False Idols - Published Version

Chapter 13

"No." Sarah knew she'd said it too firmly as soon as the words left her lips. But it was already too late to take it back. She'd probably angered Nick, and her mission would be over regardless of what Willy and Jaeger wanted because Nick would never want to have anything to do with her again. At least Michael would be cheered by the news.

Nick's eyes fell to his lap, his lips trembled slightly, and she saw his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He wasn't angry. He was sad, or heartbroken, or on the verge of despair.

She remembered feeling the same, years ago, when she'd first gone to the Lal Orphanage. Alone, desperate, guilty. Needing the friendship of the other orphans yet terrified of being rejected. And so she had built a façade of superficiality to hide her vulnerability, a façade that had only come crashing down when Jaeger's abuse shook her to the foundations of her soul.

Nick was the same. He was not really just some narcissistic rich kid. He was just as sensitive as she had been, and he'd built a protective façade of insouciance just like she had.

She found herself reaching across the table and placing her hand on his. He almost flinched away, but then his shiny green eyes rose to hers and held her gaze. "I'm sorry Nick. I can't go with you. Not tonight."

Nick sighed deeply and then raised his hand to cue the waiter for the check. Sarah pulled her hand back from his and waited with a bland smile on her face while he arranged the payment.

As Nick escorted her out of the restaurant and helped her into a cab, Sarah felt a ball of intense excitement in her chest. Instead of the affected air kiss she had greeted him with, upon kissing him goodbye she let her face linger beside his for a moment, and was thrilled at the rough brush of his beard stubble on her cheek.

On the ride to Grand Central station, where she would catch a mag-train out West, she was able to calm herself. She'd drunk a little too much wine, gotten a little too deep into her act, but she hadn't lost her head completely.

Nick was likeable. His genetic engineering had given him all the looks and brains humanly possible. His awesome wealth and power made a beguiling contrast with his evident vulnerability and barely repressed desperation for companionship.

And it was clear from his reactions to her that he liked her back.

But Sarah was no longer the girl who would get foolish crushes on every attractive boy she met. No, the excitement Sarah felt building up in her belly was not related to Nick himself, but to completing her mission, and snaring her prey.

***

Colonel Rad Jaeger rubbed his hands together firmly. He was growing more and more concerned about the performance of his expensive and irreplaceable espionage team. "Are you sure Sarah's going to maintain her professionalism in this assignment?" he demanded of Major William Johnson.

Willy raised his hands off the table palms upwards. "Why not, sir?"

"Have you reviewed the footage from her TacWave?" asked Jaeger rhetorically. He wasn't sure if Willy was really as incompetent as he seemed, or if he was just stonewalling.

"Yes, just now, with you," responded Willy with a shrug just faint enough that it couldn't be construed as insolent.

"Tell me then, what did you see?" asked Jaeger, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. Whatever Willy was up to, Jaeger wasn't going to let him off easy.

Willy shook his head, as if to say, isn't it obvious? "Sarah and Nick Lal eating dinner, sir. Just as at the charity ball where we inserted her, she did a great job of building rapport with him. I'm sure she's on the way to developing a trusting relationship." He paused. "Colonel, if this is about her failure to discuss Sparkwise Energy, it's just not appropriate for her to raise that topic at this point."