Deep Cover

CHAPTER 3

SHELBY SPENT THE next hour giving statements to both the mall and Fairfax police. There was little she could tell them though, for she hadn't seen anything suspicious and had no idea why she'd been singled out for the attack.

One of the Fairfax policemen offered to call animal control to take the kitten to a local shelter, but Shelby was unwilling to turn the kitten over to such an uncertain fate. She would find a good home for the tiny creature that had almost certainly saved her life.

Shelby took some comfort in the fact that the police seemed to think the near miss was either a stray bullet or a random attack by a nut case, but remembered the parting words of the investigating officer.

"The chances of finding the perpetrator aren't very good. If we do, you may be required to come down to the station to eliminate the possibility that it's someone you know."

His words sent a chill down her spine even though she knew it couldn't be anyone she knew. He must have seen her concern because, he added, "Don't worry. You were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens."

Shelby didn't find that particularly comforting as she walked away from the police and bystanders still milling around the crime scene toward her Sable, a little further down the parking lane. Hanging onto a squirming kitten was no easy feat, and she sighed with relief after depositing her shopping bags in the trunk. She got into her car, closed the door, and set the kitten on the passenger seat knowing that the likelihood of the gray fuzzball remaining there was slim to none. However, Shelby had no intention of spending one minute longer than necessary in the mall parking lot. Better safe than sorry.

She drove into the parking lot of a large pet store that allowed pets inside. Coaxing the kitten out from under the passenger seat, she carried her small friend into the store. Shelby selected a small teal colored carrier and immediately placed the animal inside before quickly adding litter, food, a collar and some toys to her cart. Glad for the distraction after the harrowing events of the evening, she spoke softly to the complaining kitten as she maneuvered the cart through the store.

Shelby parked her car and carried her temporary companion inside before going back to retrieve her other purchases. She decided to put an ad in the paper to find a home for the tiny stray. It would be two days before it was listed, allowing her time to take the animal to the vet and get its shots. It was too young to spay or neuter. Shelby chuckled when she realized she hadn't even looked to see if the kitten was male or female.

The refugee just about inhaled the small can of food she'd put down, and Shelby wondered where it had come from, knowing the kitten couldn't have been born on the streets, it was too friendly. A half-hour later, she finally settled into her chair and watched the kitten explore her small apartment.

Shelby heard a noise and jumped before realizing that it had come from an adjoining apartment. Oh, I'm in rare form tonight. Just get over it, already. But doubts still roamed the darker corridors of her mind. The shooting could be random coincidence, but why now? Why on my first day working a case involving field operatives?

She suddenly noticed the light was blinking on her answering machine and pressed the playback button. "Hi, Shelby. It's Mom. Call me later."

"Sorry, Mom, but not tonight," Shelby decided as she hit the delete button. Her mother let her know in no uncertain terms what she thought of her daughter working at the CIA, and none of it was good. She knew her mother was just worried about her, but no matter how many times she'd explained that she was not a spy, it hadn't made any difference. Her mother firmly believed that you are whom you run with and in her mind, that included work, too. And Shelby knew if her mother ever found out about the shooting, she would hound her relentlessly with "I told you so's" and exert even more pressure on her to find "more suitable work."

Instead, she picked up the phone and called Kim. "Hey."

"Hiya. What's going on? Kinda late for you to be calling isn't it?"

"Sorry, Kim. I never even looked at the clock."

Kim's voice changed from teasing to concerned. "You know me better than that. I'm always up late. I was just surprised that you are." She paused. "You sound kind of funny. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I had an interesting evening at the mall."

"You went shopping and didn't tell me? Did I ever tell you paybacks are a bitch? What was so interesting?"

Shelby began to relax at the sound of her friend's teasing, nonstop chatter. "Well, if you'd quit asking so many questions, I could tell you."

Kim chuckled, pleased that Shelby was sounding more like herself. "Okay, I'm all ears."

Unable to think of any way to break her news gently, Shelby said simply, "Someone shot at me in the mall parking lot."

