All In (13 page)

13

A GLASS SMASHED
against the wall, then another and another. Robert Smith had demolished his entire kitchen, his one set of dishware, his old appliances, and the one vase he kept for special occasions in his dimly lit flat on Capitol Hill. They had killed Gabriella. His love. His life. He roared with pain and threw his last remaining mug at the hall mirror, breaking them both into a million pieces. He would find who had done this. He would find them, and they would pay with their lives. And when he was done with them, everyone else would pay, too. Everyone who had in any way contributed to Gabriella’s death. He would kill them, he would kill their families, he would set their houses on fire. Robert Smith had always been like a pot set to low boil, but now the flame was on high, and he was ready to show the world his power. He would not rest until his was the name on every person’s lips, until he was known as the one who set fire to the earth. He would do it for love. He would do it all for Gabriella. He threw some belongings in a bag, as well as several passports from different countries with different identities. Then he took out a suitcase that held his weapons and threw on a disguise; he always traveled concealed as a British businessman, equipped with a comb-over, glasses, and bad teeth that a dentist friend had made especially for him.

He left without locking the door. No one knew where he lived. He’d made sure of that. And he’d never need to return. He could run his department at the CIA from any location on the globe. He closed the door and left, hailing a cab and heading for Dulles International Airport. He was off to Italy to wipe out what remained of the Marconi crime family. That’s where he would begin. And he wouldn’t stop until he had wrought havoc and destruction the likes of which the world had never seen.

‡‡‡

LISA BEE AND AJ
had landed at Dulles at around eight
A.M.
; Jackson got in at two
P.M.
By three they had joined Susannah, Chas, Rafael, Fritz, the Boss, and Janice at Quantico and were being treated to an intelligence briefing that included various accolades and very expensive champagne. They would be honored at a formal ceremony next week, but for now they were treated to a toast. Though no one had slept much over the last few days, they all bore the signs of great relief, and though they had dark circles under their eyes, their hearts had lightened. In addition, Janice and Fritz had revealed their childhood friendship and working relationship to all, and they were grateful to have that out in the open.

Despite the festivities, everyone present was still reeling from Gabriella’s death and Buzz’s betrayal; and individually they all had some personal frustrations. But for the moment, they were content. All this was behind them. They had, completely unintentionally, stumbled upon sensitive information; for a time it had felt like the fate of the world was on their shoulders. But now they could go back to what they had been; they could dial it down a notch; they could fight white-collar crime under the auspices of the FBI both here and abroad; they could work individually and as a team; they could go back to a world they knew. And they could continue to try to make that world a bit safer.

Fritz stood wearily and raised her champagne glass in a toast. “To the Bod Squad,” she said triumphantly. “I admit I was a bit skeptical. You’ve all been excellent agents but in a whole different arena. And this wasn’t what I thought you were best at. But you’ve proved me wrong. You have unearthed some of the most sensitive intelligence information our office has ever received, and you got it to us in time to do something about it. This could have been a crisis of epic proportions. Instead, it will become the instigation for us to continue to tighten our security and keep America and the world safe. This one’s for you, gang. Let’s all raise a glass to the Bod Squad!”

They lifted their drinks in a toast, all except Susannah, who kept her glass down. Chas stood by her side, holding her hand, aware of how conflicted she must feel about her father’s involvement. But the toast was for some important work done by all, so he raised a glass for them both. One by one everyone linked eyes, clinked glasses, and took a long deep drink.

“Thank you, Fritz, for everything,” Bossman said. “I’m thrilled to have finally met you face-to-face. You’ve trusted me with important assignments, but this was the first time I felt I brought something truly vital to you. I hope we can continue to work together in whatever way you feel my company is most useful.” He turned to his crew. “To the Bod Squad: I have always appreciated your work. But now I admire each and every one of you as people and as agents. Even you, Jackson.” He laughed and lifted his glass. Then he turned serious. “Sorry. I mean
especially
you, Jackson. We all like to joke at each other’s expense, and I use you as a foil most of all. But you’ve done some outstanding work here. We need to raise a glass to the kind of undercover agent we all aspire to be. To Jackson!” Everyone echoed with a toast and cheers.

