Page 16 of Falling Fast

“The op’s a go. Tomorrow at oh-six-hundred.”

Liz smiled as she raised the rim of her cup to her lips. “And the Spider will catch herself another fly.”

Chapter Five

In the back seat of the cab, Jamie glanced over at Charlie as the driver pulled to the curb in front of Pinnacle Group, Baker’s office building in downtown Manhattan, and stopped.

Charlie sat perfectly still beside him, staring straight out her window, had barely said a word to him since leaving Brooklyn. She wasn’t annoyed with him as far as he knew, so he guessed she must be mentally preparing.

“You want to go over anything again?” he asked after he paid the driver and they climbed out onto the curb.

“No, I’m good.” She tugged at the hem of her short black leather jacket that stopped just below her waist, and straightened her shoulders.

The slim-fitting dark jeans she wore hugged every curve of her hips and ass, and her legs looked even longer with the high-heeled leather boots. She wore her dark hair loose around her shoulders, some smoky eye makeup and bright red lipstick. When she stepped into his office, Baker was going to love what he saw.

An unexpected twinge of jealousy stabbed Jamie and he pushed it aside.

He glanced up at the tall glass-fronted building before them, then back at her. This was her first time doing anything like this, so she had to be nervous, even if she was hiding it well. He was nervous for her too. “You’ll do great, and I’ll be right there with you.”

Those dark eyes shifted to him, so serious, but her expression softened a little as her lips curved upward. “I’ll do my best. Ready?”

“Take your time.” He resisted the impulse to take her hand or smooth a hand over her hair, needing to soothe her nerves. “We won’t go in until you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” she said. “Waiting will just make me more nervous.”

“Okay.” They’d prepared for this as best they could, and the rest of the team was waiting in a van a couple blocks away, ready for Charlie to transmit a few files from Baker’s office computer system.

The real Spider could have hacked it, but the whole purpose of this “test” op was for Charlie to establish a rapport and some trust with Baker, and to check the transmitter on his office computer system. They needed to know what modifications needed to be made with the device for if and when he and Charlie got an invite to Baker’s house so she could try to access his private laptop there.

Neither of them could risk wearing a wire for this op. If Baker was suspicious enough to search them and found one, the whole op would be blown and they might be in danger. Should anything go wrong, Jamie was to get Charlie out of the building and clear of danger, then meet up with the backup team at a pre-chosen location.

He gestured forward with one hand. “After you.”

She strode for the front doors, her gait and posture radiating a confidence that bordered on cocky.

Jamie followed a few steps behind her. Given his line of work and his level of training, it was intuitive to keep his head on a swivel at a time like this, watching for threats. It was hard to keep from looking around, but his cover was as a personal trainer, so he had to tone it down, along with his protectiveness toward Charlie. He was here as her neighbor, nothing more, and had to act the part.

Inside the lobby a two-man security team was waiting for them. “Who’s this?” one of them asked her, nodding at Jamie.

“My neighbor. I asked him to come here with me.”

Jamie stuck his hands in the kangaroo pouch of his hoodie and didn’t say anything as he subtly took note of their surroundings. The expansive lobby was all glass and granite, high-end and sparkling clean. The air held a faint scent of bleach. They appeared to be the only people in here, not surprising given that it was so early yet.

As he gazed around he spotted several security cameras tucked up into the corners of the room near the high ceilings. After making a mental note of their location, he focused on the guards again.

The two men exchanged a glance before looking back at Charlie. “You’re to go up alone.”

“I won’t go up there without him.” Her voice was firm, calm, not a trace of nerves.

The taller man’s lips compressed in annoyance, then he walked behind the front desk to pick up a telephone. Jamie couldn’t hear what he said, but the man was obviously informing Baker of his presence.

Less than a minute later the guard hung up and approached them again. “All right, he can go up too. But not until we check you both for weapons. Standard procedure.”

“Of course,” Charlie answered, then turned to Jamie. “Sorry about this.”

“No problem,” he murmured, trying to look as non-threatening as possible as the men approached.

The men took away their phones—specially encrypted by Charlie and her team for this op in case Baker’s people tried to access what was on them—checked them for weapons, and even put them through a metal detector. They passed the first major hurdle when the lip-gloss case hiding the transmitter went undetected.

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