“Mr. Maverick,” he says, shaking my hand when I enter his building.
“Mr. Tottle. My organization appreciates your help with the matter and we trust that you understand the sensitivity of what we are trying to discover.”
“Absolutely. I actually began working on it a few days ago after receiving the call. I have some interesting findings.” he pulls out a binder that looks like it should be in the archives of the Library of Congress. There are papers inside of it, obviously aged and delicate. Covered in white dust and wrinkled. Some of the writing is faint and unreadable. He sits down a different binder in front of me and opens it to a page in the middle. I see names and dates, but I am not sure what I am looking at. “If you look here, I have begun listing the names of all the people we had migrate here that came from Russia within the timeframe you specified.” When I look at the side of the paper, I note he has numbers all the way up to sixty.
“There were sixty people brought here?” I ask him, shocked.
“Oh, that is just what I have found so far. I am not saying all of these people are sleeper agents, but they range in age from four to forty. Not all of them came with proper documentation and that alone makes it possible. For them to make it here and go undetected, there had to be someone on the inside as you said, within our government to camouflage them and give them an identity.”
“Fuck,” I say running my hands through my hair. This is more fucked up than I thought. “I assume this notebook is for me?'' I grab the one he hasn’t opened and peruse it. I see he has labeled the date of entry, documents provided, and how low on the radar they have stayed. He is good.
“Yes. That is a list for you to start with. As I uncover more, I will send them to you via the encrypted network.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else I should know?” He looks down at the table and I see his old man hands begin to shake. My mind and body go on alert. “Mr. Tottle?”
“Yes. Well, when you contacted me, I did my due diligence and also looked into the background of your team. I didn’t want to inadvertently give this to the very enemy we are trying to flush out.” He is really good.
“As you should have,” I say, getting ready to walk out.
“I…uncovered something I am not sure you are aware of and it might change your…trajectory.” He pulls out a manila envelope and slides it across the table. My eyes don’t leave his as I lean over and retrieve it. I want to ask him what is in it, but I also am not sure right now when I need to get back to Nova and am meeting her friends tonight, is the right time. I simply nod at him and walk out of the building. Shit. I fucking hate to wait.
I manage to make it to her school in record time. I pep talked myself the entire drive, reminding me I need to be present and alert for her tonight. Even to a dumb fuck like me I know this date night is a big deal. Especially if I am going to get her moved in sooner rather than later. Getting out of the car, I watch as she bounds down the stairs, her head down looking at her phone. She is almost to the middle of the quad when she is stopped by some limp dick fuck with his hands on her. She smiles at him and my gut twists. Everything in me begins to rumble as she shares all that sun and happiness with someone else. I am so fucked.
Before I can think twice, I stomp my way toward her, my vision blinded by jealousy. I don't hear that growl that leaves me when his hands are inches from her face. Apparently, everyone else hears it though. His hand stops midway there as both of them turn to look at me. Her eyes go wide as she takes in my face and demeanor. I walk right in between them and pull her against me. “Baby, I have been waiting for you,” I tell her taking her mouth right in front of the stupid piece of shit still standing here. She shivers before I pull back and face him.
“You still here?” I deadpan, waiting for him to catch a hint.
“Loeb, this is my science partner, Ryan. Ryan this is my…this is Loe,” she stammers trying to find the right words to define us and it pisses me off.
“Her fiancé,” I interject. His eyes skim to her hand looking for a ring, as she gasps beside me, her cheeks red but her eyes pissed and accusatory.