6. Insider Information
CHAPTER 6
INSIDER INFORMATION
LEDGER
“ I
don’t trust her,” I say to the director. I keep my voice quiet enough that Director Reynolds and Zoe shouldn’t be able to hear. Not that I’m unwilling to say it to Zoe directly, but it doesn’t feel right to say it in front of her boss.
“ That is what’s at the root of this?”
I nod. “ And don’t give me some line like, ‘ You don’t have to trust her to work with her.’ Have you ever had a successful mission with a partner you didn’t trust? It’s kind of a requirement.”
“ I’m not going to tell you that you don’t need to trust her. But I am going to tell you that it’s never too late to build trust. I think the two of you can get there.”
I disagree, but it doesn’t seem like that really matters, so I breathe through my frustration until the heat of it dissipates, and then I step back to the table and sit down. My director takes her seat, too. I lean against the back of my chair, my arms crossed. “ So how would this work?”
“ Well , you’re in luck,” Director Reynolds says, “because the first art piece is in Dublin , and the Irish Ambassador to the United States just happens to be traveling home to Ireland today for his daughter’s wedding. He’s been read in on the part of your mission that is need-to-know. Since he would like to keep organized crime and terrorism out of his country— especially anything having to do with Callid Aragundi — he’s willing to let you hitch a ride with him. So you’ll get to fly there on a luxury business jet.”
I smile. We’ll get a private plane with nice seats instead of flying coach, where these legs of mine don’t exactly fit into the designated “leg room” area. My would-be fellow seatmates and would-be flight attendants would rejoice right now if they knew I wouldn’t be joining them on their flight. At least one thing is going right.
“ Your flight leaves at six p.m. from Washington Dulles ,” my mom says, and both Zoe and I immediately look at our watches. It’s almost three now, and it’s a good hour’s drive to the airport, without traffic. There’s a lot here I’ll have to do to prepare for the mission, and then I’ll need to go home and pack before making the drive.
“ The plane will be in the air for roughly seven hours, and Dublin is five hours ahead of us, so you’ll arrive at about six a.m. You’ll need to be at the éireann Expressions Gallery at nine, which means that tired or not, you’ll need to sleep on the plane. ”
It might sound like we’ll be taking the redeye flight, we’ll actually be in the air from six p.m. until one a.m. our time, which is really not my standard sleeping hours. I can fall asleep anytime, anywhere, as needed. It’s waking up at odd times when I haven’t gotten enough sleep that I struggle with.
I glance over at Zoe , and she’s wearing an expression of confidence like she has no problem at all with the sleeping constraints. Of course, she doesn’t.
“ The owner of the gallery in Dublin has been briefed and is willing to let you plant the tracker,” Director Reynolds says. “ Apparently , finding out that your prized piece will be stolen makes a person not only more willing to up their security but more than willing to have a tracker placed so that they can recover it if it does get stolen.
“ That shouldn’t take too long, so you won’t need to stay the night in Dublin — we’ve got a flight lined up for you tomorrow at three p.m. that will take you to Belgrade , Serbia . That’s a five-hour flight, and with the one-hour time difference, that will put you pulling up to your hotel by ten p.m.”
“ The leg of the mission taking place in Serbia won’t be as easy,” Director Lancaster says. “ Especially because the owner, Zoran Savovi? , is a highly distrusting individual, and he is especially distrustful of foreign governments. So we can’t partner with him to place the tracking device— you’ll have to sneak it in. Both agencies will be working on a recommended plan while you’re traveling and placing the tracking device on the art piece in Ireland .”
Zoe leans forward, tapping a finger on the conference table. “ The hotel in Belgrade — you got two separate rooms , correct?”
That gets my attention, and I sit up straighter. “ Yeah ,” I say, making my voice firm and commanding. “ None of this business where there’s ‘only one bed available’ so we have to share or one of us sleeps on the floor.” Zoe is one attractive woman who is impressive in nearly every way, and every single guy everywhere would probably kill for the chance to share a room with her. But I’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced how she can lead you to believe that she feels one way about you, then go out and prove just the opposite. Once was more than enough for a lifetime.
“ We wouldn’t dream of it,” Director Reynolds says. “ We’ve got two rooms reserved for you tomorrow.”
Zoe nods. “ Which of us is in charge? Because —”
“— It better be me,” both of us say at the same time.
