Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones by Andy Straka Page B

and shower. His watch read six a.m. and Raina’s apartment was just across the complex. Was it too early to call? He unplugged his mobile phone from the wall where at least he’d remember to charge it the night before, scrolled to her number and punched the button.
    She answered before the second ring.
    “Hey.”
    “Good morning, Sergeant,” she said with a hint of mocking familiarity. “How’d you sleep?”
    “We need to talk.”
    “I know. Big day ahead.”
    “No. I mean we need to talk about what we’re doing before this whole thing goes any further.”
    “Oh.” She seemed surprised. “All right. Is something wrong?”
    “Yes. And I need to talk to you about it in person.”
    “Okay.” She hesitated. “You eaten yet?”
    “Nope.”
    “Why don’t you come on over? The coffee’s on and I’ll throw together some scrambled eggs and toast.”
    “Thanks. I’ll jump in the shower and throw on some clothes.”
    As the hot water revived him he thought about everything that could go wrong tonight at the fraternity.
    Derek Kurn might already be wise to their plan. Maybe the kid was smarter than his old man gave him credit for. Tye figured he could pass himself off well enough as just another student–after all, that’s what he still was–but when the time came to confront the younger Kurn with his crime he’d be relying on Raina’s mobile spy video to give him an edge. Take it away and the risk of something going south would be greatly amplified.
    He knew he could handle himself in a fight, but Tye had no training as a detective or law enforcement officer. The bottom line was if he and Raina were going to pull this off they needed one another.
    Meeting him at the door minutes later, Raina looked concerned.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Not really”
    “Come on in. Eggs are ready.”
    He followed her inside and they sat once again at her kitchen table, this time eating and drinking coffee in silence.
    “All right,” she said after a couple of minutes. “I think I know what’s eating at you. This is about yesterday morning, isn’t it?”
    He considered his words carefully before speaking. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. “You’re lying to me.”
    She looked back at him for several moments before nodding. “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”
    “What’s going on?” He cupped his hands against his chin and leaned his elbows against the table.
    “Listen.” Raina looked around. “Come into the bathroom.”
    “What?”
    She made a circular motion with her fingers, indicating he should say no more, and pushed away from the table. This was growing stranger by the moment.
    Once they were both inside the small bathroom, Raina stuffed a towel into the crack in the door. He also noticed there was water in both the sink and the bathtub with the drain plugs closed.
    Raina sat down on the edge of the tub. “I swept this room before you got here. We should be able to talk without being heard.”
    “Are you saying we’ve been bugged?”
    “I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chance. Some important people are on to at least some of what we’re doing against Kurn with Major Williamson.”
    This was not good news, not good at all.
    “What kind of important people?”
    “Homeland Security.”
    “What? Are you sure?”
    She nodded. “I’ve been talking with them.”
    “Homeland? You’ve been talking to Homeland? And you didn’t think you needed to share any of this with me?”
    “I know. I’m sorry. But trust me, it didn’t start out by choice.”
    Tye thought back to the torn label he’d found yesterday between her couch cushions.
    “They drugged you,” he said.
    She looked at the floor and nodded again.
    “You sure these people are from Homeland?”
    Her eyes turned to meet his gaze. “That’s what they said, and from what I’ve seen so far, they’ve got all the resources and tools to back it up.”
    Tye took a deep breath. If their activities were running afoul of