Chapter 12
Sam stuck his keycard in the slot in the hotel room door and trudged into the suite. Elsa and Maddie were sitting on the balcony sharing a lunch and talking, but when the two heard the door slamming, their heads turned and saw him.
Elsa gasped and hurried inside, grasping his arms to stop him from heading for the bathroom. "Sam, what on earth happened to you? You've been gone for three hours! I was worried about you and I couldn't get you on your phone, and..."
"It's okay, sweetheart. It's been a long day, and if it's all the same to you, I'd like to just hang out at the hotel and not do the Disney thing today. I'm wiped." Sam looked ready to drop where he stood. His clothes were smeared with dirt and blood and she didn't know if any of it was his or someone else's. He sported a bruise on the side of his face and a small adhesive bandage near his hairline.
"What happened," Maddie asked as she joined the couple in the living area. "Sam, you look terrible!"
"In a nutshell, a couple of guys killed Mrs. Belliveau just after I told her about her husband. I can't tell you anything more other than that it's related to the case."
"Naturally," Maddie muttered. "So how did you get this?" She touched the side of her own face.
"On my way here I got run off the road by a couple other guys, right after I talked to Mike. This whole thing's gotten way out of hand, and there are so many players, I don't know if we'll ever get to the bottom of who's involved." Sam paused and took a breath. "I just hope we can find what we're looking for before it gets into the wrong hands and someone does something with it."
"Where is Michael," Maddie asked. "Is he in Miami?"
"No," Sam replied. "I don't even know for sure where he is. You know how this works."
"Yes, I do." She whirled and moved toward the open sliding door, pulling out a cigarette and preparing to light it when she made it to the balcony.
"Don't worry about her, Sam." Elsa turned him toward the bathroom and gave him a gentle push. "You just go in there and get cleaned up, and I'll bring you some clean clothes. Then maybe you'll want to take a nap or something while Maddie and I hit the park. It'll be nice and quiet in here so you can rest."
"No, you two aren't going anywhere alone. I mean it." The way his eyes bored into her, Elsa's anxiety rose.
She came back with a sharp reply. "You're not going to be able to get into the park armed, you know."
"I'll worry about that tomorrow, baby." He kissed her with a brief press of his lips. "Promise me you two won't go anywhere? Please?" When she didn't respond, he said, "Fine. Get me some clothes, I'll take a shower, and we'll go to the park."
"You're tired..."
"And you're stubborn. I'll survive, really." He planted a kiss on her forehead before turning away and entering the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and quickly undressed. He was afraid that Elsa would get it in her head to go without him so he resolved to be quick about getting himself together. A knock sounded on the door and she walked in with a short stack of clothes. She gave him a long, appreciative look through the glass door that hadn't fogged up yet and licked her lips.
"Wanna join me," he asked with a naughty waggle of his eyebrows.
She laughed. "As nice as that sounds, I'll just wait out there with Maddie." She blew him a kiss and left the bathroom after laying his things on the vanity.
"You're missing out, baby," he called out with a light tone. He should have felt terrible about not trusting Elsa, but he knew her too well. Since he returned from being on the run, she was more eager to get involved in his gigs no matter how dangerous they were. This one was the most hazardous one yet. Hard to believe it started with a simple errand to pick up Mike's car at the airport. It was turning into an international incident.
Emerging from the bathroom in clean clothes and wet hair, he said, "Okay, let's go. Oh, and just so you know, unless we take the shuttle to the park, we'll need a rental car. The Caddy had to be towed away."
Elsa gaped. "Sam, you didn't tell me this before," she berated him. "What happened?"
"I wound up taking a tumble down a bank, and it's probably totaled now. Sorry, honey, I did my best to keep it from happening, but..."
She interrupted him with a caress and her words. "I'm just glad you're okay."
The way she looked all worried, he wanted to kiss her and wipe her cares away, but they had an audience. Maddie observed them with a slim, all-knowing smile on her face. "Uh, come on, let's go."
