Chapter 36
Professors and pricks
April 26
Friday noon
At RED HQ,Donovan stood with his arms crossing his chest while we stared at the wall monitors covering every restroom, faculty lounge, and all the professors’ offices— including their private bathrooms.
The quick research we’d done by interviewing certain staff members had pointed out professors worthy of being checked out, and Weiss had been hot on their tails the past two days, three if you count today.
The old farts with the sticks up their butts, who practically needed walkers or had canes, we weren’t bothering with. Yet. Who knew if they liked to watch?
Right now, twenty different locations had been cued up on the single giant screen. Each place had more than one camera angle and was monitored by an agent with earphones as the agent listened to conversation in their assigned area.
“I want to scrape this damned cast off,” I grumbled to no one while wishing I could itch my arm. The throb that had been in my dislocated shoulder was almost gone—it had been almost two weeks since Danny yanked my arm out of its socket. My face looked better and my chest didn’t hurt so much.
“This is boring as hell,” one of the newer agents said.
I gave a low laugh. “Welcome to the world of surveillance.”
Yeah, it was boring as hell, all right. A yawn threatened to escape me during our constant surveillance of the monitors while we followed Weiss and Jensen throughout the day.
We were into our third day of the Harvard K-Team op and it felt like we were gradually closing in.
Right now, Donovan studied one of the monitors as we watched Weiss. The agent casually walked behind Galsband, a professor who was one of our prime suspects, into a faculty lounge.
Our sources had said Galsband had been forward with several of his female students, more so than most of the other professors. Then we’d seen it happen for ourselves.
No one had ever complained about sexual harassment against Galsband, which was interesting. Probably had something to do with grades—threats perhaps. Who’d believe the word of a young grad student over a well-respected professor at a prestigious university?
The scowl that hurt my face gave me a headache. I wanted to spit the sour taste out of my mouth, a taste that increased just at the thought of what the man had done already, right before our eyes, on film in brilliant color. Over the course of just this one day, two female students, at different times, agreed to have dinner with Galsband this weekend. Then there were the arrangements he’d made with a student on Wednesday, and one on Thursday.
Afterward, the professor had stroked his dick through his slacks and given a grin that sent frissons of disgust through me. The man had to be sixty, and the coeds barely twenty.
Donovan and I changed the frequency of our earphones to pick up sound in the lounge Weiss had gone into.
Another reason they’d picked Galsband was his low, frequent conversations with Professors Grumman, Allen, and Michaels. Nothing overt had been said other than Michaels’s casual mention of a “poker game” at his house on Friday.
Tonight.
What interested us most was the way the men said the words and the looks they gave each other that included sly grins and innuendos. Reading expressions was something I’d always been good at, and I’d lay bets that it wasn’t a poker game the professors were planning.
Which meant Weiss and Jensen had some work to do. Those professors had it good at Harvard. Rich-looking furniture and an air of wealth.
When Weiss walked into the faculty lounge, Galsband glanced over his shoulder and gave a brief nod to him before reaching into a fridge for a bottle of Perrier.
“Professor Galsband, isn’t it?” Weiss said as he bypassed the professor to grab his own bottle.
The professor’s hair was trimmed neatly, his sophisticated graying hair on each side of his head like friggin’ silver bat wings. He twisted the cap off his bottle and tossed the cap into a waste can. “I met you earlier with, who was it? Allan and Grumman, I believe.”
Weiss took a swig of his bottle and swallowed before nodding. “Name is Zimmer.”
“That’s right.” Galsband had a self-important tone to his voice. “What is it you teach?”
Weiss gave a smug grin. “What I’m best at is doing a little tutoring on the side with a few coeds, if you know what I mean.”
Galsband raised his eyebrows. “Really, Professor.”
Weiss shrugged, but kept what you’d definitely call a lecherous smile on his face. “A bennie that comes along with the job.”
“Indeed.” Galsband looked like he was suppressing a smile of his own. “I must be getting to class now.”
“I’m between classes. Time to do a little ‘tutoring.’” Weiss tossed his empty bottle into a garbage bin. “Cute little redhead…” He winked and headed out of the lounge.
