Hunting the Fox

Chapter 4

The warmth of the sun fell across Kiera's face. She kept her eyes closed enjoying morning like this when sun filtered into the bedroom. It reminded her of those days. She had the distinct feeling someone was watching her. Kiera smiled at the feeling.

"Why are you smiling?" A deep male voice asked.

"How long have you been watching me Ryan?" Kiera asked as she put her face into her pillow. She felt her heart beat fastest as he spoke. She felt the warmth of his body close to hers and the touch of his fingers running along her hip.

"Long enough to hear you talk in your sleep." The voice of Ryan chuckled, "How did you know I was watching you."

"Your breathing sounds different, more steady, and paced," answered Kiera in a muffled voice.

"Who has been watching who?" Another chuckle, "But it is time wake up my sweet Gazelle."

"Do I have too?" Kiera groaned in protest.

In the distance, she heard a familiar sound. She could not figure it out.

'I know that sound?' Kiera thought.

"I think that is for you." Ryan answered her thoughts.

"What?" Kiera said suddenly, turning her head and opening her eyes.

She expected to see the china blue eyes and roguish face of Ryan smiling at her, but was shocked to see that the other side of the bed was empty. Sitting up quickly, Kiera looked around the room. The room was empty. She pulled her knees close to her and placed her head in her hands.

'Was I dreaming? Where is Marcus? Where is Ryan?' Kiera thought trying to clear the fog of sleep from her confused mind, 'what did he mean by that was for you?'

Mozart's Requiem sounded in the quiet bedroom answering her question. She shivered slightly not sure, if it was her subconscious answering questions for her or something else. Kiera lifted her head and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. The clock read 7:00am as her phone's ringtone stopped and started again.

Untangling her legs from the sheets, Kiera stumbled out of bed on sleepy legs to her purse lying in the corner. She extracted her phone from the purse as the music stopped. She squinted as it was hard to make out who had been calling her without her glasses, but she did notice someone had called her a lot in the past ten minutes. The phone rang again in her hands and she jumped nearly dropping the phone.

Kiera pressed the connect button and placed the phone against her ear, "Hello?" Kiera asked hesitantly.

"Kiera, thank god you're ok?" Marcus's voice sounded relieved.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" Kiera inquired feeling a bit scared, "Where did you go?"

"Got an early call this morning," Marcus whispered, "Had to get back to the office."

"I didn't hear anything?" Kiera asked as she tried to think back to last night, but all she remembered is Ryan's voice.

"I'm going to tell you something," Marcus paused not answering her question, "Durand is dead."

"What?" Kiera gasped horrified. She felt the blood drain from her face as she sat down on the floor.

"Kiera are you still there?" Marcus asked.

"I'm still here." Kiera replied in a small voice. "How is it possible?"

"At first it looked like he hung himself, but the investigation so far is pointing towards murder." Marcus answered Kiera.

'He did have more to say to me.' Kiera thought, 'Now I will never find out.'

"Who would want to murder him?" Kiera probed.

"We are not sure, but Durand was going to give us a lot of information." Marcus answered a bit too quickly, "I believe we might have a mole at the agency."

"I don't understand." Kiera pretended to sound confused.

'Why is Marcus telling me this?' Kiera thought, 'This is all above my pay grade.'

"I need you to come to in now." Marcus said interrupting her thoughts, "We need to talk."

"I...I...what," Kiera asked still in shock from the news, "Why?"

"Kiera things have changed," Marcus responded, "We can't talk over the phone. Come down to the field office. I will have a car pick you up."

"Sure I need to get dressed." Kiera disconnected the call and sat still trying to figure out what it all meant.

'What is going on?' Kiera thought shaking her head.

Kiera walked down the hall on the top floor of the Chicago field office. She knew the field office reserved the top floor for the office Director and Deputy Director. Dressed in a short sleeved light green knee length dress with a light jacket on, Kiera pushed her glasses back up as she looked around. She realized that she had never been on this floor before. Kiera heard several voices talking or arguing. The voices carried from an open sitting area down the short hall.

"She is the only choice we have." Kiera overheard Marcus's Puerto Rican accent.

"I'm not sure about that." Another male voice responded in hesitation. "I think you're grasping at straws with her. She is not even a field operative."

"Gentlemen," A third man voice interrupted, "We have to do something and soon."

