Agent Hill Super Boxset: A Gripping Espionage Thriller

by James Hunt

  Sarah pushed herself off the cot and broke into a light jog. “Really? You’re in the next room, and you use the communication link instead of just coming to get me?” She shook her head. “And people say I’m the lazy one.”

  “I’ve got something.” Bryce’s voice echoed in her ear from the close proximity to his headset, and it triggered feedback to squeal in her ear. She thumped Bryce on the head with a flick of her finger, and he turned, removing the headset. “Look.” He pointed to the screen with one hand while rubbing the thumped spot with the other.

  The code on the screen might as well have been a foreign language, but Sarah played along. “Yes.” She rubbed her chin, squinting and nodding. “Numbers.”

  Bryce rolled his eyes and rolled closer to the edge of his desk. “This is a receiver code that allows Black Box to manipulate the nukes. I can reverse engineer this and create a type of virus that disrupts the signal from Black Box so Grimes can’t detonate any of them.” He exhaled. “I’ll only be able to block it for a specific amount of time before Black Box’s AI figures out a way to work around it, but it’s a start.”

  “Better call Mack,” Sarah said. “And let’s do it together. It’ll be nice to actually deliver some good news to the boss for once.” She tilted her head to the side. “You know, as opposed to all of the other times that I’ve given the man a heart attack.”

  “Yeah,” Bryce said, raising both eyebrows. “You’ve definitely taken some years off his life.”

  9

  Sarah sat in Mack’s chair with her feet up on the desk, her hands folded behind her head with a look of pure satisfaction that was only afforded when one was sitting in the boss’s chair. “I think I understand why Mack likes sitting here so much.” She wiggled her body, reshaping the ass groove that had formed over the century or so of Mack’s existence. “It’s comfortable.”

  Bryce bounced his knee up and down nervously, his fingers still shaking from the twenty cups of coffee he’d drained to finish the software program he hoped would disrupt Black Box’s signal. He was nervous. She could tell by the way he was ignoring her and also by the way he kept saying that he was, indeed, nervous. “I just wish I had more time.”

  “Much like popping your cherry,” Sarah said, “it might be messy and fast, but I’m sure the components will work just fine. And it’s not like the CIA has done anything to really help.” Sarah chuckled. “I mean, it’s like those guys are just sitting with their thumbs up their asses waiting for us to solve everything. I’m starting to realize why Grimes was so disgruntled in the first place.”

  “He was disgruntled because of you, Hill.” Mack’s voice boomed through the speakers like an omnipresent God, and at first Sarah wasn’t sure where the sound was coming from until Mack’s face appeared on the screen. “And get out of my chair. Now.”

  The last word ended in a growl, and Sarah punched Bryce in the shoulder as she switched seats. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  Bryce flashed a nervous smile as he rubbed his arm. “No problem.”

  The screen on the wall zoomed out and made room for both Mack and Mallory in some nondescript conference room in Langley. Sarah offered a friendly wave. “Just kidding about the thumbs.” She stuck both of hers up in a cheesy gesture that no one else reciprocated, and she slowly lowered her hands.

  “What do you have for us, Bryce?” Mack asked.

  Bryce cleared his throat and drew a long, raspy breath. “Okay. So.” His fingers glided across the keyboard on his laptop, and the projection on the wall split between Mack and Mallory and a display of his work. “Between the signals I was able to record from the incident in China a few days ago and from the schematics Sarah retrieved—”

  “You’re welcome, by the way,” Sarah said, poking her head into frame, noticing that both Mallory and Mack shared the same stonewalled expression, which she was beginning to think was a prerequisite for that type of position.

  “Right. Thanks,” Bryce said, giving Sarah a full helping of side eye. “I managed to create a program that should block the signal that Black Box is broadcasting.”

  “Should?” Mallory asked.

  “Well, I was successful in most of the tests I ran, but until I encounter the real thing, I won’t know for sure,” Bryce answered.

