Elimination

by Jackie D.

  She opened the laptop, hoping to shake off some of her melancholy by reading about some of their success. It wasn’t hard to find information about Carol O’Brien or Steven Walker. Their faces and bad deeds were splashed across every news outlet in the world. They’d either spend the rest of their lives in jail, or they’d be sentenced to death. Dylan hoped for the former. A lifetime spent having to relive your bad decisions seemed much more painful than death.

  She opened a link on the news article. It seemed O’Brien and Walker were rolling over on whoever possible to garner even the slightest bit of favor. Major players in the National Socialist Movement were being arrested in swaths. Apparently, loyalty had no place in their circles. The forces of good were winning, at least for today.

  She went over to the small bag of groceries she’d picked up on the way to her apartment and pulled out a salad. She struggled to open the packaging with only one good hand. Yet another reminder of how alone she really was. When she first came to work for the CIA, the allure of a solitary life was the most appealing aspect. She loved the idea of depending on herself and no one else. She relished the thought of leading different lives and blending in anywhere she went. What had changed? She knew the answer. Emma. Emma had changed everything. She finally got the plastic container open, despite her shaking hand. She told herself it was from the strain of trying to do things with one hand, but that wasn’t true. The loss of Emma had crippled her far more than any injury she’d ever sustained.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  “Director Ericson is ready for you.” Anne, Ericson’s assistant, hung up the phone and pointed to the closed door.

  Tyler and Caden stepped into the office and waited for him to tell them to sit. “Good morning, Director,” Tyler said.

  “I don’t know why the CIA has such a hard-on for you two, but I’m getting really tired of having to share my agents.” He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Sir?” Caden looked between Ericson and Tyler.

  He slid a folder across the desk in their direction. “You’re temporarily assigned. Again. I don’t have all the details. The CIA classifies damn near everything as Top Secret. Go talk to Deputy Director Martin, get your assignment, and get this wrapped up. I need you two back.”

  Tyler took the folder and opened it. Most of the information had been redacted, but she recognized the name at the top. Nikolai Orlav. She showed the papers to Caden.

  “Did Deputy Director Martin tell you when he wanted to see us?” Caden asked.

  Ericson looked incredulous. “I don’t know, Styles. Apparently, I don’t need to be in the loop. Why don’t you go find out?”

  Tyler turned toward the door and Caden followed suit. “We’ll report back as soon as this is over.”

  He waved them off. “Don’t embarrass us.”

  “He seems like he’d be fun at parties,” Caden said as they made their way to the elevator.

  “What do you think this is about?” Tyler asked, ignoring Caden’s comment.

  Caden shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  The drive from DC to Langley only took about twenty-five minutes. The process of getting inside took about just as long. Once their credentials were accepted, they were escorted to one of the secure rooms.

  “This must be big,” Caden whispered to Tyler as they were escorted through the hallways.

  “It always is when we get called over here,” Tyler said.

  The agent escorting them entered a code into the panel next to the door and waited until it beeped before he left them. Tyler wasn’t surprised to see Brooke and Deputy Director Martin sitting inside. She was surprised to see Emma.

  Martin must have noticed the look on Tyler’s face because he answered her unasked question. “Quinn is on loan to us from the NSA.”

  “You guys really have a thing for poaching other agency agents, huh?” Caden laughed at her own joke, but Martin didn’t seem amused.

  “Play the recording,” Martin said to Emma.

  There were several minutes of idle chitchat between Nikolai and the guy named Bogdan. Tyler was beginning to wonder why any of this was relevant when she finally heard it. “I’ll be in DC for about a week. My daughter is graduating from Georgetown.”

  Emma slid folders to both Caden and Tyler. “We weren’t aware that Nikolai had a daughter. So, we ran the student database to find out what Russian citizens were attending. We came up empty, so I had to do some more digging. It turns out Nikolai’s daughter is Ashley Lloyd, who is an American citizen. We were able to find a connection between Nikolai and Ashley’s mother, Rachel Lloyd, in the summer of ninety-six. Rachel took a backpacking trip through Europe the summer before college. These two had a whirlwind relationship that ended with Ashley. As far as we can tell, Nikolai has sent money to Rachel over the years but has no relationship with either of them.”

  Tyler flipped through the pictures. “What’s changed? Why is he coming now?”

  “We aren’t sure. We couldn’t find any correspondence between Nikolai, Rachel, and Ashley. It’s safe to assume he’s kept an eye on his daughter and knows her happenings. We don’t think Rachel and Ashley know he’s coming,” Brooke said.

  Tyler directed her attention to Martin. “It was Prey’s intention to flip him, and she was nearly there when the mission went sideways.”

  Martin smiled. “It seems we’ve been given another chance to help make that happen.”

  Tyler shook her head. “There’s no time. Even if we could get past his security, we’d never convince him to talk to us. It would cause too big of a scene. He’s never in public without a full entourage, and even in private he has a full security force. An asset is no good if people know they’re an asset.”

