Mark Greaney - Full Force and Effect

—

The party, like most after-work company get-togethers, started with work-related chatter, but by the time the second round of drinks had been polished off, the participants loosened up. Except for Élise Legrande. Ryan noted her great skill in deflecting personal conversation, and the almost hawklike way she watched the other people at the table, usually silently. She eyed Ryan most of all, and this was not lost on him. He’d caught her eye a number of times, which wasn’t difficult as they were seated across from each other, but she held his gaze in a way that he found a little off-putting, her incredible beauty notwithstanding.

The table of twelve began thinning out after an hour, as most of the attendees had kids at home, early starts the next morning, or both. A core group of hard-chargers stayed around for a third drink, but by the time the fourth round was dropped by the cocktail waitress, only Ryan, Baggett, and the woman everyone knew as Élise from Quebec City remained.

Ryan had spent the last forty-five minutes waiting for his opportunity to act. He was ready to move around to Élise’s side of the table to make a play for her phone and he had a half-dozen ready-made excuses to make it happen, too, but first he needed to know the location of the device. Was it in a pocket, in her purse, in her hand? Even with his new sleight-of-hand skills, he couldn’t very well sit down next to her and frisk her from head to toe, and because he’d seen no hint of the device in the ninety minutes since he’d arrived, he’d bided his time, waiting for her to reveal it.

The fact he hadn’t seen it so far told him it was probably in her purse, so when she finally picked up her small silver clutch off the table and reached inside, he began moving into action. Just as he stood to head around the table to show Ralph and Élise something on his phone, he eyed her right hand. She held a phone in it and was checking it for text messages. But instantly Ryan realized the phone in her hand wasn’t the one he had seen her with all week at Valley Floor.

Damn it. She’d switched phones. He knew he needed to pull data off the device she’d had at the facility, because that would be the most likely to contain the intel he was looking for.

Where was that phone? In her room?

Jack had no idea where she was staying. She hadn’t offered the information and he’d not seen a natural opportunity to get it out of her. He felt certain she was somewhere on the Vegas Strip—all the other visitors to the NewCorp Valley Floor facility he’d run into had been—but without that knowledge he couldn’t very well send another Campus operative off on a sneak-and-peek.

Jack excused himself to go to the restroom. The team could hear his every word, so he began speaking as soon as he was out of earshot from the table. “Listen up, new sitrep. She’s got a different phone on her.”

“Damn,” Chavez said. “What the hell does that mean?”

Ryan said, “I think it means Gavin was right. The other phone was for the operation. She got what she needed, so she’s left that phone in her room. Or, hell, I don’t know, it could be in her purse.”

Dom said, “You’ve got to check her purse.”

Ryan fired back, “And you’ve got to check her room.”

“Where is she staying?”

“Unknown.”

“Cuz, this is Vegas. There are one hundred twenty-five thousand hotel rooms in this town. You want I should start kicking in doors?”

Ryan grumbled a few cusswords of frustration, then said, “Okay, I’ll find out for you, while I’m digging through her purse. You just sit there and take it easy in the meantime.”

Clark’s admonishing low grumble came over the net. “Gentlemen.”

Ding chimed in now: “Ryan, it’s okay. Check her purse, and if it’s not there, tip us off by asking her about where she’s staying. I’m online now, and Gavin’s IT hacks have given me visibility into all the hotel records in town. You find out the name of the hotel and I’ll get her room number. We’ll send Dominic to break in while you watch the girl.”

Ryan agreed, although Ding made it sound easier than he imagined it would prove to be. “I’ve got to get back. Baggett might try to kidnap her.”

Ding replied, “That French spook would rip his balls off.”

—

Ryan returned to find Baggett gone, and Élise Legrande alone at the large table, checking her phone and clutching her purse in her lap.

Jack sat back down. “What happened to Ralph?”

“He had to leave. He asked me to wish you a good evening.”

Ryan did his best to hide his pleasure, but Clark’s voice entered his right ear and cooled his excitement. “This is too easy. Keep your eyes open, kid, something’s fishy.”

Clark was insinuating the Sharps intelligence officer might herself be operating against Ryan, but Ryan scoffed at this. He thought she was just interested in him and acting out of attraction. That she’d managed to clear Ralph Baggett’s playing piece off the board was good news for Ryan and his mission, not evidence that the woman had any objective beyond spending some time alone with him.

He watched her put her phone back in her purse, and while she did so he got a fair look inside. There was no other phone.

Ryan now knew he needed to find out the name of her hotel. He didn’t have time to go slowly with this, so he started immediately. “What do you think of the Venetian?”

He was hoping she would say something about the rooms—an indication this was her hotel.

But she just looked around her. “It’s nothing like Venice.”

“Not really, no. Still, it’s pretty nice.” Jack went for broke. “Where are you staying?”

She blinked once. Perhaps a little surprised at the question.

But she answered. “Next door, at the Palazzo.”

“Really?” Jack said. “That’s funny. So am I.”

The Frenchwoman’s eyes narrowed. Ryan could see she didn’t believe him, and instantly he worried he’d screwed up. He wanted an excuse to stay with her a little longer so he could watch her while Dom worked, and if he claimed he was at the same hotel then they could possibly walk back together. Clark had warned Ryan she would have a good BS detector, but he’d pressed his luck anyway.

In his earpiece he heard Ding’s voice, rushed. “I’m getting you a room there now.”

“What room?” Legrande asked, clearly challenging his story.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry?”

“What is your room number at the Palazzo?”

Damn. He couldn’t just pull a room number out of the air. She might continue challenging him, check for herself, and he’d be caught in a lie.

Ding heard the question. “Gonna take a couple of minutes, Ryan! Stall her.”

Jack smiled. “That’s a bit forward, isn’t it?”

“I am not saying it to be forward. I am saying it because I do not believe you are telling the truth. I don’t really know what you are doing, but I think you just lied to me for some reason.”

Jack just said, “You have trust issues.” He felt like a heel, but he was committed to this now, and he couldn’t back away.

“I have trust issues because I have been around people who do not tell the truth. Like now, for instance.” Ryan could tell she was fully on guard. She prodded him for a minute, asked him where he was really staying, but he stuck with his story.

Finally, Élise said, “Last chance to be honest, Jack. Where are you staying?”

Jack smiled. “Let’s go. I’ll show you my room.” He held his breath.

“You’re bluffing,” she said, a coquettish smile on her face. She truly didn’t believe him, and she looked like she would relish putting him in his place. Jack felt sure she thought this was all just a ploy to get her dress off.