"What!" Kim's voice was incredulous, but not disbelieving. "Are you okay? I'm coming right over."

"No, Kim. Wait. I'm fine. It's too late to come over. We've both got to work tomorrow. I just wanted to talk to someone about it."

"But, Shelby, I think I should come over. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Kim, please calm down. There's no need, really. I'm fine.

"Calm down!! My best friend gets shot at, and you want me to calm down. How can you be calm?"

"I'm not. That's why I called you. You're supposed to be calm and make me feel better."

"God, woman, not asking much, are you? Okay, tell me what happened. And don't leave out anything, okay?"

Shelby got off the phone a half hour later feeling much better until, mulling over the police officer's suggestion that it might be someone she knew, she suddenly remembered thinking that she'd seen Kris at the mall. Her mind refused to explore that line of reasoning. I don't want it to be her. The implications were too unthinkable. She wouldn't do that.

Upset that the idea had even crossed her mind, Shelby knew it was just an indication of just how shaken she'd been and thrust the thoughts from her mind. The incident was purely coincidental, just as she'd conveyed to Kim, and it wasn't the least bit fair to Kris to suspect her of having anything to do with it.

Shelby went to bed a short time later, but her sleep was fitful as she was awakened repeatedly by odd sounds. She knew that the kitten was responsible for the noises, but Shelby could normally sleep through anything, and knew the underlying cause of her restlessness was the shooting.

Kris arrived back in her hotel room after eleven. Her business had taken longer than she'd anticipated because she'd been followed. That in itself irked her, but what was even more troubling was that she wasn't sure who it had been and could only speculate. She could think of two possibilities, but Kris had been in the business too long to limit the possibilities to only the obvious.

Actually, she mused, it had been a good exercise. Her tail had been driving a black Honda Accord and had picked her up as she left the Avis car rental place. Since one of her errands was more immediate than the other, Kris set out to quickly lose her pursuer, and was satisfied that it had taken only a few minutes to do so. She smiled, pleased that she hadn't lost any of her evasive driving skills while ensconced in the Middle Eastern desert.

He had appeared again as she was driving down Wisconsin Avenue, and Kris had led him on a leisurely sight seeing tour through Northern Virginia and Washington D.C while at the same time familiarizing herself with the layout of the streets. It was her first trip back to the area since she'd graduated with top honors from her training course, and the operative didn't intend to be caught short by not having escape routes planned. When it was time for her meet, she'd simply lost him again.

Kris quickly showered, settled onto the bed, and flicked on the TV, but was unable to concentrate, her thoughts focusing instead on a set of friendly, but wary green eyes. Just forget about her. She is no different than any of the others. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to force the image of the attractive woman from her mind. She's nothing but danger wrapped up in a pretty package. Besides, she'd hate me if she knew what I did tonight. Her last thought finally caused the image to fade away and, exhausted from the mentally draining activities of the past few days, she fell asleep.

For the second morning in a row, Shelby was up early, only this time, the cause was a small kitten sitting on the pillow playing with her hair. "Ouch." She lifted the kitten up, set it on her chest and gently stroked its soft fur. "Just what is wrong with the toys I bought for you?"

Shelby chuckled when the kitten looked right at her and meowed. "Whatsa matter? You hungry?" When her companion meowed a second response, she laughed. "Okay, already. I'm getting up."

She fed the kitten, and then played with it for a while, before looking through her closet trying to decide what to wear. Shelby was feeling considerably better than she had the night before, practicality exerting itself in the light of day. I probably was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just hope I never am again. She selected a rust-colored blouse that contrasted nicely with her light complexion and paired it with a white skirt. Unaware that she was doing it, Shelby took a little extra care with her hair and makeup before turning away from the mirror.

Shelby bent to pick up the kitten one last time. "I'm gonna find you a great home." She turned the kitten around and looked at its backside. "So you're a girl. I gotta go now, little one. You be good." Smiling at the purr that answered her, Shelby set her down before opening the door just enough to squeeze through sans kitten.

