Red on the Run (The Syndicate-Born Trilogy Book 1)

by K. M. Hodge

  My apartment at 7pm. Eat before you come.

  He chuckled to himself and slipped his cell phone back into his pants pocket. In the back of his mind he thought about his conversation the night before, with Doc—maybe he did need to up his meds and cut things off with Sara. Just as he knew the cigarettes he smoked were bad for him, he knew that Sara was too, but he was barely holding it together these days. He couldn’t just let go of all his coping mechanisms at once, no matter how detrimental they were to him in the long run.

  He sighed as he eyed the stacks of files and information for the new case the department was working on. He hadn’t even cracked them open yet. He was so lost in thought that he jumped when Richards touched him on the shoulder.

  “Hey, man, I’ve been calling you.” A look of concern flashed across his supervisor’s face.

  Alex sat forward in his chair. “Sorry, sir, I guess I didn’t hear you.” After a moment’s pause, he continued. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  Richards nodded. “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Alex pushed back on his desk and stood up.

  Richards handed Alex his coat, which had been hung up by his desk. “Come on then, lunch is on me. We can walk over to Marcy Mays.”

  “O-kay.”

  Once outside, Richards leaned close to him and whispered, “I came across some information about your partner and the shooting. I was hoping that maybe you could help me shed some light on what happened to her.”

  He liked Richards, and from what he could tell the man was trustworthy. The fact that he was looking into the shooting was a good sign.

  “You mean besides the police report about it being in retaliation for the collar of our suspect that night?”

  Richards exhaled loudly. “So I’m not the only one who has questions. Well, I might have some answers for you, information about how she’s in the middle of a top secret investigation by the CIA.”

  Alex’s heart skipped a beat. How did he find out about that? “What?”

  Richards nodded. “Yeah, I was just as surprised as you. I don’t know all the particulars just yet, but I do know that it involves a large scale criminal operation. They’re suspected of everything from drug and human trafficking to extortion and money laundering. There are even whisperings of it being in cahoots with some terrorist cells in Iraq, which is probably why the CIA is involved. My source didn’t know for sure how Katherine’s involved, so I did a little digging. Amazingly, I didn’t have to look too far to get that information.”

  Alex tried to push down the growing panic sloshing around in his gut. He had to make sure the operation remained a dark one, but he also needed to know how much mission information had been leaked. He would have to deal with the how later.

  He stopped in his tracks. “Sir, tell me everything you know.”

  Richards ran a hand through his thinning hair. “Well, like I said, I did a little digging and spoke to a few people this morning. After talking to her friend Jason, the one who was there when she was shot, I have a much clearer idea of what’s going on.”

  “What did he say, sir?” Alex tried to keep the growing panic out of his voice.

  Richards looked around them as they walked, and leaned in closer, speaking in a hushed tone that made it hard for Alex to hear. “I found out that she has information from one of the operatives from the group—bank statements, businesses and other information. It’s a veritable gold mine. This group is wide-scale enough to include people here at the FBI, Congress, you name it! I have it all in a safe deposit box at the bank. We’ve gotta do something to protect Katherine. Her life is in danger.”

  Alex bit his lower lip almost to the point of drawing blood. A rapid-fire debate had begun in his mind on whether or not to let Richards in on the mission. He enjoyed some leeway to make tactical decisions in the field, but he was pretty sure this was a bit above his pay grade.

  Fuck it! “Sir, there’s something you need to know.”

  ***

  Mack’s Auto Center

  Ocean City, Maryland

  March 10, 2008

  2:00 PM

  ~~~

  The man smoothed out the wrinkles on his tailored suit pants. He hated coming to this place, but he didn’t have a choice.

  Sometimes you have to go into the sewers to find the rats.

  He checked his Omega watch and looked around, not really expecting to see someone he knew.

  A man can never be too safe.

  He was, after all, a prominent, well-known man, even in Ocean City, Maryland.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Billy sauntered into the shop and wiped his hands clean of the car grease that had permanently stained his hands and nails.

  The man swallowed hard and grimaced in disgust when Billy extended his hand to him. He would sooner shake hands with an actual rat than touch Billy’s meaty paws. Thankfully, the dirty rat didn’t seem too shaken by his rebuff.

  “You wanted to talk?” He noted the hint of irritation in the mechanic’s voice.

  “Yeah, I want to know who sent down the order to take out Katherine.”

  Billy crossed his arms over his chest. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

  “Bill, I’ve helped you a lot in the past. I’ve turned a blind eye more than once.”

  Billy harrumphed and looked down at a spot on the floor where oil had pooled one too many times. “My advice is you’d better get to her before his men do.”

  The miscreant was right. He would need to get to her quickly. “I’ll need men.”

  “I can give you some cousins of mine, but you’ll have to keep a close eye on them. They’re... well, let’s just say they make me look like Mother Theresa.” Billy scratched at his scalp, making his hair stand on end.

  “I’ll take ‘em.” The desperate urge to keep Katherine safe propelled him forward.

  He’d never wanted her to get caught up in all of this. They had all tried to keep her away from the ugliness of the business, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her and she put herself smack dab in the middle of a lion’s den. As much as he loved her, sometimes he wanted to just shake her, knock some sense into her for good.

  ***

  FBI Headquarters: Hoover Building

  Washington, D.C.

  March 31, 2008

  5:00 AM

