“You two are impossible,” Cassidy laughed.
“You’re sure that you don’t,” Helen began.
“You go,” Cassidy told Helen. “Kenzie and I will be fine. Besides, I sort of promised Dylan that Kenzie would get her turn with you two soon.”
“Uh-huh,” Rose chimed. “Stock that wine rack,” she said.
“Will you go already?” Cassidy said.
Rose leaned in and kissed Cassidy’s cheek. “Call us when you know about Kenzie?”
“Promise,” Cassidy told the pair. She waved to Dylan and received a wink from Helen. With a deep breath and a forceful exhale, Cassidy made her way to Helen’s car. “Well, Kenz, it’s you and me, and I’ll just bet some penicillin.”
“Bahhh,” Mackenzie groaned.
“I agree,” Cassidy said as she turned the key in the ignition.
***
“What is this place?” Eleana whispered from behind Krause.
Krause had been in his fair share of dark places. This place, whatever it was, gave even the seasoned agent chills. The air itself was cold. It seemed to crackle with foreboding energy. The drainage pipe served as exactly what Krause had expected. It provided access to a series of tunnels that he suspected led to something housed beneath the structure they had just been exploring. Navigating them was proving difficult. While they were largely clear of any debris, they remained dark and damp. A putrid smell, one that Krause had come to associate with death hung heavily in the air. It sickened him to his core. The absence of sound that accompanied the presence of death was ironically deafening. Krause sensed the shuddering of his companion. He stopped and turned to her.
“Eleana, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. I’m okay,” she told him. Krause’s skepticism was both evident and well placed. “I promise,” she said with a gentle grip on his forearm. “I just, I can’t place it.”
“What’s that?” Krause asked.
“This place. It’s a feeling, like…”
“Death,” Krause said. “It’s death.” Eleana shuddered again, this time visibly. “Are you sure….”
“Let’s go,” Eleana said.
Krause nodded and began moving cautiously forward again. He noticed a break several yards ahead in the tunnel and stopped.
“This place is a maze,” Eleana observed.
“Deliberately so,” he agreed. Krause gestured for Eleana to be quiet. He detected something faint in the distance. It sounded like a soft rumbling. He tuned his senses toward the sound.
“Jonathan?”
Krause grabbed Eleana’s arm forcefully. “Run!” he directed her, pulling her toward the tunnel on the left. The faint sound grew quickly from a soft rumble to a deafening roar. Eleana struggled to keep pace with Krause’s long strides. “Keep moving!” he implored her. “Come on, Eleana!”
A stale stench grew as the source of the sound became apparent—water. More accurately, some type of sewage. Eleana had no desire to know what it was composed of. She was taken off guard when Krause lifted her from the ground and she felt slammed against something hard. Krause had discovered a small opening in the wall of the left-hand tunnel and made the decision to shelter in place. Eleana coughed into his chest, struggling to catch her breath. His body pressed firmly against hers and he whispered in her ear. “Breathe.”
Eleana continued to choke. Feeling herself beginning to wretch violently, she attempted to pull away from his grasp. Krause tightened his hold. “Shallow breaths, Eleana. Don’t try to breathe in deeply. Easy and shallow,” he instructed her.
Krause felt Eleana collapse into him as support. He had been inclined at several junctures to insist that she stay behind. It wasn’t that Eleana was incapable. She was as capable as any agent he knew. What she lacked was exposure. The only way to achieve the level of experience that Krause had was to immerse an agent in the worst of scenarios imaginable. The truth was, he did not want Eleana tainted by those. A person could not remain softhearted in this business, not in the world that Jonathan Krause had traveled in for many years. Death was something a person never got used to. It was something a person in Krause’s line of work had to become hardened to. Eleana was not meant for hardness. He silently battled with himself for allowing her to accompany him at all.
The thundering sound was gradually being replaced by a swishing that sounded like a distant echo. Krause felt Eleana’s breathing even out as the smell and sound abated. Instinctively, he kissed her on the forehead. “I wish you would not have come,” he admitted.
“You can’t protect me from everything.”
“No, but you don’t need to see this. Not this.”
“We don’t even know what this is yet,” she reminded him.
Krause stepped back and nodded. He did not know what was lying in wait at the end of the tunnel, but he was certain it would not be a fairy tale ending. He envisioned something more along the lines of unearthing Dr. Frankenstein’s lair. He gently tugged on her hand and led her back down the way they had come.
“Where are we going?”
He smiled at Eleana. “You don’t want to know. We need to move fast.” Realization dawned on Eleana. Krause was leading her directly down the path that had almost washed them away. She looked at him. “Keep up, and don’t let go of my hand.”
Chapter Seven
Fallon reluctantly followed his new partner and Steven Brady on their trip to the Rand Industries Headquarters complex. Brady served as the navigator. Fallon had stayed in the back of the large delivery van while Hawkins and Brady passed through the security gates. Now he watched buildings pass by out of the tinted back window. He was still unsure as to what Steven Brady hoped to accomplish with this trip. Fallon sat on a large crate and stroked his chin in contemplation. No matter how he tried, no matter how long he had been immersed in the NSA, he still felt a constant sense of disconnect. Police work was different. The FBI had been focused on investigation. At least, that had been his role—find the bad guys. Fallon wondered how anyone could tell who the “bad guys” were in the NSA. If he was not mistaken, Brady and Hawkins planned to plant some type of false information at Rand, something that would implicate Rand in illegal activities.
