He stared for a few more seconds. "Okay. I'll go get more bleach."
Louisa let out a huge breath as she watched his back disappear out of the lab. She needed someone to think this through with, and the only person she could think of was Six.
* * *
Six put the phone down and leaned back in his office chair. One of his old CIA contacts was eager to know when he might be able to call on Eagle for support, especially for more sensitive operations on US soil. The politics of navigating the CIA's growing powers to manage terrorism with the role of the FBI and local law enforcement aside, that was exactly the kind of work they wanted to get into, and Six had told his contact that they were willing and able to jump in. But today he had a class full of wannabe security guards who he needed to put through their paces. It was another one of Mac's ideas. Eagle Securities –certified guards, with the attendees paying a thousand bucks for a three-day training course. Gaz and Joel had spent the prior day with them, teaching modules on the basics-setting up, preplanning, how to conduct perimeter checks, etc. Today he would present modules on everything from tactical identification of threat to close combat and restraint. Friday was on Cabe.
He'd also had two interviews for new operators and a long to-do list that involved finding a reputable lawyer in Iraq, as contractors there were subject to Iraqi law. If they were going to do any kind of work for the CIA overseas, they'd need legal representation in most of the countries they operated in, just as backup. No point waiting until an op went to shit, or a brother was arrested on trumped-up charges. He'd started by reaching out to a friend of his in the Naval Special Warfare Development Group who'd ensured that kind of thing was in place for the SEAL teams in the past.
"Yo, Six," Buddha shouted as he walked into the training area. "There's a woman looking for you out front."
"On it. Thanks." He walked toward the reception area and pressed the green button at the side of the door to unlock it. With a shove, it opened, and there in the lobby was Louisa, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She was looking toward the floor as always, and he felt for her. Usually, he was drawn to people who oozed confidence, but his own issues were making him more sympathetic.
"Hey, Louisa. Are you okay?" he asked, walking toward her, waiting for her to look up at him. That moment when she'd made eye contact on their walk had been as powerful as anything he'd ever experienced, and because he realized she wouldn't do that for everybody, it felt special.
When she did, he saw a whole heap of worry and stress in the lines of her face. "Wait, no. Hey," he said, pulling her into his arms without thinking. "Come here." Her body leaned into his and her shoulder slid under his arm. She fit against him perfectly-though right now was the least appropriate time to think about that. Except, damn, he loved the feel of her body pressed up against his.
"I'm not upset," she practically snarled, but she wrapped her arms around his waist all the same. "I'm mad. And a lot confused."
Okay. They stood there for a moment in silence until he stepped back and took her hand. "Let's go to my office, and we can talk."
He buzzed them through the security door, not entirely sure why she'd come to him, but happy that she had nonetheless. Friday night had been a new experience, just hanging out and talking, and on Saturday, when he'd been out in a bar over on Coronado with a whole bunch of SEAL brothers, shooting shit, he'd found himself wondering what Lou was doing.
He offered her a seat and perched himself on the desk in front of her. Louisa sat for all of two seconds, then huffed and stood and started pacing back and forth in his office. She went to his bookshelf where he'd thrown all of his binders and books haphazardly, just happy to have them out of boxes, and started to organize them as she spoke.
"I have a problem, and I didn't know who to ask for help. I think something is going on at the lab," she said as she pulled the binders off one shelf and put them back onto another, grouping them by height and color. He'd have thought it was cute if what she'd just said hadn't been so damn serious. "I don't know what to do or whether I should go to the police."
"Knock, knock," Cabe said, poking his head around the door.
"Hey, Cabe. This is Louisa, the presenter from the fundraiser last Friday. Louisa, this is Cabe. He's the one I told you about on Friday." Six took note of the way Cabe's eyebrow raised at him, but Cabe was polite nonetheless.