*  *  *

Gregor Koslov walked down Wisconsin Avenue en route to the Russian Federation embassy. Contact had been made, directives issued, and all the players were in place. Now all he had to do was check the drops each day. The Americans routinely followed him when he left the embassy, and he let them. Checking the various drops only required disappearing for a few minutes at a time. He always made sure to reappear before his shadows panicked, and was careful to arbitrarily vary the locations he checked.



*  *  *

Kris had taken off her sunglasses and was sitting at one of the computers watching Shelby. She was wearing a light green blouse that enhanced her fair coloring and deepened the green of her eyes. Occasionally, the thin silver necklace she was wearing would fall forward as she leaned over, studying the notes she was jotting down.

The analyst had been working at the computer on her desk nonstop since Kris had returned from Earl's office. Typing commands and writing, the pattern continued nonstop. Kris had gotten tired of staring at the computer screen and decided Shelby was a lot more pleasing to look at. She quickly diverted her eyes when the younger woman looked up.

Shelby could've sworn Kris had been watching her. She needed a break and was hungry, but had been pushing herself relentlessly, trying to prove to the operative that she could hold her own. Her normal lunch break had passed a couple of hours earlier, and skipping meals wasn't something she was accustomed to doing.

She decided to break the lengthy silence. "Are you hungry? The cafeteria's not too bad, and it won't be busy this late."

Kris hadn't really thought about lunch. She was beginning to go stir crazy in the tiny office, though, and it would be a welcome break from the stark green walls since she didn't want her discreet observations of the young woman to become obtrusive. A quick smile flickered across her face as she stood up. "Lead on."

Standing at the cold food bar, Kris glanced at the small salad and fruit Shelby had selected. "I thought you were hungry."

"I am, but I'm on a diet. I've gained a couple of pounds, and it's hard to lose weight when you sit at a desk all day."

Kris' eyes slowly moved down Shelby's attractive, lean body. "You look just right to me."

Her cheeks blazing, Shelby muttered, "Uh, thanks," and studied the various selections without seeing any of them. Her body was still reacting to the feel of those brilliant blue eyes as they had traveled the length of her body.

Kris hadn't intended to embarrass the younger woman. She had simply spoken her mind. She thought Shelby looked adorable with her flushed cheeks, not that she intended to voice that thought. She followed her quiet companion through the line, then led her to a corner table, preferring a clear view of any room she was in. Her caution had saved her life on more than one occasion.

Shelby had regained her composure and was quietly pondering her reaction to Kris' compliment as she pushed her salad around on her plate. She had been unable to prevent her body's unconscious reaction to Kris' frank appraisal and tried to push the incident from the forefront of her mind. Feeling the operative's eyes on her, she looked up.

"What's fun to do around here besides the tourist traps?" Kris wasn't one for small talk unless it served a purpose, but she felt responsible for Shelby's discomfort and, for some unfathomable reason, wanted to put her at ease.

"You're asking the wrong person. My idea of a night out is dinner or a movie. Now places to shop, that I can tell you about. I'm gonna stop at Fair Oaks Mall after work tonight." Impulsively, Shelby asked, "You wanna come?"

Kris hadn't expect the question, but quickly recovered. "Thanks, but I'm not much of a shopper. Besides, I've got to pick up a car tonight."

Shelby hadn't expected Kris to accept, but she was still a little disappointed. "See any good movies lately?"

Kris knew Shelby was searching for a neutral topic and decided to help her out. "Nope. How about you?"

"I saw Charlie's Angels over the weekend. I really liked it. It was just a good fun movie. I used to watch all the reruns of Charlie's Angels on cable. I loved Kate Jackson. She was really cool."

Kris was enjoying listening to Shelby talk. She had a natural warmth that the operative found endearing. In another time or place, things could have been different, but there was no sense in considering impossibilities. Abruptly, she asked, "Ready?" and stood up.

Kris looked away from the puzzled expression on the analyst's face as she joined her, and they walked back to the office in silence.