  Martin held up his hand for her to stop. “I’ve put in a request to bring someone in who can get to him. You’re all familiar with Agent Prey. She’s being flown in tomorrow to help with this mission, given her knowledge of everything to do with Nikolai. You four will help with support. Prey is already familiar with all of you, and we need expediency with this mission. Glass won’t be joining you this time. She’s on another assignment, which is why I asked for Quinn.”

  Emma turned a ghostly shade of white. She clearly didn’t know about the full scope of the mission until this moment. Tyler couldn’t begin to imagine what she was feeling, and she wished there was some way to make it better. Emma had been a wreck when they left Dylan almost nine weeks ago. It was only in these last few days she’d seen any improvement. She couldn’t imagine what it would do to her emotionally to be thrown back in with the source of her pain.

  Martin stood. “Be here, thirteen hundred hours tomorrow. We only have a few days to get this wrapped up.”

  Martin left the room, and for a full minute, no one said anything. Finally, Emma broke the silence. “I’ll pull everything I have on Rachel and Ashley. That way, it will all be ready for Prey when she gets here.” She looked at Tyler and Caden. “I was able to figure out where Nikolai will be staying. Can you two please figure out the best place to try to corner him with the least impact? I want to make sure Brooke and I have time to find out schedules of employees if necessary and run backgrounds on them. I want to make sure we know which people are Nikolai’s.”

  Tyler nodded and watched Emma walk out the door. There’d been such a shift in her since they’d met a few months before. She’d gone from being quiet, awkward, and nervous to giving them orders. Emma’s time in Russia had been good for her. But at what cost?

  * * *

  Emma stood in the doorway with her gift. She didn’t want to go inside. All she wanted to do was go home and drink an entire bottle of wine. She took a deep breath. She reminded herself that wasn’t an option and she owed it to Tyler and Brooke to be here. It didn’t matter that she’d have to see Dylan tomorrow. The world didn’t stop turning just because her world hadn’t quite gotten back on its axis.

  “Emma? What are you doing out here?” Jennifer
sounded concerned.

  Caden appeared by her side and put her hand on the doorknob. “I’ll be inside if you need any of my expertise.”

  Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Doubtful. We’ll be in soon.”

  Jennifer pulled her to the corner. “I heard about Dylan. How are you holding up?”

  Emma wanted to say that she was fine. She wanted to tell her that she was over Dylan. She wanted to say that they’d shared a lovely time together, but now that it was over, she was ready to move on. That’s not what came out of her mouth. “I don’t know what to say when I see her.”

  Jennifer rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry. I know this must be terribly difficult for you. At least it’s only a few days, right? Plus, it will be all work. That will be a good distraction.”

  Emma knew Jennifer was trying. In truth, there was nothing she could say that would make it better. She appreciated that she had friends who tried. Emma closed her eyes and focused on the importance of this evening. Two people who were meant for each other were celebrating their union with a bridal shower. Well, a bridal shower that was more like a BBQ. She decided she’d focus on the people she cared about, instead of the one she’d lost.

  “You ready to go inside?” Emma gave Jennifer a forced smile.

  “We can stay out here as long as you need.”

  Emma nodded toward the door. “No, this will be good for me.”

  When Emma opened the door, she was hit with a wall of laughter and chatter. People were wandering around, talking, drinking, and laughing. Hugs were being exchanged, and music flowed through the house. The room was overflowing with love, and Emma let it wash over her.

  Claire greeted them with a hug. “Emma, Jennifer, it’s so good to see you both.”

  Emma stuck out the present she’d brought. “Where should I put this?”

  Claire smiled and took the package. “You know they’d tell you that you didn’t have to do that, but I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Brooke and Tyler are somewhere over there. Make yourselves at home.”

  Brooke’s expression when she saw them was genuine and full of love. “You made it! Thank you for coming.” She handed Emma a glass of wine.

  Emma took a sip. “Thanks for inviting me.”

  Brooke laughed. “Emma, you’re a bridesmaid, of course you’re invited. Is there anything I can get you?”

  Emma held up her glass. “This was all I wanted.”

  Brooke rubbed her back. “Well, help yourself to anything you see. I have to go greet some more guests.” She hugged her again. “Thank you for coming. I know today was hard for you.”

  Making the best of the evening was much easier than Emma had expected. Everyone Brooke and Tyler had invited was warm, vivacious, and genuinely nice. There were several times throughout the evening where she was so caught up in conversations, she didn’t think about Dylan at all. It was the first time since she’d left Estonia that she thought she might make it through. No, her heart would never be the same, but she’d be all right.

