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confront Mr. Briggs and find out why I was terminated and wiped off the face of the employment roll like an outdated floppy disk drive.
    The question was: How bad did I want my old job back?
    Enough to take off my clothes?
    I looked down at my own Barbie cleavage peeking through my flannel shirt missing two buttons. The idea of taking down that superstud who had me bare-assed over the copier was also a big incentive. Once I got his attention, I’d fill Mr. Briggs in on the burglary and give him a detailed description of the thief, though I’d leave out his dick size.
    There were some things they didn’t show you in a police lineup.
    Besides, he came and I didn’t.
    It was payback time.
    * * *
    Mary Dolores O’Malley , Steve read, peering at the data from the secure site popping up on his computer screen. Date of birth unknown. Place of birth unknown. Parents unknown.
    He tossed his empty foam cup into the trash can next to his desk. That was a heavy load to carry. No trace of who you were or where you came from. His problem was just the opposite. He knew all too well where he came from.
    His mother was a decent sort, but she’d gotten knocked up by the local bad boy and had then produced Steve’s older brother. Tom knew his way in and out of trouble better than any comic book hero. When Steve was a kid, Tom was his hero after his old man took off. He looked up to him. Tom taught him how to hot-wire cars and jimmy open locks and every other ruse in a thief’s bag of tricks. He could con a con man. Steve wanted to be just like him.
    Until a bullet stopped Tom cold.
    A bullet meant for Steve.
    Tom had tried to go straight, but it didn’t work. He fell in with a bad crowd and pulled his kid brother in with him. He died in the dirty street surrounded by a rival gang, kicking and beating his broken body.
    No hero’s death for him.
    Before he died, he begged Steve to get out of the old neighborhood and not to end up like him. Only through the intervention of the local priest did Steve escape the streets and his past. The clergyman helped him sign up for the army. Afterward, he went to college and then joined the Bureau. There, while taking down the bad guys, Steve could use the special “talents” he’d learned from his brother.
    He was about the close the file, when—
    Hey , what’s this?
    He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Pepper had applied to various government agencies, including the CIA and ATF.
    And the FBI?
    She’d filled out the paperwork, taken the Phase I entrance exam and scored quite high. She’d been invited to take Phase II, but she never followed through. She got cold feet.
    Why? he’d like to know.
    As if he ever would. No reason to keep her on his radar. Mary Dolores—Pepper—was clean. He was convinced her playacting with him in the copy room was harmless. Thank God, she hadn’t done his case much damage. He’d found another way to get to Briggs and he intended to put that plan into action right away.
    Meanwhile, Pepper had no idea who he was. He had to keep it that way.
    Steve grinned. He wondered how she had explained their rendezvous and the out-of-control copy machine to the woman he’d brushed by in the dark hallway. He imagined her embellishing the story and turning it into a wild tale. Most likely, she made him out to be her boyfriend needing a little late night nooky.
    He sighed deeply. Too bad it wasn’t true.
    Steve looked at his watch. It was almost twelve. He had a meeting with Briggs and he couldn’t be late.
    He clicked off his computer and watched her file disappear into a cyber never—never land. He had to get Pepper O’Malley off his mind. The last thing he needed was a sexy computer geek with a great bod tangled up in his life.
    * * *
    He’s here. Coming closer to the table filled with sushi where I lay spread out like a topless mermaid on a giant half shell. I recognized his gruff voice.
    Seymour T. Briggs.
    My ex-boss.
    I drew in my breath and squinted through