“If one of the four put it on you, we’re safe. They’ve been locked up for days.”
“But...” She twisted to face him. “What if there’s someone else? What if that person put it on my jacket, bumping into me this morning? Yesterday? Friday? We don’t fucking know, Logan. We don’t know a God damn thing. They’re always ten steps ahead of us. Fuck.”
“When did you put your jacket on today?” he asked.
“Right before we left. It was in the office before that. In theory, Baruti or Samuel could have planted it before I left. So we aren’t in the clear. They’ll know we’re doing something.”
“We stick to the plan.”
That was easy to say.
Kelsey lapsed into silence.
The plan hadn’t included her riding shotgun with him. He was glad she was, though. Too bad any hope he had of enjoying her company was ruined by the threat hanging over their heads now.
What were they walking into?
“Everyone?” Zora’s voice crackled to life over the radio again. “Please be advised that our plan might have been leaked. Proceed with the utmost caution and reach out to your respective safe house to warn them. I don’t want to lose anyone today.”
Logan tossed his phone at Kelsey. “Would you mind?”
She slanted a look sideways. “Trusting me with your phone? Wow. That’s a bold move.”
Kelsey cleared her throat and made the call, sounding every bit the professional FBI agent.
Neither talked much over the course of the half hour it took them to reach the sleepy, residential area where their designated safe house was set-up. He noted two utility vans on the way in.
Cops?
He hoped so. But there was already a precedent when dealing with these people. They liked their vans.
Logan slowed as he reached the house, peering into the rearview mirror.
Movement through the trimmed hedges bordering the house on the corner caught his eye.
The two utility vans were coming around the corner hard and fast.
They weren’t cops.
“Fuck, get down,” he yelled right before bullets ripped through the back of the SUV.
They’d been betrayed.
As if he needed more proof.
Logan slammed on the gas just as another van moved to block the street ahead of them.
“Ram it,” Kelsey barked.
Logan revved the gas, and the SUV shot forward.
The side door of the van ahead of them opened and three men with guns stared back at them, their faces twisted in terror.
He turned the wheel, going up on the curb. The right bumper clipped the van.
“We’ve got to get them out of here, away from civilians,” he shouted over the noise.
The van lurched and the dash alarm went off.
Two flat tires. They weren’t getting far in this vehicle.
“Shit.”
Logan slammed on the accelerator. They didn’t exactly shoot forward, but they made it to the next intersection.
These people wanted Dixon.
In the grand scheme, they didn’t give two fucks about Logan and Kelsey.
He turned the wheel at the next opportunity.
“Get ready to get out,” he said.
“What’s our plan?” Kelsey had her gun out and at the ready.
“Get away from the van and out of their range. When they don’t see Dixon, hopefully, they’ll leave. Get out. Now.” He shoved the SUV into park and threw open his door.
Logan got out and drew his weapon, peering behind them at the intersection.
Three of the other shooters were already advancing toward them.
Kelsey. He couldn’t see her.
“Back up, get behind that truck,” he yelled.
A small form darted ahead of him.
She was listening.
The tightness in his chest eased. She’d rarely outright refused to follow an order. It had happened, and he lived in fear of her going off on her own all the damn time.
Logan backed away, keeping eye contact with the advancing shooters.
They weren’t taking unnecessary shots. That was good. Could it be that whoever Skilton had hired possessed some sort of morals?
Logan reached the front of a truck parked along the curb and took a knee. He could still see at least one of the shooters, and that man was watching Logan.
“Think they’ll leave if they don’t find Dixon?” Kelsey asked.
“That or try to take one of us.” He’d rather it was him, but he couldn’t say that to her.
Gunshots ripped through the air one street over.
Logan flinched and prayed none of them found a target.
“The cops must be in on it now,” she said.
The trio reached the SUV and pulled the doors open.
“He’s not here,” one shouted.
“They’re American,” Kelsey muttered.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
All three shooters jumped.
“Command, the senator isn’t here. It was a decoy,” one of the men said into a radio.
Logan missed what the reply was, but all three turned and sprinted away.
“Damn.” He didn’t exactly relax, but he took a deep breath.
Kelsey twisted, putting her back to the truck’s grill and faced the other direction.
“Hey.” She smacked his arm. “There they go.”
He heard the squeal of tires as he turned, barely glimpsing the back end of a van making a hasty exit.
“What do you think—”
The rest of Kelsey’s question was cut off by a boom. It shook the truck. Glass windows broke. The sound took him back. And not to a good place.
“Fuck,” Logan spat and stood.
He kept his gun aimed at the ground as he jogged toward the intersection.
The van they’d clipped was a charred bonfire.
“What the hell?” Kelsey was right behind him.
“It must have not been able to keep up with the rest, so they destroyed it and any evidence inside,” he said.
It was smart. The kind of thing he’d do if he were in their shoes.
“Shit.” Kelsey shoved her gun into the holster. “Fuck.”
Logan reached over and pulled her to him.
They’d narrowly made it out of there. The margin didn’t change the fact that they were alive. And that was most important.