For a moment Galsband stared at the door after it swung closed behind Weiss. His mouth curved into a smile and he tossed his own green bottle away. “Benefits, most certainly,” he said aloud before heading out of the door. The camera switched and the RED agents watched as Galsband walked to his class.
“Jensen, Weiss, you’re on,” one of the agents said into a microphone. Both Jensen and Weiss were wired.
Weiss glanced up at one of the hall cameras a RED agent switched to. “Ready and willing,” Weiss said as he walked toward Galsband’s office.
“Can’t wait,” Jensen said from around the corner, with an expression that meant she’d rather be doing anything than what they’d planned.
Jensen had done a great job of making herself look like a hot little coed, with a very padded bra that would put Georgina’s balloon boobs to shame. Weiss had pulled off the fifty look well when he added some silver to his hair and a pair of older-guy glasses.
Once they met at Galsband’s office, Weiss tried to twist the knob. He glanced at the camera as he spoke. “Locked.”
“Watch the monitors, HQ.” Jensen pushed Weiss out of the way at the same time she pulled a small kit from her Louis Vuitton backpack.
Part of the game—a pack meant to carry books at the same time it showed she had some money. Wait until Oxford saw the expense report that included a little three thousand dollar pack.
“Students coming around right corner into the hallway,” the monitoring agent said through her earpiece.
At once Jensen straightened, slung her pack over her shoulder, and she and Weiss appeared to be engaged in an animated conversation about one of her classes, speaking in German to, hopefully, avoid most students understanding them if they overheard.
Weiss and Jensen had to wait until one professor and three more students passed before Jensen could go after the lock.
In seconds Jensen had the door open, her lock pick stuffed in her backpack, and she and Weiss slipped into Galsband’s office.
“Well, well,” I said, and Donovan looked over his shoulder at me. “Might as well be a library in a mansion.” Rosewood desk, shelves, and padded chairs. A collection of brass telescopes in glass cases that also contained other items gleamed in the lighting.
Donovan went back to staring at the monitors. Forty friggin’ minutes passed by. I spent the time wishing my arm would stop itching under my cast, while I did my best to make sure Oxford didn’t catch me there.
While I was waiting, I scanned information on our prime suspects on a screen a few feet away from the monitors.
Donovan stayed put and watched the other monitors as Weiss and Jensen spent their time going through Galsband’s drawers, looking for anything that might give them a lead to Kristin’s case.
“Galsband headed your way,” one agent finally said into her comm, to Weiss and Jensen. “ETA ninety seconds.”
The two agents took their positions close to the door, Jensen on her knees in front of Weiss’s crotch, her back to the camera and the door.
“Oh, joy,” she muttered, sounding sarcastic as Weiss unfastened his slacks. Then I thought I heard her whisper, “Oh, my,” in a much different tone, and I almost sniggered.
“Galsband, five seconds to destination,” the monitoring agent said.
“Here goes,” Jensen said as Weiss put his hands in her hair.
She started bobbing her head as if she was going down on Weiss, while she made sounds of pleasure. Damn that looked hot. The two of them were a little more realistic than I would have expected. I could swear I saw her mouth really on Weiss’s cock and that look on his face really was one of a man being sucked off.
Weiss watched Jensen as he clenched her hair. “That’s it, baby,” he said in a hoarse voice as the door opened. Weiss didn’t look up, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
In the next moment Weiss made a loud groan and pumped his hips a few more times as if he had orgasmed.
Personally, I think he really did. Into Jensen’s mouth.
“Damn, baby,” Weiss said without looking up. “You get an ‘A+’ for effort and style. Not to mention the best blow job I’ve ever had.”
Galsband cleared his throat. “Professor Zimmer.”
Weiss looked up while Jensen gave a very well-done gasp. Weiss’s zipper was still hidden by Jensen’s head and Weiss did a credible job of adjusting himself and fastening his pants without letting us see anything.
“Sorry, Galsband.” Weiss said as he drew Jensen to her feet. “Didn’t realize this was your office. Mine is practically underwater, and we grabbed the closest place.” He smiled down at Jensen. “Brittany couldn’t wait.”
