Into Danger Part 19

Tess smiled. "Definitely." She clasped her hands on the table as she considered the admiral and the other two men. "I wonder whether you understand how big it is."

The admiral lifted a hand, a casual gesture of surrender. "No, no verbal challenges with you today, Tess. I need this as clear-cut as possible for my two men here. They're in charge of the projects at NRL, as you can see, and certainly have a great interest in the missing laptop."

"This is not my a.s.signment. I defer to Miss Maxwell."

Marlena looked at Tess with a start. She? Answer questions? No way. "The laptop was stolen. I retrieved it, that's all." And she was sticking to that story.

Admiral Madison studied Marlena for a moment. "My man Steve McMillan isn't after the laptop, Miss Maxwell. In fact we didn't know anything about your a.s.signment until yesterday. When I transferred him to TIARA I wanted him to report its activities back to me because of information leaks that were obviously coming from there. The CIA has a major rat infestation, and since my group depends on TIARA for certain intel, I'm putting a lot of my men's lives in jeopardy every time I rely on that information. Your appearance became one of those leaks, as you can see. Your file seemed to have ended up too easily in the hands of William Cunningham, don't you think?"

"Who happened to work at NRL," Marlena pointed out. "How do you know the main leak isn't from the research lab itself?"

"I, too, thought William Cunningham was the main NRL link," Steve said, looking thoughtfully at the admiral. "Since he's dead, that's a dead end. We need the others working for him. There is at least one at TIARA who somehow got hold of what I gave to Harden."

The admiral nodded. "That's right. Without those names, we'll always have those bad apples working inside, selling our secrets. It's too bad Cunningham got himself killed, although I understand that he meant to have Miss Maxwell get rid of you, McMillan."

"I'm still here, sir."

Marlena saw a tiny lift of the older man's lips, as if he found something that amused him. She couldn't help chiming in, "He was really in the way. I'd have made sure Cunningham stayed alive."

"You were after the laptop," Steve said, "You didn't see Dankin coming after you, so how could you have taken care of Cunningham? I had to prevent him from hurting you."

"You think that big bruiser could have gotten me in the dark? Besides, since you were there, I figured you needed something to do."

"You took a big risk turning your back to Dankin. How did you know my hands were free? I could have been too late."

Marlena was beginning to recognize that low tone in Steve's voice. It signaled the beginning of his temper. She smiled at him a little snidely. "Then you would have had two dead bodies, Cunningham's and mine."

His dark eyes glittered back. "Three. Dankin would be dead." He emphasized each word.

"As you can tell, Jack, these two work really well together, don't you agree?" chimed in Tess, amused.

"Yes," replied the admiral, equally amused.

"We weren't working together," Marlena told them. "This one time just happened."

"Nonetheless, it shows how crossed paths could have deadly results." Admiral Madison's expression turned grave. His direct gaze was compelling. Marlena found herself unable to pull away as he added, "There could have been some deadly mistakes in this comedy of errors. Cunningham saw a file that was supposed to be cla.s.sified. He had an advantage over you. Whatever you did, he would always have that advantage over you. His mistake was letting you find out that he knew about your background."

He had a point. "There's always a risk in my kind of job," Marlena defended. "In such a situation, I've been trained to find a weakness and try to work with it. Cunningham liked to boast, and it was therefore easy to make him give me the information I needed. I'm aware of the percentages and probabilities of getting out of trouble."

"I'm not questioning your methods or your training, Miss Maxwell," the admiral said. His blue eyes smiled at her, even though his demeanor remained serious. "I'm not here to argue with you over how you would handle any a.s.signment. What I want is to make sure you understand that the leaks coming out of TIARA can hurt both your agency and my own teams. Yesterday I told Tess I needed her help, but she said she isn't the one to ask. I'm now asking you."

Taken by surprise, Marlena leaned back against the hard leather chair. She never liked working with more than one person, and this team stuff meant having to give up a lot of the favorite things in her job-total control and freedom. But a lot of lives were at stake here, and she didn't want to be responsible for that.

