The Spy Who Almost Loved Me Ch. 02

THE SPY WHO ALMOST LOVED ME

PART TWO OF THREE

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ONE WAY TICKET

I. THE PLAN

At 8:30 that morning, Sara called her handlers.

"He's in the shower...Yes, it's going well. We made love...I blamed Alex for everything. He still has feelings for me...Yes, it's all set. He's agreed to go away with me and work things out. He's working with some real estate lady, looking for a new home, and now he wants me to help him look...I'm going home and pack some things and meeting him for the real estate appointment...No, I'm certain. I think he wants me to stay with him...No, he was already looking for a new place...I've got to go. I heard the water stop...Yes, I'll check in tomorrow night...Okay," she finished and terminated the call.

At noon, Addison went to pick up Sara at my home. We even made phone calls to that effect in case we were monitored.

"You did good on the phone, this morning. You sounded scared," Addison assured Sara.

"I was, I am. I'm scared to death! How do you know what I said?"

"I set up a tap on your phone. It's linked to mine. And it's good that you sounded scared. If you sounded otherwise, they'd be suspicious. Right now, they think they control you. They need to think that till Wednesday."

"But, won't they be following us?" Sara asked, confused.

"I'm counting on it," Addison replied.

"I don't understand."

"Neither will they, sweetheart, neither will they."

Sara was still confused, but something else was bothering her. Addison sensed it.

"Out with it. What's eating you?"

"Well, for one thing, you keep calling me sweetheart and sweetie, but I get the feeling you don't like me, approve of me."

Addison laughed, "That? Well, originally, I just referred to you as 'the bitch', but seeing as how we're all a big, happy family now, I figured that was inappropriate. And, let's face it, when I came into this, there was not a lot of your history that recommended you. But I understand now how things went down. And I can see there is a lot more to you than what has happened. Okay?"

Sara nodded, "Addison, there's something else -- the way you and Ethan look at each other; the way you two act around each other, casual, comfortable...is there something between you I should know about?"

"Alright, we're going to be together for a while, so we need to avoid having any issues between us. This is going to be hard enough without that. After Ethan hired me, before he met with you, we found we were attracted to each other, and we scratched an itch."

"You slept with Ethan?"

"Who slept? Sorry. Listen, it was just sex. And you two hadn't 'rediscovered' each other, yet. Please don't make this a problem. I mean, considering the past..."

"No, you're right. I have no room to say anything, and I really don't know where we stand. I'm just afraid Ethan will regret...change his mind about me...," Sara admitted, starting to tear up.

Addison replied, "Hey, when we found out what you were up to, he could have left you to twist in the wind. Don't forget that. If he had doubts about you, he would have already acted on them."

She continued, "Sara, I don't know what's in the cards for you and Ethan, if anything. But we are all in this together now, like it or not. So, we have to go with that. As for Ethan and me? What can I say? I like him; he's a real decent guy; and an awesome fuck!" she laughed.

Sara, choked off a sob and laughed with her, "He is an awesome fuck."

Addison continued, "So I can't say I can stop feeling something for Ethan, but I'm not talking the 'L' word here. Let's just see how things go, okay?"

She nodded, "Um, Addison, what are we going to do? How do we get out of this, get away from these people?"

"Okay, after we meet Ethan, I'll go over what I have worked out. Right now, he is making arrangements to be away from his business for a few days. Later, he'll make permanent arrangements..."

"Permanent?"

"Sara, you guys cannot come back here. This is a one-way ticket, honey; you have to disappear; I have to disappear."

"Why do you have to?"

"They will find out that I helped you, that I know everything. They would come after me to get to you, and to silence me."

Sara dropped into a dining chair, broke down and began sobbing, "What have I done?"

Addison scooted a chair close to her and sat, "Sara, what you've done is not as important as what you do about it now. And you've shown you want to do the right thing; and the right thing now is to keep it together, help us get out of here, get away from these people. It's not too late for a fresh start. You're both young, and you have means -- 48 million in means, according to Ethan, and you have me."

"What about you? What are you going to do? You're giving up your business, your life here..."

"Honey, life here ain't all that grand. And I'm used to a certain lifestyle. Picking up and moving is not a problem for me. Besides, I'm going to soak Ethan for this!" she joked.

