We stopped at a large door, a red and white striped banner stretching across the middle, along with a half dozen warning signs. Trex held his badge against the black square on the wall, frowning when it blinked red. A second later, a single, low-toned horn sounded.

We both took a step back, a small screen near the badge reader lit up, revealing a group of armed men.

“Back away, Trexler,” one of them said through a speaker. “You’re unauthorized for this area.”

“Oh. This is Deep Echo? It’s uh…not that deep,” Trex said.

“I’ve experienced deeper,” I added.

Trex and the man started to get into a pissing match, so I tugged on Trex’s vest.

“Let’s go. We’ll discuss it with Bianca.”

Trex followed me back the way we came, and it took a few minutes for either of us to speak, a positive because I had a feeling we were still being watched. After the air around us returned to normal, I felt the grip on my rifle loosen. “What the hell was that? Deep Echo?”

“I don’t know. Above my pay grade, apparently. You want to grab a beer after work?”

I shrugged. “I kind of just want to change into some sweats and veg out in front of the television.”

“I have a TV.”

I looked at him with a pained expression. “Are you asking me to your hotel room, boss?”

His face screwed into disgust. “Why do you say that shit to me, Nomes? You know I hate it.”

“Because you hate it,” I said, popping a piece of gum into my mouth and chomping. He hated that too.

We returned to the locker room, unpacked, and debriefed. My phone buzzed, my cousin Spenser’s silly face filling the screen. I tapped the auto-answer that I’d call her in a bit and said goodbye to my team.

Hey, I texted her when I got into the FJ.

I’m coming in a couple of weeks. Do you have room? Spenser typed back.

Yeah. Of course. What will you do while I’m at work?

The usual.

Prostitution, gambling, and maybe rob a bank or two?

That place you work at is top security, right? Maybe I’ll take a crack at it.

Not funny.

:) See you in a few.

K. See you soon.