"It isn't going to take long," Admiral Madison continued, pus.h.i.+ng his argument in that persuasive voice. "You see, you have the connections, with du Scheum, with lots of people. You also have the laptop and whatever your a.s.signment is. I'm sure there's a way to lure the traitors out that would benefit us both. I need you in a team to get the leaks, Miss Maxwell. Without catching the culprits, I can't trust my own information."

"What about Captain Douglas and Dr. Cafferty?" asked Marlena. "Are they going to be part of this team?"

The admiral nodded. He indicated Captain Douglas sitting on his right. "As commanding officer, the captain works with the director of research, Dr. Cafferty. He takes care of the military aspects, whereas Dr. Cafferty takes care of the civilian side of things. I trust them both implicitly. The three of us have known about certain leaks from TIARA through another project last year, and I sent my man there to find out how TIARA dissects intel."

"You sent Steve," Marlena gave voice to her thought.

"Yes. Then you became part of TIARA's intel a.s.signment because of...well, your reputation." She noticed the admiral didn't want to reveal too much about her. That added to her respect for him, how he was aware that not everything needed to be spelled out. Too much information could jeopardize any mission.

"So TIARA sent Steve after me," murmured Marlena, giving Steve a sideways look. He was sitting there listening intently, as if hearing all this for the first time. As she had many times before, she noted the way he seemed to bide his time, weighing everything around him before reacting. Must be why he was chosen for this a.s.signment.

She remembered he had slept with her that first time still suspecting her of being a criminal. Then he had turned her in the next day, just like a good boy, and had gone on to get information about her. After that he had left her. After all, he had completed his a.s.signment. It p.i.s.sed her off all over again.

"And he's still going to be after you, if you agree with the plan."

"Does he know what this wonderful plan is?" she asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Perhaps he's already working on it?"

Steve shot her a look that told her he heard all her quiet accusations, but in the presence of his superior, she supposed he had to curb his language. "Harden took me off the case, so you can stop what you're thinking right now. I wasn't after you then."

"Oh, I can tell what you were after." She wanted him to admit that she was more than an a.s.signment. The only way she knew how to get him to do that was to provoke him.

"I just know you're trying to make an excuse not to work with me," Steve growled back.

"Jack," Tess broke in, leaning forward to pick up her cup of coffee, "did I also mention that they can read each other's minds frequently?"

The admiral broke the tension with a quiet chuckle. Even the other two men were trying not to look too amused. Marlena took a deep breath and picked up her cup. She had no idea why she was so out of control with her emotions. What was wrong with her?

Tess gave a loud sigh. "Maybe I can step in. Marlena can do her a.s.signment, and I'll work another angle with Stash."

Before she could stop herself, Marlena sat up straighter and tossed Tess a warning glare. "You said you have important work in New York," she reminded her tightly.

Tess smiled. "Oh good. I was afraid I'd have to be delayed. I take it you can handle everything without my working with Stash then?"

Marlena could see no way out of it. Of course she wasn't going to let Steve anywhere near T. T. was on the rebound from heartbreak, was probably looking for a man to comfort her, and Steve was...well, Steve wasn't going to be available. She nodded briskly, looking around the table at the expectant faces. "Let's hear the plan."

Chapter Seventeen.

S teve was glad when the admiral asked to see him alone for a few minutes. He had some unanswered questions still. He got up to follow the older man while the others continued strategizing in the conference room. Before leaving the table, he caught Marlena's hand and gave it a squeeze. She was frowning at Captain Douglas. Steve could see teamwork was going to be hard for his mermaid, who had swum alone for so long.

"Don't kill anyone till I get back," he said, just needing to connect with her. She was still trying to get away from him.

"I'll be waiting," she returned in a sweet voice.

Steve grinned. The admiral was talking on the phone in the smaller office. It was obviously not his because pictures of Hector Douglas and, presumably, his family adorned a whole corner of the oak desk. Jack Madison rang off and sank down into the old leather chair, which creaked a little. Steve stood at attention.

"At ease and sit down, McMillan."

"Yes, sir."

