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

A headwind delayed my flight, and so it didn’t arrive at Charles De Gaulle Airport until after eleven the following morning.


I pulled my briefcase from the overhead bin and walked out of the 747 and through the gate. I hadn’t checked any luggage, but Robert Lynx had told me my driver would meet me near baggage claim. I was curious as to how whoever it was would identify himself. He was hardly likely to be standing there with one of those little placards in his hand.


Then again, I could be wrong. My attention was drawn to two men who lingered by the moving belt. I gave a slight grin as I spotted the piece of cardboard with my name on it.


These were the men Robert Lynx had sent to escort me to the Division?


The one holding the sign appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties. His hair was close-cropped, his clothes were shapeless, almost as if he sought to conceal himself in them, and round, tinted lenses shielded his eyes.


Chapter 37