Hunting the Fox

Chapter 2

Back in her office, Kiera slumped into her chair feeling exhausted. She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked away from the open laptop and closed her eyes for a moment. Opening them she pulled out her phone and started at the picture on here home screen. She smiled remembering the days back at Oxford when they were in Psychology classes together.

Ryan dressed in an Oxford uniform of dark slacks, white shirt and logo sweater. Kiera wearing the traditional knee high skirt, thigh high stockings with white button down shirt and logo sweater. His young roguish looks as they shared a desk together in class. Kiera was majoring in psychology and Ryan majoring in computer science and psychology. She thought back to those days as they sat in the class together.

Her mind drifted back to one day in particular. Kiera remembered they were sitting next to each other, while a professor droned on about the workings of the human mind. Kiera hunched over her desk was scribbling notes as the professor lectured on. Suddenly she paused in her writing as she felt a hand on her stocking knee. The hand slowly rubbed up her thigh under the knee length skirt. Kiera remembered looking sharply up at him and squeezed her thighs together protesting. She noticed Ryan looking forward with a bored expression on his face.

"Ryan what are you doing?" Kiera whispered as she observed that he had an impish smile from the side profile of his face.

Ryan's only response was his warm hand caressed her thigh as his fingers slowly slid towards the softness of her inner thigh.

"Stop it or..." Kiera hissed, but the professor interrupted her.

"Is there something you would like to share Ms. Reid?" The professor spoke aloud.

"No professor...I...I lost my train of thought and was asking Ryan if I missed anything." Kiera lied feeling her face flush.

"Hmm," The professor rubbed his chin then shrugged and continued his lecture.

"Ryan, please," Kiera whispered in a pleading voice, "Not now, if we get caught."

She saw his impish grin get bigger as he gently squeezed her thigh. Looking around hastily and biting her lower lip, she saw that the other students focused their attention on the professor in the front of the class. Feeling excited, Kiera parted her legs slightly and Ryan's hand slid down her thigh caressing the softness of her inner thigh. Kiera swallowed leaning back slightly in her chair. She trembled at his caresses and spread her thighs further apart.

Ryan kept his eyes facing forward as his hand brushed up against the pink bow on the top of her underwear. She felt his fingers rub between her legs, pushing slightly against the fabric. Kiera felt her body responding to his touch. He hand tighten on her pencil as he rubbed her slowly though her underwear. This was the first of their many encounters in the classroom.

She stifled a moan by putting her hand over her mouth pretending to stifle a cough. Ryan shifted and slid his hand into her panties touching the bare skin between her legs. His fingers slid between her lips and pressed up against her sensitive spot. Gripping the pencil harder, Kiera pressed her lips together to keep her moan from escaping. Giving him a sidelong look, Kiera saw that Ryan was looking at her with his china blue eyes. He slipped his finger into her and she swallowed hard.

"Kiera?" a voice called out from the present, "Kiera."

"What?" Kiera said hastily sitting up. She put her phone down and looked up from her desk. She saw a woman of African descent standing at her office door. The tall woman with straight dark hair and dark piercing eyes stood at the open doorway of Kiera' office.

"Kiera are you alright, girl?" The woman probed giving Kiera a quizzically look.

"Yes," Kiera said clearing her throat. She knew her skin must look flush. She felt hot. "I was...reading some emails."

"You know you can get in trouble for that on a federal computer?" The woman smiled.

"It's nothing like that Sandra. Kiera smiled back. She took a deep breath trying to calm the flush in her face, "You surprise me."

Sandra gave her doubtfully look as she leaned on Kiera's office doorframe with her arms crossed. Sandra was Kiera's best friend in Chicago. When Kiera moved to Chicago, she did not know anyone or anything to do in the city. That was when she met Sandra. The woman had first introduced herself must the same way she was standing now. After that, they had become friends and spent most of their time together during lunch, on weekends visiting places and partying. Beside two other office friends, Sandra was a close friend who she could share anything.

Sandra was an Analyst ad hander for field agents. She reviewed foreign document from field operative's raids on enemy compounds and kept track of the field agents. Sandra was fluent in eight different languages. In addition, she enjoyed cursing the field operatives in those different languages when they gave her information they thought was important, but the information was nothing more than a grocery list.

Kiera's body felt warm from the flashback that she hand tried so hard to forget. 'What is wrong with me?' She thought running her fingers through her copper red hair.

"I don't believe you." Sandra scoffed keeping the smile on her face, "You taught me how to see a lie, and you're lying right now."

"There is no getting past you," Kiera laughed slightly blushing, "come in and shut the door."

Sandra walked in, closed the door, and sat down in couch in the room. She looked Kiera up and down confused with her hands in the air.

"I was out running this morning when Marcus called me." Kiera explained why she was in running clothes.

"Oh I see," Sandra sat up her eyes brighten with interest.

"No, nothing like that," Kiera blushed.

