The Most Dangerous Dame

My reply was cut off when the window shattered. The sniper’s bullet struck Electra before I could even register what happened. She never made a sound as her limp body sailed off the bed and hit the carpet at the same time as the splintered glass.

I struggled against the handcuffs as the outer door was kicked in and the tread of angry footsteps approached. Either I was weaker than I thought or the bed was purposely built for the sole purpose of BDSM. Either way I could do nothing to free myself from the shackles or check on Electra’s condition. She made no sound or movement, which pretty much told me all I needed to know.

Natalie entered the room, sweeping every corner with her eyes. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled back from her beautifully cold features and she was dressed to kill in combat fatigues reinforced with armor at the chest, shoulders, knees and elbows. She placed one hand on her hip. The other toted a Bond 953 special tactics handgun, which she pointed directly at me.

She made tsking sound with her mouth as she glanced at Electra’s fallen body, then back at me in all of my disgraced glory. “I am very disappointed with you, Michael. Very. Disappointed.”

Chapter 19: The Payoff

It’s difficult to conjure an air of nonchalance with a pistol pointed at you while you’re handcuffed to a bed, but I gave it my best shot. “Oh, it’s ‘Michael’ now, is it? What happened to Mick?”

“Mick Trubble is a cover you were supposed to lose when your mission was over. Your name is Special Agent Michael Trudo of the Secret Service. It’s time to stop playing games, Michael. This detour of yours has gone way over the top.”

I shrugged. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.” The handgun boomed in her hand.

The mattress still rocked from the impact when I finally reopened my eyes. Fluff floated down from the fist-sized crater less than an inch from my goodies. I shivered as my pores broke out in a cold sweat, wondering what the hell happened to the security in the joint. Figured they must’ve been paid to take a hike. Or knowing Natalie’s reputation, they were all dead.

Natalie’s raised the weapon about an inch upward. “Now that I have your attention, let me ask the obvious question — where is Faraday’s god lode?”

I blinked. “What—?”

She leveled the gun at my head. “I think you’d better get your act together real fast, Michael. I know you have memory issues, but in a second you’ll have brain leakage. What — did you think this was all some ‘woman scorned’ act? Get over yourself. Faraday kept his most valuable data in the same thermal orbot you ended up destroying at Beck’s mansion.”

Sinn’s voice buzzed in my ear. “Keep her talking, Mick. I’m using the trajectory of the first gunshot to pinpoint the location of the shooter. Poddar is on location to take him out.”

I kept my attention focused on Natalie. “If you know about the explosion, you know his data card or whatever was in that orb went up in flames like the building did. Sounds like you made this trip for biscuits, toots.”

Her mouth thinned into a frown. “Don’t talk that New Haven slang to me, Michael. Do you know how ridiculous it sounds coming from you? You know the drive inside of the orb is nearly indestructible, don’t you? I’ve been trying to jar your memory since I got here. I can’t believe Faraday screwed you up this badly.”

“Jarring my memory by what — slicing and dicing innocent women? Pretty sick way to go about it.”

“Trauma is a time-tested method of both memory loss and recollection. You forgot about the drop from the city heights. We went through that in our Service training, remember?”

“Obviously I don’t. What happened to the trainees who didn’t get their crate to land?”

Her expression was as placid as if ordering dinner. “The Service can’t use an agent who can’t think on his feet.”

“So they die.”

“The weak have to be culled in order for the strong to thrive. It’s an absolute in any society.”

I shook my head. “Wow. You think Faraday did a job on me? You should talk, sister. The only difference between us is that I know my head is screwed up. What’s your excuse?”

The gun quivered in her hand. “I can’t believe this is you. I can’t believe you were so weak to just accept this clown mask without fighting with every inch of your being. I told everyone you were buying time. Figuring out how to reconfigure your mission. But the reports kept coming in saying you went over. Just another lost soul in a city of lost souls.”

“Guess so. Better than a puppet on Secret Service strings.”

“The god lode. Where is it?” There was something in her expression that gave me pause. Something beyond the rage that consumed her. It was in her eyes. Something shimmered there, barely visible despite her attempt to mask it.

Fear. Not of me, but of someone else.

I lowered my voice. “You don’t have to let them control you, Natalie.”

“Shut up.”