The Black Sheep and the English Rose (29 page)

She waved at Sean, who gave a little wave back. Then she appeared to remember that Finn was right behind her. “Oh, silly me, jet lag.” She pulled Finn up a step. “This is Finn Dalton; he'll be handling all the legal details.” She leaned in closer to Julia and whispered. “Former district attorney, but honestly, he's so lovely, who cares about his credentials, right?” She laughed gaily and put her hand on Julia's arm, then glanced briefly again between her and Francois. “Are you all set to go? I don't want to intrude on gallery business.” She turned her attention back to Julia, sincere concern etched on her face now. “I heard about the fire. Dreadful business, that.” She glanced between them again. “You've probably been tied up all day with the officials.”

Julia had frozen at the mention of the fire, and Francois was frowning now, too.

Felicity took advantage of the moment and began to steer Julia toward the steps. “Well, you'll enjoy a nice dinner all the more, then. But we really must go.” She glanced back at Francois. “Sorry to dash off, darling. I'll be sure to get the entire tour later on. It was a pleasure meeting you. I've heard such wonderful things.”

Francois was still frowning, but smiled briefly at the compliment.

She turned her attention back to Julia. “We've a bit of a dash to make. Our reservations were hard won, despite my best wheedling, and I'm afraid if we're late they'll give our table away.”

Julia started to say something, but Felicity slipped her arm through hers and steered her down the stairs. “I understand The Loft is the best place in town.”

Finn was still facing them, and he didn't miss the sudden pause in Julia's motion, or the way she almost tripped down the next step.

Finn moved forward and took Julia's arm. “Watch your step there.” He smiled at her. “Everything okay? You do like The Loft, right? Felicity mentioned it was one of your favorites.”

He was close enough now to see her eyes through the dark sunglasses. She wasn't at all happy with what was going on, that much was clear, but with her manager standing in the doorway, and her unexpected guests knowing a hell of lot more about her than she did about them, she let them shuffle her along.

Finn gave a brief wave to a nonplussed Francois, who waved back more automatically than anything.

Sean opened the door with a flourish and nodded at Julia as she approached. “Evening, ma'am.”

Julia just stared at him. Then Felicity slid in, and Finn gently pushed down Julia's shoulders, more or less putting her into the car behind Felicity without appearing to manhandle her. “Mind your head,” he said. Then he climbed in behind them and nodded at Sean, who closed the door.

The instant it clicked, Julia exploded. “What in the bloody hell is going on? Who are the two of you, and what in God's name do you think you're doing?”

Felicity and Finn's mouths both dropped open in shock. “You're English,” Felicity said, unnecessarily, but echoing Finn's thoughts exactly.

Julia just gaped at them, then lunged for the door.

“Don't be hasty,” Finn said, regrouping quickly and blocking her exit with a well-placed arm.

“You can't keep me against my will. And if you think I'm going to quietly accompany you anywhere, much less out to dinner—”

“We just want to ask you a few questions,” Felicity said quietly. “About the sapphire. And John Reese.”

Julia had been all set to argue, but that caught her up short. She sat perfectly still and looked between the two of them, clearly uncertain on how best to proceed. “Who are you?”

“We know you flew out here with John, from New York City. We know which hotel you were in there, even which room.”

Her defiant pose lasted another moment; then her shoulders dipped slightly as she leaned back in her seat. “How?” she asked, her tone still defensive, even if her posture said otherwise.

“We're not the police, or from any American law enforcement agency,” Felicity assured her.

“Meaning you are associated with a different one?” She glanced between them. “You seemed rather surprised I was English.”

“How do you know John?” Felicity countered.

“Old friends.”

“And occasional business partners, as well?”

“Legitimately. Is there a problem with that?”

“What happened with the sapphire?” Finn asked.

She looked at him. “John sent you, didn't he?” Then she looked back at Felicity, her eyebrows lifting. “You're the ones who spooked the deal in New York, aren't you?”

“Did you sell it?” Finn persisted.

“How about you answer a question for every one I answer?”

Finn had thought they'd be dealing with a novice, and that perhaps, their joint appearance would be enough to fluster her into telling them whatever they wanted to know. The woman sitting across from him was no novice. He really needed to confer with Felicity, but unfortunately, there was no way to make that happen. “What was the plan in coming out here?” he asked, wanting to ask her about Chesnokov directly, but not wanting to give away everything they knew. “Who was the new buyer?”

“Has it already changed hands?” Felicity asked. “Or did the fire last night slow that down?”

She studied them both, but didn't answer.