The running joke between them was Marcus wanted Kiera badly. Sandra had told Kiera about how Marcus was asking questions about her. Kiera knew the Marcus had recruited her, but she was confused at the time about why he was asking so many questions. The questions ranged from what she did during her time off. Did she have any friends? Kiera would blush or smile brightly in his present and Sandra would joke about how she just needed to get it on with him. Kiera tired her best to ignore her feelings. Her work was important to her and she did not want to complicate things with an office romance.

"Well what then?" Sandra asked, "You look all hot and bothered for some reason and you kind of smell bad." Sandra waved her hand in front of her face as Kiera sat down on the couch next to her.

"He asked me to interview a high profile terrorist who is a suspected member of the LNF," Kiera explained, "They wanted me to find out why he was here." Kiera moved closer to Sandra, "The weird thing was this guy seemed to know me when I entered the room." Kiera said.

"What do you mean by 'know you'?" Sandra asked cautiously making finger quotes.

"I don't know. It was a look of recognition." Kiera shrugged, "As if he was supposed to find me."

"You are not making any sense Kiera."

"I know, just follow my train of thought." Kiera sighed, "He comes here to Chicago from France to see a sick grandmother. Then later in the month he was going to take a connecting flight to Washington D.C." Kiera paused to let the information sink in, "Doesn't that sound weird?"

"I'm still not following you." Sandra raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I believe he wanted to be caught here in Chicago." Kiera said running her fingers though her hair again, "I researched the flights that departed Paris at the same times he left. There were five flights that left that night and four of them were non-stop flights to Washington D.C." Kiera paused again to let the information sink in. "He could have taken any one of those flights, why come here"

"Maybe he did have a grandmother here?" Sandra inquired.

"I checked that too," answered Kiera, "His grandmother died last week."

"So you are saying that he came here to be caught?" Sandra asked slowly, "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know," Kiera shook her head exasperated, "But his story does not add up, coming to Chicago and his grandmother."

"What are you thinking Kiera?" Sandra probed leaning towards her.

"This may sound strange, but I think he was sent here to find me."

"Ok time out," Sandra said holding up her hands, "That only sounds strange, but creepy."

"Hear me out," Kiera held up a hand, "He recognized me when I entered the room. I could tell he wanted to tell me something, but could not find a way. Finally he saw this and everything changed." Kiera held up her phone showing Sandra the picture.

"Ryan?" Sandra looked confused.

Kiera had mention Ryan many times during their time together. It still was a sore spot with Kiera and she felt she needed to talk about him sometimes.

"I know," Kiera responded, "and he called him by his nickname, Fox. Then he told me that he was going to meet him in Washington D.C." Kiera continued, "Then there was another strange part."

"Could it get anymore stranger?"

"I did not have this picture on my phone. I had this one set on my home screen." Kiera flipped though some pictures until she found the right one and then showed it to Sandra. It was a picture her and Sandra with Soldier Field in the background.

"Isn't that when we went to the Bears game?"

"Exactly," Kiera said excitedly, "So how did this one end up on my phone?"

"Don't know," Sandra shrugged, "Maybe you have some kind of cloud setting on."

"I guess I could have." Kiera nodded unsure about it. She was about to ask something else, but Sandra asked.

"Hey," Sandra asked offhanded, "Why is he called the 'Fox'?" She used her fingers to make quotes.

"Well," Kiera began, "Back in high school we were in cross country together. Ryan was always outwitting or outfoxing the other runners. He would play this game of letting them stay ahead of him. Slowly he would speed up it make the other runners run faster, but always staying just behind them. Then during the last stretch when the other runners were tiring, he would run past them for the finish. So the name Fox took hold."

"What about you?" Sandra narrowed her eyes.

"What about me?" Kiera's eyes widened.

"You had a nickname too?"

Kiera felt herself blushing, "It was the Gazelle." Kiera mumbled looking down.

"The Gazelle," Kiera saw that Sandra was trying not laugh."

"Ha ha," Kiera mocked, "Go ahead and laugh it up."

"I have to know why you were nicknamed the Gazelle."

"Ryan always said I was lithe and graceful like a Gazelle." Kiera's face reddened with embarrassment.

"Would that be running or in bed?" Sandra giggled, but quickly changed the subject seeing that Kiera was uncomfortable, "Do you thin Ryan is working with this terrorist group?" Kiera felt relieved to change the subject.

"I'm not sure. What was really crazy was that Durand was visible relieved to get the information out about Ryan?"

"So what is going on?"

"I can't figure out what is going on." Kiera rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Then as I was looking at this picture I was thinking back to our time together at Oxford."

"Oh," Sandra smirked raising her hands in the air making finger quotes 'those days.'

Kiera nodded with a small smile, "Yes."

"Well," Sandra said standing up and stretching, "What are you going to do about it?"

"I think I need to pass this information on to Marcus."

"You should let me handle it," Kiera noticed worried look on Sandra's face.

"Why?" Kiera said slowly.

"It would make more sense coming from someone impartial." Sandra explained, "You two have a history and it might seem far fetch."

"But if you relay everything I just told you..." Kiera started to say, but Sandra cut her off.

"I will just tell him that you were concerned about the interview and I did some research on the matter." Sandra said making it sound unimportant and shrugged, but Kiera felt something was amiss.

