The Lion's Prey

by Camden Mays

  “Well, mine is blowing up. Amy, McCune, Darryl, even my boss. What do you want me to tell them?”

  “Nothing. Your phone is off too.” He reached over and pushed her power button, turning off her cell.

  “Aw man, I had a great playlist built.” Hannah looked at the road signs to get her bearings as they drove west of Apple Mountain Lake. There would be limited options for stops for a while, so she said, “Hey, can we stop at the Highway 522 exit? I need a bathroom break.”

  “Sure.” Cole remembered seeing the sign indicating they were just a few miles out. “I told you you had too much coffee,” he said just as the blue lights of a Virginia state trooper flashed behind him. He checked his speedometer.

  “Were you speeding?” Hannah asked.

  “No,” Cole said, slowing the SUV on the shoulder and watching his mirror as the trooper approached. Another trooper’s car arrived and pulled in front of his vehicle. He rolled the window down.

  “Cole Cameron?” the officer asked, and Cole nodded. “Sir, we’ve been asked to escort you to Langley. Do you have a cell phone, sir?”

  “Yes, but it is off at the moment.”

  “Please turn it on, sir, and contact your office immediately as you follow us.”

  “Officer,” Cole said grabbing the man’s attention as he turned away. “We’ll need a bathroom stop up here before you turn us around.”

  “Understood, sir. Please follow us. We’ll be moving fast.”

  “Copy that.”

  He looked at Hannah as she dropped and shook her head in disappointment.

  “Can you believe they tracked our cell phones? I’m sorry, babe,” he said.

  She remained quiet until they pulled off the exit for the bathroom stop. “Well, if it’s something domestic, I might as well go into the NCTC myself. I’ll call my mom and let her know.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  ✽✽✽

  On the drive back, the police escort pushed between ninety and a hundred miles per hour. Cole reported to McCune and indicated he was on his way in while Hannah sat quietly, gazing out the window as the outside world flew by. Outside of that vehicle, no one and nothing seemed to care about their relationship. In fact, everything seemed to be conspiring against them. She had fought against commitment for so long because she did not want the accompanying pain of disappointment. She wasn’t sure how much of this kind of life she could take. As they slowed in a more congested area, she felt Cole’s hand touch her bare leg again. This time she ignored its warmth and moved her leg away. Conflicted still, with her self-preservation kicking in, she thought her old guarded self might have been right all along.

  Chapter 7

  Counterterrorism Center – Langley

  Cole Cameron stood in front of the retina scanner at the entrance to the den and waited for the red beam to wave across his right eye. Two seconds later, the familiar sound of the large metal locks released the door and he stepped into the expansive twenty-by-forty-foot area he called the pit.

  Nearly the full roster—over a dozen people—of his analytical team was frantically working, rolling chairs from one station to another, collaborating and handing off data. To his right through the glass wall in the first conference room, he could see McCune working with Capps and Wang, which meant that a field op was in the works.

  He drew a deep breath, swung his backpack off of his shoulder, and headed to his office between the two conference rooms. McCune saw him and nodded for him to join them.

  Be right there, he mouthed and continued to his door. Amy Wiggin’s workstation sat right outside of his door. She was like the conductor of an orchestra, masterfully leading the team of analysts in harmonizing and synthesizing data to create actionable intel. She was in her element, but she also had that worried look on her face again.

  “Cole, did you talk to McCune?” she asked.

  “Briefly over the phone. She told me to get my ass in here.” He sighed. He was tired and disappointed. He had worked long, hard days to break away for the trip and be unencumbered by the stress of the agency, but somehow it had sucked him back in.

  “You haven’t seen it then,” she said with her eyes slightly widening.

  “Seen what?”

  “Amy, I’ve got this,” McCune interrupted. “Cole, join us in the conference room, please.”

  “Toss that on my desk, would you?” he asked, handing his backpack to Amy and following McCune into the room. He was immediately troubled by the demeanor of his colleagues.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, closing the door behind him.

