by Rachel Dylan
That was an understatement. Just look at the death toll. But Marco knew the CIA operated under different rules and assumptions. And risks, for that matter. “I assume you’re looking at Alex Gomez.”
Ned shifted in his seat. “Yes, among others, but we think that part of this matter is best left up to us. You two can figure out who is responsible for the murders. That’s clearly your jurisdiction. If we had to guess, we’d say someone at WSI ultimately ordered the hit and then hired someone, but we don’t have any evidence for that. Hopefully, with all of this new intel, you’ll be able to drill down and get the answers you need to close these cases.”
“And we can’t reiterate enough how dangerous the work your team is doing will be,” Jim said. “Whoever is pulling the strings here is completely ruthless and is willing to kill first and ask questions later. The Iranian connection makes this a lethal powder keg. The fact that there have been unsuccessful attempts on your lives speaks to your abilities.”
“And God’s protection,” Marco said without reservation.
“Well, you’re going to need it,” Ned said. “It’s best if we keep communication to a minimum. Agent Ryan, I believe you have a contact here. Please use that contact as a conduit—strictly between you and the contact. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Bailey said.
Marco wondered who this mysterious Agency contact was, but he knew he shouldn’t be pushing that issue right now.
“Thank you both for coming. We’ll have someone escort you out.”
The two men left the room, leaving Marco alone with Bailey.
She stepped closer to him as he stood. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You don’t have a secret boyfriend here, do you?”
She looked up at him. “No. Why, are you jealous?”
Marco grabbed her hand. “Yeah, I am.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about.”
Why wasn’t he so sure about that?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
The next morning Bailey was hoping to get answers. She sat with Marco, waiting on the others to arrive at HQ for their meeting.
“When are you going to tell me who this mysterious contact of yours is?” Marco asked.
She couldn’t do that. “It’s not something I’m able to share.”
“Do you not trust me?”
The hurt showed in his eyes, but she had to stand firm, because this was not her secret to tell. “I’m sorry, Marco. I have to protect this person’s need to keep their identity private, given the nature of their work and cover with the CIA.”
Marco nodded. “I’ll let it go.” He leaned forward in his chair, gesturing toward the files spread across the table. “This is everything we have about Mink. On paper, he’s looking pretty clean.”
She couldn’t hold back a smirk. All the sleepless nights were starting to get to her. “Isn’t that convenient.” She paused, remembering something. “I heard back from my Organized Crime contact on the gambling angle that Barnett brought up. He’s run it to the ground, and they have nothing tying Rogers to the gambling scene. Zero. I think Barnett could have been sending us down a rabbit trail. What we don’t know is whether it was intentional.”
Marco took a breath. “Same thing on the list of assignments we got from Battle’s and Wexford’s COs. We’ve had those cross-referenced with the threat matrix, and nothing has been a hit.”
She understood the significance. “Meaning nothing major was going on in those places when the men were there for their official missions. Even things under the radar.”
Marco nodded. “Our search was comprehensive. Plus the colonel at Fort Benning reviewed the list of ops we got from Barnett, and there was nothing that overlapped with their official work, not even going back as far as five years.”
“Two dead ends on that front.”
The conference room doors opened, and Lexi walked in, followed by Izzy and Jay.
“Good morning, everyone,” Marco said. “Have a seat, and we’ll get started.”
“I’ve got some updates,” Lexi said.
Bailey was interested to hear what she had found. Lexi was almost obsessed with getting to the truth because of the injustice she’d witnessed with her client. Bailey’s heart went out to her. Even if they solved this case, it would never bring back Tobias Kappen.
Marco stood at the whiteboard, ready to take notes. “You go first, Lexi. Then we’ll let the group know our latest developments.”
Lexi pulled out her notepad. “I went to the Pentagon with Derek, and we paid a visit to Alex Gomez.”
Bailey exchanged a glance with Marco. It was going to be interesting to see how they handled this, given the direction they’d been given by the CIA.
“What happened?” Izzy asked.
Lexi looked around at the team. “Gomez said that he made the phone call to the DA’s office because someone asked him to, but that he wasn’t at liberty to tell us who.”
Bailey shifted in her seat. “And do you believe him?”
Lexi shook her head. “No. Not really. I felt like he was hiding something. He also confirmed that the real Julian Mayfield was perfectly fine and still working at the DoD.”
Marco started to write things on the board. “We’ve got the fake Julian Mayfield, who we’ve just ID’d as Ross Stanley. We’re running him through all the databases to see what we can find on him. And we’ve got this Gomez angle at the DoD.”
Izzy stood and walked over to the board. “Do we know whether Gomez and Mink have any connection? Or Gomez and Barnett?”
“That’s one of the things we’ll be looking for.” Marco added that note to the board.
That was the perfect segue, and Bailey waited to see if Marco would take it.
He stepped forward. “Well, we have some major news. Bailey, you brought in the lead, so why don’t you tell everyone?”
Bailey stood up. No need to beat around the bush. “Mike Rogers was a deep-cover CIA officer.”
