the soothing touch of her hands on his shoulders, he couldn't let himself. He couldn't be weak; he needed to be strong...to be hard. Shrugging off her hands, he stood up and took a couple of steps away from her.
"Harm...I'm just worried about you. I've seen how you've been drinking lately. Well lately as in the last time I saw you because you don't call anyone or do anything when you're not in the field except fly. And drink."
"We don't have time to talk about this...we need to get back downstairs and see if any of our guys have returned." Harm said harshly.
Just then Harm's phone rang again. What the hell was this? A party line? Flipping it open he pushed the connect button hard. "What?"
"Ghost...so nice to hear your voice." A familiar voice said tauntingly.
"Spider. What the fuck do you want?"
"Be nice." Harm heard Beth whisper with a little laugh.
"Just wanted to make sure your wife got there alright?"
"She's here. Want to talk to her?"
"No that's okay. I'm also supposed to let you know that you need to get us copies of those papers we discussed."
"Is that a fact." Harm said quietly. If Webb was calling shots on this op things were not going to look good.
"That is a fact Ghost. Send the copies to the usual location." Webb said cheerfully. "I'll give Sarah your best...ta ta for now."
As Webb disconnected the call, there was a knock at Harm's door. Looking at Beth, Harm shook his head...he wasn't expecting anyone. Stepping cautiously to the door, he called out, "Who is it?"
"Room service, sir."
"We didn't order any room service."
"Its compliments of Mr. Araña, sir." The heavily accented voice replied.
"Spider." Harm said with a bitter laugh. Reaching out he opened the door quickly and then stepped back. A slender man with dark hair and a thin moustache pushed a room service cart into the room.
Silently the man stepped away from the cart and then waited patiently. Trust Webb to send someone who wanted a tip for dropping something off. Reaching into his pocket Harm pulled out 2000 Pesetas and handed over the bills.
"My thanks Mr. Roberts." The man said with a slight bow before turning to leave. Harm still looked around for Bud when people addressed him as Mr. Roberts. Thinking of Bud brought Harm's thoughts around to Harriet and the boys as well. He should probably get something in the mail for little AJ, and maybe even something for Jimmy. Jimmy was still pretty young for gifts, but someday his parents might explain.
Beth stepped up beside him and lifted the tray from the platter on the cart. Underneath they saw a small micro-laptop computer case and another cell phone between two small silenced handguns. Sigs, just what Webb liked. Figured.
Picking up the note that was taped to the micro-laptop, Harm scanned it quickly and then handed it to Beth.
Both the phone and the micro are encrypted. Use them to send the files. There's a cable for the laptop in the case. – CW
Well at least he was armed now...he'd wondered why it had taken them so long to get him equipment. Now he knew that this mission wasn't exactly well planned. Taking up the handgun Harm checked the magazine to make sure that it was loaded and then slid it home again. Putting the handgun in his waistband he felt somewhat better.
"So...I guess we should figure out what we're going to do next." Harm said absently as he put the phone and computer on the bed.
"Well apparently we need to get some papers and send them to Webb?" Beth asked in some confusion. Apparently they hadn't told her much before sending her out. Harm pushed down the rage that he felt towards Kershaw and Webb and anyone else who would send an agent into the field without proper intelligence.
"File actually...from their computer. Webb hasn't actually told me anything specific so I'm thinking we should just send anything we find that looks suspicious."
"Alright, that's a start. When are we going to do it?"
"Well..." Harm said looking at his watch. "It almost time for two of them to go for a second lunch. They never go anywhere all together...usually, two go out and two stay in. If we could get them out of the room somehow..."
"No...no way am I going to hit on some goon again so you can get in and get out." Beth said as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
"Suck it up O'Neil. If that's what we need to get this done, you'll take your shirt off." Harm said harshly.
Beth stopped her pacing suddenly and just stared at Harm. He'd never been rude to her before...she always remembered him as being joking and polite but lately she remembered him as sullen and quiet. She'd meant what she told him when she'd said that if there was a man who'd tempt her to change her ways it would be him. But he wasn't that man anymore...over the last year he'd changed...he'd become hard, harsh and bitter. She couldn't really blame him for the bitter part of things...from what she'd heard, he'd gone through a lot for his friend Mac and gotten a boot to the teeth for his troubles. He'd also opened up to her one night after too many beers about his arrest on suspicion of murdering Lieutenant Lauren Singer. Not one of his friends had come to visit him, even his CO had just assumed he was guilty and took steps to distance the office from Harm. But that didn't explain the hard and harsh part of the equation...what had happened to the pilot and friend she'd made when he first started flying for the company? What happened to the lawyer who saw beyond what she was to who she was and defended her against spurious charges so zealously? Beth was determined to find out.
