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freelance stuff.”
    She decided to press. “What kind of freelance stuff?”
    “Odd jobs. It’s pretty slow most of the time.”
    Hannah was tired of dancing around the subject. She decided
to ask him outright. “Are you a 'freelance' drug dealer?”
    “No,” he said, sounding relieved and trying not to laugh,
“I’m not a drug dealer. Did you think that this whole time?”
    “I dunno, I guess not, I hadn't really thought about it
until now. I just think you're really sexy.”
    "I do freelance corporate consulting, I specialize in
acquisitions and logistics." He said with a smile. Not a complete lie.
    He held her tighter. Hannah snuggled herself closer to him,
satisfied by his vague but impressive-sounding answer.
    Together they drifted off to sleep.

 
    FIVE
    Back to Work
     
    Brody woke up in a slight panic. How long had he been out?
He looked around the room for a clock but there didn’t seem to be one in view
from the bed. Hannah stirred next to him.
    “What’s the matter?” She said sleepily.
    “What time is it?”
    Hannah reached for her phone on the table next to the bed.
“It’s almost one.”
    “Shit,” Brody got out of bed and searched for his clothes.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” he said. “I just had a bunch of stuff to do
today.” Brody dressed quickly. “Sorry to leave like this. But I really do have
to go.”
    “It’s okay. I’ve been putting off work a little myself.”
    Brody finished dressing and came back to the bed. He leaned
forward and gave her a long, deep kiss. “I want to see you again. Soon.”
    Hannah nodded to him. Brody gave her one more kiss and then
headed out the door.
    Brody picked up a coffee on the way back to his car. The
caffeine withdrawal was finally starting to hit him. The day was already half
gone and he hadn’t done shit yet.
    If what Sergei had said was true, this project would take
him every minute of his available time to pull off. Brody just hoped that
losing half this day wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass on the back end.
    When Brody got back to his car he headed straight for the
address that Sergei had given him. It was a big place out in The Canyons, set
off behind a gate. The house had all the hallmarks of a paranoid criminal
living beyond his means: first rate security, second rate landscaping, and a
couple hired thugs hanging out near the gate.
    Was this guy really important enough to need guys protecting
his gate? They weren’t doing much besides smoking and lounging around right
now, but they were surely armed. Well, stealing it from his garage was out of
the question. He’d always known it wouldn’t be that easy though.
    Brody continued driving away from the spot. He probably
could have parked right across the street without the so-called guards
noticing, but he didn’t want to wind up all over the security cameras.
    Around the bend there was a nice nook where he could park
while avoiding any notice or raising suspicion. He got out of his car and
walked back toward the elbow of the road. There he found a nice hiding spot
among the leafy bushes along the side of the road. Now to wait to see if the
target would make a move.
    The hours passed by as he sat in the shady spot. It was a
pleasant enough day, thankfully. Could have been a lot worse. As he waited, his
mind began to wander. He started to think about Hannah.
    He drew a picture in his head of who she was, where she had
come from, where she wanted to go. He imagined them together. Not in a sexual
way--well, maybe a little sex was involved--but more as a couple. He thought
about what it would be like to spend time together during a quiet night at
home, where they would eat dinner together, what movie they would pick to watch
from the comfort of his couch.
    But it wasn’t all positive thinking. There would be
consequences if they started to see each other. He’d been only semi-honest with
her before. He wasn’t a drug dealer. Never even touched the stuff. But was