Kris rose early, as she always did, and ordered a pot of coffee. Her mind rapidly explored avenues that would accelerate the elimination of most of the twenty-seven operatives under suspicion. She hadn't been pleased to discover she was included on the list, but wasn't particularly bothered by the fact that her own name would not be among those quickly eliminated. She doubted the case would ever be solved conclusively, anyway. Her main priority right now was to get out of this assignment at headquarters, and to do that she had to produce a short list of names.

Try as she might, Kris was unable to stop her thoughts from turning to Shelby. She was unlike anyone the operative had worked with before and Kris tried to analyze what was so different. When she was unable to isolate the difference logically, her emotions took over and descriptive words began appearing in her mind. Refreshing, friendly, open, honest, warm, feisty, attractive...

Kris snorted. "And I need to get focused on the case, not the scenery." But even as she spoke the harsh words, she felt a fleeting sense of loss for what could never be. Deep down, Kris knew Shelby was different in a good way, and cursed fate for dealing her the harsh lonely hand it had.

Consciously casting aside those thoughts, Kris cleared her mind as she continued to sip the strong black coffee. She knew "uncle" wasn't going to wait too long before getting impatient, so she needed to decide how to proceed on that front.

The operative had been in tough places before; it was the nature of her work. Still, this time, Kris knew she would need to use every bit of gray matter she possessed and every trick in her extensive repertoire to survive this dangerous new game in which she was only a pawn.

Kris sighed, torn by her limited options, and made the only decision she could. Her personal code of honor would allow no less, but she was well aware that her life would be forfeit if what she was going to do were discovered.

An hour later, she left the hotel wearing navy-blue slacks, a pale blue blouse and a white blazer. Getting into the Buick Regal she'd rented, Kris drove toward CIA headquarters, her thoughts on how to obtain the information she needed.

Shelby debated whether to go to her office first or stop to see Dennis and decided on the latter. She knew the police would forward a report of the mall shooting since a CIA employee was involved, but it was also her responsibility to report any unusual events because of the sensitivity of her work. She grinned ruefully as she entered the Director's office. I think the shooting definitely can be classified as unusual.

"Hi, Joanne. Is Dennis in yet?"

Joanne nodded and leaned forward conspiratorially, "I just gave him a fax from the Fairfax Police. I would've been scared to death!"

"Trust me, I was." Shelby waited while Joanne announced her and then entered his office.

Dennis eyed Shelby closely. "How are you?"

"Better than last night. You've already read the report?"

"Just finished." Dennis waved Shelby to a chair. "Tell me what happened." He listened as the analyst related her version of the incident, noting that it was virtually identical to the police report. "Do you have any reason to believe this is case related?"

"No." Shelby thought the question unfair. If someone had targeted her because of the case she was working on, they sure weren't going to advertise it. "But I don't have any reason to believe it's not either."

Dennis knew she had a point and said, "Have Joanne give you an Incident Report to fill out. Once I have that, I'll talk to Jeb."

"Okay."

Shelby filled out the report quickly and thoroughly, then handed it to Joanne. "Dennis is waiting for this."

Joanne smiled. "I figured."

Shelby rolled her eyes at having stated the obvious. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"No problem. You're doing a lot better than I would be."

After Shelby left his office, Dennis read the police report again. The police seemed to think the incident was simply a random shooting and he tended to agree. There was a remote possibility it was case related, but unlikely because she had only been assigned the case the previous day. He jotted down a note to call Jeb about it.

Shelby walked into her office to find Kris already seated at one of the computers, typing in commands. "Hi."

Kris diverted her eyes from the screen momentarily and nodded.

Shelby walked over and stood behind Kris, looking intently at the screen. "What are you working on?"

"I'm checking the location of each of the operatives."

"I already did that."

"I know. I'm checking it again." Kris turned around in her chair. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Suddenly uneasy, Shelby almost stepped back away from the cool blue eyes that were challenging her. "Just seems like a waste of time."

