The stakeout was going like any other stakeout. That is to say that anything could go wrong. The She Spies were doing surveillance on a suspected arms kingpin. The ISD had learned that the kingpin, Darius Knight, was shipping arms out through various couriers. Knight was now giving a party in honor of a famous actor, Danny Gibson, who the ISD suspected might be one of the couriers. The She Spies were to also identify any other suspected couriers.
DD was undercover as a server. Shane was lurking around both inside and outside, hopefully staying out of trouble as she tried to find out any information on the arms and the couriers. Cassie was, of course, undercover as a guest.
Duncan had equipped each of them with mics and hearing pieces as well as video and audio surveillance devices. He and their boss, Mr. Cross, kept an eye on the situation outside the property in an unmarked van.
"Has the host made his dramatic appearance yet?" Cross asked from the van.
"Not yet," Cassie looked around, "but then again he is known for waiting until his own parties are well under way before putting in an appearance."
"Just be careful. He's also known as a lady killer." Cross advised.
Cassie felt her heart jump a little at that unexpected warning. She wondered where that came from and a part of her decided to pursue it after the stakeout.
"If he latches onto you," Cross continued, "you will be stuck on his arm all night. He can be very insistent and then you won't be able to get the information."
Cassie's heart fell with his explanation. Once again Cross was being all business. "Yeah? Well I've been known to be a little lethal myself."
"Just stick to the business at hand," he reminded her.
"I think our host had finally arrived," DD interrupted as she pointed her ring camera at the arriving host.
The guests broke out in applause as he made his entrance. Darius Knight oozed rich and dangerous. His suit was made of the finest fabric and he wore several rings on his fingers, which he fingered from time to time.
"Why do all the bad guys have to be handsome?" DD sighed.
"They're not all bad guys," Cassie reminded her and immediately regretted the remark. Shane and DD were increasingly teasing her about what they perceived as an attraction between her and Cross. Cassie insisted there was nothing to it but one night she found herself waking up in a sweat after a very hot, erotic dream about her and Cross. Ever since then she hadn't been able to completely deny, at least to herself, that there was an attraction to Cross. She just couldn't be sure if he felt the same way. The man was an enigma. She had thought that he was sending her signals but she couldn’t be sure. She knew he liked to play things close to the chest and wasn’t one to wear his heart on his sleeve.
They had shared a few dates when neither of them had been able to find another date for an event on short notice…at least that’s what they told themselves. But those dates were becoming more and more frequent and Cassie wasn’t entirely displeased with that.
"Has the guest of honor showed up yet?" Cross broke Cassie's reverie.
"No. Not yet. He should be here soon," Cassie answered.
"Shane? Where are you?" Cross inquired.
"I'm in his office. With the party going on the alarms are off. I had to shake a guard or two but...piece a'cake!"
"Did you find anything?" he asked.
"Not yet," she replied.
"Cassie keep an eye on Knight." Cross-ordered her.
"I'm on it."
"Shane, see what you can dig up but do it fast and be careful," he continued. "DD keep your eyes open for the guest of honor."
Shane dug through the papers in the desk not taking the time to read them. She photographed them with her mini-camera for perusal later. She then went through the files and photographed what looked like lists and drop off places.
Cassie noticed a guard was going in that area and she alerted DD. DD immediately created a ruckus by dropping a huge tray of hors d'eurves all over the guy. He was quite angry with her and threatened to have her fired but the boss came over and took an immediate like to her so her 'job' was saved.
"Thanks DD," Shane called over the mic.
"No problem," she whispered as she wiped up the mess.
"Damn girl! I wish you were here. There is a computer here that could use your expertise."
"Well, sorry. I can't be in two places at once. Besides, you didn't want to be the hired help, remember?"
"Ya got that right."
"Shane just patch in our mini-cam to the computer," Duncan interrupted.
"What? Where?" Shane asked dumbfounded.
"At the back. There should be a slot for the camera to patch into. I can download the hard drive from there," Duncan explained.
"What? I didn't know you could do that with one of these things," Shane exclaimed as she looked the camera over all the while the image it was capturing, Shane's face up close and personal, was being transmitted to the van.
"Shane just do as he asks," Cross interrupted her investigation of the camera.
"Yes sir!"
"I think our guest of honor has finally arrived," Cassie announced as her ring camera took in the site of Darius Knight welcoming and announcing the arrival of Danny Gibson on the arm of his beautiful date.
"Oh my God! He's even more beautiful in person," DD exclaimed.
Cross sat there stunned for a moment. He hadn't heard DD's gush about the entrance of the actor. All he could do was stare at the beautiful woman on his arm. He couldn't believe his eyes. He felt like he couldn't breathe.
Duncan noticed the reaction of his boss. He hadn't ever thought of his boss being starstruck but now...he looked starstruck.
"Cassie zoom in on the woman with Gibson," Cross ordered her, his voice tense.