"It's getting kind of late and you didn't have anything for lunch," Elsa said. She must have felt the heat too, because her cheeks were an attractive yet subtle shade of rose.
Sam brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll get something at the park. We're here to stay low and let Maddie have some fun, so that's what we're going to do."
They were almost out the door when Elsa asked, "Where's your gun, Sam?"
"Tucked away in the room." He squeezed her hand. "Any more questions?"
"No. Let's go. You look like you really need to relax," Elsa declared, taking his hand and walking the hall with him and Maddie. She'd been around Sam long enough to know that despite his weariness he was still coming down from the adrenaline of the encounter at Russ's house and the chase. Customarily, he would meet her afterwards, and she would help him settle down. They didn't have that luxury today. She missed it. He surely did.
Sam, Elsa, and Maddie soon found themselves moving through the turnstiles at the Magic Kingdom. Seeing that the park was crowded and perfect for blending in and getting lost, Sam's spirits lifted and he got his second wind. Taking their hands and pulling the ladies down Main Street, he said, "Let's go, girls. It's time to have some fun!"
The couple sat in the cafe watching the street, waiting for the signal. The red scooter sat outside the cathedral for a couple of hours now, and after an unknown number of cups of coffee, Fiona had to use the ladies' room, but she was afraid that the moment she chose would be the worst time ever. Michael would go running off to pursue their quarry and she would lose him again.
"I think we missed him," Michael muttered behind his cup. He sat close enough to her so only she could hear, leaning into his chair appearing to be casual as he enjoyed his third espresso. "I was told he would come out, put something into the storage compartment on that scooter, and walk away. It was the chip."
"That was the arrangement," Fiona agreed. "Perhaps someone got to him first. They had the same idea we did."
"We've been sitting here long enough to look suspicious. Let's move." Michael rose and stretched his limbs.
"If we're moving, I'm going to go powder my nose first," Fiona said with a flip of her hair as she stood. "Don't run off without me."
The happy smile on his face accentuated his words along with the touch of his hand cupping her elbow. "I have no intention of running off without you again. I promise."
His smoldering eyes sent a shiver through her. If only they could finish this mission and take advantage of the comfortable goose down bed back at the hotel. The country may have been rough and a bit uncivilized looking, but the innkeepers certainly knew how to treat their guests. Breaking herself from her steamy thoughts, Fiona spoke with a soft sultry voice, "I'll be right back."
While he waited, Michael stretched and scanned the streets in front of him. The cathedral was situated on a corner at an opposing angle to where he stood. People came and went, conducting their business with God. One man approached the scooter, and Michael's breath stopped when he recognized him. He was so intent on watching that he didn't notice when Fiona stepped up beside him and took his arm.
"I'm ready, Michael."
"Fi, O'Neal is here."
The name from her past made her blood run cold. "Are you sure it's him," she asked as she squinted and studied the man.
"Yes. Let's go, just casually stroll along and catch him. Maybe he won't see us until it's too late."
As the couple crossed the street they kept their eyes on him but still watched where they were going. O'Neal pulled a small wrapped package from inside his jacket and slipped it into the compartment, but his hand didn't come out empty. He grasped an envelope and tucked it away without looking inside. No doubt he would find a place to count the money in private. He turned on his heel and entered the cathedral.
Michael and Fiona trotted against the signal across the street to reach the old stone building and the momentum took her up the steps while Michael turned to the scooter and snatched the package. "Fi, come on, we got what we came for. We'll report to the agency what we saw, and O'Neal will get caught by the support team."
Fiona stopped on the first landing, her chest heaving. "No. I want him, Michael. He has to pay for what he's done." She looked down at the small box in his hands. "Maybe that isn't even the chip. Maybe it's blank. He could be pulling something here."
"We'll let the back up team worry about that." Michael closed in on her and used their bodies as a shield to open the box. Inside was a key but nothing else. He let out a frustrated breath. "Looks like a train station locker key, and it has a number on it. Come on, Fi, we have to go to the station anyway."
