Page 86 of S.O.S. Mizzay

“Thanks for that,” she told him, kissing his scruffy chin. “I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to snooze at all, but I did, and I feel really great right now.”

Her hand inched down and found his hardness, ready and waiting.

“Nope. As much as I’d like that. We can’t be late,andwe need to save all our energy for what’s hopefully going down later,” Cobble told her with regret in his voice.

“You’re good then? You don’t need a quickie to revive you?” she asked.

“I am, and I don’t,” he chuckled. “I’ve been sleeping with one eye open and taking care of my, uh, business, solo, for years, so I’m good.”

Andy scowled. She didn’t like the thought of him having to resort to his own hand. But she’d done the same. So…him being fatigued was the bugaboo she should concentrate on, considering what they were about to face.

Cobble clearly saw her concern.

“Seriously. Don’t worry about me,” he assured her. “I’m operating at one hundred percent.”

She nodded, unenthusiastically.

****

Reluctantly, Cobble let go of his warm armful of woman and got out of bed.

Andy seemed to take that as her cue as she picked up her phone and scroll. “Still nothing from Chuck,” she told him. “I was hoping he’d have some news for us.”

She began typing, and Cobble headed to the bathroom.

He was a bit on edge, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t excited that the day was finally here. If all went well, he’dalmostbe a free man.

There was still the trial of El-Umar to consider, but if Andy and her team performed as usual, and the bad element got cocky enough to jump the gun, eliminating the unknown threat todayshouldbe a piece of cake.

****

An hour later, after notifying the SOS team that they were leaving the seaside property, they pulled up to FBI headquarters. Andy put down her window and punched a code into the security gate, which opened immediately, letting them into the private lot.

They got out of their car after parking, and Cobble took his first good look at Andy’s old job location. It wasn’t what he expected. There was nothing exceptional about the building that housed the agency. Just another steel and glass edifice across the street from a couple of bland looking hotels, situated on a typical just-outside-the-main-city, office-park kind of street.

He didn’t know why he’d expected something a little more…covert, but the large sign outside proudly proclaiming it the home of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, couldn’t be missed.

It was kind of disappointing.

“C’mon,” Andy urged, as he stood staring around.

“Huh? Oh. Sure.”

He wasn’t going to tell her he was completely unimpressed. If the Director who resided within could close this freaking case, however,thatwould be enough to change his mind. He’dforever-after hold the slightly-ugly building in the highest of esteem.

They walked through the front door.

After Andy showed some kind of badge to the officer on duty, they continued into a large, ground floor lobby. Cobble looked around curiously at the sparsely furnished area. Everything was gray and black. The chairs were rudimentary, and the coffee tables, glass with no adornment. Nothing remarkable to see, anywhere. Andy seemed oblivious, but of course this was her old stomping ground.

Cobble shrugged.

Entering the elevator, they went up a few floors before egressing, and much to Cobble’s surprise, the space they entered seemed much cheerier. The colors weren’t neutral at all; splashes of reds and golds covered the walls and floor, and there was a steady hum of activity as men and women bustled about. Phones rang, and…

Coffee. It permeated the air, and Cobble took a long, appreciative sniff.

“Can we get coffee?” he asked, coming to a halt. He’d had a mediocre half cup at the bungalow, and there hadn’t been time to stop for any more on the way in.

Andy, however, had started down a hallway opposite the lovely smell when he’d posed the question.

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