“I’ll do some digging on my end,” Seth told her. He started to reach for her hand as he had so many times in the past and then suddenly dropped it back to his side. “I’ll meet you tomorrow.”
“Seth, wait.” Vanessa reached out and put a hand on his arm. She hesitated a moment and then forced herself to say the words. “We need to talk about what happened before.”
His jaw clenched for a moment. “I’ll meet you tomorrow,” Seth repeated and silently moved to the door. With a last glance at her, he pulled the door open and disappeared into the night.
12
Brent watched Carl Dowdy pull out of his driveway at precisely seven-thirty. Patiently, Brent watched from his hiding place across the street until Dowdy’s wife loaded her kids into the car to leave for school. He counted the family members as they got into the vehicle to make sure they had all indeed left their residence. As soon as they pulled away, Brent made his way down the block and circled back so that he could enter Dowdy’s house through the small backyard.
If his information was correct, he only had twenty minutes before the wife would return, followed shortly by the cleaning lady.
Picking the lock took only a few seconds, but bypassing the alarm took several precious minutes. Brent quickly scouted out the main level and immediately focused on the small office. He pulled what looked like an oversized flash drive from his pocket and plugged it into the computer. The device immediately lit up to indicate that it was doing its job of copying the entire hard drive.
While the computer files were copying, Brent turned his focus to the desk drawers. Finding nothing of particular interest, he pulled open the top drawer of the filing cabinet. A glance through the financial records revealed nothing unusual, but a tattered file labeled “vacations” caught his eye. Brent pulled it open, his eyes narrowing as he spied an upcoming airline itinerary.
Brent pulled a mini-camera from his pocket and methodically photographed several of the pages in the file. After a quick search of the rest of the office, he retrieved the flash drive from the computer and quickly headed upstairs hoping for more clues.
* * *
“Everyone’s financial records are clean,” Kel stated as he took a seat on the couch in Brent and Amy’s temporary apartment in Santo Domingo. He had made the drive to their location so that he could meet with Brent and collect the intelligence Brent and Amy had gathered over the past two days. “Even Dowdy didn’t show any unusual deposits or unusual purchases.”
“But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an offshore account somewhere,” Brent said. “The fact that he has a trip planned to Colombia worries me. That country is still off-limits for intelligence personnel. The only ones who go in there are on assignment. Besides, if Dowdy was traveling for the Agency, he shouldn’t have had the itinerary at home.”
“I’ll check with Ellison and see if he knows anything about it,” Kel agreed. “What about the others?”
“Everyone else looks clean,” Brent told him. “Al Medrino is still on vacation, so it was easy to check out his place. The apartment barely looked lived in. Not a lot of furniture, only a couple of changes of clothes, and no personal photographs or anything else that would identify who lives there.”
Kel leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Maybe he’s our guy and he’s left for good.”
“Could be,” Brent conceded. “Did Quinn figure out where he is right now?”
“He flew out of here to Miami, but he never cleared Customs,” Kel told him. “We aren’t sure if he called in some special privileges to get past Customs since he’s Agency, or if he turned around and left the country on a different flight.”
“I hate spying on spies,” Brent muttered.
Kel nodded in agreement. “What about the secretary?”
“She’s the complete opposite of Medrino. Talk about clutter.” Brent shook his head. “She has photographs all over the place, a couple of days’ worth of dishes in the sink, and clothes all over her bedroom floor.”
“Any chance you found a diary?”
“Nope, and nothing exciting on her computer either,” Brent told him. “The only thing that was a bit odd was that she didn’t have a password on her computer.”
“Yeah, but if she lives alone, she probably doesn’t figure she needs one,” Kel noted.
“Maybe, but most people who work in intelligence aren’t so cavalier about security. In fact, a lot are downright paranoid.”
“It sounds like she doesn’t fit the norm there,” Kel agreed. “For the time being, we’ll keep Amy in place. Hopefully she’ll pick up on something that will point us in the right direction. You can work from here and keep looking for any connections between the CIA staff here and Ramir’s organization.”
“In other words, you want me to keep tailing Amy’s new coworkers.”
“Exactly.”
* * *
Vanessa stepped onto the cooling sand, the breeze lifting the ends of her hair off of her back. For once the weather was perfect, not too humid, with a light breeze coming off of the water. Normally Vanessa used days like this to help bring her life into focus and remind herself that there were still good people in the world, people who needed her to make these sacrifices to keep them safe. She could live without their thanks or knowledge of the work she did, but today she felt like she was losing herself and couldn’t quite escape her assumed identity. The information that Morenta would be arriving in a matter of days scared her more than she would ever admit, even to herself.
Vanessa fought against the memory of his last visit, the memory of the woman he had killed in a cold, calculated rage because her husband had not cooperated quickly enough. She hadn’t seen it happen, but she had heard the man argue with Morenta, and she had heard Morenta’s eerily calm voice followed by a single gunshot. Then she had seen the body, the life drained out of the young woman, a woman who had barely begun to live.
