“Thanks, Mr. Woolrich. But as I explained to Salzman, once our deal was done, I wanted to go back to working for myself.”

“Salzman,” said Woolrich slowly, drawing the name out. “You see, that’s the development. He’s disappeared. And so has the box.”

Giselle put a hand over her mouth. Coop took the phone from his mouth whispering, “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.” When he calmed down, he brought the phone back up again. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Cooper.”

Quietly, Coop said, “I’m really sorry to hear that, but I’m not sure what it has to do with me.”

“A lot, I’m afraid. You see, since he’s missing with a key piece of DOPS property, he’s officially a criminal suspect. As such, any recent deals he might have made are null and void.”

Now it was Giselle’s turn to whisper, “Fuckingfuck.”

Coop took a breath. “Fuck.”

“Indeed. We’re all a bit fucked right now.”

“Are you saying that I’m still working for the DOPS whether I like it or not?”

“Right again.”

“Meaning I go back to jail if I don’t.”

“I’m afraid so. That’s why I was asking if you wanted a real position here. That way we can get past all these silly threats.”

“I hope you understand, this is a little early in the day for this kind of thing for me. Can I call you back later?”

“Of course. Take your time. It’s only the future of the world at stake,” said Woolrich. “I notice that Agent Petersen isn’t at her desk yet. If you should happen to see her”—he cleared his throat—“let her know when you’re coming in and we’ll have a more formal chat then.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“See you soon,” said Woolrich, and the line went dead.

Giselle sat on the bed and pulled on her stockings. “So Salzman is gone. And my boss knows I spent the night with a career crook. And I don’t have time for coffee. Great morning so far.”

“For what’s it worth, I don’t think he cared. About you being here, I mean. He sounded a lot more pissed off about Salzman.”

Giselle buttoned her shirt and said, “What are you going to do?”

“First off, I’m going to point out to you that that’s my shirt you’re wearing,” said Coop.

Giselle rolled her eyes and unbuttoned it.

He smiled. “I don’t mind you wearing it. Or taking it off. I like both, but wearing it might be a bit of a giveaway at work.”

Giselle tossed Coop his shirt, found hers, buttoned it, and grabbed her shoes. She balanced with one hand on Coop’s shoulder, pulling on one, then the other. “How do I look?” she said.

“Immensely fuckable,” said Coop.

She pushed past him. “You’re useless, jailbird.”