Louisa pulled on her lab coat and hurried back inside her lab. She unlocked the refrigerator and made a show of looking at all the samples in there with Ivan, just in case Vasilii had been lying about the cameras not working. The failed sample was still there, tucked away at the back of one of the lower shelves. With security and bag search on the way out of the building, she couldn't exactly smuggle it out. Plus, she didn't have the means to dispose of it at home. She had to trust that nobody would realize what it was until she came back into the office after the weekend.
By then, she would have a plan.
* * *
"In two weeks, we're going to be so busy we won't know which side is up," Cabe said over the loud music as he threw a twenty-kilo slam ball against the wall of his cousin's gym in the Gaslamp district. The neighborhood would be the perfect spot for dinner after their end-of-week workout before he headed home for a quiet evening. Cabe had been threatening a big night, and Six was at risk of caving. He could always crash at Cabe's for the night, but really, he just wanted to head home after a few drinks feeling pleasantly relaxed.
They'd decided to leave the office and head downtown, meet up with Cabe's brother, Noah, a sergeant with the major case squad of the San Diego Police Department, who was busy flirting with a young woman while he assisted her pull-ups. Two inches higher and the guy would be gripping her ass, but he couldn't blame Noah. It was a cute one. He wondered if Louisa worked out. A gym like this would probably be hell for her.
He looked around. There were people everywhere, some there to work hard, some there to try to look good while they got a workout in. She would struggle with the volume of people she'd have to avoid.
"You going to throw that ball or just stand there like a goldfish," Cabe said, throwing the towel he'd just wiped his face on straight at Six.
"Fuck you," he said good-naturedly, tossing it back. Six shook his head to clear it. Nothing good was going to come from his keeping thinking about Lou, despite the fact he'd pulled his phone out several times to text her, call her maybe. If he was honest, it was part of the reason he was at the gym at seven on a Friday night instead of getting ready to meet up with friends for beers. "Sorry, man. Miles away. It's good it's gonna ramp up. I had a look at those financials you sent over. Hadn't realized our monthly outgoings were going to be quite so high, and there is still a ton to do with the building." He lifted the ball, turned sideways, then pivoted to throw the ball against the wall, catching it without moving his feet when it bounced back toward him. One down, nineteen to go. He felt the tightening through his abs and obliques.
"There are five major jobs next month. We need to talk about who is taking which one. Was thinking I'll do the training of the aid-route security down in Sierra Leone. I've been home longest. And that is pretty much all of September. I'll take two guys with me. That will leave you, Mac, and three guys to tackle the other four. Plus, all the fill-in work of security."
Six finished the set and changed sides. "If that works for you, it works for me. While we're building up, we should keep the security guard training side of the business going. Offer courses during the down weeks, take on one-off security engagements. Build some cash." He threw the ball and began his twenty-rep set on his left side as Cabe followed suit and finished off the exercise.
Without discussion, they moved over to the pull-up stations. "Race you to fifty," Six said, jumping up quickly.
"Asshole." Cabe laughed and joined him. They'd egged each other on since those early days in boot camp. When he'd received his SEAL pin two years later, he owed it as much to Cabe and Mac as he did to the million dollars the US Navy had invested in him.
Noah wandered back over to them. "You know you guys are in your thirties now, right?"
Six finished first. He always did. Pull-ups had always been Cabe's nemesis, which was weird given how fit the guy was. Didn't stop the guy trying though.
"How are things with you, Noah?" Six asked as he dropped to the floor. He opened his water bottle and took a large gulp of cool water.
"Still waiting for an opening in homicide," he replied, and lowered to the ground. Push-ups. Noah started counting, and Six joined him.
"Don't listen to him," Cabe said. He wrapped his towel around his neck. "He's like a freaking all-star and hasn't even hit ten years' service yet."
"You could leave, come join us," Six said, only sort of joking. Someone with great detective skills would be an asset. He shifted to his back for crunches.
Noah laughed. "Yeah. Can't see myself doing that anytime soon. I found my home with the force. Now I just got to wait my time for a position in the department I want most. Special Investigations is pretty varied, and I get to work with the feebs which is always a barrel of laughs."