by Dee Davis
“Most of them are,” Nash agreed. “But there are those who feel the country was better off united. And communist.”
“Like the pro-Soviet movement in Russia,” Tyler added.
“Exactly.” Hannah nodded. “Part of it is nationalistic pride, and part of it is the belief that the communist path is the right way. Anyway, bottom line is that we believe Kim Sun is involved in clandestine operations to work toward reunification of Korea under communist rule. Actions that certainly wouldn’t endear him to the United States. And worse, Kim’s political proclivities have led to involvement with other, more violent fringe groups, primarily Asian. Although there is some reason to believe that he’s also had contact with several Arabic extremist groups as well.”
“All of which makes him a dangerous man with even more dangerous friends,” Annie acknowledged, “but I don’t see how it relates to his vendetta against me.”
“It doesn’t.” Emmett shook his head. “At least not directly. But it does mean that Kim is tied in to a pretty evolved underground network, which will make it all that much easier for him to stay under the radar.”
“Meaning it could be impossible to find him,” Annie said.
“No. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that our work is going to be cut out for us.”
“When was the last time he was seen in the United States?” Lara asked.
“Five years ago,” Hannah said, punching up another photograph, this one more recent. “He attended an international peace conference. After that, nothing shows up in current immigration or airport security records. So if he’s here, he’s under an assumed name.”
“The guy’s like a ghost,” Emmett confirmed. “The CIA’s got a file on him, but most of it pertains to the incident in Saida, most of that limited to the official story.”
“That there was an industrial accident.” Annie nodded.
“Exactly,” Emmett said. “And according to the official record, Jin was touring the area when the explosion occurred, his death ancillary. There were no charges filed, although there was an official protest by the Korean government on Kim’s behalf.”
“But after doing their own investigation, they ended up satisfied with the official explanation.” Hannah crossed her arms and frowned. “Kim, however, was never convinced. He was certain there was more to the story.”
“And apparently there was,” Nash acknowledged, surprised that the idea no longer made him feel betrayed.
“How the hell do you think he found out that Annie was involved?” Drake asked. “I mean, our government went to great lengths to cover up what really happened. And not to blow our own horn, we’re pretty good at that kind of thing. Not to mention that Annie was totally out of the picture with her defection.”
“It wasn’t a defection,” she protested. “I was supposed to go underground to protect the sanctity of the mission.”
“No way to question the plebes if they’ve left the building,” Emmet said to no one in particular.
“It doesn’t matter how deep they buried it.” Tyler shrugged. “If someone is patient and tenacious, anything is possible. There had to be people that knew what really went down. Tom for one. But there would have been others as well. Maybe someone spilled the beans.”
“For the right amount of money.” Drake’s contempt was blatant.
“Hey,” Lara said, “there are all kinds of reasons to release information. Some of them actually understandable. Although I’ll admit, nine times out of ten it’s about greed.”
“It’s also possible that maybe Annie just slipped up,” Tyler said, shooting Annie an apologetic look.
“No way,” she said, shaking her head. “Not with Adam to think about. If anything, I was overly cautious. Well, whatever the source, I think we can all agree that Kim knows the truth. It’s the only thing that ties it all together.”
“But why now?” Emmett mused. “I mean, the operation is old news. And Jin’s been dead for a hell of a long time.”
“There’s no statute of limitations on a father’s love,” Tyler said.
“Or on his need for revenge.” Drake’s take, as usual, was the more cynical, but Nash had to agree.
“So somehow Kim finds out the truth about what really happened in Saida, and then with a little digging he figures out that Annie was the guilty party.”
“But how the hell did he find me?”
“There’s no way to know,” Emmett said. “If he had someone on the inside, maybe they had access to whatever Tom kept from the original mission. The truth is there are countless ways he could have found you.”
“Anyway, once he did, it was just a matter of planning and executing his revenge,” Drake said. “First he kidnaps your son, using Adam to maneuver you into killing an American dignitary. But why? What’d he have against Dominico?”
“I don’t think it was ever about Dominico,” Nash said. “Except maybe as a bonus round. Dominico wasn’t exactly pro-Korea, especially the movement for reunification. But I think the real goal here was to punish Annie.”
“To make her pay for what she’d done to Jin,” Lara prompted.
“That and what she’d done to Kim Sun himself. I mean, for all practical purposes she ruined his life. And I expect he wanted to ruin hers as well.”
“First by killing her son,” Tyler said. “An eye for an eye.”
“So why not just kill me, too?” Annie asked, her voice cracking as she struggled with the enormity of Kim’s threat and the reasons behind it.
“Dying would be too easy,” Drake said. “Killing Dominico would mean you’d be charged with treason or murder, take your pick. Couple that with the loss of your son. Can you think of a better way to ruin someone’s life?”
“Annie’s in particular,” Nash mused, avoiding Annie’s gaze. She’d always prided herself on helping to rid the world of dangerous men, people determined to take out all vestiges of civilization and democracy.
“And so when things went wrong,” Emmett mused, “and we rescued Adam—”
“—he moved on to plan B,” Drake concluded. “Kill Dominico himself and frame Annie. Same ending, just a different way of getting there.”