The next few hours passed quickly and when Shelby stood up at five and started gathering her belongings, Kris quickly followed suit.

Lingering behind until Shelby left, Kris called a cab. She didn't want to turn Shelby down again in case she offered her a ride. Kris paused with her hand on the phone. When was the last time I cared about something like that? Choosing to ignore her thought, she focused on all the things she had to accomplish that evening, and one of them was already leaving a distinctly foul taste in her mouth.



*  *  *

Shelby wondered what she could have said wrong to cause Kris' abrupt withdrawal in the cafeteria. All she'd done was talk about Charlie's Angels. No closer to figuring it out now than she had been earlier, her thoughts turned her body's reaction to the operative's appraisal. The woman had only looked at her, yet her whole body had tingled with excitement. And even as she pondered why, Shelby knew that it certainly wasn't a feeling she wouldn't be forgetting any time soon.

She was glad when she finally arrived at the mall. She definitely needed a diversion from Ms. Tall and Mysterious, and shopping always relaxed her.

Shelby finally tired a couple of hours and two large department store bags later. A book in the front display of Barnes and Noble caught her attention, and she approached the plate glass window for a closer look. As she turned away from the window, she thought she saw Kris out of the corner of her eye, but by the time she could get a clear look, she had disappeared. It probably wasn't even her--just wishful thinking.

Shelby walked down the parking lane toward her car. It was a pleasant evening, and other shoppers were plentiful. She heard a slight noise and stopped. Glancing around, she tried to determine what the noise had been, but only silence greeted her. My imagination is really working overtime tonight. First I see Kris and now I'm hearing things. A good hot, relaxing bath is definitely in order.

She stopped when she heard it again. Looking down, she saw the source of the noise and smiled. Setting her bags down, she slowly walked between two cars before quickly kneeling and capturing a retreating small gray ball of fur just visible beneath one of the parked cars. Suddenly a loud crack echoed through the air, and the rear passenger window of the car she had been standing in front of a microsecond earlier shattered directly above her head, raining glass all over her and the surrounding ground.

Shelby bent forward and tucked the ball of fur against her, shielding it from the falling glass. A cold fear gripped her and she remained frozen amidst the sounds of screams and running footsteps.

Bits of conversation drifted across the parking lot.

"Did you see that? Someone shot at her."

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know..."

"There she is!"

Shelby could hear people gathering around her and felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at a mall policeman.

"It's okay, Miss. Whoever fired that weapon is probably long gone. Some of the other mall police are searching just to make sure and the Fairfax police are on the way."

Shelby slowly stood up, still hugging her living parcel and wondering which of them was shaking the most.


CHAPTER 3

SHELBY SPENT THE next hour giving statements to both the mall and Fairfax police. There was little she could tell them though, for she hadn't seen anything suspicious and had no idea why she'd been singled out for the attack.

One of the Fairfax policemen offered to call animal control to take the kitten to a local shelter, but Shelby was unwilling to turn the kitten over to such an uncertain fate. She would find a good home for the tiny creature that had almost certainly saved her life.

Shelby took some comfort in the fact that the police seemed to think the near miss was either a stray bullet or a random attack by a nut case, but remembered the parting words of the investigating officer.

"The chances of finding the perpetrator aren't very good. If we do, you may be required to come down to the station to eliminate the possibility that it's someone you know."

His words sent a chill down her spine even though she knew it couldn't be anyone she knew. He must have seen her concern because, he added, "Don't worry. You were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens."

Shelby didn't find that particularly comforting as she walked away from the police and bystanders still milling around the crime scene toward her Sable, a little further down the parking lane. Hanging onto a squirming kitten was no easy feat, and she sighed with relief after depositing her shopping bags in the trunk. She got into her car, closed the door, and set the kitten on the passenger seat knowing that the likelihood of the gray fuzzball remaining there was slim to none. However, Shelby had no intention of spending one minute longer than necessary in the mall parking lot. Better safe than sorry.