Laughing between sobs, Sara said, "Yes, I guess he can afford it. Addison, do you know where all that money comes from. Ethan hasn't done anything illegal or..."

"No. It's an inheritance, sweetie. His parents were loaded..."

"No," Sara interrupted, "I know Ethan's parents. They're not rich."

"His birth parents, Sara. You didn't know he was adopted?"

"No. He never said 'anything' about being adopted. And he looks like them, his adoptive parents. Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"Easy, Sara. I don't think he was hiding it. I don't think he 'felt' adopted. He was only four and probably has little memory of his birth parents, and he didn't find out about the money or the whole story on his parents until he was 21. And he explained about the money. He wasn't hiding it from you, per se. He was going to surprise you with early retirement, travel the world, all that. Of course, then you dumped his ass...Kinda spoiled that romantic dream."

She nodded and started crying again.

"Oh, shit. Okay, okay. Listen, sweetie, you need to get a handle on the waterworks. We have to go meet Ethan."

Sara calmed and the crying subsided, "Okay, I'll pull it together and freshen up."

Addison continued, "Did you get everything this morning, clothes, essentials, girl stuff? Oh, and your passport?"

"Yes, I'm all packed."

"Good girl. Now go get ready, and remember, when we go out the door, we're being watched, so be cool."

When Sara came out of the bathroom, she walked up to Addison, "Do I look okay?"

"You look great, sweetie. If I was a guy, I'd give my left nut to have a shot at you. Now buck up kiddo. Everything's going to be fine. Hey, keep this in mind: You're going on a long vacation with a young, good-looking, rich guy, and a hot little chick!"

Addison, as Evelyn, and Sara arrived at my office, making a show of taking me to look at 'a real gem', today. She had stressed that it was important for my people to think I was doing exactly what we were telling the syndicate thugs we were doing.

When we arrived at the ranch-style home in the Ventana Ranch development, there was a paint company's van in the driveway.

"They're with me. They're going to take pictures and generate i.d.'s and passports for you, including Mexican entry permits and a vehicle permit," Addison explained.

We went inside and met a man and woman in their 50's. They were all business and hardly spoke to us. They already had everything set up for photographing us and documents for us to sign. As soon as they were done, Addison took us into a study and closed the door.

"Ethan, were you able to get the transfers made to the accounts I gave you?"

"Yes, my lawyer assured me everything would be complete in 24 hours. He was dubious at first, but I gave him the explanation you prepared. He understood and accepted that, but did require e-sigs for everything. I told him he would receive further information and instructions within a month."

"Good, he reacted appropriately, and 24 hours will work. I have sufficient funds in those accounts to cover everything until then."

"Addison, what about your documents? And shouldn't we be in disguise or something?" Sara asked.

"I already have everything. And no, that would be too complicated down the road, unless you want to permanently change your looks; and it won't be necessary for this to work," she explained.

"Okay," she continued, "I'm going to tell you how this is going to happen. Tomorrow evening, Ethan, you're going to park your truck, Sara's truck, whatever, in the drive beside the house, not out front. I've hired a couple to pose as you and drive the truck to the cabin..."

"Shouldn't we just park it in the garage?" I questioned.

"No. I want them to see you, well, the decoys, your doubles, get in the truck. Wednesday, around ten, the decoys will head out and drive straight to the cabin. Upon entering, they'll immediately go out the back and down a trail that leads to another cabin that is currently vacant. They will have a ride waiting there. They've already scoped it out. If all goes well, our friends won't discover they're gone till later in the day. I think they'll let you settle in before they come to the cabin. But even if they come calling right away, it will still work. They'll find an empty cabin and know they've been had, but should think you guys just made a run for it and will start looking for you from there. But we're leaving tomorrow night around midnight, long before the decoys even head to the cabin. That will give us at least a 16-hour head start on them. By that time, we should be safe, and it will take them a couple days to figure things out, if they even do.

By that time, all they will have is that I helped you, they were duped, and we're gone. Over time, they may be able to track us, but we're taking steps to discourage that. We're going to pay them to desist; more on that later.