  “The AIJB released another video from the Lion of Aden,” McCune said.

  “Yeah, so what’s new about that? They drop a new piece of propaganda about every other day.”

  “This one has incited a significant reaction.” McCune paused. “And there’s a personal piece about you. Sara, why don’t you play it for him?”

  Wang hit the keys on the laptop, and the large screen in the conference room played the episode. It ended with the animated lion biting off Cole’s photoshopped head. He grabbed the back of the chair at the table and squeezed it, wishing he could tear it off. When am I going to catch a break?

  “Who all has seen this?” he asked, hoping it stayed in-house.

  “Everyone. It was released to all major news outlets and government agencies. Al Jazeera has it out, but most of the major US news broadcasters have agreed to not air it. But some will do it, and I’m afraid the rest will feel like they’re missing out on the story.” McCune let it sink in for Cole. He knew that Hannah would be getting this information at the NCTC, and Jess would undoubtedly be aware soon enough. Usually this sort of rhetoric was reserved for the president or a significant political figure, but the death call for Cole was growing because the enemy viewed him as the murderer of two great Muslim leaders. The AIJB was demanding justice.

  “Sorry, Cole,” Capps said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

  He just shook his head. “OK, it’s out there and out of my control. I think we need to take the fight to them, and I’m personally not going to be able to rest or feel good about the safety of my loved ones until we’ve eliminated every one of them.”

  Cole brushed aside the personal threat, knowing that the best thing for him to do was to lead from the front and become a lion hunter, and God help anyone who got in his way.

  “Based on what I see on the table here, you’re working up a field op plan. Fill me in, then let’s get loaded and going, because I’m ready to put an end to this shit.”

  ✽✽✽

  Washington, DC – Wharf District

  Hannah poured the remaining drops of wine from the bottle into her glass and shambled to her patio to watch the fourth of July fireworks that were set to highlight the night sky over the harbor. It sucked that Cole worked in a dead zone. She repeatedly glanced at the phone, anxious to see if he had texted or called. She regretted how she left the CTC quickly, giving him the cold shoulder, not allowing him to kiss her goodbye when he asked her to drive his SUV back to her place.

  She had gone home, changed, and reported in at the NCTC to assist with all of the threats they were fielding that holiday. As the day ended, Hannah had hoped Cole would be waiting for her when she got home, or at least contact her, but there was nothing. Seeing the threatening video at the NCTC was disturbing. She wanted to take back that selfish moment when she had denied him affection.

  Hannah feared for him, knowing firsthand the challenge of dealing with a determined foe. She also understood the kind of man Cole was, and while his enemy was determined, they may have just unleashed their own worst nightmare upon themselves. He had resources and a great team, his technical skills were finely honed, and more importantly, his resolve to protect his loved ones burned hot and could not be extinguished once ignited, and they had just sparked the fire in him.

  And that is the problem, she thought to herself as she sipped the wine, watching the first of the bright lights burst and p
op in the sky above the neighboring building over the water. He’ll either kill them all or die trying.

  The next morning, Hannah dragged herself out of bed and put on a white dress shirt that Cole had left behind on one of his visits. She had claimed it as her own. She liked wearing it because it made her feel closer to him somehow. Her head was hurting from too much wine the night before, and her bare feet shuffled on the hardwood floors to the kitchen.

  Pressing the button on the coffee machine produced blinking lights. “Of course. It’s out of water,” she mumbled to herself, grabbing the plastic container and filling it up. She tried putting the container back in its place on the machine but didn’t have the prongs lined up. “Come on, get in there,” she yelled at the coffee maker.

  As the machine finally went to work, she poured a glass of water and noticed a note on the kitchen island. Cole had come home last night after all.

  Sorry, got in after 2 a.m. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. Have to be at work for a while today but would like to take you out tonight. I’ll pick you up at 8:30 p.m.

  Love, Cole

  Now she really hated herself for her cold treatment. She knew any other time he would have just slid in the bed with her. Her actions had left him unsure of his footing, and that was the last thing Cole needed with everything he was facing.

