Effective immediately, p.15
Effective Immediately, page 15
part #3 of The Agency Files Series
Before he could respond, his phone rang. An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen. Keith shrugged, frowned, and answered it, holding one finger up to Claire. “Auger, here.” The voice on the other end identified herself as the human resources manager at one of the security firms he’d applied to not an hour earlier.
“I’m calling about your application. We’d like to schedule an interview.”
That was fast. “That would be great. When would you like me…?”
As he made arrangements to interview that afternoon, Claire stormed out of the apartment—again.
“Wanna get ice cream after work?”
Erika’s head snapped up from the bistro table where she wrangled with shifts and the employees’ requests for specific hours. “What’re you doing here?”
“I got a job. So, I think we should celebrate. But, since I won’t get a paycheck for two weeks, and my dad would kill me for wasting my savings on dinner out when I don’t have cash coming in yet, I think we should just get ice cream—at the drug store. I’ll even spring for two scoops.”
“You got a job! Already! Awesome! Where?”
“Rhyman Security. They called and hired me within the space of three hours.”
Erika’s shock tempered a moment later. “Oh, right. Mark.” Her heart sank as she realized she’d just doused his excitement. “I’m sure he gave you a glowing reference. I mean, why shouldn’t he?”
Doubt, hesitation—it all flitted across his features before he pulled out the empty chair opposite her and sat down. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m being ridiculous. Stupid pride.”
“It’s understandable—something my dad never gets. Guys have a lot of their self-worth tied up in their jobs, so when you don’t have one, or get one you feel is beneath you, or you didn’t get it on your own merit, it messes with your heads.”
“And women don’t?”
“Some do,” she admitted, “but let’s face it. There are way too many books, talk shows, and commercials all proving that women have much too much of their self-worth tied up in their appearance.”
“And you’re immune to both.”
The sarcasm in his voice—almost imperceptive—nearly escaped her. She paused, gathering her thoughts to blast him, when that same pained, little-boy-whose-puppy-died look flitted across his face. Against all means of self-preservation, Erika sighed and shook her head. “No…” She couldn’t help a slight dig. “… and you know it. C’mon, Keith. I’m on your side. Don’t mistake honesty for an attack.”
She thought he’d bolt. He looked it. But peace settled over him and Erika realized that he hadn’t been trying to control his temper, he’d been praying. That’s my guy. Man, I wish I “got” his faith. Sometimes…
Keith leaned forward with folded hands resting on the table—resting so close to hers he could nudge and touch her. That thought made her realize it’d been deliberate, too. “So, ice cream?”
“I brought two sandwiches for lunch. We could eat ‘dinner’ on the way. What do you say?”
That smile—in unguarded moments it sent her emotions into the most delightful turmoil. His finger reached and stroked the side of her hand—just his finger. “It’s a date. Thanks.”
As he exited the door and strolled past the window, Erika sighed and Marcia, the newest and most bubbly employee they’d ever hired exclaimed, “Oh, he’s gorgeous! How do you stand it? Those muscles! You didn’t even touch them once! I’d have been all over him like fans on the Beeb.”
Erika didn’t know or care who or what “the Beeb” was, but she couldn’t help but say, “Keith’s the kind of guy who will be more interested in seeing more of me because I didn’t drool. Some guys like girls to show a little class.”
A bit miffed, Marcia bounced away, lamenting the low number of “hot” available men. And some guys, Erika mused to herself, are more interested in a girl who shares their faith. God., I wish I could. Her eyes widened and her heart sank as she imagined what Keith would think of her thoughts, but moments later, she smiled. He’d like it. He’d like it a lot if he could read my mind. That’s probably the closest I’ve ever come to a heartfelt prayer in my life.
Chapter Seventeen
His kids stared at him as if they didn’t know him. What’d Brandi say to them? She’s speaking to me—barely. Did they just pick up on that or what? Shin Kim smiled at his daughter, Lissa. “Want me to tell you a story?”
