John Locke - Lethal Experiment

“Callie, there’s no way. They’ve invested years …”

“I’m serious, Donovan.”

This was so unlike Callie that I was having trouble wrapping my head around the conversation. I understood what she was trying to say, but she knew how the system worked. Sure, Eva’s an artist, a gifted entertainer. But that doesn’t make her life any more valuable than the literature professor I guarded, or the dozen other civilians who are going through life, completely oblivious that we’re monitoring their every move. I could see no reason why Callie should care one way or other about Eva.

Unless…

“Are you sleeping with her?” I said.

Callie took a deep breath, held it a moment, and slowly exhaled. She looked away.

“Holy shit!” I said.

Chapter 21

Callie suddenly had the slightest smile going. I guessed it probably felt good to share the secret.

“I can’t let her die,” she said.

“Give me a sec,” I said. “I’m trying to visualize the two of you doing it.”

“What? Oh, grow up, Creed!”

“Every man’s fantasy, Cal. Bear with me.”

“Are you… oh, my God, you’re checking me out! Jesus, Donovan !”

“Relax,” I said. “I’m always checking you out. You just never noticed before.”

“Oh yeah, well, men are pigs.”

“True.”

“And you’re the king pig.”

“Oink.”

She took another deep breath.

“I hate myself for saying this,” she said, “but I need your help.”

“Yes you do.”

Just then I noticed an elderly lady standing by the seafood tower. I took out my phone, handed it to Callie and nodded in the direction of the lady.

“For Kathleen,” I said.

“You’re kidding.”

“C’mon, you know the drill.”

“Are you wearing panties, Creed? It starts with the panties, you know.”

“Relax. I just don’t want Kathleen to stress, okay? She’s got trust issues.”

“I think you need a spine implant.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. Now come with me and do your part, okay?”

We walked across the floor to the lady.

“Pardon me,” I said, “but would you do me the honor of taking a picture with me?”

“Why on earth would you want my picture?” she said. “Your lady friend is gorgeous. I should take a picture of the two of you.”

Jumping right in as if it had been rehearsed, Callie said, “You look like his mother.”

“What?”

“Where are you from?” Callie said. “Really, you could be her sister.”

“I’m from Seattle,” she said. “And you?”

“Atlanta,” Callie said. “By the way, I’m Julie. This is Joe.”

“Nice to meet you, Julie and Joe, I’m Mildred.” She pointed to an older man who was watching us from a distance. “That’s my husband. He’s also a Joe.”

“A good man, I’m sure,” I said, “judging strictly by the name.”

Mildred laughed.

“Now you two scrunch in together and smile,” Callie said.

She pointed my cell phone at us and snapped a picture. Afterward, we walked Mildred back to her husband. We all shook hands.

“We just saw “O” at the Bellagio,” Callie said. “Have you guys ever seen it?”

“We have,” Joe said.

“About two years ago,” Mildred added.

“Did you love it?” Callie said.

They agreed it was remarkable. Then we told Joe how Mildred looked just like my mother. He asked if we knew anyone in Seattle and I told him I knew a fire chief from Montclair, New Jersey, named Blaunert who had plans to retire on Portage Bay.

“That’s a beautiful spot,” Joe said.

We wrapped up our conversation. On the way back to our table I flagged down our waiter and asked him to deliver a bottle of champagne to Joe and Mildred. Then we took our seats and looked at each other.

“Well, that was fun,” Callie said, dryly.

“You were great back there, by the way.”

“Whatever. It’s not my first rodeo. So,” she said, “will you talk to Darwin for me?”

“I think not,” I said. “He’ll want to know why I’m asking, and believe me, he’ll find out. When he does, he’ll end your affair with a bullet. So if you want to keep this going—and you obviously do—you can’t let Darwin know you’re involved with her. By the way,” I added, “how were you able to keep the affair going without Chavez finding out?”

“Easier than you might think. Remember, he’s following Eva. Since I know where she’s going before he does, I’m already there.”

“So if Eva’s going to a party at someone’s house you’re already there?”

“A better example is when she goes out of town to visit her parents, and stays at a hotel room that happens to adjoin mine.”

I thought about the logistics of Callie falling for her, approaching her, wooing her, the time involved to build this type of relationship.

“You couldn’t have set this up after you passed her off to Chavez,” I said.

Callie said nothing.

“This had to have started years ago, when you were guarding her.”

Callie remained silent.

“And it’s continued all this time,” I said. “So why now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve always known her life was in danger. Why the sudden urgency?”

“I think Tara’s in the middle of an operation that could turn sour.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Chavez got a call. Darwin told him to be ready, just in case.”

“And you know this because?”

“Chavez and I talk sometimes.”

“You’ve been keeping him on a string to see what he knows?”

“Something like that.”

I had a sudden thought.

“You’re not sleeping with Chavez, too, are you?”

“Fuck you!”

“All right, simmer down,” I said. “I’m just trying to figure out how complicated this is.”

“As far as Chavez is concerned, he and I are colleagues, nothing more. When he worked Atlanta, we met twice a year for drinks. I was careful when asking about Eva.”

“I believe you. Otherwise, she’d be dead.”

Callie eyed me carefully, as if trying to read something in my face. Finally, she said, “If you can’t talk to Darwin, what’s left?”

“I can try to talk Tara into quitting.”

“What?”

“Like you said, she’s a mess. Maybe she’s had enough.”

“If she has, she’d already be retired.”

“Sometimes people need a nudge.”

“Would you even know how to find her without Darwin’s help?”

“I think so,” I said. “We’ve got some history.”

“I heard that ended badly,” Callie said, lifting her index finger to the side of her cheek to mimic the angry scar that runs from the top of my cheek to the middle of my neck.

I shrugged. “Some people wear tattoos.”

Callie laughed. “Boston’s a pretty big city,” she said.

“It is.”

“But you know something about Tara, something you learned when you were sleeping with her?”

I nodded.

Callie mulled that over. “What if she says no?”

“Then we go to plan B,” I said.

“Which is?”

“Kill her.”

Callie leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. The one with the scar.

“Thanks, Donovan,” she said. “Once again, you’ve saved my life.”

Such as it is , I thought.

Chapter 22

“ The walls moved?” Kathleen said. “How?”

“It was like a Hollywood movie set,” I said. “There are five different scenes, with three sets of walls and two ceilings. One of the ceilings has crystal chandeliers.”

“But how does everything switch?” she said.

“They just quietly slide into place.”