Enemy Exposure

by Meghan Rogers

  Misty stiffened when Venom focused on her, so I stepped in to introduce them to each other.

  “Oh, this will be fun,” Misty said, shooting a concerned look in my direction.

  They both noticed Nikki and my father, who were now standing, but I was waiting until everyone arrived to make those introductions. In the meantime, Misty had taken a seat on the couch while Venom paced behind it, rhythmically tilting her head from side to side.

  Centipede finally showed up just before midnight, tension radiating off of her. She blew past me without so much as a second glance. “KATO is furious they found the IDA’s headquarters empty.”

  “Did you get the intel we need?” I asked, shutting the door behind her.

  She looked mildly offended. “Why do you think it took me so long to get here?”

  “Do they suspect that you’re tied to any of this?”

  She shook her head. “They haven’t pulled me back, so I don’t think so.”

  “Good,” I said. “Then we need to talk.”

  She looked me square in the eye like she knew what was coming. “You found out in time.”

  “We did.” I kept my voice light. I didn’t want to fight with her, but she needed to understand. “But part of being an informant means that you give us intel when you have it. Not when we call and ask for it.”

  She crossed her arms. “You’re lucky you got anything at all.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  She shrugged. “You don’t have control of this. Just look at who you’ve put together.” She gestured to the others. “We’ve got a retrieval expert who can’t fight and her.” She glared at Venom.

  “Hold on,” Misty said, jumping up from the couch, her finger in the air. “First, I can fight well enough to still be alive. And second, it sounds like I’m the only one here who has volunteered useful information. So you don’t have a lot of room to talk.”

  “And what do you think is wrong with me?” Venom asked, her eyes locking on Centipede like a predator’s.

  Centipede waved her off, dismissively. “You’ve got one talent and you’re effective, but I’m not convinced you’re that skilled.”

  Venom took another step closer, head cocked. “Do you wish to see how skilled I am?”

  “Okay, that’s enough.” I shifted between them, putting my arms out to keep them each in their place. They were staring each other down. At the moment it was more or less harmless, but I knew how quickly this could get out of control. They were KATO-trained, which meant they were programmed to compete against each other. And Centipede was provoking everyone. Nikki and my dad had both straightened up, ready to intervene if necessary. I shook my head once and they stood down.

  I grabbed Centipede’s shoulders and steered her toward the kitchen, away from the others. She pulled away from me once we’d crossed the threshold and paced the length of the kitchen.

  “You need to bring it down,” I said, keeping my voice low so the others couldn’t hear. “You’re going to set everyone off.”

  “So what?” Her breathing was heavy and full of tension.

  “Is this really about Venom?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t thrilled with the addition, but she didn’t seem nearly this upset about it when we separated in Turkey.

  “Of course it is!” she snapped. “You know what her reputation is!”

  “I do.” I crossed my arms as she picked up the pace. “But she’s just as invested as you are.”

  She shook her head hard. “This is going to burn us all.”

  I sat back on my heels and watched her for a moment. The emotions rolled off of her. The tension and anger and fear reached me from the other side of the room, and I thought I understood why. “Today was really close, wasn’t it?” I said. She came to a complete stop. “You thought they might have figured you out?”

  She held my eyes and she seemed to be struggling with herself. Then she nodded slowly.

  I tilted my head to the side. “What happened?”

  When she spoke her voice was tight. “My handler asked if there was anything I could tell them that would help. And I said no.” She swallowed hard. “Then he studied me for a long time. He asked question after question—even more than usual. I was sure—” She cut herself off and seemed to be working to maintain control. “They always know when we’re keeping something from them.”

  “They don’t, though,” I said. “It’s just another lie they want you to believe.”

  She exhaled heavily. “How did you do this for months?”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m sure it was a lot easier not having to look them in the eye.” I was plenty terrified misleading them through the computer as it was.

  “I don’t want them to have this serum,” she said. “They have enough control over me. I don’t want them to have any more.”

  “Then let’s go take it from them,” I said.

  After a moment she nodded, and I waited for her to be ready to head back to the living room. I followed her, my stomach twisting in knots. She had just proven the one thing I had been afraid of. That when it came down to it, there was a very good chance that their fear of KATO would pull them right back in.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  POWER PLAY

  Centipede had calmed down considerably by the time we rejoined the others. Misty and Venom were seated on opposite ends of the couch and seemed to be watching each other closely.

  “Everything okay here?” I asked, coming up next to Nikki, who was standing a few feet away from Misty.

  “Things are—interesting,” she said with a smile.

  Misty shifted on the couch. “She keeps staring at me.”

  I looked to Venom, who was, in fact, staring intently at Misty. She flicked her eyes up to look at me. “Her hair is very straight.”

  Misty’s face twisted as she gave Venom a once-over. I was sure she was taking in the chaotic mess that sat on top of Venom’s head.

  “Okay,” Nikki said, her voice entirely too upbeat for the situation. “Who wants to know why we’re here?” She gestured to me, giving me the floor.