Kris hadn't wanted, nor intended, to scare Shelby, but she needed to keep the woman at arm's length for more reasons than one. You might try doing it a little nicer. "Look, I'm not questioning your work. I'm checking how long each operative has been in place, and which ones are scheduled for recall or are close to completing their missions. It'll help to eliminate some of the names." Don't ask how.

"I..." Shelby bit off her words, clearly reading the silent message Kris was sending. That doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter when they are scheduled for reassignment. The point is that they were in place when all three assassinations went down. But who am I to question her? She's the one with the experience. But we are supposed to be working on this together. "How?"

The operative couldn't believe she hadn't intimidated Shelby into silence, and tempered her response knowing she couldn't take a chance on her becoming suspicious. "If any more assassinations occur while we are investigating the case, we can automatically take them off the list."

Shelby decided that was a pretty big "if" because the assassinations had been spread out over six months, but decided not to voice that thought. "I'll work on the airlines some more."

She sat down, glancing over at the operative who was once again pulling up screens and reading them. Kris had unnerved her. The look she'd been given was just a shade warmer than frosty, and for the first time Shelby wondered if her gut feeling about the woman had been wrong. No, I was right, but I'd hate to have her for an enemy. Disjointed images and thoughts from her trip to the mall began floating, unbidden, through her mind and Shelby buried herself in her work trying to forget the events of the previous evening.

Turning away from the monitor, Kris glanced at Shelby. She was talking on the phone to one of the airlines now, but the operative knew her new partner had been watching her. What she couldn't figure out was why the other woman was so quiet. She'd learned the previous day that Shelby liked to talk. I wasn't that hard on her, and I did explain what I was doing. So what gives? Is she suspicious?

Kris glanced at the clock and grimaced, time just seemed to crawl in this hole. When Shelby hung up, she walked over to her desk and said, "Let me have what you've got so far on the airlines."

Shelby handed the operative one of her legal tablets and immediately began dialing another number on her list. She looked back up when Kris remained in front of her desk and was almost mesmerized by the blue eyes watching her before she hurriedly glance away.

Something's definitely not right here. She doesn't know anything, yet she seems to have a major problem with me. I need to find out what's going on in her head. "Want to go get some coffee?"

She wants to get coffee? Shelby looked back up surprised. Kris was patiently waiting for her answer with a half smile on her face and a raised eyebrow that disappeared beneath her bangs.

"Sure. There's a little canteen over by Dennis' office. Want to go there?"

"Sounds good." Kris had been watching Shelby intently and was relieved when she agreed.

A short time later they were both sitting in the rear booth sipping their coffee. Kris wanted to come right out and ask what the problem was, but decided a subtler approach would be better, but before she could speak, Shelby spoke up.

"What'd you do last night?"

Interesting question. "Not much. Just rented a car and drove around."

"Drove around?"

"Been a long time since I've been here. Thought I'd take some time to get used to driving here again."

"Oh." What did you expect? Think she's gonna tell you where she was? Get real. "I thought I saw you at Fair Oaks last night." Shelby hadn't intended to mention that and was upset with herself for still harboring suspicions when her gut was telling her that Kris had nothing to do with it.

"Nope. Wasn't anywhere near there." Well this conversation is going nowhere, fast. Guess it's up to me. "How'd your shopping go?"

"Could've been better."

Kris could have sworn Shelby paled at her question, and she was obviously uneasy. She took a sip of coffee and asked nonchalantly, "Why? Didn't find what you were looking for?"

Relaxing a little, Shelby answered, "Matter of fact, they had a good sale at Hecht's. I got a couple pairs of slacks, three skirts, and five blouses." Kris smiled and teased, "Remind me never to come shopping with you."

"Well they had a big sale. I got seventy-five percent off almost everything I bought. Never could turn down a good deal."

