by John Sneeden
After she finished, the two sat perfectly still, lost in their own thoughts. Geoff stared off into space. It was a lot to digest, and Drenna let him take all the time he needed to process the information.
Finally, Geoff cleared his throat and went straight to the heart of the matter. “So who do you think did this? Who was trying to kill you?”
“I really don’t know. I’ve spent hours going back over every case I’ve worked in recent memory. At this point, there is only one thing I can say with absolute certainty—the team that was sent to kill me was from overseas.”
“How did they know where to find you? I assume only a few people knew besides me.”
“There were several people who knew I was taking a vacation, but there were only two who knew where I was going, you and Nathan.”
“Surely you don’t think Nathan had anything to do with this.”
“I guess you can never say never, but no, I don’t think he had anything to do with this. I trust the man completely. Besides, if he did want to kill me, then he would’ve done it much more efficiently than these buffoons.”
Geoff frowned. “What do you mean?”
“This plan to run us off the road. So many things could have gone wrong. And something did go wrong. I’m still here, aren’t I?”
He nodded. “I assume you trust me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”
“I did take the magazine out of that pistol you keep in the pantry.”
He smiled. “I can’t even keep my own house safe, much less plan an assassination.”
She returned his smile.
Geoff’s brow furrowed. “If Nathan and I are the only ones who knew where you were going, and you trust both of us, then that brings us back to my original question—how did these people know where you were?”
“I’m not sure, but there are several possibilities. One, Nathan may have told someone. Normally, he wouldn’t share my private information, but he may have let his guard down, since I was scheduled to retire soon, anyway.” Drenna reflected for a moment before continuing. “It’s also possible that someone had access to our system. I exchanged several emails with Nathan about my trip, and if I’m not mistaken, I mentioned where I was going. I didn’t use an address, but if someone read them, they would know when I was leaving and where I was going.”
“As someone who works in digital security, I can tell you that it’s highly unlikely someone penetrated our system. It would boggle your mind if I told you all the layers of protection we have in place.”
“Sort of like your home security system?” Drenna winked at him. “I hear what you’re saying, but I think it would be arrogant for us to assume that foreign powers aren’t snooping around parts of our network. You told me yourself that some of our applications are less protected than others. The Russians probably have eyes in a lot of places that would make us uncomfortable.”
“I still don’t think it’s likely.” Geoff paused. “So what else? You said there were several ways they might have learned where you were going.”
“The other possibility is that they were following me in the days leading up to my trip, waiting for the right opportunity to kill me. My guess is they would have eventually done it the old-fashioned way, with a bullet to the head. But I think they were biding their time in the hopes that they could do it in a way that would look like an accident.”
Geoff nodded. “And the narrow mountain road presented them with just such an opportunity.”
“Yes. Once they followed us to the cabin and saw the steep drop-off, it was simply a matter of waiting for the right opportunity.”
Geoff leaned back in the recliner and steepled his fingers. “So if it’s not someone on the inside, then who do you think it is?”
“Just to be clear, it could be someone on the inside. I believe the person or organization who wants me dead is overseas, but I think it’s very possible they have someone on the take who works for us. Someone who has access to our computer system or perhaps someone who has a connection to me.”
“That would limit the number of suspects. There aren’t many who even know you exist.”
“There are a few.”
“So where are you going to start? What’s next?”
“That’s why I’m here. I need your help.”
“You know I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Let’s start with Simon Driscoll’s contact information.”
Geoff frowned. “The Brit from MI6?”
“I told you before that I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with a case that might somehow be related to all of this. And while I haven’t been able to come up with a direct connection, my mind keeps going back to Montenegro.”
Geoff’s eyes narrowed. “Why Montenegro? That’s over. The bad guys were incinerated by that drone.”
“You’re right. We reduced that place to a pile of rubble, which means it’s going to be impossible to identify the bodies.”
“We won’t need to identify the bodies. Our intelligence showed the organization’s entire leadership was there.” Geoff sounded defensive. “In fact, I was in charge of gathering a good portion of that intelligence. Remember?”
“Your work is stellar. I’m not here to argue that.” She paused to consider her next words. “But communications just isn’t the same as verifying it on the ground. We need DNA to settle it once and for all.”
“You really think they were able to pull off that kind of deception? We saw the vehicles arrive at the appointed time. Petrov and his men were there.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong. Then again, something bothers me about the operation. It was all too clean. Too easy. They had always managed to stay one step ahead, then all of a sudden, we find emails and intercept phone calls. It’s almost like they wanted us to have that information.”
Geoff remained silent then finally nodded. “It’s a fair point. But if the Phantom or his leadership team either wasn’t there or somehow survived, then where are they?”
