Page 60 of Baby One Last Time
“It’s about time you got here.” Penn pointed to a large blueprint of the mansion he’d clipped to one of the boards. “Kessler, your notion that the small room is actually a staircase makes sense. Sparks is running down old records, but we suspect old bootlegger tunnels run under the estate. If not, Beecher might have had an underground bunker built, maybe even connected it to existing tunnels.”
“Jensen, I need you over here,” Alder called from the far end of the table. “Sandalai on the Versailles Team spent several years of his childhood in St. Petersburg, so he’s fluent in Russian. He’s ready to play the part of our buyer’s second-in-command, but I want this patch seamless before we unblock the phone frequency.”
Jensen glanced out the window, where pink was just edging into the gray sky at the horizon. “Not even time for a catnap? There’s no rest for the weary.”
“Or the wicked,” Sparks glanced up from the large screen where she was scrolling through old city maps and winked at me.
I sincerely hoped hers was just a general comment and not an indication that the entire team had figured out there was something between Derek and me.
“Jensen, Alder, you stay heads-down. I want contact with Beecher’s men as soon as possible.” TJ motioned for Mai and me to sit at the table. “Bond is going to do a quick checkup on you two while Cleanup brings you up to speed. After that, Lee, you’ll start weapons prep while Kessler updates the E&E plan.” He motioned to Penn and Sparks. “Okay, you two, you’re up.”
Penn clicked a remote in the direction of TJ’s computer and projected the screen onto a large whiteboard. “The Lover Boy Job” flashed in front of us in bright red letters. Another click of the remote sent a shower of pink hearts floating down over the letters.
Okay, so the entire team knew about the thing between Derek and me.
TJ scowled. “Alder, you do realize I know you and Jensen are the only ones who could have hacked into my computer and he wasn’t here?”
Alder elbowed Jensen. “With all due respect, TJ, you do realize he doesn’t need to be in the room to hack a computer, right?”
I slouched down into my chair. “What the fuck, Jensen? I thought you had my back. What happens in the field...”
“He didn’t rat you out,” Sparks said. “We all heard the recording of you and Wilder.”
I shot upright in my seat, heat flooding my face. “It was recorded?” Hello, stupid. Of course it was recorded. I closed my eyes and sighed. Getting fired for fraternizing was a disgrace. Never living it down with your teammates was a disaster.
“Comms are always recorded and saved until they’ve been reviewed, in case they need to be archived.” Alder nodded toward Jensen. “Even he can’t override that system. Well, maybe he can, but that’s a fireable offense.”
The room went quiet as my teammates caught up to the probable repercussions of my situation.
“It’s not like he’s her boss or they’re together in the field,” Mai said. “Anymore.”
“This discussion is closed,” TJ said. “We have a mission to complete. This extraction is part of the Miami Pete Job. Jensen, I’ll thank you to change the title of the briefing back to that after you and Alder have facilitated contact between Sandalai and Beecher.”
“Speaking of which,” Alder said, “we’re ready.”
I jumped to my feet. TJ pushed me back down into my chair. “Stay in your lane, Kessler.” To IT, he said, “Go in the other room.” Then he gestured to Penn. “Please continue.”
Penn spent ten minutes clicking through slides showing maps, the mansion layout, the overlays of the mansion on top of known tunnels, and every street, highway, and alley within a one-mile radius of the place. I followed orders to a T for once and paid strict attention. I even took notes on a yellow pad of paper, only breaking my concentration about once a minute to glance at the closed door between IT and us.
Penn was wrapping up his slideshow when Alder and Jensen opened the door. I leaned forward and watched their faces. Relaxed, relieved, triumphant. I let out a long breath and leaned back in my chair.
“He’s fine,” Jensen said. “As the buyer’s sidekick, Sandalai took a hard line. He used the intel we have about some past screw-ups on Miami Pete and Beecher’s end to explain his suspicion and the decision to send in a mole to observe operations. Beecher’s head of security all but confirmed the goods are on the property.”
“We’ve got them.” Penn motioned to Sparks and me. “Now that we know where the mission goes down, let’s figure out how.”
I hesitated, glancing between Penn and TJ. “The weapons are important, but we’re going after Derek first, right?”
“Yes,” Penn said. He looked at TJ as if daring him to contradict the pronouncement.
“Team first,” TJ agreed.
I let out a tense breath and jumped to my feet, ready to follow Cleanup into the SCIF.
“One hour,” TJ told Penn. “Then Kessler and Lee both need to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long one.”
“That’s all the time I need from her for now,” Penn agreed.
“I can go longer than an hour,” I said. No way was I sleeping through the planning stage of the most important mission of my life.
