"Who?"
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Sorry, in trying to come clean about myself I sometimes still self-edit a bit too much. I don't know his real name, I've heard three or four. He was officially my supervisor within the State Department, but since we were introduced for the first time on a short term posting I had in Japan, I tend to call him Senpai. It’s the term the Japanese use for someone older than you in an organization."
Melina nodded. "And you keep in touch with him?"
I shrugged. "I'm out of the game, but I need to maintain contact with someone. If I didn't, then everyone would consider me an unacceptable risk. I'd be considered a rogue player, totally unpredictable and therefore overly dangerous. As it is, the different groups in all of this don't trust me, as you can tell, but they at least act with a certain amount of restraint. You don't want to know what they'd bring in if they thought I was full rogue."
“Men in black suits and armed to the teeth?"
I shook my head. "Drone strikes would be considered a restrained reaction most likely. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few F-16's from Alamogordo tasked with my house."
"Even knowing what they do about Albertine?" Melina said, shaking her head. "How stupid are they?"
"That's the danger of having men of little intelligence in positions of power," I said. "I doubt there are ten other people in the world who understand Albertine and its capabilities, and nobody who understands it as much as me. I've had sole possession of this time bomb for going on two years now, and it scares me just as much now as it did when I first laid hands on it."
"Yet we use it," Melina said quietly.
"I let my fear remind me to respect it," I answered. "Now, let me contact Senpai, and we'll figure out what our next step is."
* * *
I don't normally have to send messages out so often. I’m sure you've heard about the traffic accident I had?
Of course. Your truck is hotlinked in my computer. Anything that involves your truck or driver's license gives me an immediate notification.
You're using the word hotlinked wrong again. But I get what you're saying. I take it that someone didn't get the word?
You could say that. Just to let you know, I had nothing to do with that. Is that why you’re contacting me?
I had someone with me at the time. Pinzetti fucked up.
Who?
Victor Pinzetti. He's the person who’s been coming after me. Whether he was the driver or not, I couldn't tell. Not through the Faraday glass.
He's American?
According to the EPA, he's an oil pipe inspector.
I see. And what would you like me to do about it?
Put it out. Someone has to be in charge of this man. If they want him to live to the weekend, he leaves New Mexico.
I'll see what I can do.
I logged off the program and looked over Melina. "So that's him.”
"Can you trust him?"
I shook my head and shut down my laptop. "I can't. Pinzetti could be working for him for all I know. But if he is, then Pinzetti's got a better chance of survival."
"Why's that?"
I sighed and looked at Melina. "Senpai knows what I can do. I hope you’ll never have to see that side of me.”
To her credit, Melina didn't flinch, nor did she try to play off the meaning behind my words. Instead, those beautiful dark eyes drank it all in, and she nodded.
"Then shut it down, come with me, and let's get some rest. You have school tomorrow, I have the opening shift at work, and we just got engaged. Let's go do something more typical of a newly engaged couple."
Chapter 27
Melina
I was yawning when I came into work, and my hips were deliciously sore. Cam and I hadn't gone at each other that hard since the island, and I forgot just how good the man was at bringing me to the point of insanity with repeated mind blowing orgasms.
Jay Winters was actually behind the counter when I came in, a knowing smile on his face. "First day of school celebration?"
I nodded, but before I could say anything else, he saw the diamond ring on my finger. Jay's smile spread until his face nearly split in half, and he pounded the counter once. "Congratulations."
"Thanks Jay,” I said. "He did the whole nine yards, nice dinner, proposal right at dessert in front of everyone. We even got a free bottle of champagne out of it."
"Good. And from the yawn, I guess you didn't stop with just dinner and dessert."
I laughed. "Now that, Mr. Winters, is information I don’t need to share with my boss."
Jay chuckled. "Well, congratulations. Listen, I'm going to be up here most of the day today anyway, the pharmacist on duty called in sick. Have you gotten your pharmacy tech license for New Mexico squared away yet?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. The state board hasn't gotten back to me."
"Ah well, I'd have offered you a shift in the dispensary, but I guess I'll cover it. As soon as you have it back, tell me. I want you covering sometimes, if you're okay with that."