"But Michael..." She stared into his eyes, her fire for revenge against the man who killed her sister and caused her so much grief was within her grasp, and now the man she loved was asking her to let him walk.
"Fi, I'm sorry. We have to leave now. We'll get our things from the hotel, go to the train station, and access this locker. Then we're gone." He felt for her, he truly did. So many times in his career he wanted to stick around and make sure someone paid for their crimes, committing the kind of justice they deserved but would never get in a court of law. The chip, however, was so much important than that now. He had to tell her the truth, and maybe then she would give up and follow him. "Fiona, O'Neal is on the list on this chip. Once we have it and it's in the Agency's collective hands, they can take care of him. And I promise I will do what I can to make sure you're there to see it happen."
"Nothing would satisfy me more than to strap a bomb to him and..."
"I know." Michael turned her away from the cathedral and down the street that would take them to their hotel. "For now, he gets a pass. But he will get caught."
"I swore I wouldn't rest until he was six feet under. Don't make me break my promise."
He put an arm around her and held her close. "I swear it, Fi. O'Neal will wish he'd never met the Glenannes."
Some missions were easy, and some seemed as if they took every ounce of a spy and wrung him dry and still required more. The mission to retrieve the chip was on the easier side, and for that Michael was grateful. He'd been spending a lot of time wearing himself out in pursuit of the people who tried to destroy the Agency, taking him out of the picture first. He and Fiona packed their bags and hurried to the train station. The locker wasn't difficult to find, and he opened it to find the chip in a ring sized box.
He scooped the box out of the locker, and a second later a flash and a bang reverberated through the station. Working on instinct alone, Michael dove for the floor and took Fiona with him. The blast shot out over their heads, but it wasn't powerful enough to obliterate the entire bank of lockers. People ran in panic and police whistles shrilled.
"Michael, we have to get out of here before someone pinpoints us," Fiona exclaimed as she got into a crouch beside him. She asked, "Did you get it?"
"Yes," Michael answered as he opened it with caution. He plucked out the chip and stuffed it into his pocket. "It's here. Now we've got it, so let's catch a train."
"Your hand is bleeding." Fiona pointed to the torn flesh on the back. "It's bad."
"We don't have time for this. Let's go, and we can patch it up on the train." He unzipped his bag enough to pull out a piece of clothing. It was a t-shirt. "Wrap this around it, and let's move."
Fiona had enough time to make a hasty bandage, and the two got to their feet and pressed into the crowd, losing the attention of any curious onlookers. He hid his hand in his jacket pocket until they were on board a train heading to the capital city where they would catch a flight home. The cabin offered them privacy, and Fiona nursed his hand.
"It doesn't look too bad," she said. "Just a few shrapnel cuts. You're lucky none of them slashed a vein, or you'd be bleeding out or in the hospital." She finished bandaging his wounds, fighting with him to keep his hand still. "If you don't stop moving, I'll..."
"What? What will you do," Michael asked.
Her eyes flitted up to his, and she saw a hint of amusement mixed with his love for her. Trying to hide her desire to laugh and kiss him, she replied in her brogue, "I'll wrangle you until you're lyin' on the floor and I've got you pinned. You can never get out of my grip then and I'd finish this."
"That sounds like fun." He chuckled. "When we're back home, maybe you can show me how that's done."
"Are you planning on staying around for awhile?" She met his eyes with doubt in hers.
"I've got an injury that'll prevent me from being effective in the field," Michael explained. "I could be laid up for, oh, one or two weeks. And I'd need someone to care for me, I mean, it." His smile expanded. "I might even need some nice tropical air to assist in the healing process. So what do you say, Fi? You, me, a secluded island where it would be just the two of us." By the time he finished, his lips were less than an inch from hers. Her breath beat against them.
"It sounds heavenly," she responded with a whisper, and her hand slipped around the back of his neck to pull him closer. She drank him in, taking what he gave with a wildness she hadn't felt in a long time.
