As the world around her came into focus again, she noticed the crowd had scattered, and she was left standing with her pistol aimed at an Asian man who stood less than ten feet from the woman Punky had come to see. Dr. Tan Lily and a male colleague remained frozen in place as if any attempt to move on their part would result in certain violence. But from who, they weren’t certain, as both looked back and forth between Punky and the man standing in her crosshairs.

“Do it slowly,” she said. Her voice had developed a slight tremor.

His movement was so slow, she almost missed him removing his hand from his breast pocket. His fingers were wrapped around a black billfold that he allowed to fall open, exposing a set of credentials that were too far away for Punky to make out.

What the…

She looked from the billfold up to his face and saw a sardonic smirk crack his otherwise stoic expression, but she wasn’t quite ready to back down. “Don’t move.”

“I’m not.”

She took several steps closer, rolling her Under Armour Strikefast boots silently across the ground, but kept her pistol and gaze leveled on the stranger. He appeared at ease — despite the gaping maw of a .40 S&W pointed at his chest — and she struggled to make sense of him. He had not exhibited any of the classic predictors of violence, like facial grooming, hard looks, or a definitive weight shift, but he was still an unknown variable.

When she was within arm’s reach, she turned her body slightly and shielded her pistol as she reached out with her other hand to snatch the billfold from his grasp. He raised his eyebrows with amusement but waited for her to satisfy her curiosity before saying anything further.

With the billfold in her hand, Punky shuffled back a step before risking a glance.

Shit.

Her shoulders drooped as she read the words “Central Intelligence Agency” above a declaration that the bearer was an accredited representative of the United States government engaged in official business. His photograph, signature, and the crest of the Central Intelligence Agency spanned the bottom. Punky reluctantly lowered her pistol.

“I’m a good guy too,” he said, his smirk widening into a mirthful grin.

Punky holstered her pistol, then pulled back the left side of her blazer to reveal the gold Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent badge clipped to her belt. “Special Agent King,” she said. “NCIS.”

“Jax Woods,” the man said. “You already know who I’m with.”

“What are you doing here?” Punky asked.

Jax turned to look at Tan Lily and her colleague. Both appeared completely stunned that a federal agent and Agency officer had descended onto their quiet campus. He turned back to Punky. “I came to see her,” he said. “Why are you here?”

For the first time since seeing Jax step out of the Audi sedan, Punky looked away from him and studied Dr. Tan Lily. She was a petite woman with a naturally athletic figure and looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties with intensely focused eyes. “Maybe we should go somewhere with a bit more privacy,” Punky suggested.

Jax nodded. “I agree.”

“Excuse me,” Tan Lily said. “Can one of you please tell me what is going on?”

Her male colleague stepped forward and partially blocked Tan Lily as if trying to protect her from them. “I think you owe us some answers,” he said, suddenly more confident with taking charge of the situation.

Punky glanced at the Medical Teaching Facility. “Do you have an office where we can speak in private?”

Her colleague answered for her. “We’re not going anywhere with you until we have some answers.”

“We’re not asking you to go anywhere with us,” Jax said, then nodded at Tan Lily. “We came to speak with her.”

But she folded her arms across her chest. “He’s right. I need to know what’s going on. Right here. Right now. Or I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Jax and Punky traded glances, and she gestured for him to take the lead.

“Ma’am, I work for the Central Intelligence Agency,” he said. Punky thought she saw a nervous look shimmer across the doctor’s face, then disappear as quickly as it had come. “One of our officers has gone missing, and we believe your husband is somehow connected.”

Her husband?

9

Punky closed the door and sat in one of the two chairs across from Dr. Tan Lily. The CIA officer sat with his legs crossed in the other, and he watched her with veiled amusement. His eyes sparkled as she took her seat, then turned to face the doctor, who leaned forward and rested her forearms on the desk between them.

“I know why he’s here,” she said with a nod at Jax. “Now, why are you here?”

Jax turned and studied Punky, and she couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. His Asian features made him seem somewhat exotic, but she focused on the doctor instead. She was more certain than ever that the doctor was whom SUBLIME had referred to in the intercepted messages. But she wasn’t sure how Jax Woods or the CIA factored in.

“I’m curious about that too,” Jax said.