, determined, outside the reaches of political
parties and religions, and able to both teach and learn.
He was a little long in the tooth, but that didn't seem to make any
difference concerning his effectiveness. And -- his profession as an armed spook
aside -- he seemed a warm, giving person, not just another of those 'I am my
job'-types.
Cade's reaction when she dropped by his room seemed to validate all her
immediate gut feelings about him. He'd simply grabbed his gear and said that
'on-the-job is the worst possible time to have to learn new tricks'.
Mandi had almost laughed at that. Almost. He was right, of course, but she
didn't have the luxury of time. As soon as the convention job ended, she had to
return to Las Vegas.
But still... Twenty kills and no arrests? Had she read him wrong, despite
her training and genetic predispositions?
After signing in for the look-alike contest, she'd been led to a dressing
room with the twenty-six other women and had put on the rather crude replica of
her costume. When all the women had been paraded past the audience and judges,
they waited in the wings for the results.
That's where she was when she saw John suddenly head for the doors. Looking
through the walls, she saw agent Pierce holding a man down and agents Evans and
Bartow on the floor as a man hurtled toward Cade with a weapon.
Mandi almost abandoned the contest to go to his aid, but the situation
unfolded too quickly. In a bit less than eight seconds the attacker was
unconscious and dying fast and Cade was again on his feet, talking into his
lapel mike.
When Carter picked up the attacker's weapon and asked if Cade was okay, he
shruggingly replied that he could use a coffee. Was that just a bit of bravado
for Carter?
For several long-seeming moments more Mandi watched Cade after he'd resumed
his post in front of the doors. He showed no outward signs of aftermath anxiety;
his heartbeat and respiration returned to normal inside three minutes as he
stood calmly in a loose parade-rest stance.
Had she been mistaken about him, after all? Had his soft side only been a
facade for her benefit? John appeared and dismissed Cade, who headed for the
escalators as John returned to the ballroom.
Mandi's contest alias -- Jane Blaise -- was softly called by the woman
emcee, who was working from a list. She said that there would be photo
opportunities after the show with