Cynthia replied immediately. "Reports show no increased activity over baseline for the last six months within the major cells operating in Western Europe. The Austrian Freedom Party, Sweden's White Aryan Resistance, the Flemish Bloc in Belgium— all of them are fairly visible and their communications are constantly monitored. There's nothing coming over the wire to suggest any focus on Egret." She appeared to consider her next words. "But that intel is only as good as our sources."

"Mac?" Cam asked. "What do we have from the Central Security Service on extremist activity in this area?"

"I can't be certain that we're as up to date as we might be, because channels from that direction tend to run slowly," Mac stated. A momentary flicker of displeasure crossed his smooth features and was gone. The intelligence community was a huge network of interfacing agencies, each of which dealt with a portion of national and international intelligence. Many functioned under the umbrella of the National Security Agency, but every agency from the CIA to the FBI and individual military intelligence branches gathered information through their own networks. Theoretically, that information was pooled, distilled, and then disbursed to those who needed to know, including the Secret Service. Mac received bulletins directly from the NSA and CSS around the clock. "But I haven't gotten any alerts/'

Nodding, Cam turned her attention to their steganographer, Barry Wright. "Anything locally of concern?"

"Nothing specific, just a worrisome increase in traffic in general." Barry was a new breed of cryptographer. He spent the bulk of his time monitoring the Internet, analyzing sites known or suspected to be shields for communication between individuals, radical groups, and even governments involved in right-wing or terrorist activities. The most common way to transmit "hidden" messages was to insert them bit by bit into jpeg image files, called "cover" images. The recipient then deconstructed the image code and put together the camouflaged message. It was a sophisticated and time-consuming encoding and decoding process, but very difficult for intelligence agencies to detect. "There's been a buildup in chatter over the last six months, but nothing that's come together as a coherent picture. No hits on Egret other than the usual notices of her travel plans,"

A muscle in Cam's jaw bunched. Blair's schedule—hell, even the president's schedule—was posted on the official White House Web site for anyone to read. The Secret Service protested the practice vigorously, but the media consultants had won the point.

"Okay then," Cam said briskly, closing her handheld and putting it away. "First team—I'll advise when I've checked with Egret regarding her morning schedule. Have the cars ready and a backup team available."

"Yes, ma'am," Stark replied sharply.

As the agents stood to disperse, Cam said quietly, "Stark-wait a minute, please."

Surprised, Stark stiffened. "Yes, Commander."

Once they were alone, Cam refilled her coffee and raised an eyebrow at Stark, who shook her head. Sipping hers, Cam leaned back against the sideboard. "You're off duty until 1500,"

"But—"

"You'll be in the lead car, first team for her hospital tour. I want you fresh."

Stark knew better than to protest again. "Yes, Commander."

"Tell Felicia the same thing."

"Uh..." Stark's pulse shot into the stratosphere.

"The coffee cups steamed up the windshield," Cam remarked blandly. "Next time you're doing street surveillance, drink it cold."

Stark's face went from red to white in less than a heartbeat.

Cam placed her cup careiully on the stack of dirty dishes next to the coffeemaker. On her way to the door, she added, "You can tell Felicia thanks, too."

CHAPTER FIVE

0930 16Aug01

Query RedDog: Do you read?

RedDog: Roger, team leader You have green light 1600 IGR Confirm

RedDog: 1600 IGR Green light

Good hunting Godspeed Team leader out

Outside in the hallway, Cam nodded to Felicia and Reynolds. "You're relieved, Agent Davis. Check in with Stark."

"Yes, ma'am."

Cam knocked on Blair's door and a moment later, it opened. "Good morning, Ms. Powell. May I have a moment?"

Blair smiled. "Of course, Commander. Please come in."

Once Cam was inside, Blair closed the door and locked and chained it. Then she turned to where Cam waited only a few feet away and stepped into her waiting arms. With one hand clasping the back of Cam's neck, Blair leaned into her and kissed her. Then she drew away and lightly ran her fingers along Cam's jaw. "You're tense. Difficult meeting?"