Kiera stepped into the sitting room to observe three men look up suddenly. There was Marcus, Samson the Deputy Director and a third person in his mid-forties with salt and pepper colored hair and cobalt blue eyes. On her first observation of the man, she thought him to be military, because of his erect posture and military style haircut. All three men immediately looked in different directions. This told Kiera all she needed to know.

'They were talking about me.' Kiera thought, 'But why?'

"Why am I the only choice?" Kiera asked coolly looking directly at Marcus. She folded her arms and took a stance that told the men she wanted answers.

"Kiera please sit down," Marcus cleared his throat pointing to a chair.

"Answer my question first." Kiera said defiantly.

"Please sit down and I will explain everything." Marcus repeated and Kiera noticed the familiar twitch in his cheek when he was angry.

Kiera sat down crossing her legs. She watched as the other two men visibility relaxed and sat down. Kiera arched an eyebrow waiting for someone to start talking. She knew that she had full control of the situation and planned to keep it that way.

"How long have you known Mr. Ryan Westbrook, Miss Reid?" The mid-forties man asked clearing his throat.

"Doctor Reid, please." Kiera responded coolly.

"I'm sorry," The man responded quickly and repeated his question, "Doctor Reid, how long have you known Ryan Westbrook?"

"I'm sorry too," Kiera answered, "But I don't know who you are and am I a suspect?"

"Um," Marcus broke in and Kiera turned her head to glance at him, "This is Special Agent Jason Davis from the office of Counterterrorism, Homeland Security." His office alerted us to Mr. Durand' flight."

Kiera sighed and turning back to Agent Davis answered, "I have known Ryan since I was Ten years old."

'Why is he asking questions about Ryan?' Kiera thought trying to anticipate his next question.

"When my family moved to California, The Westbrook's sponsored my parent's research. That was when I met Ryan." Kiera answered, observing Agent Davis's jaw close. She had anticipated his question and continued, "We became best friends throughout our school years and college."

"Would you say that you were more that best friend?" Davis inquired.

"Yes Agent Davis," Kiera sighed, "We dated and had a very active s*x life." Kiera stared at him directly watching him swallow nervously.

"When was the last time you had contact with Mister Westbrook." Davis asked regaining a calm voice.

"After his family's funeral he left unexpectedly without any word." Kiera answered, but left out the night at his parents' house after the funeral. She kept a neutral expression as she felt a sharp stab of pain in her heart at the thought of that night.

"Do you know why he left unexpectedly?" Davis let the word hang in the air.

"Well if you find him, you can ask him the same question Agent Davis." Kiera said throwing the question back at him.

'Would it be safe to say," Davis asked as he took a deep breath, "You have received packages from Mr. Westbrook?"

"You are right Agent Davis, Bravo," acknowledged Kiera. "When I graduated from the University of California, Ryan sent me a tennis bracelet. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Damn it Jason," Marcus said angrily, "Tell her what I going on."

Kiera watched as Agent Davis glanced over at Marcus. When he looked back at Kiera, she observed that he was extremely uncomfortable with what he had to say. She watched as he loosened his tie and cleared his throat.

"A week ago," Davis explained, "Homeland Security received a viable threat against President Williams. At first, we treated the threat like any other threat, but researching further we discovered the threat was made by the LNF."

"What does this have to do with Ryan?" Kiera questioned the agent, watching him carefully for any changes in demeanor or voice inflections. She did not observe anything that would indicate a hot spot. In sense, he was telling the truth.

"The threat involved an attack at the G7 summit." Davis continued, "The threat included the other attending world leaders." Kiera noticed him shift in his seat and he glanced over at Marcus, "We contacted Interpol about the threat and they transferred us to MI-6. You know who MI-6 is?"

"Yes, I have seen James Bond movies," Kiera said sarcastically, "But you did not answer my question."

"I'm getting there," said Davis holding up a hand, "MI-6 explained they had an agent who was assigned to the same case, but he went rogue."

"Let me stop you there," announced Kiera interrupting Agent Davis, "If I hear you correctly. Are you suggesting that Ryan is the Rogue agent and he is behind the G7 Summit?"

Kiera could have laughed, all three men had flabbergasted looks on their faces. Smiling she relaxed in her chair. "Ryan is not an MI-6 agent. He is a computer hacker, who was studying psychology and computer science at Oxford. Your Intel is wrong Agent Davis."