“But then why go after me at the motel?” she asked.
“Maybe the goal was to get you out of there, so they could sanitize. That would explain the phone call. Or maybe it was just a reaction to your running,” Lara said.
“Without Kim to answer our questions definitively we’re not going to have anything but conjecture.” Emmett shook his head. “The more important thing is to consider the fact that if there was a plan B, then that means Kim had to have already planned for the possibility of failure with his initial scenario.”
“You’re talking about the fingerprint and hair sample.” Tyler frowned.
“Yes.” Emmett nodded. “It’s easy enough to transfer a print from one surface to another if you know what you’re doing. All Kim had to do was have one of his flunkies secure Annie’s print and while he was at it, grab a hair sample.”
“Rivon could have managed it,” Lara suggested. “He met with her several times. Or maybe Kim’s people pulled the samples when they took the kid. Annie’s hair and prints had to be all over the room.”
“Or maybe it was the man in the hotel room,” Annie said, her brows drawn together as she considered the idea. “It would certainly explain his presence.”
“Makes more sense than anything else we’ve considered,” Nash agreed. “I don’t suppose you have anything new on his identity?”
“No.” Lara shook her head. “Langley verified that the fingerprints we lifted weren’t in any of our files. And the DNA hasn’t popped yet either.”
“But maybe we have a new angle,” Hannah said, already typing furiously on her laptop. “Annie, you told me the guy was Asian, right?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “But I can’t be sure. I didn’t get that good a look at him.”
“What about you, Nash?” Drake asked.
&nbs
p; “I didn’t see him except for a brief moment, and that was through the haze of the hotel curtains. He was definitely Asian but he wasn’t old enough to be Kim, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“No.” Hannah shook her head. “I wouldn’t expect Kim to do his own dirty work. But usually when people plan an operation as big as this one, they have someone they trust. Someone at the top who is privy to all the planning and is part of the implementation.”
“But we haven’t seen any evidence of that at all,” Emmett said. “None of the accomplices we’ve turned up so far have a Korean connection. Hell, not even an Asian one.”
“Understood,” Hannah said, still typing. “But the people we’ve uncovered so far have just been lackeys. Paid help, so to speak. Even the big guns were the kind of folks that couldn’t easily be tied to Kim. But nobody operates in a vacuum. And the intruder at Annie’s hotel room has never fit what we knew of the plan.”
“So you’re saying that he’s the inside guy?” Nash frowned, turning the idea over in his mind. “Someone Kim knows and trusts?”
“Exactly.” Hannah nodded. “The lower-level operation was for Annie’s benefit. So that she’d believe that she had to kill Dominico. By having unknowns on the payroll, Kim had insurance that if things went badly, Annie wouldn’t have anything to implicate him. Just Rivon and the planted information about Ashad.”
“But Kim was at the farmhouse,” Annie said, shaking her head. “Which meant Rivon and the others saw him.”
“And they were all supposed to die,” Tyler reminded them. “That bomb was meant to take out the whole lot—except Rivon.”
“Well, it definitely wasn’t Rivon in my hotel room,” Annie said.
“It was someone Asian,” Hannah reiterated, still typing.
“So maybe we need to be checking the fingerprints against Asian databases,” Drake suggested.
“Korean in particular.” Lara nodded. “Although I have to say that even if it is a Korean, Kim could have been working with anyone. And figuring out who isn’t going to be easy.”
“Yes, but maybe we were looking in the wrong places,” Nash said. “And if we can tie the intruder to Kim, it’ll go a long way toward proving Annie was framed.”
“Needle in a haystack,” Emmett muttered.
“Can’t you check DNA for that kind of thing?” Drake asked. “Alleles or something?”
“Come again?” Nash asked.
“Alleles are part of a pair of genes. They’re used to identify particular characteristics. Race, among other things,” Lara explained. “But I’m not sure that identifying the intruder’s nationality is going to definitively tie Kim to the intruder.”
“It might. If the man is related,” Hannah said with a triumphant smile as she flashed a new photograph on the overhead screen. The man looked like a younger version of Kim. “It seems there were two brothers. Jin and Chin-Mae.” She waved at the screen. “Meet Chin-Mae.”
“So why are we just now hearing this?” Tyler asked.
“Because Chin-Mae was just a kid when his brother died. And because his father’s always kept him off the radar. I stumbled across a reference when I was searching for info on Kim. But I hadn’t put two and two together until you mentioned the age of the assailant in the hotel room. Anyway, I know it’s a long shot. But the CIA has a DNA sample on Kim. Which means we should be able to compare it to the DNA we found on the hotel balcony. Right?” Hannah asked.
“It’s possible.” Lara nodded. “Assuming I can obtain the full records. It’s just a simple paternity test.”
“And if we can prove that it was Chin-Mae in my room,” Annie said, hope mirrored on her face, “then we’ll be a whole lot closer to proving the connection to Kim.”
“Which would be a good thing,” Avery responded, striding into the room. “Sorry to have to break up the meeting, but I need Annie and Nash to come with me. Tom Walker’s here. And I’m afraid he’s gunning for Annie.”
