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I WATCHED AS THE BRIT stormed out of the bedroom. It didn’t seem appropriate to pick up where we’d left off, so I pushed the lamp off the bed with a sigh of defeat. My hair was a mess, and my dress had been torn. I gathered myself to my feet and searched out my shoes where they had fallen in the scuffle. Putting them back on, I shook out my nerves.
As far as fights went, it was about an eight on a zero-to-ten scale. The man had moves. I touched my head gingerly to see if he had done any real damage but didn’t feel blood. I was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning, though. Hopefully, that headache wouldn’t come with a goose egg or anything so horribly ugly.
I found him pouring himself another drink. “Pleased to meet you,” I quipped, holding out my hand.
He looked at it as if he hadn’t the foggiest idea what to do with it, then poured at least half a glass of amber liquid into his tumbler. I hoped he wasn’t the kind of guy who got drunk on the job. Our work required lightning-fast reflexes, and if he really was going to be my partner, I wanted him frosty.
“Thirsty?” I said sardonically.
He merely grunted, slamming back most of the alcohol before turning to his friend. “No,” he said.
“You don’t have a choice on this one,” the other man said. “This comes straight from the top.”
“This is The Sleeper,” the Brit said, pointing at me.
I let air out through my lips as if the idea was ridiculous. “He’s drunk.”
“I wasn’t drunk a minute ago when you tried to kill me,” he countered.
“You’re the one who attacked me,” I said. “I was just defending myself.”
“Is that what you call it?” he denounced.
“I can’t work with him,” I said, agreeing on that one issue.
“Thank you,” he replied.
“You’re welcome,” I said, although it came out more like a curse.
“The two of you need to find a way to put aside your differences,” the stranger commanded, clearly used to being in charge. “You have a job to do, and whatever is going on between you is your own personal business.”
I was shocked. I glanced over at the Brit, and he appeared stunned too. How could anyone look at the mess we’d made in the bedroom and decide that we could work together? Didn’t that count as extenuating circumstances?
“Let’s talk about missing agents,” Jasmine said, bringing a rational voice into the discussion. She turned to me. “MI6 is missing two of their agents. The CIA is missing one of theirs.” She checked with the Brit to see if he was still on board.
“How do you know she didn’t kill them?” my new partner demanded.
“I didn’t,” I snapped.
“Let’s clear the air,” Jasmine suggested. “Please, everyone, have a seat.”
I sat on the opposite end of the couch as my nemesis, trying not to look at him. I didn’t trust him not to reach across the distance between us and try to hit me, but I knew I could make short work of him if he did.
“I’m not confirming anything.” Jasmine spoke as if we were two toddlers being given a time out in daycare. “But I think we all know that people in this room have been responsible for things carried out in the line of duty that would ordinarily not be sanctioned by either of our governments.”
“I never,” the Brit replied.
“Me neither,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.
“In ordinary circumstances,” Jasmine clarified. “If you were ordinary civilians, some of the things that both of you have done would be against the law. Can we agree on that?”
I crossed my arms in front of me, not liking when I was wrong. But she had me dead to rights, and I knew that my potential partner was also in the same category. She was trying to tell me that he had an equal amount of blood on his hands, while at the same time telling him that I was an agent rather than a common murderer. We both understood, and an uneasy silence settled across the room.
“Good,” the other man said, picking up where Jasmine left off. “I’m Reg. This is Theo.”
“I’m Jasmine, and this is Clark,” Jasmine said.
Theo looked at me with narrow eyes but said nothing.
“Since we are likely looking for the same person or persons responsible for our missing agents, our governments thought it best to work together,” Reg said.
“What we know about our agent is that they were supposed to meet their handler and never showed up. That was twenty-four hours ago.” Jasmine pulled up a chair so that she could lower herself to our level. “We have reason to believe he’s still in the city, but the clock is ticking.”
“Who is responsible?” Theo asked.
“We suspect it is a terrorist organization called Dark Sparrow,” Reg said. At the mention of the name, the hairs on the back of my neck rose. “They are involved in the gun and information black market here in Istanbul and in other major metropolitan areas across the globe. We’ve been unsuccessful at embedding an agent with them, so our information is spotty at best.”
“I know Dark Sparrow,” I said.
“You work for them, do you?” Theo quipped.
I sneered at him. If only he knew the truth, how deeply the organization we were searching for had hurt me, then he wouldn’t be so callous. But I wasn’t about to share any private information with him.
“I’m in,” I decided.
Theo looked at me as if I’d sprouted another head. I gave him my sweetest smile, daring him to follow. He took the bait, just as I knew he would. Men were so predictable.
“I’m in too,” he replied, finishing up his drink.
“Great,” Jasmine replied, her tone less certain. “Then I suggest you both rest up. You’ll have a lot of work in the morning.”
“Great,” I echoed, standing up. “It was so lovely to meet you.”
“Oh no, the pleasure was all mine,” Theo countered, rising to his feet as if he was a chivalrous knight made of nothing but good manners.
I kept the smile plastered to my face only long enough to clear the room, then I stormed out the door, my belly full of piss and vinegar. I was interested in the job, just not in working with a partner. My business with Theo was far from finished, but for the moment, I could set it aside.
