“Yes.”
“Good.” He gave her a tight squeeze, and it was her turn to stroke his back as though she were the one comforting him. “Who would think putting you with Orlando was a good idea?”
The question was out before he could think better of it.
Tanya’s eyes slowly opened and she stared at him.
“I was never molested as a child. Dad was big on virgin brides. My first fiancé was...not a good person, but these are all he ever did to me.” She rubbed her palm down her arm. “I was not told to sleep with Orlando. I chose to do that because it got me closer to him.”
Isaac couldn’t begin to understand. On one hand, she knew what Orlando truly was. On the other, Tanya had been willing to sacrifice everything to stop a bad person. It wasn’t just soldiers who would do it all. People like Tanya gave just as much of themselves, maybe more.
“Look, my job was to get close to Orlando. He always kept a group of girls around because he’s a narcissist. The only way to break out of that group was to become his preferred girl. Mostly that meant acting like an assistant, but yes, I also slept with him. Not often. For a man who wants to be fawned over he’s not driven sexually. I won’t say I regret my decisions. My proximity to him allowed me free reign to be where the others weren’t, learn more. Do I wish there had been another way? Of course, but my focus was keeping him distracted and I did that. I’m sorry if that makes you think less of me, or that—”
“No. I don’t. I’m... in awe. The kind of strength it takes to do what you do and still be you? How you and Abigail do—did—that stuff... It’s more than I could do.”
She lifted her hand and ran her knuckles across his jaw.
He turned his face and kissed her fingers. It was those who sacrificed in the shadows, who did what others couldn’t, that deserved the thanks. It was unlikely anyone would ever say as much to Tanya, and he doubted she’d want to hear it, but he could show her his appreciation. He could hold her when a big part of him wanted to run.
Sunday. Washington, D.C.
Orlando gazed off into the distance. The smog rose from the trash pile that was Washington D.C. Such a disgusting place. The rising monoliths of a people who couldn’t honor their allies. If he could take down D.C. and every city like it, he would. But there could only be one target today. Once he successfully pulled this off he’d have his pick of clients and resources to complete the greater plan.
“Sir?” Edwin held out his phone.
Orlando glanced at the phone, then Edwin.
“It’s our London man,” he said in a rush.
Orlando took the phone and pressed it to his ear.
“Well?”
“It’s done and the credentials uploaded.”
“All five?”
“Yes.”
“Was there a dark-haired woman with any of them?”
“No.”
“Too bad. Edwin will transfer the rest of your payment. Thank you once again for such a tidy job.”
“My pleasure.”
Orlando ended the call.
It would have been convenient if he could have sent the hit man after Tanya. Without more accurate information about her location, it was a tossup. Did he send the man after the prime targets Orlando needed to pull everything off, or did he focus on Tanya?
Ultimately, Orlando had chosen to play it safe. His clients wanted a specific target and there was only one opportunity to ensure their plan went off without a hitch. Orlando couldn’t supply the whole package if he sent his man after Tanya. One way or another, he had to pick the path he thought would get him the results faster. Each of his five targets were en route to D.C. for a security summit. Each attendee had a digital credential that would allow them entrance. For everything to go smoothly, Orlando’s backwater clients needed to get at least a few people past security and inside.
Besides, Tanya wasn’t his immediate concern. She was an annoying inconvenience at most. She couldn’t possibly know his true objective. In the grand scheme of things, a twenty-year-old woman had no hope against a man with his resources, regardless of what she might know.
“Everything will be fine.” Orlando adjusted the gold bracelet clasped around his wrist. It’d once been a gift to Elda. She’d worn it when she died. He figured it was fitting he wear it now.
“I’m sorry, sir?”
Orlando glanced at Edwin. Couldn’t he mind his own damn business?
“How far away are they?” Orlando glanced at the time.
“They should be here in the next five minutes.”
“Do me a favor, Edwin. Don’t speak until they arrive, okay?”
“Okay.”
Orlando grit his teeth.
Tanya had spoiled him. He was tempted to find her and chain her to his desk so he wouldn’t have to suffer idiots.
He blew out a breath and tipped his head up, staring at the sky.
It’d been a clear day when Elda died. Orlando remembered watching the news coverage, horrified at the stark comparison between the atrocities going on inside the federal building where over a hundred hostages died and the beautiful day.
Fitting that this transaction would occur on one so like that day.
“There. That must be them.” Edwin glanced down at his phone. “Robert rang again.”
Orlando stepped forward, eager to be free of Edwin’s presence.
The SUV rolled to a stop a few feet away.
He smiled and spread his hands.
The translator got out first and made the series of introductions and greetings.
There was an added electrical charge in the air around these men. They had purpose and a plan, something Orlando could appreciate even if he was setting them up for failure.
“This way. I’ll remind you, the concentrated gas is very potent. Very, very deadly. You want to keep suits on at all times. I would recommend not opening the container until you are positive it is time to act.” Orlando spoke slowly, watching the other men more than he paid attention to the eighteen-wheeler hauling the merchandise.
