SECRETS AND SPIES

Chapter Eighteen

Standing in the hot sun on the Marin Headlands where my dad allegedly passed away while being warned by Yorkie that I'm in danger of being arrested, is surreal. How have I gone from being a law-abiding citizen to a suspected felon in the space of a week is beyond my comprehension. The implications of possibly having to go on the run are already hitting home. What pisses me even more, is that once again I'm being let down by the very people who are supposed to be helping and protecting me, and at the same time they should at least be trying to find out what happened to my dad.

"You know that's a load of crap," I hiss at Yorkie.

"I believe you," he responds. His cell rings again while we're talking but he ignores it.

"Edward, I know you don't believe your dad committed suicide. I don't believe it either. If I had evidence he's still alive I'd tell you, but I haven't. I need you to believe that."

"I do believe you," I sigh and unclench my fists. Yorkie visibly relaxes. I feel guilty for causing him anxiety but I'm still fucking furious.

"What else can you tell me?"

"Not a lot, only that when your house got broken into the second time I picked up the license plate of the truck from a neighbors security camera. I didn't pass this information to my superiors though. I've traced the vehicle to an address in the south of the city. It's owned by a security company run by a guy called …"

"James Hunter," I cut in.

Yorkie's eyebrows shoot up. I actually feel pleased that I've surprised him.

"You've been doing your homework?"

"Yep. I'll tell you how I know later. Go on …"

"I think I can guess. Anyhow, one of the guys pulled his mask off as he was driving away. This guy had dreadlocks. We couldn't see the other guy?"

I nod my head but don't say any more. Laurent – interesting.

"I took a ride out there yesterday. I pulled up close to the house pretending I was lost. The guy on the track that leads to the property was armed and definitely not friendly."

"Was he Asian?"

"No. Texan I'd guess from his accent. He looked like he'd eat a whole buffalo for breakfast as well. Massive guy. He was wearing army combats like he was in some sort of militia. No name tag though."

"What sort of place is it?"

"Modern villa on a large plot surrounded by woodland. The grounds from what I could see look neglected. I spotted security cameras on the building and a helicopter pad; which isn't unusual for that area. I didn't see any signs of life other than the guard and a dog tied up outside. I drove around for a while but didn't witness anyone else coming or going."

"So James Hunter owns this place?"

"Well, his company rents it. He owns a ranch near Bakersfield. I investigated some more and it seems as though Bakersfield is used for training his staff."

"Would you give me the locations of both?"

"Depends what you're going to do with the information."

"I don't know; probably nothing. Unfortunately, I haven't got a private army to help me storm them."

"No, but you've got Isabella Sw … oh ... shit!"

I can feel my eyes widening when he says Bella's name and momentarily I'm lost for a response. Yorkie's face drains of color which means it's obvious he's spoken his thoughts out loud. A few seconds of awkward silence follows until I ask the burning question.

"What do you know about Isabella Swan? Don't mess with me, Yorkie. I demand total honesty now. No more secrets. I've had to put my life in her hands twice in the last few days so I'll know if you're bullshitting me again. So spill."

"Fuck!" Yorkie hisses and turns his back on me again and then starts pacing up and down. His hands go up to his head and he's literally tugging at his hair.

"I'm waiting," I spit.

"Isabella Swan is …" Yorkie draws a deep breath. "Isabella is well …"

"Yes?"

"Okay, full story but this must go no further."

I nod my head even though I'm convinced he's not recording me now. I realize I've crossed my arms, which means I'm imitating the stance of my School Principal when I or the crowd I hung out with were in trouble. It's the 'don't give me any shit, or I'll make your life a misery' pose.

"Look I'm getting hot here, Edward. Can we go to your vehicle or mine and get out of this sun?"

"Sure," I agree. "My car. It's two minutes from here."

We don't talk as we make our way to the parking lot. I'm desperate to find out who or what Bella is. What Yorkie knows may help me make my mind up whether to trust her or not. To say I'm intrigued is an understatement.

The inside of the car is like a furnace so I fire up and turn the air con to full blast. After a couple of minutes, it's bearable so we climb in and close the doors.

"Spill," I say again and turn in my seat so I'm looking at him face on. I don't want to intimidate him. I just want the truth and I'll see it in his eyes if he's lying again.

"Okay, but this is highly confidential. Defense Secrets, sacking offense confidential. Never to be spoken about outside this car confidential."

I pretend to zip my mouth which is something I haven't done since I was a kid. Yorkie relaxes and I genuinely think he trusts me.

"About four years ago we had a serious kidnap-hostage situation in San Francisco. The wife and three kids of a high-level foreign diplomat were abducted and held for ransom by mercenaries financed by a hostile government. They wanted political prisoners freed by the diplomat's country which would be a huge coup for them. It was also totally against the interests of the United States. Every law enforcement agency including the military was called in to assist. It was a logistical fucking nightmare to establish who was running the show. In the end, the military took over but the police had to stay in attendance as kidnapping is a civil crime.

