by Robin Mahle
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, most of these guys are former staffers coming back as independent contractors because they get paid more. It’ll take time for you to gain their trust in there. Be careful what you say and who you say it to.”
“Got it.” Aaron began to rise.
“You know what we need to do and this will be the best possible place for you to it. But make no mistake, there will still be risks and I hope you’ll be up for the challenge.”
“I am. Too much has happened for me to go back to who I was.”
“Yeah. The truth has a way of doing that to you.” Axell began to show Aaron out. “Monday morning. Don’t be late. My ass is on the line here.”
“I won’t be late.” He offered his hand. “Thank you, Agent Axell. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you.”
“I know.” He smiled. “Go on. Have a good weekend.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Beth Kendrick pushed through the doors of her husband’s den. “Drew?” She stepped inside and surveyed the room. The fire had dwindled down to nothing more than a few glowing embers. Upon spying the French doors, she noticed they were unlocked and began her approach. “Why on earth are you outside without your coat?” She stepped outside and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the setting sun. “Drew? Honey, are you out here?”
No answer.
She continued farther and shouted again. “Drew? It’s time for dinner.” Her pulse began to rise with growing concern. It had been three hours since she’d seen him. Beth wrapped her arms around her body for warmth. “Honey, where are you?”
The leaves before her spun from the ground as the breeze kicked up, sending a chill down her already cold body. He wouldn’t have left without telling her, so she was confident he was outside somewhere and continued. The house became smaller in the distance as she turned to look back, but Beth pressed on in search of him.
The water lapping against the shores of the lake sounded ahead as she moved in its direction. “If you’re out here, ignoring me, you can just forget about dinner.” Leaves crunched and twigs snapped beneath each step as she neared the lake. Her eyes squinted again from the glare off the water that made it appear as though something had floated ashore. Another few feet closer and her expression fell.
Beth began to jog until she reached the edge of the lake and saw exactly what was in the water. “Oh God.” She ran closer. “Drew? Drew?” Her voice raised to a shout and, upon arrival, she stopped cold. Her hand thrust over her mouth and she shook her head wildly. “No.” Her legs became almost too heavy to keep moving forward, but she forced them. “No. No. Drew?”
Finally, she stood over him; her feet were in the freezing water, but she could no longer feel them. Her entire body fell numb. She began to scream. “Drew!” Her hands clamped down on his shoulders and she turned his heavy body upward from the water.
His face was blue, the veins in his eyes burst, and the water around him still flowed red. Beth tried to drag him out by his legs, but he was too heavy, his body caught in the mud. When they fell again from her grip, she stopped.
Her wet hand slipped inside her pocket and grabbed her phone. She tried to steady her fingers enough to dial 911. When they finally did, she answered the operator’s question. “My husband is dead.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Lacy held two glasses of wine in her hands as she returned to the living room. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Aaron sipped on the mild cabernet. “You want to see it?” He reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew the badge, handing it to Lacy.
She held it between her fingers, eyeing the photo. “Not a bad picture. Hard to believe this is really happening.”
“I’ve been saying that for the past six months. Yet here we are, plotting to go up against very powerful people and now I find myself on the inside.”
“That’s never been a comfortable place for you.” She returned the badge.
“No, it hasn’t.” Aaron swirled the wine in his glass, appearing captivated by the motion. “But I know this is important and I know history will favor us someday.”
Lacy raised her glass. “To making history.”
The sound of her doorbell rattled them both.
“Are you expecting someone?” Aaron asked.
“No.” She rose from her chair and peeked through the window curtains. “It’s Will.” Her brow furrowed as she walked to answer the door. “Will? I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Is this a bad time?”
The look on his face sent a wave of sobriety through her. “No. Come in. What’s going on?”
“We need to talk. Is that Aaron’s car outside? Is he here?”
“Yes. We’re just having a drink in the living room. Can I get you something?”
Will turned his attention to Aaron, who seemed surprised by his arrival. “Whatever you two are drinking.”
“Sure. Why don’t you go sit down?” Lacy continued into the kitchen while Will made his way to Aaron.
“What’s up?” Aaron was never good at playing it cool and his face couldn’t hide the anticipation of Will’s unexpected arrival.
“Something’s happened and it’s going to change things for us.” He took a seat on the sofa.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Lacy returned with a glass for him. “Like we’re going to need something stronger than wine.” She returned to her chair. “What happened?”
Will downed half the glass before continuing. “Drew Kendrick was found floating in the lake on the edge of his property earlier this evening. Shot dead.”
Lacy’s face turned deadpan, carefully placing her glass on the side table. “Murdered.”
Will could only nod his confirmation.
“How do you know this? Who told you?” Aaron asked.
“Alexandria police were dispatched to Kendrick’s home after receiving a 911 call from his wife. After they arrived on scene and realized who it was, they called Headquarters.” He finished off the glass. “From there, word spread pretty quickly and it reached our department. My new boss called us in, believing it could be a terrorist-related event.”