Jackson stood up, looking touched and proud. “Thanks, Bossman. I’m honored that you feel that way. I was just doing my job the best way I knew how, and I’m sure glad we made some headway with a complicated situation that Mahmoud and I have been trying to decipher for years. Mahmoud and I got the info we needed. The Bod Squad hunted down a criminal mastermind and managed to beat him at his own game. We found Buzz Carter. We incarcerated him. But we failed to find his contact inside the government and the key players of his network in Morocco and abroad. So I’m real proud of the work we’ve done, but I know it leaves room for more. Though I’m itching to close this case, we’re not there yet.

“And there’s something else I gotta say.” Jackson turned to Lisa Bee and held her gaze as he continued. “I think I’ve done you all wrong by convincing you I was someone I’m not. Bee, I did you the worst turn of all. First off, I managed to convince you for years that I was a first-class player, that all I was about was screwing lots of women. I did some of that, but a whole lot of it was talk. Part of it was keeping a certain cover of being a guy with his head up his ass, sure. That was a good cover for me, and a way for me to operate in a whole other way here than I did in Morocco. But part of it was that I was scared, and I’m not proud of that. Bee, it’s been a long time that I’ve had my eye on you, and I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. Now that our romance has begun, I wish it had started years ago. You see, I was scared you wouldn’t want me. Scared of how real this could be. And that fear turned me into a coward. Forgive me for that, Bee.”

Lisa Bee looked around, uncomfortable. She smoothed her curly bright red hair and shifted in her seat. “Jackie, I’d like to talk about all this, but privately. I mean, I don’t think anyone really needs to hear about—”

“But perhaps we’d like to,” Fritz said, standing up and walking over to a locked credenza. Using a passkey, a code, and a fingerprint scan, she opened it, revealing a fully stocked bar. She reached a hand in to remove the Jack Daniel’s. “I believe, Jackson, you refer to this as Jackie D? Your drink of choice, yes?”

Jackson, openmouthed, managed to nod his assent. Fritz went on. “You don’t mind if we crack open the real stuff, do you, John?” she asked the Boss. “I think we need something a bit stronger than champagne. And frankly, after all that’s gone on here, I think we could use a good love story. I know I could. So shall we do a shot and let Jackson have his moment? I mean, really, gang. We just saved the world a whole bunch of heartache. Fuck protocol, right?”

“Aye-aye, Cap’n,” said the Boss. “I think we could use a stiff one.”

“Indeed,” echoed Janice, still a bit woozy from the sleeping pills. “I haven’t had this much liquor and drugs since the late seventies. I guess that’s what happens when your husband fakes his own death and then tries to blow up your country. I’m in.”

“Well, then,” Fritz exclaimed, “we’ll do it like my rookie days in Quantico. Whenever we finished a tough series of training exercises, we’d drink straight from the bottle. Usually, the stuff we’d drink was just to the left of lighter fluid. This is a step up, at the very least.” They passed the bottle around so everyone could take a swig, then they turned expectantly to let Jackson speak his piece.

‡‡‡

LISA BEE’S HEART WAS
beating at an alarming rate. Part of her was embarrassed that this was happening in a professional setting, and at a moment that should have been about saving the world and not her personal love story. But another part of her was buzzing with joy, excitement, and romance. The truth of it was that she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened between them in the caves and what could happen in the future.

Jackson cleared his throat and did another shot. Then he looked at her and smiled. It was a smile that was so earnest, so honest, so true, it went right to the very center of her. “Bee,” he said. “What happened between us in the caves was something I had been waiting for my whole life long. I had been dreaming of that since I met you. That was real, you know. As real as it gets.”

“Wait a minute,” the Boss said. “What exactly happened in the caves?”

“Oh, just let him speak, John,” Fritz said, now drinking a fine Scotch from an even finer crystal highball glass. “The last time I had any romance in my life was before cell phones. Hell, it was before typewriters! Give an old broad a chance to live vicariously.”

Lisa Bee adjusted her baby pink velour jumpsuit with
I HEART MADONNA
printed on the back and said, “For me, too, Jackie. It was the best time I’ve ever had with a man. Ever. Heck, it was the best time I’ve ever had
period
.”

Jackson laughed with pleasure. “I was nervous to have a chance with you when I’d been waiting so long. I just wish I could’ve done it in a classier way.”

“Classier?” Lisa Bee asked, putting a hand on his knee. “What do you mean?”

“Honestly, I wish I was a man like Mahmoud. So I could do things in a way that was sexy and smooth and elegant. I’ve always wanted to be like him, and I’m not.”