Finn noted that she didn't accuse them of setting the fire, which meant it either hadn't occurred to her yet, or she already knew who was responsible.

They pulled up to the restaurant entrance.

“I'm not going in there,” Julia stated. “I don't think you want a scene, and I can promise you a big one.”

Finn's attention strayed beyond Julia, through the rear window. “Well, as it happens, that won't be necessary.” He waited a beat, then lowered his window. “Reese.”

Julia startled, as did Felicity, both of them swiveling and jerking their gazes toward the side window. Finn glanced at his watch and noted that Reese had arrived ahead of his scheduled dinner reservation. Which meant he could have simply arrived early…or he could have been watching the gallery himself and followed them here.

“Care for a ride?” Finn asked. Then he lowered the window farther, allowing Reese to see who was in the car with them.

Reese stilled for a split second, then stared into the car. Finn wasn't certain, but if looks could be lethal, there was a good chance Ms. Forsythe would no longer be with them.

“Don't allow him in here,” Julia hissed. “You don't know what you're doing. I'll talk, but tell your driver to pull away. Now!”

But it was too late. Finn had no idea what the full ramifications were going to be, having them all in such a confined space. But he did know that one way or the other, they weren't exiting the limo until he had a hell of a lot more information than he did right now.

“Hello, Julia,” Reese said, quite coolly, as he opened the door. “Miss Trent.”

Finn slid over to make room, which left the men facing the women.

Julia tried to get out again, but this time it was Reese who blocked her way. “It's time, don't you think?”

Now it was her turn to stare daggers at him. “Time for what, exactly? Time to be falsely accused of betraying my own country? I hardly think it will ever be time for that, thank you very much.” She sat heavily back in her seat and folded her arms, looking quite defiant.

Finn and Felicity shared a look, which told Finn she was thinking exactly what he was thinking. Julia was MI-8's target, not Reese. But then, why had they directed her to bring Reese home? Or
Home
, as the case may be? Unless they were all spies.

And since Felicity had unknowingly linked Reese to Julia in her requests for information, they'd decided to pull Reese in to get him to turn on Julia. It still didn't explain the whereabouts of the sapphire, or why, specifically, they'd wanted it in the first place.

Finn smiled, and scanned the lot of them, focusing especially on Julia and Reese, then made a gut decision and went with it. “So, everyone here who doesn't work for MI-8 raise your hand.” He raised his, and was met with a steely gaze, a shaded one, and Felicity, who simply looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. “I just thought we might as well get past all the posturing and prancing.” He lowered his hand. “The way I see it, we four are the only ones who control what happens next, to whom, and where. So, I suggest we all put everything we have on the table and see what's what. That is, unless, one of us is guilty of treason, and then, well, I'm afraid it's bad news for you. Three against one, your odds of not paying the piper aren't looking too great.” He leaned back and parroted Julia and Reese by folding his arms. “In which case, you might as well fess up anyway. So…who wants to go first?”

F
elicity stared at Finn as if she'd never seen him before. And maybe she hadn't. Not clearly anyway. She couldn't believe he'd just taken the information she'd held so dear, that she'd shared with him in absolute secrecy, and outed her right in front of the very people who were suspected of betraying their own country.
Her
country. She wanted to demand what in bloody hell he'd been thinking, but just then, he winked at her. As if to say, “Trust me, go along with it.”

Well, it was one thing to expect him to go along with her little charade in front of the gallery, but he'd just exposed her and jeopardized not only her future with MI-8, but possibly her future drawing breath. Treason wasn't exactly a mild offense.

She glanced quickly to John and Julia, to see if they'd picked up on Finn's signal, but they were still both quite wrapped up in glaring at each other.

She could only hope he had some grand scheme in mind that would make all this okay in the end. But, for the life of her, she couldn't imagine what that could possibly be.

“No one? Okay, then I'll go first.” Finn pressed the intercom button. “A nice sightseeing tour, if you don't mind.” The limo pulled smoothly away from the front of the restaurant and back into the flow of traffic. Finn settled back and propped an ankle on the opposite knee. “So, the way I see it, there is a marionette operator pulling strings, maybe multiple operators, and you guys are the puppets.”

Reese shifted in his seat to stare at Finn, but his expression was unreadable now. There was no doubt, however, that he was paying attention. As, Felicity noted with a quick glance, was Julia. Felicity turned her attention back to Finn as well. What had he figured out that she hadn't?

