Primal Deception

by Robin Mahle

  “Don’t be.” Axell stopped her in her tracks. “I wouldn’t expect anyone forced into a situation like this to behave any differently. You’re angry, and you know what? So am I.” He guided her back inside.

  Will rested on the sofa with his leg propped and a new bandage applied over the gash caused by a bullet’s graze. He noted their return with a nod of determination.

  Axell dropped an envelope onto the coffee table. “We have a recorded conversation between Undersecretary Kendrick and Lei Jian regarding the first attempt on the both of you two days ago. Kendrick’s getting nervous, but there was no mention of what happened at the cabin. So, he may not know yet, or Jian didn’t want to reveal what he already knew.”

  “What happens now?” Aaron asked.

  “I’ve set up a meeting at the undersecretary’s office first thing in the morning. I thought it best if I met with him because he knows that Caison is on the task force.”

  “You can’t just waltz…” Lacy was stopped cold.

  “I can because I’ve been working with the State Department on this since the beginning. Kendrick knows me and knows I’ve been working in concert with the FBI. He thinks this is simply a meeting to update him on the status of the investigation.”

  “And what are we supposed to do? Sit on our thumbs and wait?” Lacy replied.

  “You’ll all need to sit tight until after the meeting. I need to try and find out what he knows and if he’s the one pushing the agenda to release the story about the attack. It’ll give me an opportunity to find out who else in his department might be involved or if he’s acting alone. And, I’ll be wired. It’s our best shot at getting the full evidence we need in the time frame we have.”

  “And if he doesn’t talk?” Will asked.

  “When I’m through with him, he’ll understand his risk of exposure. This is a politician whose only desire is to stay in power, and that will work to our advantage.”

  “It’s too risky, Agent Axell.” Lacy began. “He sent China’s secret service after us. He’ll do anything to protect his interests.”

  “He didn’t send them. Lei Jian did. But what he may not realize is that there are people in the Ministry who aren’t involved with this, who don’t want to see relations with the US strained. People who I’m in contact with are aware of what’s happening and they want it to stop as much as we do. They’re working with us—me because there’s too much money for them here. They’re too invested.”

  “And those are the people who will…what? Convince Kendrick to give himself up, along with Jian and probably Tom Neville?”

  “We’re going to take this one step at a time. Approach Kendrick, get a feel for the situation. I’ll get a read on him and figure out if he’s the threat or if Jian is the one pulling the strings.”

  ♦♦♦

  “I’m on my way. Be ready,” Axell announced as he drove alone to Kendrick’s office. His “wire” was a device the size of a cuff link and was attached to his shirt, recording audio and transmitting it to a colleague who could stream it live on his laptop. The colleague was an old friend who Axell had worked with many times before but who hadn’t wanted to be known to the others. It was just how he preferred to operate. And since this was a member of the administration, the less anyone knew who was involved, the better for all.

  “Travis Axell, I have a meeting with Undersecretary Kendrick.” Axell wasn’t a case officer and didn’t operate under a false identity; however, it was off-putting to most people when he introduced himself as CIA, so he opted to leave that part out. He waited for the assistant to make the announcement of his arrival.

  Moments later, she turned to him. “Mr. Kendrick is ready to see you.” She gestured in the direction of his office door.

  Axell walked inside and stepped toward Kendrick with his hand extended. “Undersecretary Kendrick. Pleasure to see you again.” He held his position for a moment and realized Kendrick wasn’t going to shake his hand. And when he noticed a man out of the corner of his eye, an icy expression masked his face. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t realize you weren’t alone. I can come back at a more suitable time.”

  “No need for apologies. My friend would like to show you out, if that’s okay. I have a very full schedule and I’m afraid I’ll need to call this meeting short.”

  Someone had gotten to Kendrick and now Axell had to figure a way to get the evidence he needed. There wasn’t going to be another chance. “Before I go, I’d just like to mention that the FBI is pushing back on making the announcement. They are hell-bent on following the lead regarding Nova Investments.”

  “I’m not sure I follow.” Kendrick nodded to his man to hold off.

  “I mentioned to you the other day that they had found information suggesting an employee of Argus Solutions had been taking money from Nova Investments in exchange for information on its competition.” Axell noted Kendrick’s expression, as though he must’ve just realized Jian’s men still hadn’t taken care of the problem. Perhaps this would get him out of the situation, or get them to hold off long enough so his colleague could get there.

  “It no longer matters what the FBI believes. The Administration will move forward with a statement in the coming days. I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time.”

  The unexpected associate opened his jacket to reveal a gun. “You heard Mr. Kendrick. He’s a very busy man. I’ll show you out.”

  Axell nodded politely as they passed by the assistant. “Thank you, miss. You have a good day.”

  He took the lead with the man only steps behind him until they made their way outside of the building. “Where you going to do this? Not exactly quiet around here.”

  “Just keep walking.” The man brushed against his side, ensuring the weapon was pressed against him.

  “Hey, I was just asking.” Axell put his left hand in his pocket.

  “Show me your hands.”

  He pulled it out quickly. “Sorry about that. Just habit.”