  “We know all of the locations for the nuclear arsenals in the countries that Grimes is targeting,” Mack said. “Why can’t you use one of those as a test?”

  Bryce held up a finger. “That’s where this solution gets a little tricky.” He removed a small thumb drive from his pocket and held it up. “The program needs to be inserted manually. The signals from Black Box are too sophisticated for me to try and combat them while they’re still traveling. But if we can get this plugged into the overall system software for the launch sites, then I’ll have better footing to fight this thing.”

  Mallory rubbed his forehead. “This isn’t the most practical solution, Bryce.”

  Sarah slowly brought herself into the frame of the video, hand raised like she was in class. “I would just like to say that even with my insanely talented person, this would be difficult.”

  “This plan would have to involve the rest of the international intelligence community,” Mack said. “And right now they’re too busy squabbling with one another and pointing fingers.” He turned to Mallory. “You’d have to cash in on some of your more unsavory relationships.”

  Mallory chuckled, nearly to the point of hysteria, shaking his head in disbelief. “You want me to reach out to the heads of the intelligence agencies from around the world and tell them, ‘hey, we’ve got this software we want to insert into your entire nuclear program.’” He slammed his fist onto the table. “Are you insane?”

  “If Bryce says this is the only way to stop Grimes, then we don’t have a choice,” Mack said, retaining that cool demeanor in times of crisis. Sometimes Sarah thought she could set the man on fire and he would just calmly stop, drop, and roll then continue with his day like nothing ever happened.

  “Even if I do reach out to them,” Mallory said, staring at some random point on the table, “and even if they do listen, what you’re talking about is an unprecedented, coordinated global coalition amongst a group of people who have built their living on spying on one another! No one will be willing to air their dirty laundry out like that.”

  “The pooch has already been screwed on that front,” Sarah said. “Everyone in this line of work knows they’re being watched by someone else. Watch.” She picked up the can-like cylinder that corralled the pens on Mack’s desk and chucked it at the fogged glass wall. The can thumped against the glass, and a muffled groan echoed from the other side. “Johnny’s been standing there with his ear to the wall for probably the past fifteen minutes.”

  “Hill is right,” Mack said. “We don’t have much choice, and neither does the international community.”

  Sarah tilted her head to the side, smiling. “What was that?”

  Mack closed his eyes. “You heard what I said.”

  Sarah thrust her arms in the air in victorious jubilation. “Ladies and gentlemen, let it go on record that on this day at sixteen hundred hours, Eastern Standard Time, Mack Farr has acknowledged the fact that Sarah Hill was right!” She cupped her hands around her mouth, feigning the cheers of a stadium. “And the crowd goes wild.”

  After a good ten minutes of the overexerted display of self-confidence through a series of fist pumps, dancing, and what Sarah like to call “middle-finger rocket launches,” she stopped when she noticed the gaping stares of Bryce, Mack, and Mallory, all of whom shared expressions of shock, awe, and what she hoped was a tiny dose of admiration.

  “She is your best agent?” Mallory asked.

  Mack nodded. “Unfortunately.”

  Sarah once again thrust her arms into the air, taking a victory lap around the office. “Ladies and gentlemen, let it be known that on this day at sixteen ten hours, Eastern Standard Time, Mack Farr has finally admitted that Sarah Hill is t
he best agent at his disposal!”

  Mack palmed his forehead. “God help me.” And Sarah broke into another round of jubilant celebration.

  The moment the meeting ended and Mallory’s shock from his first interaction with Hill subsided, Mack began coordinating meetings for Mallory and the nuclear states that Grimes had gripped by the balls. Behind each of Mallory’s calls and every interaction, Mack listened in the background, providing any needed direction when the conversations encountered roadblocks. It was important for Mallory to take the lead on these negotiations and that the countries believed the CIA was providing the solution. After all, the GSF didn’t exist.

  “We’ll have one of our people drop off the devices in less than an hour. Thank you, Minister Kafhen.” Mallory set his cell phone down, his eyes hollower than those of a rotten jack-o-lantern. “Russia’s good.”