Now the question was, who was the mole? Who was the traitor?
MONDAY. TASK FORCE Headquarters. Washington, DC.
Nadine Baker had learned a long time ago that she could trust no one. She’d learned that lesson from her first husband, then again from her second partner at the CIA. Every few years in her twenties and thirties, it seemed she’d had to relearn the lesson.
Somewhere along the way, she’d finally gotten it right.
Right about now that beady eyed little bastard would be swinging by her office to help her escape. Only, she wasn’t waiting for him.
She boosted herself up onto the water tank of the toilet against the wall in the ladies’ bathroom. The small window was just eighteen by eighteen inches. She’d measured it early on and had taken the time staying late a few times to create her own exit.
There were regrets. She didn’t like what she’d been forced to do. Part of her genuinely liked these people. The moments when she’d been able to forget what she was really doing. Those were happy memories. But they were lies.
Skilton had her so tangled up, there was no escaping him. So this was her exit.
Nadine used the nail file to shift the pane of glass. Thanks to her earlier work, it popped out easily. She set it on the toilet seat, then took a deep breath.
Time to leave and shed this skin.
She was ready.
Nadine gripped the windowsill, then stepped on the flimsy trashcan bolted to the wall. It gave her just enough leverage to get her head and shoulders through the window. She tucked and let herself roll out.
It wasn’t a gentle landing, but it was a far cry better than what would happen to her if she stayed.
Any moment now they’d come looking for her. She’d known that email was possibly a trap. She’d also known there was no way out of the trap she’d caught herself in. Her only hope was that she could pass enough on to Skilton that he wouldn’t bother looking for her.
Hadn’t she given him enough over the years?
He’d bled her dry.
Now, it was time to do a little for herself.
Nadine picked herself up and began walking. Twenty paces down the side of the building was a paint bucket. She grabbed it and kept going. Everything she needed to say goodbye to this life and hello to the next was in her grasp. And this time, she wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
MONDAY. TASK FORCE Headquarters. Washington, DC.
It took almost two hours for Logan and Kelsey to make it back to the Task Force headquarters. They’d had to wait for the cops to clear them to leave and get someone to take them given that the SUV had to be towed. Most of it had been spent on the phone. He’d stuck to Kelsey’s side and held her hand while she processed the betrayal. In a way, he was glad that they weren’t around the others right now. Being at the safe house allowed her to process those feelings rather than bottle them up.
He glanced at Kelsey. She stared out of the window of the cruiser, her chin propped on her hand.
Nadine.
He hadn’t seen that coming.
None of them had, if they’d all been honest.
He should have.
They all should have.
Yet it seemed like everyone was shocked by the news.
Nadine had done her best to be well-liked by everyone. Her age and seniority had given her some protection against suspicion. But who could have hidden their agenda better than someone who’d been around and knew all the ticks of spy craft?
He’d known Kelsey would take the news hard regardless of who it was. He just wished he knew what he could do to comfort her.
The cop cruiser pulled up to the apartments. He’d given the officer that address instead of the headquarters, seeing as it wasn’t labeled a federal facility.
“Thanks, man,” Logan said to the officer.
The young officer nodded in the mirror. “Not a problem. Thanks for all your help. You two be safe, okay? I’ll come around and get your doors.”
Neither Logan nor Kelsey spoke while their driver opened one side, then the other.
Even the weather was betraying them.
It was a bright, sunny, warm day. The wind had finally let up. It was a stark contrast to the mood.
Logan and Kelsey got out of the cruiser and with a final goodbye to the young cop, they were alone again.
“How you doing?” Logan asked after a moment.
She turned to face him. “I just... It doesn’t feel real yet.”
“I know.” He nodded.
“God.” Her eyes widened. “Joon?”
He grimaced. “Poor guy.”
Kelsey reached out and took Logan’s hand. It felt good for her to do that so easily. “Come on.”
He didn’t say anything, just curled his hand around hers. They walked maybe twenty or thirty feet before she glanced at their hands.
“Thanks.” She squeezed him then let go.
“Nadine got really close to you,” he said.
“Not really. I mean, I looked up to her given her career history. We talked a lot over Thanksgiving at Diha’s, and yeah, I’d started to feel...closer? I guess?” She shoved her hands into her coat pockets. “I didn’t really know her. Obviously none of us did. Shit. What about her family? She’s married and has kids that live on her same street. Fuck. What about them?”
Logan didn’t know how they began to handle the situation or what they’d tell Nadine’s family. It was a lot to process.
Kelsey glanced down and wrinkled her nose at her jacket. Was she thinking about when Nadine might have planted the microphone on her?
He swiped his keycard at the door and held it for Kelsey. She paused and looked at the opening.
“Damn it,” he muttered and stepped inside ahead of her.
The new security measures included one entry swipes. They needed to know exactly who was in or out of the building at all times. Meaning, he couldn’t swipe his card for both of them to enter.
He pulled the door shut and nodded at the guards there on duty while Kelsey swiped her own card. It wasn’t a perfect system, but they’d make it work.