Okay, I'm picking up a vehicle tomorrow, and will have it parked in front of your backyard neighbor's house. That's how we're getting out of town. Then we head for Chihuahua, Mexico, where we will hole up for a few days while other arrangements come together. Then we head to San Jose, Costa Rica. There we change identities again. Those passports and all the necessary documents will take some time -- they have to stand up to more rigorous scrutiny, and are more involved, with more items to support your permanent identities. We'll be in San Jose as long as it takes to make arrangements for our final destination."

I asked, "Why those particular places?"

"My most trusted, dependable resources are in those locations."

Sara asked, "What's our final destination?"

"We have to decide that. We have a few practical options available."

II. HASTA LA VISTA!

The next day was nerve wracking. In the morning, Sara and I went and bought supplies for our trip, ostensibly for the cabin stay, picking up items that Addison requested and the normal snack foods and such. We took the truck and had it serviced per Addison's instructions. Later, I made a trip to the office to wrap up a couple things, then we holed up and waited.

Addison went to pick up our 'getaway' car, across the state line -- it would be registered and tagged in Arizona, the state of residence that was reflected on our passports, etc. After taking care of other details in preparation for leaving and picking up our newly-minted docs, she would rejoin us around 10 p.m. and would have our doubles in tow.

As prearranged, Sara checked in with her handlers one last time to let them know everything was a go. Also, per Addison, we made a show of loading luggage and stuff in the truck for our trip to the cabin. Around seven, I ordered pizza and had it delivered.

We ate in silence. Sara was fidgety, but didn't speak up until we were finished eating.

"Ethan, I'm scared. I can't believe this is happening. It seems so unreal. Tell me it's going to be okay."

"Honey, I'm scared, too, but I'm not worried. Addison has this under control and I trust her."

"I trust her, too. That's not what I was thinking about. I'm talking about us leaving our lives behind, starting over, in a strange place, and...are you sure about...us? Are you sure you want to risk bringing me?" she questioned in a shaky voice.

I stood and pulled her from her seat and into my arms, "Sara, look, we're in this together. However things play out, I will take care of you. Why don't I make us some drinks and let's go outside and enjoy a last evening by the pool; go for a swim and take our minds off this."

She nodded into my shoulder, "That sounds nice."

It was a beautiful evening, on the hot side, but with a light breeze. I looked around the back yard for what I knew would be the last time. I guided us to lounges by the pool and we relaxed and sipped our drinks. After a while, we decided to take a dip and went and put on swimwear. Sara came out of the bathroom in a gray, leopard-print bikini that I remembered well. What a stunning body.

We headed to the pool. I immediately dove in and started doing laps. Sara got in and sat in the shallow end, watching me. After a few laps, I swam up to her.

"Better. I was a little keyed up," I said.

"Ethan," she started, hesitantly, "I was talking to Addison. She told me you were adopted, that your real parents died and left you that money. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I know. It sounds like I was hiding it all from you, but I wasn't, at least not in my mind. I consider my adoptive parents my 'real parents'. I hardly remember my birth parents, and I didn't find out about the money till I was in college, and long before I met you. I had decided to not 'go that route', just live a normal life, do what I had started to do; then retire when the time was right. I was going to surprise you, but..."

"I know, I know. I screwed that up. I'm sorry. I know now, I should have just come to you when I found out about the money," she lamented.

I admitted, "And I should have told you about the money sooner. But that's all hindsight. We're starting from zero here, okay. Let's try, anyway."

She fell into my arms and I held her close for the longest time, neither of us speaking.

At nine p.m., I received a text from Addison:

All good.

Shadows two houses down across street gray sedan.

Will arrive as planned.

Get ready.

We dressed in dark clothing and moved our stuff onto the back patio. A little after ten p.m., Addison and two others came over the back fence. We were sitting at the patio table when we saw them. I was surprised when they approached; the male with her could have been me, except he was older looking, but same physique, similar face and hair. The woman, also older, was similar in build to Sara, but was dark-haired and didn't really look like her.

"Hi guys," Addison greeted us and introduced our doubles, "Ethan, Sara -- Jack and Roberta. They will be going to the kitchen and milling around in there, then to the bedroom, turning lights on and off. In the meantime, we will be loading up. I've swept the back street and it's still clean. These guys are obviously comfortable that all is going according to their plan."

