by Geri Krotow
“The deal is that there’s been a few things going on that don’t add up.”
“Such as?”
“When the shooter was at Kit’s apartment, and Luther didn’t catch him—didn’t you think that was strange? That a shooter outran Luther, your best agent?”
Claudia nodded. “I chalked it up to Luther being more concerned about Kit and wanting to come back to her.”
“Agreed. But then my officers have noticed that there have been the same thugs around crime scenes, and Kyle King says he’s noticed jerks hanging around downtown in front of the coffee shop. As if they’re watching.”
“You think they’re monitoring Kit, in her apartment?”
“Yes. And the worst part is that I think I have a leak in the department.”
“Oh. Ooooh.” Claudia’s eyes widened and she nodded. “Now it all makes sense. No wonder you’ve been so distraught.”
“I haven’t been distraught.” Though his stomach had been churning more than usual, as if he’d been eating greasy pizza every day instead of Claudia’s well-planned homemade lunches.
“Who do you think it is?”
“I have no idea. I mean, I can eliminate my entire department by virtue of how much I trust them. But too many things have happened to chalk it up to coincidence. And I’m really concerned about Kit and Luther’s security.”
“It’s an awful feeling to think someone has betrayed your entire team.” Claudia reached for her phone. It was her special secret weapon—a phone like no other, with the capability to send encrypted messages that no other agency, be it their country’s or a foreign government’s, could break into. “I’ll send Luther and Kit a message that they need to be on the lookout for any extra players. But it’s unlikely that someone would find them out at that old place, don’t you think?”
“I have no earthly idea. Everything I used to count on has blown up or gone the way of the dinosaurs over the last decade.”
“Except one thing.” She’d finished tapping out a message and placed her phone down. “You have me.”
“I do.” He opened his arms and she sat on his lap. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. It’d kill me. You’re my life, Claudia.”
She kissed him and he kissed her back, wishing his troubled thoughts could take a break so that he’d have the focus to make love to her like he wanted to.
“You’re mine, too.” She rested her forehead on his. “We’re going to beat them at their game, Colt. And then we’ll turn over our jobs to the young’uns.” They laughed, and for a moment Colt allowed the warmth of what they shared to wrap around him and make the sharp edges of the ROC threat blur.
Chapter 13
The turkey meal made Kit drowsy, and she had to catch herself from nodding off in front of her laptop. She needed to move, so she set alerts and stood. Moving into a long stretch, she saw that Luther appeared equally beat as he sat by the comms rack, the stack of portable equipment they’d brought to find Ivanov with. He constantly monitored the various units for power variations.
“I’m going to take a shower before we call it a night. I’ve set the alerts to sound, and if your guess is right, hunters will begin arriving early tomorrow morning.”
“Ah, you can’t go to the bathroom shed on your own.”
“Excuse me?”
“You can’t go there alone, neither can I. It’s protocol.” It hadn’t come up yet, as they’d used the tiny bathroom closet in the corner of the cabin. But she needed more than hand sanitizer at this point.
“It’s also protocol to not leave this kind of equipment unattended.” Even in a building that was in truth a vault.
“Which is why I carried the most important components in my backpack when we went for our hike.”
She sighed, not relishing putting it all back into their backpacks, showering, then unloading it again. As small and portable as it all was, it meant time away from monitoring the signals and precious sleep. Still, she’d heard Claudia loud and clear about taking care of herself whenever she could out in the field. There was time for a shower now; there might not be tomorrow.
“I’ll take the laptop and two of the other units. Can you manage the bigger box?”
“Let’s not disconnect it all. We can roll it on this rack to the bathhouse, and keep it in the dressing area, where it’ll stay dry.”
“And take turns showering and watching it?”
“Yes.”
The thought of seeing Luther’s body without the layers of cold weather fabric made her sleepiness dissipate as quickly as if he’d poured ice cubes over her. The shot of heat to the area between her legs reminded her that Luther could easily become more than a work partner. Something they’d promised one another to stay away from, after their kiss in the woods.
Ah, but that kiss. She’d never been touched like that before. As if she were precious, Luther wanting to savor each and every nuance of the gesture. A memory she’d always cherish.
But that was all it was. A memory.
“It’s not rocket science, Kit. We’re moving the equipment along with us. It’s how I manage when I’m out in the field on my own.”
“So you never, ever leave the equipment alone?”
“Nope. I end up stinking to heaven by the time I’m done, especially on the longer ops, but we get our bad guys behind bars and keep the security of our comms gear intact.”
“ROC has a lot of money and resources. From what I’ve read, they are capable of owning and operating far more sophisticated equipment than any government.”
“Too true. But Trail Hikers isn’t the US government, not officially anyway. And unlike the government, TH has an unlimited supply of cash and technological access. I’ve no doubt ROC’s equipment can match most of ours, hit for hit.”
“But?” She heard the doubt and the pride in his voice.
