Lady Death

fresh air, and we’ll resume when you get back.”
Raven nodded.
“Tanya,” Wilson said, “what will happen with Operation Triangle now?”
“They won’t stop it,” she said. “We always planned for these contingencies. Any cells in the field won’t know about the command structure change until they need to.”
“They work independently?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I gotta get back to Langley. You two take it easy.”
Wilson scooped up the laptop and left the room. The uniformed guard returned.
Tanya rose. “I need to lay down.”
“Good idea.”
Raven followed her out of the room. The guard escorted both back to their quarters.
Raven steered the compact Chevrolet along a winding road. Wilson promised they’d hook up with Highway 29, which would take them to Arlington, the nearest city to the black site.
He gave them a six-hour pass. “I’d like it better if you’re back in five hours,” he’d added.
“What would you like to do?” he asked as he drove.
They hadn’t said much since leaving the facility. After last night, Tanya didn’t seem in the mood to talk.
“I want to go bowling,” she said.
Raven frowned. “Really?”
“I haven’t been in so long. I used to go once a week. It’s one of the many things I gave up when I—you know.”
“Check on your phone.”
She pulled a new cell phone from her purse. Wilson had not let them have their own phones back, but instead issued what they carried. They were supposed to keep the phones on them. Tracking software would enable agents to locate them in an emergency. The phones had a one-touch feature to send an SOS should the need arise.
Wilson at least let Raven has his pistol. He wore it under his jacket.
The GPS in her phone directed them to Round 1 Bowling & Amusement on Cooper Street. Between the number of miles they had to cover and traffic, it took forever to arrive. The Chevy wasn’t the most comfortable car in the world. The seat was too hard, the suspension too tight. Every bump jolted through the floor. Why couldn’t the US government spring for a BMW?
The bowling center greeted them with noise and flashing video screens. At midday, most lanes were empty, but a few players tossed balls along the polished lanes. The thunder of each strike echoed.
The café and sports bar caught Tanya’s attention first. She told Raven she wanted to eat something greasy first. They sat at a high table and ate decent pizza with extra pepperoni. A large video screen dominated the back wall. The leather couches in front of the screen matched the black-and-tan wood floor but looked unpleasant for sitting. The seats and backrests were at perfect 90-degree angles. Raven supposed the point wasn’t to let people sit for too long.
Raven found the most amusement in a karaoke booth adjacent to the bowling lanes. A sign on the clear glass said the max capacity of the booth was eleven. Raven didn’t like the idea of “private” karaoke. What was the point of singing your heart out, off key, drunk, and making a fool of yourself, if you weren’t in an open bar with dozens of strangers staring at you?
But the pizza was good, the pepperoni spicy and the cheese gooey. They put leftover slices in a takeaway box. Raven paid for a lane and grimaced while slipping on the ridiculous bowling shoes. They could spray all the Lysol in existence into the shoes, and Raven would still burn his socks after. Tanya relished the process. She ran to get a ball before Raven finished tying the shoelaces. Raven selected a heavy red ball and joined her at the lane.
She had their names typed in, taking first position, of course, as he dropped his ball on the carrier.
“I’ve won trophies before, you know,” he advised.
She hefted her ball with confidence. “Really?”
“When I was ten years old. I didn’t like other sports, so my mother dragged me to bowling lessons. I had three strikes during the ‘Manic Monday’ tournament.”
“You must be proud.”
He grinned. “I’m going to wipe the floor with you.”
She smiled back. “We’ll see.”
She brushed past him to take her position. Raven watched with his hands on his hips. For the moment he wanted to forget the circumstances of their meeting, what made her who she was, what made him who he was, and enjoy their time together.
But he couldn’t help glancing around, looking for danger.
He’d lived too long in the shadows not to.

17
She was gone.
Halfway through the first game Tanya excused herself to use the restroom. Raven bowled his turn and sat to wait. Five minutes became ten. Ten became fifteen. Raven went to the desk. He asked the woman there to check on Tanya. “I’m afraid she might be sick.” He followed the woman to the ladies’ restroom, waited outside while she went in. The woman emerged shaking her head.
She held a cell phone in her hand.
“Where did you find that?” he asked.
“It was on the counter. I’ll put it in lost and found.”
It was Tanya’s phone. The one Clark Wilson had handed her.
“It’s my lady friend’s phone.”
She handed it to him.
“Any windows in the restroom?”
“No,” she said.
Raven described Tanya. “Did you see anybody leave?”
“Our guests come and go all the time, I wasn’t watching.”
“This isn’t good,” Raven said. The woman appeared concerned, but also powerless. She stared at Raven a moment.
“I need to check out,” he said, “and find her.”
Raven went back to the lane, grabbed her purse, which she’d also left behind, paid the bill, and put his shoes on. He paused a moment. Tanya was still wearing her bowling shoes.
He had no idea what he was going to tell Clark.
He had to find her.
Jumping into the Chevy, Raven drove up and down each side of the block. He extended the search pattern to cover the two blocks before and after the bowling center. Tanya had to be on foot. He didn’t see any bus stops. He also didn’t see Tanya. No sign of her whatsoever.
He drove around some more, driving slow to the annoyance of other drivers. No Tanya.
He