Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

"Technically, since you’re no longer assigned to this office, I can’t authorize that. Is there something specific you want to know?" Huey asked, picking up one of the reports and flipping through it. He had quickly scanned the files before the meeting and they looked like routine cases.

Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "I’m the one who wrote the reports."

"Well then it seems to me you should know what they say," Huey answered reasonably.

Tony knew Huey was just following procedure, but she’d wanted to look at them first to see if they had been altered, and if they had been, how they copied her signature on the bottom.

Sighing, she said, "Would you read me the impressions at the end?"

Huey picked up one of the reports and flipped to the last page. "This organization is deemed to be no threat to the security of the United

States or to the safety of other citizens."

Tony felt a sense of relief flood through her. "What does the other say?"

Huey picked up the other case folder and located the summary. He began reading, "Based on the irrefutable evidence that this organization is planning a major terrorist activity, I recommend termination at the earliest possible time."

Tony’s eyes narrowed and in a steely voice, she said, "I never wrote that." Her thoughts turned to what she had written and for Huey’s benefit, she added, "My impression was that there was absolutely no threat from that group. They were merely soldier wannabes."

Huey forgot his disappointment and said, "What are you saying? Do you think someone falsified your report? That’s a very serious accusation

Tony."

Looking pointedly at Huey, she said, "Yes it is. Unfortunately, it happens to be true."

Standing up, she began pacing back and forth in front of his desk. "I just can’t imagine why someone would do that. You know how rare termination orders are. I can count on one hand the number of cases in which I recommended termination. Most of my cases that were possible threats I suggested further infiltration of."

Tony had unconsciously reverted to her most intimidating persona and she met Huey’s look with cold blue eyes.

Huey’s mind registered the change in the tall woman standing in front of him glaring before he was even cognizant of it. She was radiating an essence of danger. Huey felt a chill run through him.

"Hey, take it easy." She certainly hasn’t lost her edge. I’d hate to be on the receiving end when she’s like this.

Tony forced herself to relax. Just turn it over to him. That’s what you came here for. You’re out of it now. Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, "Sorry. It just infuriates me that some asshole is doing this."

Huey thought quickly. This was very delicate. Tony was one of the best operatives in the agency. He had no reason to doubt her. But no matter what he thought, it was going to be difficult to try and investigate something of this magnitude on the word of one agent.

"Why didn’t you say something before now?" Huey asked.

Tony sighed. "Because I wasn’t sure. I needed some time to think about it. I was going to check it out on my own. But I decided it would be better to turn it over to you." With a little encouragement from Megan, of course.

"Ok. I’ll look into it. There is a possibility you could be called back to Washington to testify if evidence is uncovered to support your accusation."

Tony shook her head, saying, "Yes, I know."

Huey stood, indicating the meeting was over. Tony walked with him to the door.

"Good seeing you. Take care of yourself."

"You too," Tony said before exiting the office.

The sun emerged from behind the clouds and reflected off the large bay window in the hotel room. Megan raised a hand covering her eyes from the unexpected glare. She was sitting at a small table in the hotel room looking at a pamphlet about tourist attractions. It had been a cloudy, rainy day and this was the first time the sun had appeared.

Standing up, Megan walked over to the window and opened it. The bright light filtered through the window accenting the red highlights in her hair. Little dust particles danced through the air visible in the arc of light from the window to the floor.

Megan smiled at the sight. When she was a child, she used to try and catch the little flying specks. She never could though. Laughing at the memory, Megan thought, the sun always makes you feel so good. It had been sunny when they’d left Cleveland that morning bound for

Washington, D.C. and a bit of trivia popped to the forefront of her mind. She remembered reading once that Cleveland was a top contender for the fewest days of sunlight per year. Amused, she thought, what a thing to be known for. A few minutes later the wayward sun once again disappeared into the clouds.

Megan turned her back to the window and looked around the hotel room. Tony probably wouldn’t be back for another hour or two, and she didn’t want to watch TV. She remembered seeing an entrance to the indoor swimming pool when they had arrived at the Marriott. That’s what

I’ll do. It wouldn’t hurt to get some exercise. I’ve been kind of lazy lately. That thought prompted another of a tall, dark, beautiful woman who had been taking up a large part of her time. Grinning, Megan thought, not that I’ve minded.

Megan opened the drawer and took out her black Speedo. Looking around for something to wear over it, she spotted a white, cotton, button down blouse of Tony’s hanging on the clothes rack. It was perfect. Tony was so much taller than she was, it hung halfway down to her knees.

Megan thoughts turned to the last time she had borrowed one of her partner’s tops. Tony told her that maybe it was time for them to go shopping since she didn’t have anything of her own to wear. But the half smile and dancing blue eyes gave her away. Funny thing is, I have way more clothes than she does. I just like to wear her things. It makes me feel closer to her. Shaking her head, and smiling, she thought, you are just a hopeless romantic.

After donning the Speedo, she put on the long white blouse. Taking a towel out of the bathroom, she slipped on her thongs and headed toward the pool. Megan shivered in the cool air of the hotel air conditioning and by the time she neared her destination, she had goose bumps over the exposed parts of her body.

The warm humid air around the pool was a welcome reprieve. Megan was surprised to be the only visitor. Setting her towel on one of the lounge chairs, she removed Tony’s blouse and her thongs and dove into the water.

Megan swam the first length slowly and leisurely wanting to give her muscles a chance to loosen up. Reaching the end of the pool, she kicked off the wall, her well-toned leg muscles propelling her a quarter of the length of the pool. With powerful arm strokes and a forceful kick, she began pushing the muscles in her body wanting to give them a good workout. After swimming several laps, she slowed her stroke, just enjoying the feel of the warm water against her body. Rolling onto her back, she began floating, only occasionally propelling herself with a lazy stroke that generated a ripple traveling the length of her body before disappearing.

Megan's thoughts drifted to her relationship with Tony. A warm smile covered her face. I am so in love. Chuckling to herself, Megan remembered the first time she had seen Tony. She hadn't even wanted to meet her that day, but Tony had been very persistent. Her curiosity, spurred on by a very alluring voice, had finally gotten the best of her, and she'd agreed. Her life hadn't been the same since. It was hard to believe how new their relationship really was. They had reached such a comfort level with each other, it seemed they had been together for much longer than they actually had.