  Tyler and Brooke were a sight to watch. Their love for one another permeated everything they did. Their subtle touches and long glances were proof that true love existed. Emma felt lucky to witness something so extraordinary. She hadn’t realized until Dylan that she wanted something like this too. She wanted someone who looked at her like there was no one else in the room. She wanted to know that someone would risk it all to be with her. She wanted a relationship where they’d put aside their own insecurities because their relationship was more important. She’d foolishly thought that person could be Dylan. Now that she knew better, she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Dylan sat in the cold, harshly lit room. She’d been surprised to hear about her summons back to the States but was excited at the prospect of seeing Emma again. Since her arrival in London, she’d spent the entire time scouring potential job openings that could get her back to this area, back to Emma. It had taken plenty of lonely nights, a lot of tears, and hours of soul searching to realize what a colossal mistake she’d made. At first, she pushed Emma away because the prospect of something happening to her was too much. She couldn’t bear the responsibility of keeping Emma safe, or worse, what it would do if she failed. Finally, she realized those had been excuses. She’d run from Emma because she’d been scared. Emma had been so overwhelmed with emotions that Dylan had to make the final break. They had discussed what the outcome would be and Emma thought that had changed because she’d gotten hurt. Emma didn’t want to see the danger they were still in and what that could mean. She needed to talk to Emma and clear things up between them. Her reasons had been valid, but so had their emotions.

  Tyler and Caden entered the room first, and both greeted Dylan with a hug. Brooke followed next, holding the door open for Emma. Brooke greeted her warmly, tossing questions at her about her injury. Dylan couldn’t answer because she wasn’t paying attention to anything but Emma. Emma was a bit paler and much thinner than the last time she’d seen her. Dylan had a feeling the transformation had nothing to do with illness and everything to do with the way she’d ended things. She wanted to go talk to her. She wanted to say anything to erase the dark circles from under her eyes.

  Deputy Director Martin interrupted any plans to get Emma alone. “Agent Prey, thank you for coming back. I assume you read the brief overview of what we’ll be doing here?”

  Dylan forced herself to pull her attention from Emma. “Yes, I understand the objective.”

  “Did you hear any whisperings about a daughter during your time with Nikolai?” Brooke held her fingers over the keys on her laptop, ready to take notes.

  “No, he never mentioned anything to me, and I never overheard anything about her.”

  “Here’s the plan,” Tyler said and put a map up on the screen in the room. “Nikolai arrives tomorrow afternoon. He has a reservation for dinner at seven that evening. The next day is his daughter’s graduation, and then he leaves fourteen hours later. We can’t pick him up at graduation. Our only opportunity is his restaurant outing.”

  “It won’t be easy to get to him. He always has a personal driver and at least two security guards with him. Even if he were going to use the restroom, at least one of the men would accompany him,” Dylan said.

  “We expected that. We’ll have minimal opportunity to grab him and bring him in. So, we’re going to get him to come to us.” Caden smiled and continued. “When he walks out, you’re going to hand him a note. The note will say that he must meet you, alone, or you will go after his daughter. We don’t have any record that he knows you’re CIA yet. So, we assume he’ll believe your threat.”

  Dylan watched Emma. She was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and she still wouldn’t look at her. “And if he ignores the note and brings some of his guys? What if he refuses to flip and then knows I’m CIA?”

  “If he brings his men with him, we will neutralize them. He won’t refuse to flip. Emma has put together his extensive criminal activity, and we’ll threaten to expose it to his daughter. I have a pretty good feeling she’s the key we never knew we needed.” Tyler sat back, obviously waiting for Dylan to offer feedback.

  Dylan ran her one working hand over her face. “This is a rushed plan. It’s clear you’ve only had a few days to put it together.”

  Caden leaned forward. “So, is that a yes?”

  “Of course, I’m in,” Dylan said. “Having Nikolai as an asset will be the difference in dismantling some of the worst criminal activity in the world. It’s worth the risk.”

  Caden smacked Tyler. “Told you she’d do it.”

  Martin stood. “Whatever you need equipment wise, you got it. I’ll be at the safe house waiting for your arrival. Monroe and Styles will run backup for you. If things get too hairy, they’ll extract you. Quinn and Hart will be your eyes and ears out there. They’ll be able to track and see everything Styles and Monroe can’t.” He shook Dylan’s hand. “Thanks for doing this. I know you aren’t c
leared for duty yet. It won’t be forgotten.” He walked out of the room without another word.

  “I’d invite you to stay with us, but I know you have to stay hidden here until the mission starts. Rain check for when this is all over?”

  Tyler was genuine, and Dylan appreciated the sentiment.

  “Absolutely.” Dylan watched them all stand to leave. “Emma, can I talk to you for a second?”

  Emma closed the distance between them. Dylan was caught off guard by the fury in her eyes. “There’s nothing to say, Dylan. Let’s just get this over with and then we can both go back to our separate lives.”

  Dylan didn’t care that the others were still in the room. Emma clearly didn’t mind doing this in front of them, so she wouldn’t either. “I don’t want separate lives. I thought that was what would keep you safe. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was following the rules we’d already set, and at that time, we did what we had to do. But things are different now. We can find a way to make this work.”

  Emma’s face flushed. “It’s too late. I spent months crying myself to sleep over you. I checked my phone and email hundreds of times a day, hoping you’d reach out to me. Spoiler alert, you didn’t. You contacted Tyler and Brooke, but not me. I get that we set rules, and that we had boundaries. I understand why things ended the way they did. But you’ve been out of harm’s way for months, Dylan. You’ve had thousands of minutes and even more seconds to pick up the phone and call me, but you didn’t. Now, you’ve decided that we can make this work. I can’t go through this again. Losing you once was enough.”