by S L Shelton
Then it occurred to me: Nick sucks at using subtle manipulation. Maybe something has changed at Langley.
“You know what? You’re right…he’s right,” I said, changing course mid-sentiment. “I’ll give him a call.”
“Good,” Storc said in breathy relief. “I don’t mind telling you, I get worried as shit when you are doing dangerous stuff and don’t have backup.”
“Oh…I have backup,” I said, grinning as I peeked around the corner at Kathrin. “But I appreciate the concern. I’ll take care of that as soon as I hang up with you.”
“Cool,” he said. “Let me get into this stream of data.”
“It’ll be a while before it’s all downloaded,” I replied. “And we’ll have no idea how long she keeps her system up and running at a time until we get to the activity logs for her OS.”
“I know…but it’s fun watching the pieces filter in,” Storc replied. I could almost hear the smile on his face.
“Suit yourself. Just don’t let yourself get run down. I need you awake and aware,” I said. “One thing I’ve learned over the past few months is to sleep and eat when you get a chance.”
“Hmm,” he mumbled, sounding as if he might take my suggestion seriously. “We’ll see.”
“Okay, pal. Have a good one and do let me know as soon as you get confirmation on the accounts.”
“Will do,” he replied. “Stay safe.”
I was suddenly tempted to remind Storc of the security protocols for the data, but after a split second of indecision, I decided that my earlier lecture would be sufficient.
“Yep. Later,” I said instead.
“Later,” he replied absently as the connection ended, probably already scanning the data.
At the back of my head, a nagging feeling began to sneak up on me as I looked at my phone. Storc and Jo were supplying me with my tech support. I was trapped between needing to keep information away from Langley while there was a traitor in their midst and putting my friends in the role of covert support.
A pinch in my chest formed at the thought of Storc or Jo getting caught in the middle of the danger. I took a deep breath and shook my head.
That’s just another reason for me to come clean with Langley, I thought to myself. It’s time for me to test the waters with Nick.
I poked my head around the corner. “Sorry,” I said in a quiet voice. “I’ll just be another minute.”
Kathrin shot me a worried glance, but Maurice stood. “It’s okay,” he said. “I should go to bed anyway. I have work tomorrow as well.”
I nodded and went into the living room. “Thank you so much for letting us crash at your place,” I said, shaking his hand. He brought me in for a “bro hug” and slapped me on the back once before pulling away.
“It is good to meet you,” he said before turning and giving Kathrin a hug. “Help yourself to whatever you need. You know where everything is.”
Kathrin smiled and nodded. “Good night,” she said.
As soon as he left the room, Kathrin stepped closer to me and whispered. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “I just have to give Langley an update,” I replied.
“Ah…then I’m going to get ready for bed,” she said before kissing me on the cheek and turning for our room. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said.
She paused at the door and struck a seductive pose. “I’ll make it worth your while to hurry.”
I winked at her. “Then I’ll keep it short.”
“You’d better. If I fall asleep, you can forget about it.” She winked back and quietly closed the door.
I set up my proxy string and dialed Nick’s secure cell phone.
“Yeah,” he answered, clipped, as if I had interrupted something important.
“It’s Alpha,” I said half-expecting a tongue lashing to follow.
“Man, it’s good to hear you,” he said.
Damn! That sounded sincere.
“A little bird told me you needed a call from me,” I replied, still cautious.
“I’m going to ask some straightforward questions and I’d like some straightforward answers if you feel comfortable giving them,” he said, a little winded as if he were running.
Wow, he’s being downright hospitable. “Shoot,” I replied.
“There was a black site burned in Antwerp,” he said. “Is that related to what chased you out of your safe house?”
“Who else is going to have access to my answers?” I asked, wondering if everything I reported would be available to Penny Rhodes. Nick might have decided she was clean, but I knew she was hiding something—something big enough to make her get overtly chummy with me at the Farm and then try to cover it up.
“Man…you are going to have to trust me,” he said with a little of the ‘old Nick’ anger but then he softened a bit. “For the moment, just me and Papa.”
Burgess, I thought. Okay…I can trust him at least.
“In answer to your question: yes. But I don’t know how.”
“Good enough for now,” Nick said. “Have you located the company that hired the couriers?”
I tensed. Not only had I found it, but I had broken into her office and hacked her computer.
“Yes,” I replied.
There was a short pause on the other end of the line and in the background I heard a door shut. “Do you have an update on the disposition of that situation?”
“Spartan, I’m hesitant to go into any detail on anything,” I said. “I was safe and sound where I was, and yet they found my entry trail after certain personnel changes occurred in the section.” I knew he would understand that I meant Penny Rhodes.
The phone got loud at the other end, indicating it was now on speaker. “Alpha,” came the voice of the director. “I know it seems tempting to isolate yourself. But I’m going to need you to come off the information you’ve gathered. Spartan is right…you need to trust us.”
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I was yet prepared to disobey the director of National Clandestine Services.