  I introduced Nikki and my dad, though we had decided we should use code names as a precaution. So as far as these girls were concerned, they were Echo and Archer. Then I moved on to the serum.

  “I’m going to start at the beginning, just so we’re all on the same page,” I said. I gave them all the rundown on Eliza—how we knew about her, where we found her, and how important she was to KATO.

  I flipped through the files we’d brought with us, looking for a picture. “It took us a little bit to get her talking, but when she did, she showed us this mark on the back of her head.” I found the photo of Eliza’s head; the red bump was so small the camera barely captured the image. I passed it around, starting with Venom.

  Misty went next, studying it closely. “This is where they injected her?”

  I nodded. “She could barely tell us what had been done to her. When she did, it looked like her head was about to explode.”

  The three of them looked at me, seeming a little confused.

  “That’s not too much of an exaggeration,” Nikki said.

  “I do not understand,” Venom said as Centipede took a turn with the picture.

  “From what she could share, we know that she was injected with some kind of serum, which caused an intolerable amount of pressure in her head when she tried to spill KATO’s secrets,” I said. “Our doctor has some theories, but it’s nothing we can confirm.” The three of them watched me, and I could see them all struggling with the idea.

  “They would control our thoughts?” Venom asked, her disdain as thick as her accent.

  Misty’s face twisted, and she looked as if she might throw up. “They can’t—”

  “They can and they will,” Centipede said. Her disgust wa
s palpable and her voice strong. It was clear she had moved past the fear that had locked her in place earlier in the night. “We’re their puppets. Their toys. They want to keep us on our strings.”

  “This is why we are here?” Venom asked. “You want us to kill the serum makers?”

  I met her eyes briefly, and I couldn’t help but be unnerved at the flash of delight that came with her suggestion. “Not exactly,” I said. “We need to understand the serum. In order to do that, we need the original serum and, ideally, its development records.”

  Venom cocked her head to the side abruptly. “What good will that do?”

  “We have someone who might be able to make an antidote, but she can’t do it without the original,” I said.

  “And you think we can get it?” Centipede asked. Her tone told me she thought the task was impossible.

  “Eventually,” I said. “First, I need to ask what you three know about this—or about anything that could be related. Eliza was pulled from a safe house in Russia where she was being experimented on, but before that she was headed for a field assignment like yours. Did any of you see anything in your safe houses?”

  Venom titled her head up at me, looking strangely lost. “I don’t know anything. I’ve been on assignment.”

  “We both have,” Misty said. She seemed annoyed that she didn’t have more to add.

  I glanced at the two of them. “How long have you two been at your posts?”

  “Eight months,” Venom said.

  “A year,” Misty said.

  I knew they had been there longer than I had been at the IDA, but I wasn’t expecting it to be by so much.

  “How long were you at yours?” Venom asked, clearly reading that I was surprised.

  I opened my mouth to answer, but Centipede beat me to it. “Nearly four months,” she said. I turned to her, startled that she knew the answer, but she just shrugged. “The day you left was one of my best at KATO. I thought you were dead.” Her tone wasn’t harsh, just factual. Still, it proved to be too cruel for my father’s liking.

  “Watch it,” he said with an angry edge. It startled me. He’d been quiet, which I appreciated. Though it was clear that no matter how much he intended to separate me as a spy from me as a daughter, there were some things that would be asking too much.

  “It’s okay,” I said, blowing off Centipede and turning back to Venom. “Yeah, it’s been four months.”

  “Is there a plan?” Misty asked.

  “We believe KATO has an alternate research facility outside of North Korea,” I said. “Centipede found out the name of the builders they would have used. If we get the blueprints, I have someone who can find the building based on them.”

  Misty’s eyes flicked to Centipede. “How did you get the intel?”

  “Viper’s not the only one who’s picked up on some of KATO’s back doors,” she said. “I hadn’t dared to try anything until today.”

  I eyed Centipede, mildly impressed. She may be even more valuable than I had anticipated.

  “We’re going to bring in our tech expert,” Nikki said, moving us along. She turned to the monitor on top of the fireplace and pushed it on. “Everyone say hi to Command.”

  She stepped aside as Sam waved. “Hey, KATO girl. Or, I guess it’s KATO girls now.” He smirked to himself while I rolled my eyes at him.

  “We have a name for you.” I nodded to Centipede.

  “KATO’s had contact with Burry and Elmer Architecture,” she said. “Dating back several years ago.”

  “Give me one second.” He pushed a few keys on his keyboard. His face disappeared from the screen and was replaced with the intel he’d found. “Okay, here are the basics.” He put a picture of the firm on the screen along with the address in Geneva, Switzerland.

  “That’s not far from here,” Centipede said.

  “It’s about an hour and forty minutes by car,” Sam said.

  “An hour and ten if I’m driving,” my dad said.