“That’s why I need to talk to Simon. He and a few others in the SIS were responsible for cleanup. Maybe they came across something that will help piece this together.”
Drenna stared off into space as her mind wandered to something that had been troubling her for a long time.
“What?” Geoff asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
She looked at him.
“I know that look. What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I just think this whole thing is much bigger than we ever knew. It’s the tip of the iceberg, the visible portion of a much larger threat.” She paused. “And whoever is behind it must have thought I was the only one who could bring them down.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mack Delgado exhaled. It had been a close call. Geoff Raymer had looked right into the front seat of the Cherokee when he passed by. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have raised any concerns. After all, people often looked around while they were walking. But this time was different. Raymer had actually slowed down when he looked in, a clear indication he was trying to see who was inside.
Delgado wondered what had triggered the curiosity. Perhaps the vehicle’s heavily tinted windows had drawn Raymer’s attention. Or perhaps Raymer realized he had never seen the vehicle parked on the street before. All CIA employees, even those who didn’t work in the field, were told to always be aware of their surroundings. Any of them were subject to being targets of kidnapping or coercion.
Still, the whole thing seemed odd.
Pushing his concerns aside, Delgado watched as Raymer removed a key and entered the home. Seconds later, a light came on inside, and Delgado caught a brief glimpse of the technology specialist walking toward the back of the residence.
Delgado was there because he thought chances were strong that Drenna—assuming she was still alive—might make contact with someone at Langley. In trying to determine who that might be, Delgado had come up with a list of people who had worked with her
. He had quickly ruled out his partner, Gabe Corbin. While Corbin had worked with Drenna on a number of operations, the two had never been close. Delgado also doubted Drenna would reach out to Nathan Sprague, their boss. Drenna knew that the CIA often kept close tabs on the people who occupied the highest positions within the agency because they were the ones who were most likely to be recruited as double agents. Russia and China devoted countless resources to that kind of recruitment, and the FBI devoted much of their own resources to monitoring their illicit activities.
But there was also another and perhaps even bigger reason Drenna wouldn’t contact her boss. Sprague was known for his by-the-book mentality, and if he knew one of his employees was on the run, he would attempt to bring that person back in. Delgado didn’t think Sprague would condone an off-the-books investigation, and he guessed that was what Drenna would think as well.
That left Geoff Raymer. Not only did the two communicate often, but Delgado could tell they had a connection and not in a romantic way. Drenna Steel would never date a young nerd like Raymer. As best Delgado could tell, it was more like a brother-and-sister thing. And if she needed help of any kind, he was the one she would most likely reach out to.
Movement in the front room of the house drew Delgado back to the issue at hand. Geoff Raymer stood at the window, his face against the glass. He looked out toward the street, and even from a distance, Delgado could see the concern in the young man’s eyes.
Delgado found that concern strange. Why was Raymer concerned about who might be outside? Had the presence of the Cherokee spooked him? Delgado didn’t think so. No, there was something else.
Apparently satisfied that no one was outside, Raymer pulled the drapes shut.
Delgado’s pulse quickened.
In that brief moment, he had seen something he hadn’t expected—Geoff Raymer’s lips had been moving.
Delgado considered the possible explanations. Maybe he had been talking into an earpiece that was connected to his phone. A techie, he probably used Bluetooth for everything.
Then again, maybe it was something else.
Maybe he was talking to someone else in the room.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Crystal City, Virginia
Drenna had considered staying at her tiny apartment in Fairfax while she conducted her investigation. She leased it under a fictitious identity, and it was far away from the thousands of CCTV cameras positioned in and around DC. But after giving it some thought, she decided against it. Even though she had done everything she could to cover her tracks, it was probably safer to avoid any place she had used before.
Instead, she decided to stay at the Embassy Suites in Crystal City. It was right underneath the nose of anyone who might be searching for her, but she hoped that was the last place they would look for her. The Embassy Suites in particular appealed to her because the open atrium allowed her to view the lobby from the balcony outside her room.
After leaving Geoff Raymer’s place the night before, she had come back to the hotel and crashed after taking a sleeping pill. The investigation had just begun, and she needed to make sure her body was physically up to the challenge.
The wounds on her leg still hurt, but the infection should start to get better thanks to Raymer. An admitted antibiotic hoarder, he had given her a bottle of amoxicillin. As it turned out, he had a cabinet full of several different medications—whenever his doctor gave him a prescription, he would take half the bottle then save the other half in case he had another infection in the future. It saved him trips to the doctor but was obviously a bad idea in terms of public health. Not taking the entire prescription was one reason there were so many drug-resistant bacteria across the globe.
