When the light finally changed to green and she shifted her small car into gear with it—she noticed something odd. A flash of movement caused her to glance at her mirrors. There was a car behind her now, one that hadn’t been there a second earlier. It was a black mustang with a grille like an open mouth. She drove slowly forward, frowning. She saw the car wasn’t quite straight in its lane, and the driver had to crank the steering wheel around to straighten out and get in line behind her.

  Mentally, she shrugged. The guy must have done a U-turn and pulled up right behind her.

  She didn’t think anything more about it as she cruised down the highway following the length of Key Largo. It was the biggest island in the chain, over thirty miles long. She had miles to go to reach her destination.

  Deciding to stop for a drink, she pulled into a gas station. She flicked down the catch on the gas nozzle and left it there pumping while she went into the 24-hour store and bought something full of caffeine and sugar.

  When she came out, she noticed it was getting late. The sky was beginning to turn dark. She checked her cell and found it was nearly 6 pm. She told herself she should have waited until tomorrow to come down here. She’d have to get a hotel room now, which would cost her money she didn’t have.

  Fumbling with her keys on the way to her car, she opened her drink and took a big gulp. When she lowered the bottle, she froze. There was a man sitting against her car with his arms crossed. He wore a pleasant smile, big tan arms, and his hair was cut exceedingly short.

  “Excuse me,” she said, walking up to him. “That’s my car.”

  “I know,” he said.

  Malena’s frown deepened. She wasn’t sure what this guy’s game was. He could have been hoping for a date, but it was way too early for a spring break pick-up. In any case, she wasn’t about to reward such a direct approach.

  “I don’t know you,” she said. “Could you get your butt off my car before I have to call someone?”

  “Sorry Miss,” he said pleasantly. He removed his offending rear from her fender and walked away.

  Malena couldn’t help but notice he was extremely fit. Something in his bearing and attitude made her think he was from the military. Over-confident and young, she thought, shaking her head. She reached to open her door, but froze when she saw the stranger get into his car: it was a black mustang.

  Malena narrowed her eyes. She walked after the man.

  “Wait a minute,” she said. “You’ve been following me, haven’t you?”

  He turned around and smiled, shrugging. “There’s only one long road on this island that goes anywhere.”

  She saw the logic of that. But he’d definitely done a U-turn and then followed her into this gas station. That gave her a definite feeling of unease. She walked back to her car slowly. She wasn’t quite ready to call the cops, but after she finished pumping her gas she pulled out her cell phone and put it on the seat beside her.

  She didn’t drive out, but instead sat in her seat, waiting. She adjusted her mirrors. For a full minute, the guy in his black mustang fooled with his car, cleaning the windows and checking the oil. She just sat there, watching him in her mirrors.

  Finally, he walked forward and came to her window. Malena lowered her window a crack and smiled at him.

  “Is there something you’re waiting for?” he asked.

  “I was waiting for you,” she said, smiling. She popped the clutch and screeched her way out of the gas station.

  In her mirrors, she saw him scramble back to his car. She drove as hard as she dared down the highway to the address she’d been given. Her heart pounded as she went, but she wasn’t really frightened. She was reasonably sure the guy in the black mustang was part of XCU, dispatched to tail her to the agency.

  Malena was baffled by the escort. The fact he was working these hours indicated budget and purpose. What was it the woman who’d interrupted her call to Anthony had told her? “They’re waiting for you.”

  Surprised to learn this organization was still operating after dark on a Saturday, she drove right into the parking lot and chose a spot. There were perhaps fifty cars in the lot, most of them luxury models—Audis, Cadillacs and a single, top-of-the-line Lexus. That was encouraging. Either the hotel was high class, or this organization really did pay their people well.

  She walked into the lobby. When she reached the front desk, a pair of headlights flashed behind her and she looked outside. It was the black mustang. She smiled.

  “May I help you?” asked an Asian clerk. His nametag said Choo, and he had an accent, but it was British-sounding rather than Chinese.

  “Yeah,” she said, showing him the card the man had given her earlier that afternoon. “Does this mean anything to you?”

  Choo smiled faintly. “Yes, Ms. Marin. Just go to the elevator and press the down button.”

  Malena pointed to her escort, who now hurried in through the front doors. The confident smile he’d worn before she’d ditched at the gas station was gone.

  “Do you know that man, Choo?”

  “Certainly,” he said. “Lieutenant Tanner will escort you down to the basement.”

  Malena made a face at the term basement. Choo caught the expression, and leaned forward. He spoke conspiratorially, even though there was no one in the lobby other than the three of them.

  “It’s nicer down there than it sounds,” he said.

  “Do I need a special key or something?”

  “Mr. Tanner will provide that.”

  Malena glanced at Tanner, whose features had turned an orangey-red. He was clearly trying hard not to look pissed off—and failing at it.

  Malena nodded to Choo and began to walk toward the elevators. Choo cleared his throat. Malena looked back at him, and found he had his hand out.

  “Do you expect a tip?” she asked in amusement.

  He waggled his fingers. “You must check your weapon, Ms. Marin,” he said in an apologetic tone.

