Page 37 of S.O.S. Perk

“We’re hoping that ‘somewhere’ is in his house,” Del put in. “And with that in mind, we’ve got a van already enroute to park just down the street from where he lives. They’ll monitor all incoming and outgoing calls made from his house, and catalog everyone who comes and goes. We’re also putting a drone in the air to surveille the property. If Ms. Jefferson is in the garage or any outbuilding, our toy is equipped with heat-signature detection, and will find her. If she’s in the main residence, once we know how many people are supposed to be in there, we can hopefully use that to determine if Kaelyn is being hidden in the kid’s room, or in the basement.”

Sloane was pumped. They were close to finding the girl. She could feel it. The leads were all good, and pointed in the same direction. Nelsin was going down. But not before they used him to find out who was pulling his strings.

Baskins sat back in his chair. “In order to remain expeditious, I need every agent to stay on this, and examine every angle. As soon as we have definitive intel, we’ll plan our next move. I’ve already been in contact with a federal judge, and he’s issued a warrant for probable cause, authorizing both our audio device surveillance and our pending breach of the residence if it becomes necessary. I suggest getting a little shuteye in the lounge area if possible. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.” He turned his attention to Perk. “You, however, need to head back to your home base and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll still be going to school tomorrow like it’s a regular day, then I’m hoping to circumvent all the red tape by having you get invited to Nelsin’s house.”

“So I’ll have to kiss the kid’s ass?” Perk questioned, chuckling.

“That’s right,” Baskins answered. “Just because we’ve uncovered the computer geek behind the operation, doesn’t mean we have all the answers. We need you onsite. We don’t yet know if Kaelyn is actually there, and we don’t, as yet, know who Jeremy is working with. You’ll be our person with boots on the ground.”

Sloane could see the excitement that swept quickly across Perk’s face before he wiped it away. She felt his exhilaration. It was always an agent’s dream to be the main-man for a bust.

Perk stood up, wishing them all good night and good luck before disappearing.

Sloane knew why Perk was pumped, beyond his obvious glee at being on site for a take-down. Because her brain had gone through the same, mental gymnastics. If Perk finished this and got sprung; no longer working undercover, they wouldn’t have to continue hiding their budding…friendship.

Sloane sighed. If it didn’t happen, so be it. The job always came first.

While Sarge and Smalley continued savaging their respective computers, the rest of the men chose to hang around and chat. Sloane and Tertia, whose first name was Elody, headed for the lounge. Not to rest, but for some much-needed coffee to stay awake.

“So…” Elody began, pouring herself a cup of the dark liquid. “You and Perk?” A dimple appeared on her cheek before she hid it while taking a sip of the life-giving beverage.

“What makes you say that?” Sloane deflected, but knew it was useless. Tertia, having shared a house and a living room with Perk, must have known she’d called him while he was off the clock. “We’ve, uh, obviously been keeping in touch because we’re working the same case, but other than that…” She trailed off.

“Come on, Sloane. The way you two interact? Especially when you don’t think anyone is watching?” Elody continued impishly. “Perk can barely keep his eyes off you, and you fidget in your chair every time he speaks.”

Busted.

Sloane made a snap decision. Since Melissa couldn’t yet be her go-to buddy for anything Perk, it wouldn’t hurt to get Elody’s take on things.

“Okay. Fine. We, uh, met on that Jakes’ op a couple months ago, and have been kind of dancing around each other ever since. Last Sunday I went to his teammate Billboard’s wedding, and we…hung out. After that, we decided to meet up for a friendly lunch to see if anything interesting developed, but that was before all this stuff at Waterston High came to light. So our hookup got taken off the table since we knew he needed to go in undercover.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Elody ventured.

“But…” Sloane gave a long exhale, “…as well as exchanging intel on the phone last night, we decided that it wouldn’t hurt the case if we met up somewhere remote.” She cleared her throat. “As in far away and off the grid. It turns out Perk’s parents have a cabin in New Hampshire that fits the bill, and we’re headed there on Saturday.”

Elody squeezed Sloane’s arm. “I’m so pleased you’re going for it, Sloane. You deserve to be happy,” said the woman who, as far as Sloane knew, never dated.

“It might amount to nothing,” Sloane grunted as she filled her cup with straight, black coffee and took a big sip.

“But itmightturn into something,” Elody countered. “And I’m just proud of you for taking a chance. I’ve seen evidence of how you’ve kept the interested men here at bay; not getting close to any of them over the past few years. Not that I know your motives…”

Clearly, Elody was fishing. But Sloane wasn’t going to hedge. She was tired of always keeping herself closed off to colleagues, so she gave over a little of her apprehensions.

“I’ve…been burnt badly in the past, so I haven’t been ready to start anything new, especially with a fellow agent where things might go sour and I’d have to continue working with them.”

“Understood,” Elody replied wisely. “But Perk?”

“He’s not exactly someone we’ll have jobs with directly as a rule, and I find him…intriguing.”

“And damned cute,” Elody added with a grin.

“Yeah. That, too,” Sloane agreed, matching her smile.

“Have you kissed him yet?”

Sloane felt a blush work up her neck, and wasn’t that silly. Elody had asked about a simple kiss, not a naked free-for-all.

“Umm, not yet. I was kind of hoping to initiate that on Saturday.”

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