Page 89 of Hidden Chance

“When did he pass?”

“A couple of years ago.”

“Su Su seems like a remarkable woman.”

“She is. That’s why I keep sending plenty of work her way.”

“Which one? Wood or electronics?”

“Both. We have one of her pieces in our house. It cost a fortune to import it, but it was worth it.”

“When we get back, you’ll have to show me.”

“That’s easy enough. Now, we’ve got a few hours until it’s dark, so we should all get some rest while we can.”

“That’s a good idea,” Robby said. “But tonight I want to go get a look inside the building if we can. I’m hoping the security will be simple enough to get through so we can get in and out without anyone knowing. Once we have an idea of what we’ve got, we can make a plan.”

“Sounds good to me,” Peter said. “Jemi, you and Hannah can stay on surveillance.”

“I know I said I wasn’t ready for the field, but I’m changing my mind.”

“Don’t you start. It’s too late to change things now. You are staying put, and that’s final.”

She sighed. “Hannah, have you ever seen that look on Peter’s face?”

“I haven’t, but I have the feeling it’s the look that says there’s no point arguing.”

“Correct. One of the keys to a good marriage is to pick your battles. Fine, my love. We will wait here for you while you get to do all the fun stuff.”

Hannah laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me putting up a fight. I don’t know how to do all the military-type stuff, but I can sit in front of a computer and watch.”

“Girl time it is. You boys have fun, but not too much.”

Chapter 22

The team sleptfor the rest of the daylight hours, and then Peter and Robby collected the gear they needed and headed for the door. When Peter kissed Jemi goodbye, Robby and Hannah accidentally made eye contact. He gave her a tight smile, then left.

“Hannah’s stronger than you give her credit for,” Peter said when they got in the van.

“She’s a civilian. Her skillset isn’t suitable for potential conflict. Even she knows that.”

“Listen to you. Civilian? Skillset? I agree on all of the above, but you know that’s not what I meant. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one to talk. I’ve asked Jemi to stay behind, and she’d probably be better at this than me.”

“Really?” Robby wasn’t convinced. “She looks great for her age, and you can’t even tell she’s been sick, which I’m still trying to get my head around, but you are both on the old side for working in the field. No offense.”

“You haven’t seen her in action. She’s like an alley cat on a mission like this. Yes, she’s not as young as sheused to be, but I didn’t ask her to stay back because I thought she couldn’t do the job. Even out of practice, she’d be great. To you, anyway.”

“Why not to you?”

“Same reason you don’t want Hannah tagging along. Or one of them, at least.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“In the beginning, when Jemi and I were getting to know each other, we worked together. Went on missions. We made a great team. My strengths were her weaknesses and vice versa.”

“You guys met on the job? I was wondering.”

Peter laughed. “You could say that. I’ll tell you the story when this is all over. Or maybe I’ll let her tell it. Despite our differences, we saved ourselves and several other women that day. Then she began working with my team, and we got sent out together a lot.”

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