Dark Spy’s Mission Read online

  Reaching for a bread roll, Turner tore it in half. “I can assure you of one thing. After the escape, there will be no more outings for the recruits, not without them being implanted with serious tracking devices. And if they do get to go anywhere, it will be with a strong security detail.”

  That was regrettably true.

  “I hoped that we could take them out sooner, but it seems like we will have to wait for the program to end and for the recruits to go home to their families. We can snatch them then.”

  Turner arched a brow. “What if they don’t want to come? And what if they get a tail?”

  “We can thrall the tail. I doubt they have immune snoops on staff, other than Eleanor, aka Marisol. And as to willingness, we will need to approach the families first and explain what’s going on. If they don’t believe us or prefer to ignore what we have to say, we can thrall them to forget about us or compel them to silence. If they agree, we can just compel them to silence to ensure their discretion.”

  “I see that you already have a plan of action. What do you need me for?”

  That was another rhetorical question, but Kian answered it anyway. “I want you to point out all the pitfalls and suggest safeguards.”

  Turner nodded. “The most important thing is to avoid the government’s notice. We need to come up with a decoy, or rather a scapegoat. Someone we can cast suspicion on that would divert attention from us.”

  “The Chinese,” Anandur offered. “They wanted Jin and took whoever was with her.”

  Kian chuckled. “And then they decided to go back for the others?”

  Anandur shrugged. “Why not? They are good at spotting opportunities and even better at stealing ideas from others.”

  “You might be onto something,” Turner said. “The question is how to implicate the Chinese.”

  Grinning, Anandur spread his arms. “I provided the idea. It’s your specialty to turn it into an actionable plan.”

  17

  Jin

  “That’s awesome.” Mey ended the call and grinned. “Eva is coming to teach you two how to put on your disguises, and she is bringing little Ethan with her.” Mey danced a happy dance. “I’m so excited. I can’t wait to hold him in my arms and kiss his soft little cheeks.”

  Jacki smiled. “Someone needs her baby fix.”

  Jin shook her head. “You and Yamanu should start working on it.” She regretted the words as soon as they’d left her mouth. Damn, she really didn’t know when to keep it shut.

  Way to spoil Mey’s good mood.

  Her smile melting away, Mey cast Jin a reproachful look. “We need to get married first. You know how Mom and Dad are. They like things to happen in the right order.”

  The real reason for Mey’s sad face was the low fertility rate immortals suffered from. She’d shared the information with Jin on one of the rare occasions that they’d been alone, but she’d also mentioned something about an elixir the other clan doctor had developed that was supposed to help with that. Mey would be miserable if she had to wait centuries to have a baby.

  Glad that her sister had brought up wedding plans, Jin jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. “Speaking of nuptials, are you going to design your own wedding dress?”

  That brought the smile back to Mey’s face. “I have a couple of ideas, but I think I should have a professional work with them instead of doing the whole thing myself. I’m not confident enough in my skills yet.”

  “If you need someone to sew it, I know how,” Jacki offered. “You can get some inexpensive fabric for a trial run or two. I’ll need a sewing machine, though.”

  Jin and Mey exchanged glances. Jacki was full of surprises.

  “Where did you learn how to sew, and why?”

  Jacki shrugged. “One of my foster moms was creative. She made Halloween costumes for the kids from leftover fabric pieces and altered things that needed fixing.”

  “That’s nice.” Jin smirked. “I’m curious to see what Eva has in mind for our disguises. The other time she made me look so different, but I don’t think I can pull that off on my own.” She waved at Jacki. “You have it easy. A wig and glasses will do the trick.”

  Jacki shrugged. “The same is true for you. I don’t think you should change your ethnicity. There are more than a billion Chinese people in the world. I’m sure many of them are tall. You just need to look a little different, that’s all.”

  “I hear Ethan.” Mey jumped up and rushed out into the corridor.

  “Your sister must have bat ears,” Jacki said. “I didn’t hear a thing.”