"Computer hacker, please be serious Kiera." Deputy Director Samson scoffed.

"Ryan is a skilled hacker." Kiera retorted, "Of the white hat kind. He had a theory about a ghost in the shell of computer systems, soul that he could understand. He believed that by understanding the computer he could manipulate the system. Then he could obtain passwords from strangers just by understanding them and the type of system they used."

"So he's a fortunate teller." Samson chuckled.

"I guess the only way to make you see the truth is to demonstrate his theory." Kiera sighed then she turned to Agent Davis and studied him for a minute. "Agent Davis, I would say you are a patriot and proud to serve your country. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Davis responded quickly.

"It would be safe to say that you once serviced in the military." Kiera thought for a moment, "Probably the Marines."

"You are correct." Davis answered again, but Kiera observed that he was looking unnerved by her observations, "How did you know that?" He asked slowly.

"When I walked in, I observed your erect position and your haircut is precise. These two things led me to believe that you were from the military until Marcus introduced you." Kiera explained, "Now I would also say you were a commissioned officer now retired."

"Again you are correct." Davis said with a look of surprise.

"What is she getting at?" Samson asked confused by the exchange.

"Be quiet and observe why she is good at her profession." Marcus ordered holding up a hand for silence.

"You are married, which is obvious by the wedding band. You have..." Kiera tapped her chin thinking, "two kids." She held up two fingers, "A boy, and a girl."

"Can you tell me their ages too?" Davis chuckled shaking his head.

"It is not important, but your daughter is a teenager and elementary school for the boy." Kiera replied.

"You're right, but how..."

"You have the same stress marks my parents had when I was your daughter's age." Kiera smirked, "In the end I'm just studying your body language, mixed with your background. You only own one laptop, which is a government issued Dell."

"That is incorrect fortune teller. I own a computer and a laptop at home." Davis crossed his arms and Kiera saw that he was satisfy with stumping her.

"Yes, I'm incorrect, but the computer at home is a Dell too." Kiera corrected herself and saw his eyes widen when she identified the type of computer. "You don't have them because they are inexpensive or easy to use. You have them because of uninformative. This would also speak to you having nothing to hide and you are a truthful person."

"How did you figure that out?" Davis asked slowly.

"Because of your military background and you need for everything to be organized and orderly." Explained Kiera, "Now I'm not as good as Ryan, but I believe your password has something to do with..." Kiera thought for a moment while watching his facial and body expressions. "Something Marines and your retirement date." Kiera pointed at him and saw to her satisfaction his jaw dropped.

"Well," Marcus asked looking from Kiera to Davis.

"She is correct," Davis said amazed, "But you don't know the exact password."

"You are right, but armed with those two things. Ryan has software that is able to find the right combination and he is much better at it than I am. That was Ryan's theory on using psychology and computer science. He is a hacker not a secret spy."

"Kiera," She turned to look a Marcus, "Agent Davis's Intel is correct. Ryan also known as the 'Fox' was an MI-6 agent who went rogue. We received his file from MI-6 early this morning." Marcus leaned over and placed the file in her lap.

Kiera watched Marcus carefully as he placed the file on her lap. She knew by now when he was hiding something. He always gave a small twitch under his right eye. She observed that familiar twitch, but there was a new hot spot, a slight spasm on his neck muscle. He was not lying, but he was hiding something.

With trembling fingers, Kiera opened the file and paled. There was a profile shot of Ryan. He looked slightly older, but those china blue eyes were unmistakable. Slowly she read the document. The document spelled the whole story. He had been an MI-6 agent for the past six years. Closing the file, she gazed at the manila folder with the top secret stamped across it. She felt the room spin from the information she read. Closing her eyes, she took deep calming breaths.

'This can't be right,' Kiera thought opening her eyes and looking at the serious faces.

"Kiera you knew him," Marcus said quietly, "I'm authorizing you as a field operative."

"I disagree and we need higher clearance for this." Samson interrupted standing up angrily.

'That was odd.' Kiera thought, 'He usually goes along with Marcus.'

Marcus looked at his Deputy Director, "CIA HQ has given me that clearance if," he looked at Kiera, "Kiera takes the mission."

"What mission?" Kiera said sounding distracted.

"The CIA needs you to find Ryan, discover what his involvement and if possible...."

