Wired - Douglas E. Richards [28]
“How do you figure?”
“Put yourself in my shoes. If you wanted to have a friendly conversation with someone who’s been preconditioned to think you’re the devil incarnate, and who also happens to have Special Forces training and is constantly being monitored, how would you go about it?”
Desh ignored the question. “What makes you think I’m being monitored?”
“Because the people behind Connelly won’t spare any measure to get their hands on me,” she said with absolute conviction. “And not for the reasons you think,” she added. “Do you really think they just sent you off on your own recognizance? Just like that? I’m far too important to them for that. Rest assured, they’ve been tracking your every move since you took this assignment.”
Desh raised his eyebrows. “People behind Connelly?” he repeated.
“Connelly is just a dupe in this game. Just like you,” she said bluntly. “The people pulling his strings are the ones tracking you.”
“If they’re tracking me, as you say, how is it they didn’t intervene in my kidnapping?”
Kira shook her head. “They don’t have a physical tail on you,” she replied smoothly. “You’re too well trained for that. Even if they put two or three cars on you, you’d eventually spot the tail and it would blow up in their faces.” She paused. “Besides, it’s a waste of manpower. They figured if you managed to find me at all it would take you weeks. Remote monitoring was enough.”
“I see,” he said patronizingly. “I suppose they imbedded a subtle tracking device in my underwear.”
An easy smile lit up her face. “I have to admit, that is pretty unlikely,” she said sheepishly, an amused twinkle in her eye. “But I wouldn’t completely put it past them either. I’ve been erring on the side of caution and it seems to be working for me so far.”
Desh felt himself being instantly drawn in by her incandescent eyes and unselfconscious smile. Kira’s effortless charm and physical appeal were more powerful and disarming than he had at first realized. Her features could not have been gentler or more feminine. Her movements were lithe and athletic, despite her bulky clothing, and her voice was soft and appealing. Her eyelashes were long and her jaw and cheekbones delicate. Her wide, blue eyes were warm and expressive.
Desh forced himself to blink and break her momentary spell, annoyed with himself for responding to her with anything other than total revulsion. “You took great pains to ensure quiet in Griffin’s apartment. So you obviously think he’s bugged.”
She sighed. “I’m afraid so.”
“How would they possibly even know to bug him? I didn’t even know he existed until thirty-six hours ago.”
“They’re monitoring your phone calls. As soon as you arranged an appointment with him they probably set up listening devices in his apartment. Again, I’m not sure they did, but I operated under this assumption.”
“So you sent the text that lured me back to Griffin’s apartment?”
Kira nodded.
“Well done,” he said with a look of disgust, although this look was reserved for himself. How had he been so sloppy! But even as he chastised himself, he realized that Kira Miller’s boldness had helped force his error. She had been on to him, probably before he had even taken the assignment, and she had acted with stunning speed and decisiveness; using tactics she had never used before to totally blindside him.
Desh expected her to be gloating, but she appeared more apologetic than ever.
“By your own logic,” he said, “you carried out a very successful, silent abduction. My clothes, phone, car, and weapons are far away. Nothing left to bug or track.” He nodded toward the door of the motel. “So why the trip wire and other precautions? There’s erring on the side of caution and there’s irrationality,” he pointed out.
“Oh, they’ll track us here, all right. If we’re lucky, we’ll be long gone by the time they do. On the other hand, if they’re lucky, I need to be prepared.”
“And what form do you expect their luck to take?”
“Sooner or later—hopefully later—they’ll realize that the homing devices