Just a Bit Shameless (Straight Guys 8)

“Amanda,” the bespectacled man said. “I don’t think—”

One hard look from the woman—Amanda—silenced the man. Sam knew that her name probably wasn’t Amanda. It was said that no one but a select few higher-ups in the government knew the Chief’s real name. Within the Secret Service, Amanda was simply known as “C.” She was the shadow figure behind the Chief of SIS the general public knew about, who was no more than a decoy. Sometimes all that secrecy seemed a bit over the top to Sam before he remembered that there was a good reason for it. They dealt with terrorists on a regular basis.

“William, please outline the parameters of the mission,” Amanda told the bespectacled man. Glancing at Sam, she added for his benefit, “William Mason is the head of our Intelligence department.”

Sam nodded gratefully, a little surprised by how nice and considerate Amanda was. He glanced at Agent 11 and found the agent’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile. Weird.

The big screen on the wall switched on and Sam stared at the picture of a middle-aged blond man.

William Mason cleared his throat. “This is Milosz Brylsko, aged forty-three, a Polish crime lord. His organization is part of an Eastern European crime ring. Brylsko is of particular interest to us because he’s responsible for supplying weapons to other members of the ring.” Mason’s lips pursed. “If our intelligence is correct, he’s recently started selling nuclear weapons to several European governments.”

Sam fidgeted in his seat, glancing at Agent 11, but his face was inscrutable. He probably knew all of this already.

Mason pushed his glasses up and continued, “We have reason to believe that Brylsko has an underground nuclear factory in one of the third world countries, but we have no proof. So far we’ve failed to locate it. Locating the factory is one of the mission’s primary targets. The other is to learn which countries have already purchased nuclear weapons from Brylsko. The problem is, Brylsko is extremely careful and paranoid. There are no phone calls or emails concerning nuclear weapons that we can track. There’s no single reference to them in his organization’s computers—at least the ones plugged into network—and our best hackers were unable to find anything of use. But our mole has been able to learn that Brylsko keeps the most sensitive data on a secure flash drive he always carries on him. We need that flash drive. And we need to return the flash drive into Brylsko’s possession without him ever being the wiser. That’s why we need an exceptional thief for this mission, Landon.”

Sam frowned. “Why do you need to put the flash drive back?” That part of the plan made the otherwise straightforward task considerably more challenging. If Brylsko really was as paranoid as Mason said, then he was likely to constantly check that the flash drive was still there. Would they even have enough time to crack the pass code, copy the encrypted data, and put the flash drive back?

It was Amanda who replied, her tone careful. “Because there’s some very sensitive information on that flash drive. We don’t want anyone to know that we are in possession of it. That’s why very few people know about this mission.”

Agent 11 snorted.

Amanda glared at him. “Your commentary isn’t required, A11.”

Agent 11 raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t say anything, ma’am.”

Curious, Sam looked between the agent and the Chief of SIS. Was it his imagination, or did these two strongly dislike each other?

Mason cleared his throat. “We will give you a flash drive that fits the description our mole gave us. You will switch it with the original. That should fool Brylsko for the time being while you copy the data and return the original flash drive. However, we don’t know how often Brylsko accesses the data on the flash drive, so ideally, you’ll need to find out before proceeding—without compromising your cover, of course.” He cleared his throat again. “Now, about your cover. Brylsko is extremely paranoid. Normally, it’s impossible to approach him without him being surrounded by bodyguards and without being subjected to extensive background checks. But we have learned that at the end of the month, he will be on an exclusive luxury cruise that caters to… rich people with Brylsko’s particular tastes.”

Mason paused and shifted in his seat. Sam eyed him, wondering why the man seemed so uncomfortable.

“What tastes?” he asked when neither Amanda nor Agent 11 said anything.

Mason grimaced, a look of distaste appearing on his face.

“Brylsko has a taste for young pets,” Amanda replied in his stead, her tone neutral. “Very young, but mostly above the age of consent. As far as we know, he doesn’t coerce them. He likes them willing. He likes to be… generous with them, keep them in luxury. I suppose it strokes his ego.”

Sam’s brows pinched. “You mean he likes keeping a sugar baby?”