“I love those kinds of odds, I can’t deny it.” Alan reached out for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Wine?”
“Absolutely.”
Alan hailed their waiter and ordered a fine bottle of Argentine Malbec Gran Reserve. When the wine arrived, they took their time, savoring every sip. Aly talked about her classes. Alan listened, mostly to the sound of her voice but also to her love of life and al it offered. He didn’t bring up Adala; she did.
“How’s it going? she asked. “Any progress?”
“Good progress.” He told her about the group’s most recent meet-ing. “Brian and Marie are in El Paso this weekend checking on a possible training site. Herb is coordinating things on the international end and working with our HR guy on recruiting. The response has been remarkable.”
Aly was listening intently. “That’s great news. You know, I’ve been wondering if some of the associations I belong to could help with the recruiting in some way, but I’m a little leery about pursuing it,” she said. “It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if some of the more radical terrorist factions didn’t have informants inside these groups; just to keep tabs on what they’re doing.”
Alan breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want Aly involved any more deeply in the Adala project, and he already felt as if he had consulted with her more than he should have. Every time the subject came up, she became more invested in the project, if for no other reason than she could sense the depth of Alan’s commitment.
His energy when it came to Adala was contagious, and he had a hard time not bringing that energy home with him. What made it worse was the fact that he was essential y lying to her about the bottom-line goal of the project: assassination. Lying was something he swore he would never do in their relationship, even if his ultimate goal were to protect her. It frightened him to think that she had been thinking about the project of her own volition. That was the last thing he wanted.
“I wholeheartedly agree,” he said, “and to be honest, I’d rather keep this thing as close to the vest as possible. I think the fewer people who know the better.”
“I think you’re right,” she said, sensing his relief. “I’m glad I talked to you first.”
“I’m glad you trusted your instincts,” he said, and they set the subject of Adala aside.
Dinner was beautiful y served to be sure, but their thoughts had traveled beyond the food and the wine to the possibilities of a night spent in each other’s arms, much as they had that enchanting night so many years ago.
They held hands on the drive home, and Aly shared a playful smile with him.
“What are you thinking, young lady?” he wanted to know.
“Want to do something fun?”
“Fun as in wild and romantic?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said flirtatiously. “How about staying at the guest house tonight?”
The guest house! They had used the guest house their first night together. Now it was their special getaway, and Aly always kept it made up, just in case.
“I might have to propose to you al over again,” Alan said.
“I might just have to ‘yes’ al over again.”
DAVIS INTERNATIONAL BUILDING
THE NEXT MEETING of Adala began the fol owing Monday morning in the eighth Floor offices of the Mil ar Trading Company.
Alan wanted everyone to have a clearer understanding of the logistics needed to support their objectives of terrorist assassinations. He had been pondering the subject al weekend, but he also wanted to broach the subject as if they had only scratched the surface last week.
He took the circuitous route and asked Brian to open the meeting. Not surprisingly, the former MI-6 man also had been concerned about the same issue and took the words right out of Alan’s mouth.