“Yes,” I said after a moment of hesitation. “I have more information. I’ve accessed the computer of the middle man and am collecting the data remotely.”
“That’s outstanding,” Burgess said with what sounded like genuine surprised joy. “Is there any way we can have access without you going through Agency resources?”
What?! You don’t trust Langley resources anymore either. I realized. Shit. There goes any hope of putting an institutional barrier between my TravTech people and this Op.
“There is already a method in place,” I replied. “My people set it up last week. Spartan has the specs on access.”
“No good,” Nick said. “It’s isolated to a particular set of IPs here at Langley. We need another outlet.”
Right! Storc’s blind server restricts access by Langley IP block… Think, Scott. How am I going to get the data to them now?
“I’ll have to think about how to make other arrangements,” I replied. “But the data is going to be slow in arriving.”
“Understood,” Burgess said. “How about the attack? Do you have any information about the black site that got hit?”
I hesitated but then decided it was an opportunity to reiterate my hesitancy to share information that Rhodes might have access to. “I have a phone number and a name…Bellos,” I said and gave them his number. “It’s only been active twice since I obtained it.”
“Who is Bellos, and when did you obtain the number?” Nick asked with an edge to his voice.
“The night I found the computer cards, this guy jumped me on the way out,” I replied with no hint of emotion in my tone, but I braced for being blasted by Nick.
“He was with the giant?” Nick asked…no anger in his voice. What is going on with you, Nick? A month ago, you would have torn me a new asshole for withholding something that significant.
“Yes,” I replied. “I guess they didn’t buy t
he charade of me flying to Atlanta.”
“Or they have a more substantial reach than we imagined,” Burgess inserted. “We can’t leave anything off the table.”
“Which brings up my point about recent personnel changes,” I said coolly. “There are too many things that went wrong after a certain person was added to the team.”
“That’s the way Ops run,” the director said. “You think you’ve got all your bases covered and then it falls to shit. It doesn’t mean you have dirty team members.”
“But it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve found dirty team members…even in the past three weeks.”
There was a momentary silence. “Do you have anything else you feel comfortable sharing?” Nick asked.
Why are you so willing to dismiss my suspicions about Penny Rhodes?
“No,” I replied, clipped. I could have told him I was out of Zurich, or that I was going after the missile component boards or any number of other updates, but I felt exhausted from all the honesty… I was done.
“Are you in a safe place?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Can you hang there for a couple of days until we can sort through everything?” Burgess asked.
Shit!
“Yes,” I replied, not letting my discomfort reflect in my tone. I wanted to get back on the hunt for Bellos and those missiles. “For the moment, I’m in good shape. I just get nervous sitting still too long after what happened the last time.”
“Understood,” Burgess said. “We’ll get this data analyzed as soon as possible and give you marching orders.”
“Okay.”
“Spartan will be taking the lead,” Burgess added. “I don’t have to tell you he has my full confidence. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be in charge.”
Nick’s taking the lead? Where are you going? Vacation?
“I’d like an update on any new protocols that come out of this,” I said. “I don’t mind telling you I’m a little nervous about the timing on the last incident.”
“I can see where you might have your doubts,” Burgess said with a little more command authority in his voice. “But if you isolate yourself, you aren’t privy to the fluid nature of the situation.”
It was mild, but it was nonetheless a reprimand from the director of the NCS.
I pressed my lips together, stifling a desire to rebut his assessment. “Acknowledged,” I replied stiffly.
“Just hang tight where you are,” Nick added with a softer tone, seemingly in an attempt to salve the stealthy ass chewing I had just received. “We’ll get you moving in the right direction within forty-eight hours.”
I shook my head. I suddenly felt I had made a mistake in being so forthcoming.
“I’ll be here,” I said after chewing on my lip for a second.
“I want you to know how proud we are of what you’ve done,” Burgess said in a more fatherly tone. “You’ve gathered more usable INTEL on this operation in little more than a week than we’ve been able to come up with in several months. Don’t worry…
You’ll be in on the action when it goes down.”
I shook my head again. All I wanted was to solve the puzzle and see the faces on the bad guys when the cuffs clicked on their wrists.
“I just don’t want to get sidelined,” I replied. “The trace might have a short shelf life.”
“We’ll get you moving again as soon as we can,” Burgess said, firmly enough to let me know I was about to cross a line.
“Understood,” I replied with a suitable amount of fake reticence.
“We don’t have anything else for you,” Nick said. “Keep an eye on the message channel. We’ll get back with you as soon as we have a plan forward.”
“Fine,” I said, letting an unfortunate amount of bitterness come through. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
“We won’t,” Nick said. “I promise.”
A promise from Nick... Interesting.
I ended the call without acknowledging his statement. As soon as we were done, I ejected my SIM card and snapped it in half.
Suddenly I was on hold again, and this time, I wasn’t going to fight it. When I got into the bedroom, I discovered I had left Kathrin alone too long… She was softly snoring with her arm stretched across the bed.