  ✽✽✽

  McClean, Virginia

  Cole had a quick breakfast with Jess and told her that he would probably be home late again and that he was leaving on assignment the following day for an undetermined stretch. He hoped to be back in a couple of weeks but was unsure. He shared information about the video with her because she was bound to see it at some point. He eased her concerns, letting her know it was just propaganda. He told her not to worry but to still be careful, and advised her to call Hannah if she needed anything.

  Leaving his neighborhood, he pulled into a nearby gas station and filled up. As he placed the pump’s handle back in place, a man approached him, handing him a piece of paper.

  “What’s this?” Cole asked the stranger.

  “Woman in that car that just pulled out asked me to give it to you,” the stranger said, pointing in the direction of a BMW that had pulled out of Cole’s sight. “Guess you’ve got a secret admirer or something,” he said, walking away.

  The note asked Cole to meet at the Turkish Coffee Lady in Tysons Corner at 10:45 a.m. It suggested intel was available related to Russian involvement with Grant Ramsey and the AIJB and instructed him to come alone.

  Dammit. Cole realized he had been followed. He looked around to see if he could spot any other suspicious actors before climbing back in the SUV and driving to the CTC. Ramsey and the Russians were not his concern, but the note mentioned the AIJB, so Cole decided that after he got to the den and finalized their upcoming field trip to Yemen, he would take the meeting.

  ✽✽✽

  Tysons Corner, Virginia – Turkish Coffee Lady

  Cole arrived early and scouted out the gourmet café in Tysons Corner Center mall. He hated malls, and he didn’t care for coffee, even if it was imported from Istanbul. He looked around the place that attempted to bring the cultural and vintage feel from Turkey to Tysons Corner Center shoppers.

  He recognized Katrina Nikolin, the blonde SVR agent that McCune had shown him in the photos, when she walked in five minutes before eleven. She was dressed in modest business attire, and her allure was recognizable. The photos paled in comparison to how she looked in person. She pulled out the chair next to Cole, sat down, and ordered the Mehmet Efendi Turkish coffee.

  “You should try it, Mr. Cameron. Or at least the Turkish tea,” she said.

  He obliged and ordered the tea.

  “I’m sorry I am late. I had to make sure you weren’t followed. You understand.” She batted her eyes.

  “I do, Ms. Nikolin.”

  “Katrina, please,” she insisted. “Maybe, if we become good friends, Kat or Trina, even.”

  “I’ll take Katrina for now. Tell me, what does the SVR want with me? They’re not still pissed off about the Hilton, are they?” Cole had killed two Russians the night of the Gala. “I’ve got enough troubles of my own. Shouldn’t you guys be working with the operations channel or someone over in the EU?” Cole asked.

  “Please, Mr. Cameron—”

  “Call me Cole, since we’re already on a first-name basis here.”

  “Cole, you and I have more in common than you think.”

  Cole looked her over from top to bottom. “I doubt that,” he deadpanned.

  “Cole,” she said, reaching her hand across the table and placing it on top of his. “I can provide valuable information that will prove my intentions.”

  He moved her hand from his and asked, “And what would you want in return for this information?”

  Katrina paused as the server poured coffee into the vintage cup and the tea into the Turkish glassware.

  “So you do love the FBI woman. I told them I could see it, but they are convinced it will not last.”

  “I assume it was your group that gave al-Himyari all of the intel on me.”

  “Sadly, yes. But for what it’s worth, I was rooting for you.”

  “And what about my daughter? Were you rooting for her as well when she was being cut by the monster you supported?” Cole’s face revealed his contempt.

  “I assure you, those were not my intentions, but the man I work for is, well, he is evil. I can give you much information about the Bear and his dealings with Grant Ramsey, and, perhaps more importantly to you now, his dealings with the AIJB. They won’t stop until they kill you, you know.” Katrina sipped her coffee.