"So, what wasn't good about it?" Kris didn't understand this new reticence and was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I found a little kitten in the parking lot. Poor thing was starved. I'm gonna put an ad in the Post today to try and find her a good home. I need to make a vet appointment, too. I bet she's not more than three months old. She's really adorable."

Kris had always loved animals, but her lifestyle didn't allow her to be able to provide a good home. On the few occasions she had seen an animal being mistreated, the perpetrator had learned a quick and painful lesson and wasn't likely to repeat the offense by the time she finished her on-the-spot training session. "She's a lot better off with you than whatever asshole turned her loose. You probably saved her life."

"Maybe I did, but she saved mine, too." Shelby hadn't intended to voice her thoughts aloud and abruptly stood up. "We better head on back. I'm expecting a lot of return phone calls."

"Wait a minute," Kris began, but Shelby was already half way to the door. Kris quickly caught up with the shorter woman, listened as Shelby greeted the Marine, then followed her into the office and closed the door. "So what happened?"

"Someone shot at me in the mall parking lot. The only reason they missed was because I bent down to pick up the kitten."

Suddenly, all the pieces started falling into place for Kris and Shelby's actions that morning began to make sense. "You think I had something to do with it?"

"No. I thought I saw you...but no." Shelby saw a quick flicker of emotions cross the operative's face, before Kris turned away, and searched for something to say.

Staring at the wall, Kris fought an emotion she was unfamiliar with-hurt. It was clear to her that Shelby had at least thought about it being her and she wasn't sure whom she was more annoyed with - herself for letting it bother her, or Shelby for causing her to care and she unconsciously donned her most intimidating persona. Blue turned around, and in a steely voice growled, "I don't miss." Then she stalked out of the office.

Shelby sank into her chair, trying to slow her racing heart. The fear sparked by the events of the previous night paled in comparison to the emotions generated by the angry woman that had just walked out of the office. You wanted to know what a wet operative looks like. You may have just seen one. "I really blew that." I owe her an apology.

Kris ignored the secretary and knocked on Earl's door before opening it and entering. "You need to assign someone to protect Shelby, now."

Earl felt his guts tighten at the sight of Blue. He calmly asked, "Why?"

"She was shot at in the Fair Oaks Mall parking lot last night. Seems to me someone here should've known about that. Isn't it routine procedure for the police to report any incidents involving a CIA employee?"

"Yes it is. How is she?"

"How would anyone be? She's scared."

"Do we know it's related?"

Kris smiled sardonically. "You want to take the chance that it's not?"

Earl pressed the intercom. "Cathy, get Jeb on the phone." After talking to Jeb and learning he knew nothing of the incident, he procured Dennis' number from his secretary and called him.

Cutting off the Director's greeting, he asked, "Do you know anything about a shooting incident involving Shelby Carson last night?"

Dennis' stomach sank. He'd gotten busy and hadn't notified his boss yet. "Yes, I do. I was going to contact Jeb..."

"You were going to? When? Tomorrow? Next week?"

"I had to take care of some priorities..."

"What could be a bigger priority than one of our staff operatives getting shot at? I want a copy of the police report, NOW!"

Kris listened to the one sided conversation and narrowed her eyes. She hadn't liked Dennis when she met him, and liked him even less now.

Within minutes, the fax machine in Earl's office began to spew out the report. He read it, then handed it to the operative.

Kris decided the entire incident didn't make any sense. Shelby's car had been parked half way down the lane. She would've been in clear view of anyone who chose to shoot at her long before she ever bent down to pick up the kitten. No professional would've missed such an easy shot. It was much more likely that someone had wanted to scare Shelby and simply waited for the analyst to be close enough to a car to do just that. But why?

She didn't believe in coincidences and her instincts earmarked the shooting as case related. She was glad she'd decided to bring it to Earl's attention because Shelby needed to be protected, and it was obvious Dennis was worthless. It never occurred to her to wonder why she felt so strongly about Shelby's safety.

After waiting for Kris to finish reading, Earl took a deep breath, knowing he was going to piss the operative off and wishing there was some way he could avoid it. "I agree that Shelby should be protected. You're it."