"The woman?" Cassie wondered aloud.
"Just do it."
"Whatever you say." Cassie did as she was ordered. She wondered why she wasn't paying more attention to Knight who had moved away to talk to some other, shady looking characters.
Cross watched intently as the camera zoomed in on the face of the beautiful blond woman who had arrived with the movie star Danny Gibson. As the camera zoomed in Cross's expression became more and more intense. Finally, and unknowingly, he gasped as he exclaimed "Oh my God!" He ran out of the van gasping for air.
Duncan sat there stunned. He hadn't noticed Cross's weird reaction. He was paying too much attention to what was going on. "Uh...guys? I think something's wrong with Mr. Cross...."
"What do you mean, Duncan?" Cassie asked, her voice tense.
"I mean I think something's wrong. He just ran out of here--"
DD and Cassie shared a concerned look across the room. Shane asked what the heck was going on.
Just then Cross returned to the van, looking as composed as ever.
"Uh...never mind," Duncan continued, "he's back."
"Cassie, DD? I need you to keep an eye on that woman that came in with Danny Gibson," Cross said as he took his seat in the van.
"What? Why?" Cassie asked, exasperated. "Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Darius Knight our mark. Aren't we supposed to be following him?"
"Shane? How are you doing in the office?" Cross asked, completely ignoring Cassie's question.
"Good. Duncan says the computer files are all copied. Now I just got to get the hell out of here," Shane replied.
"Who is this woman, Cross? Why is she so important?" Cassie asked.
"Just do as I say," Cross ordered her, his tone dry and hard.
"Fine," Cassie grumbled. She met up with DD and the two of them followed the woman into another room where she met up with Gibson who stood with Knight. She leaned in and whispered something to him and he nodded his head.
Cross sat in his seat watching the exchange. His face grew serious and his mind wandered.
"The woman and Gibson are leaving," DD announced. "He had gone off with Knight and they were gone for quite a while. Do you think that he could be connected to this courier thing?" A second later she added, "I hope not."
"Follow them," Cross ordered.
Cassie and DD shared another confused look but did as they were told. They headed outside and headed for their car when Shane announced that their suspect was meeting with another shady character in the office. This could be the courier.
"What do we do?" DD asked.
"I don't know," Cassie answered. "Cross?"
Cross thought about it, his mind still on the woman. "Back up Shane," he answered finally. His head hung in apparent defeat. The woman was getting away. He had no hope of answers now.
Shane was able to get off a picture of a man meeting with Darius Knight. Duncan ran the picture through the ISD computer and a positive ID was made. The man was Marcus Tillson, an international businessman who made frequent trips to Saudi Arabia. That was a major destination for the arms shipments. A guard spotted Shane before she could get any audio. The guard chased her and Cassie and DD came to her rescue. They got out by the skin of their teeth and headed back to ISD for debriefing.
The She Spies all noticed that Cross seemed distracted during the debriefing. Cassie wondered if it had anything to do with the woman he wanted them to follow but Cross avoided any attempts to steer the subject in that direction. In fact, he cut them off rather briskly.
The next day the She Spies came into the ISD offices for further instructions on their assignment. Cross had called them in but when they got there he was locked away in his office with instructions for him not to be disturbed.
Duncan said that Cross was in a rather strange mood. He came in and went directly to his office and had been there ever since. Granted, Mr. Cross was not one for small talk or water cooler gossip but still...after months heading up the She Spies program he had displayed some camaraderie with the employees under him.
"What do you think it is?" DD asked.
"I think it has to do with that woman he wanted us to follow," Cassie answered, her tone measured. She didn't want it to betray how she was feeling inside. The truth was she didn't know how she was feeling inside.
"Maybe we should find out more about her?" DD suggested.
"Cross may not like us digging into something he doesn't want us digging into," Shane reminded them. "On second thought...he did ask us to follow her during our mission so maybe it has to do with the case?"
"I get the feeling it's a little more personal than that," Cassie answered.
"He was very affected by the sight of her," Duncan joined in the conversation. "But I'm with Shane. Mr. Cross may not like you digging into--"
"Ladies, can you come in here?" Cross called as he opened the door to his office.
The women and Duncan all looked at each other and then the women entered Mr. Cross's office.
"First of all, ladies, I don't know if I made this clear yesterday but...good job yesterday," he said looking at them uncomfortably.
"Uh...thanks," Cassie answered.
"You are to continue the mission using the information Shane retrieved off the computer. As well, you are to conduct surveillance on Marcus Tillson, see where he goes, who he meets, see if you can ascertain the date and mode of shipment for the arms and any exchange of monies between Tillson and Knight."
"Great. We'll get right on it," Cassie smiled. They all turned and headed for the door. Cross seemed to back to his old self.
"There is one other thing...." He caught them before they left.
They all turned around and looked at him.
"I'm taking a leave of absence for a few days...."
