16. Admiral
16
ADMIRAL
W ithin a few minutes after getting in bed last night, both Alice and I fell sound asleep. Like yesterday, when I opened my eyes, she wasn’t in bed beside me. Since she wasn’t in the bathroom, I figured she must already be working.
“Good morning,” I said, walking into the other room and finding her seated in front of a monitor as I’d expected.
“Good morning,” she said, looking up at me. I leaned in for a kiss.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked, breathing in the scent of her tea and longing for some coffee.
“Maybe thirty minutes. You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
That she’d gotten out of bed without me knowing it, bothered me. However, she’d also managed to sneak out a bathroom window and, for forty-eight hours, elude not just me but several of the best operatives I knew.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around the empty room.
Alice shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone else yet.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “Would you mind if I moved all this?” She motioned to the computers.
“Not at all. Do you have a spot in mind?”
She pointed to a space off the main living area that my grandparents used to call the morning room. It had windows on two sides where they’d watch the sunrise.
Alice held up her phone. “This faces both east and north.”
“That’s right.”
She motioned to the western side of the room. “I could set everything up here. That way, I could face the windows. And from this vantage point, I could see the door but not be directly in line with it.”
“Following,” I said, not that I really was. Alice’s excitement about the setting was infectious, though.
“I would need at least one more table, maybe two.”
“Like the ones in your apartment?”
Her eyes opened wide. “Yes!”
I chuckled. “They’re here, Alice. As Tank said, everything is.”
“Can I bring them upstairs?”
“I will. Just tell me where you want each one placed.”
“I need a minute to draw it out, then I can help.”
Since she was distracted, I brewed a pot of coffee, rushed downstairs, and brought the first two of the four folded tables up.
“Did you have these custom made?” I asked, setting one on its side to extend the legs.
“I did, but Tex helped. His are similar.”
“So, you’re pretty close to him?”
Alice looked up at me. “I guess so. I mean, I’ve never met him in person.”
When I smiled, she did too, then stepped closer. I thought her plan was to help me with the table. Instead, she grabbed one of my wrists and brought that arm around her.
“No people skills, remember? Hermit-hacker who rarely left her apartment, never dated…Is any of this sounding familiar?”
I wrapped my other arm around her waist and pulled her body flush with mine. “I’m a jealous caveman, Neanderthal type when it comes to you. Sorry.”
Her eyes bored into mine. “When it comes to me? What about your other girlfriends?”
“Are you sure you want to talk about this now, or would you rather focus on setting up your work area?”
“Just tell me this much. Have you ever been married?”
I shook my head.
“Engaged?”
“Not even close.” It was on the tip of my tongue to add, “Until I met you.”
After she leaned up and kissed me, I returned to the lower level to retrieve the remaining tables.
I set those up the same way I had the first two, then grabbed a cup of coffee, walked over to the windows, and conducted a routine perimeter check. From the corner of my eye, I watched Alice transform what I now realized was one of the nicest rooms of the lake house into her command center.
Years of military and FBI training had ingrained in me certain habits—analyzing sight lines, identifying potential vulnerabilities, maintaining situational awareness.
Alice’s approach was no different. She worked with the precision of a tactical operator. Six monitors were arranged in a semicircle, each positioned for optimal viewing angles. Four large and two small towers, all looking custom-built, hummed quietly beneath the desk. More specialized hardware I didn’t recognize but suspected cost more than my annual FBI salary, sat in and around the monitors and CPUs. Everything was placed with deliberate care, creating what was essentially a digital fortress.
I took a sip of coffee, then set it on the other side of the room to prevent inadvertently spilling it on her equipment. “The processing power must rival what we have at Federal Plaza,” I noted, impressed despite my extensive experience with bureau tech.
“Better, actually.” Her fingers flew across the keyboards as she brought the systems online. “Most government systems are handicapped by outdated security protocols. My setup doesn’t.” She patted one of the towers.
My comms crackled. “Perimeter check complete,” Tank reported. “Atticus found a few blind spots on the north ridge. We’re setting up additional motion sensors.”
“Copy that. Keep me updated on coverage gaps.”
