Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
While Fletch had taken Michelle on a walking tour of the complex on Sunday, Monday was her first official appointment. There were more people out and about the complex. Their breath crystalized in the frigid air as they walked to where Michelle would be tested. “What if I fail?”
Fletch reached for her glove-covered hand and squeezed. “There’s no failing or passing. These evaluations help the agency understand your baseline understanding and skills. From there, you improve.”
She sighed and laid her head against his shoulder. “I appreciate your belief in me.”
“I could say it’s from years of listening to Denny.” He stopped walking and took both her hands. “That’s part of it. I believe in you.”
“I do better when I hide behind a made-up persona. D. Valentine is more self-assured than Michelle Holdcraft.”
“You’re the same person. D. Valentine wouldn’t exist without you. But when you’re in there with Olivia, be whoever feels right.”
They stepped through two sets of doors. Warm air swirled around them as Michelle unbuttoned her coat and stuffed her gloves into the pockets.
“This way,” Fletch said as he led her down a hallway and to what appeared to be an office. He knocked.
A young woman with brown hair wearing a lab coat opened the door. “Welcome, you must be Shelly.”
Michelle feigned a smile. “I am.”
“I’m Olivia.” Her smile bloomed as she peered up at Fletch. “Arrow’s told me a little about you. Please, come in.”
Olivia didn’t look like Michelle expected.
She’d imagined spies like Angelina Jolie from Salt, Jennifer Lawrence from Red Sparrow, or maybe Charlize Theron from Atomic Blonde.
Olivia looked more like a middle-school science teacher.
The science teacher was probably because of the white lab coat.
She was petite. Her olive skin, shiny brown hair, and hazel eyes gave her a Mediterranean appearance.
Despite the warmer interior, Michelle’s hands trembled. “You’re in the agency?” Michelle asked.
Olivia’s smile put Michelle at ease.
“I am,” Olivia said. She tilted her head toward Fletch. “Did he make it sound like the agency is filled with men like him, the kind that can break down a door as easily as pick the lock.”
“No, he said the agency needs brawn and brains.”
“Arrow has both. My strength is brains.”
Fletch reached for Michelle’s arm. “Are you all right? Olivia’s cool. She’ll help you figure things out.”
“I’ll be good,” Michelle answered, feeling slightly less nervous.
When Fletch walked away, Michelle watched, realizing that this was the first time in over a week that she’d been with someone else without his presence.
For a woman who relished her independence, multiple traumatic events seemed to have a way of zapping her autonomy.
Forcing a grin, she turned back to Olivia who was also watching Fletch leave.
There was a split second of something new in Michelle’s emotions.
Jealousy. Proprietorship. The feeling hit her out of the blue.
It was completely understandable that Olivia would find Fletch attractive.
He was. More than attractive, he was handsome.
And as Olivia said, he had both brains and brawn—a sexy combination.
Had the two of them dated?
Had they had sex?
Michelle didn’t have any right to wonder those questions, much less ask them.
And as for what her and Fletch’s relationship was, she wasn’t certain.
Maybe they were roommates with benefits.
With Michelle’s world falling apart, she’d come to depend on him.
She had feelings for him. There was like and lust. She didn’t trust herself to take it further.
There were too many other matters at hand.
“Welcome to one of my caves,” Olivia said. “As I said, Arrow filled me in a little about you. I’m sorry about Denny. I never met him personally, but we collaborated on cases over the years.”
“Thank you.” The response was robotic. “How long have you been with the agency?”
“Going on ten years.”
Michelle’s eyebrows shot upward. “Did they recruit you when you were in high school?”
Olivia laughed. “I was in college. I’d started my master’s degree in computer engineering.” She shrugged. “I never knew a department like the agency existed. Needless to say, I never finished graduate school, but after ten years, I’m confident I could teach my professors a thing or two.”
“How does it work? Recruiting?”
“You’re here.”
Michelle sighed. “I’m relatively certain I didn’t take the most traveled path. My circumstances were unusual. I didn’t know the agency existed until Fletch told me. My parents did a great job of keeping it from me.” She wondered what else they’d kept from her.
“Fletch?” Olivia turned her head. “Do you mean Arrow?”
Olivia didn’t know Fletch’s real name. That gave Michelle a needed boost of self-confidence. “I do. He told me the name Fletch when we first met. Then he told me his name was Jason.” She laughed, trying not to give away his secret. “He probably has multiple aliases.”
“My work for the agency is all behind the scenes. If you’re as good at research as he said, yours will mainly be too.
It’s not all cloak-and-dagger here. I’m sure Arrow and others have more exciting experiences.
However, I think what we do is exciting, especially when we make a significant discovery.
“As for recruitment, I think each agent is recruited differently. There are more agents than you could imagine, considering the highly classified nature of what we do. I was recruited by one of my professors. She said she recognized my talent and well, the rest is history.” Olivia took Michelle to a computer setup in the middle of the room.
“Arrow said your specialty is research.”
“Technically, my specialty is writing fiction—crime thrillers. I do research to create the most believable stories.”
Olivia lifted her eyebrows. “Oh, this will be similar. First, I’d like you to sit here.”
After Michelle removed her coat and laid it over another chair, she sat.
“I have a list of prompts,” Olivia said, pointing to a piece of paper. “Let your mind and your fingers wander. One answer usually leads to ten questions. That’s a good thing. My team and I have fallen down rabbit holes and found answers to questions that hadn’t yet been asked.”
“How do you grade me? Do you want me to save the information?”
“You’re not being graded. I can see on the back side everything you do.
I’m curious where your thoughts and actions go.
” Olivia smiled. “I’ll be back in an hour and see how you’re doing.
” She took a step back. “Oh, there’s a poor excuse for a lounge down the hall to the left.
We have coffee. It’s actually decent. I finally convinced Peterson to upgrade the coffee maker.
” She grinned. “It makes espresso. And there’s a restroom the other way by where you came in.
” Olivia opened her hazel eyes wider. “Do you need anything?”
Michelle read over the prompts and shook her head. “I’ll just wander.”
“Perfect.”
Michelle followed the prompts, searching for information.
The computers at the agency were equipped in ways her personal computer hadn’t been.
Not only was this faster but with it, she had access to systems she’d never before been able to reach.
She infiltrated traffic cams, searching for a silver Chevy Tahoe in the Minneapolis city limits.
One prompt reminded her of her alibi.
Olivia said to wander, Michelle justified.
She tried to infiltrate the airline’s reservation system. Each time she made it past a firewall, she shook her head in amazement and wonder.
While she couldn’t recall the flight number that had been on the ticket, she recalled the date of her supposed flight.
Next, she searched for flights from Boston to Indianapolis, finding there were three that day.
She pulled up the manifest of the early morning flight.
She wasn’t listed. The midday flight was next. Again, there was no sign of her name.
Michelle was getting nervous about the alibi when she pulled up the evening flight. To her amazement, her name was listed. According to their records, she was seated in seat 3D. “Unbelievable,” she murmured.