Submission Impossible (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 1)

Unfortunately, Hutch was good at it. And his time was running out. The guards who worked the building were about to take their dinner break, and for thirty minutes or so only the lobby-level guard would be actively watching the cameras. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. The guards were scheduled to take separate dinner breaks, but the man and his woman counterpart seemed to be flirty according to MaeBe, who’d cut into the feeds days ago and watched the guards like a soap opera playing out for her amusement.

Hutch closed his laptop. “I think he probably knows since you were on a team. You were in the military and you saw combat. It wouldn’t shock him. He’s probably worried about you, too, but you have to be willing to open up to someone. I’ve worked for the Agency. I’ve worked dangerous undercover ops. I’ve come back from more edges than you could imagine. If you honestly think whatever you have to say is going to shock someone like me, then you’re wrong. So when you’re ready to talk, I’ll buy you a beer and you can tell me your shocking story and be disappointed when I explain the truth I’ve found out about the world.”

For a moment he thought Kyle wasn’t going to take the bait, but he finally looked Hutch’s way. “What’s that?”

“That when we feel our most alone,” Hutch began, “when we think we’re lost and in the woods and no one can ever find us, it’s only because we aren’t looking at all the other people who are in that dark place with us. It’s a lie that you’re alone. It’s a lie you tell yourself because not being alone means there’s no reason to turn away from the past. Not being alone means facing it all. It means letting it break you utterly because you can’t heal until you break. And if you’re not alone then it’s okay to break because someone will be there to help you mend.”

Kyle huffed. “Yeah. Sure. There’s someone else out there who’s been through what I have.”

And that was all he could do. He couldn’t force Kyle to trust him. He rather thought Kyle didn’t want to trust anyone. “Like I said, when you’re ready, find me or someone like me. Now I need you to make sure Noelle doesn’t get murdered while I take a leak. I’m pretty sure I remember where the bathroom is.”

“I think I can handle that.” Kyle sat back. “Be careful.”

“I’m going to the bathroom, man. Tonight all I’m doing is getting a feel for what it’s going to take to get what we need. There’s zero chance Noelle is done tonight. We’ll get a shot tomorrow.” He could always say he’d underestimated how fast she would work, but he was a bit worried that she would want to be back here tomorrow. Something had gone hinky with the MRI machine she’d been testing her theories on. She looked awfully cute with a wrench in her hand and goggles covering her eyes.

“All right. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Kyle promised. “I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I don’t like the fact that Jessica booted me tonight. She hadn’t mentioned anything about it up until I walked down to the limo. Then she dismissed me. I can assure you that she wasn’t thinking about dismissing me this morning.”

Hutch huffed. “Maybe she realized you’re a douchebag.”

“I’m serious, Hutch. Something changed this afternoon, and it affected the way she views me. I have to think she’s up to something.”

Perhaps Kyle was right. She’d changed her plans. She’d been going on a date and now she was having some kind of dinner meeting. “Do you know who she invited to that dinner?”

“I might have seen a list of names,” Kyle admitted. “Jessica’s assistant had it sitting on her desk. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I remember them.”

“Did you send the names to MaeBe?”

“I’ll do it now. Sorry. Like I said, I’ve got a lot on my mind. I’m going to focus.”

“You do that.” Hutch walked out, but not before he grabbed the small pack he’d left on the edge of the desk. It contained his phone and a couple of attachments that weren’t readily available in a tech store. When he was certain Kyle couldn’t see him, he placed the comm device in his ear. It was linked to another set and didn’t record, so it worked even in the presence of Kyle’s anti-bug technology. “You there, MaeBe?”

“You know I am.” MaeBe’s voice came over the line. “What on earth were you talking to Kyle about? I couldn’t hear anything, but that looked serious as hell. Is he like into Noelle? Is that what you’re fighting about?”

He moved down the hallway, keeping his voice low. “No. He’s not into Noelle, but I also think he shouldn’t be into anyone right now. His situation is complicated, and you should be careful around him.”