Chapter 9

Andie saw the worry in Danny's eyes and the anxiety in his movements as he shut the lid of his cellphone and tucked it into his coat pocket. He signaled for the waiter to come with the bill.

"Dad? What happened?"

He looked around nervously before answering her, "An Europol agent arrived in Rejdnaa moment ago."

Europol?

Oh no.

She was as good as dead.

She took another sip of wine from her glass, which was probably her last anyway so she gulped it all down. How had Europol managed to track her down all the way to Rejdna? And why, why, must they show up tonight? She didn't suppose that her father had already known about her disastrous run-in with the Europol superiors, since he did not show any sign that he had already known about it. If she knew her father, he would be giving her his trademark how-could-you-do-that look, and she would be squirming like a squid.

"So, what are we going to do, Dad?"

He shrugged, looking helpless for the first time ever since he launched the idea of stealing the Gabanski Diamond. "Rusty saw her, the agent I mean, and he told me to get you out first. Which reminds me," he sat up straight and focused his gaze on her, "is there something going on between you two that I don't know of?"

Her mouth fell open but hurriedly she shut it. He could have told him about the Europol thing, he could have given her away, but he didn't. That silly idiot, she thought as she tried to hide her smile but unfortunately was caught spot-on by Danny. He broke into a suspicious grin and leaned forward.

"Are you two seeing each other?"

She burst into laughter, drawing the attention of other diners, but she didn't care. After the waiter had gone with Danny's cash (he had to avoid using his credit card unless he wanted real trouble), she reached for her glass and giggled to find that it was empty. "Andie!"

"Sorry, Dad. Where were we? Oh!" she giggled again. "No, Dad, we're not dating."

Danny sighed with extreme relief. "Thank God!"

"Why?"

He grinned. "I don't think he'd last a day with you. He's . . . too playful."

Andie shrugged. "So where are we going?"

Danny's face immediately turned serious. He folded his arms and gave the matter some thought. After a few seconds, he looked up at her and shrugged. "I don't know. Honestly. Copenhagen's not my turf."

She leaned back into her chair and grudgingly gave the matter some thought as well. Copenhagen wasn't her turf either. "You know, we shouldn't have come to Copenhagen in the first place," she said wryly. Danny snorted. "Too late."

"We've gotta get somewhere close to the Gallere, of course," Andie said slowly and toyed with her napkin. Danny sighed and gave her an of-course-you-idiot look. Her father had so many ironic looks dripping with sarcasm to spare her, but she had gotten so used to it she didn't care anymore.

"We've got to find a more discreet place."

Danny nodded slowly. "That's obvious. But her coming here means that she knows we're after the Diamond. I think, you know what I'm thinking of?"

She looked at him exasperatedly, "What?"

"We've got to move out of the immediate vicinities. You know, lodge ourselves in a small motel far away from the Gallere. She's definitely going to have the area checked."

"But how are we going to move the rest of our stuff out? Surely, if she was going to have the hotel checked for any sign of me – us – we would have enough evidence to put ourselves in jail."

Suddenly she remembered.

"My laptop! It's in my room!"

"Sush, honey. Rusty's going to save it."

Her eyebrows went up at that. How was she supposed to trust Rusty Ryan with her laptop? She had almost been able to figure out the code that allowed access to the build-up of the random laser beams. And, she had saved her progress in a folder that was conveniently titled: Gabanski. If Europol had gotten their hands on her laptop . . . now she thanked her lucky stars for actually bothering to save all her important data in a thumb-drive that was currently resting in her jeans pocket. Just to be sure, she felt inside her pocket and blew a sigh of relief when her fingers found the small gadget.

"At least I still have my thumb-drive," she whispered to herself, but Danny heard her.

He downed his wine in one swallow. "Cheers."

"Cheers," she replied dumbly. They stood and left the restaurant, jamming their fists into their coat pockets as they fought the cold, icy wind that whipped their faces.

"Dad! So where do we go? You reckon we should go back to the hotel to help the others?"

Danny shrugged. "She recognizes me, so if I go back there, I'm signing my own arrest warrant. But, hey, wait a sec," he stopped in his tracks and turned to face his daughter with a grin on his face. Andie knew instantly what he was thinking of.

"No, Dad. I like you, but I'm not crazy."

"Come on, Andie. Think about it! She doesn't even know that you exist!"

"Europol isn't one of those stupid goons you usually manage to con, Dad."

"You want our asses to be saved, don't you?"

"Yes, but I don't want to be the one doing it!"

"You were Juliet in fifth grade!" Danny's grin was definitely maniacal now. And Andie didn't like it.

Not one single, itsy, bitsy bit.

Isabel was definitely awake now. Goodbye, jetlag; hello, perfect sense.

"What is the name of the person again, Miss Lahiri?"

"Andromeda Ocean. A-N-D-R-O-M-E-D-A O-C-E-A-N."

