Identity Crisis

“Curiosity maybe?” Kristie shrugged. “I’m pretty eclectic in my interests, and I like figuring out how and why things work. Or don’t work. Especially the way seemingly innocuous variations can affect a result. In other words,” she added cheerfully, “I’m a nerd.”

The agent nodded in apparent agreement. “The tiniest detail can spell the difference between success and failure. And in my line of work, the difference between life and death. I suppose that’s the same for your so-called spinning, although on a less dramatic scale.”

“It’s dramatic enough for us,” Ray retorted.

Smith gave him an amused look. “You haven’t changed. Still competitive as hell.” Turning her attention back to Kristie, she said, “I’ve asked Ray to loan you to me for a couple of days. He’s going to say yes because the president wants him to say yes. Isn’t that right, Ray?”

“Loan me to you?” Kristie’s pulse quickened. “To design a strategy for one of your operations?”

“A backup strategy. My best people have already come up with the primary plan, and it’s as close to foolproof as possible, given the multitude of ‘variations’ as you call them. But this job is important—as important as anything I’ve ever done, and definitely more important than anything you’ll ever handle. So—” she smiled grimly “—I decided to get an outside opinion.”

Kristie’s ego bristled, and she expected Ray to defend the importance of work done at SPIN, but he simply said, “We’re willing to help within certain parameters.”

“Which are?”

“You’ll brief us. Both of us. Then you’ll go away. Kristie will design the scenario under my supervision, and when she’s done, we’ll send it over. If you have questions, the three of us will meet.”

“You’re afraid I’ll try to steal her away from you?” Smith rolled her pale blue eyes. “Believe me, that’s not on the agenda. What I like most about this girl is that she’s a civilian. Trained by you—the best profiler in the business, and a pretty good strategist in your own right.”

When Ray ignored the compliment, the agent shrugged her shoulders. “Kristie can bring a fresh perspective to this. That’s all I need. So your rules are fine with me. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Barely able to contain her excitement despite the tension between Ray and the agent, Kristie demanded, “What’s the assignment?”

“You’ll find what you need in here.” Smith pulled a folder from her briefcase. “It’s fairly straightforward. Your security clearance is something of a joke, so the details are sketchy. But that shouldn’t matter. All we’re asking you to do is plan a good old-fashioned heist.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought that would intrigue you.” The agent’s eyes twinkled. “Our target is a wall safe, hidden in an inner room in a mansion in Palm Springs, California. We have reliable intel on the layout and the security. But we’ll only get one shot, so we want to get it right.”

“What’s in the safe?”

“A disk, maybe two, containing the names and positions of half a dozen moles in sensitive positions in federal government. We’ve known for some time that the owner of the mansion, a shipping magnate named Kenneth Salinger, was working for the other side. We’ve been watching him, and were about to move in when we heard about the disk. We want it.”

“I don’t mean to sound naive, but if you know exactly where it is, and you have grounds to arrest Salinger, why not just—”

“Get a warrant?” Jane Smith burst into laughter. “Why didn’t I think of that! My God, Ray, she’s priceless.”

Ray shot her a silencing glare. “It’s a reasonable suggestion. I suppose you’re saying Salinger has some sort of contingency in place?”

“He and his people are armed with remote devices,” Jane confirmed. “They’d blow that safe in an instant if they thought we were on to him, much less arresting him.” To Kristie she added, “If we showed up out of nowhere at his front door, the disk would be destroyed before our people could start down the hall. Our best chance is to sneak in and get it, then arrest him.” She stood up and secured the latches on her briefcase. “We originally planned on going in this weekend. Salinger’s hosting a cactus show on the premises and we could easily put someone there undercover. But instead we’re going to use it as an opportunity to gather additional information, so we may have more for you in a couple of days.

“Meanwhile, just look over the file. Start getting a feel for it. Do whatever it is you do to research the alarm systems, et cetera. And get to know Salinger—he’s a real piece of work.” Smith’s tone softened. “You’ll undoubtedly have questions. That’s fine. I’ll come back on Friday to answer them. And if you want my team to gather particular intel during the cactus show, just make a wish list, and they’ll see what they can do. Is that clear?”

“How soon will you need the final product?” Ray asked.

“There’s another big event at Salinger’s house in three weeks. Some sort of art auction. We’d rather not wait that long, but access is such a bitch in this situation, we don’t seem to have a choice. Unless of course your spinner comes up with something we missed.”

Kristie raised a finger to interrupt them. “I have a question.”

“Another one?” Jane Smith’s reaction was almost a sneer. “I hope it’s better than the warrant brainstorm.”

The spinner silently counted to ten, then leveled a no-nonsense stare directly into the agent’s eyes. “You’re CIA. This is a domestic operation. Is jurisdiction a factor here?”

“Homeland Security is coordinating this. And my team is detached to the FBI as consultants. But believe me, we’re running the show. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Me?” Kristie shrugged. “I just don’t want to break any laws.”

“Since when? You talked to that juvenile detainee without his parents or attorney present,” Jane Smith reminded her coolly. “If it hadn’t been for that little stunt, I wouldn’t be here even if you were the best strategist on the planet. So save the holier-than-thou attitude for the folks back on the farm.”

“That’s enough,” Ray warned.

The CIA operative laughed. “I agree. Kristie? Study the files. See what you can come up with. We’re particularly interested in the best routes for entry and for escape.”

“Although technically, once you get in and acquire the disk, you don’t really need to get out. Just execute the arrest warrant, assuming you really have one,” Kristie suggested.

When Jane Smith winced, Ray chuckled with pride. “Sounds like Kristie has all the information—about your mission and you—she needs. See you Friday.”

“I can hardly wait.” The agent gave them a haughty glare, then swung her briefcase off the table and strode out of the office.

“Wow, I hope she’s not someone you care about, Ray, because—” Kristie paused for emphasis, then insisted “—what a bitch.”

“That’s the general consensus.” He patted Kristie’s hand. “Be careful, okay? Help them out, but run everything by me first. She’s a dangerous woman. Good at her job, but ruthless and ambitious.”

“You guys have a past?”

“We worked together for a couple of years. Not a time I’m particularly fond of. But it taught me a lot. Now I’m teaching you. Don’t trust her.”

Kristie cocked her head to the side. “For example…?”

“For example, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’s not after a list of moles at all.”

“Wow. What do you think she wants from that safe?”

“Who knows? It probably is a disk of some sort—she’d want to be accurate about that detail so that your plan takes size, weight, et cetera, into account. But the contents of the disk are anyone’s guess. All we know for sure is, this op will further her career. And if we’re not careful, it’ll do so at our expense.”

“That’s pretty cynical.”

“But accurate. She’s always been that way. But now that she’s getting a little older—a little slower—I’m guessing she’s even more desperate. Ergo, more dangerous.”

The spinner sighed. “Okay, I’ll be careful.”

“Good. But have fun with this, too.” He touched her hand again. “It’s a helluva compliment. And she was right about one thing—you’re something special. Thanks for making SPIN look good.”

Kristie felt her cheeks redden. “Like she said, I was trained by the best. So…” She gathered up the Salinger file. “I guess I’d better get started.”

“Yeah. I’ll transfer all your active assignments to David for the next few days.”

“Ooh, that reminds me. Guess who called last night. Will McGregor.”