Backlash

by Rachel Dylan

  “Layla, I know we can’t turn back the clock, but I vow to you right now that I’m going to stick by your side through this.”

  “I believe you.”

  As he looked into Layla’s dark eyes, he wondered if there was any chance of starting over with her.

  CHAPTER

  FOURTEEN

  “I’m dreading this.” Izzy walked into Arlington PD with Piper by her side.

  Piper nodded. “I know, but after giving it some thought, I think we need to get out in front of this. Even if the sergeant deleted those texts, there’s a chance they could get them from your phone through a subpoena, and I don’t want to be put in that position—I don’t want to put you in that position—given we can explain this. It will be better if we set the stage as opposed to the other way around.”

  Izzy reluctantly agreed, but those texts were damaging. Once she realized the sergeant had been following her, a flood of emotions had gone through her. It started with fear, but then it quickly turned to red-hot anger. And when he had tried to touch her, the rage inside her was just too much to contain. She’d lashed out in the texts. But she had not killed him, even if she had wanted to.

  Detective Stewart met them in the lobby. “Agent Cole, Ms. Alexander, what can I do for you?”

  Piper didn’t hesitate. “We have some information we’d like to provide.”

  “Let’s go to the conference room and talk.” Detective Stewart led them down the hallway.

  Izzy started feeling sick again but tried to keep her emotions in check. She took a seat beside Piper and let her take the lead.

  Piper looked directly at the detective. “When we were here last, you laid a lot of information on Agent Cole. She was clearly disturbed by the information you provided about the sergeant’s home.”

  “Yes, and again, I’m sorry for that,” Detective Stewart said.

  “In the interest of full transparency and cooperation, we wanted to provide you with some additional information regarding recent interactions between the sergeant and Agent Cole.”

  Detective Stewart raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

  “Izzy, you can explain,” Piper said.

  Izzy swallowed. It seemed she had no other alternative. “After the sergeant showed up on my jogging trail, he started texting me.”

  “Really?” Detective Stewart said.

  It appeared the detective hadn’t known that tidbit. “Yes, and I responded. I told him to leave me alone, and in those texts, I did threaten him.”

  “Are you willing to turn over those texts voluntarily?”

  Izzy shot a glance at Piper. “That’s up to my lawyer.”

  Detective Stewart gave her a slight smile. “Ms. Alexander, what do you think?”

  “I’m inclined to advise my client to cooperate because she has nothing to hide. Yes, she was incredibly angry at the sergeant, but there is a big difference between making a threat in a text and acting on it—especially when you’re talking about someone who has a sterling record in law enforcement.”

  “I feel a catch coming on here,” the detective said.

  “No catch. Just a cautionary statement that you take my client’s cooperation into account. Agent Cole did not harm the sergeant, regardless of the text message exchange. That’s the bottom line.”

  “But you would’ve liked to?” Detective Stewart asked Izzy.

  “At the time I was angry, but I didn’t see him again after those texts, so there was no issue. I tried to focus on my work and not think about him.”

  Detective Stewart leaned forward. “You did the right thing by bringing this fact forward. It seems the sergeant was an avid texter, but we have no way of knowing if we have a complete set of his messages. We’re going through them now.”

  Izzy wondered if he was harassing other women via text as well. She also wondered if he had other shrines at his home. Why was he so focused on her? The thought gave her another chill. “Detective, I didn’t kill him.”

  “I’m just gathering the evidence,” Detective Stewart said.

  It wasn’t lost on Izzy that the detective hadn’t agreed with her statement but instead deflected.

  “Do you need anything from us right now?” Piper asked.

  “Besides access to those texts, no.”

  “We’ll get those to you.” Piper stood.

  Izzy was ready to get out of there. Once the two of them were outside, she turned to Piper. “I sure hope we did the right thing.”

  “I know you’re nervous, but we couldn’t risk it coming out and making you look guilty for hiding it from the police.”

  Izzy knew Piper was right, but she felt like she had just dug her hole even deeper with Detective Stewart.

  At Langley, Layla braced herself for a big pushback from CIA security over Hunter’s presence, but surprisingly, they hadn’t given her any grief.

  The man who sat beside her now wasn’t the Hunter she was familiar with. He wore a dark navy suit and tie. He’d even brought a legal briefcase. They were at a small conference room table, waiting for the IG team to arrive.

  She’d had a hard time sleeping last night after Hunter had told her the truth about their past. Everything she thought she knew about how their relationship ended had been a lie. But not one driven by Hunter—it had been the CIA’s doing, and she was having a hard time coming to grips with that. She wasn’t naïve. She knew the personal sacrifices that people made every single day to serve their country at the Agency, but she’d never expected it to become so personal to her. What bothered her most was that they had taken her choices away. The powers that be at Langley had unilaterally determined that they knew best how she should live her life.

  The door opened, and two men walked into the room, along with her boss, Brett. She wondered if he was going to be involved in this.

  “Layla, thanks for coming in.” Brett gave her a forced smile.

  Like she had much of a choice. “Of course.”

  She turned her attention to the two men she didn’t know. One was quite a bit older than the other.