"The situation went on for days although it wasn't reported in the media as there was a news blackout. Reports placed on the internet by the hostile government were dismissed as propaganda. At first, we couldn't find where these assholes were holding the family as they didn't communicate with us. All the negotiations were done with a third party who called us from another hostile country. The mercenaries were eventually tracked down to a deserted farmhouse in a remote area north of the Napa Valley. The whole area was blanketed by the army including a no-fly zone. The security was the tightest I've ever experienced. Local farmers and residents were told it was a secret military exercise so there was minimal opportunity for the story to leak out.

"The mercenaries ran out of food in the middle of the negotiations. They demanded that supplies including diapers should be dropped into the grounds using a drone, but the negotiators refused. The deal they offered was that they would swop supplies for the youngest child who was less than a year old. The mercenaries eventually agreed to this. The arrangement was that the supplies would be brought to the gate by a barefoot girl wearing nothing but a swimsuit, so nowhere to hide a weapon, after which the exchange would take place.

"Isabella appeared out of nowhere. I guess she'd been staking out the ranch with other Special Ops guys who we knew were hiding in the surrounding fields. The supplies were assembled in a see-through plastic container, which she carried to the gate. Then she waited to collect the child.

"After about ten minutes, two armed men came out. One was carrying the baby, the other pointed a weapon at Isabella. We could hear the mother screaming in the house which was heart-breaking. The guy with the weapon opened the gate and stood back to let the guy with the baby through while he grabbed the supplies. Isabella jumped the first guy and pierced him through the throat with a long needle she'd had taped to the inside of her arm. She grabbed his gun and blew the head off the guy holding the baby and ran towards the house killing the guard at the door with one shot.

"Special Ops swarmed through the gate and over the fences like ants. I couldn't believe how quickly they moved but more amazingly where they came from. It was like they'd been beamed in from the Starship Enterprise. By the time they got to the house Isabella had killed or severely injured all the other mercenaries. The diplomat's wife had been shot protecting her other children but she was still alive when they found her. The wife survived. The baby broke a leg when the guy holding her dropped dead.

"Jesus!" I hear myself exclaiming.

"Yeah! It took us all by surprise. There were some hardened cops there and they were speechless. I'd never seen anything like it and probably never will again. Her bravery was off the scale. I only found out her name and what happened inside the farm because I overheard one of the Special Ops guys reporting to his Chief on a walkie-talkie type radio that the job was a success. The Special Ops team disappeared immediately afterward leaving us to clear up the mess. This was when we were told by our superiors that what happened never actually happened and we were never to talk about it to anyone."

"Did you talk about it afterward though?"

"Only in the Precinct; her name is a legend there. When I found out she was working for you, which was when you went back to Colorado, that's when I suspected something heavy could be going down."

"In what way?"

"I presumed she was still in the Army, so when I heard her name my first thought was she was working under-cover."

"You mean for the Army?"

"Or the government. I couldn't imagine her going from what I saw her doing at the farmhouse, to working in a Landscape Gardening company in Colorado. I mean it's ridiculous."

"Do you know who she's been working for lately?"

"Until I heard she was working for you, I hadn't heard her name mentioned in a professional capacity since the hostage situation. I only found out a few days ago that she's been working for Hunter doing undercover protection contracts for wealthy people. Bit of a waste really. We should send her into Afghanistan. She would clear it up in an instant. The Taliban wouldn't stand a fucking chance."

I laugh at that comment and Yorkie laughs too.

I'm feeling conflicted. When Yorkie confessed to lying to me I wanted to throttle him. Now I feel as though I can trust him and could actually grow to like him. He's definitely putting his job on the line talking to me like this, which means he must trust me to keep his confidence.

What he's told me about Bella has shocked me, even though she told me about her past in the hideout. She said she'd been involved in a shoot-out of some description where people died. This is another level though. Like Yorkie, it does makes me wonder why she's attached herself to someone like James Hunter. I'm sure there's more she's not telling me. Like everything else, her background doesn't ring true. Is there another secret she's keeping from me?

"So Isabella is helping you find your father?" Yorkie asks interrupting my thoughts.

"Bella. I call her Bella. Yes, she is. She came to work for me I'd presumed for genuine reasons when I took her on, only she's since admitted to me that James Hunter employed her on behalf of my dad as a secret bodyguard, which I don't believe and neither does she any more. Like me, she believes there's a third party who became involved before dad died, and Hunter is working for them, although Hunter hasn't asked her to get information about my dad's work from me. This makes me wonder whether he took an opportunist advantage of dad's death when he broke in to check out my basement so he could sell-on dad's work. Bella told me she's stopped reporting back to Hunter now, but I'm not sure whether that's true or not. She does think Hunter may not have my welfare as his number one concern as he's only interested in money."