The boat rocked, flinging his little girl against her mother. Brandi slid an arm around Lissa and pulled her close. “You okay, sweetie?”
“Yeah.” She looked at Shin. “How come we hafta go on vacation again. We just gots home!”
“Daddy spent a lot of time and effort to get us this nice little trip, so let’s try to be thankful for it.” The rest of that sentence, Whether we want it or not, she left unspoken.
Austin, at age nine, was a little more astute. His eyes begged for information, but he’d never ask with his mother around, and Brandi hadn’t left him alone with the kids since they’d sneaked out of the house at three in the morning. Her words—accusations really—flooded back to him. “I can’t believe this, Shin. You promised me that you were loyal to the US. Now they’re hunting you as a traitor!”
“I didn’t know, Brandi! When I found out, I tried to figure out where to go or who to contact, but everything I find says we’ll both end up at Guantanamo Bay while they decide if we’re telling the truth or not—it could be weeks or months—and the kids’ll be shuffled into various foster homes. What else can we do?”
“And you just happened to have a secret trust fund that you’ve never mentioned that’ll just happen to fix everything for us? Seriously? You think I’m that naive? C’mon, Shin! The North Koreans are totally paying for this, aren’t they?”
Though tempted to tell her everything and point out that North Korea would happily kill them all for his gaffe, the betrayed pain in her eyes stopped him. He reached for her, but Brandi backed away, arms crossed over her chest. Defeated, he chose selective honesty. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong to hide the money from you. It’s not a trust. I’ve been socking away a significant portion of my income ever since I started at TW. It’s what we’re taught to do—pretend it doesn’t exist so we aren’t dependent upon a job for our livelihood. I know how much you hate it when my Korean culture affects my decisions. You know I’ve tried to overcome it, but—”
She softened a little—just a little. “Yeah. I didn’t make that easy for you.” The wall rose a few more inches again. “But you lied to me. How can I trust anything you say after you lied to me for all these years?”
“I didn’t lie—not for years, anyway. I only told you about the money tonight. And it was so wrong of me to lie.” The words galled, but he had to say it or she’d never listen. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Shin… you’re scared.”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “Terrified, if I’m honest.” He reached for her again, but she moved back another step. “Brandi, they’ll kill us—won’t take a chance. I’ve read about what North Korea does to those who get in their way—well, any country, really. I bet the US would do the same thing if they’d duped a guy in Korea and he might get away.”
“We have laws, Shin!”
“So do they, but this isn’t normal stuff. I was helping them steal money and possibly bio-chemical weapons research!” He hadn’t meant to add the last part, but it snapped her out of her disbelieving fog.
“What!”
“Look, I don’t know if it is—I only saw the money and realized what was happening. If I hadn’t gotten that email mixed up, I wouldn’t have known, but I have to assume that if they used me for the money, they could have had access to more. I’m so sorry.”
As he stood there, waiting for her answer, aching to hold her, the sickening realization of what he’d have to do if she didn’t agree washed over him. He’d avoided even the thought of it, but the time had come. He couldn’t leave her behind—couldn’t risk that they’d capture her. If she didn’t come, he’d have to kill her himself. It’s better than what they might do to her to get information, he tried to convince himself.
Brandi saw something in him—he feared the truth—and steeled herself. Her jaw went rigid and her arms dropped to her sides, fists balled in frustration. “We’ll go. Like we have a choice,” she muttered under her breath. “We’ll go, but you will get us somewhere safe, get us settled, and then get out of our lives.”
“I ca—” he forced himself to stop and nodded. “I can’t leave you for at least a month—maybe two. I have to watch a lot of things to make sure we’re not followed and you’re not in danger. I don’t know how to do that well. I haven’t been trained. But I promise to go as soon as it’s safe.”
“Shin!”
He jerked from his memories, his eyes scanning the area for whatever threat might have arrived. “What?”
