by Robin Mahle
“I don’t know, all right!” Delgado squirmed. “Get these cuffs off me. Goddamn it!”
“We have to call 911.” Lacy reached for her cell. “For God’s sake, we have to help him.”
Axell knocked the phone from her hands. “No! If Jian found him, then he’ll find you. I’ll do it. I don’t know how long ago this was. Doesn’t matter. I’ll do it.” He stepped into the kitchen and placed a call on another burner.
“Oh my God. What the hell are we going to do?” Lacy’s voice quivered.
Aaron tried to offer comfort, but she pushed him away.
“No. No. We can’t have lost another one. No!”
“This isn’t your fault, Lacy.” Will approached her. “This is Lei Jian’s fault and Delgado’s and everyone else who’s been trying to keep this secret.” He turned to Delgado. “And for what? Huh? So China can keep sending us garbage? Cheap shit that people buy up because they can’t afford anything made in America?”
“You can blame me all you want, Caison. But we got a real fucking problem here. You think the death of the Meekses will go unnoticed? A high-ranking CIA official?” He shook his head.
Axell returned. “That depends on who killed him, now, doesn’t it?”
♦ ♦ ♦
Wendell Turner poured a shot of vodka in a glass and tossed it back in a single gulp. He turned toward the window of his office and peered out over the lights of D.C. A knock sounded on his door, which pulled his attention from the lighted streetscape.
“It’s me, sir. It’s Bryce Dunn.”
Turner approached the door and opened it. “Come in.” He peered into the empty corridor. “Anyone follow you?”
“No, sir. I made sure of it.”
“Good.”
“It’s done, sir.”
“Then it won’t be long before Agent Axell is taken into custody. It’s a shame a good man had to die, but this is on them, and the careless work of Agent Martin Delgado. Yang’s suspicions were correct.” He poured another drink. “They’ll start looking into Colburn’s death too and it’ll be all too easy to jump to the conclusion that Axell committed the crimes. We won’t have to worry about him anymore and I doubt any of his colleagues either once we inform Jian of their whereabouts.”
“No, sir. This will die the way it should have died with Undersecretary Kendrick.”
“Agreed. And we can finally move on as a nation from this horrible tragedy.”
22
The lights of downtown Washington were a welcome distraction for Lei Jian as he peered through the window of the hotel room while Ahsan Sajwani finished a call.
“Turner has followed through with his end of the bargain.”
“We know where the agent and the woman are?” Jian turned toward him.
“We do, sir. We will need to act quickly because once they arrest the CIA agent, our targets will realize they are not safe where they’re at and we can’t afford to lose them again.”
“Agreed. Then you will do what needs to be done and we can finally end this.”
Sajwani nodded and tossed a duffle bag onto the bed. “They’ll be heavily armed and the safe house well-guarded.”
“I know I do not need to tell you how to do your job, Ahsan, so I will leave it in your very capable hands. I will meet with our new friend, Mr. Turner, first thing in the morning and ensure we are in agreement as to the events of the days ahead.” Jian began to leave. “None of us can afford any mistakes, Ahsan. I will not go back to the minister having failed to deliver on my promise. You would do well to remember that.”
Once Jian departed, Sajwani placed two weapons inside the duffle bag—an automatic rifle and 9mm handgun. Depending upon the situation, one was a precise instrument, the other intended for maximum carnage. He’d underestimated these adversaries before and would not make that mistake again and so he had to prepare for the worst. However, this was a job that required more than one person, but he would not get help. Jian had few people left in his charge, several turning against him the moment of his capture. Why Ahsan had been loyal was simple. His endgame was the same and, through his loyalty, he maintained hope of rising above the title of right hand to Lei Jian, a certainty once this mission was complete. Jian would regain his power and Ahsan would be rewarded, and rewarded handsomely.
