Phantom Prospect - Alex Archer [40]
“So, why exactly is the CIA involved in this operation?”
Sheila looked amused. “You think I’m CIA?”
Annja shrugged. “Well, forgive me for sounding like a fan girl, but you’re obviously well trained. Your skills don’t grow on trees. And you aren’t going to find most young women with the kind of talent you have. I ran down the list of organizations that could churn out someone like you. It’s a short one.”
Sheila nodded. “True enough.”
“So, you are CIA.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Annja frowned. “I thought we were building up some trust here.”
“We are.”
“You’re not being straight with me now.”
“I’m not?”
“No.”
Sheila sighed. “Annja, forget for a moment that everything has to be so literal with you. Imagine that I’m not CIA. In fact, put that completely out of your mind, because—put simply— I’m not.”
Annja frowned. “If you’re not CIA, then you’re with some intelligence outfit. Maybe military?”
“Nope. You’re barking up the wrong tree again, Annja. You can do better. I’m going to chalk this up to the whole sea air thing. Maybe that shark, too.”
Annja shook her head and regretted it. “All right, I’m tired and that shot to my head has rattled me. Suppose you save me the time and effort and just tell me what the hell is going on here?”
“You want me to ruin all the fun for you?”
“Yes.”
Sheila looked disappointed. “How about we do it this way— I’ll ask you a question and see if that helps?”
Annja took a breath. “All right, fine. Whatever.”
Sheila turned the pistol over in her hand and checked the slide. Then she looked at Annja. “Take the government out of the equation. Who could train someone like me…realistically?”
“Honestly?” Annja frowned. “I know two people who could. But it would take time. A lot of time. They’d need to make sure you turned out just right before they unleashed you upon the world.”
“And who would these two people be?”
Annja frowned. “Suppose I don’t feel like sharing their names with you?”
Sheila shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I think I’ve gotten your thought process back on track enough. At least enough that I’ll finish the work for you.”
She got up and walked toward the porthole. She turned and smiled at Annja. “Garin sends his best regards.”
16
Annja stared. “How do you know that name?”
Sheila smiled. “You didn’t think you were the only woman to have ever met him, did you? You don’t strike me as that naive.”
“Of course not,” Annja snapped. “But neither did I think that a complete stranger would know anything about him, at least not here.”
“As I said,” Sheila replied, “this isn’t what it looks like.”
“It never is when Garin is involved,” Annja said. “Why are you here, Sheila?”
“To help Garin recover something of interest. Something that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Annja’s head still throbbed. What she really needed, she decided, was a very long sleep. And perhaps when she woke up, this convoluted nightmare would be over. Or at least she’d have a decent cup of coffee waiting for her. “And whose hands would those be? Mine?”
Sheila shook her head. “Not at all. Garin’s not trying to keep anything from you. Far from it. He’d like your help on this, if possible. But we weren’t sure you’d even be involved, which is why I’m here.”
“How did you even know that this job was tied to Hunter? From what he told me, he was able to keep all reference to this out of the advertisement.”
Sheila smirked. “I don’t need to tell you how utterly transparent most computer systems are these days. Even with their supposedly impenetrable firewalls, we can get into most of them without breaking a sweat.”
“Is that so?”
“Actually, yes. All it took was a quick peek around to get Hunter’s particulars and confirm that it was him launching this operation.”
“Why the interest