Mina Cortez: From Bouquets to Bullets by Jeffrey Cook

type,
though, she was pretty sure Agent Hall was it. Tall, dark, just a
little rugged. Maybe four or five years older than she was. Mina
felt a slight heat, her cheeks coloring, and tried to bring herself
back to the seriousness of the situation. Thankfully, or
unfortunately, the Director's stern gaze did wonders for dragging
her back to the moment.
    “Now, the initial test is done, and my comm
just told me the Deputy Mayor has arrived to meet our newest agent.
I'm sure she'll be happy to take the rest of your questions,” she
told Mina. Left unsaid, but clear, nonetheless, was anything about
exactly how unhappy the Director was to be being pulled away from
her workload to answer rookie questions at all. “Agent Park, can
you show Agent Cortez to the meeting room and help her get
acclimated?”
    Agent Park—the older man, as she'd
guessed—quickly agreed, much as Mina found herself wishing it was
Agent Hall helping her get acclimated. Even so, she was hating this
less and less by the moment.
     

 
    Chapter
Seven
     
    “So these are the Seattle FBI offices? Quite
a drive from the Bellevue chipping center,” Mina remarked during
the short tour of the building she'd awoken in. It was going much
better than the previous conversation.
    Agent Park nodded. “Your doctors and nurses
were cleared to handle the sensitive information chips. Once you
were safe to move, the nurses got you dressed and loaded into a
refitted police transport truck, sort of half-ambulance.”
    It was nice to get reasonably sensible
answers to her initial questions. “And it's okay to just go
anywhere in this place?”
    “Technically, yes. Don't let any of the FBI
staff get too used to you, though. Agents, civilians, anybody.
Except, obviously, Director Richter. Her day job is here.”
    “That's probably convenient for her,
right?”
    “Yes. It lets her monitor federal
investigations, stuff that connects to the bigger job.”
    “And you? And, um, Agent Hall?” She told
herself not to blush.
    “Police detectives,” he said, not letting on
if he noticed the blushing or not as they walked to a particularly
quiet part of the building. “This bit here is our corner, for when
we all actually do have to meet in person. Director Richter's
office, a couple of typically empty meeting rooms, and a temp
office for the Deputy Mayor, 'just to coordinate with various
authorities for the city's Security Commission,' you know.” The
older man's tone grew lighter and drier as he pointed out the
appropriate doors.
    Mina recognized the tone as referencing an
apparent cover story. She was clearly going to have to get used to
a lot of those. “So what about the part of that I don't know?” Mina
asked.
    “More of a question for Miss Lasko herself,”
Agent Park said, smiling. “Now, the next part of the rundown. I
want you to think of St. Joshua's medical clinic.”
    At the request, Mina picked up on that hint
of aluminum that she was beginning to associate with her chip
kicking in. The name of the clinic triggered five different routes
to get there, along with the uses of each route. One was fastest.
Another let her avoid cameras. One was only accessible by foot or
bicycle at several points. Eventually, it settled on a combination
of the address, and knowledge of precisely whom to talk to and what
to say to be allowed into the elevator to the basement.
    “Training facilities for tomorrow are in the
clinic basement. It's one of several safehouses we've got available
to us in the city.” Park continued outlining the usual plan for
getting her to such places. She'd get a call for delivery to any of
a number of locations at the far end of the usual 'biking range,'
or a series of closer deliveries. Either way would justify a couple
of hours. Her tracking comm implant had already been rigged so that
she could appear to be anywhere she wanted within the region,
should her parents check up on her progress, or if Miko were
looking for her.
    “Fortunately, the