  It seemed like Mey’s hearing was improving by the day without her realizing it. She should be more careful to hide it from the other humans.

  Jin scrambled for an explanation. “I think she has a baby radar.”

  As the sounds of Mey’s baby talk and Ethan’s cooing got closer, Jin got up and walked out into the corridor.

  “Hi.” She offered her hand to the mother, kissed the top of the baby’s head, and waved at Bhathian, who was carrying Eva’s big trunk.

  Holding Ethan, Mey looked in love, and the baby responded with sweet smiles.

  Eva shook Jin’s hand. “Are you and Jacki ready for your transformation? Kian told me to do my best.”

  “Your best is not something that Jacki or I can do on our own. We need something just good enough.”

  “That’s what I told Kian. He suggested that I go with you to the Bay Area, but I said that won’t be necessary. I can teach you what to do.”

  “Awesome.”

  As they walked inside the apartment, Bhathian lowered the trunk to the floor and glanced around. “Where is Yamanu?”

  “He is with Arwel in the gym,” Mey said.

  “I’m going to join them.” He kissed his wife’s cheek. “Do you want me to take Ethan?”

  Mey hugged the baby closer to her chest. “He is perfectly fine with me. Go have fun with the guys.”

  “Okay.” Smiling, he kissed his son’s cheek as well. “Be a good boy, Ethan, and don’t give Mey any trouble.” He leaned closer and pretended to whisper in the baby’s ear. “If you behave, she might decide to have a baby of her own, and you’ll have someone to play with.”

  “God willing,” Mey said. “I want one just like that. Well, almost. I want my baby to look like his daddy.”

  “Naturally.” Bhathian patted her arm.

  “Who goes first?” Eva asked.

  “Me.” Jacki lifted her hand. “Last time you gave me a makeover but not a changeover. I’m curious to see myself turning into someone else.”

  Eva pulled out a chair and put it in the middle of the living room. “Take a seat.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Popping the lid of her trunk, Eva looked inside, moved a section over, and pulled out four different wigs. “Let’s start with the hair. Since your magnificent blond mane is your most striking feature, that is going to be the biggest change.”

  After pinning Jacki’s hair around her head and securing it with a net, Eva fitted her with a shoulder-length brown wig.

  “How do I look?” Jacki asked.

  She looked plainer and paler. “Twenty percent less sexy.” Jin pursed her lips. “Make it twenty-five.”

  Jacki smiled. “Good. The less attention I attract, the better.”

  “Put these on.” Eva handed her a pair of reading glasses. “Those are the special kind that fool facial recognition software.”

  “How about now?” Jacki asked.

  “Another ten percent reduction in sexiness.”

  “Does it change me enough, though?” She turned to Mey. “Would you recognize me?”

  “Yeah, I would, but only if I looked closely. But if you don’t want to attract attention, you should wear a minimizer bra. That cleavage is like a magnet to male eyes.”

  Jacki looked down at her chest. “Tell me about it. Most guys don’t even notice that I have blue eyes.”

  “About that.” Eva pulled out a small box from h
er trunk. “Have you ever worn contact lenses?”

  “Nope.”

  “These are brown colored. But you might be uncomfortable wearing them.”

  “I’ll give it a try. I’d rather be uncomfortable than get caught.”

  “Is there anything else Jacki should do?” Jin glanced at the chest. “As drab as the wig makes her look, she is still pretty.”

  “We don’t need to make her look ugly.”

  “I don’t want to attract any attention,” Jacki said. “And guys tend to ignore ugly chicks.”

  “I can do that with makeup.” Eva hooked a finger under Jacki’s chin and lifted her face. “Put the contacts in first. If you can tolerate them, you’ll need less makeup.”

  Jacki opened the box and looked at the lenses. “What do I do?”

  “First, you need to wash your hands. You don’t want any dust getting in your eyes.”