Drenna woke shortly after eight the next morning. She was hungry but decided not to eat at the hotel, since breakfast was served in the atrium. That would leave her too exposed if someone came in looking for her. Instead, she walked to a diner that she had seen the previous afternoon. She requested a booth at the back so she could keep an eye on the front entrance. She ordered three eggs, six strips of bacon, hash browns, wheat toast, and a cup of black coffee.
She decided to call Simon Driscoll from the diner after she finished eating. She wanted to get the latest on the cleanup in Montenegro. She didn’t necessarily expect him to have any helpful information, but it was a box that needed to be checked before she moved on.
After finishing her meal and having her coffee cup filled a second time, Drenna removed her burner phone and checked the time. It was a little before nine. If Driscoll was back in Britain, it would be almost two o’clock. If he was still in Montenegro, then it would be an hour or two later than that. Either way, it was probably a good time to call.
She dialed the number Raymer had texted her that morning. The phone rang four times before rolling into voice mail. “Simon, it’s me, Drenna. Call me as soon as possible. Use the number I’m calling you from, not any other numbers you have for me.”
She disconnected the call then placed the phone on the table. She wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t picked up. Spies didn’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If he didn’t return the call soon, she would shoot him a quick text to call her.
A minute later, the phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was from a different number than the one she had dialed before, but it had to be him. She picked up the phone and brought it to her ear but said nothing.
A man with a British accent spoke on the other end. “Hello?”
“Simon, it’s me.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“Drenna, what the bloody hell…?”
He knows about the accident. She found it odd that word of her death had already made it across the Atlantic. She had assumed the CIA would have kept the whole thing under wraps until the investigation was complete.
“You know what happened?” she asked.
“No, apparently I don’t know what happened. You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Who told you that?”
“Andy,” Driscoll said.
Drenna knew he was referring to Andy Scott, his boss at MI6. “And how did he know?”
“He got a call from Nathan last night.”
Nathan Sprague. Why had he reached out to the Brits so quickly? Did he suspect Drenna was still alive?
“Hello?” Driscoll prompted when she didn’t say anything.
“Simon, I need you to promise me something. You can’t tell anyone you talked to me. Not Andy. Not any of your colleagues. And certainly not anyone at the CIA.”
“Not even your own people?”
“No one. Did I not make myself clear?”
“Easy, easy,” Driscoll said. “You need to tell me what’s going on.”
“No, first you need to promise you’re not going to say a word.”
Although she liked Driscoll, he was a bit of a cowboy. Rules and discipline weren’t really his thing. She liked that about him, but she needed him to commit to keeping it all a secret.
“Of course. You know you can trust me.”
“I can’t take any chances right now,” Drenna said. “Even calling you was a risk.”
“So you want to tell me what’s going on? You’re supposed to be dead, but it turns out you’re alive and don’t want anyone to know. Did you stage it?”
“Simon, my boyfriend is dead. Of course I didn’t stage this.”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.
“I’m so sorry, Drenna. I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you. I haven’t even had time to grieve.”
“So tell me what happened. Andy said your car ran off the road.”
“It did, but we were pushed off by another vehicle,” Drenna said. “Someone was trying to kill me.”
“You must be bloody kidding.”
“I wish I was.”
“I heard you were on vacation.”
“Yes, which is what makes this whole thing so crazy. Whoever tried to kill me knew whe
re I was going and when I’d be there.”
“Okay, wait a minute. Let’s back up. I need you to start from the beginning. You asked for my trust. Now give me yours.”
“Are you on a secure line?”
“Nothing to worry about, love. It’s a burner. Not even my own people know I have it.”
Feeling reasonably safe, Drenna spent the next few minutes giving him a brief overview of all that had happened. The description wasn’t as detailed as the one she had given Geoff, but it hit all the salient points.
“So you didn’t recognize any of the men you saw that night?” Simon asked after she had finished.
“No.”
“But you’re sure they were from overseas?”
“Positive.”
“Could be hired guns,” Driscoll said. “And if they are, then they may not even know who hired them.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“This sounds like an inside job. No one else would have known where you were.”
“That’s exactly why no one can know I’m still alive.”
“I understand,” Driscoll said. “So why did you call me? Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you did. But I think we both know this didn’t come from anyone at MI6.”
“I know that. Right now, I’m taking a look at all my operations. It’s possible the person behind this was simply working with someone over here who had access to my personal information.”
“So I assume you’re calling about Montenegro?” he asked. “That’s the only case you and I have worked together recently.”
“Yes. I know we supposedly put everything to bed, but before I cross it off the list, I wanted to reach out and make sure there aren’t any loose ends.”
Silence fell over the line.
“Simon?”
“It’s funny you called,” he finally said, “because I was about to call you before Andy told me you were dead.”
Drenna frowned, even though he couldn’t see her. “What’s wrong?”
“Montenegro. It’s not what we thought it was.”