“Jackie,” she said with a laugh, “for fuck’s sake! I grew up on the fucking bayou! My daddy owns a crawfish shack! My brothers can drink you under the table. Classy? I don’t know the meaning of the word.”

Jackson looked down, a smile on his face. It was so sweet how nervous he was! It made Lisa Bee’s heart beat that much harder. “Bee,” he said serenely, “you’re my Southern Comfort. I’m so completely in love with you. Do you know when I met you, I memorized the lyrics to all of Madonna’s songs just so I could quote them to you sometimes? That’s what you’ve done to me. You’ve tied me up in so many knots, I don’t know who I am anymore. I just know that I want you. For real. I want us to give it the old college try. You are ‘Like a Prayer’ to me, baby. Whaddaya say, Bee? Will you have me?”

“Will I?” she said, jumping onto his lap with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Jackie. You’re all I want. Let’s do this thing.”

Then she kissed him. And she felt every part of her open to him, ready to see where this would go, ready to truly let him inside. The kiss was long, and deep, and they forgot themselves until Fritz raised her Scotch bottle and said, “To the happy couple!”

The rest of the room raised their glasses in a loud, joyful echo. “To the happy couple!”

‡‡‡

IT WAS TEN
P.M.
in Italy, and Tyka found herself on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo. She didn’t know how she was going to track down Gabriella’s killers—in truth, she had come to Sicily quite unprepared for what she needed to do. Gabriella had mentioned to her once that the Opera House on the Piazza Verdi was one of her favorite places. Tyka was sitting on the steps of the Opera House, smoking a Dunhill and wondering what to do next. She was off her game—confused, distracted, unsure of her next move. Without Gabriella to tell her what her next assignment was, she was lost. She looked around, hoping for inspiration. The piazza, normally bustling, was rather quiet.

All of a sudden she felt a gust of air to her right. Startled, she looked to see a Chinese throwing star embedded in the pillar beside her head. It had a note tied around one of its spokes. She jumped behind the pillar to seek cover, but seeing no one, she reached around to untie the ribbon that held the message. Opening the note, which was written on handmade Italian parchment, she read:

I lied. I do know how to use this. Join me for dinner? Ristorante Cin Cin. Via Daniele Manin. I have cigarettes. Really nice ones. Mahmoud.

Smiling, she took a last drag of her smoke, tossed it on the steps of the Opera House, and strolled across the piazza.

14

SUSANNAH RAISED A GLASS
to Lisa Bee and Jackson, then toasted Chas with a sweet and promising kiss. Everyone was laughing, drinking, and embracing; out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fritz embracing the Boss and whispering something in his ear that made him laugh. AJ had brought out her speaker and was playing “La Vie en Rose,” Edith Piaf’s crooning voice heightening the romance of a new engagement. AJ was also sitting on the lap of Antonio, an agent who had escorted them all from Dulles, and she looked more relaxed than Susannah had seen her in months. Rafael and Janice were laughing and slow-dancing to the famous French tune.

Susannah couldn’t help feeling a sadness that she couldn’t let go of. She felt defeated and depleted. Her wedding had been interrupted to find her long-lost father, he had been found only to be put behind bars, and everything seemed out of joint. She sank into a chair and Chas got to his knees beside her. “You okay, babe?” he asked with concern. “I know it’s strange to be celebrating in the midst of such a hard time.”

Susannah felt her throat get tight as she looked back at Chas’s concerned gaze. “I feel really strange about everything,” she said. “Really unsettled. And lost, like I don’t know where to go next.”

“Well, you’ve got me for life,” Chas said.

“And me,” said AJ, who had stopped the music and sneaked up behind her, sensing Susannah’s mixed feelings.

“You’ve got all of us, Legs,” said Jackson. “We’re all here for life.”

“Hear, hear!” echoed the Boss, and murmurs of assent followed from everyone else in the room. “Question is, what happens now?”

Fritz said, stepping in, “I have an idea.” Pressing an intercom button on one of the consoles, she said, “Agent Hartke? Can you take us all on a road trip to the Alley?”

Smiling, she instructed everyone to grab their things and follow her to waiting cars.

