An Inconvenient Spy Ch. 01

He stopped and took a drink from his tea before he continued. "I wish I could say to you that we could take you into protective custody but I'm afraid that would only put you in more danger. Ms Fisher, I hate to be the one to tell you but your husband was killed in the hospital while we were watching him. We are waiting for the autopsy to find out how they did it but they did in spite of the guards around him. Whoever these people are, they seem to have extraordinary skill and access that is well beyond the abilities of that country. We think he or she is an insider but we don't know who. All of the analysts seem to have been hit by this person or persons. So frankly in my judgment, you are better off on your own than in custody with us."

Natalie said, "That is really scary. What should we do?" She echoed my thought exactly.

"I wish I could tell you something concrete but I can't. You have been doing the right thing by not using your phones or your computer and by keeping on the move. We tracked you to Soccoro but lost you there. Our guys looked north but didn't go to Cloudcroft. I think that I will forget to mention that detail when I talk to our people about this. If there is an internal leak, there is no sense in giving them any leads that they can't find on their own. For now I would suggest that you do several things. First, find a college or a big city library and use their computers to do your research. I wouldn't worry about trying to get your notes Ms. Fisher. Your sisters and parents are being watched by them and us. We are doing our best to keep them safe but I would make no effort to contact them at all. Second, buy a throwaway prepaid phone and call this number every day. This is my private line. Starting tomorrow, I will leave a private message for you. When the phone is answered punch in a nine. That will get you to your message box. I will leave you only a brief instruction like keep moving or stay hidden or something like that. Right now, we don't know what kind of vehicle you are driving or anything else. I doubt that they do either. When you finish doing your research find a place to hole up and write up your notes and send them to the address on the card. Send it from a place where you can't be easily traced like a big city like Denver. Once you have sent it, lay low and watch the news. I expect that you will be able to tell when something happens but check into your message box until I give you the all clear. Then come back here to my office and we will finish debriefing you. I know that this isn't much comfort to you but when this is over, I think that a lot of trash will be cleaned out of the septic tank."

I responded, "I think you have given me what I needed most and that was the knowledge that we had some space and time to work in. If all goes well, we can finish our research in a couple of days and then write it up and get it to you in a week or so. I know a place that should give us the privacy we need to hole up. Thanks for your help."

"There is one more thing I should tell you. Don't respond to anything you read or hear on the news. We are working on a couple of things to try and flush these guys out in the open. If we do, there may be stories about you in the news again and you will know that they are bogus. Don't let up until I give you the all clear. And I mean the exact words 'all clear.'" He looked at us closely and then shook our hands and went to get his brother. I don't know if they made it to the ball game or not but we were out the side door and back in the truck before they pulled out of the driveway of Tim's office. I drove to the north side of town and we looked for a camp ground to park for the night. I almost wanted to get farther out but I also wanted the closeness of a lot of people at least for a night. We found a place but before we checked in for a night, we stopped and Natalie went in and brought back a bag with burgers, fries, and sodas. Then we checked in the campground and parked for the night and discussed our plans for the next several days.

In the morning, we started on our plan. First, Natalie went to a store and bought a blonde wig and I stopped shaving and got my hair cut close like Dan's hair. We bought a portable grill that would work on the propane tanks on the trailer. Then we hooked up and drove north. Our destination was Boise, Idaho. I chose it because it was an out of the way place with a big college. If anyone tracked us there, they would probably assume we were heading for Canada. I felt we would be safe there for the time we needed to do our research. Then we would move into Washington. We spent the night in a roadside park and pulled into the Boise area around noon the following day. There were dozens of campgrounds in the area and we picked one near the middle of group on the east side of town. We decided that while in Boise, Natalie would be blonde when we went out in public. We also picked up some of the distinctive parka vests the locals seemed to prefer. We ate breakfast and lunch around the college while we did our research and stopped at a market and bought things to grill on the way home. On the evening of the third day, Natalie felt that she had done enough research. I had completed mine on the first day but spent the rest of the time looking at other things and finding a couple of new and interesting tidbits to add.

Each day I called Dan's number and got a message that said "continue as you are; no problems identified." We also watched the news each night but the mystery story seemed to have lost steam. On our last day on campus, I called up the website to see if we could get a reservation at the retreat I knew about for a couple of weeks. They had room for us and I made reservations for Mr. and Mrs. Fisher. We needed to be there in two days for the trip to the place.

The next morning, we drove to breakfast before we got hooked up and I called Dan's number. Today was a new message. It said, "Move. Cloudcroft discovered. They know you are in a black truck with Texas plates and pulling a trailer with New Mexico plates. Find a place to hole up for a couple of days and check for messages morning and night if you can. Things are about to happen."

I told Natalie what the message said. She asked what that might mean.

"For one thing, they will probably call or check all of the campgrounds until they find one of the ones we stayed in. That will tell them what direction we are going. Then they can narrow their search. I think that we will go west and find a place to park the trailer for a couple of weeks but not in a campground. We need to take the New Mexico plate off and leave them inside. We will drive to Spokane and park the truck the same way and catch the train to our final destination. When we park the trailer, we need to pack the things for our stay at the retreat. We'll pick up a duffel bag to carry more and then each take a carry-on bag. It will mean we can't move quickly but I think that this place will be safe for us."