The helplessness had been overwhelming as had been the fear. Those emotions washed over her now. Alongside them was the concern that her presence wouldn’t make a difference despite the many sacrifices she had made over the past year.
She had known coming into this assignment that it would be difficult to be cut off from her family for so long, even though everyone but her parents thought she was living in Virginia with her make-believe husband. She had never dreamed that she would be put in a situation where she would have Seth in her life again, especially in such a limited way. Seeing him over the past few days had reawakened memories and feelings she had locked away long ago, feelings she wasn’t sure she was prepared to deal with right now.
She stepped closer to the water and let the surf wash over her bare feet. She let her mind wander, remembering the summer vacation she and Seth had taken to South Carolina with her family. Together they had walked on the beach near Charleston, sharing their dreams of the future. At the time she had still been undecided of what she wanted to do, or even what she wanted to declare as her major in college. Seth, on the other hand, was bound and determined to become a Navy pilot.
When she had seen him last, he was within weeks of reporting for his first assignment. Where he went after that, she didn’t know, but obviously he had altered the direction of his career at some point if he had ended up as a SEAL.
Now that she thought about it, she wouldn’t be surprised if Seth had been recruited into the SEAL program. His background would have made him the perfect candidate in so many ways. Not only was he athletic and one of the fastest runners in the state of Georgia throughout high school and college, but by the time he graduated high school he was already fluent in French and was becoming so in Arabic. He also had that heartfelt patriotism that penetrated every aspect of who he was.
Down the beach, she spotted an armed patrol headed her way. During the first few months she was at La Playa, her stomach had jumped with nerves each time a patrol approached. Now those nerves had deadened, leaving her stomach with a constant gnawing fear, not s
o much of discovery, but of failure.
She stared out at the sun hanging low in the sky, mentally reviewing the facts she had ascertained in recent weeks. The comments she had overheard in the dining room all pointed to something big, some single strike that could potentially kill thousands of American citizens. Antiaircraft guns, helicopters, and many other potentially deadly tools of war continued to flow through La Playa, and somehow the intelligence community had sprung a leak. Then there were the training camps that had been created around the region.
Vanessa didn’t know what these camps were being used for. She had simply become resourceful in revealing their locations. Perhaps if she knew what they were doing at these training camps, she would be able to put this complicated puzzle together. As her mind turned to Seth once more, she considered the fact that she might not be the only one uncovering new intelligence. Maybe once all of the facts were on the table, so to speak, the picture would begin to take shape a bit more clearly.
* * *
Darkness was already falling when Seth made his way to the crew quarters of the fishing boat to prepare for his meeting with Vanessa. In the compartment beside him, Quinn and Tristan were currently monitoring the sensors they had placed several days earlier at the airstrip near La Playa. No one was happy that they had already tracked several planes flying in since they had placed the sensors, averaging two a night.
Seth considered the information that Vanessa had passed to them during the two weeks, almost afraid to find out what she might uncover next. He drew out his sidearm and began to clean it. When the door opened, he looked up to see Kel walk in, frustration vibrating from him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just got off of the phone with Ellison.” Kel shook his head.
“And?”
“It looks like we’re in the middle of a territorial war between the CIA and the Navy,” Kel told him. “Even though our orders are to stay here as long as necessary to protect Vanessa, a new CIA operative is due to arrive tomorrow to take over as Vanessa’s contact.”
“What?” Seth demanded. “How can intel possibly want to mess with changing things up at this point?”
Kel let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t agree with it either, Seth, but like it or not, we aren’t in charge this time.”
“What did Ellison say about the potential leak?”
“He did some extra checking for me on the staff here,” Kel told him. “Apparently, the trip the chief of station has planned to Colombia was cleared through the CIA. Ellison couldn’t tell me why he’s going, but it sounded like it was Agency business.”
“What about the others?”
“Nothing really suspicious except that no one is sure where Al Medrino is on his leave.” Kel shrugged. “I can’t tell if they really don’t know where he is or if they aren’t telling.”
“I still don’t understand why they would want to pull us out, especially since the contact point appears to have been jeopardized.”
“That’s another thing.” Kel grimaced. “We think the two men you heard in the alley are local thugs who were hoping for a quick score. The locals have reported several muggings and assaults in the area. There’s always a possibility that those guys had seen Vanessa on a different night and had chosen her for their next target.”
“But we can’t be sure,” Seth insisted. “Whoever the leak is might have learned that someone was sneaking out, and had men waiting there so they could identify Vanessa.”
“Look, Seth, Ellison wants to leave us in, but his boss is convinced that the leak doesn’t exist. He said if there is a leak, he’s sure it isn’t within the CIA,” Kel told him. “Apparently he kept going on about how they do routine polygraphs on all of their employees and how so much of their intelligence is given only on a need-to-know basis.”
“I have two words for him,” Seth said simply. “Aldridge Ames.”
