Cloud Invasion: R-D 2 (R-D #2)(8)

"Yeah, I see it, all right," I mumbled before cutting into my tomato and cheese omelet. Auggie pulled a bowl from the cabinet and dipped beef stew out of the slow cooker.

"I can rough him up," Rafe offered.

"No. That's not a good idea," I said. "I just think Auggie needs to talk with Marcus and let him know that in his line of work, it's the quality and not the speed of recovery that matters."

"What should I say about his grasping for a higher position?"

"Tell him how long it took to get where you are, and you didn't do it by cutting corners or trying to impress people. You worked to get the job done right," I pointed out.

Auggie stared at me for a moment before shaking his head and pulling crackers from a sleeve Rafe placed in front of him. The paper crackled as he extracted six crackers and set them beside his bowl while he considered what to say.

"I should have known you can see that stuff," Auggie said. "I always did that because it was the right thing to do and not because of what anybody else thought or said."

"And that's why I love you," I said. "Not like Laci does-but as a good friend."

"Cori, she knows that. She said it was stupid of her to even consider you any kind of rival."

"I know." I hunched my shoulders. It had taken her more than six years to realize I wasn't competing for her husband. I'm sure she thought I took up too much of his time, but that couldn't be helped. He liked his work and I'd done my best to take as little of his time as possible.

There wasn't anything I could do about the hours of research and investigation he did when he wasn't herding me around. Now, he was Secretary of Defense and Director of the Program. That only complicated his life further, in my estimation. Auggie was a workaholic; that was a well-known fact.

Laci still hadn't realized that it didn't mean he didn't love her, or intended to ignore her. It was just the way he was made. Where he needed to improve, I think, was the quality of the time he spent with his wife.

That was his business, though, and none of mine. I sighed again at life's complexities. "When will the pool be filled?" I asked, changing subjects.

"In three weeks. I'll have James keep you informed. The water is piped up the mountain, and the pipes are small, because they were installed more than half a century ago. It'll take time," he shrugged.

"Is the water source protected?" Rafe asked.

"As much as it can be. Nobody wants another Montana."

"Or another Georgia," I said. "At least those directly responsible are dead. We just don't need somebody stepping into their shoes."

"On another note," Auggie said, "Madam President wants secret feeds of some of her meetings to come to you, Cori, so you can tell her if anyone at the meeting needs to be watched."

I knew what he didn't say-the President wanted to know if any of them needed to be dead, too. She expected me to take care of it, if the case were severe enough. I'm sure she expected to be informed if any of them wore an apparatus like Hal's clone did. She thought someone else would have to be sent after those.

That remained to be seen.

"She isn't worried that I might hear sensitive information?"

Auggie snorted at my question. After a moment, I could see his point. I could see just about anything I wanted to know by looking at someone. The only one I couldn't see-or find-was the enemy.

"Do you suppose there are clones of Mary Evans?" I asked. That also weighed on my mind, and I was very worried that the answer was yes. She was too good at what she did for the enemy; I couldn't imagine that he'd let her be caught so easily if he didn't have a replacement for her.

"Why do you ask? And that sent a chill up my spine, just so you know," Auggie said.

"Well, look at it this way-all those Becker clones? They were smarter and more determined than the original ever was. What if it's the same with the Mary Evans clones? That they're better than the original?"

"Fuck." Auggie buried his face in his hands. "We've had a report. I didn't know whether to take it seriously or not," he said.

"Now it's my turn to say f*ck," I grumbled. "There's another one out there already, probably reassuring the enemy's clients that all is well in murder and mayhem land."

"Do you think he could be funding the Iraqi insurgency?" Auggie asked, letting his hands drop. His dark eyes reflected his concern.

"I wouldn't be surprised," I said. "What's the latest estimate? Half a billion? A billion, maybe, pumped into that organization? That money has to come from somewhere. It may be funneled through other sources, but it could ultimately come from a single source. Where was the sighting of the Mary clone?"

"Greece, near the Bulgarian border."

I felt Rafe tense beside me, but he didn't say anything. Baikov likely figured in this somewhere, and Mary Evans' clone had probably arranged a meeting there. "What do you suppose Baikov is cooking up?" I asked Auggie.

"No idea. It makes me wonder what he's trading for what he's getting," Auggie said.

Rafe snorted; it wasn't a happy sound. "Does that mean that the Russian crown jewels are next? Or something better?" Auggie turned his attention on Rafe.