Natalie gave me one of her wonderful smiles and didn't have to say anything because I knew that she was with me all of the way. We hitched the trailer and headed west. We stopped at an Army surplus store that were common in the area and I bought two large duffel bags. One was for our things while the other was for the things I was going to put in a separate storage room. We stopped at an out of the way storage place on the edge of Spokane and arranged to park the trailer in the back of the lot. We loaded what we were going to take in the truck and the other bag for the storage locker. We found another storage place with smaller storage rooms and put the other bag in it and locked it up. Then I took the truck to the long term parking area at the airport and parked it. Finally, everything we had was stored away in three separate locations around Spokane and we took a cab to the train station with the three bags we were taking with us. I bought two one way tickets to Seattle even though we weren't going all of the way through at this time. Seattle was where we would go when everything was over and we could finally unwind for good. We caught the train at midnight that night and arrived at our get off point at 5:00 in the morning. We carried our bags to an early diner and had breakfast and then waited for the 6:30 bus. This region had created a free area bus route that was prompt and comfortable and could take you anywhere in a forty mile radius of the town. Our destination was a resort town on a long lake where we would catch an 8:30 boat for a four hour ride up the lake.

Natalie had never been to this part of the country and she was fascinated with the sights and scenery along the way and the boat ride also thrilled her as we watched the glacier-scarred lake pass beneath us. We arrived at the retreat at 12:30 and were immediately ushered into the rustic dining hall. The food was just as I remembered it, filling and good but low on the food chain. There was meat but that wasn't the primary part of the meal. After lunch, we were given our room assignment and we made our way to our home for at least the next two weeks or more. The room was also rustic but was comfortable even though there were separate bathrooms and showers for men and women. After we settled in, I took Natalie for a walk around the area and she was in awe of the scenery. Then we went for the orientation for newcomers. Once again, Natalie was excited by all of the opportunities to do things here and she vowed to do every one of them. I had to remind her that we needed to get her notes written up first. She groaned and agreed. That night we made love and slept tightly against each other mostly because the bed was a full size bed and we had to. But it didn't matter because we would have slept that way any way.

The next morning we got up early and were the first in line for breakfast and then she spent the morning writing up her notes. We spent the afternoon in the craft room taking lessons in paper making. That night we enjoyed the after dinner get together and had an evening coffee with several other couples that we seemed to get along with. We repeated the same schedule the next day except for a different class. On the third day, I left her in the camp and caught the boat to the last village up the lake and checked in with Dan's office. The message I got was that they had lost us in Denver and to lay low and check in when we could. I took the boat back and got back to camp for the last lunch hour. I joined up with Natalie in another class and we had dinner with our new found friends. We enjoyed having a normal friendly time with people who weren't hiding anything.

We continued this way until Friday when Natalie handed me and packet of papers and said, "Here, I'm done. Go get rid of this and bring me back a present. Then she kissed me and we fell into bed and missed lunch as we devoured each other instead. I noticed that Natalie was really blossoming here and was happier that I had seen her during our whole trip. I felt that I was seeing the inner Natalie and I loved her even more than I did before. I arranged for a boat ride down lake the next day and told her that I would not be back until Sunday morning. She smiled and simply said, "Bring me a present. I love you." I left for the down lake boat at noon on Saturday and was back at the train station by midnight. I still had four hours until the train was scheduled to arrive so I read a book and caught the train on time. I had to wait for an hour before the dining car opened but I had coffee until they were ready and I was the first to be seated. Breakfast was surprisingly good considering that it was prepared on a train.

I arrived in Seattle at 9:00 in the morning and by 11:00 the package was on the way by Fed Ex Overnight and would be on Dan's desk before noon the next morning. Then I wandered through the fabulous market place and bought Natalie several small things but none of them rose to the level of "bring me present." I wandered around the area until I came to stop in front of a jewelry store and the meaning behind the word "present" finally became clear to me. I went inside and an hour later I had our wedding set safely in my overnight knapsack. I caught the return train at 4:00 and was back in the station by 10:00. I was really tired and got a hotel room and left an early wake-up call so I could catch the early bus.

I arrived back at the retreat at 1:00 and found Natalie waiting for me. She took me to the dining hall and ate lunch with me. She didn't even ask me if the package was sent. It was like she had finished one life and was ready to move on to the next one. She didn't even ask me about a present. I was just going to wait until later. After I had eaten, she led me for a walk in the woods and began asking me questions.

"Honey, have you thought about what we are going to do when we leave here?"

"Not in detail. I just hope that everything is over when we leave. Then I will breathe, make love to you and decide what we are going to do with the rest of our lives."

"Do you like this place?"

"I love it up here. I was here ten years ago and it is even better this time."

"I'll bet the winters are cold and snowy here. Do you like snow?"

"I have been skiing a couple of times so yes, I like the snow I guess."

"They have a vegetable garden here. Have you seen it?"

