Game of Secrets and Shadows (Book One in the Covert Operations series)

Nineteen

I didn't know the name of the town that we docked in. It was a small place and the shops that lined the main streets were quaint and delicate. They looked like they belonged in some sort of storybook about an idyllic French town, like the one from that Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. The streets were cobblestoned and all the people smiled at us as we passed them by.

Daniel and I walked through the town. We passed by a bus station—it seemed that was the most efficient way to get out of town aside from driving and I hadn't entirely written out the idea of "borrowing" someone else's car—and a few small clothing stores. There were several cafés and pubs and an electronic store that I figured we should duck into. I tapped Daniel's shoulder and nodded to the store. He nodded and followed me inside.

"Bonjour!" the clerk behind the counter called out. He was an older gentleman, likely in his late sixties, with grey hair and a face that was lining with wrinkles. Still, his green eyes were friendly.

"Bonjour," I replied.

He smiled. "Comment puis-je vous aider, mademoiselle?"

Daniel stared at me, seemingly dumfounded as I replied in perfect French to the gentleman's questions about how he could help us. I asked him for two burner phones and, while he seemed a little unsure about my request, he obliged. As he prepared the phones for us, Daniel turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"You can speak French?"

"Yes. And Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Mandarin, as well as a few broken versions of others that you probably don't know."

He shook his head. "And I thought I was done being surprised by you."

"That was dumb of you."

"Tell me about it."

Daniel grinned at me as the store clerk passed the burner phones to me over the counter. I slid him the money from my store of Gregory Lauer's cash and then, bidding him goodbye, Daniel and I left the store. We stepped back out into the idyllic French town and proceeded to walk once more, this time back towards the docks. We paused once in our progression, ducking into a small little multi-purpose store where we were able to buy a few boxes of hair dye, some scissors, and some food, before we reached the boat that sat bobbing in the water in the same spot that we'd left it in.

As he prepared sandwiches made from some of the supplies we'd gathered from the store, I began toying with one of the burner phones. "What are you doing?" he asked. He sounded genuinely curious.

I glanced over at him, watching as he slathered some sort of jam onto a piece of bread. "Turning off the GPS. I don't want anyone able to track us."

"Like my parents, you mean?"

"Or Lia and Max and Tasha. I know they've got to be worried sick and they're probably all rightfully pissed at me. As they should be. I'd be pissed at me if I were them."

Daniel walked over to me and offered a sandwich. I bit into it, the bread was stale and the jam was some unidentifiable flavor, but the food felt good to my empty stomach. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I'd taken my first bite. Daniel sat down beside me on the deck, his own sandwich in his hand.

The two of us fell into silence, broken only by the sounds of the gentle waves lapping against the edge of the boat. The sun was hot as it shone done on us and I could feel myself getting sweaty. There were a few other people out and about on the other boats in the area. Those who were speaking to one another did so in rapid French, the others were silently going about their work as they polished and scrubbed at their already spotless vessels.