Catherine Needed Him Pt. 02

Jed gave her a hard-eyed look. "You knew this was no picnic when you signed up. You should be happy someone with influence is going to keep the DEA off your back when they find out you are CIA."

"Shit." She smiled and feinted at him.

I said, "The after party is on us."

Tom said, "He has a view apartment on Russian Hill. Good spot for a party."

Turning to the bikes, I said, "We'll bring the champagne."

I was watching the two of them disappear to the north when she punched me again and I could feel it even through the leathers. I tried a glare, "Feel better?"

"Hell no. Let's go down Skyline to that place where we can sit in the sun on a bench."

An hour later, we were sitting on the sunny bench, a hundred yards from the road, but still in sight of the bikes. "Someone touches my bike, I swear I'll shoot 'em."

"You are riled up."

"I don't like being the flea on the tail of the dog."

I pulled her into my lap. "I promise never to think of you as a flea."

She broke up. Laughing, crying and pounding on my chest. "I am such a dumb shit."

"No, you're not. You are my partner, and my fiancee, and we are taking down this bunch of crooks that are ruining people's lives with drugs."

Chapter 12

The next few days we concentrated on being energetic young lawyers. There were lots of cases needing research and briefs written. The first hearing for the water rights case was scheduled months ahead, showing how backed up civil litigation was.

The following Friday, there was a cryptic text on my phone suggesting a 9:30 bike ride rendezvous at the same Devil's Slide location.

Cate and I were alternating dinners, and it was my turn. When I got to the apartment with groceries, she had been through the shower and had two margaritas on the counter. Her terry robe was soft and open in the front to give me the benefit of a tight hug.

"I'm feeling guilty about your doing the cooking tonight." Her kiss was extra hot and my hand rubbed inside the robe, finding places to pinch.

"No torture or there won't be rewards!"

I began preparing the chicken for roasting and said, "We have another bike meeting tomorrow."

"I didn't behave very well last week. Will have to clean up my act."

"That would be professional of you. Do we have any news for them?"

"Seems very quiet. Too quiet? Someone has squealed?"

I put the chicken in the oven and went for my own shower, thinking about that possibility.

Sitting on the back porch while the chicken roasted, we sipped our drinks and attempted to figure out where things stood.

Courtesy of Jed, we had acquired a scanner of our own and used it frequently. On warm evenings like this, we relaxed and didn't worry about surveillance. In the last week, we hadn't even bothered to sleep in the shack. My girlfriend called the shots about where we slept, and frequently decided on the spur of the moment. I was going out of my way to be supportive, knowing she was more anxious about the end game than I was.

Catherine said, "If the bad guys are alerted, they are doing a good job of hiding it from us and the rest of the office. "

"I can think of all kinds of double dealing. If we have been outed, they could have prepared for a quick exit a long time ago."

"Between the complexity of our agencies and the competition of their cartel tribes, I don't have a good feeling about this." She turned and kissed me. Whatever she was thinking, her lips were doing fine work on me.

I said, "We could tell the handlers tomorrow morning that it is time for us to go."

"You are thinking that if two young associates just disappear from Leggett and Myers, it will trigger an evasive response?"

"Maybe from both sides. The agencies know a raid on the office isn't going to turn up criminal material. They will have to go after the underground vault. The bent lawyers will initiate their evacuation plan."

She countered, "What if the bent lawyers have already decided they don't like their cartel buddies much and the risks are getting high? While you and I have been looking for evidence, they have been destroying it and preparing for a long vacation?"

"Don't discount greed. If fifty million is safely in offshore banks, why not a hundred?"

She nestled in under my arm. "We could be out here half the night spinning stories."

"I have an idea. Call it a premonition. After dinner, you and I are going to the shack as quietly as we can on the bikes. Leaving a light on here and taking nothing with us. At 4 am, we are going for a nice ride across the Bay and not get to the Devil's Slide rendezvous until exactly at the meeting time."

"Your hunch is the big raid is tonight and tomorrow, with no notice to us, just a meeting date that maybe gets us out of the crossfire?"

I moved her to my chest and said, "I knew there was a reason why we are paired up. You have enough suspicion of our employers to cover for both of us."

That got me a long, sweet kiss. "Yes, we are just a pair of junior spies, trying to save our own skins."