A Man Called Ghost
Chapter 8
Harm slowed his pace to match that of the two men he was following. For almost a week he'd been following these two, and two more just like them. The intel he had on them, claimed they were radical leftovers from Saddam's reign. Chased out of their own country, they had hooked up with Bin Laden and were in the process of planning a strike against numerous targets within the States. At least that's what the intel said. Right now it looked like they were more interested in planning dinner than a terrorist strike. Both men had turned into a small restaurant along the Via Augusta. Harm marveled that once again they stopped at the same place they'd eaten at every day since he'd gotten to Barcelona.
With a sigh, after eight minutes, Harm followed the two men into the restaurant. It wasn't that he hated the food there...it was quite good, he especially liked the paella, but all these guys did was eat. They were here every couple of hours. At first, Harm thought something was up, but after a couple days of surveillance, it appeared that they really liked eating Spanish food.
As he was finishing his simple meal Harm's cell phone rang. Setting down his fork, Harm opened the phone and saw O'Neil B on the call display. What the hell did Beth want? He hadn't seen her since that night at the Farmhouse. Pushing the connect button, Harm held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Honey...I'm finally here!"
"Uhh...that's great Beth." Harm said trying not to sound confused.
"Listen...sweetie I lost that little piece of paper where you wrote down the hotel address...can you give it to me again?"
"Sure...it's Apartamentos Augusta, right on the Via Augusta. I'm just down the street right now having lunch. Why don't I meet you in the lobby?" Harm asked. He sure as hell wanted to find out what was going on.
"That would be terrific lover." Beth purred into the phone. Okay, now Harm really wanted to know what was going on.
Twenty minutes later, he was standing in his hotel lobby waiting for Beth to arrive. He didn't have to wait long, when he saw her get out of a cab with a single suitcase and come through the doors with a big smile on her face.
"Honey!" she called when she saw Harm. Walking up to him she wrapped him in a big hug. "I missed you sooooo much," she cooed.
"What's going on Beth?" Harm asked in a whisper.
"Heard you needed backup. Blaisdale got me assigned to it." Beth whispered back. "By the way, our cover is we're married."
"I figured that." Harm answered quietly. "You must be tired from your long flight...sweetie. Why don't we go up to m...our room?" he asked in a normal tone of voice.
"Lovely idea sweetums." Beth replied cheerfully.
As soon as the door to his hotel room was closed Harm whirled on Beth. "Alright...what the hell is this?"
"Like I said Harm...oh, sit down. I'm not going to stare up at you with you looming like that." Beth said as she playfully batted her eyelashes at him. She waited until Harm sat down on the bed before she continued. "Anyway...they wanted you to have some backup. It was thought a wife would be easier to believe than sending someone else. They were going to pair you up with Debby Richards, but Blaisdale convinced them to send me instead...seeing as we've worked together before."
"Great." Harm muttered. "They know I work alone."
"Not this time cowboy. They felt you needed a wife to keep you in line. Who better than me?" Beth said with a smile and a wink. "So what name are we checked in under?"
"Jason Roberts." Harm said simply.
"Here." Beth said as she pulled a ring out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "Need to look the part." She added, holding up her own hand to show a matching band.
After sliding the ring onto his finger Harm just sat there thinking. How did this affect the op? What plans would he have to change? For now they just wanted him to tail the four men and make note of who they contacted and when...but that could change.
"Any changes to the mission?" he asked Beth after thinking for a few minutes.
"Not that I know of. They packed me up and whisked me onto the first plane to Spain they could find. Why are you so grumpy?"
"I'm not grumpy, I just don't like having things changed half way through an op."
"Yeah right. Come on 'sweetie' this is me we're talking about. I know when you're grumpy." Beth said with a wink.
"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Harm said rubbing his temples. The headaches had started again the day before and he knew they'd only get worse. Lack of sleep was partly to blame; he got them every time he was on an op that lasted more than a few days.
"Headaches?" Beth asked softly as she moved around behind Harm and started to give him a shoulder massage.
"Just not sleeping well lately is all." Harm tried to dismiss it.
"The way I hear it is that you don't sleep well period." Beth said softly.
"I sleep fine."
"Yeah right...after a case of beer and a bottle of scotch?" Beth said, an edge to her voice.
"Beth..." Harm said with a warning tone. As much as he wanted to give in to the soothing touch of her hands on his shoulders, he couldn't let himself. He couldn't be weak; he needed to be strong...to be hard. Shrugging off her hands, he stood up and took a couple of steps away from her.