♦ ♦ ♦
The writing on the wall had become clear to Axell. As he sat on the couch, elbows against his knees and listening to the others in the room for whom he’d felt responsible, there was little time to act. He finally stood and inserted himself between Caison and Delgado, who appeared ready to go to blows. “It’s clear we’re all on the same side here, even if we arrived from different places. We have a high-ranking CIA official who is now dead. I was in his house only hours earlier. You two can’t tell me you haven’t figured out who they’re going to come after, can you?”
Will retreated. “Who turned on you? Hicks?”
“I don’t think so. No, this was a carefully crafted set-up by someone who wants to get me out of the way in order to get to you.”
“I think Agent Delgado knows more than he’s letting on.” Lacy turned to him. “Don’t you? You met with Meeks the other day. Why?”
“I already told you why.”
“Right, because you’re on everyone’s side.”
“Are you inferring I had something to with the assistant director’s murder?”
“I’m simply implying that you were one of the last people to see him. I’m not saying you did it. Obviously. You were with us. But that doesn’t mean you don’t know anything about it.”
“You’re insane. You think I had anything to do with it? I’m the one who’s been keeping an eye on you. Making sure you and your little friends weren’t doing anything stupid. How the hell should I know who went after Meeks or why?”
Will lunged forward, but Axell stopped him. “Enough. This isn’t getting us anywhere. Whoever had him killed probably knows about us. All of us. Delgado, you were working with the assistant director and who else? Who else at the Bureau knows what you are?”
“No one. That’s kind of the point. I was working undercover for the CIA.”
“And you were taking money from the Dalian Company,” Lacy added. “You haven’t explained that yet.”
“At the risk of sounding like a fucking broken record, it was part of the deal. The assistant director knew about the money. It wasn’t a secret. I’ll tell you what.” Delgado’s face darkened with growing frustration. “You all can sit here and chastise me, or we can figure out who killed Meeks. Because I can guarantee you, and I’m sure Agent Axell will agree, that whoever it is will be coming after us.”
“Get your things together,” Axell began. “We have to leave.” He waited for them to move. “Now!”
Lacy returned to the bedroom where she packed the few items she’d had with her. Where they would go now remained unclear, but she agreed that it was now too dangerous to stay put. Still, something about Delgado wasn’t sitting right. Like he knew more and yet was refusing to share. Why and to what end? It seemed like he was, despite all she’d believed, protecting her and Will.
“Lacy, it’s time to go.” Will appeared in the doorway.
“Where can we go this time?” Lacy moved toward him, bag tossed over her shoulder. “I can’t go home. Can’t stay here. Where is there left that’s safe for us, Will?”
“Axell has a friend.”
“No. No way are we involving anyone else in this. I won’t be responsible for another death. Especially another friend of Trevor’s. No. We’ll have to find someplace else. A hotel, something else.”
“They’ll find us at a hotel.”
“Not if we’re careful.”
The front door burst open and a gun began to fire. A thump sounded on the floor. Someone had been hit.
“Get down!” Will pulled Lacy to the ground and threw himself in front of her. “Stay here! Don’t move!”
“No! Will!” She reached for his arm, but he’d already slipp
ed away from her. Her heart raced. Her friends were out there, yelling and screaming and guns firing. Someone had come for them, just as Axell said. But she was still inside the bedroom and didn’t know who was out there. The time to hide was over. Lacy would not let them take another away from her. She crawled on her knees into the hall. Will was already out of sight, but she spotted Aaron on the floor. It was he who’d hit the ground, and it looked like he was struck in the shoulder. He shook his head when he spotted her, demanding with his eyes that she not come any farther.
Ignoring him, Lacy inched closer, listening to the struggle, and finally peered around the corner. The room was in tatters and the three men had taken down the intruder. It only took a moment to realize who it was. Will was tying the man’s hands behind his back while Delgado bound his feet. She’d only ever seen this man in pictures, images captured on closed circuit television, but there was no question in her mind that this was Ahsan Sajwani and he’d come to kill them. But coming alone was a foolish move on the part of a man who’d been so elusive up to now.