"Kill him?" Kiera looked up at Marcus with a panicked look.

"Or bring him in, if he is involved." Marcus suggested.

"I'm just a Psychologist Marcus," Kiera said quietly, "not a secret agent."

"Marcus she is right," added Samson, "We have to find another way."

'Why are they arguing over this?' Kiera thought, 'The Deputy Director is correct.'

"There is no other way." Marcus cut him off, "He will know we are on to him if we send anyone else." Then Marcus looked back at Kiera, "You're perfect for the operation. You know him better than anyone else does and you will be saving countless lives. Did you know that the G7 summit will be held in Rome at the end of May. We have a month and a half to discover the truth."

"It has been over eight years since I last saw him." Kiera pleaded feeling that she was making excuses. Deep down she knew she help, but she locked away that past. Looking up at everyone her head swam, "I need something to drink and I have to think about it."

"We are wasting time Marcus," Samson growled through gritted teeth, "Let's just get him and bring him in."

"Then what do we do Samson?" Marcus countered, "Interrogate him?"

"This is what we do Director." Samson replied.

"The Fox is the CEO of a major genetic science funding company." Marcus barked.

"We have Intel that his is a rogue MI-6 agent!" Samson yelled back pointing a finger at the file in Kiera's hands.

"That is all we have." Marcus explained, "If we bring him in, his lawyers and the media will have a field day. We will never get the information out of in time. The man is too smart for that."

Kiera looked up and saw the Deputy Director open his mouth to respond, but closed it quickly.

'Marcus is right,' Kiera thought, 'what choice do we have.'

She felt his hand on her shoulder and saw Marcus standing next to her. It should have felt reassuring, but it felt like an omen of foreboding. She slowly stood up as a wave of dizziness past over her. Using the arm of a chair Kiera steadied herself. Taking slow steps, she followed Marcus into his office.

Her first impressions of his office was utter amazement. It was a large office with a long couch against one wall, conference table, chairs in the middle and an oversize oak desk. Pictures of friends from the military and awards lined the walls. His office had a marvelous view of the Chicago skyline.

"Lie down on the couch," Marcus offered as he looked out into the sitting room. She thought she heard him say something about calling them when she reached a decision. "Drink this," Marcus walked up to her and handed her a cup of water.

Kiera nodded, her throat feeling too dry to talk. She drank the water. The cool water calmed her nerves. She watched as Marcus sat down on the couch. He placed a hand on her though just above the knee. His hand felt hot against her cool skin.

"I want to do the right thing and help, but I also want to forget my past." Kiera finally felt the nerve to speak.

"I can't tell you what to do, but you will not be alone Kiera," Marcus explained and she felt his hand inch up under her skirt, "We just need you to make contact and obtain the information. We will come up with a plan to bring him in."

"You can assure me that he will be brought in alive, because I don't believe he is involved." Kiera replied observing Marcus for any signs.

"Yes Kiera," Marcus replied, but she heard more in his tone.

'What else does he want?' Kiera thought and she stiffed slightly as he squeezed her inner thigh.

"Sandra will be assigned to collect the Intel." Marcus explained, "You're a natural at this Kiera. I have seen the video of the interview with Durand. You have a way of getting people to trust you."

"If I do this," Kiera swallowed feeling uneasy, "I want to do it my way."

Suddenly Marcus leaned over and kissed Kiera. At the same time, his hand slid up between her legs. Kiera froze then unexpectedly she pushed Marcus away from her breaking the kiss. She saw Marcus give her what was supposed to be a hurt look, but she saw it was something else.

'Why is he satisfied?' Kiera thought with a chill.

"What the hell do you think you are doing Marcus?" Kiera said in a deep Scottish accent. She felt herself breathing heavy with anger.

"Trying to get you to relax and I thought we could..."

"But, in your office." Kiera exploded standing up and pulling down her skirt, "We can't do this in your office. It is not professional."

"She observed anger flash across his face, but he quickly calmed down, "You're right Kiera. I was still thinking about last night and..." He let the sentence hang.

"Marcus I was thinking too," Kiera sighed, as she began, "We should have never done that last night. I was not myself and..."

"Hey Kiera," Marcus scoffed, "Whatever, we can keep it professional." He waved his hand as if to say everything was fine, but she knew that it was all but fine. "What do you have in mind for the operation?" Marcus leaned on the edge of his desk folding his arms.

