Sigma Division

Chapter 12

Quitting would be so easy.

As days went by Spicer made time more bearable by trying to act like a regular American. He got himself a new lamp and a coffee table from Pottery Barn. He was actually kind of surprised when he didn’t feel ecstatic afterwards. He knew there was a void in his life and furniture hadn’t filled it.

He tried playing it cool with Esther. On the one hand, he didn’t want to appear desperate for companionship, which he wasn’t, and on the other hand he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be in a relationship. People around him eventually became miserable and there was no sense inflicting this on others. Besides, she was busy with the upcoming elections.

So while he still deluded himself about his work being essential for the country, for the world, he’d been spending his evenings watching TV, drinking soda, and eating potato chips. The life out of the covert world had its disadvantage: the ordinary.

It was true that he was sick and tired of his old life but this new one looked just as bad. It was as if he had lived for so long at 100mph that slowing down just a little bit was like coming to a screeching halt.

Flipping through channels — hundreds of them and nothing worth watching — he decided to stick it out for a little bit longer.

In the morning, he flew out of Andrews again and went to Mississippi. Biloxi was known as the Playground of the South but it had lost a chunk of its population since Hurricane Katrina. The temperature was a muggy 75 but it was raining by the time the taxi dropped him and Ned off outside of a small supermarket.

“I can’t believe Google Earth was right. This can’t be it.”

For this part, Spicer looked at the address on his phone. It read 1276b. The civic number on the grocery store was 1276. The online research had been correct.

“Come on,” he said.

A few minutes later, the two CIA men were following the store manager up rickety stairs next to the dumpsters. The rain let up just enough for the stench to be fully appreciated.

“I’ve never seen the guy who rented this place,” the woman said. “I bought this store three months ago with my husband and the office was already leased for six months. I reckon there’s still two months to go.”

They stopped at a door labeled 1276b.

“Here you go, Stellar Oceans Corporation. Sounds impressive, don’t it?”

“That it?” Ned asked.

“More like an oversize closet than an office but I hear that’s their international headquarters.”

She chuckled and Spicer smiled politely.

“Okay, thank you. We’ll handle it from here on end.”

The woman hesitated. All she knew was that these men were with the FBI. They had badges and everything. One thing you learned down south was to respect authority and don’t ask questions. She looked at the men, still perplexed, but eventually retreated downstairs.

When he was sure that she was out of sight, Spicer pulled out lock-picking instruments from inside his blazer. He went to work on the door and within 20 seconds it was unlocked. He pushed on the door and it creaked open.

Ned produced a flashlight and they went in. Spicer wished he was armed and held his breath as he followed the beam of light around the small room. The place was completely empty, a single dusty room with peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet. Spicer felt the wall for a light switch and turned on the naked bulb on the ceiling.

“Jesus,” Ned whispered. “This place is the size of my dick.”

“That small, uh?”

The younger man made a jerk-off gesture with his hand which made Spicer grin. Still, he couldn’t deny the truth, it was tiny. There wasn’t even a chair.

Then, Ned kneeled in the corner as he found an old 1500 telephone, a touch tone model. There was a faded label indicating the phone number.

“At least there’s a phone.” Ned put the receiver to his ear. “Works too.”

Spicer pulled out his own phone and dialed the number on the label. The loud bell began to ring instantly.

“Want me to take a message?” his partner asked with a wink.

Spicer ignored him while he paced around the room, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, voicemail kicked in. The voice was obviously computer-generated.

“You have reached Stellar Oceans Corporation. It is presently impossible to take this call. Please leave a message after the tone.”

The beep manifested itself. Spicer and Ned stared at each other in silence while the former assassin thought about his options. Then he audibly cleared his throat so it would be recorded and hung up.

“Now the game begins.”

Ned stared at the fishing-themed slot machine and pulled the lever. The wheels spun madly for a few seconds before settling on a couple of treasures, a couple of starfish, and a mermaid. He won nothing.

The Margaritaville Casino was neither man’s first choice to wait things out but the ambience was better than your average fast food joint. Spicer was leaning against another machine while sipping a rum punch, all in an effort to get into the spirit of things.

Ned lost a fifth dollar in a row on his next play and he glanced at his partner over his shoulder, a dubious frown on his face. “You know, I think you’re bringing me bad luck. I’m usually very lucky at this.”

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re a millionaire.”

“Shut up.”

He closed his eyes and did a few deep breathing exercises, his hands clutched together in prayer.

“Please, baby. Be the second honeymoon my wife’s been nagging me about. Please, please, please.”

He blew a kiss to the machine and hit the Max Bet button. He won three coins back.

“You’re definitely not my lucky charm, man.”

He bet more money and this time pulled the lever.

“There’s a trick so you don’t lose, you know,” Spicer said.

Ned twisted back toward him, very interested. “Really?”

“Yeah, stay out of casinos.”

This time the wager was entirely lost. All Ned’s credits were gone and he decided it was enough. He missed the good old days when there were coins and plastic buckets; they were useful to throw away in frustration. Instead he guided his frustration on his partner.

“I think I know what your problem is.”

“What’s that?” Spicer asked.

“You like gambling. You love gambling! Only you don’t do it in casinos, you do it with your career.”

“Maybe.”

“Every day we’re learning stuff we were never meant to know. That puts us on the fast track to unemployment.”

“Prison too.”

“Yeah, well I can’t risk that. I got a family, I got a career in the Navy I’d like to get back to. Fucked if I’m gonna lose either of them.”

Spicer had enough of the banter. “Don’t you find it odd that two people who most likely don’t know each other would try to denounce the project, on the same day? Don’t you find it even weirder that Houseman is treating this like it’s the worst thing since the Cuban missile crisis? Something’s definitely not right here.”

“Look, I know that at your age you stop giving a shit about everything and that you don’t care how this affects your life. But I do, okay? I’m too young to jeopardize it all. It’s just too much to risk, man.”

He stared at his boss for long seconds, almost apologetically, and then walked away. Spicer was about to go after him when he decided to give them some space.

As he calmly returned to sipping his drink, he noticed a little old lady playing a machine by herself a few yards away. Most astonishing was the credit count display. Even though it was a penny machine she had to be up several hundreds of dollars. He went to her.

“Excuse me?”

She looked up and smiled broadly, displaying her lack of dentures and excitement at having a younger man addressing her.

“Yes?”

“I couldn’t help noticing you’re doing well. I was wondering what your secret is.”

She smiled even broader and motioned for him to come closer. She whispered, “I confuse the machine.”

“You confuse the machine. How do you do that?”

She looked left and right to make sure nobody was within earshot. “I start with three bets, then the next game I put two. The next one I put three again but on the next I put only one penny. Sometimes, I pretend I’m gonna put two when in fact I just punch one bet in.”

She grinned at her evil genius and tapped her temple to show how smart she was. For the hell of it, Spicer tried the method but the only thing he managed to achieve was lose $20.

Then again, maybe it influenced his luck because his big break was about to happen.