"Sara, I'm sorry, but, um, Roberta doesn't look much like me."

"She will in the morning, dear -- wig and make-up."

"Oh."

Jack spoke up, "We'll be convincing to around 20 feet or so, and nobody is going to get that close to us. Once we're in the truck, we won't be stopping until we get to the cabin, and without giving themselves away, their nearest vantage point at the cabin is around 20 yards away. And from what Addison has said, these guys don't want to spook you. They'll wait till you're isolated in the cabin and comfortable. We're good."

I asked, "And you're sure you can get out of there safely?"

Roberta answered, "We were up there and did a trial run. From the time we enter the cabin, drop the suitcases, exit the back door and lock the deadbolt, it only takes 30 seconds. We disabled the inside latch on the deadbolt, so even if they came in right after us, and of course we'll lock the front door on the way in, they would have to break out a window to get out the back or go back through the front and around.

The trail isn't clearly evident and we took time to familiarize ourselves. They won't be familiar and that would slow them down. There's no way they can get to our car before we're long gone. If they choose to run back to their car and try to catch up to us, they're screwed. The road that our escape vehicle is on doesn't directly connect to the road your cabin is on. We checked; if they get lucky and pick the right path of pursuit, they will be at least 10 minutes behind us; and they would most likely head back towards Albuquerque looking for you. We'll be headed out of state another direction. We'll be safe. Thanks for the concern."

I responded, "Wow, okay. I guess Addison wouldn't be working with anyone who didn't know what they were doing. Sorry."

"Reasonable question, Ethan," Jack offered. He seemed personable enough. Roberta was a hard nut -- wouldn't want her mad at me.

"Truck is fueled and in good condition?" he asked.

"Yes. I stopped and had the oil checked, tires, everything, as Addison directed."

"Good," Jack patted my shoulder and reached to shake my hand, "I'd say 'good luck', but you won't need it. You have Addison. We're going to start our routine. Goodnight."

"Thank you," I replied.

Addison added, "Give Jack your cell phones. He'll dispose of them when the time comes," and headed for my office, "Let's get going. I have to get the hard drive from your desktop, then we'll load up. Your laptop's packed, no discs or thumb drives left behind?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Laptop's packed and I sanitized like you said."

When she came out of the office, she handed me the drive, stepped past me and straight to Sara, who was shaking like a leaf.

She took her by the shoulders, "Calm down, sweetie. Easy, peasy, one, two, three, and we're outta here."

Sara assured her, "I'm okay, Addison. I am. I just got overwhelmed when Roberta was talking about the cabin. It suddenly got very real. I'm not scared-scared, just a case of nerves. I know you have this under control."

"Okay, good. Last thing before we go, look around you. Ethan and Sara are no longer in this room. The last of their existence is in the kitchen raiding your refrigerator. Addison is gone. From now on, whether in public or private, use your new names -- all the time, until we change in San Jose."

She turned to me, "Okay, Lucas, you ready?

"Yes, Audrey."

"Lisa?"

"Yes, Audrey, I'm ready."

We grabbed our belongings and headed to the backyard fence. Addison went over first and we handed our things over; then I helped Sara climb over and followed. I didn't look back. I wasn't leaving anything behind that mattered...except my Miata...Crap!

Everything that mattered now, was in front of me and headed through the neighbor's backyard. A dark-gray, late-model Toyota mini-van was parked at the curb.

"You start out driving, Lucas. I'm bushed, and I didn't get dinner. We piled in. Got any chips or candy bars?" she asked as she got in the second-row passenger seat behind me.

Sara passed her a bag with snacks and bottled water in it, then settled in beside me.

From behind me, "When you get to Las Cruces, pull into a truck stop so we can eat. We'll change our clothes there, too. Okay, you got it, big guy, drive ultra-normal."

"Will do, Audrey." I pulled from the curb and headed south down the street and out of the neighborhood, leaving my old life behind, and hopefully, the syndicate thugs on the street over.

I felt Sara's hand on my leg and reached down and covered it, squeezing it reassuringly. I glanced over at her. She was looking at me intently and smiled when I looked at her. The smile didn't reach her eyes, but she had calmed down.