  After several tries the contacts were in, and Jacki looked so different that Jin doubted anything else was needed. “How are you doing? Do you think you can tolerate them for a couple of hours?”

  Jacki shrugged. “I can’t even feel them. I guess my eyes are not that sensitive.”

  “That’s good.” Eva pulled out several jars of foundation from her trunk. “Let’s make you look even drabber. I’m going for the grayish, sickly look.”

  “Awesome.” Jacki rubbed her hands. “The uglier I look, the more invisible I become.”

  18

  Arwel

  “Hey, Bhathian, what’s doing?” Yamanu called from the bench. “Are you in for some heavy lifting?”

  The Guardian grinned. “I’m trying to cut down.” He flexed a muscle, straining the seams of his T-shirt. “I keep running out of clothes that fit.”

  “Show off,” Arwel murmured.

  Bhathian was a mountain of muscle, and he worked hard for it, but he was also naturally predisposed to gain them faster and with less effort than most immortal males.

  “I can spot you guys.” He walked over to Yamanu’s station.

  Arwel could use help with spotting as well. The problem was the ease with which Bhathian could lift what he had to strain for. But those were petty thoughts, unbecoming of a Guardian. They each had their areas of strength, and Arwel had never been on a muscle squad.

  “It’s good that you came,” Yamanu said. “I wanted to talk to you about Vlad. I don’t know him well, but you had him in your sex education class together with Jackson and Gordon.”

  “That was years ago.” Bhathian shook his head. “It’s hard to believe that Jackson is happily mated and running a successful business of his own. He was such a know-it-all, a real ladies’ man, which was what had gotten him in trouble. Someone got jealous of his success with the fairer sex, and that someone was probably Gordon, but he’s never admitted it.”

  “What about Vlad?”

  “Vlad is a pure soul. He would have never played such a nasty prank on a friend. Jackson could’ve been sentenced to whipping.”

  “Nah.” Arwel sat up and reached for a towel. “Not without iron-clad proof. But still, Gordon should have been punished for causing all that brouhaha. Accusing a clan member of thralling a girl into having sex with him is a grave offense.”

  Bhathian chuckled. “I think Kian decided that suffering through the sex-ed class with me was punishment enough. I scared the living daylights out of those boys. After that, they knew to ask permission for every move they made.”

  “As it should be,” Yamanu said. “But most young guys, whether human or immortal, have no idea how to do that. You should write an instruction manual. It would sell like crazy.”

  “No one would buy it.” Bhathian took the bar from Yamanu and put it on the rack. “The other thing most young guys suffer from is thinking that they know better than their elders. Unless it’s coming from the mouth of some idol, or influencer as they call them today, they won’t listen to advice.”

  “We sound like a couple of old farts, bemoaning the shortcomings of a younger generation.” Yamanu waved a dismissive hand. “But back to Vlad. I want to introduce him to Wendy. She is lonely. He is lonely. And they are about the same age. What do you think?”

  Bhathian rubbed the back of his neck. “Vlad is painfully shy. He wouldn’t know how to talk to a girl.”

  “Wendy seems shy too,” Yamanu said.

  Arwel dropped the towel on his thighs. “I think that they might work. Usually, I would have advised against putting two timid people together, but you are right about Vlad being the best candidate for Wendy. I can’t think of any other male that won’t scare her. She’s so young.”

  “Wonder was nineteen when Anandur met her,” Bhathian pointed out.

  Arwel shook his head. “You can’t compare Wonder to Wendy. Wonder entered stasis five thousand years ago. Back then, an eighteen-year-old woman was considered a grownup in every sense of the word. Most had a couple of kids by that age. Nowadays, eighteen is still a child.”

  Bhathian lifted a weight and started bicep curls. “I assume that you want me to ask the kid?”

  Yamanu joined him next to the free weights. “You know him better than I do. He will feel less awkward if you do it.”

  “I doubt that he will agree, but I can ask.”