"The hell I am!"

His voice hard, Earl said, "I said you're it, and you are. If anything happens to her, I'm holding you personally responsible. I'll set you both up in a safe house."

"I can't do it."

"Why not?"

Kris forced herself to calm down and in the most reasonable tone she could muster, said, "It'll never work. She doesn't trust me."

"I don't care if she trusts you or not, neither one of you has a choice. So deal with it."

"This is domestic."

Earl knew where Kris was going and stopped her cold. There was no way he was going to involve the FBI. "You want to desk jockey for the rest of your career?"

Kris stood up and sighed. She had wanted Shelby protected, but hadn't anticipated being involved. "Who's going to tell her?"

"After I get a safe house set up, we'll meet in Jeb's office. She'll be told then."

Kris left Earl's office, her mood steadily deteriorating. How in the hell was she going to able to take care of business if she was playing bodyguard? From a safe house, yet? Her inner voice argued back. Why don't you just admit the real problem? You're afraid to be that close to her, aren't you?

She shut out the words and began analyzing her diminishing options as she headed for the canteen, unwilling to return to the office yet. Shelby's suspicion had hurt, but she couldn't afford to become emotionally involved. Cynically, she thought, So what if she doesn't trust me and is afraid of me. Probably better that way anyway. Then what's the problem? Kris couldn't answer that question, so she ignored it.

Shelby sat at her desk, looking at the papers on her desk, her mind far away. I like her...I like her and I hurt her feelings. I'd hate to know what she thinks of me right now.

Standing up, Shelby walked around the small office. Yes, against the odds, she did like Kris and was also attracted to her, which made absolutely no sense. The woman was dangerous. She'd seen it with her own eyes that morning, yet it hadn't lessened her desire to befriend the aloof operative. Shelby relied heavily on her gut instinct and it was telling her in no uncertain terms that she needed to find a way to breach the cool exterior Kris wore like armor. And the tiny doubt that had plagued her just might have done irreparable damage.

Pulled from her thoughts by the ringing of the phone, she watched Kris walk through the door as she answered. "Shelby."

Dennis said crisply, "Earl's called a meeting in Jeb's office. He wants both of you there now."

Shelby's stomach fell. Something was definitely wrong if Jeb and Earl were involved and Shelby worried that she was going to be taken off the case. "Okay. I'll tell Kris." She glanced at the operative only to catch the woman watching her. "I'm sorry. ..."

"Forget it. It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is. To me, it is. I knew it wasn't you."

Kris' defenses cracked at the sincerity and trust shining from the soft green eyes as she looked into their depths. "It's okay," she said reassuringly, "I would've thought about it, too." And deep down, she knew it was true.

Shelby suddenly averted her eyes, the intensity of the moment jarring her. "Um, we've got a meeting in Jeb's office."

Kris just nodded and they walked out the door. Shelby didn't know what to expect and prepared for the worst.

"I guess you know what it's about?"

"Yep. You."

"Oh." Shelby hesitated, then voiced her concern. "Did you ask to work with someone else?"

Kris looked down at the smaller woman in disbelief. If I didn't know better, I'd think she wants to work this case with me. "You're not going to be rid of me that easy."

"You didn't ask to be reassigned?"

From playing bodyguard, yes. "Not from the case."

Shelby looked up at the cryptic answer, but before she could ask another question, they arrived at Jeb's office.

Kris moved her chair against the wall, settled her tall frame comfortably into it, and waited for Earl to begin.

Dennis furtively glanced at Blue. It was the first time he'd seen her without her sunglasses and he wondered if the rumor floating around about how striking her eyes were was true. He found out sooner than he anticipated when icy blue eyes met his gaze, and he quickly looked away, totally unnerved by the cold look Blue had directed at him.

Jeb was sitting quietly behind his desk. He hadn't missed the exchange between Blue and Dennis, and just wished for the meeting to be over. Earl scared him, but the tall woman gave new meaning to the word and he would be very happy when they both left his office.

