Brenda Leigh went to bed that night not really knowing what was coming next. Tossing and turning all night she finally made herself get out of bed to try and prepare herself...prepare her mind. Being CIA again was a mind game. She packed a purple medium sized rolling suitcase with her essentials. She would dress the part once she learned what the part was.
The four and a half hour drive across the desert was tedious. But it gave Brenda a chance to think. To think about the people she had met. To think about the mistakes she'd made. To think about the damage she'd caused everyone she encountered.
A very specific brunette came to the front of her mind. Brenda's wide mouth curved upwards at the corners into a soft smile. She didn't know why Sharon Raydor affected her the way that she did. But she did. She got under her skin like no one else ever had.
Brenda remembered the time a few years ago when she walked up to Sharon Raydor's front door.
The light knocking on the front door was barely loud enough for Sharon to hear from her bedroom. Squinting at the glowing blue numbers on the clock on the nightstand, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her green robe. The knocking continued as Sharon pulled open the nightstand drawer and brought out her handgun.
She padded into the front entryway and peered out the peephole to the front steps. It took two looks before she believed what she was seeing was actually what was there.
Unlocking the two deadbolts Sharon pulled the wooden door open.
"What the hell are you doing here, Chief? It's 1:30 in the morning."
But Brenda didn't respond. She gently pushed her way into Sharon's home.
Sharon closed the door and watched Brenda pacing her entry hall. The blonde was rapidly blinking and her shoulders pulled up high with tension. She gently guided Brenda into the living room and encouraged her to sit on the deep red sofa.
Brenda still hadn't said a word as she flopped down onto the couch. It took a few moments before Brenda noticed her standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and the short green satin robe showing off her toned long legs. She had to admit—Sharon Raydor was a beautiful woman. Brenda swallowed. Resting her head in her hands she tried to get that image out of her head. This wasn't the time.
And with a silent turn Sharon Raydor walked out of the room. Something must really be upsetting Brenda Leigh if Captain Raydor was the only person she could turn to.
A few minutes later Sharon returned with two glasses of wine. It was the middle of the night but something told her that Brenda needed this. She sat down next to the chief and offered one of the crystal glasses to her.
With the slightest of brushes, their fingers grazed each other as Brenda grasped the much needed wine. Sharon blinked at the contact. Why was this happening now? She'd pushed any feelings she'd had for Brenda Leigh away a long time ago.
Brenda took a generous sip of the wine and finally relaxed a bit.
"So…" Captain Raydor finally broke the silence.
Brenda took another sip and set the glass down on the table in front of her. She scratched her head and cringed. It finally hit her that she had shown up on Captain Sharon Raydor's doorstep at 1:30 in the morning. It was still hard for her to grasp that they were friends even if no one else knew that. They kept it to themselves because they didn't want to compromise their working relationship or cause any strife amongst their departments. You'd think they were hiding some big romance…
With that thought Brenda picked up her wine again and drained the rest of the more than half full glass. Sharon's eyes widened behind her black-rimmed glasses.
"Fritz left me." Brenda squeaked out before collapsing into her own lap.
Sharon didn't know what to say. She placed a consoling hand on Brenda's back. By the shaking she felt from Brenda's back she knew the blonde was crying…silently sobbing. She knew from her own experience that a spouse leaving was hard. She sympathized with the Chief.
"Maybe…" Sharon attempted to tell her maybe he was just upset and would be back.
"No, he's gone. For good. He made that quite clear." Brenda sat up and wiped her cheeks with her hands. Fritz had been her anchor. Now what would she do?
The Las Vegas skyline breaking over the horizon broke her memory. Driving up to the Wynn VIP entrance, Brenda Leigh exited her car and smiled as the concierge took her luggage and guided her to the check-in.
Making her way to the 28th floor to her suite, her heart nearly beat out of her chest. Before unlocking the door with her keycard, she took a calming, deep breath. This was it. She was back in the game. She suddenly felt exhilarated. Perhaps this was just what she needed.
The salon suite was huge and overlooked the north end of the Strip. Pressing the button to open the blinds revealing the floor to ceiling picture windows, Brenda gasped and stumbled back at the sight of the man sitting in the plush white side chair.
"Stuart! Dammit, you scared the tar out of me." Her hand pressed against her heaving chest.
She hadn't seen her CIA liaison in over 15 years but despite his greying hair, he hadn't changed much. He still had that boyish charm that got him anything he wanted but also made him forgettable just the same. A perfect combination for the CIA.
This wasn't a social visit and he got right down to it.
"We need you to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring that's been operating domestically as well as in Europe and Africa. The details of your identity are in this envelope." He tossed a legal sized manila envelope across the coffee table to her. But she didn't reach for it. That envelope contained her new identity. Her new life.
He continued. "You'll sink right back in, Brenda Leigh. It's like riding a bike."
"Or falling off one." Even she couldn't laugh at her nervous joke.
He further explained the job to her. The diamond smugglers were using modern day slave traders to smuggle the diamonds out of Africa then they would have the slaves murdered. Once the diamonds had been secured in Belgium, another set of handlers would get them to sellers in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Rome. It was a big and deadly operation. But through the little intelligence that they could gather, it was all run by one person. They couldn't get in far enough to ID him. That's where she came in.
In her day, she had been the CIA's top infiltration spy. And he had no doubt that she could do it again.
"It's dangerous. Very dangerous." He paused. "But that's what you like, right, Brenda Leigh?" He shot her a familiar smile.
A short time later he left her to the solitude of the suite with just the unopened envelope before her. She knew once she opened it there was no going back. Brenda Leigh would be no more.
A pang of sorrow hit her stomach. Rummaging to the bottom of her large purse she pulled her cell phone out and typed a text message.
I wish I had realized it before but…you were the best friend I ever had. I'll miss you.