  “Oh, certainly,” she said, digging out her pistol and handing it over.

  She headed to the elevators and Tanner followed her. When they entered the car, she lifted a finger to select the basement. To her surprise, there wasn’t just the traditional “B” button, but rather five buttons, labeled B1 to B5. She pushed B1, but nothing happened.

  Tanner stepped forward. “Let me do it.”

  He lifted a small oval of plastic and metal. It looked like a key-fob for a car. He pressed his thumb to the dished out surface of the oval button on the device and simultaneously pressed B1 on the elevator panel. The key recognized his thumbprint and lit up. At the same moment, the button on the elevator panel lit up with it. The elevator quickly descended.

  “A five-story basement in the Florida Keys?” Malena asked. “Won’t that put us fifty feet below sea-level?”

  “More than that,” Tanner said, scowling at her. “Why did you ditch me?”

  “Why did you follow me?”

  “I was bringing you in. I had orders.”

  “Sorry if I made you look bad,” she said.

  His frown darkened. “If you knew who I was—” he broke off, fuming.

  Malena decided she should stop teasing the man. He’d had his fun by freaking her out, and she’d had hers by making sure the doorman knew she’d ditched him. Now, it was time to make friends. She wasn’t always the best at that, she reminded herself. If she’d played more nicely at her last job…well, she might still have it.

  The doors opened and they stepped toward a guard station. A sergeant in fatigues came to attention when he saw Tanner and checked both their IDs.

  “Sorry,” Malena said to Tanner, giving him a smile. “I thought I was supposed to ditch you. I thought it might be some kind of test.”

  “A test? We’re hiring you for a desk job, not as a field agent.”

  She shrugged and continued smiling. This had the hoped-for effect. By the time they’d passed the guard station and reached a glass door he’d calmed down and relaxed.

  Malena watched as Tanner went through another elaborate security ritual at the glass door. She realized the glass was an inch thick and she guessed it was bulletproof. On the far side was what looked like a bank vault door and an airlock. Two guards stood at the vault with unsmiling expressions and unslung automatic weapons. This was serious security. She’d never been in an installation that was both secret and so heavily-guarded. Not for the first time, she wondered what she was getting herself into.

  Once past these final layers of security, the environment shifted in tone. The lights were muted rather than glaringly harsh. There were big screens here, which were studied by a half-dozen operators. Each of the operators manned a workstation of their own, but they occasionally looked up at the big displays. These depicted the entire Caribbean region.

  Malena paused and frowned at what was clearly a situation room. “Is that Cuba?” she asked.

  “Pretend you didn’t notice that yet,” Tanner said.

  She gave him a questioning look, but then someone new approached. It was a middle-aged woman in a dark navy business suit. The most notable thing about her was her hair, which was done in a tasteful bouffant style. She stared at Malena with piercing blue eyes.

  “Malena Marin?” the woman asked, extending her hand.

  Malena nodded, briefly clasping hands with her.

  “Welcome to XCU. Sorry we had to be so cloak-and-dagger about bringing you here. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I’m looking forward to learning more about it.”

  “Yes…” said the woman, staring at Malena again.

  Malena got an odd feeling, as if the woman were really thinking deeply about her polite responses. She tried not to let the woman’s stares and pauses fluster her.

  “I’m sorry,” Malena said, “who are you?”

  The woman’s eyes flashed. Malena thought she detected an expression of disappointment.

  “I’m Station Chief Burke. I run the nightshift at this installation.”

  Malena narrowed her eyes, realizing that she recognized the woman’s voice. “Did you interrupt a phone call of mine today?”

  “If you call about us, the phone call belongs to us,” Burke answered with a cryptic smile.

  Malena opened her mouth to demand an explanation. She wanted to know how her call to Anthony had been intercepted, and under what authority. Was someone tapping her cell? Why did they care so much about what she did and who she called? What did they want from her?

  The station chief stopped her questions with a wave of the hand. “I can’t tell you more yet. Please bear with us. This way, please.”

  Without waiting for a response, the chief led the way. Malena reminded herself she was here to get an extremely high-paying job. She swallowed her objections and followed them. She was led down a long corridor lined with closed doors. Tanner stopped at a non-descript door and tapped a code into the lock. The door clicked, buzzed and opened. Malena frowned. To her, the room looked like an interrogation chamber.

  There were no sharp instruments or handcuffs, but there weren’t any comfortable chairs, either. There were only two chairs, in fact, with a table in between. The chairs were metal and unpleasant-looking. The station chief took one chair and gestured to the other.

  Malena hesitated, looking around. Tanner had taken up a position at the door. He looked suspiciously like a guard. There was a mirror in the room, obviously a two-way mirror, and it was aimed at the chair Malena had been offered.

  “Please be seated,” Chief Burke said.

  Malena did so reluctantly. The older woman looked at Tanner. “You can go now, lieutenant. You’re making her nervous.”

  Tanner withdrew with a silent nod. The two women faced one another.

  Burke stared at her oddly. Malena began to feel uncomfortable. When her interviewer didn’t speak for ten full seconds, Malena decided to say something.

  “I was approached by one of your people in Boca Raton today,” she said.

