12. From Suite to Cellar
CHAPTER 12
FROM SUITE TO CELLAR
ZOE
L edger and I have been hanging out in the common area of our suite all morning with our earpieces in, getting updates from Packston and Charlie , who is Ledger’s handler today. Apparently , his normal handler, Kella , is away at some kind of appointment. We’ve heard updates on other efforts to find the men stealing the art pieces, as well as more details about the art auction at the mansion that is now only three days away.
My missions are virtually always solo missions, and always with Packston in my ear. If there’s ever anyone else, it’s Sully , just popping in on Packston’s comms to tell me something. Having Ledger’s handler in my ear, too, has been quite the adjustment.
We sign off at the end of the meeting and, just like it has all morning— and, okay, all during the night, too— my mind goes back to Ledger at the fudbal field yesterday. I just can’t seem to stop thinking about him holding that baby doll. He was just so sweet with it. He swaddled it and placed it in the stroller so carefully. He crouched down next to the stroller so he was closer to its height to coo at it. He cradled it as he put it up to his shoulder and patted its back.
And when he started bouncing the baby, even though Mila’s eyes weren’t on him, I nearly forgot everything, including what country we were in.
The thing about reading body language is that you can usually tell when someone’s being deceptive. Not because of telltale things, like how fast they are blinking or whether they’re making eye contact. It affects everything. Your words, the way you hold your body, your movements— both type and amount, everything. I’ve been around Ledger enough to know what is normal for him, so it’s much easier to tell when something doesn’t line up. All I have to do is watch to see if another emotion peeks out somewhere because it’s impossible to manage all of your body language when there is something else going on in your head. Your body knows whether what you’re trying to show is authentic or not, and it’ll tattle on you.
And it was all authentic. He was that authentically sweet with a doll . I can’t seem to stop thinking about how he would be with a real baby. It surprises me that it has affected me so much. Maybe because I never knew my dad? Whoever he is, he doesn’t even know I exist. I never experienced having a dad gently pick me up and cradle me.
A year and a half ago, when Ledger and I did a mission together at a run-down cabin in Moldova , we got to know each other pretty well. He did an impressive job of faking interest in me so that he could try to catch me off guard and get the prize himself. To the point that I even had a hard time finding any discordance at all in his body language— he’s that masterful at it.
And I had gone along with it because even though I knew it was a lie, it felt nice to have someone acting like they cared so much. I didn’t think that I’d be left with real feelings when it was over— feelings that have been impossible to shake.
Now , Ledger doesn’t try to hide his negative feelings about me. It really helps to remind me to keep my distance. But since seeing him with that baby yesterday, I’m having a bit of trouble with that. My heart was reminded of how it felt to be loved by Ledger , even if it wasn’t real, and it’s craving that again, which is so dangerous. Why didn’t I fight harder to not come on this mission with him?
Even though I want to distance myself from him now, I still have to know more. So I say, “ Yesterday , when we met with Mila , you seemed pretty experienced with that baby doll.”
He’s reviewing the mission stuff on his tablet that we just talked about, which is what I should be doing, and he looks up. “ Oh , it’s because I’ve got a niece. Heidi . She’s two, and she’s the coolest little kid.”
“ Your brother has a kid? Is he married?” I realize that I don’t actually know much about his siblings. Back in Moldova , we talked about a lot of things, but mostly about our time as operatives, a few random things about childhood, our moms, and his dad who died.
“ Not married. The stork just dropped her on his doorstep.”
I roll my eyes. “ Is he an intelligence operative?” I can’t help my curiosity. It’s not that we can’t have kids— or marriages, for that matter; it’s just that most of us don’t.
“ Blake ? No . He has no love for the CSA .”
In our ears, Charlie chuckles and says, “ If you ever want to get Blake all riled up, just ask him why he doesn’t work for the CSA . Or just ask him if anyone should work for any intelligence agency.”
I startle at her voice. I didn’t realize she was on comms still. “ You know Blake ?”
“ I mean, yeah. He’s my brother.”
I mouth to Ledger , Charlie’s your sister?
A knock on our hotel room door makes us both stand up quickly, darkening the screens of our tablets. I make it to the door first and peek through the hole. “ It’s the hotel manager,” I say quietly, and Ledger opens the door.
We both smile widely and say hello. When we’d checked in, the man had looked a little stressed and annoyed. Right now, though, the way he’s wringing his hands and ducking his head is showing nervousness and regret.
“ I , uh, noticed that you haven’t checked out yet. I’m guessing you were hoping to stay longer?”
“ Oh !” Ledger says, which is probably what would’ve come out of my mouth if he hadn’t beat me to it. “ We hadn’t even thought about that. We do need to stay longer. Is this room still available?”