  Mack ticked off the countries in his head. “China, France, the UK, Israel, Russia.” He scrolled through the notifications on his mobile. “Looks like North Korea took the bait from China.” He nodded. “Only two left.”

  Mallory collapsed into his chair. “You and I both know trying to get either of those countries to work together is like trying to fit a square peg into a triangular hole.” The skin over his temples had transitioned from pale white to a steady pink from the constant massaging, looking as though he were trying to burrow his fingers into the thick of his skull. “Neither of them will go for this.”

  “You’ll need to speak to them at the same time,” Mack said.

  Mallory laughed, the burst involuntary judging from the light flush in his cheeks. “You really think that’s the best course of action?”

  “It’s the only course of action.” And eventually, Mallory understood that as well.

  After individual messages were sent to both the appropriate Pakistani and Indian parties, both agreed to a conference call. The two voices blared through the speaker phone with the malice and fervor that Mack had expected.

  “We will not allow our most strategic defense to be manipulated by a third party!” Director Muhali screamed into his receiver and was eclipsed by Minister Ruhemi, who talked over him every other word.

  “And India will never submit to dismantling our nuclear program regardless of what the government of Pakistan chooses to do.”

  And so it went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, the same ping-pong argument and fears on both sides of the aisle. Mack watched Mallory struggle to maintain control, but he might as well have been Switzerland during the Second World War.

  “Director, Minister,” Mallory said. “If you could just—” But no one listened. No compromises, no mutually beneficial solutions, no resolution.

  The longer Mack listened to the conversation, the more he realized what he would have to do, and it was a decision he had been hoping he wouldn’t have to make. Mack placed his hand on Mallory’s forearm, and after very abrupt goodbyes, the call ended.

  Mack flashed the image on his phone of the growing border troops bolstering each side. “We’re going to have to install those programs ourselves.”

  “Even if I coordinate with Homeland, the CIA doesn’t have the resources for a mission of that scale,” Mallory said. “And even if we did, that would be a major violation of every known international law that could spark the very nuclear war we’re trying to prevent.”

  “The CIA isn’t going to be a part of this,” Mack replied. “But my agents will.”

  Sarah zipped up her jacket, the Colts tucked away snug as a bug in a rug beneath the Kevlar. She crossed her arms and examined the mission layout spread across Bryce’s computers. It was the largest coordinated mission effort the GSF had ever attempted. And there wasn’t any room for error.

  “The drop points will be here, here, and here,” Bryce said, pointing along the India–Pakistan border. “There are a total of one hundred warheads spread out across nine bases on the Indian side. We’ll have agents hitting the area in a coordinated effort in both countries.” He highlighted the stations then singled out Sarah’s target. “This is yours. The control room for the base’s weapon systems is below ground. Once you land I’ll guide you inside. Now, I know how you’re prone to jump the gun, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to not do that this time.”

  “Don’t blow my load,” Sarah said, studying the map. “Got it.” She brushed past Bryce and headed toward the elevator.

  “I’m serious,” Bryce said, moving at a light jog to keep up with Sarah’s pace. “Don’t do anything ahead of time. It could dramatically throw off the groove of the entire operation, and if either government gets a whiff of what’s happening to their nuclear arsenals, it could trigger a launch on either side. We have to disarm them at exactly the same time.”

  Sarah pressed the button on the elevator to go up, and the doors pinged open, both of them stepping inside. “Don’t do anything to trigger nuclear war. Got it.”

  Bryce stepped directly in front of her, his eyes wide, and spoke slowly. “So… You’re not going to start the mission before I say go.”

  Sarah clasped Bryce by his shoulders. “Bryce, I understand what you’re telling me.” She leaned in closer. “Relax, okay?” She clapped him on the arm. “You act like I go rogue on every single mission.”

  “Well… you do.”

  “Psh. Give me three examples.”

  “Last year on the mission in Belgium, you were supposed to stay low key.”

  Sarah shrugged. The elevators opened to the rooftop. “I did.”