I switched channels to check in with the rest of the team. As Diesel briefed me on the work being performed by K19 operatives, it sounded more like a tactical crew setting up a functional defensive position. “We’ve got gun placements concealed in the tree line, overwatch positions established on higher ground, and multiple routes in and out secured and readied.”
“Copy that,” I muttered, turning down the volume and looking back to watch Alice unpack crystals from velvet bags, handling each with the reverence of a jeweler with precious gems.
She placed clear quartz near the front of the monitors, black stones I didn’t recognize at the corners, and purple crystals flanking her keyboard.
“Each one has a purpose,” she explained, catching me staring. “Clear quartz for clarity and focus. Black tourmaline for protection against negative energy. Amethyst for intuition and problem-solving.” She placed a pale blue stone near each mouse and trackpad. “Aquamarine for courage and clear communication.”
The tactical operative in me wanted to dismiss it as superstition. But I’d seen too much in my career to discount anything outright. Sometimes, the most effective weapons weren’t the ones you could hold in your hands.
“How did you discover all this?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“After my parents died”—she arranged another crystal with careful precision—“I was completely lost. Coding helped—it was logical, predictable. But I needed something more grounding.”
She pulled out a bundle of dried white sage and a ceramic bowl. “Do you mind?”
I shook my head, watching as she lit the bundle and moved around the space with practiced grace. The fragrant smoke reminded me of the ceremonies I’d witnessed in various parts of the world—different cultures, different beliefs, but all seeking protection, clarity, and purpose.
I glanced over at the windows and saw Diesel coordinating with his team. The lake where I’d spent so many summers stretched beyond them. This place had always been my sanctuary, but now, it was something more—a fortress protecting the woman who was quickly becoming the center of my world.
“And the hacking?” I asked as she continued setting up. I took another sip from my cup and grimaced.
The look on her face was more smirk than smile. “Not any good?”
I glanced up at her. “I hate cold coffee, which more often than not, is what I’m left with by the time I get around to drinking it.”
She nodded. “Anyway, you asked about hacking.”
“When did that start?”
“I was already good with computers. But after losing my parents, I needed more than just skill. I wanted purpose.”
“That’s when you met Tex?”
“He caught me trying to breach a firewall. A good one too—took me three days to find a way in.” Her expression softened with the memory. “I guess he saw something in me, so instead of having me arrested, he became my Zen master, if you will.”
I moved closer, drawn by the passion in her voice. Military training had taught me to read people—their movements, their tells, their underlying motivations. Everything about Alice spoke of someone driven by a deep sense of justice.
“Tell me more about him.”
“He’s amazing. He saw past the angry teenager trying to prove something and recognized my potential.” She looked up at me. “Besides Sarah, he’s the closest thing I have to family.” Alice shook her head. “Who I’ve never met.”
I watched in awe as she accessed the dating app’s back-end architecture, her fingers dancing across the keyboard with almost musical precision. Lines of code filled the screens, and patterns emerged where I saw only chaos. Her crystals caught the morning light, throwing rainbow refractions across the walls.
“Here,” she said, highlighting a section of text. “As I suspected, Sarah was using the messaging system to document everything.” Her expression changed, and I couldn’t read it.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“This is why she had me set up a profile. My sister, who always said she couldn’t tell the difference between a kilobyte and a gigabyte, used it to back everything up to my system. Man, if she were here right now…”
“What would you do?”
“Tell her she was fucking brilliant and how proud I was of her.”
“What else?”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I wish the two of you had met.”
“Me too.”
My comms crackled again. “Boss, you need to see this,” Tank said. “Northwest corner.”
I moved to the window, using my field glasses to check the position. A flash of movement in the trees caught my attention—just a deer, but it highlighted how exposed that section was.
“Add another sensor package,” I ordered. “And get Blackjack to adjust the overwatch. I want redundant coverage.”
“Already on it.”
I turned back to find Alice deep in Sarah’s data, multiple windows populating her screens. She was tracking the bureau leaks. The timing, money movement, large amounts moving into offshore accounts, then smaller sums seemingly resurfacing in domestic banks—everything I’d found, she did too.
I thought about my years in the bureau, the cases I’d worked and the people I’d trusted. The cousin I’d failed to save. How many others had been compromised? How deep did the corruption go?