  The two continued until they reached a car waiting on the curb.

  “Get in.”

  He was urged to slide into the back seat while the man with the gun stepped into the front passenger side.

  “Let’s go,” he said to the driver.

  ♦♦♦

  A knock sounded on Axell’s door and Lacy seized in fear.

  A man’s voice carried through it and Lacy looked at Will, neither knowing who this person was. She stood up from the couch. “I’ll get it.”

  “No. Let me.” Will pulled himself up, still feeling a stab of pain in his leg and walked toward the door, peering through the fish-eye lens.

  “It’s about Travis Axell. I need you to let me in.”

  Will waited for him to offer up identification and when he did, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Agent Axell didn’t tell us someone was coming.”

  “I know. They’ve got him and we need to act quickly.”

  “Wait! They’ve got who? What the hell’s going on?” Lacy asked.

  “Axell. They’ve got Agent Axell. I don’t have time to explain. I need Caison.”

  Lacy turned to Will. “What are you going to do? I can’t stay here. I’ve got to help him.”

  “No way,” Will began. “You’re staying right here and so is Aaron. I’ll go and help. Look, Lacy, he knew the risks and he’s got people on his side. You need to let him take care of this or risk burning the whole thing.”

  The man waited while these two argued. “There’s no time for this. Caison, you and I need to go now.”

  “If you think we’re going to stay here and do nothing, then you’re both sorely mistaken. Do what you need to do to help Agent Axell, but Aaron and I can do something. We can talk to my boss. She’ll have answers as to what’s going on with the investigation. And we can tell Mendez what’s happening.” Lacy grabbed her wallet and cell phone and turned to Aaron. “You coming?”

  “Where are we going?”

 
; “FBI Headquarters. This ends now.”

  “Lacy, no,” Will insisted.

  “Let her go. Axell’s life could be in danger and I need your help. If they’re going to headquarters, they’ll be safe there.” He turned to Lacy. “Don’t come back here until you hear from me or Agent Caison.”

  Will wasn’t going to sway either of them and conceded, “Porter. Agent Porter. He’s the one who set up the surveillance and gave Axell the envelope with the recording. That’s who you need to see; him or SSA Mendez. No one else. Trust no one else!”

  ♦♦♦

  Lacy had taken Will’s car and stepped out as they arrived at the FBI building.

  Aaron soon followed. “What now?”

  “We go inside and talk to Porter and Mendez.”

  “You don’t work here anymore, remember? How are you planning on getting inside?”

  “My boss. She’ll get us in.” Lacy walked into the lobby, stepping up to the information desk. “I’d like to see Michelle Vogel, please.”

  “Do you have an appointment?” the man asked.

  “No. But she knows me. Could you please call her?”

  The man raised the phone. “What’s your name?”

  He knew her name. She’d worked there for the past four years. Irritation masked her face, but she continued, “Lacy Merrick.”

  He nodded and dialed Michelle’s number. “Ms. Vogel, you have a Lacy Merrick here to see you.” He paused for a moment. “Thank you,” he said and returned the phone to the desk. “She’ll be right down. Just wait over there, please.”

  Minutes passed and Lacy’s nerves stood on end. “What’s taking so long?”

  “You sure she’s still your friend?” Aaron asked.

  “She’ll be down.”

  Finally, the elevator doors opened and Michelle Vogel stepped out, but she wasn’t alone. Lacy swallowed the rising lump in her throat.

  “Who’s that?” Aaron whispered.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Lacy, it’s so good to see you.” Michelle greeted her with a hug. “And who’s this?”

  “A friend of mine.” She hesitated to give his name, but he jumped in anyway.

  “Aaron Hunter. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Michelle,” Lacy began, “I’m sorry to arrive unannounced, but I was hoping to speak with you.”

  “Of course. This is SSA Martin Delgado. I think it might be a good idea for him to sit in with us.”

  She wanted to ask who the hell this person was. Instead, Lacy nodded to Aaron as if everything was just fine. “Sure.”

  They made their way to Michelle’s office on the same floor where Lacy worked only days ago. An odd, unsettling feeling passed through Lacy as eyes glared back at her from the cubicles as they walked. It was as if they all thought she was guilty of some horrendous crime.

  “Please have a seat.” Michelle ushered them inside and closed her door.

  Lacy hesitated to speak. She had no idea if this man could be trusted and Will’s final words to her echoed in her ear. Trust no one else. “Actually, I was hoping I could speak with SSA Mendez. I know he and his partner, Agent Caison, have been working on the investigation regarding the mall attack; the one that killed my husband.” With her final statement, she glared at Delgado.

  “Of course,” Agent Delgado replied. “I am so sorry to hear how this has affected your family. I can’t imagine…” He trailed off. “But I’m afraid SSA Mendez has been called back to Louisville and the investigation has been turned over to me.”

  She felt Aaron’s gaze fall upon her as if he believed their entire plan had just blown up in their faces. Maybe it had, but they were here now. “I see. I was hoping to get an update on the investigation, seeing as I’ve been stripped of my credentials.”

  “Is that what this is about?” Michelle asked. “Lacy, you know there’s a conflict here and I had no choice but to remove you from the situation.”