The front desk manager typed the name nervously and hit the ENTER key. The receptionist stood behind the manager, her fingers clutched her skirt so tightly that Isabel was sure that after she had removed her fingers from her skirt, there would be finger clutch-marks on it. She had put on a good show of 'customer-information-is-strictly-confidential' in front of Isabel, even after she had shoved her Europol badge under her nose. Thank goodness the front desk manager was quick at noticing trouble and quickly adhered to her requests.

A 'ting' sounded from the computer and the front desk manager read aloud the information Isabel had requested. "Andromeda Theresa Danielle Ocean. Checked in four days ago. Room number: 511."

Gotcha.

Isabel smiled with satisfaction as she jotted down the information in a notebook. After that, she pocketed the notebook and was about to thank the front desk manager when she suddenly had a strange hunch.

"Excuse me, can you look up another name for me?"

"Of course, Miss Lahiri."

"Robert Charles Ryan. R-O-B-E-R-T C-H-A-R-L-E-S R-Y-A-N."

As they waited for the information to load, Isabel drummed her fingers impatiently for the outcome. Her heart was beating faster than usual. If Rusty was indeed staying in Rejdna, she was pretty sure that Danny Ocean was here as well. She made a mental note to ask the manager to look up Ocean's name later.

Just as the 'ting' popped from the computer, she felt a tap on her shoulder and a feminine voice calling her name. "Isabel Lahiri?"

She turned around and found a smiling young woman holding a brown envelope in her hands. She was slightly taller than Isabel and her hair was hidden under a black beret that matched her black coat which was tied close with a plain black belt. Her eyes were bright green.

"Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"

"Good evening, Senior Agent Lahiri. I'm Junior Agent Rebekah Skorssen from the Copenhagen Operation Unit." And to prove it, she took out her purse from her coat pocket and showed Isabel her ID. Isabel took it and examined it carefully. As she did, Agent Skorssen spoke, in thick Danish accent, "We have just received orders from Senior Superintendent Klaus Harrsen of the Amsterdam Operation Unit. He said to inform Senior Agent Lahiri to cancel investigations on Andromeda Ocean." Isabel gave her a confused look as Agent Skorssen pocketed her ID and showed her the papers she had retrieved from the envelope.

What on earth? Isabel thought frantically as she scanned the official document and the signature of Klaus Harrsen. The signature was real enough. Was this the same man who had ordered her to fly to Copenhagen even when he knew she was on leave just two days ago? What was this man playing at?

She handed the document back to Agent Skorssen and smiled half-heartedly, just to give the junior agent a good impression. "I understand. Thank you very much for bringing me the information."

Agent Skorssen smiled and shrugged. "Orders are orders, even if they are troublesome. Oh, and one more thing, Senior Superintendent Harrsen also requests you to fly back to Amsterdam at once."

That was the final straw. "What? Now?"

Agent Skorssen nodded and smiled weakly. "Yes, I'm afraid so, Agent Lahiri. I'm sorry to be the one to bring you the bad news."

Isabel gave an angry huff and strode away furiously from the front desk, with Agent Skorssen following her closely. "Then what about my flight tickets?"

"Senior Superintendent Harrsen said that he would reimburse your money when you meet him at the Amsterdam Operation Unit Center." She looked a little uncomfortable after saying that, knowing that Isabel would not be cheered by that piece of news.

Cheers, rookie, Isabel thought dryly.

Agent Skorssen smiled sympathetically. "I'm very sorry, Agent Lahiri. I'm just taking orders."

Isabel smiled back at her. "That's all right. Will you be escorting me to the airport?"

The younger woman shook her head, still smiling. "I'm afraid I can't. I have to get back to the headquarters." She laughed somewhat nervously. Isabel laughed too, but she couldn't help feeling that something was out of place. Usually, no matter which European city she went, as long as there was an Europol headquarter there, she would be escorted by the respective unit from and to the airport. However, maybe the Copenhagen Unit was dealing with some unforeseen circumstances. But hey, she can take care of herself anyway.

Isabel shook the junior agent's hand. "Very well then. Thank you for the information."

"You're very welcome, Agent Lahiri."

As Isabel passed through the hotel doors, she glanced behind one more time to see if Junior Agent Skorssen was still there.

She was gone.

"I'm not doing that EVER AGAIN!"

Danny looked up, jolted by the slamming door. "Hey, Andie! How did it go?"

"Great, but I'm not going to do that again. NEVER!" Andie flung her beret onto the sofa, unbuckled the belt to her coat and threw it onto the floor. Danny laughed when he saw her bury her face in her hands and messed with her hair from across the coffee table.

"What did I tell you, Andie? You're a real pro."

"I impersonated an Europol agent," she moaned.

Danny laughed again and turned her laptop to face her. "That's my girl. I followed your instructions word by word and I think that I've managed to delete our names from the customer databank. Check for me, will ya?"

Andie removed her hands and sniffed as she drew the laptop onto her lap and typed away. Occasionally she rubbed her eyes and sniffed again. Danny sensed her discomfort and walked around the coffee table to sit beside her daughter. He put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Hey, relax. It's over and done with. You told her to go home, and she's gone. You just saved our asses."