By the combination of the bulge in Galsband’s slacks and the austere expression on his face, it was clear the professor was struggling between being turned on and angry. “How did you get in here?”
Weiss shrugged as Jensen stood and turned. Her eyes were heavy-lidded as she licked her lips and met Jensen’s gaze. “It was the first unlocked door we could find,” she said in a sultry voice as she looked Galsband up and down, and licked her lips again.
Weiss glanced at Jensen and grinned as she leaned back against him. He slid his palms up to cup her now huge breasts, and rubbed his thumbs over her enhanced, distended nipples. “If you have a little time, Brittany just told me she’d love some front and backdoor action at the same time, if you know what I mean.”
Jeez, Jensen and Weiss would have made a believer out of me. Galsband’s throat worked as he swallowed, his stare fixed on what Weiss was doing to Jensen’s breasts. “I have a student coming in.” He sounded as if he was having a difficult time speaking.
“A girl?” Weiss moved his hands up and down Jensen”s body. I had a feeling she was going to kill him once they were alone, since most of RED’s agents on the K-Team were watching. “Brittany might like some girl-on-girl action.” He brushed his lips over her ear before he raised his head and spoke loud enough to be heard. “Wouldn’t you, baby?”
Jensen couldn’t have done a better job of acting like the idea made her hot, as if it really did turn her on. “Never tried it,” she said in a low, husky voice. “But I have fantasized sucking on a woman’s breasts while being screwed. And tied up—the idea of all that BDSM bondage stuff really turns me on.”
Oh, honey, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
But that seemed to do the trick. The bulge in Galsband’s pants was big enough to rip a hole through the material. If the professor led RED to Kristin, Jensen just might cut his dick off while Donovan took care of the man who’d kidnapped Kristin.
Galsband cleared his throat again. “There’s a private get-together tonight that you might enjoy.”
Bingo.
Donovan narrowed his eyes at the monitor as he watched.
Jensen licked her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. “I’m free tonight.”
“Ah. Yes.” Galsband walked around his desk. “I must talk with the gentleman holding the discreet party to see if we might invite you.” He looked up at Weiss. “Both of you, of course, as my personal guests.”
“Sounds intriguing.” Weiss leaned down and tilted Jensen’s face up to give her a brief kiss. “Especially if it involves another woman.”
“Another student.” Galsband smiled, and the pit of my stomach twisted. “She enjoys the company of a few men at the same time. I will speak with the host.”
So much for that poker game.
“Delicious,” Jensen said, her eyes on Galsband. She looked up at Weiss. “I have to get to class.” She glanced at the professor again. “Call my cell if we’re going to play tonight.”
Weiss squeezed Jensen’s breasts again, and Donovan thought she’d elbow him if he didn’t stop. “Talk with you later, baby.”
She reached up and kissed him before moving to the desk and sitting on the edge of it. Her short skirt slid up her thighs, almost to her crotch. Jensen was probably hotter than any of the agents watching the show had realized.
“Hope to see you later.” She leaned across the desk and brushed her lips over Galsband’s before she slid off his desk, gave Weiss a sexy smile, and walked out of his office.
I glanced at the monitor image of Jensen in the corridor after the door closed behind her. She started making gagging motions, pointing her finger down her throat and doubling over like she was going to throw up.
She glanced toward the hidden camera and mumbled into her comm, “I am so going to kill you, Donovan.”
Most of the agents around Donovan laughed. He looked like he almost did, too, but he was mostly focused on Weiss and the professor.
“Got a pen and paper?” Weiss asked the professor, who was still staring at the door. “Galsband?”
The man’s throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Yes,” he said with a distracted expression. “Pen. Paper.” He picked up an expensive pen and pushed it, along with a pad of cream-colored paper, across his desk.
Weiss took the pen and scrawled his undercover name and a number across it. “That’s my cell, if Brittany and I can join you tonight.”
Galsband looked like he was starting to get himself under control again. He gave a curt nod. “By late this afternoon I will let you know, one way or another.”
