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Excerpt:
Chapter One
Red Eye Out
“Brian, I’m leaving on the red eye,” Gee said softly as she leaned up against the edge of his desk. “I’m getting out of here today. I’m going home. It’s the last plane back to the States this week.”
“So, I heard. Connie and Tasha are terribly upset.” He stared out the window. “And so am I. I hate to see you go. You know that. I’ll miss you.”
“Then don’t miss me. Come with me. This operation is falling apart. The unit’s been defunded. Our cover’s blown. The Russians are sniffing around outside our door.”
“You don’t know that for sure, Gee,” said Brian. “Maye they’re new residents or just visiting the area.”
“While taking their machine guns out for a little walk? No. It’s trouble, I can feel it. The locals are scared. They’ve have pulled all their support. We have no security. We’re sitting ducks.
“Montevia is no longer safe place for any of us. We’re on our own here. You need to get out now, too.”
Gee reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Please, Brian. Don’t be so stubborn. You’ve got to get out of here. Now.”
“That’s very good advice. But I have no other options. Nowhere to go.”
“No family anywhere? Even distant family? Great auntie who loves you? Second cousin? Grandma’s second cousin? ”
“Nope. Haven’t grown any new family since the last time we had this discussion.”
“New girlfriend, maybe?”
“Nope. I’m still hung up on my old one, you know, the one who left me.”
“Brian, don’t. Not now.” She pulled her hand away.
“So, I guess I’ll stick it out here to the bitter end. I’ll take my chances that they’ll keep their word and send somebody to get us home safely.”
“I don’t like those odds. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine, Gee. Your worries about my safety are completely unfounded. I’m invisible. Nobody sees me. I blend into the environment, my surroundings, the woodwork. I’m not valuable enough to murder. Tech guys, we’re a dime a dozen.”
“That’s not true. You’re so much more than a tech guy. You’re…” she sighed. “I hope you’ll reconsider. Be extremely careful. If you must stay here a little while longer, please watch out for sweet Boris and Magda. Encourage them to leave the city. Maybe farther out into the country would be safer for them. I know they don’t want to go back to Belarus, but it’s a powder keg here.”
“I’ll do what I can, but there are no safe places anymore. The world is ready to explode. What we’re doing is simply putting band-aids on booboos. We’re treating the symptoms and ignoring the cause, the root of the disease, the major reason for all this international turmoil.”
“Don’t go getting all political on me, Brian.”
“You still don’t believe me, do you?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“I’ve examined all the data. I’ve analyzed the situation. We are in for one major international shit storm.”
“All the more reason to get out of here.” She handed him a slip of paper. “And you do have an option. Me. Here’s my new contact information in the States. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, safe from all major shit storms. If you do manage to get yourself out of here in one piece, come find me. Don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Oh, really? And the new husband, you know, Raymond, the mystery man you left me for? He won’t mind if your old boyfriend shows up at the front door asking for you?”
“Raymond? No, not at all. Come. Seriously. We need to talk.”
“Take care of yourself, Gee. Stay safe. Don’t take any chances.”
“You either, sweetie.” Gee smiled at him as she left the room.
Brian unfolded the note and read.
Gina Belcanto. Prairie Breeze, Oklahoma. Contact Binky at Binky’s Bar on the corner of Main and State St. He’ll get you to the ranch.
“Gina Belcanto? I’ve always known her as Geen Bell.
Oklahoma? I never would’ve guessed the New York City girl would settle down in Oklahoma,” he said to no one in particular.
The ranch. “It must be the husband’s place.” Brian folder the paper and put it in his pocket. “Raymond,” he snarled.
Later, Brian saw Gee leave the building with the small standard-issue personal effects box in her hand, heading toward the parking lot.
An elderly couple approached her. It was Boris and Magda. Their apartment bordered the back parking lot. Gee loved this old pair. She often had dinner with them. Sometimes they cooked together. They watched old American movies together and talked about the advantages of living a simple life in the country. She brought them tiny treasures from the store, things they had never seen, or food they never tasted.
He watched out the window as they hugged and waved as she walked to her black rental car, put the box on the back seat floor, and slid gracefully into the driver’s seat. As she pulled away, she glanced back at his window, blew him a kiss, and waved to him.
Brian plastered himself against the window, hand firmly pressed to the glass, ready to cry.
Was she aware he was watching her this whole time?
How embarrassing… and desperately sad. How he would have loved to spend more time with her. His ex-girlfriend was the warmest, smartest, funniest person he ever met, as well as a highly skilled agent. And so beautiful. She was also now married, but not to him.
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