End Game

by Rachel Dylan

  Not wasting a second, Marco sprinted down the hall to the stairway, then took the steps three at a time. Maybe this had nothing to do with their case, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

  Once he reached the main floor, he ran through a maze of people heading in the opposite direction. As he neared the loading dock, he saw a swarm of security personnel.

  “You need to stay back,” one of them told him.

  “Who is the hostage?”

  “A blond female. We don’t have identification yet.”

  Marco’s stomach dropped. “She’s FBI. This has to be related to the case we’re working. You need to let me through.”

  After a moment, the NCIS security guard relented. Marco pushed his way through and stood at the open service door.

  Outside a tall blond man pointed a gun at Bailey’s temple. He had his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. The gunman knew that he was so close to Bailey it would make a shot at him unlikely.

  Marco stepped out the door. “Hey,” he yelled.

  That got the man’s attention. “I told you, back off or I’ll shoot her.”

  “I’m Agent Marco Agostini. I work with Agent Ryan.”

  A flash of recognition flickered through the man’s eyes.

  “Yes, you know who I am.” Marco took another step. “Take me instead of her.” Bailey’s eyes widened at Marco’s statement. He inched a step closer. “It’s a good trade and you know it. I can get you out of here in one piece. It’s your best chance.”

  The man laughed. “I’m the one with all the leverage right now, and she’s the one I want. So here’s how it’s going to go. I’m going to take Agent Ryan with me. We’re driving out of here. If anyone tries to stop or follow us, I will kill her. It’s that simple.”

  “If you kill her, you’re a dead man.” Rage bubbled up in Marco like a volcano.

  “Then it appears that it’s better for everyone to just let us go.”

  “What’s your name?” Marco asked.

  “He told me it was Julian,” Bailey answered.

  “One last chance, Julian.” Marco couldn’t let this go any further. He pulled his gun.

  “You won’t take the shot,” Julian said. “You’d be too afraid you’d hit your partner.”

  Marco was one of the best shots at NCIS, but could he risk it? He looked directly into Bailey’s eyes, trying to read her. She gave him the slightest of nods. She wanted him to take the shot. She trusted him. And that made him even more fearful.

  Lord, I need your mighty hand on me right now. I can’t do this on my own.

  He made one last plea. “Julian, you can take me.”

  “No. Enough! I’m taking her.”

  Marco drew in a breath and steadied himself, blocking out everything around him. Time seemed to stop as he stared the attacker in the eyes and made the hardest decision of his life. He’d trained for a moment like this, but it paled in comparison. One wrong move on his part, and he could kill the woman he’d come to care so much about. But the risk of this man taking her was too great.

  Once he’d made the decision, he didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger.

  The bullet hit Julian squarely in the forehead.

  Marco exhaled. It had been a kill shot, but he’d had no choice with Bailey’s life on the line.

  Bailey ran toward him, and he grabbed her in a tight hug, not caring what others would think.

  That had been far too close. Bailey could have been killed. He couldn’t let there be a next time.

  Lexi and Derek had made their way through the bureaucracy of the Pentagon and were waiting to be seen by Alex Gomez, senior advisor to the deputy assistant secretary for Russia. Right before they’d gotten into the building, Lexi had taken a frantic phone call from Izzy. She’d learned of a scary hostage situation at NCIS, and Lexi planned to ask Alex about these new developments. She was more convinced than ever that there had to be some nefarious connection between the DoD and WSI.

  A short, stocky man with thick black hair emerged and greeted them, and they exchanged introductions.

  “Please come into my office,” Gomez said.

  They followed him into his office and took a seat at his small conference room table.

  “What can I do for you?” Gomez asked.

  Lexi started. “I’m working a case involving the deaths of a Navy SEAL, an Army Ranger, and a civilian. I believe you’ve heard of that case.”

  Gomez raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I have.”

  “We wanted to talk to you because we understand that you made a call to the Arlington district attorney about the Rogers case. We wanted to understand why you made that call.”

  “I made the call because someone else asked me to. I didn’t have any direct interest in the case.”

  Derek leaned forward. “And who asked you?”

  “Does that really matter?” Gomez asked.

  “Actually, it does.” Lexi was about to drop the newest development on him. “We just had someone calling himself Julian Mayfield get into NCIS headquarters and take an FBI agent hostage at gunpoint. He’s now dead.”

  “What?” Gomez’s eyes widened.

  “Mayfield claimed you sent him.”

  Gomez lifted his hands. “I can assure you that Julian May-field is alive and well. I just saw him not more than ten minutes ago. He’s here, right down the hall.”

  “You should check to see if the real Julian Mayfield’s credentials have been stolen.”

  Gomez nodded. “I’m going to have to make some phone calls before I can reveal any details to you about what I know.”

  “Can you do that ASAP?” Lexi asked. “People’s lives are on the line here.”

  “Understood. But as you can imagine, I’m dealing with people who have very busy schedules. Leave me all your contact information, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.” Gomez stood.

