Quinton Mann is CIA through and through. Mark Vincent is WBIS for life. There is no way they could end up as anything other than adversaries -- and yet, Quinn takes Mark out to dinner on his birthday -- the one no one is supposed to know about -- and gives him one hell of a present in the restaurant's restroom. Mark, not to be outdone, has decided to escalate this game, because it has to be a game, right? There's no way it can be anything else.<br><br>But as the game continues, as Quinn shows up to a WBIS funeral, as a friend of Mark’s penetrates the CIA computer network to get information on Quinn, as Mark breaks into Quinn's house and gives Quinn a very interesting encounter, both Quinn and Mark realize that this is becoming the most real thing in their lives.<br><br>Can they find a way to do their jobs and keep this surprising, intriguing connection?

Houseboat on the Nile

“Son of a fucking bitch. Do you think he was working with the WBIS?”


“It’s possible. We’ve started an extensive check on his whereabouts and his financial transactions going back for the last three years. He was so busy looking out for number one, playing both sides against the middle, that it never occurred to him he owed any one organization his loyalty.”


“Yes. You know what aggravates me the most, though? The formula for the cyclotron is worthless.”


“How? I thought our scientists had checked it out.”


“They don’t have a clue, but from what I’ve heard, they were all ready to weep.”


“Yeah, it does suck. Oh, well. Huntingdon is the organization that’s out all that money.” DB grinned as if that thought pleased him, then sobered as he apparently recalled that we’d shelled out a goodly amount of cash as well. “You think that was why Bruchner wanted protection all of a sudden?”


“Considering that whoever toys with Huntingdon answers to the WBIS? It makes sense.”


Chapter 18