Read Noble Intentions: Season Three for Free Online Page B

whatever means necessary. Her purpose in London was not
only to gather information on Naseer, but also his expansive network.
    Adding Jack to the equation would
only complicate her mission.
    She considered calling Sinclair and
having herself removed from the situation. Given the circumstances, it was
probably the best option. She decided against doing so. She had to find out why
Jack was in London, and why someone asked Naseer to look into him. She thought
it best not to make Sinclair aware of Jack’s presence until she knew why he was
there. She had a contact she could use who might know why and would keep her
query private.
    The trickiest part would be finding
Jack and alerting him without making him aware of her presence. If there was
one person who could ruin her cover she’d built with Naseer and his group, Jack
was the guy. That would set them back months, and in those months, anything
could happen.
    The thought sent a shiver down her
spine. God help the world if Naseer unleashes his vengeance , she
thought.
    She closed her eyes, inhaled,
exhaled, opened her eyes.
    “Get it together, girl,” she told
her reflection. “Stay focused. Naseer first, then Jack.”
    She cupped her hand, filled it with
water, splashed it on her face. She grabbed a light green towel, used it to dab
her eyes and cheeks. She opened the door, bracing herself for an inquisition
from Naseer in the event he overheard her talking to herself or noticed the
faint tear tracks on her cheeks.
    But the room was empty.
    Clarissa rushed past the table and
exited the dining room. The dining room sat between two halls. Naseer had
exited to the west. Clarissa used the door on the east.
    The winding hallway led past an
oversized living area equipped with three sixty inch flat panel televisions.
The men routinely watched soccer and squash and criquet in there. Clarissa
avoided the room as often as possible. Tonight the room was empty. She figured
that they were all meeting. Whatever Naseer had been called out for was
important. She hoped she’d find out more later, but up to this point, Naseer
had been reluctant to share information with her. All of the intelligence she’d
gathered had been through other methods.
    She continued down the hall until
she reached her room. She performed a quick scan looking for bugs. It had
become routine for her to do so. She didn’t find any. Hadn’t up to that point.
Either Naseer trusted her and didn’t plant them in her room, or he planted them
where she couldn’t find them. Clarissa had to assume the latter. She grabbed
her bag from the closet, set it on the bed, and then flipped it over. The bag
contained a false bottom which had come in handy on several occasions. In this
case, it contained a cell phone and scrambling device. Not even Sinclair knew
she had this phone.
    She connected the micro USB male
connector of the scrambler into her phone and waited for both devices to power
on. The phone’s contact list was empty and the call history was not saved. Should
the device ever be confiscated, they’d get nothing out of it. She dialed a
number from memory, one that Jack had given her years ago should something
happen to him or should she find herself in trouble and unable to reach him.
    On the third ring, a man answered.
“Who is this?”
    “Brandon?” Clarissa asked.
    “Depends,” he said.
    “It’s Clarissa. Jack’s friend.”
    “What do you want?”
    “I need to know if you know
anything about Jack’s whereabouts.”
    “Who is this again?”
    “Clarissa.”
    “Colonel Abbot’s daughter?”
    “Yeah.”
    A pause. Then, “I think if Jack
wanted you to know that, you’d already know.”
    “I’m concerned about him, Brandon.”
    “You are or the CIA is?”
    “ You would know if they
were. Don’t try to tell me otherwise. You’re more connected than anyone.”
    “You got a point,” he said. His
breath filled the earpiece and she imagined that he held the phone between his
cheek and his shoulder,