  Burke appeared disappointed—even disgusted by her response. “Yes, that was Ostlund, the dayshift chief. It was on his recommendation that we’re interviewing you now.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  Malena blinked at her. She wondered in the back of her mind if the woman somehow resented the dayshift chief and didn’t approve of Malena’s selection. She decided to press on. If this woman didn’t feel like interviewing her, she might as well ask the questions.

  “Can I ask exactly what the job is about?” she asked. “I mean my duties, not the mission of XCU. I imagine you’ll have to clear me before—”

  “Ms. Marin,” Burke interrupted. “Are you having any unusual thoughts right now? Anything at all?”

  Malena was baffled by the question. She was indeed having a large number of unusual thoughts. Not the least among them was the idea that this had to be the strangest interview and the strangest interviewer she’d ever encountered.

  “Uh,” she said, “I’m thinking this entire place is pretty strange, if that’s what you mean.”

  Burke twisted her lips into a flickering smile that soon died. “Of course. Would you excuse me?”

  Malena stared after Burke as the woman stood up and left.

  “Did I say anything wrong?” Malena called.

  “Just a moment, please.”

  Malena felt sure she’d blown it somehow, but she didn’t know what she’d done wrong. Before the door swung closed she saw Burke speaking to Tanner, who had apparently hung around outside.

  “…nothing…” Malena overheard Burke say disdainfully. “…absolutely useless…”

  Then the door clicked shut.

  Mouth open, shaking her head, Malena got up slowly from her chair. What had she said? What had she missed?

  One minute later the door unlocked and opened. It was Tanner, and he was alone. “This way please, Miss Marin,” he said.

  She followed him out into the hallway. There was no sign of Station Chief Burke.

  “Look, Tanner,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. But I really need this job, and I—”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

  “Where are you taking me now?”

  “Back to your car.”

  She blinked at this. “Back to my car? This is over? I’m not meeting anyone else?”

  “No.”

  “Will there be a call back…or…?”

  “No.”

  Malena felt a wave of despair hit her. She thought of the number that Ostlund had printed on the back of that card. Even if it had been a lie, even if the salary was only a tenth of that number—she still wanted the job.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, feeling dejected and depressed. “What kind of an interview was that? You people are bizarre.”

  Tanner stopped walking and looked at her. She looked back at him angrily. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d put in a bad word after she’d left him behind back at the gas station. If he was that petty, she wasn’t sure she wanted to work here with a person like that. But then again, there was that number on the back of the day chief’s card. It had been an impressive number.

  “Ostlund must have seen something in you,” Tanner said. “Burke is always quick to dismiss his instincts, but I’m going to try an experiment. You need to stay quiet and do as I say, all right?”

  Normally, Malena didn’t like such instructions from someone she’d just met, but she was desperate. She nodded silently. He’d said to keep quiet, and she didn’t even want to chance saying “okay” aloud. If that first interview had been some kind of test, and she’d failed it somehow, she was going to play the part of the full-on paranoid this time.

  Tanner did a U-turn. She followed him back down the corridor to the end, where it angled ninety-degrees to the left. At the end of this second corridor there was a door. Malena looked around and took an immediate dislike to the place. It seemed darker somehow, as if her vision had dimmed when she entered this part of the hallway. She wondered if the fluorescent lights overhead were flickering.

  “Wait here for a moment,” Tanner said, and he left her standing there.

  Malena stared after him. Was this some kind of test? If so, what was the point? Was it a test to see if she took orders, no matter how odd? Would doing as he asked cause her to pass or fail?

  About ten seconds after Tanner had disappeared, she felt a pang in her stomach. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and she chalked it up to that at first—but then the pains grew worse. They were like cramps, but with a headache serving as the basis of the entire thing. The headache grew until it was so bad it made her sick. A pounding, neck-pinching headache that felt like an icicle had been hammered in the soft tissue behind her eyes.

  One minute later, it grew worse. She wondered if this was what people called a migraine. She’d never had one before, and she wasn’t at all happy about experiencing her first under these circumstances. She felt as if a horse was galloping through her mind, leaving holes in her brain. She rubbed her temples and looked up and down the hallway. It was quiet. Her vision blurred and her head felt like it was under a fresh assault. Someone was driving nails into her skull from every direction.

  She doubled over at about the ninety-second mark, putting her hands on her knees. She felt like throwing up. All of a sudden—she did.

  Tanner returned then. She looked up at him with bloodshot, blurred eyes and a burning sensation in her guts.

  Tanner stared. “You’re sick?”

  “I’m dying here,” she said hoarsely. “What is it? Gas?”

  Tanner shook his head and eyed her thoughtfully, as if she were a lab rat.

  “So sensitive,” he muttered. “Very unusual.”

  “What did you do to me?”

  He put a hand on her elbow to help her walk back down the corridor the way they’d come. She didn’t object to the help. She was still weak and sick.

  “Feeling better now?” he asked when they reached the corner in the corridor and gone around it.

  She took a deep breath and straightened.

  “Yeah,” she said thoughtfully, then shook his hand off. She eyed him suspiciously. “What the hell did you do to me?”