I stood there, staring at her for several seconds, letting the sight of her ease the tension from the conversation I just had.
Would you leave Mossad and settle down with me if I asked? I thought. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to use my cover ID and run off with her.
I shook my head as I broke the thought and reached for my shoulder bag. How did I let myself become so vulnerable? The woman must be a witch. How else could I go from wanting to drop her off at the Israeli embassy so I could hunt missiles on my own to fielding fantasies of settling down with her a minute later?
I stared at her for a moment longer as I stood there, my messenger bag dangling from my fingertips.
Snap out of it, Scott! I mentally slapped myself. Do your job!
From inside my shoulder bag, I withdrew a new SIM card and clicked it into place before shedding my clothes. As I crawled into bed, Kathrin readjusted herself and then placed her arm over my chest after I lay down. I let her settle back into slumber before pulling up the stats on the data leech from Loeff’s computer. The progress was slow but well worth the extra stealth.
I could feel Kathrin’s soft breath on my shoulder and turned to look at her. Again my mind immediately started drifting toward a quieter life with her. I let my gaze linger as I fought down the inconvenient thoughts and then placed my phone on the night table after unsuccessfully trying to banish the fantasy.
“I warned you,” she whispered sleepily.
“I know,” I replied as I rolled over, wrapping my arm around her and kissing her forehead.
She sighed a contented breath into my chest and kissed me there. Well, at least we’re safe and off of everyone’s radar here for a few days.
seven
Tuesday, February 1st
“Why are you still with Kathrin?” I heard.
I opened my eyes and saw I was hanging from a rope on a rock face. I looked around and recognized it as Cathedral Rock on the Appalachian Trail.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Above you,” Wolf said.
I looked up and saw him standing at the lip of the cliff, top belaying me.
“If you think you can intimidate me by dangling me from a cliff, you’re wrong,” I said with a grin. “I might not have all my brain tools working at a hundred percent, but I’m smart enough to know this is a dream and that you can’t kill me without killing yourself.”
He smiled. “I thought you’d like a change of scenery.”
I looked around me, letting the warmth of the midday sun leech some of the tension from my chest. I felt completely at home and at ease a hundred feet above the ground with the feel of granite under my fingers.
“Good call,” I muttered.
“I’m glad you approve,” he replied, though if I had really been on the rock wall, there’s no way he would have heard me.
I looked up. “I’m doing what the director told me to do, following Nick’s orders and lying low until they get a read on the information I sent them,” I said. “I don’t like it anymore than you do, but I’m part of something bigger than just me now.”
“No offense to your new bosses, but their organization is set up to serve the very powers you are trying to uncover,” Wolf replied.
It was hard not taking him at his word—it was my face staring back at me.
“Still…” I muttered.
He nodded. “If you were at a hundred percent, you could root it all out and hand them the gift-wrapped corruption to do with as they saw fit.”
“But I’m not at a hundred percent, am I?” I replied with a bit more grit than I had intended. I guess I was still a little pissed by the lack of progress my schizophrenia was making in repairing the damage to my
brain.
“I’ve made some progress,” Wolf said with a satisfied grin, reading my thoughts as they occurred. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but the voices are gone, and I didn’t have to stop your heart and breathing to have this conversation.”
I raised my eyebrows in startled awareness before putting my climbing shoe-clad feet on the rock wall and reaching for a handhold.
“Good!” I said dismissively. “When do I get my flowcharting, eidetic memory, and recall back?”
He laughed as he took up the slack in my rope but didn’t answer. I hadn’t really expected one…it was just my bitterness talking.
“How’d you do it?” I asked as I closed my hand around a thumb-hold and pulled myself up into a dynamic lay-back.
“You probably don’t want to know,” he said with an amused edge to his voice.
I stopped my upward progress on the rock and look at him. “I’ll chance it,” I said. “How?”
My mind was suddenly filled with imagery and data, overlapping, blasting my eyesight, my hearing, and senses I hadn’t even known I had. I lost my grip and crashed down against my harness.
“Okay! Okay!” I yelled past the intrusive blast of information.
The sensation ceased immediately, leaving me hanging with a bruised feeling inside my head.
“I warned you,” Wolf said.
“No…you said—” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
I followed the thin fissure in the stone up the rock wall. Wolf stood there and stared at me as he continued to take up the slack until I reached the protection point at the top.
He handed me a water bottle as soon as I had grunted my way over the edge and plopped down on the craggy overlook.
He sat down beside me. “As important as all of this seems, the reason I pushed you in this direction was to knock you out of your complacent satisfaction, being challenged only by rocks and software,” he said, staring out to the valley. “Not to save the world.”
“Wait…what?”
“I know you probably hadn’t thought about it, but what line of actual logic do you think would have recommended you flying to Amsterdam to find your ex-girlfriend after a terrorist attack?” he said, again without looking.