"So do you think he could be involved with your dad's disappearance?"

"I don't know, Yorkie."

"Eric. You can call me Eric as you don't seem to mind me calling you Edward now but actually I prefer to be called Yorkie."

"You don't look like an Eric! Sorry, that sounds a bit racist. It wasn't meant to be."

"I'm a quarter Chinese, quarter Californian, and half Hawaiian."

"Hence the Steve McGarrett ring tone."

"Yep!"

"Figures."

We both smile at the inanity of our conversation. One minute we're talking about Bella being a one-woman killing machine and the next, the humor behind his heritage.

"So what next," Yorkie asks.

"Fuck knows," I respond without thinking. "Bella's at the house on her own so I'd better get back there. Other than that, I don't know."

"Will you tell her what I've told you?"

"I haven't thought about that yet but probably not; or should I say not yet."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but how far have you got with your investigations?"

"There's not much to tell, other than I've been threatened anonymously over the phone. They chased Bella and me out my house and we had to hide in the woods. Today we were followed by two ex-colleagues of Bella's who she thinks are working for Hunter. More seriously, my car in Colorado was hijacked yesterday and the bastards shot and abducted one of my employees thinking it was me. He was dumped outside the hospital by some Asian guys."

"Asian?"

"Chinese, Japanese – I don't know. They looked Asian on the hospital security cameras. Bella doesn't know he's been found yet. I've a feeling this gang don't have anything to do with James Hunter. From what Bella says he only recruits US ex-military but I suppose they could be his people. There must be plenty of citizens of Asian heritage in the services."

"What do they want?"

"No idea. I've found out what dad was working on but that's as far as it goes. Computers have never been my thing. I know 'control, alt, delete,' and that's about as far as my knowledge goes.

"Yeah, me too. It's another world."

Yorkie's cell rings again so he's obviously needed somewhere. I pull my seat belt on as I need to leave.

"Yorkie, I'm hot, hungry, and actually need to piss. Can I drop you anywhere?"

"No, I'm okay. My car's not far away."

Yorkie goes to get out the car but I stop him.

"Thanks for being honest. It's good to know there's someone with morals working in the police department."

"Edward, the vast majority of the cops I work with are hard-working guys doing their job for the right reasons and are a hundred percent straight. There are bad apples in every profession but in your dad's case, the bad apples are the guys who are way above my pay grade. People like me just do as we're told."

Yorkie climbs out and turns to me.

"If I hear anything on the grapevine I'll let you know. In the meantime, if you don't want to get arrested, disconnect your cell and get the hell out of San Francisco."

"Thanks for the advice," I reply as I hit the cell's off button and the screen goes black.

Yorkie slams the door and walks away. I have much to think about on the journey home and I know I'll have to make my decision about trusting Bella before I see her again. Unfortunately, my thought processes are totally clouded by the image of Bella, in a swimsuit, blasting a gang of mercenaries to kingdom come!

As I reach the bridge, I realize Yorkie didn't give me the addresses of Hunter's ranches. It's possible Bella knows where they are, but that would mean me giving her more information before I've decided whether to trust her or not. I just hope she's home as I haven't got a key. I wonder whether she'll let me in after abandoning her like that. When she does, she'll probably rip me a new one as soon as I walk inside.

The police aren't waiting on my doorstep yet which is a relief. God knows what I would've done if they'd been here. I still check up and down the street before getting out the car though.

Ringing the bell twice and banging on the door gets no response. I give up and jump over the fence to Sue's to get the kitchen door key. Either Bella's in a huff or she's gone out for a walk or she's asleep. Sue answers her door with a big grin on her face.

"Bella's in my yard. I've been telling her stories about San Francisco in the sixties. You kids think you're cool but you haven't got a clue what real coolness is."

"I believe you," I reply. "Mom and dad caught the end of it but they were just too young to truly partake. They were around though and told me what was going on."

"That's right. Your parents were lucky – they experienced it without losing any brain cells. Come in."

I follow her through the house into the kitchen where I can see Bella in the yard sunning herself on a lounger. She's changed into very short shorts and a tiny crop top so my fantasy about Ninja Bella in a swimsuit is resurrected again. There's evidence Sue has been feeding her, and my stomach growls embarrassingly loudly.

"Grilled cheese?" Sue offers and dances towards the fridge without bothering to wait for a response. She knows what it will be from experience.

"You okay?" Bella shouts as she spots me in the kitchen.

"Fine, apart from a need to pee. We have to talk so can't stay here too long, okay?"

