It took a few hours to get to Arlington. It was around lunchtime by the time I reached the Pentagon. I slipped in and found Kemp’s office, picking up on his scent at his office and following it out into the street. I found him in a small cafe, sitting with a man. When I walked by I inhaled checking them both to see if either were supers, and neither were. I sat in the back where I could still see them, but I was far enough away to not cause suspicion from either of them.
The server walked up, and when she inhaled slightly to talk, she froze. I inhaled and noticed a slight hint of dog to her pine scent. When I raised my eyebrow at her, she cleared her throat, “Sorry. What can I get you to drink?”
“No worries. I’ll take a water,” I responded.
She nodded and scurried away, so I looked over the menu. When she came back with my water, I ordered the first thing on the lunch menu. I used my supernatural hearing to listen in on Kemp and his associate.
“Someone tipped off the higher ups, Kemp. You have to be more careful,” the man with Kemp said, “The team you were paid to set up made it out alive. The how is a bit fuzzy, but the point is they made it out.”
I snapped a few photos of the two of them with my phone. “They’re supposed to be debriefed in a few hours. We’ll know the how then.”
I shot off a text to Daniel: tell the guys not to mention our involvement in their rescue can’t have Kemp getting suspicious.
He texted back quickly: already done, get your ass back here.
No. I’ve already gotten valuable info, Kemp knows his higher ups have been tipped. He’s either going to be tied up with the loose ends or he’s going to be tying up loose ends. Find out who this is. I texted back with a couple of photos of Kemp and his lunch date.
No you’re on your own, was all he texted back, causing me to roll my eyes.
I kept listening in on Kemp and his associate’s conversation, but for the most part they didn’t talk about anything important. They left not long after my food came. I ate quickly and paid, walking out I followed their scent back to the Pentagon. I walked to a nearby coffee shop and settled in with my computer to start my research on Kemp’s associate. I found him quickly with the facial recognition software Lyosha developed. John Murphy, NSA, currently under investigation for improper use of resources. Shit. NSA agents were not at all fun. As I looked further into Murphy I could see his hand in every setup Storm Industries had a part in breaking up as well.
I sent Daniel a text: John Murphy NSA had his hand in the cookie jar along with Kemp.
Daniel texted back quickly: do you even have a plan?
I rolled my eyes again: survey and report.
Don’t do anything stupid, is all that he sent back.
I stayed at the coffee shop, gathering intelligence and waiting for Kemp to get off work. I was there for a few hours when Murphy walked in and ordered a coffee. He surveyed the shop before locking in on me. I continued my work on my laptop, pretending to ignore him and his approach.
He sat down in front of me and I glanced at him before looking back down at my laptop. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “Am I not allowed to try a new coffee shop?”
He chuckled, “No. I just meant I come here often and haven’t seen you because I would’ve remembered seeing someone as beautiful as you.”
Niamh growled loudly in my head, but I gave him a smile, “Naturally. I’m new to this side of town.”
“What’s your name, gorgeous?” He asked with a voice I was sure he thought was sexy.
“Audrey Jennings,” I responded with an outstretched hand.
He took my hand and pressed it to his lips, “It’s lovely to meet you, Audrey. My name is John Murphy.”
He released my hand, “It’s nice to meet you. What do you do that you can be off in the middle of the afternoon?”
He chuckled lightly, “I work for the government. What is it that you do that you can be off in the middle of the afternoon?”
I gave him another small smile, “I’m an editor at a publisher here in Arlington.”
“You said you were new to this side of town. Why did you choose to come in here instead of staying where you normally do?”
“I needed a change of scenery. I have heard great things about this coffee shop, so I decided to check it out.” I answered, “What do you do for the government?”
“I’m a researcher in the environmental department,” he lied easily.
“You seem so buff to be a researcher,” I said, causing him to chuckle.
“I just like to take care of myself,” he responded.
We kept chatting until he got a text, “I have to run, but I’m going to be at this bar tonight around eight. You should come by,” he wrote the bar and his number on a napkin.
“Okay. I might,” I said with a smile.
Once he left I got to work on my alias’s background. It didn’t take me long to get it set to the information I had given Murphy and link my bike to the name as well. Almost as soon as I finished, someone ran the name. I followed the IP address of the computer that ran the name. It was Murphy’s computer, and I quickly went through everything. After I did, I cleaned my prints in Murphy’s computer and headed for a hotel down the street to stash my backpack. After I checked in, I headed to a boutique and bought a few different outfits for tonight.
I got my cloning device ready and a few bugs before changing into one of my new outfits. Checking the time, I finished stashing my weapons and gear and surveyed myself in the mirror. Satisfied with my appearance I headed down to my bike.
Amaya’s Storm: Chapter Twenty-Four
Author: Kailan Counahan 