Free The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu

bounce off the walls. She wandered to the living room, stripped off her dress, and threw it into the trash. It was pretty much ruined anyway. Jill made one trip around the entire apartment, turning on every light. It was a ritual she did every time she came home; she wasn’t sure why. Maybe it made her feel less alone. Maybe she hoped to find her husband and child waiting for her. With a sigh, Jill went to the shower to wash off the previous night’s madness.
    On the plus side, Roen did seem like he was suffering almost as much as she was. In a rather sick way, it made her feel better. She was still furious with him and he would have to work hard to get back into her good graces, but it comforted her to know that at least he was just as miserable without her. Maybe, if she ever saw him again, she’d make him sweat it out for a year or three before forgiving him. It would serve him right. Jill let the warm water from the shower rain down on her face as she pulled her hair back. Then she froze for several moments. The thought of not seeing him again seized her with a sudden terror.
    It made her feel better that Wuehler was in charge of the mission. He was a competent commander who wouldn’t take chances like Roen would. She had met the man a few times. He was stuffy and by-the-books, having risen through the ranks of Prophus military and earned an equally stuffy and by-the-books Quasing named Ramez. They were an odd couple to match with Roen and Tao. Jill hoped that the more level-headed man could keep Roen alive long enough for her to torture him for a few more years.
    Jill got out of the shower and looked at the time: 8.43am. She had to get moving. The Hart Senate building was on the other side of DuPont Circle and traffic was murder at this hour. She threw on a suit, applied ample makeup to cover the nasty cut on her cheek, and headed to work.
    At precisely 10am, Jill knocked on Senator Wilks’ door and walked in. James Wilks was a four-term senator and the chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Appropriations. The Prophus had long considered him a kindred ally and much of the committee’s pork barrel spending that the senator allocated was steered toward Prophus projects. Jill was assigned to his office by Command soon after she became Baji’s host.
    “God, Jill, what happened to your face?” Wilks looked concerned. “It wasn’t that low-down husband of yours, was it? Because I’ll make a call to the Hoover Building and have him put on the Most Wanted list faster than that worthless son of a bitch can take a piss.”
    James Wilks was an elderly statesman who looked every bit a career politician. He just never sounded like one. Tall and distinguished-looking, with a full head of graying hair and a jawline to make all the ladies swoon, he looked like one of those older models on hair dye boxes. When he spoke, though, people either immediately identified with him or couldn’t stand him. Rough around the edges, he might seem out of place in Illinois politics, but his constituents loved him just fine.
    “Senator, it wasn’t Roen. I haven’t seen him in months,” she replied, reflexively touching the cut on her face. “It’s just a little mishap with heels.”
    He gave her a doubtful look. “You’re either lying to me or you should be banned from wearing heels ever again. It seems to happen a lot with you.”
    After the small talk revolving around her pitiful alibi was over, she laid out Simon’s proposal in the most lukewarm fashion she could muster, glossing over the offer and stressing prudence. On the surface, Simon’s deal was very attractive. He had effectively offered her boss everything he ever wanted in exchange for the support of an issue he really didn’t care about: the South Seas Trade Sanction. In any other circumstance Wilks would consider this a major coup.
    It was Jill’s job as Wilks’ policy director to encourage the deal, but it was also her job as a Prophus political operative