Kiera took a moment to compose her thoughts. She thought about her times with Ryan.

'What would be the best way to handle him?' She thought tapping her chin. Then the idea came to her, 'It is so simple.'

"I will be a Psychologist with my own practice in the Washington D.C. area," Kiera explained, "The best lies are done with a bit of truth."

"How will you get Ryan to talk to you?" Marcus asked with doubt in his tone.

"On the end of the week and weekend I work at the Foxhole as a bartender or waitress." Kiera explained noticing the confusion on his face, "I will be working on my thesis for the American Journal of Psychologist on how drinking affects the ability to lie. It will be easy to pull off, since I did want to start that thesis. Ryan will not suspect a thing."

"We have a lot to do." Marcus responded and Kiera was not sure, but she thought she saw that odd twitch of his neck muscle again.

'It has to work.' Kiera thought trying to convincing herself.

Leaving the Field office, Kiera called Sandra and asked if she could meet up for lunch. Sandra said okay and asked if she was all right. Kiera explained she could not discuss it over the phone and would rather talk in person. Kiera met Sandra at a local deli shop a few blocks away. It felt good to walk to the deli. The walk helped to clear her mind. She felt warm and confused by her feeling for Marcus. On one hand, he was not a bad person, but she always felt uneasy around him.

Walking into the deli the smells of fresh bread baking made her stomach grumble. She saw Sandra waving her hand from a table near the back of the deli. Kiera made her way over to Sandra and sat down in an empty chair.

"Are you feeling ok?" Sandra asked giving Kiera a worried look.

"I have messed up big time." Kiera sighed heavily as she ordered a sandwich. "What happened to you last night?"

"Lisa was not feeling well suddenly." Sandra replied, "Kate and I had to take her home. By the time I came back you and Marcus were gone."

"Is she alright?"

"We think she drank too much," Sandra shrugged, "What did you mean by messed up?"

"I slept with Marcus." Kiera whispered.

"Damn it, I knew I should not have left." Sandra smacked her forehead.

"It's not your fault." Kiera responded, but she felt her temper rising at Sandra's response.

'Who does she think she is my babysitter?' Kiera thought, but took a deep breath. 'She is only being a friend.'

"Anyways, I got a call to come into the office this morning," Kiera continued, "It was about..."

"I heard, Durand was killed in his cell early this morning." Sandra finished her sentence.

"You heard about it too?"

"Yes and Washington headquarters as well. They want answers."

"The weird part about going in was Marcus tried to," Kiera said giving Sandra a look, "You know."

"What the hell is wrong with him? That is not like him at all." Sandra said through gritted teeth.

"I stopped it right away and told him we can't do this. The strange part was he was not angry by my response. He seemed satisfied that he could get my worked up. It really scared me, Sandra."

"That asshole," Sandra muttered angrily, "What were you doing in his office anyways?"

"He called me in this morning." Kiera left out the fact that he had stayed the night. "This guy from Homeland Security has information that Ryan might be involved in a threat against the upcoming G7 summit in Rome."

"Why would Homeland Security think that?" Sandra asked and Kiera thought she heard an odd tone in Sandra's voice. It was as if everything was going as planned.

"Apparently, Ryan has been working for MI-6 for the past six years and then he goes rogue." Kiera explained, and then paused to see how Sandra would respond. Sandra did not take the bait. She sat there as if she already knew this part. "Is there something you are not telling me Sandra?"

"Okay Kiera," Sandra held up her hands making a joke as if caught, "I suggested you for the operation. Don't be mad, but I believe you have unfinished business with Ryan."

"Sandra," Kiera replied with panic in her voice, "I don't know if I can do this."

"Kiera you have to do." Sandra placed a reassuring hand on Kiera's hand. This time it felt reassuring instead of uneasy.

"Thank you Sandra," Kiera replied, "You are a good friend, plus I know you have my back." Kiera then took the time to explain how she was going to deceive Ryan into giving up the information. She confided that she was not sure how she would be able to handle herself around Ryan. Part of her wanted to beat him up and yell at him. The other half still had deep feelings for him.

"You will have to see which one appears." Sandra smiled

"That is what I'm afraid of." Kiera sighed heavily.

"So the Gazelle is hunting the Fox." Sandra pointed out still smiling.

"I guess it looks that way."