When she was confident it was safe for her to rise, she did so and rushed into the living room, where Will stood over this man. “Where’s Axell?”
“With Delgado, checking the perimeter for anyone else,” Will replied.
“How did he find us?” She stared at Sajwani, a reedy man with eyes full of hate as he stared back. “How did you find us?”
Sajwani smiled but didn’t speak.
Will threw an uppercut that connected hard against Sajwani’s chin. “She asked you a damn question.”
Lacy heard Aaron moan behind her and ran to him. “Oh, God. Are you okay?” She peered at his shoulder. “You’re bleeding. Will, Aaron needs help.”
“Hey, buddy.” Will approached and began to examine Aaron’s shoulder. “Looks like the bullet just grazed you. You’ll be all right. Can you stand up?”
Aaron nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I can get up.”
“We need to get you cleaned up and see how bad this is.” Lacy began to walk toward the kitchen.
Axell opened the front door and walked in with Delgado trailing. “If he came with someone else, that someone else is long gone.” He continued inside and stood in front of their prisoner. “Ahsan Sajwani. Nice to finally meet you. Took you long enough to find us.”
He spat blood at Axell’s feet and returned a smile.
“Were you the one who killed Agent Colburn? Camden Meeks and his wife?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Axell bent down so the two could meet eye to eye. “Sure you do, Ahsan. Your boss, Lei Jian, sent you to Turner’s house. That was you, right? And earlier tonight too? The assistant director? Boy, going after such a high-value target makes you some kind of fucking idiot, doesn’t it? You want the whole of the CIA after you, because that’s what’s going to happen.”
“I didn’t kill your friend, or anyone in the CIA.”
“I already told you, Axell,” Delgado began. “It was someone from Dalian. You need to back the hell off.”
Axell pulled upright again, but kept his eyes fixed on Sajwani. “Then maybe you should tell us who at Dalian was responsible. You know those guys, right? I’m sure you’d like to get out of here; go back home to whatever country you came from, eh, Hadji?”
“Axell, come on,” Will said.
“You think this asshole deserves to be treated with respect, Caison? He just fucking tried to kill you and all of us in here. But hey, I don’t want to be insensitive.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re pissed and so am I, but we need him.”
“We don’t need him.” Axell kicked Sajwani’s feet out from under him. “And guess what, Hadji? Time for you to go meet your maker.” Axell aimed his weapon between Sajwani’s eyes.
“Stop!” Lacy leapt toward him. “Trevor. We can use him to our advantage. He didn’t kill Agent Colburn. I know I didn’t get a good look at the person, but like I told you before, it wasn’t him.”
“I don’t give a shit anymore. This guy.” Axell shook his head. “He’s perpetuating the stereotype, isn’t he? Lets his boss blame some terrorist group to get everyone all up in arms about radical Islamic terrorism when it was the Chinese all along? You got on board with Jian back in Dubai, right? Thought, hey, why not screw over the Americans? And then Jian was released. That’s why you came back. Started taking out everyone who knew the truth.”
“Does it really matter? You will all be dead by morning.”
“Is that right, Ahsan?” Axell raised his weapon again. “Are there more of you coming? Because it seems to me Lei Jian doesn’t have as many friends as he used to. You see, I have friends in Beijing. They’ve told me things.”
Sajwani turned away.
“They’ve told me that Jian was only released because the new minister wanted the Americans to bring him down so he could keep his hands clean. Make it look like he kept his end of the deal. I do give the minister credit. He didn’t like what Jian did. Put hundreds of hours of negotiation at risk and for what? To gain a better position for your Dalian Company? Hardly seems worth it. So I don’t believe you when you say we’ll all be dead by morning. Because as I look at you now, it’s not looking like you’re capable of doing it. So, again I ask you, did you kill the assistant director?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“That would be the same people who killed your friend, Agent Colburn.”
Axell pulled the trigger and a blast of gunfire rang out. Sajwani slumped in his chair and Lacy recoiled as blood splattered across her face.