The room was so quiet that the only noise for a few moments was the humming of the air conditioner. Her statement had gotten everyone’s attention.
“Are you sure?” Jay asked.
“Yes. We’re certain. All three men were working on a top-secret Agency mission.” She proceeded to tell them about WSI diverting arms sales and funneling them to the Iranians.
“Who did you meet with at the Agency?” Jay asked.
Marco cleared his throat. “Two men. Jim Smith and his deputy, Ned Whelan. They helped fill in some huge missing pieces for us.”
“How does the DoD fit into this?” Lexi asked.
“They think someone on the inside is working with WSI on this deal.”
Lexi snapped her fingers. “It has to be Alex Gomez.”
“How can you be so sure?” Marco asked.
“Why else would he be connected to this?” Lexi’s voice got louder with each word. “His excuse about acting on someone else’s behalf seemed weak.”
“But not improbable.” Bailey didn’t want Lexi to jump to conclusions. “Given this new information, we have to examine everything in a fresh light. We have someone at the DoD pulling the strings, and they could be at any level.”
“On that issue, though, there is something else.” Marco crossed his arms. “We’ve been told by the Agency to focus on the WSI element of the murder investigations. They want to take point on the rogue DoD employee.”
Lexi lifted her hands. “Are you joking? We can’t just pretend like we don’t know that the DoD is involved here.”
“I understand your frustration, but I think we need to tread carefully.” Bailey empathized with Lexi but still gave a word of caution. “Our first priority is finding the people responsible for these murders.”
“I’m with Lexi here,” Izzy said. “We can’t look at these incidents in a vacuum. If someone at the DoD is involved, then they could just as likely be behind the murders. It’s all interconnected.”
“I know everyone has stron
g opinions on this,” Marco said. “We want to be a good partner with the CIA, but we also have a job to do. I think we go wherever the evidence takes us.”
Bailey wasn’t so sure that was a smart idea, but she didn’t voice opposition in front of everyone.
“So do we believe that the victims found out who on the inside at the DoD was part of this illegal arms scheme, and that’s why they were killed?” Izzy asked.
“That’s our current best working theory, but the CIA can’t guarantee that the men actually uncovered the source at the DoD. Maybe they were getting close, and that was enough to have someone take action against them. Or maybe they did find the source.” Marco shrugged. “Regardless, their knowledge of WSI’s activities is intricately connected to why they were killed.”
“Or maybe their cover was blown,” Jay suggested, “and WSI didn’t want their dirty laundry out there.”
Lexi leaned forward. “Am I the only one who doesn’t just take everything the Agency is saying at face value?”
“Why the hesitation?” Bailey asked.
Lexi laughed. “Because they’re the CIA. They are only telling us what they want us to know, and the version of the facts they want to share.”
Lexi’s words hit Bailey hard. Were they being naïve? Was her friendship with Layla clouding her judgment?
Marco jotted down some notes on the board before turning back around. “I don’t think we have to take every word as true, but the basic premise that this was a CIA operation is key to how we’re going to crack this case. So I say we take the information and use it the same way we would any other lead or piece of evidence.”
“Marco’s right,” Jay said. “Let’s put this information into the larger narrative and keep pushing.”
Marco gestured toward the board with his marker. “And to that end, let’s discuss assignments.”
Bailey mostly zoned out while Marco assigned each person’s responsibilities. She knew that her priority was Cullen Mink. She felt like he could be the key to this entire thing.
When everyone had dispersed, Marco came over to her. “How do you think that went?”
She felt a bit deflated. “I wasn’t expecting everyone to be so skeptical.”
“Me neither, but after hearing their viewpoints, I get it.”
“And you’re comfortable with Lexi following this Gomez lead, even given the directive from the CIA?”
Marco tilted his head. “Well, it didn’t matter what I told Lexi. You could see it in her eyes. She’s going after that lead no matter what we tell her.”
He had a point. Lexi was like a dog with a bone.
“Now we have a big decision to make. Do we get Mink back in here and confront him with what we know?”
Marco stared at the board for a minute, thinking. “There are pros and cons to that approach. His lawyer did send over an initial set of documents. I thought that was a positive development. I don’t want to aggravate that cooperation.”
“I think we have to push the envelope. Look him in the eyes when we make the allegations. We have to determine if he’s at the center of this, or if we’re on a wild-goose chase and he’s just a pawn.”
He gently wrapped a hand around her arm and pulled her closer. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“You seem preoccupied or something. Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
She nodded. “I’m good. I think I’m just wound up about all of this.”
“I understand.” He paused. “If you think it’s the best move to confront Mink, I’m all in. You’ve got great instincts on this stuff, and I trust your judgment.”
“Thanks. And I’m sorry if I seem off. I’m not sleeping that well at the safe house.” Every time she closed her eyes, there was danger lurking. It wasn’t just that, though. She was trying to push through and act on her feelings, like Layla had encouraged her to. But it was tough.
“You’re protected there, Bailey. Nothing will happen to you.” Marco pulled her even closer to him so he could wrap his other arm around her waist.