  “Is he that bad?” Yamanu moved the weight to his other hand. “The boy is nineteen, for Fates’ sake. At his age, I’d already been active for years.” He grimaced. “And had gotten into shitloads of trouble, so maybe Vlad is right about keeping it in his pants.”

  “I’m sure he is not happy about it,” Arwel said. “Show me a nineteen-year-old who wants to be a virgin.”

  “The boy is a romantic.” Bhathian put the weight back on the rack and lifted a heavier one. “He’s not the type who would go for a casual hookup.”

  Yamanu snorted. “I’m a romantic too, but at that age… well, chasing women was a hobby. Hell, it was an obsession. I couldn’t think about anything else.”

  “Is it the same for the lasses?” Bhathian asked. “As an empath, you have the advantage of knowing how they really feel. Do they get boy obsessed?”

  “They sure do.” Arwel smiled. “When we were setting a trap for Lokan in Georgetown, thoughts of sex were what I was picking up the most, from males and females alike.”

  “I’m glad I have a boy this time,” Bhathian said. “I would have gone nuts if I had been around Nathalie when she was a teenage girl.” His face saddened. “Don’t get me wrong. My greatest regret is not being there for her when she was growing up. It’s just that I know it would have been difficult.”

  “You didn’t mind when Andrew went after her,” Arwel pointed out.

  “That’s because she was a thirty-year-old woman by then, not a teenager. And Andrew is a standup guy. I couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law.”

  Arwel shrugged. “Same difference. If you trust your daughter and you like the guy she chooses, it shouldn’t be a hardship. On the contrary. If I have a daughter, and if she finds a decent guy who is close to her age and who I approve of, I would be happy for her, even if she was still a teenager.”

  A knowing smirk lifted one corner of Bhathian’s lips. “Let’s have this talk again when you actually have a daughter, and she is the most precious person in the world to you. No guy will do for your princess. I’m willing to bet on it.”

  Arwel offered Bhathian his hand. “How much are we betting on it?”

  “A hundred bucks.” Bhathian clasped his hand. “Adjusted for inflation.”

  “Deal.”

  19

  Jin

  Undecided about what to take with her, Jin had spent the morning packing and unpacking her few belongings. In the end, she just stuffed everything into the duffle bag Arwel had given her and walked over to Mey’s place.

  “Are you done packing?” Mey asked.

  Jin nodded. “I couldn’t decide what to take, so I took everything.”

  “You’re welcome to dive into my closet and take whatever you want.
”

  “Thank you. But I don’t need nice things. I need ugly ones, and that’s what I’m short on.”

  Mey pulled her into a hug. “I’m going to miss you. I wish you weren’t leaving so soon.”

  Jin hugged her back. “Thank you for agreeing to stay for a little bit longer. I hope this mission will be over quickly, and I’ll return before you have to go back to the village.”

  Mey smiled. “I wish it was so, but I doubt it. Your target is careful and elusive, and the stakeout will probably be long. They usually are.”

  “Great.” Jin plopped down on the couch. “What am I going to do with myself while the Guardians are trying to locate the target?” She smirked. “You sounded like such a pro when you said target, like a spy from the movies.”

  Ignoring her comment, Mey walked over to the media cabinet. “I have a going-away present for you.” She opened it and pulled out a flat box.

  Jin perked up. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “If you think that it’s a new laptop, then yes.” Mey sat down next to her and handed her the box. “Instead of being bored, you can start working on that business proposal for Kian.”

  “Thank you.” Jin leaned and kissed Mey’s cheek. “You are the best. When did you get it? Did you sneak out of here without telling me?”

  “I didn’t, but Yamanu did.”

  “Where is he? I want to thank him too.” Jin started carefully peeling the cellophane wrapping off. “This is such a nice box.”

  “He is in the gym, but he said he will be back before it is time for you to leave. He wants to say goodbye.”

  “What about Vlad? When is he bringing him over?”

  “Tomorrow. I hope.”