Earl waited until everyone was seated before beginning. "As you all know, there has been an attempt on Shelby's life. It may be completely unrelated to our work here, but I'm not willing to take that chance."

He directed his attention to Shelby. "You're moving to a safe house today until the completion of this case. Kris is going with you. You don't go anywhere without her, not even just to answer the door. Is that clear?"

Shelby was annoyed that she'd had no input in this decision, and shook her head in simple disagreement. "No. I can't."

"That's not an option. This is for your own protection. You want someone else taking potshots at you?" Earl hadn't wanted to be so harsh, but this was an innocent and she obviously had no idea just how dicey this case had the potential to become.

Kris glared at Earl when Shelby's face paled, and was pleased to see the analyst recover quickly.

"No, I don't want to be shot at. But I don't want to live in some strange house for who-knows-how-long, either. Besides, I have obligations at home." Shelby looked at Kris. "Does she want to?"

Smirking, Kris turned mirth filled eyes toward Earl to see how he was going to handle this. She knew he'd never expected Shelby to say no, although Kris wondered if Shelby's reluctance was because she would have to spend the time with her.

Earl rose to his full height, and glared at Shelby as his voice resonated throughout the room. "Neither of you has a choice. You signed a contract when you began working for the CIA. Did you forget about that?"

"No, I haven't." At this point, Shelby was beyond intimidation, besides Earl couldn't touch the daunting level Kris had achieved earlier. "But I don't recall anything in it about having to live in a safe house."

"It does states that you will abide by the decisions of your superiors."

Shelby looked at Dennis, then down at the floor, gathering her thoughts. She knew it was possible that her life was in danger, but it was just as possible that the incident at the mall had nothing to do with this case. The news was full of stories about crazies with guns.

She had to spend eight hours a day in a small office without any windows and a guard outside of the door. Cameras mounted in the hallways monitored her every move each time she left the office and it was likely the safe house would be just as secure. The idea of living in a house where her every move was under scrutiny by people watching monitors was not something she wanted to do. Besides, she hadn't even had a chance to find the kitten a home yet.

Shelby loved her job but highly valued her personal freedom. She decided to up the stakes and hoped her outstanding track record as an analyst would allow her to pull it off. She doubted her gamble would backfire and the worst-case scenario would be adhering to Earl's order to stay in a Company safe house. And even though the idea of staying with Kris was very attractive, there was no doubt in her mind that the operative would clam up and never let her guard down while under constant scrutiny.

Her voice was quiet, but determined. "I quit."

Kris was the first to recover and, her low, rich chuckle floated across the silent room. She ignored the furious look Earl directed her way.

"Shelby. Listen to me. This is for your own good. We're only trying to keep you safe."

"I know you are and I'm sorry, but I think you're over reacting. Random acts of violence happen all the time."

Dennis couldn't afford to lose his top analyst and glanced at Jeb to get his attention. Once he had it, he whispered a suggestion into his superior's ear.

Jeb nodded. It was worth a shot. "Shelby, how about if Kris stays at your place until your involvement with the case is finished?"

Shelby was surprised by the offer. Her intent had been to get them to back off on the safe house and put surveillance on her apartment, but this was even better than she'd hoped for. Deep down, she really was concerned about her safety, and instinctively knew the operative would protect her from any harm. Of equal importance to her was the fact that it would allow her to get to know Kris outside of work and she felt a surge of excitement at the prospect.

She glanced over at Kris, only to find her expression noncommittal. No help there. "Only if it's okay with her." And Shelby sent a silent prayer to anyone listening that it would be.

Kris felt four pairs of eyes on her. Things are definitely looking up. "Fine." She was grudgingly impressed that Shelby had held her own with these guys. That was no small feat.

Earl's eyes drilled into Shelby's. "You understand the same rules apply? You don't go anywhere without her."

"I understand."

"Good." Earl turned to Kris. "Any questions?"

"I'll let you know."