“He’s saying what we already know. The concentrated gas is dangerous. Suits on. Says we shouldn’t open the containers until go time.” The translator pushed his trucker cap up and glanced at the other men accompanying him.
“We saw the test run. We know what it can do.” The man in the Carhart brown coat tugged his zipper higher. If Orlando had to guess, the man had at least one weapon under his coat. In this weather, they shouldn’t need a warm layer.
“How do we know it’s the stuff? I want to see a test.” The leader of the operation was a cut-throat sort of guy. Orlando liked him, even if his request was ill advised.
“He’d like to check the merchandise. Do you have a test lined up?” the translator turned toward Orlando.
The leader behind the man nodded his head.
“Yes.” Orlando smiled and held up a finger. “One moment?”
“Get in there and help him. See how it’s done,” the leader said to the translator.
The man was understandably hesitant, but he couldn’t ignore a direct order.
He followed Orlando onto the hydraulic lift.
Orlando made a show of putting on a mask, stepping into the suit and so forth. There were men on hand to do this, but Orlando wanted to add the personal touch.
“Do I need one of those?” the translator asked.
“No. Stay there. It’s just in case the coupling has a leak. It shouldn’t.”
He grabbed one of the small canisters in a box, ready to travel with the delivery, and knelt by the hose. He attached it to the canister for only a moment. All they needed was a test. Proof of product.
Satisfied he had enough, Orlando secured everything and stood.
“Sirs?” He gestured to the canister.
“How are we testing it?” the translator asked.
Orlando stretched out his arm and pressed the button. A stream of the diluted gas puffed in the man’s face. He stepped back once and ran into th
e side of the truck, coughing. He bent over, unable to scream as the chemical began eating away at his throat, vocal cords, and lungs. It would spread, becoming a silent killer.
“Nice.” The leader of the group covered his face with a bandana. He held up his other hand, making a square. “The cards?”
Orlando reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope of credentials he’d had printed for them. To make sure everything went as planned he needed their group to get as close as humanly possible.
“We’re all squared away. Thanks.” The man nodded.
Orlando stepped onto the hydraulics and lowered himself to the earth. His team closed up the back of the truck, eager to trap what little gas escaped into the truck.
In short order, the ownership of the track was handed over and Orlando stripped out of the suit. They remained where they were, watching the truck grow smaller on the horizon.
“Soon. Very soon,” Orlando whispered.
“Soon—what? Sir?”
Orlando whirled, smacking Edwin across the face with the back of his hand.
“When I want you to speak, I will speak to you. You. Ride in the other car. Go. Out of my sight. I want to be in D.C. before midnight.”
16.
Sunday. London, United Kingdom.
“Tanya? Isaac?”
Those two words sliced through the comforting, warm haze. Tanya sat up, rubbing her face, and peered at Abigail leaning in through the door.
“What?” Tanya asked.
“My contact came through. Downstairs in five. We’ll be leaving soon.”
“Huh?” Isaac hardly moved. His hand grasped her thigh under the blankets, a tight, possessive hold.
“Okay, coming.” Tanya pushed his hand away and slid out of bed, glad she’d at least put her shirt and underwear on.
“We’re leaving?” Isaac propped himself up.
“You were really out of it.”
“Yeah. I’m up. Look at me. I’m up.” He didn’t sound awake.
She flipped on the lamp and got dressed in a rush.
If Abigail’s contact had come through, did that mean they’d confirmed her story? Were they going home?
God, Tanya hoped so.
In a matter of minutes, both she and Isaac were ready to go. They filed out of the room and down stairs. Most of the team had assembled in the living room. Two lamps provided a little illumination.
“Where’s Felix?” Kyle asked.
“Bathroom,” Shane responded.
“Everyone else ready to go?”
The men nodded. Tanya couldn’t bring herself to do that, not until Tanya told her what she’d learned.
“Sorry, I’m here.” Felix took the stairs two at a time.
“My Mossad contact gave me an option, and I made a unilateral decision.” Abigail glanced at her. “I had to weigh the loss of life against what was best for Tanya.”
“Whatever I need comes second,” she said. There was no doubt in Tanya’s mind that Abigail would make any other call. It was what they were trained to do.
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” Abigail’s tense expression didn’t ease.
“Were they able to identify the customers?” Tanya swallowed, not sure what she should hope for.
“We think so, yes.” Abigail glanced at the others. “My contact confirmed that a woman who looks like Tanya went through an abbreviated program, similar to what I was put through. Proving that will take time we don’t have. In addition to the three people we know were killed yesterday, there are two more intelligence agents dead. All from different countries. All of whom were headed to Washington D.C. through Heathrow airport.”
“What’s happening in D.C.?” Tanya crossed her arms over her chest.
“There is an intelligence summit. What they’re covering, my contact wouldn’t say, but I believe based on what he said that the assassin took something from each of the agents. Some sort of credentials to access the facility in D.C. Badges or RFID chips.”
