The Sleeper cell by A.R.Hutton (free e reader .TXT) đ
- Author: A.R.Hutton
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Lissie froze, âOkay fine⊠Iâd love to meet Evan lysacek.â she muttered. They all stared at her their faces blank. Lissie groaned in disbelief,
âOh come on! The Olympic champion of menâs figure skating!â
Simon snorted, âHeâs a figure skater? Oh thatâs rich. Waitâ he pointed his finger at her. âIs he gay?â
âNo!â she cried out angrily, as Charles and Thomas laughed.
Rachel shook her head, âGive her a break guys.â
Then turning to Simon said, âYou shouldnât be talking, you listen to Michael Jackson and you sent a love letter to a Victoria secrets model!â
The table went quiet; they all stared at a very red faced Simon, âHowâŠâ he snapped his mouth shut.
Lissie grinned and leaned over Rachel, âyou sent a model a love letter? What did you say I mean, what is there to say? âHi Iâm in love with your modeling picturesâ.â She said mimicking his voice.
They all laughed, Simon just glared and whirling his chair around, slumped with his arms crossed, sulking. Charles and Thomas whirled his chair back around, âCome on man, I know Iâve done more embarrassing stuff.â Charles said reassuringly. Simon glared, âI feel violated.â He snapped.
That brought on more laughter, âCome on lad,â Thomas chortled. âItâs not that bad.â
âOh itâs not that bad,â Simon muttered sarcastically.
âNope, because the foodâs here.â Rachel cried out cheerfully clapping her hands. Their waiter handed out the food.
âMmmm,â Lissie murmured, sniffing her soup appreciatively. They quickly ate their lunch and then piled back into the Tahoe heading back to work.
The five of them went right into the conference room when the team got back. It was a long dark room with cherry wood paneling and a long mahogany table, with fifteen chairs. Lissie seated herself at one end of the table, where she could study her boss better. The others gathered in chairs next to her.
Mr. Parker strode in five minutes later. He was dressed in a blue blazer with a black tie, and black loafers; a cup of coffee and a folder in one hand, and a laptop in the other.
âOkay, I have a job for you and your team.â He said calmly. Setting his stuff down and taking a seat.
Lissie leaned forward, ignoring Rachelâs nervous gulp.
âWhat is it?â she asked. As team leader she was in charge on the legal and formality part. But once they left the room; Simon and the others would take charge of whatever their expertise covered. Mr. Parker slid the folder down the table to her; she grabbed and opened it in one smooth motion.
It was full of surveillance photos, four men and two women. Two of the men had definite Arabic features, the other two were white. Of the two women one was black, the other white with bright red hair. Lissie studied the photos then handed them to Simon. âWho are they?â he asked admiring the red haired women.
âThey are the joint leaders of a sleeper cell in Texas.â
Lissieâs eyebrows rose in surprise. âThe six of them, joint leaders?â she demanded incredulously.
Mr. Parker nodded his eyes serious. âThey are all working together in one cell, which is normally unheard of for small ones. Especially in a state like Texas. But we discovered a rumor that is being proved more accurate by the hour.â He ran his fingers through his hair. âApparently not counting the Arabianâs, those pictured are from different countries around the globe. Now our Intel is not very accurate; but we believe that the black women is from France, the red head from Ireland, and one of those men is from Germany. The other oneâs origins are unknown.â
Thomas frowned. âDo we know what they are up to?â he asked.
Mr. Parker shook his head, âNot really, we just found out about them. We suspect that they are either planning to place a bomb, or kidnap the president.â
Simon snorted, âReally? Aw, shucks man let them have him. Heâs caused enough trouble as it is. Iâm surprised they arenât giving him a party.â
Robert Parker glared at Simon, âHe is your president whether you like him or not. And your job is to protect him,â
Simon sighed, âWhateverâ he muttered.
Lissie kicked him under the table, âBehaveâ she hissed.
âWhat we know is far from accurate, basically we were caught with our pants down. You can blame Miss Elliot for that. Now, your job, Miss Pike is to go to this town undercoverâ Robert continued. âIâll have my assistant give you your background info.â
Charles cleared his throat. âUm sir. What about us?â he asked.
Robert sighed, clasping his hands together.
âLook, I know you guys are used to working together; but this job is different she doesnât need help. Okay?â Iâll give you guys something to do concerning this caseâŠBut only from this office. You are going nowhere.â He said firmly with a final glare at Simon, Who glared right back.
âNow I wish to speak to Lissie privately.â
The others ignored him and looked at her expectantly, she nodded. Thomas stood up, âCome on guys, we have work to do.â He said quietly, giving Simon a warning look that said.
âLet it go!â
They all followed. But Simon whirled around at the last minute and stared Robert down.
âIf anything happens to my sister because I wasnât there, I will deal with all who had a hand in itâ he said deliberately his meaning clear. Robertâs eyes narrowed, but he nodded stiffly.
Lissie gulped as the door closed, âI apologize profoundly for that escapade.â She started,
He held up his hand stopping her. âItâs alrightâŠdown to businessâŠYou will have help⊠heâs a cop. Heâll help you with your cover and investigation.â
Lissie stared at him in surprise, âBut you said that-â she stammered.