  “You leveled a city block.”

  “It was scheduled to be demolished anyway,” Sarah said defensively.

  “Example two: three months ago you were assigned an extraction of a drug lord’s son in Colombia.”

  “Yeah, and I got him out.”

  “With twelve broken bones!”

  Sarah lowered her voice slightly. “I told him to duck.”

  “Example three—”

  “Okay, okay. I get it.” Sarah held up her hands, the wind from the chopper blowing her hair back. “I won’t go until you say so.”

  “This is big, Sarah. While Mack doesn’t think Grimes will actually blow a nuke, that doesn’t mean the Pakistani or Indian governments won’t.”

  Sarah backtracked to the chopper. “Hey, I got this. Just sit back, relax, and try not to drink any more coffee. You’ve got the crackhead shakes.” She climbed onto the chopper’s deck and watched Bryce grow smaller down below. A few seconds later his voice was once again in her ear.

  “I left a package for you on board. Check under your seat.”

  Sarah looked down and removed a small box. She ripped it open with the fervor of a kid on Christmas morning. But when she pulled out a metallic-looking poncho she frowned like she’d just received a lump of coal. The fabric shimmered in the sunlight. “What the hell is it? Some kind of solar panel?”

  “It’s something I’ve been working with at R&D,” Bryce said. “It’s a camouflage blanket that is adaptable to any environment. Using the satellite, I can control the light frequencies to blend it seamlessly to any background. Check it out.”

  Slowly, with the blanket still in her hands, the fabric disappeared. “Holy shit, it’s magic.”

  “Actually, it’s a blend of light emission and the bending of—”

  “Ugh, I can literally feel the excitement being drained from my body.” Sarah slumped in her seat, her head leaning against her shoulder. “Too much nerd. Can’t go on. Light… fading.”

  “Just don’t break it,” Bryce said, his tone dry and unamused.

  “Name one time I’ve broken something that you’ve given me,” Sarah said, straightening back up in her seat.

  “Example one—”

  “Never mind.”

  10

  Bikaner Air Force Base in Rajasthan, India, was enormous, but the surrounding desert terrain provided little in terms of cover, and Sarah found herself glad she had the blanket Bryce had developed. She moved among the p
atrols of soldiers and Humvees undetected. And with the number of aircraft taking off and landing at the base, she could have been easily spotted from above without it.

  “This invention is the envy of every adolescent male teen in the world.” She squinted. “Why haven’t we developed any tech like this before?” Sarah skirted a platoon of soldiers on her path to the base’s chain-link fence.

  “I actually proposed a prototype for a drone that could basically do everything you could and never be seen. When I showed it to Mack, he had me put it on the back burner.”

  “Really? Why?” Getting rid of the human element seemed right up Mack’s alley, even if only for the simple fact that he wouldn’t have to deal with her antics anymore. She knew she boiled the man’s blood, which wasn’t always intentional. But much of the time it was.

  “He said that while a computer could be told what to do, it didn’t have the human instinct that makes what we do so important,” Bryce said. Raising his voice one octave higher, he added, “Though I think you might be solely responsible for changing his mind on that particular issue.”

  Sarah stopped at the fence, waiting for a Humvee to pass before she attempted to climb over the top. “Yeah, I am pretty special.” The fence buckled from her weight, but there wasn’t anyone around to see it. “Everyone in position?”

  “Yeah, looks good so far,” Bryce answered. “And remember—”

  “Don’t start World War III.” Sarah moved swiftly across the grounds, following the highlighted path to the control room that she needed to infiltrate to install Bryce’s program. She kept her feet light and quiet on the journey through the base, resisting the urge to seriously mess with the soldiers she passed. This little device was going to change the game for Halloween this year.

  “The other agents are approaching their sectors,” Bryce said. “Less than sixty seconds till upload.”

  A clock ticked away the remaining seconds on the display on Sarah’s forearm as she paused at a door to let a group of soldiers pass. By the time she arrived at the elevator, she had thirty seconds left.