"Yeah, the hell you did." Andie looked up at the sound of Rusty's voice. He entered the room, grinning broadly. "That was some act you did to her in the lobby."

Andie laughed gruffly and returned her attention to the laptop screen. "I'm not proud of it."

Rusty chuckled and slumped onto the sofa opposite Danny and Andie. "Whatever you say, then. Danny, the replicas are safely out."

"That's great. Is everyone out with their baggage?"

"We've put everyone else on separate taxis, which they caught at separate locations."

Danny blew a sigh of relief. "That's great. To where?"

"Turk managed to find a small motel smack in the middle of the city. Hopefully there are rooms enough for us. Oh, and one thing, Yen said he thinks Isabel saw and recognized him."

"Shit."

"No kidding. But I guess as long as we stay as low as we can while we're in Cop, we should be all right."

"You got that right."

"Hey, guys," Linus entered the room hesitantly with his baggage and smiled tentatively at them. Danny and Rusty nodded in acknowledgement. Andie waved and smiled.

Instantly, his heart beat faster.

Rusty and Danny resumed their conversation without missing a beat.

"What's the name of the motel?"

"Very small, very discreet. Skedrie."

"Sounds good."

"It is. You've packed, haven't you?"

"No."

"I'll help with the harness. Come on."

Rusty smiled and winked at Andie before following Danny into the room, and unfortunately, Linus caught that.

Linus was someone Andie was quite comfortable with, but suddenly, with just the two of them left together in the living room of Danny's suite, the situation was tense and awkward. Andie found the Rejdna Hotel's customer databank and was pleased to find their names, especially hers, deleted from the list, and, satisfied, she shut her laptop.

Just as her laptop clicked close, Linus blurted out, "I like you."

Her head snapped up and she gave him a weird stare. She felt as if she had been properly doused with cold water. "What did you say?"

"N – nothing," he suddenly stammered, staring down at his hands, which were clutched tightly together.

"Come on, you said something. What did you mean by that?"

He shook his head furiously. "No, it's just, well, nothing. It's nothing," he smiled shakily at her, "Forget about it."

"Linus," she said gently. This nervous man needed gentle coaxing to get anything out of him. She set her laptop on the table and walked over towards where he sat and took the seat beside him. "You said that you liked me. Okay, what did you really mean by that?"

"I mean, well," he shrugged. "I, okay, I had this crush on you ever since I saw you, on Monday." He swallowed, and Andie was beginning to feel jumpy as well. Is he serious?

He continued slightly more steadily. "I mean, I think, I'm in love with you." He looked up and into her eyes. Andie resisted the urge to shove him away and run out of the suite, but she clenched her fists and forced her butt to remain on the sofa. However, she could not hide the feeling of anxiety from showing in her eyes.

He resumed anyway, growing more stable. "You're the only one who's treated me nicely, besides my parents, of course. You don't insult me just because I'm slightly more morally conscious, you always wait for me to leave a building even if I'm the last one to go, and you respect my opinion. I guess, well, I guess I fell in love with your kindness, your consideration, and, well, I want to be more than just your friend."

She was feeling more and more freaked out by the moment, but she was touched. No man had ever revealed his feelings to her this way. They had always tried to impress her with their masculine superiority, their charismatic grins and it's-okay-I'm-tougher-than-you-think behavior when they were facing difficulties. But Linus, he was one of the rare sensitive males, and well, she appreciated that. A lot.

Linus gulped again, and continued speaking, but his voice was growing lower by the second. "I, I know that I'm not as charming or suave as Rusty; I don't know how to be romantic, I don't know the best restaurants to eat, and I guess I'm not as confident as him too. But," he looked again into her eyes, and she was drowning in his earnest blue eyes, "I can work it out, I guess, if, if you give me a chance to be with you. I want to make you happy, I want to make you smile and laugh, and I want to take you out to dinner every weekend, and, I want to take long walks in the New England country roads with you. I, I want you to be part of my life, just as I want to be in yours." He drew a deep breath, and resumed, his voice definitely shaking, "Will, will you be my girl?"

That was a funny way to phrase it, but Andie was supremely touched. Who said Linus Caldwell wasn't able of being romantic. She drew a deep breath, and she made her decision.
"I guess we can give it a shot," she said sheepishly, though not intending to sound so bashful, but she had never had any man ask her that way before. Maybe, maybe she should give him a chance. He was a sweet and loyal guy. He would make a nice boyfriend, maybe even husband material.

Unlike Rusty.

Stop thinking about Rusty!

Suddenly, Linus leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss caught her off guard, and just as fast as it had happened, it ended. He pulled back, breathing heavily and looked away, as if embarrassed. "I'm, I'm sorry."

But she put a hand on his face and turned it to face her. She surprised even herself when she kissed his lips, slowly and gently at first, then he opened up, and the kiss engulfed them both.

When she pulled away, she was as breathless as he. "Don't be sorry," she said. He grinned and pressed his nose to hers. "I won't if you aren't," he told her breathlessly before kissing her again.