  ~~~

  Alex secretly ordered the task force to provide Katherine—without her knowledge—around-the-clock security during the weeks she was in the hospital or at home recovering. It was just a temporary solution to a long-term problem of keeping her safe, something he and Richards had devoted two weeks of work trying to figure out. They needed to get her out of Washington and into protective custody, but they also needed to be careful not to undercut the joint task force’s efforts to find out who in the government was associated with the group called The Syndicate. CIA intelligence analysts were now more certain than ever that someone high up on the FBI chain of command was on their payroll.

  Until they knew definitively whom they could trust, they had to be careful about how they handled a case over which the FBI had no jurisdiction, and which they had no permission to be on. Another challenge was the fact that Director Barnes and Special Agent Richards were the only ones at the FBI who knew that Alex was part of a CIA investigation. They were all forced to keep up the ruse, which meant long, brutal hours of work for Alex.

  With the help of the task force, Agent Richards had managed to fabricate a convincing out-of-town assignment as the cover to get Katherine into the Federal Witness Protection Program. From there she would submit a leave of absence request, which Richards would file with HR once she was in custody.

  Langley was in the middle of decoding and analyzing the data she’d collected. They had managed to get over a hundred names and businesses of those involved, including direct ties to terrorist cells in and out of the US, but the process was much more painstaking than anyone had anticipated. The group’s tight securit
y features could cause all the information to disappear if accessed incorrectly.

  Even though the joint task force was closer to solving the case than they ever had been, they still needed more in order to get the Attorney General’s Office to prosecute. Without Katherine’s testimony, they would have no case at all.

  So, for now, everything hinged on Katherine.

  That morning her doctor, as scheduled, gave her clearance to go back to work, which set in motion the plans that Alex and Richards had so meticulously set in place—plane tickets purchased, hotel reservations made, and new temporary identities fabricated. All of it had to funnel through the FBI, which took a lot of careful paperwork on Richards’ and Alex’s parts, but they had everything in place when Alex left the Hoover Building that morning at the break of dawn.

  As the Hoover Building filled his rearview mirror, he thought over the last two weeks and all the hard work he and his team had accomplished. Most memorable was the time he had spent with Katherine. He’d made it a point to visit her every day at the hospital, and when she got out, he found excuses to drop in and visit her at home. He would bring her dinner or lunch, or come by with a movie and popcorn. In just two short weeks they had grown close—so close, in fact, that she had asked him, and not Jason or another friend, to pick her up from her last physical therapy appointment.

  He needed to be at the hospital at nine, which left him just enough time to grab a bite and maybe pick up some flowers or something. He smiled to himself in anticipation of seeing her again.

  ***

  Pendrell General Hospital

  Georgetown, Maryland

  March 31, 2008

  9:00 AM

  ~~~

  Alex parked outside Pendrell General Hospital and took one last puff of his cigarette before tossing it out the window of his car. He then grabbed the flowers lying on the passenger’s seat and headed into the hospital.

  The sound of his rubber soles clapping against the linoleum and echoing down the winding halls towards the clinic did nothing to calm his nerves. He clutched the small bouquet of flowers with his clammy fingers, and couldn’t remember the last time he had been this nervous. As a seasoned agent, this type of tactical mission shouldn’t have him this rattled, but it did.

  He was surprised to find Katherine sitting in the waiting room. His heart skipped a nervous beat at the sight of her. God, she’s beautiful.

  She wore all black except for the cornflower-blue scarf wound around her pale white neck. The fabric perfectly matched the color of her eyes.

  He bit his lip hard when she looked up from her phone and caught his intent gaze. “For you.” He handed her the flowers and smiled despite his nerves. “I’m not late, am I?

  “No, I finished early.” She smiled back and smelled the bouquet. “They’re beautiful! Thank you!”

  He shrugged his shoulders and looked away, so as not to get lost in those blue eyes of hers. “It’s nothing. Just, you know, a little something to celebrate your last PT appointment.”

  When he looked back down at her he noticed that her face and neck were now flushed red. He seemed to be having that effect on her a lot lately, which pleased him to no end. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay, I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders and let out a small grimace. “I never knew how much I used my abs ‘til now.”

  Alex offered his arm to help her up out of the chair, and winced with sympathy, the memory of his own gunshot wound from ten years ago sending a twinge of pain through his chest.

  As they walked out of the hospital and through the parking lot, his hand bumped against hers and an electric shock went up his arm all the way down to his groin. She’s a live wire.

  “What a beautiful day!” She took a deep breath through her nose and tilted up her face to the sky. “Fresh air and sunshine!” She exhaled slowly as her bow-shaped lips settled into an easy smile.

  Her just-be-glad, Pollyanna-esque way was beginning to grow on him. He looked around them and took in the winter landscape spread out before him. Though almost April, it had snowed over four inches the night before. Across from the hospital, in a small community park, children played a game of Wallyball and made snow angels. Despite the beautiful scenery, he couldn’t help looking at Katherine instead. Her porcelain white skin, bright blue eyes, and red hair set against the world of white, took his breath away.

  “Yes, beautiful,” he said.

  Her dazzling gaze once again met his, and her cheeks stained red once again.

  She’s going to be the death of me.

  ***

  Katherine sat in the freezing car with her nose buried in the flowers. Over the last few weeks she’d grown used to Alex’s company. He always seemed to find some reason to stop by every day, and at the time it seemed completely logical. It also didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. If the situation were different, she wouldn’t think twice about actively working towards a relationship with him, but considering her situation, she thought it prudent to maintain a professional distance... even if it did leave her hollow and aching with need.

  For now, though, she smelled the flowers and enjoyed the hint of spring during the dead of winter.

  He scooted into the driver’s seat beside her, and nodded towards the flowers while he buckled himself in. “Read the card.”

  Her breath caught for a moment. “Okay.” She carefully lifted the envelope flap and pulled out the card stock, which was covered in tiny, neat writing.

