“It’s Emma’s high school,” Neil said, deadpan.
Cooper leaned over. “That’s his way of saying yes.”
Neil continued. “I do not know how deep or fluid Detective Warren’s staff is. They could be pushing a broom or be the resource officer. In each of your packets you have a list of current teachers and their tenure.” He pointed to Claire. “Auburn High shuffles staff throughout the district, so you’ll find plenty of new or newish teachers. What I don’t have is all the ancillary staff information. These are district employees, which could easily fit into the profile of perpetrator.”
“. . . or undercover cop,” Sasha pointed out.
“As far as I see this, no one on either campus has privacy until we are off this assignment. Both campuses have security cameras, and Sasha’s working on access to Auburn High this week. There will be enough equipment available to plant audio in as many places as we need.”
“At Bremerton, too?” Jax asked.
Neil stared at her.
Claire cleared her throat. “Emma,” she said as she pretended to cough, guessing that Neil had already tapped into the audio at his daughter’s school.
Jax shook her head. “Oh.”
“This is fluid. I want you both tracked. Once we obtain decoy housing for you, audio and visual monitors will be in place in all areas but the bathrooms. When friendships are formed and deeper intel is needed, direct those conversations to your decoy home when you can. You will stay at your base if your cover is at risk of being blown. Otherwise go home.”
That seemed reasonable to Claire.
“And for the duration of this assignment, surveillance is live in Tarzana.”
Much as Claire didn’t like the lack of privacy, she understood the need. “No audio,” she told him.
For a second, Neil said nothing.
“Inside the house,” she clarified.
She held her breath, fairly certain he was going to come back with a rebuttal.
“We’ll install voice activation for audio.” His words were measured.
Silently, Claire waved her hands in the air, doing her best jazz hands impression. Getting Neil to go along with her didn’t happen very often.
Sasha handed her and Jax each an envelope. “Your flight leaves in the morning. Go shopping. Learn the areas. We don’t want you tripping over geography or the weather. Spend a day in the city. Do what teens do. Get carded because of your behavior.”
“Good idea,” Claire muttered in Russian.
Sasha acknowledged her words with a nod.
“Cooper, I have you at Emma’s school this week. I spoke with the head track coach. He’ll bring you up to speed. He doesn’t know why you’re there. If nothing else, if something heats up at Bremerton we can move you,” Neil said.
“You got it, Boss.”
Neil pushed away from the wall. “Unless there are any questions, we’re done.”
They all started gathering their paperwork to leave.
“For the record, I’m not old enough to be Jax’s dad,” Lars said.
They laughed.
“That’s debatable,” Cooper dished out.
“Says the kid that didn’t shave until last year.”
Claire found her eyes lingering on Cooper’s face. The extra facial hair he let peek out since he’d returned from Europe gave him a ruggedness that wasn’t there before.
Cooper stood taller and rubbed his chin while looking at Lars. “You’re just pissed because yours is turning gray.”
“Just wait, buddy.”
While he laughed, Cooper turned toward Claire. The laughter faded, but his smile stayed.
And for some strange reason, her stomach warmed. She liked the slight five o’clock shadow. Not to mention the way his jeans fit. Maybe Jax had something there.
Jax cleared her throat, breaking the silence that fell over the room.
Claire blinked out of her unexpected trance.
“Girls’ trip,” Jax said, grabbing her arm.
Claire fist-bumped Jax. “Frisco, baby.”
Jax turned to Lars as she looped an arm over Claire’s shoulder. “I won’t be home tonight, Dad.”
Lars groaned.
Right before they exited the room, Claire glanced over her shoulder and found Cooper quickly looking away.
She stared at his back, some of the humor faded.
Jax tugged her attention. “We have a plane to catch.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“So what sport did you play in school?” Dale, the track team’s head coach at Emma’s private school, stood on the inside field with his arms crossed over his chest.
Cooper hadn’t been sure what to expect, so he donned a pair of shorts and a T-shirt with simple running shoes for his crash course in coaching high school track.
“None,” Cooper informed the man. “Joined the service the day after I graduated.”
Dale nodded a few times, his eyes tracking several kids as they jogged the inside lanes. “I think Neil told me that. Not that the man elaborated.”
“Talking isn’t his strong point.”
Just then two students walked up, both upperclassmen from the looks of them.
“Hey, Coach.”
Dale patted the kid on his shoulder. “Get everyone stretched out and warmed up.”
“You got it.”
The student turned away and started to yell, gaining the attention of those on the track to circle up.
Dale started walking with Cooper in tow.
“Seniors love taking control of the field during practice, and since we have a small athletic department, I use them to mentor the younger kids.”
“Makes sense.”
Dale motioned toward the pole vault pit. “Do you have the basics of any of the field events?”
“Only what I learned in boot camp.”
“Then we’ll stick with relays and sprints.”
Cooper could work with that.
They walked over to a stack of hurdles. “So, what’s this all about with you coaching the Auburn kids, anyway?”
He wasn’t about to give details. “What did Neil tell you?”
Dale placed a hand on one of the hurdles. “Let me see if I remember the conversation. ‘Coach Levine. I have something I need ya to do for me.’” Dale lowered his voice to mimic Neil. “‘Sure,’ I said. Then he said, ‘I have one of my men filling in on the Auburn track team, keeping an eye on one of the students.’” Dale nodded a couple of times. “Yup, that’s all he told me.”
“And that’s all there is to it. Simple job,” Cooper told the man.
“Huh. I didn’t think any of the parents at Auburn had the money to hire anyone from Neil’s line of work.”
Cooper kept his expression steady. “You’d be surprised.”
Dale shrugged his shoulders. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious.” He lifted a stack of hurdles and nodded to another stack for Cooper to grab.
“I doubt it.”
Dale pointed to where the hurdles needed to be placed and then proceeded to lower the height of the contraptions. For the next hour and a half, Dale did his job with Cooper as a shadow. The kids knew what they had to do, for the most part. The coach’s relationship with the students was more friend than mentor. Though when he had constructive criticism, the kids listened and worked harder to hear his praise.