by Mike Ryan
Rogue Ghost
By
Mike Ryan
Copyright © 2015 by Mike Ryan
Maverick Spur Publishing
All Rights Reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and events are products of the author and his imagination. The book is licensed for the personal enjoyment of the reader and may not be copied, reproduced, or distributed without the express written consent of the author or publishing company.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
About the author:
Chapter 1
“Is there anything else I can get for you gentlemen?” the maid asked.
“No, that’ll be all, Tasha.”
The maid put the tray of drinks down on the table and then walked away, getting the lusty stares of the four men at the table. She went back into the kitchen and waited for her signal. She’d been stationed there for a month, waiting for this moment. Her partner was outside watching on a video feed through a camera they’d previously planted, a miniscule dot perfectly placed on the edge of a plant that gave a view of the entire room.
“How long have you been keeping that, Alexi?” one joked.
“Olga’s niece. She’s been here a month or so. Olga brought her in to cover for her while she went home to take care of her mother.”
“Well when Olga comes back send this one over to me,” another one cracked. “I will make plenty of room for her.”
“And plenty of things for her to clean up to, huh?” another one laughed.
“Yes. Yes. Let’s get down to business,” Alexi stated.
“We can talk business anytime. What I really want to know is…have you slept with her yet?” Sergei laughed.
“Not yet.”
“Losing your touch, Alexi.”
“Perhaps. Now let’s see what you have for me.”
“Parker, they’re about to make the exchange,” she heard in her earpiece.
“I’m on it,” she replied.
She grabbed a gun she’d hidden in the kitchen and strapped it to the outside of her thigh. Her outfit didn’t leave a lot to the imagination as her skirt was about as high as it could be without her ass hanging out. She peaked out the kitchen door as she waited for the exchange.
“You have the money I assume?” Sergei asked.
“Of course,” Alexi answered, motioning for an associate to bring it forward.
His assistant brought a bag over to the table and opened it up, revealing the hundred thousand dollar price tag that was requested. Sergei pulled out the envelope from his coat and slid it on the table to Alexi.
“So what’s so important on that disc that’s worth so much money?” Sergei asked, reaching for the bag.
“Don’t worry about it,” Alexi replied.
“Well, I hope it’s worth it.”
“It is. You just have to know the right people. What cost me a hundred thousand will bring me back five times that.”
“Now, Parker, go!”
“OK,” she replied.
Parker came out of the kitchen with a tray full of drinks and walked toward the table.
“Ah, now there’s my favorite part of this deal,” Sergei said. “Mind throwing her in as part of it?” he laughed.
Parker set the tray down on the table and leaned over so the men could get a glimpse of her breasts. They were mesmerized by her beauty which was all that she needed to get the drop on them. She glanced at all four of them to make sure they were not a threat. She quickly jumped up and pulled the gun from her leg, putting a bullet in the chest of each man at the table before they even knew what was happening. They each were instantly killed, falling off their chairs. The assistant that was standing in the corner was able to draw his gun but wasn’t able to get off a shot before a bullet ripped through his midsection. Parker grabbed the envelope and put it in the bag with the money, throwing it over her shoulder as she ran towards the back door. As she scurried back there she heard gunfire. When she finally came across the back door, she peaked out and saw the two guards laying in a pool of their own blood, Davis waiting in the van with the door open. She ran as fast as she could before the rest of the guards came running over. Parker jumped in the van just as a hail of gunfire erupted, the van’s tires smoking from peeling out of there so quickly.
“You got it?” Davis asked.
“Of course I got it,” Parker answered.
“Sexy and dangerous, a lethal combination,” he smiled.
Parker just looked at him, not really paying him much attention as she put on pants and a long sleeve shirt.
“You know, this could be our chance,” Davis mentioned.
“Chance for what?”
“To run. You and me.”
“Heath, we’ve talked about this before,” Parker responded.
“We’ve got a bag full of money here to start with.”
“First off, a hundred thousand is not a lot of money in order to create a new life. Establishing new identities and covers is expensive.”
“OK, so we’ll need a little more. It’s a start,” he pleaded. “No more missions, no more spying, no more lying, no more any of it. We can leave this life behind and never look back. Just the two of us.”
“My answer’s still the same as the last time you asked. I’m not ready to leave this life behind. I don’t want to live the rest of my life on the run, looking over my shoulder, wondering if someone’s coming for me. Besides, we’re not even together anymore.”
“We could always try again,” Davis said.
“I think it’s best if we keep that part of our relationship in our past.”
Davis was a little disappointed, but wasn’t surprised by Parker’s decision. He didn’t expect her to join him but still held out some hope that she might change her mind.