  “I’m Frank Gibson,” the older man said. “And this is Monty Hicks. We’re both with the IG’s office.”

  Hunter rose and stretched out his hand. “I’m Hunter McCoy, Ms. Karam’s attorney.”

  Brett eyed Hunter but didn’t respond directly to him. “Layla, I just popped in to make sure everyone was situated here, but I won’t be sticking around for the questions. The IG’s office prefers it that way.”

  She did too. She wasn’t sure Brett was really on her side. “Okay, thank you.”

  Brett gave a nod to the guys from the IG’s office and walked out of the room.

  “Let’s have a seat,” Frank said. They each passed over their business cards. “Ms. Karam, we usually don’t allow attorneys in our investigations, but given the circumstances, we have no objection, since Mr. McCoy has the proper clearances.”

  “And what are the circumstances exactly?” Layla asked. She appreciated that Hunter was there, but she was going to speak up to protect her interests as well.

  Frank cleared his throat. “Ms. Karam, you’re familiar with the known terrorist group called Al-Nidal, correct?”

  She hadn’t been expecting that to be where the questioning would start. “Yes, of course, they’re part of my portfolio.”

  “Meaning?” Monty asked.

  “You’ll have to excuse Monty. He’s new to this job, so he’ll have more questions,” Frank said.

  Layla was skeptical about that claim, but she focused on answering the question, assuming that the sooner she did, the sooner she’d find out what this was all about. “That means that I study the group in hopes of becoming an expert so I can aid operations and any other analytical efforts we have.”

  Frank nodded. “Have you ever met any members of Al-Nidal?”

  Before she could answer, Hunter grabbed her arm to stop her from responding, but she waved him off. “No. I haven’t.”

  “Are you sure about
that?” Monty asked.

  “I’m one hundred percent sure. I think I’d know if I’d met a known terrorist.” Layla’s frustration level was building.

  Monty opened one of the many folders in front of him and slid a picture across the table. “Do you know who this is?”

  Layla sighed. This was quickly going nowhere, in her opinion. “Of course. It’s Omar Assad.”

  “And who is that?” Monty asked.

  Layla wasn’t sure why they were playing dumb. “He’s the number two in Al-Nidal. Basically, he’s Abu Rihal’s deputy, and Rihal runs the organization from some unknown location in Syria.”

  Frank leaned forward. “Do you know Assad?”

  She tried not to get too impatient with this line of questioning, but she failed to understand what they were driving at. “No. I’ve studied him intensively, but I don’t know him personally.”

  “So on the record today, you’ve never met?” Monty asked.

  “No. Don’t you think if I’d met Assad, I would’ve immediately filed a report? That kind of thing isn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill occurrence.”

  “We actually agree with you. Let me show you something else.” Frank nodded to Monty, who pulled out another photo.

  As she looked at it, her stomach clenched. The photo appeared to be of her and Assad sitting at a coffee shop in Paris. A coffee shop she’d been to last year on her first field assignment. She remembered it very clearly, and she also remembered that she had never encountered Assad there.

  “Does that refresh your recollection?” Frank asked.

  “Don’t answer that,” Hunter said. “I need a moment to confer with my client.”

  A sly smile spread across Frank’s lips. “By all means.”

  Layla and Hunter stood and walked over to the corner of the room.

  Hunter leaned down. “Talk to me, Layla,” he said in her ear.

  She looked up at him. His face was so close to hers, but she didn’t want the IG men to hear their private conversation. “I’ve never met Assad, and I certainly didn’t have coffee with him.”

  “Are you sure? Not even as an asset?” he whispered.

  “No,” she shot back.

  “Then someone has gone through a lot of trouble to make it look like you did. If I had to guess, there’s going to be more evidence tying you and him together.”

  “This is crazy. What do you think I should do?” A million thoughts zapped through her brain, but she was having trouble formulating the best course of action.

  “We could stop the interview now, but it might make more sense to keep going and see if they’ll show any more of their cards. You just keep telling the truth, and let’s try to get all we can out of them. It’s best to know what we’re up against.”

  A wave of nausea threatened her. “This is bad.”

  He took her hand and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze. “We’ll get through it.”

  His multiple references to we were the only thing keeping her steady at this point. She really did feel like Hunter was going to stand beside her no matter what happened. Given his act of sacrifice years ago, she had no doubts that he’d go to every length to protect her.

  She took a deep breath and walked back over to the table. “I don’t know Assad.”

  “But that is you in this picture, right?” Monty asked.

  “It looks like me, yes, but I never had coffee with Assad. I was at that coffee shop by myself, conducting surveillance. It was my first field op, so I remember it very well.”

  “Okay.” Monty pulled out another picture. This one appeared to be taken from outside of a hotel room window, and she could be seen through the glass, standing with Assad’s arms wrapped around her. She thought she might be ill.

  Frank crossed his arms. “Ms. Karam, do you deny having a romantic relationship with Assad that started in Paris of last year?”

  Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. These allegations were almost too much for her to handle. Not only that she was knowingly working with a terrorist but also doing a lot more than that in a hotel room. “I unequivocally deny that.”

