Page 16 of Unknown

Heavy men's footsteps entered the room. Listening hard, Cora picked up that they were followed by a lighter clip-clop, the distinctive sound of high heels. There was a breathy giggle. A hoarse whisper. The bedroom door closed.

He'd brought someone in with him. A girlfriend? Or was this paid entertainment for the night? Flattened out of sight against the bathroom wall, she couldn’t tell.

"Bathroom's through there," she heard him whisper.

Since the woman clearly hadn't been here before, Cora was going with prostitute. It was more likely. That was illegal in Army barracks, though. The prostitute was just as smuggled as she was.

But she saw, immediately, how it gave her a bargaining chip. Garrett was doing something that would get him into trouble, and now she knew about it. Hopefully she could use that to her advantage.

The heels were coming her way, and now was her chance to act.

The woman, a curvy platinum blonde with heavy make-up, walked in. Prostitute without a doubt. Short skirt, gigantic purse, and the air about her that told Cora more clearly than anything that she was getting money for this gig.

She made a beeline for the small mirror. And that gave Cora the chance to leap from out of her hiding place.

She grabbed the woman and clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling the scream that she knew was going to come out if she didn't. She dragged her close, pushing her mouth up against her ear, inhaling her cheap perfume.

"I need to talk to the guy in there," she hissed. "So for now, you stay here. Keep out of the way and keep quiet. If you do, nothing will happen. If you make a fuss or make a noise, I'll come back and hurt you. Understand?"

The woman nodded. Her shoulders were rising and falling hard, her chest heaving. But she wasn’t uttering a squeak. Cora removed her hand, keeping it close.

The woman stayed quiet.

Cora spun her around, meeting her gaze.

"Over there," she mouthed, pointing to the shower stall.

Nodding, the woman stepped inside and Cora closed the shower door. She'd brought a rudimentary disguise with her, just in case. A pair of dark glasses and a baseball cap. She put them on, just so Garrett couldn't give an accurate description of her.

Then, she turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Unsurprisingly, Officer Garrett was already lying stark naked on the bed, on his back, hands linked behind his head, a big grin on his face, his eyes closed. He was in his mid-thirties, she guessed. Muscular guy, broad but not tall, clean shaven head, and it was easy to establish that he had no weapons on him whatsoever.

"Come here, honey," he murmured when he heard Cora's footfalls.

"I'm not your honey," she snapped, striding over to stand beside the bed and staring down at him.

It was like seeing a guy explode.

He convulsed, a hand flying to his crotch area, another hand grabbing for the bed covers, hauling the sheet over himself as he struggled into a sitting position.

"What the hell?" he spat out.

But even in his anger and surprise, Cora noted, he wasn't speaking loudly. He knew the rules, and knew the consequences of breaking them.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed at her.

"I've come to ask you some questions."

"You? Who the hell are you?"

"I've been asked to find out about some things that are happening here on base," she said.

"Why should I tell you anything?" he retorted. "You're here illegally. I could make a call, right now, and get you thrown into jail."

"U-huh? And how about the lady in the bathroom? Will you be able to explain why she's here, too?"

Garrett clamped his lips together. But his face was turning crimson and she knew that she had leverage over him with this.

---