Page 67 of Operation: Silent Angel
“I think that’s a lot more serious than you’re letting on,” she answered.
“It’s fine, Diana. It’s the game. And it’s not going to interfere with our weekend.”
“So, we’re not heading back today?”
“No,” he said, taking her hand from the tabletop. He pressed a kiss to her palm.
“Do you know that man?”
“I’ll know all about him in a matter of hours. Garcia’s on it.”
“Okay,” she said, feeling somewhat relieved. “Can we still go shopping at the charming stores on Main Street?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered with a grin. “I know you want to visit that chocolate shop.”
“And that wine shop,” she said. “I just might be able to complete all my Christmas shopping today. I have never accomplished having it done before Halloween.” She returned his grin.
“That’s right. Halloween is tomorrow. We should be back in time to go over to Cooper and Madison’s place so you can see the trick or treaters in their costumes.”
“Yes, Madison said their neighborhood trick or treating goes from noon to five. I’d like to get there by noon.”
“As long as we leave here by zero nine hundred tomorrow, we’ll make it to their house before it starts.” He finished the now cold food on his plate. “Are you ready? We could leave the hotel and go shopping now.”
Diana took one more drink of her coffee and then stood. They left the hotel and made their way along Main Street. While they were in one of the larger gift shops, Shepherd’s phone rang. It was Garcia. Shepherd stepped to a corner to take the call, but he kept his gaze on Diana the entire time he was on the phone.
Garcia gave Shepherd a complete report. The picture he provided from the car rental’s CCTV was the man who had approached Diana. He was a known Russian operative by the name of Sergi Petrov. He’d flown into O’Hare International Airport two days earlier on a flight from La Guardia. He’d rented the car at the airport. He had a return ticket to La Guardia out of O’Hare on Sunday afternoon, which Shepherd suspected the Koslovs had tickets for as well.
So, there had been a second team of FSB Agents accompanying the Koslovs. Shepherd wondered where Petrov had been the night before. Was he nearby but did not intervene? And if so, why? He’d brainstorm that with his intelligence contacts the next week. As for today, it belonged to Diana. He rejoined her and gave her the short version of what Garcia had found, reassuring her that they were safe. Then he took the bag containing her purchases, and they headed to the next store she wanted to visit.
Diana fastened the top button on her jacket as they stepped back out into the chilly fall day. Today, at least, the sun shone brightly in the cloudless cobalt sky. Without it, the day would be far cooler. She coiled her arm around Sam’s, which held the bag of the chocolates she’d just purchased and snuggled close to him. She felt relaxed and happy. At that moment, they were just a couple strolling down the sidewalk like any other. Intelligence officers and missions were far from her thoughts. She ignored the slight cramping sensation in her abdomen, thinking nothing of it.
Tango
After Mac pulled away from the curb in front of the DeSoto House Hotel, he made the hour and a half drive to the Chicago-Rockford International Airport. Though relieved to be with him and free of their handlers, the Koslovs were nervous. An hour into the drive, Anatoly Koslov was still looking out the back window.
“I’ve been watching. We don’t have a tail,” Mac told him.
Anatoly settled back in his seat and wrapped his arm around his wife. She settled in against him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I am sorry for doubting you. Just nervous.”
“I understand,” Mac said. “We’ll be at the airport in about a half an hour. The representative from the State Department will meet us there. They’ll fly you out within an hour of our arriving. And there are armed personnel to keep you safe.You have officially defected to the United States of America. Congratulations.”
The handover of the Koslovs to the State Department contact went smoothly. Mac then drove to Schaumburg, more specifically, to the townhouse complex that Yvette lived in. The past few months had proven to him that he no longer wanted to be separated from her. The love he’d had for her for over twenty years still burned as deeply, as hot, as intense as it ever had.
After the mission in Cancun and working with her again as well as spending several days with her after, he knew what he felt for her would never fade. He’d missed her every day since. He’d planned to have this conversation with her when they met in December, but since he was here, he’d have it now. If she didn’t feel the same, if she didn’t want anything to change in their relationship, so be it. At least he’d tell her how he felt.
He arrived at the door of her townhouse at nearly midnight. The lights were all off inside. Was she at home sleeping? Or was she on duty at the Shepherd Security Building? He had watched her enter her alarm code. He could break in and disarm the system. He thought for a moment of finding her in bed and waking her, professing his feelings, and making love to her. But more likely, she’d probably hear him and shoot him as he stepped foot into the house or into her bedroom.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number.
“Hello, Mac, is everything okay?” she answered on the second ring.
“Yes. I’m in the area. More specifically, I’m standing outside your front door.”
Yvette sat straight up. She’d been sound asleep when the phone rang. When she picked the phone up and saw the caller ID, her heart skipped a beat and a smile formed on her face. Now, hearing that he was at her door, her heart pounded in her chest.
“I’ll be right down,” she said.
She hopped out of bed and ran down the steps. She didn’t care that she wore a pair of boy shorts as underwear and an oversized super-soft, long-sleeved T-shirt. As habit dictated, she looked through the peephole and, after seeing Mac was indeed standing outside her door, she freed the door from the locks and threw it open.