“ Neither of you are in charge,” Director Lancaster says. “ You’re partners. Equals .”
I narrow my eyes. “ Yes , but when we disagree, who gets to make the final decision?” Because we will disagree. Often and vehemently.
“ You’ll have to figure out how to work together to come to a final decision.”
Zoe rolls her eyes and leans back in her chair, arms crossed. “ That’s impossible.”
Director Reynolds raises an eyebrow in challenge. “ Impossible ? I didn’t know that word was in your vocabulary.”
Apparently , we are done discussing details because my mom opens the door and welcomes Emerson and Kenneth back in. “ You both likely have a lot to do to prepare in a short amount of time, so we’ll let you get to it. We will send you both a secure file with all the details by the time you board your flight. Emerson , will you please show our CIA guests out? And let Charlie and Kella know that I need five minutes.”
Emerson nods, and I watch— mostly Zoe — as the four of them leave, shutting the door behind them.
Then it’s just the director and me, with all of her focus on me. “ Why don’t you want to do this mission?”
“ I do want to do this mission.”
“ Okay , correction: why don’t you want to do it with Zoe ? Beyond the trust factor.”
“ Because she thinks her way is the right way— the only way— even if things in the field change. Because things always go bad when we work together. Because she tries to do everything in the most boring way possible. Because she would sell her firstborn to complete a mission. Because she forgets that sabotage should never be used on someone who’s on the same side as you. Do you want me to go on? Because I could go on.”
She studies me for a long moment. “ You’ve had a lot of experience working with very difficult people, and you always manage to work with them to accomplish your objectives. I mean, you convinced a street artist in Berlin to use their graffiti to send coded messages to one of our operatives when communications went down. And you talked a very skeptical cat lady in Bogota into attaching cameras to her cats’ collars so you could use her feline network as a surveillance system.”
“ It’s different with Zoe . She’s an intelligence operative, so I can’t exactly promise her exclusive spray paint from a rare collection or guarantee the safety of her beloved pets with state-of-the-art tracking devices to get her on my side.”
She takes off her lanyard with her CSA credentials and places it on the table, signaling that she’s switching from being my director to being my mom. “ Ledger . You’re the kid who always looked out for the boy on the playground at recess who had no one to play with. You were the kid with a great group of friends who planned fun activities, and would still always invite others outside that group of friends to join in so they could make new friends, too. The kid who always accepted people exactly as they were.”
“ It’s not the same, Mom . Zoe and I just can’t work together.”
“ But you’ve never actually worked together— only against each other. Sure , you both fight for the same cause— making the world a better place. But you’ve done it from opposing sides, working as competitors.”
No , there was one time that we worked together. Or at least I thought we were working together. It wasn’t a joint mission like this one. It was just a matter of the case she was working on and the case I was working on overlapping unexpectedly. It’s embarrassing how easily Zoe was able to betray me without me even seeing it coming. Embarrassing enough that I haven’t told a soul about it. I’m for sure not going to tell my mom/director about it .
She sighs, puts her lanyard back over her head, and straightens it as she stands up. “ Well , I didn’t want to do this, but I’m going to have to combine my knowledge of being your mom and my knowledge of being your boss.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “ I don’t think you can pull off a successful mission with Zoe .”
I cross my arms and meet her eyes, shaking my head slightly. She’s not saying she’s about to switch me out for another operative, and she’s not saying she’s going to go back to Director Sullivan and say she’s changed her mind. No , I know exactly what she’s doing— she’s using reverse psychology on me— and it’s not going to work. I’m not going to suddenly want to pull off a successful mission with Zoe just because my mom/director said I can’t.
I mean, I could pull off a successful mission with Zoe if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. I don’t want to work with her at all. But we are both some of the best at what we do, and we can prove it. I can prove it. I may not want to work with Zoe , but I can work with her and pull off a mission. Even a mission that is really four missions, like this one is. I can work with someone impossible to work with, and I can still be successful. I’ll prove it.
The director has a hand on the doorknob, about to open it, but then glances back at me. She’s trying to hide a smile that tells me she knows the journey my mind just went on, and that her reverse psychology did, in fact, work, even though I knew she was doing it. I grind my teeth.