There was a pause as the admiral studied him for a few seconds. Then he canted a brow. "Stash?" he asked.

d.a.m.n. He could feel embarra.s.sed heat rising in his cheeks. d.a.m.n it. "It's just a nickname, sir," Steve explained stiffly. He certainly wasn't going to divulge the details on how he'd gotten it.

"But that does mean you have cultivated a certain friends.h.i.+p with Miss Maxwell, am I right? And I'm not talking about just as an a.s.signment for Task Force Two, McMillan."

Steve hesitated. To admit that he had become close to an a.s.signment could be bad for his evaluation in the future. On the other hand, the admiral demanded and deserved total honesty. "Yes, sir."

The admiral's blue eyes had that piercing quality that made Steve feel the man could see right through him. Knowing that the admiral was thinking about his reputation with women, he felt the need to explain his "relations.h.i.+p" with Marlena, but it wasn't a topic of conversation he cared to bring up with his superior.

To his relief, the admiral didn't wait for any further details. "You've done well at TIARA this last year, McMillan, although I know you're uncomfortable being civvies for so long. Missing the weight of your weapons, I suppose?"

Back on familiar territory, Steve relaxed a little. "It hasn't been an easy adjustment, sir, but I've found my new job educational."

"But you wish it to be more action-oriented, like on our teams," the admiral observed.

"Yes." Steve didn't see any reason not to admit that he preferred life out in the wild.

"Then let me ask you another personal question, McMillan. If you return to your old station, with your old team, this friends.h.i.+p you have cultivated with Miss Maxwell-do you have plans?"

Steve hadn't been prepared for the sudden change of subject again, and he looked up sharply. Of course he had thought about it. But that had nothing to do with anyone but Marlena and him. Rather than sounding defensive, he decided to go about it another way. "Sir, do you have something in mind that has to do with my present position at TIARA, which has been terminated, by the way, and my friends.h.i.+p with Miss Maxwell?"

Admiral Madison smiled his approval. The leather chair creaked again as he s.h.i.+fted his weight. "Do you know why I chose you for the transfer instead of any of the others?"

"The question has crossed my mind several times, sir. I hope it isn't because I was deficient at my old job."

"If you were, you would know it. I don't beat around the bush when it comes to the business of warfare. McMillan, I needed someone working at TIARA who had your qualities as a point man, able to pick out details usually missed by others. Able to focus on the hidden as well as the obvious. I want to find this rat."

"Sir, if you had told me what your objective was before the transfer, I would have looked for the leak sooner."

"No. I wanted you to start exactly on square one. If you were looking, you would be suspicious of everything being done there and you wouldn't have been comfortable making friends or decisions in any of TIARA's missions. Right now I can ask you questions about individuals working there and you can give me honest evaluations. I can quiz you on the operations of TIARA procedure and your a.n.a.lysis would be fair and correct."

Put that way, it made sense. "Is it correct then, sir, to a.s.sume that you want me to profile some of the people I worked with?"

"Yes, and there will be no guilt attached to your a.n.a.lyses now, will there, since you haven't been spying on them for me?"

Steve nodded. The lessons he learned from the admiral were invaluable. This one taught him to understand that one couldn't find a rat by sending in a rat. If he had gone in there behaving and acting like one, he would have failed. As it was, those who had treated him with wary suspicion now stood out-was it just simple antagonism, or was it more than that?

"You're an excellent soldier, McMillan, a true example of a navy SEAL. You excel at sea, in air, on land. You can return to the teams and have a career, or as I see it, you can excel further, learn the intel part of covert warfare and become an expert in all phases. It's your choice."

There was a short silence as Steve digested the admiral's words. He frowned at the implication, not sure what to expect. Admiral Madison tapped on the table with two fingers as he continued, "Every soldier needs that extra dash of gung-ho macho spirit. Every warrior needs that instinct to help him survive between civilized and uncivilized moments. But we also need the steadfast ones who can be trained to use both instinct and intellect at the same time, to dissect information and act on it. I picked you because as a point man in one of my teams, you had the experience to rely on your instincts to pick up what is hidden, and to trust your guts over instructions. Also, your reports of your intel work these last months have proven that you have the capabilities to dissect the kind of information that would have made most SEAL operatives suicidal." The admiral grinned suddenly, looking younger than his fifty-odd years, and added, "And you're certainly very alive, especially around Miss Maxwell."