This was a world that Fallon puzzled over. How, he wondered, was this supposed to protect Alex or Alex’s work? Wasn’t Alex’s goal, wasn’t the mission of this small group to which he had been admitted to thwart this type of activity? Fallon shook his head ruefully. He had seen some strange things in his career. Fallon startled when the small window that separated him from his comrades slid open.
“You ready?” Hawk asked.
“Not sure how to answer that, since I’m not sure what I am supposed to be ready for,” Fallon answered abruptly.
Hawkins smiled at her new partner. “Fallon, look…The hope is that if we can compromise Rand—if we can put them on the defensive, we might buy a little time.”
“I get that,” Fallon said. “But, buy time? Is that enough?”
Brady’s voice carried through to the back of the van. “If it helps, what we are exposing is something that Rand is completely guilty of. It’s just that we are placing it prominently.”
“And that accomplishes what?” Fallon wondered.
“On its own, nothing,” Brady admitted. “When it lands in the hands of the press—time, Agent Fallon. Right now, time is not a luxury we have. We’re stalling. That is all,” Brady said as the van finally came to a stop. Brady unclipped his seat belt and made his way to the back of the van. He opened the doors to find Fallon sitting, waiting for a better explanation. “They’re not above using anything at their disposal, Brian,” Brady told him.
“What would that accomplish? What?” Fallon challenged Brady.
“It would set us back. Give them more time to regroup. It might get Alex off the trail altogether depending on where they hit and who is implicated or…”
“Or what?” Fallon asked.
“Executed,” Hawk answered.
&nb
sp; Fallon swallowed hard. “Cassidy?”
“They already made that play, Agent Fallon,” Brady said.
“What?” Fallon asked
Brady ignored Fallon’s question. “Coming or not?” he asked.
Fallon took a deep breath and hopped out of the back of the truck. Brady nodded and gestured for Fallon and Hawkins to follow him. “I don’t like this,” Fallon thought silently as he watched Brady lead them away. “I have a very bad feeling.”
***
Alex turned the paper in her hands over for what she imagined had to be the millionth time in less than a few hours. She glanced out of the airplane window and watched the stars as they flew by. A late night meeting at Rand Industries with Robert Gray had been arranged for her. Gray was Director of Research at Rand. The meeting would be billed as a precursor to a joint project with Carecom that Rand was proposing. “More games,” Alex sighed.
She looked back at the paper in her hands and shook her head. Jane’s cryptic nature was not unusual, but Alex would have expected a more detailed explanation before sending her off on what Alex surmised might be a wild goose chase. She had suggested that to her friend. Jane had laughed at Alex’s doubtful inclination. It wasn’t until Jane divulged the source of the information in her hand, and the driving force behind the meeting that Alex’s interest was piqued.
“Why on earth would President Strickland suddenly reach out to you?” Alex asked. “Why you? Why now? Doesn’t that concern you?”
“Of course, it concerns me, Alex. I have known Larry for years. There isn’t much that he values more than his image. His legacy is the biggest part of that.”
“Okay? And, how exactly does any of this impact his legacy?”
“Look, Alex, the attack on the embassy in Russia last year has already tainted public perception of his administration. What do you think would happen if someone utilized that Cesium Claire liberated? What do you think would happen if someone struck here at home? It will be seen as his weakness.”
Alex sat back in her chair and pursed her lips. “Is there a credible threat that I should be aware of?”
“Specifically, no. Alex, there is always a credible threat. You know that. The question is never if, it is always who, where, and when,” Jane reminded Alex.
“Okay. Who, when, and where?” Alex asked.
“You. I don’t know and any day now.”
“Me? You think someone wants to kill me? Why?” Alex asked.
“Killing you might be a bonus for some people. Eliminating your ability to function would suffice. You do the math.”
“This is nothing new, Jane. Unless, there is something else that I should know about this merger.”
Jane gestured to the envelope again. “You read that on your way. Your itinerary is attached. Matt will arrange your flight out of Hanscom this afternoon.”
“You think it’s wise that General Waters get this close?” Alex asked.
“I told you, Matt is making the arrangements.”
Alex groaned softly as she recalled the conversation with Jane. The distinction between Matthew Waters, brother to Jane Merrow, and General Waters was not as clear cut as Jane was attempting to claim. General Waters had been engaged in investigating The Collaborative from a Department of Defense standpoint for several years. He had uncovered a host of disturbing trails that led to DOD personnel, The CIA, FBI, NSA, ATF, The Department of State, Homeland Security, and The Department of Treasury. Those connections led to an array of corporations, foundations, even universities implicated in The Collaborative’s dealings. Determining which entities and individuals were aware of their involvement versus those who were used unwittingly remained a daunting task. She glanced at the paper in her hands again:
Central Intelligence Agency Directive
Subject: Project Lynx
12 June 1986
1. Project Lynx is a continuum of the project formerly established as MK-Ultra, which originally sought methods by which to alter human perception, cognitive recognition, and the fundamental aspects of stimulus-response systems within the human biological system. Investigations will be conducted for the purpose of manipulation that may lead to possible integration and/or submission.