"Do you think it will work?"

"I believe it will work, I am an Analyst after all." Sandra nodded then took on a serious playful tone, "Now you need to go home, take a cold shower and I will pick you up around eight tonight, because it is Friday and we need to party."

"Now that sounds like a great plan." Kiera said smiling forgetting about the odd way Sandra had handled the situation.

Kiera opened the door to her condominium around noon. It was a modest condominium along Lakeshore drive, with overlooked Lake Michigan. It was a one bedroom, one bath studio condominium with a stunning view of the lake and the city skyline. Her parents had purchased the place for her after they found out their only child was going to live in Chicago. They wanted to ensure Kiera had a safe and secure place to live. Only Sandra and her other two friends Kate and Lisa knew about the condominium.

Walking into her place a ginger colored cat met her at the door meowing.

"Hey Ginger." Kiera smiled kneeling down to pet the cat, "I bet you are hungry." Kiera scratched him behind the ears hearing him purr. Standing up she walked in to the kitchen and pulled out some soft cat food. Ginger meowed again rubbing his body against her leg knowing what she had. Pulling open the can, she placing the soft meat onto a plate and gave it to her eager cat. Kiera stroked his fur feeling Ginger purr in gratitude as ate his food.

Kiera walked into the bedroom and stripped off her smelly running clothes. She looked at her body in the full-length mirror. She felt she was in great shape at twenty-eight. She and an athletic breathtaking body with firm average sized breast. Her stomach was flat and tone, her legs slim. With a small smile, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After it had warmed up, she climbed in and placed her head under the hot water.

It felt like a dream as the hot water sprayed against her soft skin and cascaded down her body. It sent shivers up and down her body. Closing her eyes the memory of Ryan sliding his finger into her came flooding back into her mind. She leaned her head against the cool wall of the shower and the water ran down her back. Instantly, her mind took her back to that day in class.

Ryan slid his finger into her and she gripped her pencil harder stifling a moan. She moved her hips pushing back against Ryan's slowly thrusting finger. Her own hand slid onto his leg and with a trembling hand, she placed it on his hardening member. Feeling excited she rubbed his member through the pants. She felt her own pleasure rising as she covered her mouth with a hand to stifle her orgasm as she body shuttered. In a panic, she looked around, but no one had seemed to notice.

Kiera opened her eyes widen and felt her heart beating hard in her chest and breathing heavy from the memory. Her knees felt weak and she sank onto the shower floor. The water ran sprayed over her head and face. Her body was hot and she felt wet between her legs from the memory.

'What is happening to me? I hear his name and see an old picture. Now I can't get him out of my head." Kiera thought shaking her head.

Her heart ached for the lost love, feeling tears she covered her face and cried.

After drying off , dressing in some comfortable clothes, she walked over to her coffee table and sat down. She logged into the agency intranet and started typing up findings from current cases. She pulled up her pictures on her phone and saw the one that scared the terrorist. Staring at it for a moment, her body still hummed from the memory.

'What are you up to Ryan?" She thought as though the picture would answer her.

Around 8:00pm, there was a knock on the door. Kiera opened the door to see Sandra, Kate, and Lisa. They all laughed and hugged each other.

"Come in," Kiera beamed, "I was finishing getting ready."

"Girl you look good," grinned Sandra saw Kiera in a navy blue pleated mini skater skirt with a white strap tight top that showed off her curves.

"I felt like dressing up," Kiera said with a smile, "Now flats, or heels."

"Heels," Kate and Lisa spoke up.

"Well girls where are we off too." Kiera spoke with her Scottish accent.

"We thought of going to the Liberty tonight, Princess Merida." Sandra laughed.

"I heard there are a lot of cute guys there." Lisa chirped in.

"Guy hunting again Lisa?" Kiera rolled her eyes.

"I have not found the right guy yet." Lisa responded. Lisa was a twenty-something petite blond-haired woman with blue eyes and a Floridian surfer look. She worked as a Analyst too.

"None of the guys are the right guy for you." Kate teased. Kate on the other hand was a Midwestern farm girl with freckled spots on her nose and cheeks. It gave her a cute look. Her strawberry blond hair flowed past her shoulders and her light green eyes spoke of intelligence. She worked as a computer technician, specializing in hacking for the CIA.

"Kate I have a quick question." Kiera asked.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Is it possible for someone to hack into a smart phone and say place a picture on it, while it is screen saver mode?"

"Hmm," Kate said rubbed her chin thinking it over, "I have never heard of anyone trying, but I can look into it. Why do you ask?"

"Kiera thinks someone placed a particular old photo on her phone." Sandra interrupted with a smile.

"Really," Kate said excited.

"Yes," Kiera said giving Sandra a 'what gives' look, "I think someone might have placed an old photo on my phone, but I don't know how."

"That is odd." Kate said

"What will be odd," Sandra interrupted, "Is if we wait too long all Lisa's right guys will be taken." Sandra tapped her watch.

"Okay." Kiera giggled putting on dark blue heels, "We can go."