“Austin wants to know how much longer.”
With heart heavy at the tonelessness of her voice, Shin turned back to his son and smiled. “Almost there. See that speck out there?”
“Yeah…”
“That’s it. Our own private island. Pool, quads, jet skis, fishing, everything you could want.”
“Except our friends.” Marisse hadn’t spoken to him since they’d dragged the kids into the car and out into the night. Now, nearly two weeks later, as they bumped over the increasingly choppy waters, she glared at him with hatred.
It tore at his heart, making it nearly impossible to breathe. She’s always been daddy’s girl—almost to a fault. Brandi has always hated how any of our kids favored one of us over the other, but Marisse has always been “mine.” Now she hates me. I don’t even know why. She can’t know…
He turned his face to Brandi, looking for some confirmation of his burgeoning suspicions, but the stunned expression on her face told him she couldn’t believe it either. Brandi spoke first. “You don’t have to be unpleasant. Daddy tried to give us a neat surprise. He couldn’t know the big water park trip was this week.”
“He could if he ever looked at the fridge. He never knows what any of us are doing, and now he ruined my whole summer. Katie was coming!”
It all made sense. She’d been heartbroken when her best friend Katie moved away at the beginning of the year. School had been rough without her sidekick—or rather without someone to be a sidekick to. Shin moved to pull her toward him, but she shrank from him. A look from Brandi gave him the strength to pull Marisse to him and cradle her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t know. I’ve been trying to keep track of things, but work has been horrible. It’s why I wanted us to do this—to have time together where no one can call and ask questions or—”
Marisse’s head snapped up. “You mean, no business calls here?”
He shook his head. “Not one.”
“Really!”
Amazed at how easily the world’s end could become the best thing ever, Shin laughed and held her close as Marisse squeezed his neck in excitement. “Can you believe this! Daddy’s not going to be working on vacation! That’s even better than Katie coming!”
Guilt sucker punched him. He fought back the desire—no need—to cry and held her even tighter. “I’m glad you approve, baby girl.”
Not five miles out, he saw a wisp of smoke over the island ahead. After another mile, it grew. His eyes widened and his heart raced. He stared at Brandi until she looked his way and then jerked his head in the direction of the island. The kids had started bickering about what they’d do first, which gave them a modicum of privacy. Shin watched his wife’s eyes widen, narrow, and close. She turned her face toward him, without even opening them, and shook her head once. After a moment of deliberation, he scrambled down to the steering wheel and disabled autopilot. Slowly, he arced the boat away from the island and fumbled with the GPS until he could set new coordinates. Fiji. We’ll have to go to Fiji. His stomach churned at what he’d have to do. He pulled out a new cellphone, stuck in the battery, and dialed the only contact in it. “Please tell your boss that Shin Kim will meet him at the Bayonet in three days—after ten p.m.” With that, he disconnected the call and removed the SIM card and battery before shoving it in a drawer.
He felt rather than heard or saw Brandi enter the cabin. “What now?”
“I have one other thing I can try. I’ll probably be arrested and tried as a traitor, but I think it’ll keep you guys safe. That’s all that m—atters.” He hated the break in his voice, but the idea of never seeing his children again—his wife again—nearly broke him.
Shin stiffened as her arms slid around his waist and her cheek rested against his back. “Isn’t there another way? One where you don’t die or get locked away from us for good?”
He turned, gathered her in his arms and held her as she wept. “I hope this will work for both of us. I have just enough information that might give me an edge. Otherwise…”
“Wow! Look, there’s a big fire!” Austin’s voice probably carried for miles. He thundered across the deck and down into the galley. “Did you see—oh.” He turned to leave, but Shin smiled at him.
“I saw. We’re going to go to Fiji instead. Do all the same fun stuff but with a little less privacy. Still…” He pulled his pockets inside out, showing them practically empty. “No cellphone. No connection to work at all.”
