Outside In

Chapter 2-3

Cam hadn’t remembered driving back to Baltimore but there she was, parking her car near her apartment. Her mind was buzzing with questions. It had happened too fast. She’d expected to go in there, have a nice chat and maybe, just maybe, get a “We’ll call you in a few months, or years,” but not, “Make up your mind and call me in four or five days.”

And what they had spoken about had raised more questions than it had answered. What had he meant when he picked up on the word “action” and why should she “not make it look” like she was trying to hide her lifestyle? Didn’t the Federal Government still have its “no queers here” policy? What was she getting herself into? How much did she really want this job? And exactly what job was she being offered?

Cam understood the need for secrecy, but she’d sure like to go in with her eyes open, especially if her life was going to be on the line.

Her life on the line? Why in hell was she even considering it?

She unlocked the door to her apartment. Had she just walked up the long flight of stairs without noticing it? And her mail was in her hand. She had no recollection of stopping at the mailbox next to the gate.

“You’d better get your head on straight before you go out into the streets tonight, kiddo, or you won’t have to worry about being alive to have to make this decision,” she told herself.

She stopped. She put her life on the line every night. Maybe she should go for it and make it count. But was she playing against the odds now? How big was the safety net the Agency could provide for her? At least out on the street, she knew that her partner, Russ, was right beside her, or, at most, just a few doors away. Come to think of it, Craig hadn’t even mentioned backup. She couldn’t believe they’d let someone go out without a safety net. But then, hadn’t he said “deep cover?” Maybe, just maybe…