  Lexi knew when she had been dismissed, so she did the only thing she could and shook Gomez’s hand before she and Derek exited the office. Once they were out of sight, she turned toward him. “He was hiding something.”

  “That’s an understatement.” Derek took her hands in his. “He might even be behind this entire thing, and we just sat there and confronted him. He’ll know we’re on to him.”

  “We don’t know that for certain.”

  “We certainly can’t rule it out.”

  She thought for a minute as they made their way back through the maze that was the Pentagon. “Did he seem like a killer to you?”

  Derek gave her a scolding look, but he softened it with a smile. “Lexi, we’ve seen enough in our line of work to know that looks can be deceiving.”

  “I know. I guess I just don’t want to believe that a high-ranking Pentagon official would be involved in this mess.”

  Derek picked up his pace. “We need to get out of here. If we just rocked the boat, I don’t want to be around for the fallout.”

  After much deliberation, Bailey had relented and was now sitting on the couch with Marco in the living room of an FBI safe house. It was located about twenty minutes north of NCIS in a sought-after neighborhood in the city of Occoquan, known for housing many young professionals. The light blue Colonial-style home was positioned midway through the subdivision. Bailey knew the FBI had picked the location because there were two ways to get out of the neighborhood instead of only one entrance. Given the security issues, you always wanted multiple ways out.

  “Until we know exactly what we’re dealing with here, this safe house is the best option for you,” Marco said for the fourth time. “I know it isn’t your first choice, but we have to deal with the situation we have in front of us.”

  “What’s the word on everyone else?” She wanted to make sure they were all okay.

  “They’re safe. We didn’t think we needed to move them, but they all have security present.”

  “I’m not going to try to play tough here. There have been too many attempts on our lives for us to write this off.”
She rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Bailey, he wanted you. Not me. You saw his reaction when I offered myself up. He had absolutely zero interest in me.”

  Her stomach churned at Marco’s statement. “I know,” she replied.

  He shifted in his seat. “There has to be a reason they are so focused on you and what you know. Julian, or whoever he was, specifically wanted to interrogate you. And he seemed dead set on it no matter the cost. They think you know something, and, honestly, I don’t think we’ve figured out what they believe we have.”

  “It’s almost like he thinks I have some special knowledge.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I wish I did.”

  Marco rubbed his temples. “Think back. Is there anything in your notes that were stolen that could possibly send them down this path?”

  Bailey thought hard. It seemed like a lifetime ago. “I was just brainstorming at that point. Honestly, I don’t even have a great memory of what I had written down.”

  “NCIS security is working on how the Julian poser got inside, but it appears that he stole the real Julian’s credentials. Lexi thinks Alex Gomez at the DoD could be involved in this.”

  “A DoD cover-up of some sort with WSI? But for what?”

  “We’ve served the subpoena on WSI for all of their DoD contracts within the past year, so that might give us some leads if the lawyers play ball. I started the cooperation discussion with Mink’s lawyer first.”

  Bailey knew this song and dance all too well. “We need to be able to sweeten the pot for Mink. Say we’ll put in a good word with the prosecutors if he is cooperative, but if he shuts us down, then there will be no leniency at all.”

  “I clearly planted those seeds with Theo Channing. If he knows what’s good for Mink, he’ll give us what we need. We have subpoenas out to WSI as a company and to Mink personally. I think you’re right that we’ll get a lot further with him individually than with Barnett. WSI will be fully lawyered up and will try to drag this out as long as possible.”

  “I know.” She looked up at him, and they held each other’s gaze for a moment. “Thank you for what you did today. You saved my life.”

  Marco scooted closer and held her hand. “I’m not going to lie. I was afraid, but I knew that I couldn’t risk him taking you away.”

  “Is that why you decided to take the shot?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll tell you, though, God was really watching over us today. I couldn’t have made that decision without Him.”

  “Do you ever question Him?”

  “God?” Marco asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Of course, but at the end of the day, I have to keep my eyes on what really matters. As awful as this life can get, there’s an eternity ahead of us. This is just our temporary situation. A fallen world, and we’re all broken people. I know I am.”

  Bailey let his words soak in. “I like to think that my faith is strong, but sometimes doubts creep in. Like why did those men have to die? Why did my parents have to die?” Her voice started to tremble. “Why did God spare me again today?”

  Marco leaned in toward her. “It wasn’t time for you to leave this earth, and while we can’t claim to know all of God’s ways, that’s why we have to have faith.”

  His words rang true to her. “Sometimes that’s easier said than done, but the Lord has protected me and held me close since we started this case. I can’t deny that. I feel it deeply within. I just don’t understand why me and not others.”

  “I don’t have all the answers, but I’m always willing to listen to whatever is on your mind.”

  “I know you are. I’m used to being so independent and staying inside my emotional cocoon to make sure I don’t get hurt again. But it’s really hard to go through this life alone.” As she said the words, she couldn’t believe she was being so blatantly honest.

  Marco squeezed her hand. “That’s why it’s important to have people around you to support and encourage you. To pull you up when you fall, and for you to do the same thing for them when they need you.”