  “All right, then,” Sam said, laughing. “I guess you found your driver.” He continued sending the intel to the screen. “I’ll start going through the systems I have access to. I should be able to get a copy of the office layout. Mr. Burry is the CEO. I’ll figure out where his office is. That’ll give you access to every structure they’ve ever designed. And if you have me patched into the comms while you’re in the field, I can tell you how to hack his password. If I were at the IDA, I could probably save you the trip.”

  “It’s okay, it’s close enough,” I said. “We’ll touch base with you before we head out tomorrow.”

  “Copy that.” He disconnected, and I turned back to face the room.

  “I’ll work on getting us a van,” my dad said, pulling out his phone and stepping out of the room.

  “We can’t move on the offices until tomorrow night,” Nikki said, stepping forward. “In the meantime, there’s a room upstairs for the three of you. We only have three rooms, so you’ll have to share—but I’ve heard you’re used to that.”

  Slowly, the three of them moved for the stairs.

  “Did you tell them about the doors?” my dad asked, coming out of the kitchen.

  I shook my head. “They can figure it out on their own.”

  He laughed lightly. “You two get some sleep. I’ll keep watch for the night.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. We had agreed that one person should be awake at all times with these girls in the house. But they were my responsibility. I should be the one up first.

  He waved me on. “Go ahead. This is something I can do for you.”

  I shifted uncomfortably, unconvinced.

  “Really.” He tilted his head toward the stairs insistently. “Go.”

  Still, I hesitated, trying to come up with a better argument.

  He sighed. “Jocelyn, I didn’t just come here to supervise. I came to help you. Let me.”

  I blinked, giving my brain time to adjust to the idea. “Okay,” I said after a moment. “Thank you.”

  He settled into the couch with a small smile on his face as Nikki and I headed upstairs.

  • • •

  I was the first one up the next morning, giving my dad an opportunity to get some sleep before the others woke. Sam had sent the office layout along, so I spent most of the morning combing through it, coming up with a more concrete plan. I went over it a few dozen times, considering every possible problem until a mug of tea appeared next to me. I glanced up, and found Nikki standing over me.

  “Thanks,” I said as she took a seat.

  “Stop overthinking this,” she said, as if she could read my mind. I had walked her through my plan when she first got up half an hour earlier. “It’s a good plan—as good as we’re going to get. You have a way in that should keep anyone from being detected, and we know the rough location of the blueprints. Obviously, anything can happen, but you’ve considered as many possibilities as you could.”

  I exhaled, nodding. “Yeah,” I said, but I still felt anxious. I felt too—alone—and too trusted with all of this. It didn’t matter that Nikki was making sense.

  She shifted so she was facing me more fully. “Can I ask you something?” I nodded, though I was almost afraid of what was coming next. “While I’m thrilled to get out of the IDA, why am I here and not Travis?”

  I bit my lip and sunk back into the couch. “Because he didn’t want to be.”

  Nikki arched her eyebrows. “I know you said he was mad, but I have a hard time believing that.”

  I had briefed her on how the team came together on the plane ride over, so she was up to speed. “Well, he opted out and Simmonds let him. He didn’t want to give Venom a chance.”

  “Yeah,” she said, grimacing. “He can be—difficult—sometimes.”

  “When Travis asked to stay behind, I knew I needed backup,” I
said. “You’ve always given me a shot. I needed someone who would back me, and give them the same opportunity.”

  She smiled. “Well, you did pick the right person for that.”

  She sat with me for a few more minutes. When she stood to leave, she paused for a moment before gathering my plans in her arms.

  “Wait, what are you doing?” I tried to take them back, but she pulled them out of my reach.

  “You’ve thought about this enough. Stop second-guessing yourself and try to relax.”

  I glared after her, but she never looked back.

  I spent most of the morning in the living room, keeping an eye on the stairs, waiting for one of the girls to surface. They ventured out a couple times when they were hungry—the safe house had plenty of protein bars and other food that could be grabbed and eaten quickly. They barely talked, which wasn’t too surprising. That was the kind of environment they were used to. We were planning to move at eleven o’clock that night, giving us the cover of dark. At five, we met in the living room again to discuss the mission.

  All four of us were going in. It was really a two-person job, but I knew there was no way anyone would be happy staying behind. Plus with more of us we could get through the search faster.

  I brought Sam in for one last update before I went over the final plan.

  “Do you have a name we should be looking for?” I asked him.

  “There’s a Park Bo Yeon listed from about three years ago,” he said. “The money trail comes from North Korea. It has to be that. I also found that Burry upgraded his safe right around that time. I have a feeling that wasn’t a coincidence.”

  I turned to the others. “Do any of you have safecracking experience?” As a rule, that was one skill KATO wasn’t big on teaching. We had been trained to get people to open the safe for us and then kill them.

  I was surprised when Misty raised her hand. “I taught myself,” she said. “I may be able to hold my own in a fight, but it wasn’t something I wanted to count on. I learned to use other methods when I could help it. I’m not an expert, but I have some experience.”