Page 29 of Cyn
Cyn stared at the young man beside her. She’d meta lotof young people in her time teaching, and granted, her area of expertise didn’t often lend itself to discussions of the current state of race relations in the United States, but Private Crammer was far more articulate and insightful than most of the young people she knew.
“Seriously, Private, if you don’t re-up and you want to come to my university, let me know. I’ll be sure there’s a scholarship waiting for you.” And she’d make sure of it. His opinion of McElroy was both thoughtful and insightful, giving her a glimpse into the kind of student he’d be. In fact, with his work ethic, he was the kind of student every teacher, including her, wanted.
He flashed her a smile, then returned his attention to the road. “Maybe I’ll think about it. I’ve never been to Massachusetts.”
She’d gotten what she wanted out of Crammer and was now confident that McElroy had been up to something, something that likely involved Al-Shabaab, if Meleak was right. They had yet to figure out what that was, but given that Crammer and McElroy hadn’t actually been close, she doubted he’d know any more.
Cyn gasped dramatically. “You’veneverbeen to Boston or the Cape?” she asked, changing the topic to something a little lighter.
“Never been north of the Mason-Dixon line,” Kelvin confirmed.
Cyn gave a shake of her head, then proceeded to tell him all about the area, which led to a spirited conversation about American history. By the time they pulled back into the base, she couldn’t deny she had a soft spot for Private Kelvin Crammer. He had recently turned twenty-one, so it waspossibleshe was old enough to be his mother, but since she still thought of herself as in her late twenties, she declared Private Crammer her long-lost little brother.
Judging by the smile on his face, he didn’t seem to mind.
Once Crammer had driven off, Mac turned to her. “I’ll let you two get all your gear dropped off and sorted and will send someone to escort you to my office in an hour. Did you get what you wanted from Private Crammer?”
Cyn nodded. “He’s a keeper, Mac. Selfishly, I’d like to see him come study at my university when he’s done with this tour, but if I were you, I’d invest in him.”
Mac raised an eyebrow but gave a sharp nod. “An hour?”
Cyn nodded again. “See you in an hour.” Once Mac was in his Jeep, she turned to Joe. “Let’s go drop this gear off, have a quick shower, then grab a sandwich before we have to head out again. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Chapter Ten
Once again,Joe was following Cyn Steele, archeologist and secret agent, around. Admittedly, he didn’t mind too much since the view was a nice one, but it was a little…well, “weird” wasn’tquitethe word for it. It wasn’t that he felt he should be leading the charge. In fact, he was adamant that he shouldn’t since this was Cyn’s world. But maybe he should be doing more? His uncle had sent him to Cos Cob to be the man on the inside for Cyn and her friends. And though it didn’t take a genius to figure out why he’d insisted on traveling halfway around the world with Cyn, perhaps he should have considered whether his presence would actually be helpful.
“What’s wrong?” Cyn asked as they followed their escort through the labyrinth of the base. Her voice was pitched low enough that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.
“Wondering if maybe I jumped the gun when I insisted on coming with you,” he answered honestly. She stopped in her tracks, but he reached for her arm and tugged her forward, not wanting to lose sight of their escort, who seemed to think Roadrunner was an excellent role model.
“Why would you say that?” she demanded.
“Not that I’m not enjoying my time with you, but I’m not really needed,” he answered as they turned right and cut between two long buildings. Dust, exhaust, and the smell of human beings flirted with his nostrils.
They walked in silence for a few moments before she spoke. “That statement brings up a whole host of questions, Harris. Are you annoyed you’re not needed because I’m competent? Or did you think I wasn’t competent, needed your help, but now know different? Fair warning, neither interpretation bodes well for you.”
He barked out a laugh, and their escort turned his head, though he kept pace. “First, I’m not annoyed or surprised at anything. There is no way you could stay in the game you’re in without being competent. Not to mention the fact that my uncle loves you like a daughter and he does not suffer fools lightly, so I knew, even before meeting you, you were no fool. I came with you because the thought of you here without backup didn’t sit well with me.Notbecause I didn’t think you were capable, but because, and I think this is no secret, I kind of like you, Steele. And when you like people, you want to help them and keep them safe. So me coming had everything to do with me and how I feel when I’m around you and nothing to do with your capabilities.”
They were silent for another few minutes and in those minutes, as they maneuvered between more buildings, he wondered if he should have laid that all out there.
Finally, Cyn glanced at him and responded. “I get that, I do. I hate it when Nora or Devil or Six go off on their own, too, because I care about them, not because I think they can’t do their jobs. Why were you thinking about it now, though?”
A squat but long building came into view, and judging by the way their speedy escort picked up his pace even more, Joe assumed it was their destination. “I was thinking that if you and I go anywhere—in a relationship sense—I’ll have to learn to let you go,” he said. “That’s not even the right way to say that because using the wordletmakes it sound like I have a say in the matter, but hopefully, you know what I mean. I can’t, and shouldn’t, try to go with you on every op you go on. On many, I suspect, I’d just be in the way.”
“Then maybe it’s good you came on this one,” Cyn said.
He looked at her as they approached the building.
She glanced up at him again and flashed a smile. “Now when I go, you’ll have firsthand knowledge of how I operate. I think we both know this op is a little different than some of the others I do. But sometimes seeing someone in action can help you understand the situation even if you don’t know the details. Does that make sense?”
He pondered this as the escort held a door open and realized, not surprisingly, there was a lot of truth in her words. If they found themselves in a relationship, it wasn’t like he’d know the details of the ops she went on, but having seen her in her element, so to speak, did give him a measure of comfort.
“Welcome to the heart of it all,” Mac said, walking out of a door to their left. “Follow me,” he added, then turned and walked briskly down a hallway without waiting for an answer.
Cyn cast Joe a look and he raised a brow. “What you said makes sense and I also think Major Carter might have discovered something he didn’t like.”
She grinned. “Just FYI, Mac doesn’t like surprises, so this could be interesting.”