“Given the fact that you each have relatively high profile, alternate careers, I'm guessing you're all part-time puppets, brought on stage when you have something of specific value to offer.” He looked at her and smiled a genuine smile. “Felicity was fortunate enough to be born a Trent, which gives her entrée into a realm of society barred to most people. Then there is her Foundation work, which opens doors on every level, on every continent. She moves comfortably through these worlds with grace and elegance, and no one would ever suspect that in addition to dedicating her life to helping those less fortunate, she also moonlights on occasion, lending a hand to her government on some rather…delicate missions.”

He shifted his gaze to Julia, and his smile shifted a bit as well. More bemused now. “There is Julia Forsythe, with a largely untraceable and perhaps questionable past, who popped up out of nowhere on the San Francisco art scene several short years ago, and now runs a ridiculously successful gallery, featuring previously unheard-of artists who are immediately sought after, once their art hangs on her walls. Her clients cover a broad spectrum, but have wealth as their common denominator.

“They, themselves, also have a broad range of connections, which are assumed to broaden Julia's contact base as well. She also ships her art to destinations worldwide, and, it is that ability, along with her important contacts, that makes her a valuable asset to her government, as she has been known to incorporate certain items that need to be moved internationally, without raising any eyebrows, into artwork being ostensibly shipped overseas to new owners, thereby becoming a legitimate and quite legal mule service, of sorts. It is presumed that her government returns the favor by providing her with this apparently new life in the States, complete with, and, I'm just guessing here, name and background. And livelihood. Win-win for everyone, there.

“Which brings us to John Reese, a well-established global entrepreneur in the import-export business, which gives him access to, well, just about everything and everyone. Quite handy having a fellow like that on your team, I must say.” He smiled at the three of them. “Have I missed anything? Good.” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “So, on to the rest of it. Felicity typically works solo, but has, to my great good fortune, agreed to team up with me, a guy who does privately pretty much what she does governmentally. Which gives me and my team access to things you don't have, and a far greater latitude, as we only follow orders from ourselves, and there is no need-to-know crap.”

He looked between Julia and Reese. “From what I understand, you two also work together from time to time, both personally and professionally.”

Neither Julia nor John confirmed his comment, nor did they deny it. They simply continued to stare at Finn, but they also remained silent and interested in what he had to say.

So, Felicity admitted, was she. She still didn't know where he was going with this, but the potential damage done to her had been done. There was really nothing more he could give them on her, so she might as well see where this would lead.

“However,” Finn went on, “though Felicity and I managed to find a way to make our unusual partnership work, the two of you apparently had a falling out. And then Felicity here was instructed to bring one of you home.”

Both Reese and Julia looked at Felicity. Okay, so she'd been wrong. There had been more information he could reveal. She glared at him, making it perfectly clear what her feelings were on the matter, but decided there was no point in making a scene. Just yet, anyway.

“In the middle of all of this are two things,” Finn went on. “One, supposedly someone hasn't been playing fair and has been using secure information for personal gain. Two, there is the sapphire. Which, for me, is merely an answer to a client's prayer of restoring his family's good name, but for your government is apparently a matter of national security; otherwise one of you stealing it and selling it wouldn't be grounds for treason.”

Felicity eyed both John and Julia for reactions, but both were completely stone-faced.

“What I can't help but wonder is, why your chain of command needed three agents on one mission. Each with a different personal task assigned to them, none of whom apparently knew about the tasks assigned to the others, or even that the others worked for their same employer.” He looked at Julia and Reese. “I'm assuming you two were both working, correct?”

John merely held his gaze, but Julia, glaring at John, jerked a nod with her chin, arms folded even more tightly.

“Ah,” Finn said. “Now we get somewhere.” He looked to John. “Did you know you were both working for the same team? I'm assuming you knew of the other's affiliation prior to this. It would explain why there is little to no public record of your personal relationship.”

Julia's gaze darted from John to both Felicity and Finn. As if she was suddenly concerned that their personal relationship was going to be put under the microscope. Interesting, Felicity thought. Why would she still care, given that she'd taken off? And gauging from John's steely-eyed stare, it would appear that this was strictly professional for him, but she'd seen him in the wee hours this morning, clearly hurting over her betrayal. No, this was personal for him, too.

“But did you know you were both assigned to the same task this time?”

“No,” Julia blurted. “No.
We
didn't know. Only John knew.”

“You're wrong about that,” he said quietly, suddenly not looking quite so steely or inscrutable. “I didn't know.”

Felicity's mouth dropped open, and she immediately looked at Finn, who shot her a smile. She wanted to ask him how he'd suspected, but knew that would have to wait for later. Her irritation with him, however, and her feelings of being hurt and betrayed diminished a great deal. It had been a huge risk, but, then again, at this point, it was likely to all come out anyway.