‡‡‡

WHAT WAS THIS PLACE?
A woman wearing a plain black suit with her hair in a ponytail had driven one car, Antonio the other. It was about ten minutes away from Quantico. They were standing in a place called Hogan’s Alley, a town created by the FBI and Hollywood set designers for training purposes. Though the town was fictional, it looked real enough, with a bank, a hotel, a post office, an inn, and several apartment buildings.

Agent Marks looked at Fritz. “You want to explain this? Or should I?”

Fritz chuckled and, surprisingly, blushed. “All right,” she said. “Years ago I realized that when things are going rough, all people need is to screw a little and scream a little. And when there are no training exercises going on, this little town is the perfect place to let off some steam. I created ‘Agent Hartke’ as a code name when people need a little time for intimacy—get it? Heart key. Not the most original, but anyway . . . Agent Marks responded to the call today. It’s a code name we use often, especially for our agents who travel a lot and don’t have a ton of time stateside with their partners. So—er—I figured maybe you’d like to have a bit of private time to yourselves.”

Jackson laughed first, then Lisa Bee joined in. “Oh, Fritz,” Lisa Bee said between giggles, “are you saying we’re allowed to choose our own adventures, so to speak?”

“Well,” Fritz said with a wink, “role-playing is a lost art.”

AJ guffawed and said, “Oh, sister, I knew I liked you.”

There was an awkward moment of shifty glances, then Jackson said, “Dibs on the pool hall.”

‡‡‡

SUSANNAH AND CHAS
wound up in a fully furnished apartment, where they fell asleep in each other’s arms on a blissfully comfortable Tempur-Pedic bed. Janice and Rafael opted for the local diner, where they were served a fine meal of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and diner coffee by an agent; they kept the diner open 24/7 for recruits even when there weren’t trainings scheduled. Antonio, it turned out, was a jazz fan. He and AJ chose the car with tinted windows and drove to Hogan’s Overlook, otherwise known as Make-out Point, and performed some jazz of their own. Letting off some steam, AJ thought, never felt so good.

Fritz and the Boss made their way back to Fritz’s office for another drink and some much needed mutual debriefing. Fritz had developed a bit of a crush on the Boss, but he didn’t seem to be receptive to her advances. She sighed and grabbed another Parliament. At least the others could have a good time. It was important to celebrate now, she thought, before everything became a lot more difficult.

‡‡‡

JACKSON AND LISA BEE
were led into a pool hall that looked quite real, equipped with a full bar. “Bar’s fully stocked, along with snacks if you’re hungry,” said Agent Marks with a smile. “Won’t be anyone around for the rest of the day, so make all the noise you want. We use this place for mobster scenarios. Helps the rookies figure out how to get their game on. Anyway, take your time. Call Fritz whenever you’re done talking,” she said with a wave. Then she closed the door and left.

There was a moment of silence after Agent Marks left, and Lisa Bee bit her bottom lip. She was excited to have the chance to show Jackson just what he meant to her and just how much fun their lives were going to be. She shyly removed her pink velour sweatshirt, revealing a hot pink tank underneath with the phrase “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” written on it in big white bubble letters. Jackson laughed and said sexily, “Is that true, Bee? And how you wanna start?”

Lisa Bee sauntered away from him and said, “How ’bout I whup your ass at pool?”

“How ’bout we try strip pool instead? That way we both win.”

‡‡‡

TWENTY MINUTES LATER,
they were half naked and halfheartedly playing, distracted by teasing kisses that happened every time they walked past each other. Finally, Jackson threw his cue down and grabbed Lisa Bee roughly, saying, “You win, Bee. I forfeit.” Then he kissed her so deeply and shatteringly that she had to hold on to the table so she wouldn’t fall all over the floor in a pool of ecstasy. But he had her firmly in his arms. He lifted her up and sat her on the table, removing her sneakers and gently pulling off her pink velour sweatpants. He grinned, seeing the lacy rose thong below. He removed that while looking into her eyes and saying, “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Bee. How could you not have known?” He kissed her again, so sweetly that she found herself unable to think, to breathe, to do anything but kiss him in turn, more fully than she had ever kissed anyone in her life. He broke away to trail kisses down her neck. Then he removed her tank top and deftly undid her bra, taking some time to look with admiration at her curvy, full breasts, peaks already hard and waiting. She gasped when he took one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking on it, then nibbling at its peak. And then he worked his way down her body until he came to the center of her where she was so sensitive, and already so wet, that she began to beg him for release.