A voice over the PA announced that they were coming to the station, throwing cold water on the passion that reigned inside that little room. Michael groaned and ran his hand through Fiona's hair, kissing her like a desperate man. "This isn't over," he said with a gruff voice. "I just don't know if I'll be able to wait until we're in Miami to finish it."
"Anticipation makes desire burn hotter," Fiona assured him and nibbled at his earlobe, hoping there was still time to act, but the train came to a stop before they got too carried away. She sighed as if releasing a load of pressure from her system and continued. "Let's go home."
Michael's desire to be alone with Fiona was outweighed only by the anxiety he felt in regards to the chip. They'd been fooled once before, but he was confident that this time he had the right one. The markings he left on it were consistent. The question was whether it had been accessed or not. He designed it with a pass code that could only be used once. If someone tried to use it again, the information on the chip would erase itself and it would be gone before anyone could copy it. It was a dangerous tactic, but he didn't want this to fall into the hands of multiple bad guys.
Fiona sat next to him on the plane, her body snuggled up to his, and he held her to his side. She was tired and so was he, but until that chip was in the Agency offices, he wouldn't allow himself to sleep. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to, because between the pain from his hand and the stress of carrying his secret cargo, it was enough to keep him awake. The sun was rising when the airplane made its descent and landed in Miami. He tried calling Sam to see if he could pick them up at the airport, since he and Fiona took a ride from an agent when they left, but his phone wasn't in service. He tried his mom, and she wasn't answering. As a last ditch effort, he called Elsa's hotel.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Westen, Mr. Axe isn't here. I believe he is traveling."
"Traveling," Michael repeated. "Can you tell me where?"
"I'm sorry, Sir. He said it was confidential. Ms. Darabant went along with him, but that's all I know." The front desk clerk sounded nervous. "Perhaps I can put you through to Ms. Darabant's assistant."
"No, thanks. That's not necessary." He ended the call and said to Fi, "I guess it's up to us to get to the Agency on our own."
"You should have driven the Charger here," Fiona scolded him with a teasing tone.
"Are you kidding? My car got hijacked from the airport lot once. I'm not risking it again."
She laughed and shook her head. "You spies. A bunch of bitchy little girls, like Sam says."
"No insults, not if you want to spend that vacation with me." He teased as he grasped her arm and led her to a bank of yellow cabs baking in the early morning sun. "Let's go, get this over with. Then I want to take a nice hot shower and a long nap in that order before we do anything or go anywhere."
"Sounds like you've got everything worked out," she said with a smile, and she slipped an arm around him, falling into step.
The cab took them to the CIA building and Michael headed directly to his temporary office. He closed the door behind him and Fiona, made a straight line to his desk, and booted up the computer. He stuck the chip into the slot, entered the pass code, and blinked. A screen appeared with a long line of data that was a mess if anyone looked at it in its raw form. But Michael entered it into a program that decoded it, and by the time he was done, the list appeared on the screen. He smiled.
"It's here, Fi." His voice was choked with emotion. "Everything you and Sam and I were fighting to retrieve is here." He saved the file in a secure location and created a copy in his personal folders. "I'll just contact Raines to let him know, and then we're out of here."
Fiona wandered the small office while Michael made the call. With each step, tension dribbled from her body. She watched the play of excitement on Michael's face as he told Raines the good news, and it reminded her of the old days before they had so many cares and worries. He looked young again, like when they first met. The memory of those days brought a quivering in her midsection that shot out to her nerve endings. Her eyes focused on his lips, and she was done. Any plans he had after talking with his supevisor would just have to wait.
She made sure the door was locked, drew the blinds on the window beside it, and with a slow, deliberate walk she met Michael at his desk. He set the phone down and looked pleased.
"We can go now, Fi. Raines has the list and now it's up to someone else to start going through it."
"In awhile. I have something I want to take care of first." She stopped at his chair, turned it to face her, and climbed into his lap and straddled him. He tried to speak, but her lips came down hard on his, and all thoughts of conversation flew out of his mind. When she came up for air, she gasped, "Michael, I'm so glad you're home."
"Me too, Fi. Me too." The look of hunger in his eyes proved it.