“Then why did I get intel telling me that you'd gone renegade?” Julia blurted. “They led me to believe you were using me to cover your tracks.”

“And you believed that?”

“Of course not!”

Everyone fell silent, but no one looked more stunned than John. “Then why did you leave?” he asked. “Why did you take the stone? To give it to them as proof?” His eyes widened. “You didn't give it to them, did you?”

“No,” she said. “And I took it because I thought if I got rid of it, then they'd have nothing to pin on you. I was protecting you.”

“But—I was protecting you.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“When you took off with the stone, I thought maybe—”

“
You
thought
I
was the one?”

“I never would have. But you took off. With the stone. Without a word.”

“Because if I'd let you know, you'd have information they could get out of you. If you had no idea—”

“Then they couldn't pin any of it on you,” Felicity said, her tone hushed. “But why would they ask me to bring you back if they suspected Julia?”

“Because you asked for information on both of them, providing them with a link and an insider source. Maybe they just wanted John so he could roll over on Julia,” Finn said.

“I swear, I only took it to protect John. I've never—would never—do anything to bite the hand that feeds me. I have a life because of them. They rescued me from—they made a life possible. I'd do anything to repay that.”

“Even give up your life?”

She looked at Finn. “What do you mean?”

“The fire.”

“I wasn't there, I was—”

“But, if you hadn't taken the stone, you would have been there,” John said. “We both would have been there.”

She leaned back then, folding her arms now, but more because she looked shaken than because she was angry. “I don't understand. Any of this.”

“So, if none of you is on the take, then that means you're being framed by the person who is. And the only one with that kind of power would be in the chain of command,” Finn said calmly.

“The puppet master,” Felicity said. “But which one? And why?”

“Clearly they know something is up and are on the hunt. Maybe he's trying to cover his ass by targeting one of you. Then things started to go south—largely, I suppose, because of my unexpected entry into this little scenario—and he had to scramble.”

“So I was directed to sell it to Chesnokov's agent as a way of damning me. Except it was a direct order.”

“Your word against his. And maybe it served a dual role of framing you for the sale and getting the stone where he needed it to go, keeping your government from using it,” Finn said. “I just wish I knew why in the hell they wanted the damn thing. Do any of you have any idea?”

“No,” John said. “I did tell them about the situation in New York.” He looked to Felicity. “I had no idea you worked for them. I was afraid you'd been conned. Honestly, I had no idea what to make of you. You totally took me by surprise when I found you snooping.” He glanced to Finn. “I'm sorry about the manner in which you found her, but I had to make it look as if it were a matter between lovers. Had I left her tied to a chair or something, fully clothed, it would have been far easier to convince hotel staff that she'd been a victim of some other sort, and I couldn't chance that.”

“I understood,” Felicity said, speaking for Finn. “So, you're telling MI-8 about me and Finn, and I'm asking them about the two of you…and we've all gone racing to the West Coast, the entire case now clearly spinning out of control—”

“Our puppet master panics, maybe?” Finn said. “And decides, perhaps, to cut his losses and pin the thing on John or Julia. Posthumously, if necessary.”

“Or maybe us,” Felicity said. “Either way, he's clear.”

“Only Julia takes off with the stone, John drags us back into things, and—”

“Nothing is going according to anyone's plan or back-up plan.”

“So, I get word to bring you in,” she said, looking at John. “I assume—when the fire failed, and with Julia on the run with the stone—as a last ditch effort to nail you with it, somehow, using me as a witness.”

“I wasn't on the run,” Julia said. “I checked into a hotel so I could have some time and space to sort things out.”

“Did you contact your handler?” Felicity asked.

“No. I made no contact with anyone. Nothing was making sense to me. I was debating contacting Chesnokov and just getting the damn thing out of the country, but the fire spooked the hell out of me. I didn't know what was going on.” She looked to John. “Or who, at that point, was doing things. To me. To us. I was just really confused. But I was going to stay clear of you until I figured it out.”

“To keep me from being connected,” he said.

She nodded. “I had the stone, so—”

“Had?” Finn asked. They all looked at Julia. “Where is it?”

“Hotel safe. By this morning, I had decided to go to work as usual, deal with the officials, maintain as normal a front as possible, and try and figure out what to do next. I had no further intel, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to contact them with the information that I had taken the stone, as I was directly in violation of orders and…nothing seemed right. My instincts were all over the map.”