“Baby, you’ve got to tell me more about your new invention,” Cameo said as she and Rebar enjoyed a late-night meal of his special Ramen dish. “I saw you swipe your palms before you shook Joan’s hand. It was a smooth move, very discreet. How do you keep it from absorbing into your skin? Will you show the gadget to me? And I’m still wondering how you managed to give it to both of them, and how you had the two devices inside your hand.”

“I shook their hands, remember? And I was fast. You were probably too distraught to notice me reach into my pocket. I did it all super-fast.”

“You’re a genius. Now show me how we can see if the devices are working?”

A flattered smile touched his ruggedly handsome face, which bore a heavy evening shadow after their long day of road-tripping.

“Sure, I will. First, I need to pull up the app on my computer to check the status and see if it’s working. We should be able to follow their every move. The thermal tracking is amalgamated into zinc and protected by emollients that instantly absorb upon contact with the host.”

“Sounds complex.”

“Very. I’ve been working on this one for years. Eye Candy was a bit easier to design because it’s an actual metal device that’s swallowed in pill form. The biggest issue I had with Face Palm was keeping the tracking components intact long enough to get into a host.”

“And how do you do that? Don’t they go into your skin before you transfer it to your target?”

“They did at first. But I found a good binder that doesn’t soak through rice paper too quickly. Once contact is made, the other person may feel a bit of moisture or stickiness but not so much as they’d think anything of it. And by the time they reach for the hand sanitizer or wash their hands, the tracking device is already in their system.”

“Rice paper?” She blinked in surprise. “Fascinating.”

“It’s practically weightless, translucent and dissolves instantly when combined with my emollient mixture. Just a small square, about the size of a postage stamp will do the job.”

“How’d you come up with the idea?”

“Once I invented Eye Candy, it was just a matter of playing around with variations of the thermal device I’d already devised. I found a way to melt Eye Candy into a dissolvable medium. Took some doing but I figured it out.”

She rested her chin on both hands, gazing at him with utter adoration. How she loved watching his mind in action. So much intelligence was undeniably appealing. “Is this new invention patented yet?”

“Patent pending,” he replied. “I sold Eye Candy. I’m sure this new tracking system will bring heavy bidders. Can you imagine what the military could do with this? Eye Candy must be swallowed. Face Palm can be attached to any intended live target. The possibilities are endless. I just need to check for glitches. Today was the first time I decided to actually put it to the test. I need to know exactly how long it remains active once released into a host. Once I have that down, I can sell it.”

“I’m bursting with curiosity. Let’s go see if it’s working.” Cameo was beyond impressed by her genius boyfriend. Not only was he brilliant but gorgeous, too. Some days she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t imagining he was her man.

“Are you finished eating?” he asked, peeking into her bowl. “Do you want more? We had a long, daunting day.”

“I’m stuffed. I really want to see your invention and see if it’s working. If we can track Missy and Joan, we may find my mother before the General does something even more insane.”

His expression brightened with enthusiasm, indicating he also was anxious to know if his brainchild was a success. They set their empty dishes in the sink then walked into his den. She looked around at the numerous devices and gadgets on his desk and utilities tables. Cords running everywhere were plugged into surge protectors then into wall outlets. This was the one area of his home that wasn’t pinpoint neat.

“First time I’ve been in this room,” she said, gawking around at all the technical equipment.

“Sorry it’s a mess.” He straightened a stack of papers on a giant rolltop desk. “Nobody comes in here except me…until now.” He pulled an extra chair up to his desk and gestured for her to have a seat.

She sat beside him and watched absorbedly as he booted up a high-end computer. He entered codes and passwords on several devices to access a screen of grids.

“What am I looking at?” she asked, totally lost.

“Maps.” He leaned forward and studied the screen. “If the device activated properly, I should see activity somewhere.” He looked from screen to screen, tapping various keys and functions. “There!” He pointed to a tiny purple blip. “It’s working! Hot damn!” Then he fingered another blip. “There’s the other one. Bingo. Both chicks on radar.” He looked up at her excitedly.

Cameo couldn’t resist giving him a warm kiss to share his success. She watched the blips move just slightly. “Where are they?”

He checked a readout coming through on another device. “They haven’t left the house. I’ll set the alert so we can get some sleep. I have a feeling they’ll make their move sometime tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t give us much time to tell the troop what happened.” She worried about going in by themselves again.

“We can’t head out until we know their heading. Who knows where the General has taken your mother? We just gotta sit back and be patient. No need to follow Missy and Joan. Once they reach their destination, we’ll have the address and can move in.” He leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his neck.