They drove back to their hotel room and alerted their handler that the mission was a success and they had the disc. The money was not nearly as important to her as what was on the disc and was actually more of an afterthought. Parker saw the opportunity to grab it though and didn’t want to leave it in the hands of Alexi’s men. They were directed to get on the next plane available and bring the disc back to Washington.
As the duo was waiting in the airport for their flight to be ready, Parker started reflecting on her life. A mother walked by with her two young children that got Parker’s attention. She watched the mother interact with them as they eventually sat down a few feet away from her. Parker smiled as she continued watching, wondering if she’d ever be in that position. She’d never really thought about settling down before. Her job kept her on the move almost constantly, never really allowing time for thought about anything other than whatever mission she was on and staying alive. But it was moments like this, just sitting there and watching others, that sometimes she wondered what she was missing. Davis came out of the bathroom and sat down next to her, wondering about their next mission.
“Where do you think they’ll send us next?” he asked.
“No idea.”
“Maybe they’ll let us take a week or two off first.”
“When was the last time we had a week or two off?” Parker dejectedly asked.
“Something wrong with you?” Davis asked, picking up on her negative vibes.
“No, not really. Just…never mind.”
“Thinking of another life maybe?”
&
nbsp; “What? No. Of course not. Just tired I guess.”
The plane started boarding and the two of them dropped the conversation, Parker not really wanting to talk about it. She stopped briefly and took one last look at the mother with her children, a slight smile creeping over her face before she turned back to her reality, and boarded the plane.
Langley, Virginia—Parker and Davis were inside the CIA building to meet their handler and hand over the disc and money.
“You know what, you go ahead, I have something I have to take care of,” Davis told her.
“We really should do this together,” she replied.
“Just cover for me.”
“Fine,” Parker sighed, not really wanting to.
A few minutes later Parker met their handler, Lisa Burnett.
“Where’s Davis?” Burnett wondered.
“He had to meet with somebody about something. It was a last minute thing,” Parker replied.
“Oh. So you got everything?”
“Yep. Right here,” she answered, handing over the backpack with the disc and money.
“Great job as usual.”
“Thank you. What’s on this disc that was worth so much money?”
“Prelimary plans for several high tech secret weapons that are currently being worked on by Iran.”
“So what was it doing in the hands of Russians?” Parker wondered.
“Sergei Krushenyk had contacts in Iran Parliament that sold him the plans. Krushenyk then made it known he had the plans in his possession and was selling them to the highest bidder. Alexi Barsukov was buying the plans with the intention of selling them, most likely, to the Russian government who would then develop the weapons themselves,” Burnett explained.
“Or at least benefit financially in helping Iran develop them. Sell them parts needed maybe.”
“Perhaps.”
“So what’s our next assignment?” Parker asked.
“Give us a day or two to examine exactly what’s on the disc. If there’s anything else on it we may have you run down any other leads. We’ll see though. In the meantime, just hang loose for a day or so.”
Parker started to leave but quickly turned back around to ask Burnett a question.
“Any word yet on my request?” Parker wondered.
“Not yet. These things take time, Alex,” Burnett replied, sensing Parker’s disappointment.
“I know.”
“Asking for a couple months off in this line of work requires a lot signatures. Just be patient.”
“It’s just…I haven’t had more than a week off in ten years. I feel like I could use some time to get some energy back.”
“I know. I’m doing what I can for you.”
Parker was going to say a few other things but thought better of it. She was used to keeping her thoughts and feelings bottled up. In her profession, the less people knew about her personally the better off she was. Burnett could tell there was something else on her mind though. As a handler, part of her job was to be a sounding board for her agents to bounce things off their chest.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Burnett asked.
“It’s just lately I’ve been starting to wonder what it’d be like to live a normal life with a normal job. Without the explosions, killings, knife fights, gun battles, missions, constant danger, and a new country every week,” she revealed.
“You mean to a desk job?”
“Not really. Just out of the game totally,” Parker revealed.
“You’re thinking about leaving?”
“Not right now. But maybe someday,” Parker said, trying to not make it sound like it was imminent.
“Put those thoughts out of your head,” Burnett replied, moving closer to her and whispering. “Be careful what you say and to who.”
“I haven’t said anything to anybody.”
“Good. Now get rid of those ideas and concentrate on your job.”
“Why is it so bad to think about a life after here?” she asked, wondering why her handler was getting so upset.
“Do you realize how valuable you are?” Burnett asked. “Let me tell you something, when a new high priority mission comes up, one of the first things asked is what’s Parker doing? You have one of the top five success rates on missions and confirmed kills of all the operatives we have out in the field. Nobody does it better than you.”
