Free The Housewife Assassin's Handbook by Josie Brown Page B

this mission.” Ryan looks me in the eye. “You know the natives, the terrain, and the scuttlebutt. And of course, your special skills are second to none.” 
    I smile appreciatively.
    “Well, maybe second to another,” he adds, hesitantly. “As an assassin, Jack is every bit your equal.” He leans forward. “If they fall for the notion that Jack is Carl, we can flush them out. And finally we’ll have them right where we want them. That’s why it’s so important for you two to make this work.”
    “Sure okay, I get it. Jack Craig walks on water. But we have one big logistical issue: whereas the kids don’t remember their father, Aunt Phyllis surely does. And she practically lives at our house.”
    Ryan’s smile is naughty. “I’ve already taken care of Phyllis. She’s the grand prize winner of a six-week all-expenses paid trip to China from her favorite radio show. You’ll probably get a call from her later this afternoon with the big news.” His smile fades into a grimace. “By then, this mission will be over—one way or another.”
    Ryan has all the bases covered. If I want in on this mission, I have to accept it.
    I do so, with a shrug. “Well then, I guess I owe him an apology.”
    “You can thank me later.” The teasing tone in Jack’s voice, coming from behind me, sends a tingle up my spine. As he slips past me, he murmurs just loud enough for me to hear, “Kissing and making up is half the fun.”
    Instead of turning around, I glare at Ryan. What else can I do? He knows I’ll do anything to take down the Quorum.
    Even if that means putting up with Jack Craig’s shenanigans.
    “If you don’t mind, Donna, I’d like you to host another asset, too.” Ryan grabs a file and slides it across the desk to me.
    I breathe a sigh of relief and see that the picture inside is that of Emma Honeycutt. “No problem there! Emma’s a wonderful tech. If it weren’t for her ComInt, I wouldn’t have found that Iraqi agent on that Laguna Beach job. She can set up in the bonus room, over the garage.”
    Ryan nods. “Well, she’ll have her work cut out for her with this mission, too. As you and Jack eliminate possible suspects, she’ll be your ghost surveillance and electronic intel. Her cover will be that of a foreign exchange student whom you’re hosting.”
    “In our neck of the woods, that won’t raise too many eyebrows. In fact, exchange students are coveted—especially if they’ll double as au pairs.”
    Ryan laughs. “Considering her aversion to children, I’d hardly expect her to be up for babysitting duties, too.”
    “If she wants to nip any offers in the bud, warn her to wear short skirts, and to pretend to speak Swedish. That way the neighborhood MILFs will see her as competition for their husbands’ affections and avoid her like the plague.”
    “Will do. And of course Abu will be close by, on foot, acting as your eyes, and conducting passive probes.” He frowned. “Should you need any special toys, Arnie Locklear will drop them, He’ll be finessing a cover, depending on the situation.”
    Finally, something that brings a smile to my lips. Arnie’s disguises are legendary. On a job in which I stopped an assassination attempt on the Pope during his recent visit to San Francisco, Arnie was able to slip me through security by posing as a nun. Him, not me.
    Ryan glances over at Jack. “Why don’t you bring her up to speed with what we know?”
    Jack turns to me. For once, he looks serious. “It’s not much, but we ran across some chatter that they’ll strike sometime within the next four weeks. We also know that they’ve just purchased some yellowcake uranium from a Chinese gangbanger in Monterey Park: one of the Chin Wahs: a kid named Xie Tong.” That lascivious smile of his has crept back onto his lips. “He’s big into titty bars. We’ve already set you up to take the day shift tomorrow, at one of his favorite hangs, the Spearmint Rhino. Find out where he got the