Chapter 25
Ace
I force myself to get a little sleep on the plane because I need to be on top of my game for the meeting with Director Dickhead.
I don’t know what he’s pissed about, because I spoke to Erik and he’s put actively establishing a new intelligence agency on hold until at least after the holidays, so there’s no way anyone had intel saying anything else.
I’ve saved Erik’s life more than once over the years, and I’m positive he has my back.
Which means this emergency meeting is either about something else or it’s going to be a pissing contest because the director and I have never gotten along.
He got me a ride on a chartered plane, not a commercial flight, which makes even less sense.
So I close my eyes and let both my mind and body rest.
By the time the plane touches down in D.C.
, I’m alert and wide awake. I slept for three hours, which is more than I need in a situation like this.
I grab my bag and get through customs, heading out to catch a cab.
It’s just after nine in the evening, and I’m about to call my boss when I see my name on a white card held by a limo driver.
What the fuck is this?
Either I’m in bigger trouble than I thought or someone is playing a joke on me. I approach the man with a frown.
“I’m Mr. Ross.”
“Welcome, sir.” He leads me to a waiting vehicle and opens the door. When I get in, Director Dickhead is sitting there with a shit-eating grin on his face that makes me want to grab him by the throat and throw him into the street.
“Good evening. Hope your flight was good.”
“It was fine. Thanks.” I look around. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Wanted to have a little chat and I figured you’d be more comfortable here than in a cab.”
“It’s almost Christmas, and I want to get to my family. Can we cut to the chase?”
“You’re up for a promotion, Ace.” He grins as though he’s giving me the key to the city.
I arch a brow. “You want me to be a suit sitting behind a desk?”
“Some of the time. You’ll still be out in the field, but you’ve done excellent work the last few years, and the benefits of your connection to the Limaji royal family are immeasurable.
As a deputy director, you’ll be the main liaison to all the Eastern European operations with hands-on directives for anything that has to do with Limaj. ”
I stare at him with a combination of awe and disbelief.
This guy doesn’t like me, and the feeling is mutual, so it doesn’t make sense he would put me up for a promotion.
Of course, he isn’t the only person who makes those decisions, but I’m not the type of agent who’d be good behind a desk and everyone knows that.
“Sir, I’m flattered, but this doesn’t feel right. You and I have butted heads since the day you took over our department, so it makes no sense that you would put me in for a promotion.”
“I put you up for a promotion that makes you someone else’s problem,” he says, eyes meeting mine. “Win-win. Not to mention the pay raise, extra vacation days, and travel perks.”
“I don’t need the money, I have plenty of vacation days, and I already travel three hundred days of the year. What’s actually in it for me?”
The older man’s eyes narrow and he shakes his head. “You can’t let anything go, can you, son?”
“I’m not your son.” We engage in a steely stare down until he finally sighs and looks away.
“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them. You’re up for a promotion. I didn’t put you in for it and don’t know who did. It’s above my pay grade, and I don’t really give a shit as long as I don’t have to deal with you anymore.”
“Good to know.” I stare out the window. “Where are we going?”
“You don’t have a place to live here, do you?”
“I have places to crash. It’s not a problem.”
“Does this mean you’re turning it down?”
“It means I have to think about it. I don’t have any details so it’s hard to say yes to something so vague.”
“Paperwork is in your email.”
“I’ll read it and let you know.”
“I need an answer by tomorrow.”
“Why? It’s the holidays. Short of an international terror threat, the suits have all checked out for the year.”
“Like I said, above my pay grade.”
There’s nothing to say to that, so I knock on the partition separating us from the driver and give him an address.
* * *
I get out of the limo and pull out a set of keys, something I rarely do.
I don’t have a home or apartment here in the D.C.
area, but my parents do. They bought it because they worried about me and wanted me to have a place to lay my head, even if I don’t go there often.
They use it on occasion, when they travel or come to visit friends, and the best part is that it’s in my stepmother’s maiden name.
Not that the CIA couldn’t find it if they were looking, but it doesn’t immediately pop up on anyone’s radar and it affords me a modicum of privacy.
If Director Dickhead wanted to look it up, it wouldn’t be hard to link to my stepmother, but again, I have nothing to hide.
I just like having privacy and a place to sleep where I won’t be bothered.
By not using this as an official residence, it stays under the radar.
At least it has so far. Director Dickhead now knows about it, but I’m too grumpy to give a shit.
I drop my keys on the kitchen counter and leave my bag in the hallway. The townhouse is cold since no one has been here in a while, and I turn on the heat. I need a shower, something to eat, and to talk to Shannon. Then I’ll be able to wrap my head around this promotion opportunity.
I really need to talk to Erik and hear his thoughts as well, but it’s the middle of the night in Europe now. I’ll stay up a few more hours so I can talk to Erik and Shannon, and then I’ll crash for a while.
In the meantime, I open my email and peruse the official offer letter.
It’s the usual bullshit, nothing that impresses me and not really a job I want.
It’s still nice to see, after so many years of service, that I’m appreciated.
Everything within the agency is political, so I know someone wants me in that position for a specific reason, but I’m okay with that. I just don’t want the job itself.
I’m contemplating what I want to eat when someone knocks on the door, and I immediately reach for my gun, sticking it in the back of my jeans as I peer out the peephole.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath, opening the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Well, hello to you too, Agent Ross.” Sandra Barnes brushes past me and into the townhouse.