Mrs. Wrong Last Name

Chapter Fourteen

"Hard to believe that Federale isn't chomping at the bit to make a name for himself with me," he casually commented, wanting his words to hurt her. His gaze never faltered and he didn't blink. He was nothing if not the epitome of intensity.

She was really too exhausted to start fighting but knew they had to finish all of this before they were unable to be civil at all. "There's nothing wrong with Federale's name, and you would be well served to realize that not everyone is playing an angle. Some people have real relationships and bonds and actually do things out of love and kindness and not out of compulsion," she paused for effect but it was either lost on him or he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a response.

He swirled the ice cubes in his almost empty high ball around before setting the glass down. "Though I sometimes still wonder, I truly do, I don't want to ask you to tell me what you have planned or want to see happen. Mostly because I don't want you to have to lie to me and I am not sure I would like the response anyway," he said. "I know which team you are on, and it is the same one you have always been on. It is yours. I just want you to tell me if your team just so happens to be allied with mine at present. That's all. Can you at least tell me that?"

He looked at her with a pleading expression, and she couldn't disagree with anything he had said. She looked him in the eyes and responded "You don't have to worry about my team, as it is so allied at present," she said. And she meant it.

He took a drink and shifted in his chair a little. "Ok, then in the spirit of alliances I need to let you know that this couple back here that works for me are Feds," he said.

Of course they are, she thought.

"They know nothing about the Interpol guy that has contacted you and they do honestly think you are my wife. We need to bring them in on some of it, but how much is up for negotiation," he stated as he grabbed her arm mindlessly again.

She didn't flinch but found it amusing in a way he just had to touch her. "OK so let's discuss the terms then. I have to convincingly play your wife, but they can't have Federale. You haven't told them about him have you?"

"I never would," he commented.

"OK. And honestly how good could they be if they think I'm your wife?" she asked.

"A fair question, my dear. I don't know that you want the complete answer, as some things are best left unsaid. But suffice it to say that my wife and I live very separate lives and have a special type of arrangement."

He was right that she didn't need to know that.

"And as for you... You are the perfect choice. Being that you have not had a single utility in your name since 1997... hiding in plain sight, where if people know to dig they will find you but otherwise no reason than to take you for who you pretend to be. Your life has been a Facebook page, the display of only what you want people to see or think. Congratulations on that, as many of us have had to live our lives in the open."

She really wanted to tell him that Cuban Cigars dug enough to bring up the kid's ambiguous parentage. But she needed to play that one close to vest. So instead she just continued to look at him as he went on.

"So, is that your only term? That they can't have Federale?"

She thought about it for just a minute and said, "Well that's my only term with you. If they think I am your mysterious wife, then that means they do not know about The Husband or my family. So I don't have to set them off limits. We do need to tell them at least a bit about the Interpol issues, but I am afraid that will lead them to my home and I can't have that. So are we at an impasse? What agency do they work for?"