Page 45 of Mike

First chance she got? She was tagging that mother-footer’s ride.

But for now…

She slid on her NVG’s, which immediately made her think of Mike in the woods.

Nope. Not going there. This was no time to become mentally distracted.

She refocused.

Crouched in the shadows, Joe memorized everything she could about the third man’s appearance. Slicked back, salt and pepper hair. A nose that had been broken and set badly at some juncture. A gold stud, like a weathered nugget actually, adorning one earlobe.

Other than that, his suit was high quality, his shoes polished, but…if she wasn’t mistaken… Yes. The man was missing the pinky finger on his left hand. That physical tell had to trigger something in the agency’s data base.

Figuring she’d discovered all she could for the time being, Joe breathed slowly and calmly, leaning back into the darkness while continuing to watch the interaction. She had her infrared camera at the ready, hoping for another drug exchange she could document, but nothing of that ilk occurred, so she took photos of the three men, instead.

Ten minutes passed and then the entire verbal exchange was over. The two men with whom she was familiar headed to their vehicles. The third man turned and disappeared into a people-sized door on the side of the building, giving Joe no clue as to what was inside.

At least for now.

As the pair of already identified perps took off, Joe came out of hiding to do recon around the entire perimeter of the building, and…

Nothing.

Except a low humming inside that sounded like a small engine.

No windows allowed her to get a glimpse of what was within. There were no guards around the rust-bucket edifice whom she could subdue and drag off for questioning, and no additional cars parked where Joe could find them.

Perp number three, who she’d nicknamed “Nugget” in her head, must have driven his vehicle in through the large, overhead doors and parked inside. Which meant she was going to have to keep watch for as long as it took for the man to make a move.

Joe let out a yawn.

This wouldn’t be the first all-nighter she pulled, but the timing sucked. She wanted to be fully awake for her first date with Mike the following…uh… Joe glanced at her watch, and amended that to this evening since it was currently going on 1 AM.

Snickety-snot.

It figured.

Just when Joe had something better to do, she had a feeling her man of interest inside wasn’t going to oblige with a speedy departure.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was 2 AM before there was movement at the warehouse again, and Joe went on quick alert. As the overhead doors creaked open, she moved as close as possible to the building without leaving the cover of the trees.

Seconds passed.

The car that finally rolled out was a newer model white sedan with no distinguishing features. Her only hope was to get the license plate and see if it turned up any information on the driver.

Her NVG’s went on again, and sure enough it was “Mr. Nugget” driving. The large door closed behind him once he rolled out, and as he moved slowly past Joe’s position, she committed his plate to memory.

“Gotcha,” she whispered to the departing taillights.

But now…

She had a problem. Did she go with her gut and enter the warehouse? Or did she obey the vague edicts laid out by her boss and leave the site for an infil team to clean up? It was the way things had been for ten years, but this time…

Joe didn’t spend too long speculating. Since the main office hadn’t gotten back to her with any useful information regarding what she’d already sent them, she’d move forward and execute this additional, unsanctioned reconnaissance, making smart use of what was available to her; the hulking metal building that surely held secrets.

It was difficult to wait until she was certain things were safe, but Joe put a half hour between the time Mr. Nugget left and her mission, beginning a steady and stealthy trek toward the people-sized door the man had previously used.

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