She opens the door, and says, “ Charlie ? Kella ? You can join us now.” Then , to me, she says, “ We’ve got some news to share about your handler.”
Oh ?
Charlie and Kella come in, but they leave the door open. For as different as my sister and my handler are, they are alike in some ways. For one thing, their hair is about the same length— almost touching their shoulders. Charlie’s is light brown, wavy, and a tiny bit chaotic.
Kella’s is dark brown— almost black— and is sleek and straight as can be. But underneath all the dark hair on top is a vibrant teal fading into purple. If you see her from the back, her hair looks professional and a little boring. If you see her from the front, the teal and purple practically frame her face. It’s kind of like a mullet, but instead of the party being in the back, it’s hiding underneath.
They are alike in their enthusiasm level when they are excited. And right now, they are very excited. From the moment they walk into the room, I can’t help but feel the same, and all frustration about my latest assignment falls away.
The director says to Kella , “ Do you want to tell him the news or have me do it?”
“ I want to tell him. Okay , you know how I have always wanted to be a field operative?”
“ Yeah ?” I say.
She seems so excited that she’s ready to burst. “ I finally talked to Director Lancaster about it.” Her voice is rising in octave and speed as she talks. “ She gave me her blessing to fill out all the application paperwork so they can start the vetting process and I can start on the testing.”
“ Right on,” I say, giving Kella a fist bump. “ Congratulations ! It’s the best job. You’re going to love it. ”
“ Thanks ,” she says, grinning widely.
“ So what does this mean?” I ask.
“ Right now,” the director says, “it shouldn’t make much of a difference for you. There could be a time here and there when Charlie will need to take over as your handler if she has to be away for a test when something goes down. Charlie might just have to pull double-duty for a bit now and then.”
I grin at my sister. “ Just like good old times.” Charlie has been my handler quite a few times over the four years I’ve been here. But we both know I’m referring to our childhood, when she was on the other side of our walkie-talkies, directing me and Miles as we spied on our neighbors from the treehouse. “ So when are you going to apply to be a field operative?”
Charlie’s eyes go wide and fill with a terror that’s so over-the-top, it’s comical and makes me laugh. Charlie has always preferred running things behind the scenes and never stepping a single toe into the spotlight.
“ Just kidding, sis. You’re too good at what you do. We’d all be lost without you on the other side of our comms.”
“ If you’ll excuse me,” the director says, “ I need to get to a meeting. Don’t hold him up too long— he has a mission to prepare for.” She gives me a look like she did when I was a kid, supposedly doing homework, when she walked in to find me laughing with friends in a group video call.
As the director is leaving the room, Abraham walks in. He was an intelligence operative a million years ago, like at the same time my dad was. He’s too old to be a spy now, but I don’t think he ever wants to leave the spy life behind. I don’t blame him. “ I just came by to see what kinds of disguises you might need for your mission. Oh , and to wish you good luck, have fun, and don’t die.”
“ Thanks , Abraham ,” I say.
I’m about to talk with him about disguise needs, but then Kella asks, “ So , you’re preparing for a mission with Zoe , huh?” Even though I know she knows the answer to that.
Then Charlie says, “ Oh ! Maybe this mission will be the second act of your enemies-to-lovers arc.”
“ My … What ? ” My eyebrows pull together in confusion, but I’m also pretty sure I don’t want either of them to un-confuse me.
“ You know, a romance trope,” Abraham says, surprising me. “ You two start off as enemies and then you turn into love interests.”
“ No ,” I say as firmly as I can to all three of them. “ Absolutely not. If anything, it’s the opposite of that.”
Now both Charlie and Kella look confused. Abraham just pulls up a chair, looking rather entertained.
Then Charlie makes things so much worse by talking through her confusion. “ Opposites ? The opposite of enemies to lovers would be lov…” Then she full-on gasps. Hand over her lips and everything, like she just heard the most scandalous thing ever. “ You two—”
“ No !” I practically shout. “ Not exactly. Not that at all. But no, we are not doing an enemies-to-lovers thing. This mission will be more of an enemies-to- worse-enemies thing. It won’t surprise me if only one of us comes home on that plane.”
All three of them are quiet for a moment, then, like a true sister, Charlie says, “ If it’s Zoe , can I have your prized spyglass that Portugal’s Director of Maritime Trade gifted you?”
And now I’m back to grinding my teeth.