Devlin's Defiance: Book Two of the Devlin Quatrology (26 page)

“
Same as my
granddaughter” --

“
Really?”

-- “would be, if
I had one.”

“
Do you” --

“
How long have
you been working here?”

“
Um, almost seven
months now.”

“
And what kind of
stories have you written so far?”

“
Nothing much,
just covering these committee and subcommittee hearings, mostly just
waiting around for the senators to show up in the first place or get
back from somewhere else, like when they leave for a vote or get
called away for some” -- and here she made quote signs in the
air – “'important' business.”

“
And what kind of
stories would you like to do?”

“
Investigative.
Corruption.”

“
Those can be
tough … and dangerous.”

“
I know, but
someday I want to do them.”

“
Ever done a
story on that Chairman?”

“
Senator
Brickelmortimer?”

“
Yup.”

“
Nope –
well, just when he asks some especially stupid question or” --

“
Was he the one
that was worried about Guam tipping over?”

“
About what?”

“
Guam tipping
over.”

“
Guam? Isn't
Guam an island?”

“
Right.”

“
So how could it
tip over?”

“
It couldn't.
That's why it was stupid.”

“
But he was
really worried about it?”

“
Yeah, if the
Marines added 8,000 more troops.”

“
That IS stupid.”

“
Wait – no,
it wasn't him; it was a Representative, not a Senator. So not him.”

“
Well, he's asked
some pretty stupid questions, too – oh, don't tell anyone I
said that.”

“
Promise. Your
secret's safe with me.”

“
Oh, good. Now,
how DO you spell your last name?”

“
Off the record?”
he said, digging into a shirt pocket as they reached the elevators.
He pushed the Down button.

“
Well, I've got
to write some kind of a story, and I can get your name from the
Committee's agenda, but what you say to me now can be off.”

Gordy looked at her
closely, but finally said, “Fair enough,” and handed her
a business card.

“
'The Devlin
Deception,' Jake Devlin dot com?”

“
Web site for my
novel, under my pen name.

“
Let me give you
one with my real name. Good luck if you ever have to pronounce it.”
He dug into another pocket and gave her a different card; she put
both in her bag.

“
Can I go down
with you?”

“
With me? Sure.”

“
Thanks. So what
can you tell me about your book? Why did the Chairman call it
un-American?”

“
'Cause he hasn't
read it, so he's going on what somebody told him, and whoever that
may be, they probably haven't read it, either.”

“
So what's it
about?”

Gordy pulled a copy out
of his briefcase and handed it to her as the empty elevator arrived
and they both got in.

“
Here. Read the
back cover.”

“
Oh, thanks.”

- 64 -

December
18, 2012
1:47
a.m. local time

Av. des Beaux Arts

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Safely away from the
casino, the brunette patted her bag and said, “Well, that was
an unexpected bonus. For the micro-loan programs?”

“
Of course.”

“
Should I call
Amber and report in?”

“
Let's wait till
we get back to the hotel.”

“
Good. I can
hardly wait to get these boobs off and get rid of the wig. It
scratches.”

“
Same for the
cheek puffers, the mustache and all these wires.” He pointed to
his cufflink. “But the DD-943 worked fine, even from that
distance; stopped his pacemaker instantly. Barnaby Jack was on the
right track.”

“
Think it had
anything to do with my winning?”

“
Well, Pam,
that's something I can neither confirm nor deny. I'll just say that
that roulette wheel will be honest for a while.”

“
Oh, you,”
she said, gently slapping his shoulder.

Smiling back at her, he
said, “So any ideas on what you'd like to do once we get back?”

“
That hot tub
with the jets was nice this morning. Want to join me in it again?”
she asked, her hand resting on his thigh.

“
Even Interpol
couldn't keep me away.”

“
Oh, Jake, you're
never gonna let me live that down, are you?”

“
Maybe. Depends
on how things go in the hot tub.”

She chuckled. “Ah-ha!
A challenge? I'm sure I can rise to the – oh, wait. No,
that'll be your part.”

“
No problem
there.”

“
I know. Hello,
Stevie Bruce.”

“
Ohhhhh. No,
wait, wait. We still have to go through the lobby.”

“
Well, how long
till we get to the hotel?”

“
Maybe ten
minutes.”

“
Plenty of time.
Ah, there we go.”

“
Oh, geez.
Careful, your wig's coming loose.”

“
I'll fix it
later. Just drive, okay? Hmmmm.”