Weiss winked and made his way out the door.
When it closed behind him, he glanced at the camera and brought his elbow down in a “Yes!” movement.
Donovan shook his head and I smiled.
The rest of the day we monitored Galsband, but he didn’t make any calls or meet up with anyone until late in the afternoon. When he was alone in a hallway, he drew out his smart phone and dialed a number. Unfortunately, the camera couldn’t get a shot of the numbers he tapped.
Galsband also wasn’t standing close to the nearest microphone, and a man with a floor waxer was pushing the thing around a corner. “Isolate and amplify,” Donovan said to the agent monitoring that corridor.
It was almost impossible to catch any of the conversation.
All they caught was “student,” “tonight,” “girl action,” and “hot.”
Donovan’s jaw tensed.
But when he disconnected the call, Galsband grinned. He drew a piece of paper from his pocket. The one with Agent Weiss’s phone number on it. My heart rate picked up.
Galsband headed out the front doors of the psychology building and began tapping the number on his screen.
Weiss’s line, which we had already tapped, came through loud and clear.
“The professor said you and Ms. Brittany may join us as my guests tonight. He believes his student will be pleased to meet your young lady.”
“Great,” Weiss said. “What’s the address?”
“Why don’t I have my driver pick you and your student up at seven?” Galsband said.
“Damn,” Donovan said, and I knew exactly what he meant. Weiss probably didn’t live in digs worthy of a wealthy professor.
Weiss paused only a moment before he said, “Brittany and I plan to meet for a drink at six at the Glass House. Why don’t we have our drink then meet you at seven just outside the nightclub.” He lowered his voice. “You think she was hot this afternoon. Wait until you see her after a couple of rum and Cokes. She’ll be all over both of us before we even make it to Professor—?”
“Ah, there’s my driver.” Galsband cut in. “I will see you at the Glass House at seven sharp.”
“You bet.”
Galsband ended the call, and it looked like Donovan wanted to bang his head against a console.
Donovan swiped his hand down his face. “All right. Can’t get to the location beforehand with no address.” He paced the floor as he spoke to his agents. “So we’ll put a tail on Galsband after he picks up Weiss and Jensen. We’ll have the raid teams on standby.”
“Will do,” Takamoto said. “Everyone will be ready and all over that place as soon as we have the address.” He braced his hands on the back of a chair. “Who do you want to tail the car?”
“I’ll take it.” Donovan stopped pacing. “Along with my special unit.”
“Color me surprised,” Smithe said, and several of the agents laughed. “Those are some scary dudes. I’m intrigued that Oxford let you bring in outsiders.”
I could see the wheels whirling in Donovan’s head. He was already planning the operation in his mind at the same time he said, “If you knew what those guys are capable of, you wouldn’t be so surprised.”
April26
Friday evening
“Goddamnit, Lexi.” Donovan glared at me as he strapped on his raid belt and his scary team secured all of their weapons. We stood in Kristin’s living room. “You’re not coming. You’re on leave as it is.”
“Forced leave.” I scowled and crossed my arm and cast over my chest. I bet I made an interesting picture. “I’ll drive to the Glass House myself and follow Weiss.”
Donovan closed his eyes and looked like he was counting to ten. He opened them and met my eyes. “We’ll handle it, Steele.” He gestured to the four men who were now watching Donovan and me with obvious interest and amusement. “We’ve got enough cars following him that we don’t need one more that just might catch their attention.”
“He wouldn’t even notice twelve cars following him. You know Weiss and Jensen are going to keep him occupied,” I said.
“Not if Jensen can help it,” Donovan said under his breath. “She’s ready to kill Weiss as it is, and I can’t afford to be an agent down.”
“Looked to me like she was having some serious fun.” That almost got a smile out of him, but he did a good job of holding it back. “And it’s obvious to every single one of you mountains, I’m small enough to stick just about anywhere.”
“She’s got you there,” Harrison said with a grin.
Donovan raised his hands. “Get your stuff together. It’s five-thirty and we’ve got to get down to the Glass House.”
I moved my overshirt aside to show my Glock. “All set,” I said.