“No fucking way.”

“Teren, listen to me. I need him along. He sometimes sees things that I don’t, or forces me to think instead of jumping to conclusions. He’s important, and I need him.” She stood up. “Besides that, he’s a good guy. He’s my partner. And I know you understand partners.”

Alex wasn’t sure if Teren was going to cry, or rip her head off.

“Speaking of partners, want to tell me why yours still has a bank account?”

Teren leaned forward and put her hands on the desk. “He doesn’t. I cleaned out all of his bank accounts a few days after I left the hospital. I sent the money to his parents who live in Kansas City. The account was closed, and I know it, so what the fuck are you talking about.”

Alex tried to ignore the sweat that was beginning to form on her upper lip. “An account at the First Securities Bank of New York was opened in the name of Perry Watson five months ago. It contains over seventy thousand dollars. There have been deposits into it totalling over two hundred thousand, and constant withdrawals of between ten and twenty grand about twice a month for the last five months.”

Teren didn’t move.

“But what I find most interesting is that the money that opened the account was electronically transferred in from a certain bank account in the Cayman Islands.”

Teren dropped her eyes and slammed her hand into the desk. “That son-of-a-bitch. He was using Perry’s name and ID.”

“That’s what we think.”

The black head shot up. “You’ve told them about the account?”

“No. That part nobody knows but you and me, and the person who helped me find it. And she has absolutely no idea what she helped me find.”

“When did you get this?”

“Well, I have to admit, we knew about the account’s existence in New York for a couple of days. I didn’t think of it last night until you’d driven away. But I found the connection with the other account this morning. And I found where the money came from.”

“Where?”

“Swiss bank. I can’t find the owner at this point because of the way the Swiss protect their secrets. But I have the dates of transmission, and a list of other transactions from this account. I was going to wait until Monday to run the other account numbers.”

Teren straightened and turned towards the door. Even with her back to Alex, she could feel the eyes of the shorter woman. “Fucking Swiss. I should have known.”

They stayed like that until Alex couldn’t stand it. She stood up and came around the desk.

“I wanted to tell you here instead of in the car because you were hesitant to tell me about this in the first place. But David and I discovered a few things about the Kittredge company that I think you should hear. Can I tell him we’re going on a road trip?”

Teren’s eyes never moved from the spot she’d been staring at. “Yeah. Half an hour. I’ll pick the two of you up in front of the building. Don’t be late, because I won’t wait.” She glanced at Alex. “You remember what my car looks like?”

Alex nodded.

“Good.” Teren opened the door and looked back at the agent. “I’ve been defending for months, Alex. It’s time for an attack, don’t you think?”

Teren left and Alex stood still for a moment longer. Then she shook her head and reached for the phone.

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

Alex found Cliff in his office for only the second time all day. His reaction when she told him about the house was predictable.

“That’s great, Alex. I can have a forensics team ready in—”

“No, Cliff. No team.”

Her boss paused. “What? Why not?”

“Because Teren wants to see it first.”

“No, that’s not —”

“Cliff, there is no choice. Either we do this her way, or we don’t get the location. Who knows when we’d find it if we tried to do it our way.”

“But, Alex, you can’t —”

“Look, don’t worry. She’s agreed that David and I can go along. Between the two of us I’m sure we can keep the scene intact. I’ll make sure we take a camera, and we’ll log everything we do touch.”

Cliff’s breathing was heavier than normal, and Alex knew he was fuming.

“You know that David and I won’t screw this up. If you still want a team out there tonight, then I’ll call in the address as soon as Teren’s finished with whatever she’s looking for. But, Cliff, there is no negotiation on this.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either, but I’m not willing to pass up this opportunity. Are you?”

Cliff snorted. “Not a chance.” He took a breath, and held it for a moment. When he let it out, he felt much calmer. “Alright. What do you need me to do from this end?”

“Get the team ready, and sit tight. David and I will call with a location as soon as we can.”

“I still don’t like it. Are you sure you want to do this? We could use a bug —”

“Cliff, I thought you wanted her to trust us. Do you really think she will if we use bugs for something like this?”

“No. But you be careful.”

“We will. I have to meet David at the elevators. Teren will be out front in eight minutes.”

“Then get out of here. We’ll be waiting for your call.”

‘Thanks, Cliff.”

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

David was waiting where he said he’d be. He had a 35 mm camera hanging from his neck, and both their briefcases in his hands. At his feet lay a blue bag marked with FBI in bold letters.

“What’s in the bag?” Alex asked as she took her briefcase from her partner.

“Tape, gloves, bags, labels —”

“In other words standard scene equipment.”

“Yes. Are we on time?”

“We’ve got six minutes to make it downstairs.”

David nodded, and poked at the elevator button.

“You already pushed it, Dave. Pushing the button again won’t make it move any faster.”

“I know. But it feels like I’m doing something anyway.” They shared a smile. “So, I get to meet your assassin.”

“Number one, she’s not my pet anything. Number two, I think if you refer to her like that in her presence, you’re going to be her next victim.”

“So how should I refer to her?”

“Well, her name might be nice.”

“Her name. Right.” David picked up the bag from his feet. “I gotta admit, Alex, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never met an assassin before.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “She’s just a person, David. She’s intense, and probably the most dangerous person I’ve ever met, but she’s still just a person.”

“Still.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “So, you’ll protect me from her, right?”

“Oh, no. I protected you from your wife and daughter the other night. Tonight you’re on your own.”

“But what if I say something wrong, and she decides to kill me?”

“Then I’ll requisition a new partner.” The elevator opened, and they stepped inside. “Hey, maybe I’ll give Price a call, he wanted to come to Washington.”

“Alex …”

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

They made it to the front steps of the building with a minute to spare. Alex kept an eye out for Teren’s car, and it wasn’t long before she spotted it. Motioning to David she moved to the curb and waited. Teren stopped the car with the passenger door even with Alex. The agent heard the lock pop open, and she reached for the handle.

“What’s all that stuff?” Teren asked as Alex and David climbed into the Nissan.

“Our briefcases, and a bag of equipment. Teren, this is my partner, David. Dave, this is Teren Mylos.”

“Nice to meet you, Teren.” David offered a hand over the seat.

Teren ignored it. “Right. What kind of equipment?”

“Standard stuff. Gloves, plastic bags, and that annoying yellow tape.”

“You do realize none of that tape is going up yet?”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s part of our normal gear, so it ended up in the bag.”

Teren nodded, then glanced sideways at her passenger. “You wouldn’t be carrying a bug, would you, Alex?”