“Those would be the people who chose to use Orlando’s services and not help him.” Tanya glanced at Isaac, then back to Abigail. “Exactly the people he’d want to target.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Abigail sighed. “The US agencies are...not handling the assassination well. My Mossad contacts fear that jumping through the hoops to verify ourselves and stop the threat will eat up too much time. They’ve made us an offer, which I’d like to point out before I say anymore—they are using us. Let no one doubt that. They fear this threat will prove real and there will be catastrophic casualties if this weapon is released into the area where the summit is happening. A strike of this magnitude in the U.S. will have far-reaching consequences, which is why it is in Mossad’s best interest to stop it.”
“What do they want us to do?” Kyle asked.
“Wait. This target is pretty specific to Orlando. Is he not using his client list?” Tanya couldn’t wrap her head around Orlando actually getting his hands dirty.
“That’s probably the icing on his cake. Your homegrown, hillbilly group of dissenters? This is their plan.” Abigail turned her phone toward Tanya. “They have a version of it posted on a dark net site looking for financial backers. They’re on several watch lists, and looking at the traffic, they likely got capital from some out-of-country players who just want to stir shit up.”
“Fuck, this happens?” Shane shook his head.
“Some people just want to light a fire and watch the world burn,” Tanya said.
“Which is why Mossad wants to supply us with support, some equipment, and send us into the summit to neutralize the threat. Once that’s done, American law enforcement will no doubt arrest us. Mossad promises to step in at that point with evidence to exonerate us and prove that we were working undercover. It’s a big promise, maybe too big.”
“You’ve already made up your mind you’re doing this.” Tanya stared at Abigail’s face, the tense lines, the careful expression.
“This is the sort of thing I was trained for.” She shrugged.
Tanya swallowed. She wanted out, away from this life, but she couldn’t leave yet. She could walk away, but she wasn’t. Not until the job she’d been hired to do was over and done with.
“I’m going with you.” She stared at Abigail, who nodded in return, as if she knew Tanya would be going.
“Hold on, ladies. No disrespect, but you aren’t doing this by yourselves.” Kyle glanced at the others. “I assume if Abigail is going, Luke is, too. The rest of you—”
“Dude, do you really think we’re going to skip out now?” Felix shook his head.
“Yeah, what pretty boy said.” Isaac hid a yawn. “Can we get on with it? When are we headed out? Where we going?”
“NSA has flagged Tanya. She can’t fly into the country without raising an alarm, and we don’t have time to get her new ID here. We’re booked on a cargo plane headed to Ottawa. A contact there will meet us with new documents for her, allowing us to make a connecting flight to D.C., where we will meet our handler and supply up. Any questions?”
“Will we at least have drink service on the plane?” Isaac asked.
“Doubtful.” Abigail arched her brows. “Any other questions?”
The room grew silent.
“Okay, then let’s be ready to leave in five,” Kyle said.
Tanya turned and grabbed Isaac’s hand. She pulled him into the dining room, while the others prepared their backpacks.
“What?” Isaac’s hair stuck up on one side and his stubble was longer, almost beard-like now.
“You shouldn’t come,” she said.
“Why the hell not?” His brow wrinkled.
“Because...you have people counting on you to come back. I don’t want your mom or Ruth hurting because of me and my job.”
“Cupcake, that’s not how this works.”
“You saved me. You did your job. This? What we’re going to do? It’s not your job. It’s mine.”
“We’re a God
damn team, and we’re doing this together. I don’t give a damn what your reasoning is, this is more than us now.”
“Isaac—”
“No. You can argue with me until you’re blue in the face, I’m going with you.” He glanced down. “Where’s your vest and coat?”
“Please?” She clung to his hand.
Isaac cupped her cheek and bent his head. Their faces were so close their noses almost touched.
“No.”
He pulled out of her grasp and strode quickly into the kitchen where the bags had been collected earlier.
Tanya wrapped her arms around herself.
If Isaac died because of her, because Rob had turned on them, she’d never forgive herself.
“Hey.” Luke stepped into her line of sight holding her vest and coat. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
“It’s okay not to be.”
“Abigail’s good at this.” Tanya took the Kevlar vest and slid it on, strapping it on tight.
“She had to be. She didn’t get a choice.” Luke glanced over his shoulder. “Not that you need, or maybe even want my advice...”
She flipped her hair out from under the coat, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“Isaac’s a good guy. Stubborn, but good.”
Tanya smiled briefly.
That seemed to satisfy Luke, and he turned away from her.
Isaac was a great guy, and she cared about him. From the very beginning, he’d surprised her, caught her, supported her, believed in her. Without him, she’d still be a mumbling, crying mess of a person. Which was why she wished he would go home. Leave her behind. She couldn’t take his death on her hands.
“All doors secured, lights off,” Shane called out from the front of the house.
“Our vehicle is three blocks away.” Kyle stood by the back door leading out to the garden “This time of night it’s likely our best bet for transportation. Everyone buddy up, go in groups of two and three, stay thirty yards or so apart, stay sharp.”
“You’re with us.” Abigail tugged on Tanya’s sleeve.
Tanya glanced at Isaac, at the head of the group with Kyle. He didn’t even look at her.
“One thing at a time,” Abigail whispered.
Dangerous in Action (Aegis Group Alpha Team, #2) Page 19