“How about a break?”
Her eyes were wide. “Now?”
“There’s somewhere I want to take you.”
We took the path down to the boathouse, then turned left to another trail that went alongside the lake. “What’s this?” she asked when I led her up a set of stone steps, entered a code onto the pad by the door, then ushered her inside.
“This was my grandmother’s art studio.”
“Wow,” Alice breathed as much as said. “The light in here is amazing, and the view…” She looked out the windows that faced in the same direction as the morning room. “Good thing you didn’t show me this first. I would’ve asked you to cart everything here instead.”
From my perspective, there would’ve been several issues that would have precluded that from happening. First, the upgrades to the property’s security would have to extend this far, which would take time. Second, I could hardly hang out in this one-room studio, watching Alice all day. Well, I could. I just doubted she’d let me. Third, if I didn’t, she’d be in here all alone, just like she was in her apartment.
While she might say she preferred it that way, I saw the way her face lit up when one of the guys or Bryar initiated a conversation with her. I’d be surprised if she’d admit how much she liked it. There was also a chance she hadn’t realized it yet.
“Your turn to tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I wouldn’t want you to isolate yourself in here.”
Her eyes darted between mine. “Why not?”
“Honestly? Because I’d miss you.”
Her smile was broad. “I’d miss you too, Pershing.”
“Come on, I have more to show you.”
She gasped. “There’s more?”
“Lots more. Some of it is inaccessible because of the snow, but in the early nineteen hundreds, a grand hotel sat on this property. It was called Fulton’s Canada Lake Hotel.”
“What happened to it?”
I pointed across the lake. “Where you see the motel now, there was another hotel, even bigger than the one here. Both burned almost to the ground the same night. What remains are some of the outbuildings, like the art studio.”
“How fascinating.”
It was, not that I’d ever appreciated it in the way I was now, sharing it with Alice. I wished my parents were here, because they knew so much more than I did about the history of the area.
“Is that an island?” she asked, pointing in the distance.
“It is. It’s named for Nicholas Stoner, who served in the Continental Army in the American Revolution and the American forces in the war of 1812. His family had a summer camp a few miles away that was turned into a golf course and restaurant. He’s buried in a family plot called Stoner Hill Cemetery in Gloversville.”
Her eyes opened wide. “That’s where Lark is from.”
My eyes scrunched.
“She’s the barista at Method Tea and Coffee.”
“Right. I think I remember her.”
Alice shook her head. “You think you do? Some FBI agent you are.”
I chuckled, reached up, and ran my fingers through her hair. “I was captivated by the beautiful woman with pink streaks in her red hair.”
“I was thinking about letting them grow out. Or coloring over them.”
“Don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re…you.”
Alice leaned up and kissed me. “Keep this up, Pershing, and you might make me fall in love with you.”
“That’s my goal.” I winked.
After showing her the remaining structures that were accessible, Alice and I returned to the main camp, where she got back to work.
I was going through emails and reading the briefs Tank had sent over when he walked in.
“Hey, boss?”
“In here,” I said, walking out of the morning room.
He approached and handed me his phone. “Diesel is arranging for a few more satphones to be delivered today, but for now, Grit is trying to reach you.”
I took the phone and called his number.
“Hey, Admiral.”
“What’s up, Grit?”
“I want to bring you up to speed on the briefing.”
“Right.” The truth was I’d forgotten all about it. “Go ahead, unless you want to send something over.”
“I’d rather tell you in person.”
His words raised my hackles. “Is that necessary?”
“They’re suspicious.”
“Who is?”
“Like I said, this conversation would be better had in person.”
“I can’t travel presently.”
“I’m aware, Admiral. By the way, I had a conversation with Doc and Merrigan Butler earlier. I want to fill you in on that as well.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “What are you thinking, Grit?”
“I’ll come up there.”
“Let me get back to you on that.”
“Admiral?”
“Just give me an hour or so.”
He sighed. “Understood.”
When the call ended, I realized both Alice and Tank were studying me.
“He wants to come back up here,” I blurted. “He also said he had a conversation with Doc and Merrigan.”
Tank shook his head. “I don’t like it, boss.”
Neither did I, and based on Alice’s expression, she didn’t either.