Secret Agent Santa

by Carol Ericson

  Claire jumped off her stool and shouted into the phone, “Jack, it’s him. He’s the threat.”

  “What’s she talking about, Mike?”

  “Donald Yousef was one of those Brit-Saud scholarship recipients, too. There’s a good chance that Julie Patrick is working to help identify possible recruits for Tempest through this program. The kid is clean, right? He’s going to pass any background and he’s presumably already been vetted by Brit-Saud Oil.”

  “Son of a bitch. What are you thinking? Suicide vest?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking, and if he sees White House security doing a pat-down of dignitaries before they enter the reception, he’s going to know something’s off and he’ll detonate right there or take off.”

  “We’ll have to head him off before he gets to that point. You’ll have to head him off, Mike. This is yours.”

  Mike glanced at her, his dark eyes gleaming. “We need to be able to tie this Ali-Watkins to Senator Correll.”

  “Did you get any more info on him?”

  Mike grabbed the thumb drive. “We did, but we haven’t looked at it yet because we got sidetracked with the dossier you sent on the Oxford Don.”

  “Well, get on it. I have complete faith in you, Mike.”

  On that high note, Mike ended the call and grabbed Claire’s face, kissing her on the lips. “I think this is it, snow queen.”

  The pulse in her throat galloped wildly. “Let’s see what Fiona got for us.”

  Mike inserted the thumb drive and double-clicked on it to open it. Several email files popped up, and Mike opened the first one.

  Claire’s shoulders sagged. “It’s an airline’s special deals.”

  “Fiona probably just copied over all his emails. That’s okay. She said he’d been getting emails almost daily, so there has to be something here, unless Jensen was deleting them remotely.”

  Mike’s cell phone vibrated on the countertop and he grabbed it, cupping it in his hand.

  “Is it Jack again?”

  Mike cocked his head. “It’s the Chadwicks from Colorado.”

  Claire put her fingers to her lips. “I hope Ethan didn’t have an accident snowboarding. Should I answer it?”

  “Let me.” He put the phone back on the counter and tapped the screen. “Hello?”

  “H-hello? My daughter-in-law, Claire Chadwick, gave me this number to call.”

  Mike nodded at Claire.

  “Nancy, this is Claire. Is Ethan okay?”

  “Oh, no, Claire. Ethan is not okay. He’s missing.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Claire’s brain went numb for a moment as she shook her head. It was a joke, some kind of joke.

  Claire laughed. “Missing? What does that mean?”

  Nancy sobbed, “He’s gone, Claire. I’m so sorry, but we thought he was safe. He was with Lori in a class and then he was gone. We’ve had the snow patrol looking for him, but an instructor in another class thinks Ethan walked away with a man.”

  Claire doubled over, clutching her stomach.

  “Claire?” Barry’s voice boomed over the phone. “Does this have anything to do with Shane? Tell us this doesn’t have anything to do with Shane.”

  Mike grabbed Claire’s hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick? This is Claire’s friend Mike Becker. Have the kidnappers made any demands yet?”

  Through her fog, Claire heard Barry respond. “Nothing. The police and the snow patrol are still searching the mountain. They’re not convinced it’s an abduction—yet.”

  “Good.” Mike squeezed her hand. “Listen to me very carefully. When the kidnapper calls with his terms, he’s going to demand that you leave the police out of it. Do what he says. Is Lori there with you?”

  Nancy sniffed. “No, she’s at the police station.”

  “Don’t tell Lori you talked to me. Got it? Don’t even mention my name.”

  “Why?” Barry coughed. “Who are you? Where’s Claire?”

  “Barry?” Claire wiped her face. “I’m right here. You can trust Mike. This is more complicated than a simple...kidnapping.”

  She shuddered, and Mike wrapped his arm around her. “Do what Mike says. Follow the kidnappers’ instructions, and don’t tell Lori about Mike.”

  “Mr. Chadwick, I’m going to hang up now so your line is free. My guess is you’ll hear something soon, something before the police set up operations at your house and tap your phones. Play along with that.”