  “Or until I kill them all,” Cole shot back.

  “Your enemies have underestimated you before. Let’s hope they do so again. It would be such a waste to see a handsome, honorable man die at their hands.”

  “Look, I’ll take your offer to my boss and let you know, but I wouldn’t count on it. We can just have you arrested for espionage.”

  “My dear Cole, if you did that you would miss out on so much valuable intel. For instance, you’re heading to the wrong continent tomorrow.”

  That got Cole’s attention. How did she know?

  “Do you know who the Lion of Aden is?”

  “What I can tell you is that you and your team should go to the Horn of Africa. Mogadishu, Somalia in particular. There is a shipment of arms destined for the AIJB.” Katrina waved the proverbial carrot.

  “Alright. I’ll look into Mogadishu. If something comes of it, that will go a long way toward your credibility with the higher-ups.”

  “Please, only share with Nancy McCune. The Bear has eyes and ears everywhere. He is a very dangerous man. If he knew I was speaking with you about this matter, I’m sure he would have my eye in a jar,” Katrina said. Cole remembered the night at the hotel when he found the eye gouged out of the SVR’s former number-one man for North America.

  “Go to Mogadishu, Mr. Cameron. For your own sake, go and deal with the rabid terrorists. But share our discussion with no one other than McCune or we’ll both be dead. Also, you should know your political adversary, Congressman Shepherd, is not through with you yet. Perhaps I could help with that problem as well. I’ll make contact when you return.”

  Katrina stood, leaned over and kissed his cheek, catching him off guard. “Good luck, Cole.” She ran her fingers lightly across his cheekbone.

  Cole returned to the den at the CTC and had Amy and the team of analysts run through the chatter to see if anything related to Mogadishu popped up. He stood in the back watching the screens on the wall with Amy as she directed traffic.

  “Where did you go? Oh, never mind, I see you must have met up with Hannah. There’s some lipstick on your cheek.” Amy said, handing him a tissue.

  “What? Dammit.” Cole wiped at his cheek.

  After a couple of hours of research, Amy said the only thing they had received came from Pearl Fahimi. “You remember we ha
d her follow the Lion’s lieutenant, Jawahir, to Sana’a? He’s been there for a couple of weeks. Pearl’s been able to gather additional intel, and we’re building the roster of new players there, but she sent a message to Bridgette that Jawahir boarded a plane to Mogadishu.” The field team had taken the day off since they were scheduled to fly out at noon tomorrow.

  “Change of plans,” Cole said. “We’re packed and ready to go, but we need to get to Mogadishu instead. Just let the crew know, OK? I’m running late. I’ve got to get out of here.”

  “Sure, I’ll take care of it. Tell Hannah hello for me. Be careful over there.” Amy loved working with Cole, but the stress of the job was building up, and the personal nature of the threats was adding to the anxiety. She couldn’t take losing another friend.

  ✽✽✽

  Washington, DC – Quill at The Jefferson

  Hannah and Cole sat in the upscale lounge, Quill, selecting a pair of imaginative cocktails. The in-house pianist began playing music, adding to the cozy and intimate setting. Hannah scooted closer to Cole, adjusting her lovely cocktail dress. Cole had raced home to clean up, changing into dress jeans, a dress shirt, and a sports coat. He wanted the night to be special.

  Hannah took Cole’s hand. “I saw the video . . . I’m so sorry about how I left you at the CTC on the fourth.”

  “I’m sorry too. It’s like we get pulled back every time.”

  “I’m worried for you, Cole. I’m terrified, actually. I’m trying to hold it together, but it just doesn’t seem to end . . . I’m worried about you, and I’m worried about us. It’s breaking my heart just thinking about it.”

  “Don’t give up on us, babe.”

  “Why do you have to be the crusader?” Hannah asked, and Cole tilted his head. “OK, poor word choice. Why do you have to be the one to go?”

  “They’ll never stop, Hannah. And I’m not about to let any of them hurt you, Jess, or Brittany ever again.”