Will turned to Axell in utter shock. “What the hell did you just do?”
“We couldn’t let him go. He wasn’t going to tell us anything anyway.”
23
Baltimore, the place where it all began, was where Lacy now found herself. They were forced to flee yet another location, leaving behind the mess Axell created for someone else to clean up. Someone who had done it for him before. Turned out, there was a lot she didn’t know about Trevor Axell. Regardless of what he’d done, she still had faith in him. Her own theories about what the intelligence community and the government were capable of doing had made a seismic shift since this began. While the ultimate goal was to ensure safety for American citizens, it often seemed that achieving those goals required hands to be dirtied. Perhaps that was just the way of it. Because certainly those from whom they protected the citizens hadn’t kept their hands clean.
“You should eat something.”
Lacy returned from her drifting thoughts as she perched on the bed in the motel room. A dingy, rundown motel, they settled in two adjoining rooms—like fugitives. “How’s your shoulder?” She examined Aaron’s arm that Axell had bandaged up.
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Really.” He presented her with a wrapped sandwich. “You need to eat, Lacy.”
Delgado peered at her. “He’s right. Tomorrow won’t be any easier and you’ll need your strength.”
“With Sajwani gone,” Axell began, “Jian will come after all of us with greater numbers. And we have to assume he’s getting help. Probably from Dalian. They may have started at opposite ends of the spectrum, but what they want now is the same thing. And that is for us to be out of the way—for good. And it won’t be long before the murder of the assistant director is pinned on me. I won’t be able to stay here. It’ll put all of you in more danger than you already face.”
“You can’t go, Trevor; we need you here—with us,” Lacy replied. “Who else is left for us to turn to? As I see it now, we’re dead in the water. Am I wrong?”
“You’re not entirely wrong.” Delgado sat up in his chair. “Look, I know what you think of me and there’s nothing I can do to change that except to say that I can help. Despite what you believe, I am with you on this.”
“What can you do for us?” Will asked.
“I agree with Axell, that Jian will come back at us harder than before. But the three of us need to
return to Headquarters in the morning,” Delgado said.
“Are you serious?” Aaron asked.
“It’s important we go back. Look, I don’t think it’ll be safe for you to return to Langley. Everyone knows that Axell got you in. Don’t think they won’t make the connection. You’ll be stripped of your credentials and, at best, detained. This battle is far from over, but I can help. Dalian sent someone after Turner to get the Kendrick letter. And whoever that was likely killed Agent Colburn.”
Axell regarded him, appearing uncertain of any real level of trust. “And what can you do about that?”
“If the Dalian CEO, Shen Yang, ordered the murder of Meeks, which is possible, then I’m burned. I won’t be able to go back there. If it was someone in Jian’s employ, then I stand a chance at discovering if they are working in concert for the same end. Get the Kendrick letter and finish off anyone who knows the truth. And that could include Turner.” Delgado reached for his phone. “Let me make a few calls. It’s late, but the people I know don’t sleep.” He headed toward the door.
“I’m coming with you.” Axell followed. “Don’t think that you’ve earned my trust, because you sure as shit haven’t.” He palmed his gun while Delgado dialed a number on his phone.
Delgado eyed the weapon. “You think if I wanted any of you dead that you’d all still be breathing?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Look, Axell, Meeks was a good man. What we were trying to do was the right thing, and that was to get something we could use on the Dalian Company to put Shen Yang away or sent home.”
“So they could let him go, like they did Lei Jian?”
“Touché. However, my point is, that as far as I know, Jian had no real connections to Yang. He was acting on behalf of the ministry, or what he believed the ministry wanted. And I’m starting to get the impression that Dalian may, in fact, want Jian dead. Put this whole thing to bed so they can continue digging in their heels here in the US.” He raised his phone to his ear. “Yeah, it’s me. I got to know, man, we got bodies piling up over here. CIA bodies that are going to create problems for us.” He looked at Axell as he listened. “I heard Jian might be back. You think he’s responsible?”