Bella gives me the thumbs up, replaces her sunglasses and turns her face to the sun. Anybody would think she was on the Cote D'Azure.

While I'm washing my hands I check myself in the mirror. My face has really caught the sun and the top of my head is tender to touch. My shoulder blades and elbows are sore too from lying on the hot stone. Pulling the neck of my t-shirt down, the sunburn line is obvious. I squirt some hand cream on my fingers and massage it into my skin hoping it will stop any peeling. I doubt it though. There's some aftersun in dad's bathroom so I'll cover myself in that when we go home.

Sue grins at me as I walk through the kitchen.

"Bella's a lovely girl, Edward. She reminds me of Esme."

"Really? In what way?"

"Strong opinions. Doesn't take anything at face value. Feisty. Most importantly she's got a kind soul."

"That's good to know. Anything else?"

"She smokes too much – get her to cut down or stop. I wish I'd given up at her age."

"Bit difficult if she's feisty!"

"True, especially as she's living on her nerves. There's something deep going on in her head, Edward. She keeps switching off as though she's daydreaming."

"You're very observant, Sue. She has got a lot on at the moment. Her mom's not well."

"Yeah, she told me about that. Cancer's a bitch."

"Tell me about it."

"Sorry, Edward, I didn't forget. Are you two an item then?"

"I'm working on it. Relationships with colleagues are not such a good idea though."

"But you like her?"

"Yeah. I like her."

Sue smiles as she hands me a plate and a napkin.

"Grilled cheese. Go sit in the yard and I'll bring your coffee out."

As I take the plate which has enough for two on it, I kiss Sue on the top of her head. She play-slaps me on the arm and shoves me out the door. Bella is stubbing out a cigarette as I make my way over to the chair next to her.

"Sue says you should cut down."

"Yep! Already had that conversation. Maybe if my needy boss didn't rely on me so much I could give up every other one."

"Do I rely on you?" I respond with my mouth full. "I didn't expect you to follow me to San Francisco remember?"

"Would you prefer me to go back?"

"No, you're here now but we need to talk things over before we go any further."

"Like what?"

"Not here. Things have … happened, which has made me re-think my situation. I've learned a lot in the last few hours and I need to make some decisions."

"Who've you been talking to?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Tell me now."

"No."

"When then?"

"After I've finished this and coffee and in my yard. While I'm eating you can tell me which stories Sue told you. I've probably already heard them but I don't mind being reminded."

"I'll tell you later. I'm not in the mood now."

Bella gives me one of the hard stares I've come to expect when she doesn't get her own way at work. It's not a look I like. I carry on eating while Bella twiddles with her hair. After a few minutes the silence irritates me.

"Don't fucking sulk," I whisper so Sue can't hear.

"I'm not sulking. That's my 'pissed' look." Bella does the air quotes thing which I always do. I guess she's taking the piss out of me now. I'd just taken a large bite out of my grilled cheese so can't respond verbally.

"We can't work together if you're keeping me in the dark and doing shit behind my back," she hisses.

"Likewise," I splutter then wipe my face with the napkin.

"Is that what this is all about? Don't you trust me, Edward? It didn't seem to bother you last night."

"We'll talk about this somewhere else. Quiet!"

Sue comes out then with my coffee and I smile weakly at her. It's obvious she's overheard us arguing as she gives me one of her looks. Diplomatically she retreats to the kitchen.

"Fuck this, I'm going," Bella spits as she hauls herself out of the lounger and picks her backpack and cigarettes up.

"Okay, bye," I respond, hoping she's not serious. She stalks past me into the kitchen where I hear her thanking Sue for the 'excellent company'. She's shouting to make sure I hear then I presume she walks through the house to the front door.

As I shove the final morsel of grilled cheese into my mouth like a hog, I hear either Sue or Bella yelling, "Holy Shit." I jump out my seat and run into the kitchen where Sue is pushing Bella through the internal door then slamming it shut behind her, separating us from the hall.

"What the hell's going on?" I ask. Bella has gone pale and she's frantically patting her pockets searching for her phone.

"Armed police are outside your house and they don't look like they've come for a chat, so you'd better tell me what's going on because I can't help you if you don't trust me. You've got ten seconds to make your mind up, starting now.

"Ten, nine, eight …. "

Oh dear! So Yorkie was right. The rozzers (English word for the police) are after Edward. Why though? They're in a spot now that's going to be difficult to get out of without help.

Bella is a one-girl killing machine by all accounts. Maybe that's why the police have their weapons on show? Yorkie has taken a risk giving Edward all this information. Let's hope he's the decent guy he's making himself out to be.

If you think Bella's feisty, Sue is just about to give a lesson in REAL feistiness. I hope you enjoy the experience.

Joan x