Page 31 of Saint

She’d never seen those men before, and they weren’t part of the group she was after. Who were they, and why had they been with Griffin? Things were becoming more and more complicated, and it seemed no matter what she did, the odds were quickly becoming stacked against her.

Earlier that morning, she’d received a call from her boss at the DOD letting her know that she was being placed on administrative leave for suspicion of violation of policies and a number of other things.

“Come on, John. We’re all in violation of policies around here,” she laughed.

“You’re not with the agency any longer, Michelle. You can’t just ask someone to sweep all your bullshit beneath the rug and hope it disappears.”

“I didn’t ask anyone to do anything,” she snapped. “If we want this contract, you have to allow me to do what I need to do.”

“This contract isn’t viable any longer. Our experts agree that it can’t be done, and we’ve spoken to G.R.I.P. Part of the delay in this has been they cannot find a way to make it work, and if they’re telling me it’s damn sure not viable.”

“They’re lying!”

“Michelle, I won’t have this conversation with you again. You’re on leave until further notice, and this project is on the shelf. We will not be following this any longer. If you continue to violate our policies, you will be terminated.”

“You won’t need to terminate me, John. I resign, effective immediately.”

“Fine. That makes both of our jobs infinitely easier. Stay away from G.R.I.P. and this bogus contract of yours. If I hear that you’ve violated any part of your agreement with the DOD, if you contact anyone at the agency, or you are found doing anything illegal, I will be the first to give orders to end you.”

“Love you too, John,” she chuckled.

“I’m serious, Michelle. I think you’re losing your grip on reality, and you just don’t know it yet. I’ve read your notes.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and he knew that he’d gotten to her. He found the notes in an encrypted file that their team was able to hack into. First of all, don’t encrypt a file with the DOD or agency, and not expect that someone will hack into it.

Second of all, writing secretive notes is definitely a way to get others to watch you more closely. Pink, irradiated dust causing superpowers? She was crazy, and they didn’t want her anywhere near their teams.

“Those were my files,” she ground out.

“Not any longer. They belong to the DOD, and they’ll be destroyed so that your loss of reality doesn’t reflect on us.”

“Loss of reality? I’m the only one connected to reality! Do you think my being a genius was by accident? Didn’t you see the videos of the people that we took in Wyoming?”

“We saw. It was determined that the videos were doctored. As for your genius, it doesn’t take a genius to know how you got there. Your own parents were geniuses, Michelle. Your father was a part of a secret Army intelligence program years ago, and so was your mother. That’s not anything unusual. You’re smart because your parents were smart.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No. I’m smart because of the pink radiation.”

“There is no such thing, Michelle. You’re losing your grip on reality. Get help before we force your hand.”

“Don’t threaten me, John. I know a few secrets of my own that could bring this country to its knees.”

“There’s always someone who believes they can bring this country to its knees. It won’t be you, Michelle. Take some time off and get your head on straight. I hope you’ll be alright.”

She’d thrown the phone so far into the ocean it would never be recovered. Of course, it also had every file, every photo, every plan she needed. Getting a new one wasn’t as easy as she believed it would be. Then, trying to download everything that she’d saved from the agency and the DOD was nearly impossible. Nearly.

In the end, she got about eighty percent of what she needed. The rest she’d have to find a way to recreate.

“Ma’am, there’s no one on the beach. Your property is completely fenced off, so there shouldn’t be any intruders,” said the man standing in front of her. He was ruggedly handsome, his big bear-like paws rough from hard work.

She’d found him in an unemployment line looking for manual labor. It wasn’t hard to get him to jump on board with the pay she offered.

“Theo? Do you like your job?” she asked with a sexy smile.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s the best job I’ve ever had. You pay well, we get good benefits, and it’s not hard work.”

“Mmhmm,” she said, sauntering toward him. “Hard. Hard work.”

“Um, yes, ma’am,” he said in a throaty voice.

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