‡‡‡

JACKSON LOOKED UP AT
Lisa Bee’s face, her skin flushed, her unruly red hair all over the place and looking like it was on fire, like she was lit from within. He felt like he was looking at one of the old Celtic myths, a faerie queen with magic powers. She was backlit by the flickering lights of the colored beer signs that hung around the room and the colored lamps over the pool tables, and Jackson thought he’d never seen anyone or anything so beautiful in his entire life. Her petite, curvy body writhed atop the table, and she begged him for more. He teased her by blowing a gentle breath over her center, then slowly nibbled on her inner thigh, her lower stomach, every spot his tongue could discover except the one she wanted.

He was beginning to get a sense of where her most sensitive spots were, what her rhythms were, and what turned her on. She liked to be teased, and she liked to be taken control of. God, he could be such a man with her! She fisted his thick dark hair and tried to guide him where she wanted, but he held off, making her laugh and scream and beg him to satisfy her. When he thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he spread her legs wider and delved deep within her, eliciting a moan and feeling his whole body get harder and harder as she screamed his name. “Oh, Jackson,” she moaned, “oh, God, yes!”

Jackson was truly skilled in the ways of love, and he knew it. He used his tongue, his lips, his fingers to pleasure her in every way he could at once. She came fiercely, her body bucking against him, both hands pressing his head deeper and deeper between her thighs. Her climax came like a rolling tidal wave, and as she screamed his name again and again, Jackson felt like the man he was meant to be.

‡‡‡

LISA BEE WAS IN
utter bliss. Each orgasm released something deep within her and made her more and more turned on. How was this possible? Each taste of Jackson, each moment with him, left her wanting more
and more and more
. He stood up, looking at her with fierce admiration, and took off his shirt, allowing her to see his stunning musculature under his smooth skin. She pulled him on top of her on the pool table and wrapped her legs around him, her moisture all over his jeans as she felt the hard length of him straining to get out. As she kissed him, loving the feel of his tongue delving deep inside her mouth, he lifted her off the table, stood her up, then turned her around and bent her over it. “Is this okay, Bee?” he asked feverishly.

“Okay?” she said. “God, yes! I need you inside me now.”

He grabbed a condom out of his pocket, then undid his buckle and unzipped his jeans, sheathing himself quickly. She was gasping and panting, already ready for him. She was so open from the orgasms he had given her, and so wet, that she knew she could take his full length inside.

“Jackson, I need you,” she begged, “all of you. Please. Now.”

He didn’t need to be asked again. His hands on her waist, jeans around his ankles, he used his knees to open her legs; then he entered her in one clean thrust. They both cried out in pleasure. And now that he had started, he couldn’t stop, thrusting inside her more deeply each time. Grabbing his hair, she screamed out his name.

‡‡‡

LISA BEE WAS BEING
taken in a way she never had been before. Jackson was deeper inside her than anyone had ever been, and she relished the feel of him reaching places that were heretofore unexplored. And she wanted him deeper in her still. She laid her arms out in front of her on the pool table, knocking aside an errant ball as he grabbed her hair and pulled it, thrusting into her again and again. Lisa Bee had never been so wet; she hadn’t even known it was possible to be so turned on; she felt her wetness running down her thighs. She screamed out his name. He increased the intensity of his thrusts, increasing the pleasure of the friction between them, Lisa Bee loving the feel of him. She arched her back, allowing him to guide her, loving the way he was taking command, wanting him to take all of her. “Oh, Jackson!” she gasped. “Make me yours. Give me all of you.”

Together they found a rhythm, Jackson thrusting into Lisa Bee, she meeting his thrusts by allowing him deeper each time. They moved together as one. Jackson reached his hand around and fingered the sensitive part of her as they made love, barely holding on, hardly able to contain another mounting orgasm. He continued to thrust into her, controlling every pleasure center, every piece of her that got turned on. Together they moaned, and he pulled her hair harder as she bucked and screamed, calling out his name. Simultaneously, they orgasmed, Lisa Bee unable to stop her hips from moving against him, Jackson fully inside her as he let himself climax.

They breathed for a moment, him still inside her. Then he pulled her limp body up and laid it on the pool table, lying by her side, wrapping his arm around her waist. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. Yes. The world was fun again. And they were going to walk through it together. “I win,” Jackson said as he pulled Lisa Bee into his arms, and they fell into a deep and contented sleep.