"I only walked by it a couple of times." I stopped and took her by the shoulders and asked, "Honey, what are all of these questions about?" She smiled her winsome smile at me.

"Well, while you were gone, I had a long talk with the full time staff that stays here year round and run the place. One of the couples has to leave because she is pregnant and is due this winter. I asked her who was going to replace the couple and she said that they were just beginning to look for someone. Honey, would you consider interviewing with them to stay here for the next year and a half to finish out their term?" The smile on her face told me everything I needed to know about what she wanted and therefore, what I wanted.

"When can we set up the interview? We are only scheduled to be here another week."

"This evening after dinner. I told her that we would bring a bottle of wine or two."

"I think that you are setting me up?"

"Let's see we spend the summer and fall in this beautiful place and are snowed in all winter in our own chalet where you can fuck me all day long I you want. You will oversee the gardens and ground work and I will take care of the book store and post office. We can even get married here if you ever decide to ask me. What do you think?"

"I think that I was set up but I like it just fine." She jumped into my arms and hugged and kissed me with enthusiasm.

The she grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward the camp. "Come on, I want to fuck you all afternoon."

And that is what she did. I lost count of how many orgasm she had but I had three. We barely had time to shower and dress before dinner. She was positively glowing as we ate with our friends. They were also scheduled to leave on the following Sunday. They had their cars at the boat launch and agreed to drive us to the train station and we could have dinner at a place they liked in town and we could catch the train to Spokane later. After dinner, Natalie went to our room and brought a bag with two bottles of wine and we went to the primary seminar building which also housed the formal offices.

We were met by two of the full time staff and Natalie gave one of them a warm hug. One was the camp director named Joanne and the other was Sheila who was the operations director. I figured that Sheila was the woman Nat had talked to and perhaps had made love with. The woman was certainly a beautiful woman and without makeup and her simple clothing, her natural beauty shined. We opened the first bottle of wine and got to know each other a little better. Slowly the talk gravitated to our history and qualifications and interests. They talked about the mission for the retreat and the responsibilities that we would be assuming. Nothing sounded horrible and actually sounded like fun compared to plowing through piles of data reports and web sites looking for minute details.

I shared my background with gardening as well as candy making and self reliant building. Natalie shared her love of reading and crafting as well as her retail background during college. We talked through two bottles of wine and two cups of coffee when they asked the last question, "Mr. Franklin, when do you think you could start if we offered you this opportunity?"

I thought a minute before I answered. "We have been involved in some unfinished business that should be concluded soon but we don't know exactly when. We are scheduled to leave on Sunday and there are some things we need to pick up and arrange to store elsewhere. I suppose that we can shoot for the week after next. But we might have to make trip to Denver sometime soon. I hope that this vagueness doesn't discourage you." Then it dawned on me that she had called me Mr. Franklin. I looked up at her with surprise.

"Relax Jeff; Natalie told us about what you have been going through and I admire how well you have handled yourselves during this crisis. The other couple is leaving next week probably on Wednesday or Thursday. If you can get your truck and trailer picked up and moved to our down lake location by the weekend, you can move in over the weekend. And we fully understand your need to go to Denver and that would not be a problem. So do you want the opportunity to work your ass off for low pay, no benefits except the scenery and food and people?"

I turned to Natalie and said, "Well? What do you think?"

"Hey I already told you, I am with you wherever you take us. You decide."

I shook my head and turned back to the woman who was smiling at our interaction, "We would be pleased to accept the offer and promise to give you our very best efforts, even if I have to paddle Nat's ass every night to get it."

"I doubt that you will have to do that very often. From what Nat told me, there are other things you prefer to do with her ass. Now that that is settled, I should also tell you that we always have a minister on sight and he or she would be pleased to marry you when you decide to ask her. We like weddings here; it is a good excuse for a party." She ginned.

"Thank you. For that, I will definitely be paddling her ass tonight." We stood and Natalie and I walked out into the full moon and pleasant evening air. Everyone else had already gone to bed sometime earlier and we were alone in the moonlight when I stopped her on the porch to our dorm.

"Natalie, I love you so much. Will you marry me?"

"Did you bring me my present?"

"Yes."

"Are you on your knees?"

"Not yet." I got down on my knees.

"Now try that again with my present in your hand."

She held out her left hand which I noticed now didn't have a ring on it. I fished in my pocket and found the ring and pulled it out but kept it hidden. "Natalie, I can't even begin to say how much I love you. Will you marry me and be my wife?"

"Of course I will. I just wondered how long it was going to take you to ask me." I slipped the ring on her finger and all of a sudden the porch light went on and all of our friends came out with a couple of champagne bottles and plastic cups and some cupcakes left over from dinner. It was quiet as celebrations go because there were children sleeping upstairs but we celebrated quietly and then people began trickling back to their room after wishing us their best.

Sheila whispered in my ear as she left, "I don't think you should paddle her ass tonight. The wedding is scheduled for the Friday night after you move in. Don't forget to get a license when you are making arrangements in town. Oh, and thank you for sharing her with me. She is perfect."