"Harm...I'm just worried about you. I've seen how you've been drinking lately. Well lately as in the last time I saw you because you don't call anyone or do anything when you're not in the field except fly. And drink."
"We don't have time to talk about this...we need to get back downstairs and see if any of our guys have returned." Harm said harshly.
Just then Harm's phone rang again. What the hell was this? A party line? Flipping it open he pushed the connect button hard. "What?"
"Ghost...so nice to hear your voice." A familiar voice said tauntingly.
"Spider. What the fuck do you want?"
"Be nice." Harm heard Beth whisper with a little laugh.
"Just wanted to make sure your wife got there alright?"
"She's here. Want to talk to her?"
"No that's okay. I'm also supposed to let you know that you need to get us copies of those papers we discussed."
"Is that a fact." Harm said quietly. If Webb was calling shots on this op things were not going to look good.
"That is a fact Ghost. Send the copies to the usual location." Webb said cheerfully. "I'll give Sarah your best...ta ta for now."
As Webb disconnected the call, there was a knock at Harm's door. Looking at Beth, Harm shook his head...he wasn't expecting anyone. Stepping cautiously to the door, he called out, "Who is it?"
"Room service, sir."
"We didn't order any room service."
"Its compliments of Mr. Araña, sir." The heavily accented voice replied.
"Spider." Harm said with a bitter laugh. Reaching out he opened the door quickly and then stepped back. A slender man with dark hair and a thin moustache pushed a room service cart into the room.
Silently the man stepped away from the cart and then waited patiently. Trust Webb to send someone who wanted a tip for dropping something off. Reaching into his pocket Harm pulled out 2000 Pesetas and handed over the bills.
"My thanks Mr. Roberts." The man said with a slight bow before turning to leave. Harm still looked around for Bud when people addressed him as Mr. Roberts. Thinking of Bud brought Harm's thoughts around to Harriet and the boys as well. He should probably get something in the mail for little AJ, and maybe even something for Jimmy. Jimmy was still pretty young for gifts, but someday his parents might explain.
Beth stepped up beside him and lifted the tray from the platter on the cart. Underneath they saw a small micro-laptop computer case and another cell phone between two small silenced handguns. Sigs, just what Webb liked. Figured.
Picking up the note that was taped to the micro-laptop, Harm scanned it quickly and then handed it to Beth.
Both the phone and the micro are encrypted. Use them to send the files. There's a cable for the laptop in the case. – CW
Well at least he was armed now...he'd wondered why it had taken them so long to get him equipment. Now he knew that this mission wasn't exactly well planned. Taking up the handgun Harm checked the magazine to make sure that it was loaded and then slid it home again. Putting the handgun in his waistband he felt somewhat better.
"So...I guess we should figure out what we're going to do next." Harm said absently as he put the phone and computer on the bed.
"Well apparently we need to get some papers and send them to Webb?" Beth asked in some confusion. Apparently they hadn't told her much before sending her out. Harm pushed down the rage that he felt towards Kershaw and Webb and anyone else who would send an agent into the field without proper intelligence.
"File actually...from their computer. Webb hasn't actually told me anything specific so I'm thinking we should just send anything we find that looks suspicious."
"Alright, that's a start. When are we going to do it?"
"Well..." Harm said looking at his watch. "It almost time for two of them to go for a second lunch. They never go anywhere all together...usually, two go out and two stay in. If we could get them out of the room somehow..."
"No...no way am I going to hit on some goon again so you can get in and get out." Beth said as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
"Suck it up O'Neil. If that's what we need to get this done, you'll take your shirt off." Harm said harshly.
Beth stopped her pacing suddenly and just stared at Harm. He'd never been rude to her before...she always remembered him as being joking and polite but lately she remembered him as sullen and quiet. She'd meant what she told him when she'd said that if there was a man who'd tempt her to change her ways it would be him. But he wasn't that man anymore...over the last year he'd changed...he'd become hard, harsh and bitter. She couldn't really blame him for the bitter part of things...from what she'd heard, he'd gone through a lot for his friend Mac and gotten a boot to the teeth for his troubles. He'd also opened up to her one night after too many beers about his arrest on suspicion of murdering Lieutenant Lauren Singer. Not one of his friends had come to visit him, even his CO had just assumed he was guilty and took steps to distance the office from Harm. But that didn't explain the hard and harsh part of the equation...what had happened to the pilot and friend she'd made when he first started flying for the company? What happened to the lawyer who saw beyond what she was to who she was and defended her against spurious charges so zealously? Beth was determined to find out.