“They’re missing a critical element—good people with fire in their bellies to do what’s right regardless of the consequences.”
“Now you’re talking like a Marine.”
“I am. You know Claudia was a two-star General in the Corps, right? It’s what got her this job, and has made Trail Hikers a force to be reckoned with.”
“An anonymous force. The ROC around here, at least the people I knew who worked with my ex, only know about SVPD and FBI. They mentioned DEA and CIA from time to time, too. But in actuality they lump all LEA together. And if or when they’ve seen a TH agent at work, they assume it’s FBI or another agency. It’s beyond them that there could be something they don’t know about.”
“That’s a little odd, isn’t it? I mean, the Russians are known for subterfuge and underhanded tactics. Why wouldn’t they expect it from us, too?” Luther was genuinely puzzled if she read his expression correctly.
“Ah, but here’s where so many of you undercover agents mess up. You think ROC is the same as Russia and the Russian government, her people. But ROC is more a function of some oligarchs gone rogue, combined with the thousands upon thousands of former Soviet nation refugees who landed in American in the nineties. ROC evolved as a way to protect a culture while providing money laundering for the oligarchs who were gobbling up the profits of the new capitalism in Russia.”
“You learned a lot in history class.” He jested, but she knew it wasn’t mean-spirited.
“And we lived it. My parents were ecstatic when Ukraine was freed from Soviet rule, and they’ve been enraged since Russia claimed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. They’re so appreciative to be Americans now, but the ties to Ukraine are in their blood.”
“I get it—I do. Not that I’ve personally experienced it, but I’ve operated in plenty of countries where the citizens are under constant threat from their government or another’s. Did your parents come over as political refugees?”
“No, but they could have, it turns out, after 2014. I brought
them over as part of a deal I made with my ex.” She didn’t want to talk about it, but she’d agreed to put up with Vadim’s abuse after she’d figured out she could get out and leave him, and he’d appreciated that she had choices. It was her bargaining chip to have him pay for the visas and travel costs for her parents and sister. “I got him to fund my family’s visas and travel to New York. They’re all citizens now, living in New Jersey.” The familiar taste of bile hit the back of her throat as her stomach churned. “I hated using Vadim, and working the system, to get them here. But I love them. My family is my life. Their visas were legit and they applied for citizenship immediately when they arrived.” It had been situational ethics at best, morally repulsive at worst. She’d spent long hours in counseling sessions talking about it. Her therapist assured her that she’d been in survival mode, and reaching out for her family was natural, no matter the cost. And in fact, she’d saved all of them, in the end, from a very hard life. They’d all achieved the American dream, for which she was forever grateful.
“Why didn’t you run away to them, when your ex was abusing you?” Luther’s query held no judgement, and he was looking at her as if she was his hero or something. It made her happy and regretful all at once. If only her life had been more straightforward.
“It’s not that easy. He threatened to have the entire ROC wipe out my family the minute I showed my unfaithfulness to him. It was a big risk to work with SVPD on bringing him down, but I’m glad I did it. So is my family.”
“They can’t be happy about you working in law enforcement.” His words made her freeze as she gathered up her shower supplies, now that they had the comms gear racked and strapped in place. “Let me guess—you haven’t told them?”
“They think I’m a receptionist at the police department. Working to save money so that I can get my law degree.”
“Are you still in school?”
“No, but I have considered law school. There are many very good ones within driving distance.”
“You’d be a great victim’s advocate, that’s for sure.”
She warmed at his compliment. “I do some volunteer work for victims of domestic violence, and I’m in a support group with other survivors. We meet weekly. I would relish the opportunity to help them legally, but for now this kind of justice works for me, too. Where’s that tarp we brought in? It’ll be good to drape this with, in case it starts snowing again.”
“Here.” He reached under the sofa and produced the camouflaged plastic sheet.
“Thanks. I’m ready when you are.”
“Then let’s go.” He zipped his jacket and opened the door to allow her to roll the small rack of equipment out onto the stoop and then down the two short steps onto the snow-dusted ground.
Neither of them spoke but instead made their way quietly up the steep embankment to the hidden bathhouse. Kit had to admit that the planning for this setup had been genius. No undercover agent or cop wanted to be caught unawares in the shower, and keeping the cabin minimalist made its cover as a hunting lodge more believable.
It also made her wonder what it would be like to be with Luther in more comfortable surroundings. If they’d conducted their surveillance out of a fancy hotel room, complete with a bath, would she still have paid enough attention to him to figure out she was attracted to him more than ever? Or was it just the Spartan surroundings and total lack of anything to do but watch her laptop screen that made her take a second glance at Luther?
You took thirds and fourths, too.
So she had. As she gingerly hauled the tech equipment up the base of the mountain, careful to avoid jutting branches and sharp rocks, she braced herself for being naked with only a shower stall separating her from Luther.