They locked eyes for a minute, and then Marco’s gaze drifted over her shoulder. She turned and saw Izzy in the doorway before she walked away.
Well, that was going to be an awkward conversation later.
They’d only been driving for a few minutes when Izzy received a text from Marco with a change of plans. He needed them to go to WSI and pick up Cullen Mink. Bailey was pushing to get in front of Mink again, so their orders were to bring him back to NCIS headquarters for further questioning.
Jay changed directions, and Izzy stared out the window.
“Jay, do you think something is going on between Marco and Bailey?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, romantically?”
Jay shot her a look. “You think there is?” While it was a question, it came out more like a statement.
“Yeah. I guess it’s not my business, but I just found it odd. Bailey doesn’t seem like the type to get involved with someone she works with.”
“Remember, Izzy, Bailey is FBI. She’s in a totally separate chain of command than Marco. So there’s nothing wrong with it if something is happening.” Jay sighed. “And I’m sorry, but I think that maybe this hits a sensitive issue for you, and that’s why you’re concerned about it.”
There were moments when she wished she hadn’t opened up to Jay about her past, but she couldn’t do anything about it now. “Maybe you’re right.”
She saw Jay glance at her. “In the spirit of getting into other people’s business, has Aiden called yet?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, he did. We’ve talked a couple of times. Our schedules are both crazy right now, but there has been discussion of getting together.” She gave him a sidelong look. “I thought you were going to stay out of it?”
Jay grinned. “You can’t blame me for being invested.”
She shook her head. “Enough of that. I shouldn’t have even brought up the Bailey and Marco thing. You’re right. I should stay out of it. Let’s get back to what we’re doing here. I don’t understand why we aren’t broadening the net. What if Mink is clean? We need options.”
“I think the thought is to run down Mink first, given all the signs that point to him, and then branch out if needed.”
“You’ve been doing this a really long time.”
Jay laughed. “Thanks for pointing out that I’m old.”
She smiled. “No. I didn’t mean it like that at all. I just meant that you’ve seen a lot of things in your career with the Army. Do you trust the CIA?”
“No, not completely,” he answered quickly. “I doubt they’re giving us the entire story, but they’ve given us enough to increase our understanding of what happened and help us get answers.”
“You don’t think they made this whole thing up, do you?” Izzy feared that possibility.
“No, not at all. But with the Agency, there might be other elements at play that we’ll never know about. Our job is to bring the guilty to justice for these three murders, and that’s what we’ll do.”
They arrived at WSI and got out of the SUV.
“I’m guessing Mink isn’t going to like this surprise visit,” Izzy said.
“He doesn’t have a lot of choices. We’ll let him call his lawyer so he can meet us at HQ.”
They checked in at the desk, and after they’d waited in the lobby for a few minutes, a tall man with gray hair walked up to them.
“Agents Graves and Cole, I presume?”
They rose to greet him. “Yes.”
“I’m Rex Barnett. I’m CEO of WSI.”
“We’re looking for Cullen Mink,” Jay said.
“I realize that, but Cullen is not in today.”
“Should he be?” Izzy asked.
“I’m not the keeper of Cullen’s schedule,” Barnett replied.
“Was he here yesterday?” Izzy pushed.
Barnett nodded. “Yes. We were bo
th here late into the evening last night. All I can tell you is that he’s not here. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Not right now. Thank you,” Jay said. He grabbed Izzy by the arm, and they headed out of the building.
“What is it?” Izzy asked as soon as they got outside.
“We need to make sure Mink isn’t fleeing the country. We’ve got to make calls now.”
“Why do you think he’d do that?”
“Because that’s what rich, guilty men who have international connections and power do.”
Marco wasn’t buying Bailey’s excuses. He couldn’t get into her head, but there was something going on in there. He wondered if he had said or done something wrong, but they had far more pressing problems right now, based on the phone call he’d just gotten from Jay. They’d put everything into motion, alerting the alphabet soup of agencies that Cullen Mink should not be allowed to leave the country. They were now searching to see if they were too late.
Bailey pulled her phone from her ear. “That’s the last one. Everyone has been notified. Now we’re just trying to verify that his passport hasn’t already been scanned.”
“There’s also a high likelihood that he could have used a fake,” Marco added. He hated to bring it up, but it was a possibility.
Bailey rubbed her temples. “Yeah. Of course he could have. Are Jay and Izzy checking out his house?”
Marco nodded. “They’re en route now.”
“Guess we have to wait and see what they find.” She took a breath. “About earlier, Izzy saw us together.”
Izzy was the last thing Marco was concerned about. “I’m not worried about her. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“I still might talk to her about it. I think that would make me feel better.”
He smiled. “So there’s something to talk about?”
She looked away from his discerning gaze. “You know there is.”
“Good.” Marco was falling quickly for Bailey, and he wasn’t even trying to slow down his heart. There was a feeling deep in his gut about her, and he was going with it. “When this case is over, we won’t be working together anymore.”