“You’ll let me?” A small, disbelieving smile started at the corner of his mouth.
Hunter took a step back. Being that close to him was distracting, and dangerous. She said, “Lee told me you were CISEN. That’s why I’m talking to you here. I wasn’t sure I could find you anyplace else, since I don’t know your name.”
“He told you that, but didn’t tell you my name. A weak story, don’t you think?”
“It’s the truth.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell you my name, instead of only telling you how I look?”
She blushed. He saw her face redden and realized she was embarrassed. It surprised him. She said, “Lee described you to me because he thought I needed a boyfriend.”
“It’s original, I’ll give you that.”
“It is what it is. Are we going to talk, or should I leave?”
“We’re going to talk.”
Hunter felt tension leave her shoulders and said, “Can we start with your name? Kind of feels awkward talking to you without being able to say it.”
“Lucas Patino.”
“Thanks. If you’ll come to my truck, I’ll show you some photos.” They went to her pickup where she took the manila folder from the seat and handed it to Lucas. He perused them, lingering on several of the photos taken in Mexico. She asked, “Do they mean anything to you?”
Lucas said, “No.”
“These were retrieved from this watch, so…”
Lucas said, “They were taken by a CISEN agent, but you already knew that. And he’s dead. Lee gave me a copy of the cell phone photos taken at the scene. His name was Emilio Sanchez. Did you take those?”
“Yes. What was he working on before he died?”
“Emilio was an undercover operative. His assignment was to locate and infiltrate subversive groups.”
“Like ISIS, or ISIL, whatever they call them.”
“Yes.”
“Because they are here despite what my government says.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. What can you tell me.”
“About what? ISIS?”
Hunter said, “About any identification of suspects, any plans they have.”
“I have to be careful about what I tell you.”
“You spooks are all the same. You want to get information but you don’t want to give any.”
“I can tell you we don’t have any people identified by name. We’re working on it, but Sanchez was our key, and he recently infiltrated a group, but he died before he could tell us much.”
“So I know more than you at this point.”
“I didn’t say that. But I don’t want to talk any more about this while we’re in the open.”
“Why? Nobody’s close enough to listen.”