A plan formed in my mind as I walked back to the elevator. I would sneak out of the hotel that night and find Dark Sparrow on my own. I would take them down single-handedly and deliver the missing agents to their respective governments. Then I would take my revenge on the men responsible for ruining my life, all before the unlucky Theo had a chance to screw everything up.
Jasmine hurried after me, not fooled by my show of capitulation. “Clark!” she shouted. “Slow down.”
I whirled on her, stabbing the elevator button with one manicured fingernail. “Don’t use my real name.”
“Sorry,” Jasmine apologized. “I just hope you’ll consider actually doing your job.”
“Of course,” I responded. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I know you,” she said.
“Then you know I work better alone,” I reminded her.
“But not in this case,” she cautioned.
“Of course,” I said, flashing my least convincing smile ever.
“Please,” Jasmine said as the elevator doors opened.
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “You worry too much.”
“I don’t worry enough,” she replied.
“Good night,” I said, watching the doors close between us.
As soon as I was alone, I pulled my phone out of my purse. Expecting a briefing, I was happy to see the encrypted text flash on screen. I wasn’t above using the resources of the CIA to get what I wanted. I was going to give them what they wanted; it only seemed fair that our collaboration was a two-way street.
I walked down the hall, splitting my attention between the screen and my surroundings. It was a good habit I’d picked up through watching teenagers. People thought they weren’t paying any attention, but they were. I found that with a bit of practice, I could hold down a text conversation while surveying a room at the same time.
I was completely alone but knew that could change at any minute. Swiping my keycard, I let myself into my own room, taking a break from reading long enough to check the closet and the bathroom.
I sat down on the bed. This wasn’t a suite like the room downstairs, but that didn’t mean it was any less cushy. One of the perks of my job was that occasionally I was treated to the good life. There was a mini bar in one corner, a real coffee pot, and a fridge.
I read the briefing carefully but found that it contained few details. Despite the fact that it was encrypted, the higherups weren’t sharing much intel. They thought that I would be better served by plausible deniability. Either that or they didn’t trust me. The thought was slightly insulting, but who could blame them? Spies weren’t well known for their transparency.
The hotel would be our base while we were in Istanbul. Jasmine and Theo’s handler Reg would be on the first flight out in the morning. That’s when our work was supposed to begin, but I was itching to start my surveillance as soon as possible.
Now that I knew I was looking for Dark Sparrow, I had a few ideas where to begin. One of my favorite bars was a common meeting place for criminals and someone with ties to the criminal organization just might show up.
I paused, glancing up at a full-length mirror between the television and the door to an adjoining room. My reflection bothered me. Instead of the cultivated, guileless woman that I preferred to see, the woman before me looked battered and morose. She had clearly been through the wringer, and not just physically.
I thought of those days so long ago when I’d thought I had found true love. Falling asleep wrapped up in my fiancé’s arms had been heaven. It was more than I deserved, and fate had stolen it all away from me just as I feared it would. Ryan had been an agent with the CIA when I met him, and we were going to leave the Bureau together.
He proposed to me on one knee beneath the cherry blossoms outside the Washington, DC office, making me the happiest woman on earth. But then he left on assignment and never returned. No matter who I asked or how many strings I pulled, I couldn’t get any answers. I didn’t know what Ryan had been working on, where he had gone, or who he had been with. As a courtesy, they told me he had been killed in action, but they clammed up when I asked them for details.
For a long time, I thought that MI6 was to blame. That’s why I was so determined to exact revenge on Theo two years ago in Morocco. But Theo surprised me with his humanity, and I was unable to do the deed.
After that night, I drifted for a long time, aimlessly wandering from port to port. In the intervening years, I managed to piece together a better story of the events that stole Ryan from my life. Dark Sparrow was the secret society he had been investigating. They were the ones who deserved to pay.
Both Jasmine and Reg knew things that I didn’t, things that I needed to know if I was going to get to the bottom of my own personal problem. I didn’t care about the missing CIA agent, and I certainly didn’t care about two missing strangers from British Intelligence. Rescuing them was just an excuse to buddy up to the enemy so that I could figure out what had really happened.
I had to admit to myself that Theo was cute, but he was only going to get in my way. I smiled at the figure in the mirror, wishing her good luck. She would need that and a whole lot of stamina if she was going to bring home a win. I hoped that this would be the final chapter, and that I could finally lay Ryan to rest and get him the justice he deserved.
I went into the bathroom to change. In addition to the evening gowns and professional pantsuits I used to blend in with wealthy businessmen, I also had some more practical clothes. I picked a dark red long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks. Tying my hair up, I used a cloth to remove my makeup.
The result was someone completely different, a woman who could blend in and disappear in nearly every environment. Dark red was as good as black when the lights went out, and the modest dress would allow me to walk the streets of Istanbul without being noticed. I traded my heels for sensible shoes and was ready to go.
Halfway through the hotel room, I stopped. The door to the adjoining bedroom stood wide open, and none other than Theo himself stood leering at me from within the wooden frame. I narrowed my eyes, instantly suspicious.
“Adjoining rooms,” he said blandly.
I looked down at my attire, knowing that he had caught me red-handed. For another agent, there was only one reason I would be dressed like this. There was no use denying my intent to go off on my own; he already knew what I was up to.