Saturday morning, in the predawn dark, we were up and dressing in the bike leathers while a quick coffee dripped. Chris stood still while I brushed out her hair and wound it into a tight bun that would fit under her helmet. Her mind was elsewhere and I received only a glancing kiss as a reward.

We made our way carefully down to the Bayshore freeway, riding side by side on the uncrowded road. The welcome sun was in our eyes as we traveled east across the San Mateo bridge and up the Eastshore freeway to Berkeley and a coffee shop that was open early.

We sipped hot lattes as Catherine checked her machine. "No mail for us. Google says an hour from here to Devil's Slide."

I pressed her hand. "Let's stay put where it is warm until time to go. Pull up a game or two."

The anonymity of bikerdom was comforting. No one gave us a second look. The games on her machine were silly but diverting. I wondered whether this had been a busy night for the agencies.

The morning fog was retreating when we set out for the rendezvous. The new east span of the Bay Bridge was as uplifting as always. What was a few extra billion to rescue the design from mediocrity.

After traversing Golden Gate Park, we followed Highway 1 south and eased into the Devil's Slide lookout almost to the minute of nine-thirty. The sun was just peeking through the fog as we dismounted. No other vehicles. No noise except the waves crashing below.

I was beginning to wonder if the two of us had been caught up in a fantasy about federal raids when sirens sounded in the distance, coming from the south. I had my helmet off to hear better when a big black vehicle came screaming up the grade and into the lot, headed straight for us.

"Run," I shouted to Cate, and went the other way as fast as I could. The driver veered to his left and bounced her off his left front fender, but never hit the brakes and smashed through the safety fence and into space. I was dashing as fast as I could to Cate and paid no attention to what happened to the Hummer.

She was down, but conscious. "I think the bastard broke my elbow. It was Leggett!"

The sirens were a parade of federal and state police cars, pulling up with screeching brakes. The riders were in full battle gear.

Cate was telling a helpful officer she was not going to remove her leather jacket until a medical person was available and her arm hurt like hell and did he happen to have any contraband dope on him.

After looking over the edge, Jed came up to where I was kneeling next to Cate. "He didn't survive that."

Cate swore and said, "Tried to take us out on the way over. Never braked. How did he know about the rendezvous?"

"That's a long story. Let's get you to the emergency room. We've got the principals in custody."

EPILOGUE

We sat on my back deck in warm sun. The margaritas were delicious.

"They tried to say I couldn't resign. Said I was going to get a medal for heroism. I'd give back the medal if this elbow would stop hurting."

"Are we really done with them? We didn't even get a last paycheck from Leggett and Myers. The feds have seized all the assets. Everyone is out on the street."

She climbed into my lap. "All that matters is we have each other. Do you still love a girl with a cast?"

"Yes. I'm even going to marry her. Should we give the agencies a second chance? Go to that party in the City tomorrow? We did promise to bring champagne."

"You are such a softie. They keep us in the dark and darn near get us killed, and you want to give them another chance?"

I shut up and hugged her, knowing my always sleepy girlfriend would be gone in moments.

Helped by half a case of champagne and fabulous views of the Golden Gate, the party was a great success. Cate was pleased that everyone wanted to sign her cast. Some of the names were very senior people. One guy, who was Jed's boss's boss, said, "In the military, you would get a Purple Heart for this. The CIA is cheap and just hands out medals with your initials and the date on the back."

Jed found a quiet corner. "The FBI has leaned on us. They want you as a team. Said our authority to use you domestically has expired. That guy over there is the San Francisco Bureau Chief. Wants to talk to you, but not today. Right now we party!"

Driving south hours later, Cate said she wanted to sleep in the shack for old times' sake, and promptly fell asleep, her head in my lap.

I carried her to the lumpy bed and turned up the heat. "A drink?"

"No more booze. Help me out of this dress."

We cuddled in the chill and she came alive, reaching between my legs. "We haven't had sex since I got my cast. What's wrong with you?"

"It's considered bad form for a woman lawyer to rebreak her arm having sex, especially when she isn't married to the guy."

After Cath arranged herself on top and stroked the shaft immediately in front of her to sufficient hardness, a quick move buried me deep.

"There! That's better. The only thing I am doing with this cast is beat you if I don't come."

It wasn't a fuck, it was real loving. Soft and then furious loving between two people released from the tense days of their successful assignment.

Tight in my arms, she sleepily asked, "What does the FBI do with pregnant agents?"