“Cool.”
Brandi slipped from his arms, kissed him, and followed Austin. “I’m still mad at you,” she said before climbing the steps to the deck. “But I think I kind of understand a little.”
As he stood alone with the walls of the boat closing in on him, Shin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If only I did.
Music pulsated until his heart seemed to beat in sync with it. Laughter erupted at irregular intervals around him as Shin waited for whoever would come. The risk, high—so high that he’d sent Brandi out two hours away. If he didn’t call by midnight, she had orders to get the kids to an American embassy and plead for asylum, telling them everything she knew.
It has to work. They won’t believe she didn’t know—not until it’s too late. C’mon… he pleaded with the stars outside the window. Give me this one chance to redeem myself in her eyes. Even if I die, don’t make them suffer.
Despite his general distaste of all things religious, even Shin knew his thoughts bordered on the edge of prayer. In a moment of uncharacteristic desperation, he added one last thought. I’ll even research religions—see if any make sense—if she stays safe and doesn’t lose the kids.
Before he could take it back, a woman slid into the booth opposite him—an Asian woman— wearing a dress that left little to the imagination. “I’m Emmy Chen.”
“You’re the boss.”
She sat back and laid a slim arm over the back of the booth. Anyone watching would swear she was trying to pick him up. “Did you really think they’d send the boss?”
No, but I hoped. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“How do I know I can trust you? You could have someone pick me off so fast—or the gun you have under the table—easy way to ‘silence’ me.”
She’s observant. Maybe she’s legit. “So how does this work?” Or rather, do you have the right answers to get me to talk?
“Don’t you mean, ‘Will you say what I want to hear so I’ll tell you what I know?’”
“You’re good,” Shin admitted. “I suppose you want to know why I contacted you.” He shook his head as she opened her mouth. “I’m not telling you—not yet.”
“I know why you’ve contacted us. What I want to know is why you think we’d help you.”
He debated within himself, minutes passing as a server brought Emmy a drink and offered to bring him another. Shin declined. As soon as the woman returned with Emmy’s drink and departed again, he leaned forward. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I don’t want the help, too. Okay? I’m not an idiot. You know why I need the help. But even if you have to turn me over to Homeland Security, get my family to safety. I’ll cooperate—tell anyone anything they need to know—but only if my wife calls me and tells me that they’re settled somewhere safe.”
“And what information can you possibly have that will make us even consider not shooting you right here.”
So there are others around—watching, waiting, probably with sights trained on me as I speak. He cleared his throat. “I have account numbers—”
“We have those.”
So, Lucy did take them with her. I assumed as much, but… “Okay, look. If you’ve got that, then you’ve got Lucy.” Shin waited for some flicker of recognition—anything that would tell him what he needed to know—she sipped her drink with such overt flirtation that even he had a hard time remembering it was all an act. “What you need to know is that if you helped Lucy, she’s either dead now or will be. They know where she is. They know she’s in a dead cell area. They don’t know if it’s a trap or real—I didn’t either—but if you have that information, now I do. So listen to me.” He leaned forward. She did too, her hand sliding along his jaw with such ease he almost responded. Man, she’s good!
“And what do you have that will tempt me to listen further?”
“If Lucy isn’t dead yet, she will be.”
“So you said.”
Shin pushed back against the booth, eyes flashing and blood coursing through his veins in a response only his wife had ever managed. No! I’ve never been unfaithful—not even in thought—and I won’t start now. He glared at her. Especially not in a charade. “If she is dead, anyone who tried to protect her is in danger.”
Emmy stood, tossed her drink in his face, and leaned close, practically choking him with a death grip on his shirt collar. “Be back here tomorrow night. Don’t be late.” As she stalked away, her hips swaying with the kind of finesse that screamed “model,” she tossed a vulgar insult at him in Korean.
He whistled low. “Man, she is scary good.”
Chapter Eighteen