“ I wish it was, but so many people are coming in for the Waterfront Summer Fest , and this room is already booked.”
“ Oh , butternuts,” Charlie says. “ We only thought you’d need to be in Belgrade for a day. Booking the second day was overkill just in case. And then with Kella being gone for her physical and switching with me, we completely missed it!”
“ Do you have another room we can switch to?” I ask. Hopefully , it’s another double room.
The poor guy looks like he just ruined Christmas or just broke his grandmother’s favorite vase. “ We are fully booked. I am so sorry.”
“ No problem,” Ledger says. “ We’ll just find another one.”
“ I am on it,” Charlie says in our earpieces.
But the manager grimaces. “ I don’t know if you will. Since it’s you,” he says, holding out both hands, palms up, toward us, “ I called around to see if I could find a room at another hotel for you. I really didn’t want to have to show up to tell you I don’t have a room for you without another option in hand, but there aren’t any. This is a big festival, and lots of people come to town for it.”
“ Uh ,” Charlie said, “ I don’t know how to tell you this, but I can’t find any, either. Everywhere I’m clicking is full.”
“ I don’t want to send you away with nothing, though,” the man says. “ We have a room we use for emergencies. It’s not much, and it’s not meant for guests— it’s for employees who have to work late and can’t get home for some reason. But it’s got clean bedding and is a place to stay. Of course, if you have somewhere else to go, that’s fine,” he’s quick to add. “ And if it was anyone else, I wouldn’t offer, but I would like to offer it to you.”
“ Thanks for having our backs,” Ledger says. “ We really appreciate it.” And then the two guys do some kind of handshake thing that only dudes who are friends do that somehow they both know even though they live half a world away from each other.
The guy gives us a keycard and tells us how to find the room. Then , as he goes to leave, he turns back and says, “ Have you made any progress on finding new locations for Bite Nite Burgers ? Because if you choose the location across the street, I’ll let you stay here whenever you want.” Then he adds. “ Oh , and I have an idea for a new menu item for you. The ‘ Twilight Vegetarian Burger .’ It can be one of those meatless ones. You know, for people who like their burgers as mysterious and vegan as teenage vampire romances.”
Apparently , it’s not just bro handshakes that are known around the world. Twilight is, too.
After we thank the man and tell him goodbye, Ledger shuts the door behind him and says, “ See ? It’s helpful to make friends everywhere. We’ve got ourselves a room we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
When we get our stuff packed up, we head down to the room, and it doesn’t take long to realize that there is a reason why they never rent it out. It’s down a dark, uncarpeted hall that feels like it might lead to a dungeon. Which , I guess, is somewhat fitting because the room has cement floors without a single rug. Two of the walls are cement, too, and the one window the room does have is teeny and up near the low ceiling. If there was a fire and we had to escape through it, I’m not sure that Ledger’s shoulders could even fit.
I’m pretty sure it was never meant to be a room at all. There are three commercial-sized water heaters along one wall and a big furnace in a corner. A single queen-sized bed sits against an unpainted sheetrocked wall, but it does have the same bedding on it that our other rooms had. The room does have a bathroom, although its size suggests it belongs in an RV . Beside the bathroom is a small rod to hang clothes on that’s suspended from the ceiling by two metal wires.
We both stand just inside the doorway, staring at it, not saying a word. Then Ledger pulls out his phone and calls Damjan , putting it on speaker.
When we tell him that we lost our hotel room, Damjan says, “ You didn’t have a room booked? During the festival? Yeah , you’re not going to find anything else. Unless the CSA has a safe house here?”
“ We don’t,” Charlie says through our earpieces, which Ledger relays to Damjan . “ Does the CIA have one?”
“ I mean, we do,” Damjan says, and for a small second, hope starts to rise, then he adds, “but it’s small. Just a single twin bed, and the last time I was there, it was infested with rats. And cats. You’d think the cats would take care of the rat problem, but no. They’ve gone all biblical and are living in peace. ”
“ So , we’ve got the option of living in the CIA’s Cozy Critter Condo , or the Utility Room Cellar we’ve got here.” Ledger runs a hand over his face, thanks Damjan , and hangs up.
“ Well ,” I say, “at least this room is better than that cabin in the forests of Moldova that we stayed in.”
“ True . But I have to say that the CSA has better safe houses.”
“ Better than your non-existent one here?”
“ No , this is perfect,” Charlie says through our comms. “ It’s the classic ‘one bed’ trope. This mission just got a whole lot more interesting! Play nice, you two.”
Ledger grinds his teeth, turns off his comms, then removes his earpiece and tosses it onto the bed.