They all stared at him in shock.
"You will be reporting to Agent Cranston. He should be here any minute."
"What?" the She Spies all said at once.
"Agent Cranston is very good. I know that I can count on you to all be very cooperative with him in every way, right ladies?"
"Why? Where are you going?" DD asked the question on everyone's mind.
"I'm sure you can understand my need for privacy." He looked at them.
"Is it something we can help with?" Shane asked.
"No."
"Will you come back?" Cassie asked, betraying her emotions.
"That's the plan," he said. "But plans change."
"Well, if you're sure we can't be of any help...." Cassie rubbed her hands together as she turned towards the door. "But if you need us you know where to find us." She smiled.
Cross smiled weakly. "I do."
As the girls were about to leave there was a knock on the door. The door opened and Cross smiled.
"Ladies, this is Agent Cranston." Cross came over to make introductions. "Lyle, this is Shane Phillips, DD Cummings, and Cassie McBain, the She Spies."
"Pleased to meet you. Agent Cross has told me all about you. I hope that our working relationship will be as amicable as yours and Agent Cross's." he smiled.
"Just don't try to make us do things strictly by the book and we'll get along fine," Cassie smiled.
"What Cassie means is; they know the rules and will abide by them." Cross looked directly at Cassie. "Isn't that right Cassie?"
Cassie rolled her eyes.
Cross shook his head and smiled, despite himself. Then he gathered up his briefcase and closed down his computer. He passed the women as he they stood in his office sizing up Agent Cranston. He paused in the doorway. "Ladies...I'll see you in a few weeks and go easy on Agent Cranston. He's a friend of mine."
"Bye," DD called behind him as he left.
The women walked out of the office and watched as Mr. Cross left without another glance back.
"Ladies," Cranston called from his temporary office, "I'd like to go over the case with you, if you please?"
"Uh...sure," Cassie answered. "Just give us a few minutes."
Cranston nodded that would be fine as he walked back into Cross's office.
"DD? Can you hack into Cross's computer from here?" Cassie whispered.
"What? Why?" Although she could tell what Cassie was thinking. "Yeah, I think I can," she said as she sat down at the computer. She began typing and a few minutes later the newest file came up on DD's computer. "Here it is," she announced as the file came up on the screen.
Shane and Cassie crowded around the computer.
"I knew it. I had to do with that woman," Cassie grumbled.
"Whoa! Careful Cassie...the little green eyed monster is starting to show his ugly little head there," Shane teased.
"I'm not jealous," Cassie insisted. "I'm just ticked off that in the middle of a mission Cross handed us off to some third rate Agent without even consulting us. That's all."
"Riiiight," Shane and DD said in unison. Then, they turned their attention back to the computer screen.
"Caitlin Dunne. She's the head of a home security company in London that caters to the rich and beautiful. Not much else to go on," DD announced.
"Any information on what she's doing in LA or with that actor Danny Gibson?" Cassie asked.
"No. Not much information at all," DD answered. "Maybe that's why Cross left...to find out more."
"Maybe," Cassie mused, her thoughts traveling to a far off place or maybe not far off. Maybe just as far as Mr. Cross.
"Ladies please," Agent Cranston called from the office as he tapped his watch.
"Oh this is going to be fun," Shane grumbled, as the other's eyebrows lifted in agreement.
Caitlin Dunne entered her hotel suite. It was late at night and she was tired. She didn't bother turning the entryway light on because the only thing she was going to do was get undressed, take a shower, and crawl into bed. That was the plan anyway until she was grabbed from behind.
The strong hand and arm wrapped around her, closing over her mouth. The hand was gloved. The arm was wrapped around her chest.
Caitlin struggled against her assailant. She planted her feet squarely on the floor and lifted her attacker up and over her. The man fell to the floor with a thud. As she tried to move away he grabbed her ankle and she fell to the ground. In an instant, he was on top of her, straddling her. Caitlin wriggled and when she saw bare skin on the wrist she reached up and bit into the hairy arm, hard.
"Ow! Jesus Caitlin!"
Caitlin stopped struggling when she heard her name. The voice...the voice of her attacker was somehow familiar...but how could it be?
"Caitlin?"
The voice came again, familiar and with it memories and pain. It couldn't be!
"Caitlin?"
"No. Noooo," Caitlin cried. "It can't be! Nooo!"
"It's me, sweetie. It's me," he said, his voice near her ear. He was so close she could smell his familiar scent. "Promise me you won't move while I turn on the light?"
Caitlin didn't move or say a word. He wasn't even sure if she had heard him.
He moved off of her and turned on the light. She lay still on the floor, her hand at her head as tears came to her eyes. He moved and knelt down beside her.
"Caitlin. Open your eyes."
Still she didn't move. He reached down and took hold of her hand covering her eyes. She opened them slowly and looked up into the familiar eyes of her attacker.
"Que...Quentin?" she whispered.