“Because since the attack, everything is being treated like terrorism,” Lacy added.
“Pretty much.”
“What does this mean for us?” Aaron asked. “Who do you think killed him? Jian? I thought Axell had eyes on him.”
“Might not have been him, but it makes the most sense that he would’ve ordered it,” Lacy began. “He and Kendrick had an agreement. Why wouldn’t he take matters into his own hands and silence the only one who knew the whole story behind the attack and had direct involvement? Maybe as a way to regain favor in his own government. What’s the Bureau’s plan?”
“It’ll be a murder investigation of a retired government official, handled by the Washington Field Office, with our department receiving updates as necessary.”
“You haven’t answered my question. How does this change our plans?” Aaron asked.
“Depends on who’s responsible. In my opinion, Jian had the most to lose with Kendrick around. Could’ve been retaliation or simply tying up loose ends. What I think it means for us is that we don’t have as much time as we thought we had. Whoever killed him wanted him out of the way for their own gains.”
“This isn’t loose ends. This is retaliation for him being locked up and Kendrick having faced zero punishment. And I doubt he’ll stop there. He knows who we are,” Lacy replied.
Aaron regarded her with a growing concern. “And where.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Inside CIA headquarters wasn’t a place Aaron Hunter had ever expected to find himself. Nevertheless, he stood in the lobby of the old building, staring at the wall of unnamed fallen agents, and was humbled.
“Mr. Hunter?” A young woman in a pencil skirt and buttoned down blouse approached.
“Yes. I’m Aaron Hunter.” He fumbled for his badge.
“You’ll wan
t to put that on. Please, follow me. I’ll show you to your workstation.” She began to head back into the building. “So, where did they find you?”
“Sorry?”
“Most of the contractors we use come from a firm or were former employees or something like that. So, where are you from?”
“Oh, one of the firms.”
“Okay. You don’t have to tell me. Just making conversation. I’m Renee Childs. I’m responsible for your training, getting you access, and helping you get settled in.”
“Nice to meet you, Renee. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m not used to working around a lot of people. I can be a little anti-social.”
“So are most of the people working here. Don’t worry about it. You’ll have your own space. We’re very segmented here. And it’s that way on purpose.”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you sort of thing?” Aaron chuckled.
“Something like that.”
Aaron seemed concerned when she didn’t laugh in return. He thrust his hands in his pockets and continued to follow her, dispensing with any further small talk.
“This is it. This is your workstation.”
Aaron surveyed the less-than-ideal workspace. “You weren’t kidding about seclusion.”
“Oh, we don’t joke around here.” At this, she finally smiled.
An awkward laugh escaped him as he reconsidered what he’d gotten himself into.
“I’ll get you logged in. Show you how to navigate the programs and, within a few days, you should be up and running on your own. I’ll be available to answer any questions, though. I don’t want you to feel abandoned. Should we get started?”
“Ready when you are.”
Aaron had always been a quick learner, which was what made him one of the best white hats around. Those were the good guys, in hacker terms. They helped to find loopholes in programs and weak security so that they could fix them for companies who hired him. Technology changed faster than any other industry and it was his job to keep up on the latest in cyber security, the dark web, and keep his clients safe. But this was different. The programs the CIA used were unlike anything he’d ever seen. The sheer magnitude of their reach was both beautiful and terrifying. And all in the name of national security.
“Why don’t you take a look at a few of the reports I’ve put together for you? It’ll give you a sense of what we’re looking for from an analysis standpoint. I have a briefing to attend, but I’ll be back in about an hour. Should give you enough time to get familiar with things.”
“Sure. Thank you.” Aaron waited for her to leave the small space that could scarcely pass for a cubicle. There were five others in his quadrant, each confined to similar spaces. He assumed each worked on similar but different aspects because as Renee indicated, segmentation was key.
It almost seemed counterintuitive to Aaron, though. Too great an opportunity to miss something when everyone worked on separate tasks. Perhaps there was an overseer who would piece everything together and the lowly data miners merely input their findings.
However, the opportunity for some alone time was exactly what Aaron needed right now. Perusing the reports, deciphering the data and how it was gathered was his best chance at getting to the information he needed.
As he began to understand the inner workings of this part of the clandestine agency, interpreting the materials and sources from which they were derived, a pattern formed. It was this pattern that he would need to fully understand because what he was looking for would not simply present itself. It would be buried deep inside the code, the data mined, and the capabilities of the programs themselves. Once he was armed with that information, he could use it to find out the depth of the conspiracy. Something they had been working on for a long while, only making little progress. And with Agent Axell’s help, that conspiracy could be exposed and finally the truth would be revealed.
4
The school bell rang and children poured out of the building, scattering in every direction. Lacy waited by the main entrance. “Do you see your sister yet?”
“No. Not yet.” Jackson held his mother’s hand and peered into the yard.
“There she is. Up ahead.” She tugged at her son’s hand as they walked to meet Olivia halfway.