  Monty leaned forward. “So you didn’t spend the night together in Paris?”

  Now she was moving from frustration to outright anger. “Absolutely not. This is insane.”

  “Maybe you thought you were working him? Turning him into an asset?” Frank asked. “That would be smart. Is that what happened here? Just tell us if it was. That would help us put together all of your actions. The Agency doesn’t frown upon using whatever it takes to bring in high-value assets. Just tell us what you did. Did you try to turn him?”

  “I can’t tell you something that didn’t happen. I never met him, and I most certainly didn’t try to turn him through whatever tactics you’re insinuating.”

  “Then how do you explain these pictures?” Frank asked.

  She lifted up her hand. “Let’s back up a moment. Who took these photos?”

  Frank frowned. “I’m not at liberty to provide information on how we acquired the pictures.”

  “They must be fabricated,” she replied quickly.

  “Our initial analysis tells us otherwise,” Monty said.

  “With the advances in AI technology, these things can be faked, and it’s almost impossible to detect. Yes, it would take someone with access to high-end technology, but I believe this is a setup, and you guys are falling for it.”

  “You know we will polygraph you,” Frank said.

  “I welcome that.” She paused, thinking about how far she should go. “You two need to consider that if I’m telling the truth, someone went through a whole lot of trouble to frame me. Should I also remind you that I was a target in the restaurant bombing?”

  Frank shook his head. “Our best and current intel doesn’t support you being a target. We have a homegrown terrorist taking complete responsibility.”

  Isn’t that convenient?

  “I think you gentlemen have gotten your questions answered.” Hunter rose from his seat.

  Frank stood as well. “Yes, we have what we need for now.” He turned to her. “You’ll be contacted about coming in for that polygraph. And given the totality of the circumstances, we have decided that it is best for you to stay at a CIA safe house.”

  She hadn’t been expecting that. “Will I still have the security detail?”

  “We don’t think that’s necessary at an Agency safe house. Of course, we’ll keep close tabs on you, and if the situation changes, we’ll adjust quickly.”

  She studied him, unable to hide her skepticism. “I just want to understand the terms of engagement here. Am I free to move about as I want?”

  Monty nodded. “Yes. The safe house is something the DEA was pushing for as well, and as we said, I believe it makes sense, given everything that has happened. However, we reiterate our request that you stay in the greater DC area. You’ll be sent the details on the safe house and can move in tonight.”

  Layla wanted to hold her tongue but couldn’t. “When you find out that I was right about this, I want a full exoneration statement placed in my file. Are we clear on that?”

  Frank leaned against the table. “If you’re telling the truth, then that shouldn’t be an issue. If, however, the evidence shows otherwise, then the Agency intends to pursue all legal remedies at its disposal.”

  She wanted to throttle him, but she fought to keep her cool. Sensing that she was about to blow, Hunter took her arm and guided her out of the room.

  They didn’t say much until they had driven off Langley’s campus, but she was about to erupt. “Can you believe that?”

  She turned toward him, but he kept his eyes on the road as he responded. “Someone wants you out of the Agency and is willing to go to great lengths to make that happen.”

  “How does this tie in to the DEA angle? We need to think about timing. Could this case against me have been created and put in motion after we were outed during the DEA op?”

  “I find i
t difficult to see how they could’ve pulled that off, unless whoever is responsible knew about your DEA activity before your team was actually attacked. For me, the even bigger question is why the Agency is handling it this way.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Think about it, Layla. If those investigators really thought you were cavorting with a well-known terrorist, don’t you think they would’ve locked you up somewhere?”

  She rubbed her temples as her head pounded. “You’re wondering why they let me go? I know the answer. They’re watching me now. They want to see if they can catch me in the act. That whole bit about my security detail being released since I’m at a safe house? That was just them trying to make me think I have some freedom of movement, when really, I bet they’re going to be watching me closely.”

  “That’s a good point. And I know we’ve been down this road before, but we have to revisit it. Do you think Bryce could have anything to do with this?”

  “He seemed sincere when we met, but he’s also a trained liar.”

  “How’re his tech skills?”

  “Good. I doubt he personally would’ve been able to doctor the photos, but he knows people who could. He has extensive contacts.”

  “I’m going to talk to him solo,” Hunter said.

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “Yeah. I’ll get more answers without you there.”

  She flopped back into her seat. “Whatever you want to do on that front is fine with me.”

  “How’re you holding up?”

  She sighed. “I’m all right, I guess. You didn’t actually think for a minute that I could’ve done those things, did you?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not. I know you better than that. And even if you were trying to turn an asset, you wouldn’t have gone to his hotel room.”

  “I could’ve changed a lot since we were together,” she suggested.

  He glanced over at her. “You’re solid to the core, Layla. You can’t be shaken. Especially when it comes to your beliefs.”

  If only he knew how much she had gone through since they’d been together. “Thank you for saying that, but there have been a lot of times when I’ve wondered how I was going to make it through. I’ve made some mistakes and gone through some really dark spots. The doubts have piled up.”