Georgie stared at Clinton, her fear and anger and anxiety melding into a silver-white determination not to be a victim. “How?”
She only half-listened to the plan he unfolded. Somewhere inside her a sense of betrayal was taking root. Not only was she innocent, but, if what the FBI was telling her was true, she had been the mouse in someone’s game of cat’s paw for more than two months. Philip was not Philip. He was Brad Lawson. Lawson was FBI, too. He must have been planted at Harmonie Kennels two months ago to check her out. But why?
Anger flamed inside her at that thought but she didn’t let it distract her. Her life was at stake. A night of indiscreet sex with a lying spy was a second-tier problem.
As the minutes ticked by her sense of outrage began to replace the mind-numbing fear that encased her thoughts.
When Clinton finished Georgie sat quietly for nearly a minute as the two men watching her shifted uncomfortably. Finally she lifted her head. “I’ll help. But not because of your threats. I want the bastard who’s trying to frame me caught.”
She turned very deliberately in her chair until she was staring at the mirrored section of wall behind her. “I don’t like being made anyone’s fool.”
***
In the room where video of her interrogation was being shown, Brad watched Georgie with professional detachment because he was not alone, there only as a professional courtesy. Several Counterterrorism agents were there watching and evaluating their person of interest with candid and sometimes unflattering comments. Yet, when she turned to look at the camera, even though she couldn’t be certain it was there, the pain in her expression made him feel every bit the sadistic bully Clinton was being.
She looked thoroughly shaken by the events of the night. Yet she hadn’t been stampeded into agreeing to participate in the trap they hoped to lay for their prey. She had reasoned her way through it to find a solution that fit her sense of honor and self-respect. He was impressed.
A few minutes later, Clinton entered the room. “Well, what do you think?”
Brad held back as the Counterterrorism team members gave their impressions. He couldn’t afford to be wrong about her.
When he met Georgiana as Philip Dexter two months ago, there wasn’t yet the chilling reality of a bomb in the picture. He was checking out one of the Pulitzer nominees who hadn’t won. Now, the discovery of that unexploded device last week made it impossible for him to go on gut instinct alone, no matter how well that sense had served him in the past. Believing she wasn’t involved in any criminal way wasn’t the same thing as proving it.
He reminded himself that he was emotionally involved. He should step away. Screw that! He had just made the decision to stay involved. But he would live up to his professional obligation to disclose his previous connection to Georgie to Agent Clinton and his team.
He waited until the others were done speaking before he asked to speak to Clinton, in private. Once alone, he revealed his prior contact with Georgiana Flynn, as per his FBI department’s orders.
“How the hell did something like this happen and I not know about it?”
Brad accepted Clinton’s fury with a slight shrug. “Kodak was a lower profile case at that point. It’s all there in the paperwork.”
“Sit tight while I verify that.”
Clinton was gone thirty minutes. When he returned his sour expression confirmed that Brad’s actions were FBI-directed. “This is a first-class fuckup.”
Brad was ready for him. “Which we can use to our advantage. We need to move quickly to contain this bastard with explosives. Ms. Flynn and I have a history, brief as it was. That should provide a good opening for me to win her trust. I just need your approval to resume contact.”
“Why the hell would I allow you to do that?”
“Several reasons. If she’s involved with the bomber, Zander and I will be privy to every nook and cranny of her life. We’ll find evidence if there’s evidence to be found.”
“Any K-9 bomb team can do that.”
“She liked me. I can make her like me again.” Brad offered his superior a conceited smile. At the same time he stepped on his conscience, grinding it like a snake under a boot heel. He didn’t trust any other agent to do what he was going to do. He was going to protect her life, at all costs.
Clinton sneered. “You did that? Seduced a possible terrorist?”
“There was no seduction.” A law enforcement officer who couldn’t lie convincingly wasn’t worth much in the real world. “I’m saying we made a connection. She thought I was a fireman with a K-9. The attraction is still there. She could have told you up-front about our prior meeting but she didn’t, did she? She’s a woman. She can be won over.”