âI know what I said, but this is a job Lissie, not a family group. You guys canât always be clinging to each other like toddlers.â
Lissie stood up. âThatâs unfairâ she snapped âwe do not cling to each other; we work closely together because we are a TEAM. And in our book, that means family.â
Robert frowned, âLook-â
âNo, you look.â She interrupted, her eyes snapping with anger. âSimon and I are all we have, and we are all the others have in this line of work. They canât go home at the end of the day and confide in loved ones, and expect them to understand. Itâs forbidden, and you know it. So this is how we cope.â She leaned forward
âNow, I will go to Texas; Alone. But I think you need to understand your people a bit before you EVER pull a stunt like that again.â She finished firmly.
Robert Stiffened, âWatch your words agent Pikeâ he warned. She nodded, âI apologize.â
He didnât reply.
Lissie sighed, âWho is my contact?â she asked.
Robert shrugged, âI donât know, he said that that you would know him by the I.D code you agents have.â
Lissie frowned; the I.D code was a small way for fellow agents, or spies, to confirm their identity and whether or not they were friendlies, I.D codes could be questions, a comment anything. âIf heâs not an agent how can he have an I.D code?â she asked.
Robert Shrugged, âI donât know, Iâm looking into it⊠for all we know he could be one of us.â
Lissie stared at him. âYou donât know who he is? And you arenât even concerned?â disbelief filling her voice.
Robert snorted, âwhat do you mean not concerned? Iâm worried sick. But my orders are to continue this O.P.â
âWait a second,â she held up her hand, âO.P? You said it was an investigation, not an O.Pâ
âI lied againâŠour orders are to confirm the threat and then terminate the cell.â He laughed harshly, âlovely working here isnât it?â he said sarcastically.
Lissie rolled her eyes, âThatâs the point of A.I.D.S Mr. Parker; we do the dirty work that has to be done.â
He waved his hand, âDonât patronize me Lissie, I know more about this job then you do sadlyâ while shaking his head tiredly. Lissie nodded, âI understandâ she replied.
Robert looked at her with pity, âI suppose you do somewhatâŠBut back to the subject; you will leave for the town of Palestine tomorrow, I booked a private flight to take you to Tyler where you will drive your new car to Palestine. There you will meet this contact at Wal-mart, where he will somehow make his presence known to you.â
Lissie grinned, âWal-mart? You have got to be kiddingâŠ.I mean itâll work butâ she laughed. âI mean, itâs Wal-mart!â
Robert stared at her his eyebrows raised questionably.
Lissie blushed, âSorry itâs just a little different thatâs all. Iâm used to meeting in bars and alleyways. I mean I met a contact through a statue once.â
Robert cocked his head to the side with amused puzzlement, âAnd how did that go?â he asked.
Lissie shrugged, âNot as he had planned, we ended up having to haul him away in the statue.â
She snorted âDumb-Ass. Did he honestly think we could have gotten past the C.I.A like that?â
Robert grinned, âOh youâd be surprisedâ
Lissie laughed, âYea your right I suppose.â
Robert rose from his chair, âIâll make sure that Helen gives you all the right contacting equipment. And Iâll have Charles pull out a selection of weapons for youâŠoh and before I forget, youâre going as yourself.â
Lissie had been gathering up the photos so she could leave, but froze at his last words, and then looked at him her eyes wide. âWhat?â she whispered.
Robert frowned in concern. âIs that a problem?â
Lissie took a deep breath, âHave you forgotten about me being from there?â
He sighed, âNo I havenât, and I told the committee about it. But they think that youâll be fine, I mean you have a good cover story in that folder.â
Lissie winced, but nodded. âWell I suppose its time I went back anyway, I mean we canât always leave the past.â She commented thoughtfully.
For some reason she hadnât felt worried about going back, when she thought she would have a different name. But when he had said she was going as herself; Lissie had felt a moments panic. But it didnât last long; she knew that things had changed so she was ready to face whatever was next.
Robert smiled with relief, âThanks Lissie, I know youâll do well. If you ever need anything, donât hesitate to call me. Itâs my job to keep you as safe as possible.â He said reaching out his hand. Lissie shook it, âThanksâ
She walked out taking the file with her.
Chapter three
Arriving back at her office, Lissie was bombarded by her team.
âWhat did he say?â Rachel demanded, twirling her hair frantically, her eyes wide. She always got nervous when they started a new O.P.
Thomas, who had quietly followed Rachel, patted her shoulder. âCalm downâ he said soothingly.
Rachel squealed in surprise, âThomas! Donât sneak up on me like that!â she cried.
Simon grinned at them, but his eyes were hard. âI donât like it sis, Iâm always with you.â He said bluntly leaning against his desk, arms crossed.
Lissie sighed âI think itâll be fineâŠIâm going to Palestine.â Simonâs eyes widened. âWhat? Youâre going home?â he demanded.
Rachel gasped in horror, but tried to cover it with a hiccup.
Lissie glanced at her briefly, then turned her attention back to Simon. âYes Iâm going home.â
Simon stared at
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