Page 22 of The Story of Danny Rose

The brothers appeared with their plates and coffee, and they slumped down in the same spots they’d had dinner last night.

I crammed a perfectly soft-boiled egg into my mouth and eyed the twins with a pinch of amusement. And wonder. They’d beenbusy.

“You’re just gonna get the shell everywhere.” Reese—that had to be Reese. He took the plate from River and started peeling his eggs. He was the caregiver when it came to River’s eating habits. River could get by on coffee and ramen, something his brother wasn’t a fan of.

Reese was the one with the Michigan ball cap, then.

The matching cargo pants had belonged to them already, but the short-sleeved plaid button-downs had come from somewhere else. One in blues and greens, one in reds and blues.

“Welcome to Venezuela,” I said with a smile. Danny took the last chair, same as last night as well.

“Yeah, thanks.” Reese yawned. “Did you shower?”

“Where would I do that?” I took a sip of my coffee—and fuck me if that wasn’t perfect too. “I think I’ll be asking the questions now. How was your night?”

He squinted at me. “Are we in character?”

I shook my head. “No need for dramatics. I just wanna do a background check. We’ll start with your names.”

Over the next few minutes, they did excellent with the basic stuff. They were students at U of M and currently part of a research study in Venezuela. They didn’t hide the fact that they’d spent the night in the bush. Their pants were dirty, fingernails too, some minor scratches… Hell, that might actually be makeup. It was subtle. Reddish brown, the faintest of streaks, and irritated dots looking remarkably close to mosquito bites.

I asked who their professor was.Margaret Hawthorne. What they were studying.Biodiversity in endemic species of fish. Where they were staying.Dormitory just off campus of the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. How old they were, what year they were in, what they hoped to accomplish with their degrees, how long they’d been in Venezuela for… They did well.

Obviously, if this had been real, they would’ve needed tons more to back up their lies. Passport stamps, fake identifications, fake phone numbers to call for confirmation at the university or ecology department, but they’d done everything they could’ve done for this particular assignment.

“Let’s see some pocket litter,” I requested.

Reese stuck a piece of bacon into his mouth and then dug through his pockets.

River followed suit.

“Where did you get the ball cap?” Danny asked.

Reese smirked wryly. “I saw it hanging off a lawn mower in someone’s yard. That was how Riv got the idea.”

I chuckled. “Just be sure to return it later. And the shirts? Off someone’s clothesline?”

“Yeah, we’ll return those too.” Reese held out the contents of his pockets. “We got cheap reading glasses at the gas station, and?—”

“The makeup pen.” I smiled, admittedly impressed. “Tums?” Spot-on.

“I mean…” Reese grinned.

Danny cracked up. “That’s fucking legit. I was popping Imodium like Tic Tacs in Somalia.”

I shook my head in amusement, having been there myself more than once. Tums and Pepto were staples.

All in all, I had to give the boys a solid score. “When we get home, I want you to read a book about the Canadian Caper. Have you heard of the operation?”

“Yes, sir.” River nodded. “The CIA and the Canadian government smuggled American diplomats out of Iran in 1980.”

Exactly. “Good. It’s an excellent example of what you need to learn about clandestine ops. But for now, I want you to get some rest. You’ve definitely earned it.”

“Can we hop in the lake first?” Reese asked.

“Of course.” I nodded toward the beach below. “There’s soap on the rock over there if you didn’t bring your own.”

“I was told the water’s frigid,” Danny supplied. “But you couldn’t tell by looking at Payne.”

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