“Where is everyone?” Kelsey asked him.
They strode down a hall while he checked his phone.
The hall let out into a general workspace. Before today, things had grown quiet here. No doubt the paper pushers had picked up on the general mood. Now, it was a flurry of activity. Almost frantic.
“They’re upstairs in the conference room,” he said.
“Huh. Haven’t been up there in a while.”
Logan kept close to Kelsey, but didn’t touch her. Until he knew every employee had been vetted ten different ways and cleared, he couldn’t let his guard down.
They took the elevator up to the top floor.
It was an odd space. No walls had been erected beyond those for the elevators and stairs, save for the glass walls of the conference room. The windows gave an almost panoramic view of the local area.
They strode across the blue carpet. Jamie opened the door and grimaced by way of a greeting.
“That bad?” Logan muttered as he passed.
The mood was tense.
Quinten Joon paced the length of the conference room. He wore sweatpants and a hoodie which was unusual given how professional he always appeared. Anger rolled off the man.
Who could blame him?
Baruti and Samuel sat together at one end of the table.
Jamie, Harper and Evan were present, as well as Diha, Felecia and Cat.
The only ones missing were Zora, Tucker, and Nadine.
“Where is she?” Logan asked.
Quinten rounded on Logan, rage burning in his eyes. “She’s gone.”
“What?” Kelsey braced a hand on the back of Cat’s chair.
“Everyone, take a breath,” Logan said over all of them. “Where’s Zora?”
Diha checked her watch. “She and Tucker should be calling in remote any moment.”
Right on cue, a device somewhere in the room chimed.
“That’s them,” Diha said.
With some techno magic Logan didn’t bother understanding. The glass walls of the conference room frosted over and one panel turned into a screen. Zora stared back at them with Tucker just over her shoulder.
“You’re all there, good,” Zora said.
“Have you found her?” Joon demanded.
“Logan, was anything recovered from the scene?
Logan shook his head. “Nothing yet. They torched the van they left behind really well. Serial numbers were removed. It was a thorough job from the sound of it. There’s not likely to be anything on it.”
“Is Nadine really gone?” Kelsey stared at Zora’s larger-than-life face.
“Yes.”
The room let out a collective breath.
“Nadine killed two other employees. She also killed Oliver Reid and Santiago Fernández. According to building security, she got out through a bathroom window. The footage we do have has her leaving on foot. At some point she picked up a bucket left outside. I can only guess that it contained whatever she would need to make a clean exit.”
Kelsey sank into a chair. “She’s gone then. Totally gone?”
“Not if I can help it,” Joon muttered. “How did this happen?”
“Nadine was off-camera for less than two minutes.” Diha leaned forward. “Our established protocol was that she’d get four minutes of time in a bathroom before we checked on her. She must have prepared a quick escape plan. That’s the only explanation. And the alley? That feed isn’t monitored as closely. It’s l
esser quality. It would be easy to pass her off as anyone.”
Nadine was gone. Logan knew they could gather useful intel surrounding how she’d left, but he didn’t want them to get bogged down in the details. Not when so many things were happening now.
Logan’s heart went out to Kelsey, but they had to stay on task. “The two people she killed. Do we know why?”
“These two.” Diha tapped her phone and the images of two employees hovered on the glass to the side of Zora’s video. “Cat had them both flagged a few weeks ago. They had the same discrepancies. We suspected they might be up to something, so we’d begun following them and tracking their movements.”
“And?” Logan said a silent prayer for good news.
Diha’s face crumpled. “I’m afraid they were both able to spoof our signals, so we don’t have a comprehensive picture of where they’ve been or what they’ve been up to. My theory? They were either her accomplices or leaking intel themselves. She killed them to tie up loose ends before she disappeared.”
“Why are we just now hearing about them?” he asked.
“Because I didn’t want you distracted.” Zora’s voice was far too loud through the speakers.
Logan grit his teeth and pulled out a chair.
Would he ever be able to trust that Zora was being real with them? Sharing everything?
He didn’t think so.
“Joon?” Zora’s focused narrowed in on Joon. “You’re going to be put on leave while Diha and the girls clear you. I’m sure your supervisors are going to want to investigate this further. I’m not certain you’ll be able to continue participating.”
He stopped his pacing, crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at Zora. “So I’m fired?”
She stared right back at him. “That’s not what I’m saying. This is a difficult situation. There are processes in place, and to protect ourselves—and you—we need to follow them.”
Logan was convinced no one would ever win a staring contest with Zora.
She licked her lips and continued, “Agent Joon, I know this is hard to hear, but I’m putting you on leave. Please see your supervisor for the next steps and keep us updated on when you might be back?”
For a moment no one in the conference room moved or even dared to breathe.
Joon stared back at Zora for a long moment. Finally he nodded his head, turned and stalked toward the door. No one spoke as he left, and they all listened to his fading footsteps and the dig of the elevator.
Intercepted Risk (Aegis Group Task Force Book 5) Page 26