- 65 -

December
18, 2012
11:41
a.m. local time

In an elevator in the
Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC

She finished reading
the back cover just as the elevator reached the lobby and they
stepped out and walked toward the front doors.

“
By the way,
Sondra is considered a very posh name in the UK.”

“
A very what
name?”

“
Posh, p-o-s-h.
Never heard that before?”

“
Nope.”

“
Well, you can
use your investigative skills to figure it out. And by the way,
Sondra is a name I used in that novel. She's not an important
character, but it's your name and occupation.”

“
Really?”

“
Yup. You can
tell your friends it's based on you, if you want.”

“
Wow, kewl,”
she said, with the glottally-stopped pronunciation. “Guess
I'll have to get a copy,” she said, holding the book out to
him. He waved it away.

“
Nah, keep it and
drop me an email when you've finished it. Then I may give you a
story.”

“
An exclusive?”

“
Can't promise
you that, but if you read it fast, you might be the first.”

“
Wow. Thank
you.”

“
But not too
fast; it should make you think while it's making you laugh. And it
should answer a lot of your questions. Oh, don't miss the online
alternate epilogue at the end of the book, okay? Deal?” He
held out his hand.

“
Oh, yes, sir;
deal. Thank you.” They shook on it.

“
But for now,
Sondra, I need to get back to Florida. I'll look forward to hearing
from you.”

“
Oh, you will,
sir, you will.”

“
Hey, kid, you
can call me Gordy.”

“
Okay …
Gordy.”

“
Good, good.
Talk with you.”

As he headed to the
front doors, she tucked the book under her arm and headed back to the
elevator.

Once he was outside the
building and across the street, he pulled out his sat phone again.

“
Authentication
0000002, encryption on. Hi, Amber. Is he still on the boat? Oh,
really? Okay; no problem. I'll catch up with him when I get back
to Florida. Can you let him know it went just as planned. My flight's
in a couple – uh-oh, looks like I've picked up a tail. Bear
with me.” He raised his voice and picked up his pace slightly.

“
What? No, no,
no, that won't do! I need those lobsters by noon tomorrow! I don't
care what you've got to do, get them to me, do you understand? Six
dozen. Six! Noon. Tomorrow. No excuses. Get it done!” He
listened for a brief moment, then stopped midstride on the crowded
sidewalk, almost being bumped by a few people walking behind him.

“
What??? Don't
you dare use that tone of voice with me, you little whippersnapper!”
He turned around and moved over to the curb, nodding and bowing
slightly to the people moving past him, his eyes subtly roving.

“
Sorry, sorry.
No, that wasn't for you, you little punk. Now I'm going to say this
for the last time. Noon. Tomorrow. Absolutely. And if they're not
in my hands by then, I'll sue your ass all the way up to your
esophagus! So get it done! Amateurs!”

He slammed the phone
shut, ignoring Amber's laughter on the other end, looked at the crowd
surging by with a look and a shrug that said, “What is this
world coming to,” all the while noting with his peripheral
vision the locations of the two followers.

Then he turned again
and stalked off in his original direction, keeping all his senses on
high alert.

A few blocks along,
when he turned a corner and found a recessed doorway providing cover,
he ducked into it and waited. A moment later, one of the two tails
came around the corner and looked around, perplexed.

“
Looking for me?”
Gordy asked as he stepped out and grabbed the young and now quite
frightened man by the arm, propelling him along the street, then into
an alley a few dozen feet along.

“
I'm not going to
hurt you, fella, nor your buddy who should be coming around the
corner about … ah, here he is … now.

“
Hey, kid, come
over here … no, don't touch your phone.”

The second tail started
to turn away, but Gordy gripped the man next to him by the throat and
said, “Come here or your buddy gets hurt … or worse.”

The man turned back and
stopped, facing Gordy. “W-we just” –

“
I know. I saw
you behind the Senator at the hearing. He told you to follow me,
didn't he?”

“
Y-y-yes.”

“
Ever had any
training in following someone?”

“
N-n-no, sir;
we're just interns.”

“
It shows. Let
me see some ID, both of you.” They shakily pulled out driver's
licenses; Gordy took them.

“
Business cards;
I'm sure you have them.” They both nodded and gave them to
Gordy, who compared them with the licenses, then gave the latter back
to each.

“
Now here's what
you're going to do. Go back to the Senator and tell him you got
caught and you have a message for him.”