“Would you care to see the video now?”

“Certainly.”

Alex could feel Teren’s eyes on her back as they walked down the hall to the tape room.

*******************************************************

Just as she was leaving her office for the night, the phone rang. With a groan, Alex picked it up, while dropping back into her chair.

“Agent Reis.”

“Alex, what the hell are you still doing there at 7: 10 in the evening? I thought you said this meeting probably wouldn’t take too long?”

“Well, David, I was wrong.” She waited for David to say more, but he was quiet.

“Are you okay, partner?”

“Yeah, I’m all right. I’m just tired. But I’ll be on my way to your house in a few minutes. We’ve got a few things to talk about.”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You sound way low on reserves. Why don’t you lay it all out for me in the morning when I pick you up?”

“I’m really okay, Dave.”

“Right. And I’m running for President. Get real.”

She had to laugh. “All right, so I feel like crap. A long bath and a warm bed sound pretty good. Much better than dragging my ass all the way to your place.”

“Sounds better to me, too. After all, when you show up looking tired, Miri pays more attention to you than me.”

“She does not.”

“Does too. Hey, how about a little teaser, huh? Did Mr. CIA have anything for us?”

“No. But Ms. CIA had some interesting stuff.”

“Ms? Uh, oh. Were you working your charms on her, Alex? Is that why you’re so tired?”

“No way. I’d probably get frostbite if I tried to charm her. Either that or a cement overcoat.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah. But the good news is, she I.D.‘d the shooter, and gave us a good line on who the driver was. Seems she’s been looking for the guy, herself.”

“Why?”

“Seems he blew the lid on an undercover operation she was involved in, and someone died.”

“Who?”

“Her partner, Perry Watson.”

“No shit?”

“Nope.”

Alex could hear David tapping his pencil. “Is there more?”

“Yes. Do you want me to come over tonight, or can you wait ‘til tomorrow?”

“I guess I can wait. You will be ready at eight-thirty, right?”

“Are you bringing breakfast?”

“Don’t I always?”

“Yep, I’ll be ready. Probably not awake, but ready.”

*******************************************************

Alex pulled her short coat tighter against her as she exited the building. The weather recently had been nice during the day, but this late in the evening the season was obvious. February was usually cold and snowy. So far, flakes hadn’t fallen, but Alex wouldn’t be surprised if there was white on the ground by morning.

She began the walk to the Metro station, her briefcase hanging from a strap on her shoulder. She wished she’d remembered to grab her hat before she left home that morning. She’d remembered gloves, though, and she gratefully stopped to pull them from her pocket. As she slid them over her cold fingers, she felt it.

There was an itching on her back, right in the middle. It was an odd feeling, one she didn’t like. It felt as though someone was watching her.

Cautiously, and slowly, she turned around to look back in the direction of the door she’d come out of. There was no one there.

It wasn’t as though the streets were empty. Several young men with overcoats and attache cases brushed past her, and one stopped to hail a cab. Many others were walking along, minding their own business.There didn’t appear to be anyone watching her. But she could still feel that itch.

She shook her head, and resumed walking, trying to ignore the fear that was beginning to settle into her stomach. As she headed down the stairs into the station, she quickly glanced up and behind her. There was no one there. The feeling began sliding away.

With a sigh, she entered the turnstile, then headed for the platform to wait for the next train to DuPont. As she went down the final flight of stairs, the feeling of being watched returned, this time very strong. Once again, surreptitious glances revealed no one, but her senses were on full alert, and she felt herself move with a quickened step.

When she got to the platform, Alex leaned against the wall near where the front of the train would pull to a stop. There, she shifted her briefcase, and unbuttoned her coat. Her hand stayed in front of her, within easy reach of the gun she carried in a shoulder holster. The feeling was still there, though not as strong. It didn’t go away, and she didn’t move.

The train pulled in to the station, and Alex listened to the loudspeaker confirm that it was headed to DuPont. She didn’t move. She waited until most of the people were either into the cars, or headed for the stairs, then she took a good look around. Again, no one appeared to be watching her.

Just as the bell sounded that the doors were closing, Alex shot away from the wall, and onto the first car. The doors closed immediately behind her, almost on the back end of her briefcase. She turned back to the door, watching as the train began to move and the view of the station was replaced with the dark cement of the underground tunnel. She waited for a moment longer, feeling the fear dissipate as the itch in her back disappeared. She sat down opposite the doors and stared at them thoughtfully.

Could she have just been paranoid? After all, she’d had an assassin sitting in her office tonight. Anyone would be nervous after that. She could have just been scaring herself, right?

But then again, she’d had an assassin in her office. An assassin that had seemed to exude shadows even in the well lit office cubicles. And Alex’s instincts were very good.

Suddenly feeling exhausted, Alex settled into her seat and leaned her head against the window. The feeling of being watched was gone, and hadn’t come back since she boarded the train. Once she got to her stop, it wasn’t a long walk home, and before she knew it, she’d be in that hot bath, with Appleby doing his balancing act on the rim of the tub.

But even as she waited, she kept her coat open, and her hand resting just inside it.

Just in case.

*******************************************************

Teren Mylos watched the FBI agent as she went down the steps at the Metro station. She’d been surprised to realize that the agent was aware of being followed. She waited near the top of the stairs, counting slowly to ten, then walked down the flight. She saw her quarry pass through the turnstile, and she got into a long line of people waiting to do the same. Again, she noticed Agent Reis looking around her cautiously. She waited until Reis reached the platform before descending to it herself.

Standing well back in the shadows near the stairs, Teren had a good look at Alex. Her back was to a wall, and she’d unbuttoned her coat. Knowing her gun was within easy reach of Alex’s hand, Teren almost smiled. Almost exactly what she would have done.

She had to give Reis credit, when she jumped onto the train at the last minute. By being in the first car, it was the first one to leave the station, taking the agent out of shooting range, if anyone was inclined to do that. It also prevented anyone else from boarding the train after Alex. By waiting so long, Alex had made her pursuer wonder if she was going to board the train at all. That could have left the hunter standing while her or his quarry rode safely away.

Again, Teren smiled. That would only work, she thought, if the hunter didn’t know where the woman was going. If he or she did know, then they’d be waiting for Alex at DuPont Circle. That could be dangerous for the small agent.

Good thing the hunter wasn’t really hunting.

As she climbed the stairs back up to the station, Teren found herself impressed that Alex had known she was there. She knew she should have been able to conceal herself from the likes of Alex Reis, but she hadn’t been able to pull it off. It had appeared that Reis knew she was being followed almost from the moment she’d left the FBI building. Unusual, unexpected, but Teren was not unhappy that the younger agent had demonstrated the ability to sense her surroundings. It had been her own strong senses that had kept her alive many times. She hoped the same technique would keep Alex safe as well.