* * *
Mishka wanted to shoot someone for how difficult the pain in the ass climb to where Kit stayed was. What the hell was she doing out here, in the middle of nowhere? And what did this have to do with her work at the Silver Valley police station? He figured she was a secretary or at most did some kind of filing work. He remembered that Vadim told him she was going to the community college for courses, but didn’t know what she’d studied. He assumed some kind of nontechnical work. Kit had never shown a talent for anything but keeping his father well-fed and happy in the sack.
His contact couldn’t tell him if the man she was camping with was the same one who’d missed his bullet or not. Mishka figured it was better if he didn’t know—he’d want to kill the guy first, and that would put Kit at risk of being hurt or running away. He wanted her safe and sound, with him.
He stopped when he saw the red scarf his contact had left for him, attached to a tree he’d said was only “one hundred paces from where they’re camping.” Since when did Kit spend a night anywhere other than in a warm bed?
Mishka slid out of his backpack and placed it on the ground. Using his flashlight he pulled out the device he’d had one of his father’s former colleagues make for him. It was cell phone activated. Once he got the bomb in place either inside or under the car Kit had used to get up here, he could be as far away as half a mile and make it blow. It’d be enough to let her know she had to come out of the woods, enough for him to grab her. He’d wait on the other side of the cabin for her to come out. If the man came out with her, he’d warn them to leave. Or use his weapons on them.
Whatever it took to get Kit back to him.
* * *
The bathroom building was no more than fifty yards from the cabin but appeared to be carved right out of the sheer granite rock that comprised the side of the mountain. To a passing hiker it wouldn’t be immediately noticeable, and even if they saw the entry door, it looked like a utility service box for a very large transformer.
Kit followed Luther into the main changing area, a tiled room with high, narrow windows for ventilation. They worked together to remove the tarp and place it across the wooden mats that reminded her of a chic spa.
“Who built all this? Trail Hikers?” She’d seen some of the agency’s safe houses and they were far more comfortable and modern than the hunting cabin. This bathhouse appeared more fitting to a TH hideout.
“My understanding is that it was a combination of LEA. FBI and DEA used the cabin as a safe house for more than two decades. They were unloading it and Claudia decided it was a perfect location for TH agents to disappear to as needed, while undercover or otherwise.”
“Are TH agents ever not undercover?”
“Touché.”
“Who goes first?” She looked around the room, giving it more attention than she had the first time. “Where does that door go to?” She noticed a wooden door with a glass window that she hadn’t noticed before.
“It’s a sauna. I’ll turn it on, so that you can use it after your shower. This whole setup was designed to support agents who might not have remembered to bring a towel along for their ops.” He grinned at her, and she had to remind herself to stay centered on getting a quick shower and then taking their equipment right back to the cabin.
“Why so serious?”
“I, um, I don’t like having our work interrupted for too long. I’ll take a quick one.”
“Relax. We’re the ones doing the surveilling. It’s not like we’re the prey. Take your time. As I’ve learned time and again, you don’t know for certain when your next shower will be.”
“I thought we’d be going back by Monday at the latest. You don’t think it’ll take that long to locate our targets, do you?” She’d never needed more than minimal time to give either SVPD or TH agents the GPS coordinates on a suspect, once she established solid hits. If she was doing analysis of conversations, that could take longer.
“No telling. While I’m willing to buy into the theory that Ivanov won’t risk a phone call until the area’s more populated, I wouldn’t bet on it. As you know, when ROC wants something, they ignore the rules.”
“What would he
want that badly to risk capture, after he and Markova have successfully eluded LEA for so long?”
“Access to whatever she still has on him.”
“You think Markova still has remaining accounts of his?”
“What else would it be? Whenever we follow the money, we track ROC’s activity without a hitch. The government has frozen all of the accounts we discovered on the password lists Markova buried in the old barn’s keystone. If she’d given us everything, why would Ivanov keep her alive?”
“Maybe he hasn’t. Or maybe she didn’t turn over everything.” In Kit’s experience, ROC never let a betrayal go. By taking all of Ivanov’s account information and changing the passwords, she’d been the first one to freeze East Coast ROC operations. Once the US government had the information and the accounts were legally frozen, ROC’s bankroll was effectively gone.
“What?” Luther must have seen the thoughts coming together in her eyes.
“There has to be more money available, at least one of the accounts that she didn’t put on those lists with the user IDs and passwords.”
“That’s above my pay grade. I’m paid to take out targets, and right now we have two to establish a location on.”
“Will you be with the team who brings them in, then?”
“Depends.”
“You want to be.”
“Of course I do. For reasons you have no idea...” He turned to his small duffel bag. Did he remember that he’d told her about the ROC wife he’d fallen for?
“I’ll get my shower.” Kit knew when someone needed breathing space. And Luther wasn’t alone in that requirement—the longer she spent with him, the more she knew it was going to be hard not to work with him. As much as she’d enjoyed comfortable working relationships with her fellow TH and SVPD colleagues, she’d never fallen into a routine with another so quickly.