  “And what about now? You still believe my husband was involved? Even after a terrorist group claimed responsibility?”

  “There are a lot of moving parts here, Mrs. Merrick,” Delgado said. “And unfortunately, since I’m just getting into the meat of the situation, I can’t recommend your return until I know more.”

  They needed Mendez’s help and that door had just slammed shut. Axell was on his own and Lacy could only hope that Will and the other man who hadn’t introduced himself could find him.

  “I’d like to get an understanding of where the investigation is at, if I could,” Lacy began. “I’m not sure if I can offer up anything new, but if you could share your thoughts, that would be a good start.”

  Time was being wasted, but Lacy didn’t know how to get out of this. She couldn’t reveal what they knew about Kendrick or China or anything because the man in front of her might have friends in the State Department who didn’t want to see the truth come to light.

  “I don’t think that’s possible, Mrs. Merrick. As I’ve said, I’m still wrapping my arms around this and, as you’re no longer on staff, I simply can’t share anything with you at the moment.”

  She began to rise. “I understand and I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” She turned to Aaron. “We should go now.”

  The two began to leave, but Delgado spoke up. “SSA Mendez’s partner, Agent Caison… have you spoken with him lately?”

  “No. I’m afraid I haven’t. Thank you again.” She eyed Aaron to insist they take their leave. “Goodbye, Michelle, it was good to see you.”

  “Actually, I’ll walk you out.” Michelle turned her attention to the senior agent. “Excuse me for just a moment.” She joined them in the hall and began walking with them toward the elevators. “You mind telling me what that was all about? What are you doing here?”

  Lacy stopped. “I need to see Agent Porter, Michelle. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need your help.”

  She regarded them with what appeared to be sympathy. “I don’t know why Mendez was pulled from the investigation or how this man knew you were here. I didn’t tell him. He caught up with me before I got on the elevators and said he ‘heard’ you were here and wanted to have a word.”

  Lacy began to feel that Michelle hadn’t been compromised. “Something very bad is happening, and I’m running out of time. Will you help us?”

  Michelle peered over her shoulder. “Follow me. We need to be quick.”

  They hurried onto the elevator and walked through the building until finally reaching the Ops Center where Porter was stationed.

  “That’s him, over there.” Michelle led the way to the man who had risked his job and broken half a dozen laws to help Caison.

  “Agent Porter,” Michelle began, “I don’t know if you’ve met Lacy Merrick. She works—worked—in data analysis.”

  “We’ve met, but only briefly. Nice to see you again. What can I do for you?”

  “I can take it from here, Michelle,” Lacy said.

  She nodded and placed her hand on Lacy’s shoulder. “Be careful and only call me on my personal cell if you need me.”

  When Michelle disappeared from view, Lacy turned to Porter. “Do you have anything new?”

  “How’s Caison?”

  “He’s okay. However, we’ve got a pressing concern regarding our friend with Central Intelligence.”

  He eyed her, appearing to anticipate an explanation, but she remained silent. “You heard about Mendez being transferred?”

  “Yes.”

  Porter nodded. “Hang on; it’ll take me a minute. I wasn’t expecting you.” Moments later, he handed her a flash drive. “This is from first thing this morning. I tried to reach out to our mutual friend earlier but got no response.”

  She tried to take it from him, but he was holding on.

  “This is the last you’ll hear from me. You’re not safe here, you understand? None of you are.”

  22

  The men who flanked Axell pulled him insi
de an office, taking little notice of his injured hand, but Axell didn’t give them the satisfaction of revealing discomfort. It had been a long time since he’d found himself in this position. Not since his days in Syria at the beginning of the Arab Spring when he was under cover.

  “Please, sit down, Agent Axell.” The man behind the desk motioned toward the seat in front of him. “I suppose you’d like to know why you’re here?”

  Axell remained silent as he took his seat.

  “That looks like a painful injury to your hand. What did you do?”

  Still, Axell only eyed the man with suspicion.

  “You don’t talk much, do you, Agent Axell? Then I suppose I’ll have to do all the talking. You’re in a very delicate position, agent. One that, frankly, hasn’t been handled as well as I would’ve expected. Nevertheless, here we are at a crossroads.” He waited for a rebuttal, but none came. “I’ll get to the point. You and your friends have been interfering in a situation you know absolutely nothing about. And unfortunately, this has become a problem for my associates and me. You see, Mr. Kendrick is working very hard to maintain diplomatic ties with China, ensuring its continued investment in United States.

  “Your country’s economic recovery has been absolutely dependent upon this investment. Whether you are aware of this or not, that has been the case. And exposure of what you think you know would mean the end of such good relations and the end of my country’s interest in continuing to invest.”

  Axell remained steadfast.

  “Whatever it is you and your friends think you know is absolutely false. Continuing to pry for answers will only mean more trouble ahead. Now I am giving you this opportunity to call your friends off. Allow your government to do as it sees fit for your people.”

  “And if we don’t comply?” Axell finally broke his silence.

  One of the men who stood behind him pressed his hand on top of his injury and applied pressure.