Olivia searched for them through wisps of hair that swathed her face in the wind. Lacy raised her hand and caught the young girl’s attention. But something else caught hers in that moment. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a man in an overcoat and hat in the distance. His motionless presence was a stark cry from the hordes of children and parents who collected them.
The man stood at the far end of the entrance, hands in his coat pockets and appearing to stare directly at Lacy through his thick rimmed, shaded lens. Her hackles raised immediately in response. It was the same wary feeling that she was being watched. For weeks after Jian’s capture, Lacy constantly peered over her shoulder, fearing he would send more people after her, or Aaron, or all of them. But nothing ever came of it and, after a time, the feeling passed. Now it was back. Months later and knowing Jian was again free, she began to fear for the safety of her family, despite Axell’s best efforts to reassure her otherwise.
“Come on, sweetheart.” They reached Olivia and she pulled both children along with haste to her car. While opening the rear door, she cast her sights in the direction of the man in the overcoat. “Get in, guys—quickly.”
Lacy jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. A final glance outside the school and the man had disappeared. In the rearview, she checked the kids were buckled in and began to pull out of the parking lot, still in search of the mystery man, but he was nowhere to be found. Her pulse still raced as the memories of past fears resurfaced.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Olivia asked.
“Yes. I’m fine, baby. Let’s just go home. We’re all fine.” Her attempts to convince even herself of this fact had failed.
They returned home in what seemed to be record time and Lacy ushered the kids inside.
“Hi, kiddos.” Celeste offered them a warm greeting.
“Would you mind getting them a snack? I have to make a call.” Without waiting for a response, Lacy stepped out through the rear door and onto the deck that overlooked the lush back garden. With her phone pressed against her ear, she began, “Hey, it’s me. Can you talk?”
“Hang on,” Will replied.
Lacy paced the deck, her heels sinking a little into the wooden slats that were soft from recent rains. She eyed the large back garden as though someone might appear from behind a tree.
“Okay, I can talk now. What’s going on?”
“I was at the school, picking up Olivia, and I saw someone.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t recognize him, but Will, I felt like he was watching me or Olivia, maybe both of us.”
“Wait, now just hold on a second. Are you sure about this? You remember what it was like for you a few months ago? Are you sure you’re not just having a little bit of a setback, given everything that’s happened recently?”
“No. I’m not paranoid, okay? A man in an overcoat, wearing dark sunglasses was watching us. I’m certain of it.”
“Did he follow you?”
“No. I started to pull out of the parking lot and he was gone. Just disappeared.” She gripped the deck railing. “Will, I think it was one of Jian’s people. I think he’s going to come after us.”
“Okay, Lacy, I need you to take a breath. Calm down a minute and think about what you’re saying.”
“Please don’t. I know what I saw. Drew Kendrick was murdered and now I see someone lurking at my kid’s school? No way is that a coincidence. What are we going to do?”
“I’ll come by after work and we can talk more about it, okay? For the time being, just stay at home. Don’t go to the store, don’t send Celeste out; just hang tight. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“Yeah, okay. Thank you, Will.” Lacy ended the call and turned toward
the doors, peering inside the kitchen.
The kids were eating a snack while Celeste drank a cup of coffee. Lacy was torn, once again, between fighting for the truth and fighting for the safety of her family. They had to come first and that could mean leaving the only home they’d ever known. Jian had proven once before that he could get to her family. Had he just done it again?
♦ ♦ ♦
Lacy closed the refrigerator door and handed a bottle of beer to Will while she popped open a can of Diet Coke. “Thanks for coming over. I’m sure it’s been a long day for you.”
“I won’t dismiss what you felt today and I think it’s good we hash it out and see if we’re dealing with a real problem here.” Will wrapped his hand around the cap and twisted it off the bottle. “Thanks for the brew.”
“I’m not being paranoid. I know what I saw. I know the parents who pick up their kids and this guy stood out like a sore thumb. And if it turns out he’s one of Jian’s men, then there’s no way we’re safe here.”
“We should talk to Axell. If Jian or his people are on the move, he’ll know it.”
“And in the meantime?”
“In the meantime, maybe you should consider taking Olivia out of school.”
Lacy peered into the darkened street outside, flicking the ring on the can of Diet Coke. “I’ve tried so hard to return them to normal.” She turned back to Will. “You know how long it took for them to stop sleeping in my bed? They haven’t. They aren’t over this and neither am I.”
“Of course you’re not. This was never going to be easy on any of you and I’m so very sorry about that. But you do still have a choice, Lacy.”
“Do I?”
“With Jian free, the Bureau can protect you. Send you someplace safe.”
“No—they can’t. No one knows what really happened. Not at our level. Mobley made a deal with the deputy secretary. Kendrick retired, and Jian was sent back to Beijing with the promise that they would handle him.” She took a drink of soda. “And look how that turned out. It was all so neatly swept under the rug. The only one in power who can help us is Director Mobley, and we both know what happened the last time he tried.”