  ~~~

  Dear Agent Mitchel,

  The information you have obtained on the jump drives is vital to an ongoing investigation. Your life is in danger. Agent Bailey will be taking you today to a safe house. From there you will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Witness Protection Program while the investigation continues. We can’t be sure about surveillance bugs, so keep silent in regard to what you have just read. The CIA safe house will dispose of the note properly.

  ASAC Richards

  ~~~

  “You ready?” Alex asked.

  She put the card back into the flowers and forced herself to smile as the full weight of the news began to sink in. “Yeah, let’s get going.”

  She knew she should be thinking about her safety and how to stop the men who had tried to take her life, but all she could think about were the flowers. They had been a Trojan horse bearing bad news, not a romantic gesture after all. Her girlish flight of fancy--while in the middle of what was a real life or death situation--embarrassed her.

  Everything is a giant mess. She shivered.

  Alex turned the heater on full blast. “Are you cold? The car warms up really quickly.”

  “I’m okay,” she mumbled.

  A look of concern blossomed across his chiseled features.

  She avoided his glance and scorned his pity.

  After a long pause, he looked away from her and pulled out onto a deserted strip of Highway 95.

  Katherine curled up against the heated leather seat, and watched through the side mirror as her hometown and everyone she loved in it disappeared into a singular vanishing point.

  ***

  Alex watched her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t understand why she had such a hold on him. He had always prided himself on being a consummate professional, capable of separating his emotions from his work. He had, he thought, perfected this ability.

  He was beholden to no one. He’d never had a girlfriend, no family to speak of, and only a couple friends. Doc and her husband Chris were the only people outside of the CIA who even knew his real name.

  These distracting thoughts regarding the trajectory of their relationship flew through his mind as he traversed the familiar, long stretch of road—only partly paying attention.

  From seemingly out of nowhere, an eight-point buck darted out in front of his car, tearing him from his train of thought. His reflexes brought his foot down hard on the brake—a bad choice considering the slick road. They both lurched forward against their
locked seat belts.

  Katherine cried out.

  Shit!

  The brakes locked and the back end fishtailed, putting them into a spin. Adrenaline shot through his veins as he quickly drove into the spin and regained control of the vehicle.

  The unscathed buck paused in the middle of the deserted road and regarded them, then dashed off into the woods lining the highway.

  Alex’s heart thundered in his chest as he took a deep shaky breath. He drove the remaining yards into the hotel parking lot, threw the car into park, and turned to Katherine. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.” Tears filled her wide eyes, letting him know that she was anything but fine.

  All it took was him placing his hand on her shoulder to set off a wellspring of tears.

  He deftly unbuckled their seatbelts and pulled her hard up against his chest.

  After a few moments, she lifted her face off of his shoulder with a look of embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”

  Why is she sorry? He weaved his long fingers through her hair and tucked it behind her ear, and used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the remains of tears on her cheek. Just one kiss. What would it hurt?

  Time slowed to an agonizing pace as they sat frozen in the moment. His heart raced and his breath quickened as....

  Life is too short. He tipped her face up to his and laid a chaste kiss upon her readied lips.

  As they parted, she breathed out his name like a plea: “Alex.” Her eyes, filled with desire, looked up at his in expectation and want.

  He didn’t waste any time. There was nothing innocent about the second kiss as he captured her mouth with his own, swallowing up any other words she might have said next.

  She returned his kiss with earnest, taking his breath away in surprise. With great reluctance, he pulled away to catch his breath, and leaned his forehead against hers as their shallow breaths filled the small space between their parted lips.

  Her fingertips brushed his cheek, inviting him back for more.

  He answered her silent invitation with a greedy kiss that yielded nothing. Her fingers slid down his cheek to rest on his beating heart, and he smiled at her touch, unintentionally breaking their kiss.