CHAPTER 21
I don’t care what the fuck you think you know,” Tom said, his expression guarded. ��I’ve got the authority to take Annie back to D.C. for prosecution. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Avery had sequestered the four of them in a conference room deep in the bowels of headquarters, away from prying eyes, although Annie figured the room was probably wired for sound. Her head was still reeling from all the developments of the day, her primary concern still Adam’s safety. But not only had Avery doubled security, he’d had someone from A-Tac with the boy all day.
So at least for the moment, she felt like she could concentrate on the present. On fighting for her life—possibly quite literally—as they tried to present the case that Annie’d been framed. Needless to say, Annie still felt as if she were caught in a dangerous tug-of-war. And worst of all, she was having trouble concentrating with Nash in the room.
She knew he had doubts. And until those doubts were assuaged, she knew that he wouldn’t be able to trust her completely. Professionally, she needed that trust. Needed him to believe in her innocence and the necessity of finding and taking out Kim Sun once and for all. And on a personal level—well, she wasn’t certain she was ready to deal with all of that. He’d hurt her as much as she’d hurt him. Maybe there was no recovering from that.
The thought was more painful than she could have imagined.
“Until I verify the truth about what happened in Saida,” Avery was saying, his expression thunderous, “and until we hear from our respective commanders, you’re not going anywhere. I don’t like being played.”
“No one has been playing you, Avery.” Tom shook his head. “Saida is just old news in light of today’s assassination.”
“But we have proof that Kim Sun was involved,” Nash argued.
“You have theories. I have proof.” Tom waved the file with the fingerprint and DNA evidence.
“And I have the ear of the president,” Avery said, pulling all attention firmly back to his corner of the table. “Which means that I expect you to tell me the truth. Were there counterorders for the mission to Saida?”
“You know as well as I do that I can’t confirm or disconfirm anything without proper clearance.” Tom crossed his arms over his chest, his face guarded. “Annie shouldn’t have shared classified information. It’s a breach of protocol.”
“There is no protocol on an eight-year-old mission,” Annie snapped, her patience wearing thin. She’d never been much on playing the political game, and despite the fact that she’d once considered Tom her friend, the day’s revelations had left her doubting the validity of her memories.
His motives, seen from her new vantage point, seemed suddenly suspect. Especially considering the fact that Homeland Security and the CIA weren’t particularly good at playing nice with each other, turf wars regularly erupting as their missions intersected and overlapped.
Annie might not be ready to completely commit to trusting A-Tac, but in a firefight she’d take Avery and Nash over Tom every time.
“Even if there was protocol,” Avery said, his voice deceptively soft, “Annie’s no longer bound by it. And considering the enormity of the situation at hand, I think the time for full disclosure is at hand.”
“I haven’t got the authority,” Tom insisted.
“What am I missing here?” Avery asked, shaking his head. “You said it yourself—the operation’s old news, which makes it a dead issue as far as internal agencies are concerned. All I’m looking for is confirmation that Annie’s version of events is true.”
“What about the evidence against Annie?” Tom asked, deftly turning the argument away from the past. “Are you just going to pretend it doesn’t exist?”
“It’s not like that kind of thing can’t be faked,” Annie ground out. “Besides, if nothing else, there’s my word that I didn’t do it. That used to mean something. What happened to you? You’ve turned into the kind of blustering bureaucrat we used to make fun of.”
“I care about our
country’s security. And I care about bringing Dominico’s killer to justice.”
“Well, you’re barking up the wrong tree. I didn’t kill the man.”
“So you say.” Tom shook his head, clearly not buying the idea.
“There are definitely signs that she’s being played, Tom,” Nash said. “The timeline is there for her to have been at Dominico’s, but the rest of the facts don’t line up.”
Tom’s eyebrows shot up. “Surely you of all people aren’t buying into this?”
“I don’t know what to think.” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he watched Tom. “But I also don’t understand why you’re out to get Annie. She’s right, you know her. Know us. And yet, you’re not interested in helping her at all.”
“I’m interested in justice.”
“You’re interested in you,” Nash said. “That’s always the way it’s been. I just didn’t realize how much.”
“You always had a weakness when it came to Annie.” Tom shrugged. “But I’m not as easily fooled. And I just can’t ignore the fact that we’ve got evidence that places her at the scene. And nothing you’ve told me here is strong enough to refute those facts.”
“It’s enough to cast reasonable doubt,” Avery said. “And last I checked that’s all that’s needed. We know that Kim Sun was behind Adam’s kidnapping. And if the child is to be believed, Kim is behind the phone calls as well. And once we establish for certain that the man in Annie’s hotel room was Kim’s son, we’ll have incontrovertible evidence that the two of them are part of this.”
“Maybe. But that only gives testament to Annie’s motivation. If Kim is still threatening her son, it follows that she’d finish what she started. And there’s the fact that she ran away from here. Why would she do that when this is probably the safest place she could be?”
“Because she overheard us talking about your coming to get her,” Nash admitted, his words sending Annie’s stomach reeling. Listening to Tom, even she was starting to believe she was guilty.
“Seems to me that just supports her guilt. I mean, why would an innocent person run?”