Steve's backache had become a slow, nagging thud. The scratch on his face itched. His left hand felt as if it was longer than his right hand. He had had a very lively night.

"Yes, sir," Steve agreed ruefully, rubbing his neck and fingering another scratch back there. His superior's blue eyes twinkled back at him. "Thank you for your confidence in my abilities, sir. I don't know what else to say. Actually, I'm not sure exactly what you're saying. You want me to go into intel work for you?"

Admiral Madison nodded. "But not at TIARA. I've learned from our current situation that we need a liaison between different agencies so we don't waste time and manpower hunting each other down. If we are sharing a liaison, there is one open channel."

"You mean, you want me as a liaison between you and GEM?"

"Between you and GEM, and especially GEM's major employer."

"Which is, sir?"

The admiral c.o.c.ked his head to one side. "Only a liaison would know such cla.s.sified information, McMillan."

"I see, sir."

"I've discussed this with Tess, and her profile of you for this position is at eighty-five percent success. That's pretty high, according to her."

Eighty-five percent? They had been talking about him working as a...what? Liaison. He'd better brush up his French. He had never quite gone beyond French kissing. "You seemed to be very confident with her a.n.a.lysis, sir."

"But of course. I've used Tess's genius often enough to know."

"And she profiles people." Steve was getting more and more intrigued by all these outside contractors. What exactly did they do?

"Let's just say she messes with their minds."

"Is that a job?"

"For certain agencies, yes. She is also excellent at divulging information, or haven't you noticed?" Admiral Madison arched his eyebrows inquiringly. "GEM operatives have certain talents. Your Miss Maxwell, for example, is very good at calculations."

"Probabilities and possibilities." Steve had heard Marlena use variations of those words when she was discussing work with Tess.

"Yes. Think about this proposal. You have seen what their a.s.signments are like. They retrieve whereas we target our enemies. With a liaison, I would be able to double-check our targets, have my blind spot covered. You will be responsible for eliminating our SEAL team blind spot, Steve."

Steve hadn't expected this from the admiral. He had thought he would get answers this afternoon, not a whole plan for his future. Suddenly he felt he understood all about probabilities and possibilities.

"I will certainly give it some consideration, sir."

"The pay is better than what the military pays you. I know you have a sick sister with enormous medical expenses. This will certainly be a big help." The admiral smiled. "Besides, Stash McMillan has a nice buccaneer ring to it, as Tess says."

Marlena munched on her fries, barely tasting them. She wasn't used to sharing information. It wasn't done in her profession. The probabilities of betrayal went up with more people involved. Right now she had to worry about her back as well as all sides, and it wasn't a comfortable feeling. Tess being there gave a certain a.s.surance, but she still didn't have to like it.

She knew, however, that the admiral and Tess were right in their a.s.sessment. It made sense to share information and manpower in this one operation, to get the traitor in TIARA out of the way, or risk more lives in future operations. Their mutual enemy was in the way of their respective a.s.signments. But it was difficult to have to be accounted for all the time.

"Are you going to brood all day about it?" Tess asked from across the dining table. "I need to get back to New York soon, so if you can't handle it, say so now."

Marlena scowled. "I can handle it." She pushed her fries away. "I'm still puzzled by this liaison stuff, that's all." Tess had outlined to her a position created as a bridge between agencies.

"Why, do you think Stash can't handle it?"

"Steve," Marlena automatically corrected, eyes challenging.

Tess smiled. "He's only yours if you take him." She bit into a custard cupcake. "I can always use a good man like...Steve." She finished the name, dragging out the S teasingly.

Marlena sniffed. "You're not going to corner me into another catfight. I'm still trying to figure out why you're doing this. I know it's more than the liaison angle."