Kel gave a wry grin at the mention of the CIA employee who had been convicted more than a decade earlier for leaking sensitive information that had ultimately severely crippled the CIA before he had been identified. “Seems to me I may have already mentioned those particular words to him. Unfortunately, that incident didn’t have much of an impact on Ellison’s boss. The good news is that Ellison neglected to tell his boss that he placed Amy in the field office here. Maybe she or Brent will find something.”
“Still, we can’t leave Vanessa in there.” Seth’s voice took on a sense of urgency. “Once the new contact person knows who she is, her cover is at risk.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I think it’s time to pull her out of there completely.”
“The CIA isn’t ready to lose her as a source,” Kel reminded him. Before Seth could argue, he held up a hand. “But we could leak the word that Fahid Ramir is sick. If she had a reason to leave for a few days, we might be able to buy the extra time we need to make sure her cover is still intact.”
“The CIA will never go for that, especially if they don’t think there’s a leak.”
“I wasn’t planning on telling them.” Kel’s eyebrows lifted. “My orders are to protect our source. That’s what I intend to do.”
Seth nodded slowly. “It’s better than nothing.”
13
Vanessa swung open her door, only to find Halim standing on the other side, his hand lifted to knock. She put a hand to her chest as her racing heart settled back into its normal rhythm. “You startled me.”
“I have something for you.” Halim’s eyes met hers, and once again she could see the spark of interest there.
“Not more shoes,” Vanessa said, hoping to keep the conversation light.
“No.” Halim granted her a small smile. “This is something that will last longer.”
She gave him a quizzical look as he drew a plain white box from his pocket and extended it to her.
“What is it?” Vanessa kept her eyes on his for a moment before curiosity won and she pulled off the lid. Her breath caught in her chest when she saw diamonds winking at her atop black velvet. She fingered the elegant bracelet before looking back at Halim, her expression guarded.
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s beautiful, Halim,” Vanessa began, struggling to find the right words. She wondered what the real Lina would do and realized it didn’t matter. She couldn’t allow Halim’s feelings to distract her from her mission. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept such a generous gift.”
“Of course you can,” he insisted. “This is a token of my affection. It says nothing of your feelings for me.” He lifted the bracelet from the box and carefully clasped it around her wrist. “But I will continue to hope that someday you will feel for me as I do for you.”
“Halim . . .” Vanessa started, feeling somewhat like a dog that had just been collared and tagged.
He held her hand up and drew it to his lips. “I will see you tomorrow.”
Vanessa watched him disappear back into the night before looking back down to the sparkles on her wrist. Such beauty, she thought, and so many complications.
* * *
Seth waited impatiently beside two palm trees a few yards from the boathouse. He was prepared to convince Vanessa to come with him tonight, but he was also prepared for the possibility that her cover might have already been jeopardized. He was dressed completely in black, a handgun tucked into the waist of his cargo pants and concealed beneath his loose T-shirt. His spare weapon was strapped to his calf.
Because there was always a risk of being spotted, he was without the combat vest he typically wore. And instead of his typical lightweight headset, he wore a more compact communications device disguised as a Bluetooth cell phone attachment. He would have preferred his usual gear, but at least this way he could stay in communication with the rest of his squad.
Even though Seth didn’t dare make a sound, the mini-transmitter was switched on so that the rest of the squad would hear everything Seth heard. Or nearly everything.
The sou
nd of footsteps was muffled, but he could hear Vanessa moving toward him. Still, he stepped farther into the darkness until he saw her emerge through the dense foliage. She quietly scanned the area before moving through the open doorway to the boathouse.
Seth waited a full minute to ensure she hadn’t been followed before crossing a small clearing and entering the boathouse. Vanessa was standing in a splash of moonlight just inside the door. Seth’s eyes met hers, and for a moment he simply stared. He didn’t know how it was possible that he could still love her even after all of the hurt she had caused him and all of the time that had passed, yet somehow time had not erased what they had once shared.
He didn’t dwell on how things had ended between them, however. Instead he thought only of getting her to safety. He stepped toward her. “There’s been a change of plans. We’re pulling you out tonight.”
Her eyes reflected both relief and panic. “But we don’t know enough yet.”
Seth opened his mouth to explain, but then he spotted the bracelet on her wrist. He reached out and fingered the tennis bracelet, the diamonds sparkling in the moonlight that spilled in through the doorway. “Where did you get this?”
“Halim gave it to me.” Vanessa looked a little embarrassed as she glanced down at it and gave a little shrug.
“You shouldn’t be wearing something like that out here. If the moonlight reflects off one of those diamonds, someone might see you.”
“I know, but I couldn’t get it off one-handed. Halim insisted I put it on after he brought it to me, but the clasp is too tight for me to undo by myself.”
Seth leaned down to examine the bracelet more closely. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach as his eyes darted to hers. Then he heard the movement and he knew it was too late. Though his instinct was to reach for a weapon, Seth surprised Vanessa by pulling her closer.
Leaning down, he covered her mouth with his, kissing her as though no time had passed since they had dated so long ago. He heard her little gasp of surprise and then felt her arms encircle his waist as she leaned into the kiss.
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