''You 're frightening." Cam made a conscious effort to relax her shoulders. No one except Blair would know by looking at her, or very probably even by touching her, what she felt. Blair, however, could read her body and her mind with alarming accuracy. "Just the usual briefing."

"Uh-huh." Blair walked a few feet away, sat on the broad arm of the sofa, and leaned against the back. She wore a blue silk robe, belted at the waist, and her hair was still damp from the shower, finger-combed and falling freely around her face. "I'd like to sit in on one of those morning chats some time."

No, you wouldn't. Cam considered her answer, and then decided to go with the simple truth. "It's your prerogative, but I'd rather you didn't."

"I'm not surprised." Blair tilted her head and studied her lover, who looked drawn, as she often did when a public outing was scheduled. Blair knew the risks, and she knew the additional pressure it put on Cam to ensure her safety. "I think I know why you're tied up in knots, but I'd rather not guess. Want to tell?"

Sighing in surrender, Cam crossed the room to sit on the sofa by Blair's side. On the way down, she grabbed Blair and tumbled her into her lap. With an arm around her lover's shoulders and one at her waist, Cam nuzzled her neck. "I really like you in this robe. You look exactly like you did the first morning we met, except I couldn't touch you then. But God, I wanted to."

"You're trying to distract me," Blair murmured as Cam leaned over until they were nearly reclining face to face. She slid her hand inside Cam's jacket and ran her hand down Cam's side. "I'm beginning to recognize that tactic, Commander Roberts."

"Busted. I'm in trouble for so many reasons." Cam kissed her then because she was beautiful, and she was vital, and she was everything that made Cam's life worth living. "I love you so much."

Blair's heart skipped a beat. "Amazing. You have no idea what hearing that does to me."

"I know what feeling it does to me." Cam rested her forehead against Blair's and closed her eyes. There were moments when she wished they were anywhere else, anyone else. She wished that they never needed to walk out the door, and if they did, that she would never need to look over her shoulder for some dark force that might sweep into her life and in the space between two breaths destroy everything that mattered to her. Most of the time she could separate herself from those fears. She was trained to deal with reality and not to dwell on possibility. But there were times, when Blair was in her arms and she felt nothing but total completion, that she couldn't keep the dread at bay.

"Cam?" Blair's voice held a concerned note. "You're shaking."

Cam took a long slow breath and pushed up on the sofa as Blair swung her legs around until she was sitting beside her. "Sorry."

"Want to tell me what that was about?" Blair took Cam's hand, folded it between her own, and rested their joined hands on her thigh. She loved Cam's hands. They were bold and strong and incredibly tender, just like the woman herself. "Sweetheart?"

"I'd rather not. It was just one of those...passing things," Cam said gently. You'll feel responsible, and you don't need to be burdened by something else you can't change.

Understanding privacy, Blair simply nodded, but she'd seen the pain. "All right. Then back to the initial question. Why don't you want me at the briefings?"

Cam eyed Blair with obvious exasperation. "You are the most single-minded, relentless, and all too frequently annoying individual I have ever met."

Blair smiled sweetly. "That's another stall tactic. You're not going to goad me into an argument."

"We talk about you." The words came out with a combination of apology and anger. "I don't want you to hear that."

Surprise showed in Blair's eyes. "Cam, I know that you talk about me."

" I talk about you," Cam said quietly. "You think you don't like my command voice when we're together? You'd really hate it in there."

"And you think... what? If I heard you discuss Egret with your team that I'd feel like I meant less to you?"

Cam looked away briefly, then brought her eyes back to Blair's. When she did, there was uncertainty and unease in their dark depths. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't want to risk it."

Shaking her head, Blair turned and drew her legs up onto the couch until she was kneeling by Cam's side. She took Cam's face gently in both hands and tilted her head until their faces were inches apart. Her gaze bored into Cam's. "Listen to me. I know what you do. And I know what they don't know, Cameron—what they'll never know. I know your fear, and I know that you can't let them see it." She kissed her, tenderly at first and then with fierce possession. She felt Cam's hands on her back, pulling her down until she was once again in Cam's lap, her arms around Cam's neck. When she drew her mouth away, she murmured, "I know that you have to go away from me to do what you need to do."