-myfamilypies- Emma Hix - Secret Agent Step Dad... Today

She almost smiled. Then she vanished into the gray Vienna rain, a fake drive in her boot, a real one in her heart, and the strangest, most dangerous ally she’d ever known covering her escape.

“Gentlemen. Let’s talk about your retirement plans.” -MyFamilyPies- Emma Hix - Secret Agent Step Dad...

“This one has the real schematics,” he said. “The one in your boot is a decoy laced with a location tracker. Give Control the fake. Let him run. Take this one to the man who sells falafel at the corner of Dizengoff and Ben Yehuda in Tel Aviv. Tell him ‘the accountant sends his regards.’ He’ll get it to the right people. The people who won’t sell it to a dozen different armies.” She almost smiled

“I can’t,” Emma whispered back. “He’s not here for the drive. He’s here for me.” Let’s talk about your retirement plans

But the lobby doors downstairs clattered open.

Through the rain-streaked window, she saw him. Tall, still in the charcoal suit he’d worn to the “family dinner” three nights ago, his dark hair peppered with silver. Mark Hix. Her stepfather of six years. And, according to the file Control had flashed on her screen six months ago, a deep-cover asset for a rogue intelligence collective known as The Syndicate.

Mark stepped past her, drawing a silenced pistol from his waistband. He gestured toward the fire escape at the end of the hall.