“Things are a little more complicated than you know. I can help, I think. We need to talk.”
“Dammit,” said Wallis, feeling her heart pound and the anger rise, tightening her throat. “What’s with the bushes? I have an office, a phone,” she hissed, not wanting to attract attention from anyone already inside. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you’re not here for a divorce. So, maybe you’re another friend of Ray’s or is this some new kind of fun?”
Wallis was clenching and unclenching the keys in her hand, feeling the edges press against her skin
“You’re being watched, carefully watched by some very capable people. A little caution is called for these days.”
“This is ridiculous,” said Wallis. “We’re standing in the west end of Richmond playing cloak and dagger. What the hell is going on here?”
“More than you know. I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this, but now that you are, I can use your help.”
“How did you find me? Are you following me?”
“More like keeping my eye on you. To keep you safe. But there are also others keeping tabs on you, on both sides. May I see your shoes?” he asked, holding out his hand.
“My shoes? No, why would I do that?”
“Because I’ve been watching them track you and it’s been too easy. Did you step in anything right around your house?”
Wallis shuddered, remembering the door mat right by her kitchen door and shifted her feet but didn’t move to take off her shoes.
“Why should I trust you? You haven’t told me anything and now you’re saying I’m a target.” Wallis’ voice sounded high and thin. “I need this to stop,” she whispered.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, his tone an attempt at being calm and reassuring. “My name is Helmut and you have stumbled into a very old fight that is bigger than you have yet to grasp.”
“I’ve been told. Whose side of the fight are you on?”
“I like to think the side of the righteous but I’ll let you judge after you hear everything. Wallis,” said Helmut, taking a step closer, “we need to talk. It’s imperative you know more than you do now. Ignorance will only get you hurt.”
“By whom?”
“By people who learned a long time ago how to mete out just enough power to others to never really have to let go. It would mean nothing for me to start giving you names. You need the entire story and that will take a little time. The shoes?”
“I did,” said Wallis, not moving.
“You did?”
“I stepped in something, I mean something was in my door mat. What was it?”
“I suspect it was a resin that can be easily tracked and is almost impossible to wash off. I hope those aren’t a favorite pair.” Helmut smiled softly but his voice was determined. “Give them to me.”
“No. I’m not walking in there in my bare feet until you tell me something. How much danger am I in? Is my family in danger?”
“Not yet. But all of us, myself included, are inconsequential to this game. The only thing keeping you safe right now is no one knows just how much you’ve been told and they have decided you’re not worth the risk. What exactly do you know?”
“I know about the list.”
“Ah, but which list. Their BIGOT list or the Circle’s? You’re a good player, Miss Jones. The list holds so many secrets, possessing it imparts nothing. They know you have the thumb drive. So do we. The shoe,” he said suddenly, shaking his hand, “We don’t have much time. I must insist.”
“Why is it a bigot’s list?”
“No,” said Helmut, his voice still calm. “BIGOT. It’s an old spy acronym for a list of players in any operation. It dates back to WWII when Allied orders for officers in Gibraltar were stamped TO GIB before the invasion of North Africa. Please, I’m wasting precious time. It was at a moment of our greatest disaster. The Circle was almost destroyed.”
“The circle?”
Suddenly, the sharp staccato barking of a small dog started up from the other side of the door. Wallis startled and dropped her keys, not taking her eyes off of Helmut.
Ralph, Angie’s long-haired Chihuahua, started barking on the other side of the door, letting everyone know Wallis was there. No one ever got the chance to ring the doorbell before Ralph sensed their presence and started barking.
“Leave the shoes behind. Let them know you’re on to the game. Make them work harder. It will keep you safer,” he said.
“Who?” said Wallis, but Helmut turned and started walking away briskly, fading deeper into the darkness of a well-populated suburbia that didn’t appreciate the look of street lights.