  Her heart felt like it was going to explode, listening to his earnest words. “I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through any of this without you. Not just you saving my life today, but everything. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to be by my side.”

  Marco dropped her hand and put his arm around her, pulling her close. “When I thought I might lose you today, I was scared there might never be a chance for the two of us. And that reality hit me hard.”

  Her breath caught as she looked into his warm dark eyes. “I know. I was scared too. I was mad at myself for blindly following him instead of insisting that we wait for you. I was so ready for answers that I didn’t question him further.”

  “You’d have no reason to believe that someone inside HQ would’ve had an ulterior motive.”

  “Now we know that’s not the case,” she said.

  “You’re safe here. This location is strictly need-to-know.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “As an agent, I’m used to taking care of myself, but being here with you makes me feel safe, and I’m okay with that.”

  “If you’re worried about letting down your guard when it comes to me, I can assure you that this isn’t a one-way street.”

  She smiled. “Marco, don’t even try to act like you aren’t a ladies’ man.”

  He laughed. “You’re concerned I’m some type of player?”

  “Am I right?” She lifted her head and made eye contact.

  “Oh, Bailey, I’m not. I’m the type of guy it’s easy for women to be in the friend zone with, and that’s been perfectly fine with me.”

  If that was the case, then she wanted to know why he had changed his mind when it came to her. “So why don’t you want to keep me in the friend zone?”

  Marco didn’t answer. Instead he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. A tingle of excitement shot through her as he deepened the kiss. There was no denying how physically attracted she was to him, but this was about so much more than that. And that was the part that really scared her. It was his kind and protective heart. His smart and witty comebacks. It was him.

  He pulled back a little. “That doesn’t seem like two people who should be in the friend zone, does it?”

  She couldn’t deny that, so she didn’t even bother. She just rested her head back on his shoulder and enjoyed the moment of peace she felt in his arms.

  The next day Bailey sat across from Layla in a small NCIS conference room. They had just finished the lunches Layla had brought in for them. If Marco asked what Layla was doing here, Bailey could just say that the two of them were having lunch and Layla had wanted to check on her. That way there would be no suspicion on his part.

  “Thanks for coming.”

  “Bailey, you never ask for anything from me, so I know this has to be important.” Layla’s big brown eyes focused on her.

  “It is important. This is actually not something I want to do, but I feel like I’ve run out of options.” Bailey had thought through the scenarios a million times as she lay awake last night in the safe house. She couldn’t tell Marco, because she couldn’t blow Layla’s cover without her approval.

  Layla placed a hand on Bailey’s arm. “No matter what it is, I’ll do whatever I can.”

  “You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I hate to bring you into this, but I think maybe you can help.” Bailey prepared herself for a big request.

  “Go on,” Layla said.

  Bailey gave Layla a quick recap of the case and where they were. Then she pulled the photo of Michael Rogers out of her bag. “This man is a phantom. Supposedly he’s in construction, but we know that according to Cullen Mink at WSI, Battle asked that Rogers be hired. There were also some wild rumors about him being a hit man at the construction site. Since we also believe that someone at the DoD could be dirty, I need your help. Can you do some digging and see if you can figure out anything on your end? See if the Agency has a file
on Rogers? Anything might be able to help us at this point. I’ve got his prints too. I know the CIA has files on a lot of people, and if Rogers was working for WSI, I’m hoping the CIA knew about him.”

  Layla looked down at the picture and frowned. “I’ll dig around and let you know. This case has gotten extremely dangerous, and I’m worried about you.”

  “Thank you.” Bailey squeezed her friend’s hand. “While I’m making requests, if you can give me anything you have on Alex Gomez from the DoD, that would also be helpful.”

  “He’s the one you think might be dirty?” Layla drummed her fingers on the table.

  “Yeah. A man posing as someone working for him is the one who broke into NCIS and took me hostage.” She’d already told Layla about the harrowing ordeal over the phone.

  “Any luck identifying that man?”

  “Not yet.” Bailey had to be completely transparent with her friend. The stakes were too high for anything else. “If this is as big as I think it is, you need to be really discreet. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  Layla leaned in. “I’ve got this.”

  Bailey didn’t doubt Layla’s ability. If she hadn’t thought Layla was up for it, she would have never gone to her in the first place. But she was still worried. “I know you’re at the top of your game, but I just can’t have someone I care about getting hurt because I dragged them into it.”

  “You haven’t dragged me anywhere. I’m going in with eyes wide open. I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you ASAP.” Layla paused. “You didn’t tell your handsome partner about this, did you?”

  Bailey shook her head. “You know I wouldn’t do that without your permission.”

  Layla smiled. “I know. You’ve been rock solid on my cover since we graduated.” She picked up her small purse. “How is it going between you and Mr. Smoldering Dark Eyes?”

  Bailey felt her cheeks flush. “We’re working as hard as we can on the case.”

  Layla narrowed her eyes. “Bailey, I know you. I can tell you have feelings for him. In fact, this is the first time I’ve seen you truly interested in someone since law school when you had that crush on the con-law teaching assistant.”