“What the hell is this all about?” Alex wondered aloud.
“Captain Toles,” a young Air Force Lieutenant called for Alex’s attention.
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“Major Allen wanted you to be aware that we are ten minutes out of Andrews.”
Alex nodded her understanding. The last time she had stepped foot on Andrew’s Air Force Base, she had been in a race against the clock to reach Cassidy. Alex looked out the window again and grabbed the bridge of her nose. She recalled that flight vividly. Cassidy had been in New York, held captive by a rogue agent named Carl Fisher. Alex thought it eerily ironic that she was headed back to Andrews now. The destination conjured memories of John Merrow and unsettling images of emergency vehicles surrounding Cassidy’s home.
Alex closed her eyes momentarily in an attempt to banish the past from her thoughts. She wasn’t certain what anything she had read meant. Somehow, she understood it was a thread to the past. Whatever was beginning to unravel was exactly what she had been digging for these last two years. As she felt the plane dip into its final descent, Alex couldn’t help but wonder if she wanted those answers at all. The past had a way of shadowing the present. Alex massaged her temples and folded the paper in her hand. “Oh, John…What is this all about?” she wondered.
***
“How’s Mackenzie?” Helen asked Rose.
“From what Cassie said—grumpy,” Rose replied with a chuckle. “Dylan give you any grief?”
“No,” Helen said, accepting a glass of white wine from her friend. She took a seat on the sofa, leaned back and sighed in contentment when the wine brushed against her lips.
“I’ll tell you a secret,” Rose began.
“Should I drink more of this first?” Helen inquired.
Rose laughed. “No, but there is plenty if you need more later. I wish Cassie could have been here…”
“But?”
“But, it’s kind of nice getting away with Dylan.”
Helen smiled at her friend. “It is, isn’t it?”
“He adores you, you know?” Rose pointed out the obvious.
“Well, I adore him,” Helen said. “I swear I will never forget the first time Alex brought those two to the house.”
“I just remember Alex begging me to tag along. I’ll bet it was strange, all of us converging on you,” Rose guessed.
“Oh, I don’t know. I do know that I’d never seen Alexis like that before. Never saw Nicolaus act the way he did after you all left, either.”
“What do you mean?” Rose wondered.
“He was quiet. Don’t get me wrong, Nicolaus was a man of few words often. I think it affected him deeply seeing Alexis with a family. I’m not sure either of us ever envisioned that,” Helen admitted.
“I think I understand.”
“We’ve never really talked much about it,” Helen said.
“About what?” Rose asked.
“Alexis and Cassidy. I mean, it must have surprised you at first,” Helen guessed.
Rose shrugged. “I suppose, if I were to be honest, it did—just for a minute. I’m not sure I can explain it, but from the moment I walked into that kitchen and saw the two of them together—I don’t know, they just fit. I’ve never been one for sappy romance novels,” Rose admitted. “It wasn’t like that. It was just as if that one thing, that one part of both their lives that had been missing suddenly clicked into place. It strangely made sense.”
Helen nodded. “I understand.”
“Me too. When I think about it, that’s how it was with Jim. I certainly didn’t know that I was in love with him the first time I saw him, but when I think about it now, I felt something immediately.”
Helen looked into her wine glass sadly. “I knew the moment I met Nicolaus. I’ll
never forget that night.”
“Made that much of an impression, huh?” Rose prodded lightly.
“Well, it was an unforgettable day. We were at a wedding. Kind of a miracle it happened. It came very close to being postponed.”
“Cold feet?”
Helen shook her head and sighed. “No, it was a cold November day, though,” she recalled. “November 22, 1963.”
Rose closed her eyes. “Good Lord. What a day to have your wedding anniversary.”
“I know,” Helen agreed. “It was the most bizarre day. Surreal, you know? Here, I had been with my best friend—the bride, passing the time listening to the radio while her sister fussed with our hair. Then all hell broke loose. I remember the crackle of the radio and the news that President Kennedy had been shot. That entire day seemed to pulse with emotion,” Helen recalled. “At first, I thought that was it—when I saw Nicolaus, that is. All that raw emotion, and here was this dashing man ready to sweep me off my feet. Camelot had ended and yet here was the dashing prince I had dreamed about. I’d seen him before at a distance. Our parents were friendly. He was older, and so he never paid me much mind. I just went about life as it was. Until that night when he walked up and asked me to dance.”
Rose smiled at her friend. The blush that colored Helen’s cheeks made her look twenty years younger. Rose felt a strong pang of affection and compassion for her best friend. It was far from the first time that Rose realized how much they shared in common. “I’ll bet he was charming.”
Helen laughed. “And then some,” she said with a wink. “And, he knew it too! Like father, like daughter,” she joked.
Conspiracy (Alex and Cassidy Book 4) Page 11