Parker listened to her handler’s words and let them sink in. She looked down at the ground and clenched her lips together. She knew what Burnett was telling her.
“They’re never gonna let me go, are they?” Parker asked.
“No,” Burnett bluntly replied. “At least not yet.”
“I see and hear other people moving on and having careers outside of this place. Why can‘t I?”
“Those other people aren’t you. Those other people are dinosaurs who are no longer relevant or have nothing else to give. You’re in the prime of your career right now. They think you still have a lot of years to give them. As long as they see that, you’re not going anywhere.”
“What if I just quit?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Burnett sternly told her. “I’ll see what I can do about getting you some extra time off. In the meantime, just try to take it easy.”
“I appreciate it,” Parker replied, knowing she wasn’t likely to get any time off soon.
Parker tried calling Davis as she exited CIA headquarters but it went to his voicemail. She left a message for him to call her back so she could let him know they were waiting for another day. She wondered what he was up to as it was a little unusual for him to ditch her like that. She went back to her hotel room and tried to relax for a bit. She put on the TV, planning on just watching a movie, but as soon as she laid down she drifted off to sleep. Parker woke up the following morning around eight, getting a much needed fifteen hours of sleep. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and poured herself some orange juice. As she was making one of her favorite breakfasts, a bagel with cream cheese, her laptop started buzzing, indicating a video conference was waiting.
Parker put the laptop on the kitchen counter as she finished making her bagel. Burnett appeared on the screen.
“Alex, we have your new mission,” she stated.
“Uhh, great. So where am I going?” Parker asked, trying to sound upbeat about it.
“Well, Director Nelson will tell you about it.”
“Director Nelson?”
Nelson then came on, a split screen showing Burnett on the left and Nelson on the right appearing.
“Unfortunately, we’ve got a rogue ghost.”
“That’s terrible,” Parker replied.
“I’ve been looking at your file. I’m just wondering what I should call you?” the director asked.
“Sir?”
“Cassandra Benson, Evelyn Altimiri, Ava Nixon, Ingrid Renberg, Sara Zorn, Holly Backman, Emily Lee, Tasha…” he kept going.
“Umm, excuse me sir, I don’t mean to interrupt, but what is…what’s the point of all this?” she tactfully asked.
“Just trying to figure out which is the real you. Twenty eight years old, been with the agency ten years, seventeen different aliases.”
“Well, they’re all the real me,” she smiled, not sure what he was getting at. “And actually it’s only sixteen. One is my real name.”
“Which one is that?”
“To be honest it’s been so long since I used it that I almost forget,” she joked.
“So which one are you today?”
“Well, I’m kind of partial to the name I’m using right now, Alex Parker.”
“You have an impressive file, Ms. Parker,” Nelson told her.
“Uhh, thank you.”
“You are highly recommended by everyone who’s ever done business with you.”
“Thank you again, I guess,” she smiled.
“Well, Ms. Parker, we’re sending you to California for your next mission.”
“I’m staying in
the states?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. No problem. It’s just with all the other missions I’ve been on I’ve been out of the country for a few years,” she explained. “Just a little weird to finally stay home. So what’s the mission? Am I going with Heath?”
“You might want to sit down,” he warned.
Alex looked at the screen funny and knew right away with that warning that something big was going on. The smile slowly faded from her face as she slowly sat down and waited for the director to explain the details.
“You’re going to Los Angeles to find Heath Davis. Pasadena to be precise.”
“Heath? I don’t understand,” she said with a shake of her head. “Why would I need to find Heath? Heath is here. I just saw him yesterday.”
“He was here. He immediately flew out to California on a private jet minutes after you handed over the Iran disc.”
“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not really processing this well. Why would Heath get on a private jet to California?” she asked.
“Because your partner’s gone rogue,” the director revealed.
“What? No, that’s impossible. We just got back from Russia and turned over the…”
“The Iran documents, I know. Unfortunately we also have this video,” he told her.
A video of Davis sneaking into an office and going onto a computer played on the screen next to the general. Davis was clearly copying material onto his own discs and putting them in his pocket. Parker was watching intently, not believing what she was seeing.
“When was that video taken?” Parker asked.
“While you were talking to Burnett, Davis was doing business for himself. He thought he disabled the video system in the office but didn’t realize that a backup camera immediately went online once the initial system malfunctions.”
“There must be another explanation. Maybe he’s on another mission none of us are privy to…,” she started.
“The only mission he’s on is his own. I’ve checked with everybody who’s authorized to be viewing that material and use that room, and he’s not sanctioned to be copying files for his own use.”
“Do we know what he took?”
“Our technicians are going over the computer. Right now it appears he downloaded approximately twenty thousand different case files. We’re still determining the exact amount and which ones.”