  Nancy’s voice quavered. “This has to do with what happened to Shane, doesn’t it, Claire? When will it ever end?”

  Claire set her jaw and dashed the last tear from her face. “It ends now, Nancy.”

  * * *

  IT TOOK HIM thirty minutes and one glass of wine to calm Claire down and to get her shaking to subside. He’d held her close and whispered in her ear while a black dread grew in his gut.

  Now anger had replaced Claire’s fear, and she paced the kitchen floor as he continued opening emails.

  His frustration had him practically breaking the mouse on the next email he clicked. “There has to be something on here or Correll wouldn’t have arranged Ethan’s abduction.”

  Claire dug her fingers into her scalp, grabbing her hair by the roots. “I can’t believe he’d actually do harm to Ethan. He played grandpa to that boy.”

  “He’s diabolical, Claire. Tempest and Caliban must’ve promised him something big for his cooperation in this plan—a starring role in the new world order.”

  “What about Lori?” She clasped her hands behind her neck and tilted back her head. “Do you suspect Lori?”

  “There’s no way she let Ethan out of her sight when he was in that snowboarding class.” He squinted at the next email, an invitation to play a social media game. “I told you that first day. I walked into something between the two of them. I guess she wasn’t as unwilling as she pretended to be.”

  Claire swept up a knife and stabbed a cutting board. “I should’ve never let him out of my sight. I should’ve let this all go and taken him to Colorado myself.”

  “Hey, you did what you thought was right at the time. You thought you were keeping him safe.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. He must be so scared.”

  “I’m sure he’s okay right now.”

  “Right now.” Her hands fisted at her sides. “I’ll kill Spencer myself if any harm comes to Ethan.”

  “Wait a minute. This email has an attachment.” He double-clicked on the image file and swore. “Bingo—Correll is trying on a suicide vest.”

  “What?” She tripped over her own feet getting back to him and the laptop. Hovering over his shoulder, she said, “Oh, my God. There he is. That has to be Ali-Watkins next to him, but who sent the picture and why? Who sent him the video of the meeting with Yousef?”

  Mike wiped a bead of sweat from his sideburn. “Someone who wants to keep him in line. All of Correll’s meetings with these people have been recorded without his knowledge. By sending the videos and pictures, Tempest is making sure he keeps up his end of the bargain—access to the White House and the highest echelons of government.”

  His cell phone buzzed, and Claire pounced on it. “It’s the Chadwicks.”

  “Hold on.” Mike took the phone from here. “Hello?”

  Mr. Chadwick’s harsh whisper came over the line. “Someone called us. The police aren’t here yet and don’t know about the communication, and Lori is resting in her room.”

  “Good. You’re on speaker and Claire’s listening in. What do they want?”

  “It was a man, disguised voice. He told me not to contact the police about the call and to give a message to Claire.”

  Claire dragged in a shuddering breath. “What’s the message, Barry?”

  “It’s a phone number, Claire. Just a phone number for you to call, and a picture.”

  “A picture?” Mike’s heart thundered in his chest.

  “It’s Ethan. He’s eating someth
ing from a bowl, soup or cereal, and he’s sitting in front of a TV with the date and time stamped on the screen. It was taken minutes before the call. Ethan’s okay. He’s okay right now, Claire.”

  “He’ll be fine, Barry. I won’t let anything happen to our boy. We won’t lose him.”

  Barry read off the telephone number while Mike entered it into a file on the computer. He told Barry to hold tight and then he ended the call.

  “Are you ready?” He spun the computer around to Claire and pushed his phone toward her.

  She licked her lips and tapped the number into the phone.

  Spencer Correll answered on the first ring. “Yes?”

  Claire growled deep in her throat. “Give me my son back, you son of a bitch.”

  Correll tsked. “First things first, Claire. Return my emails to me.”

  “You have to know it’s too late for that. I can’t unsee what I’ve already seen—you cavorting with terrorists and suicide vests.”

  He sighed. “Well, I was afraid of that. Why Caliban felt he had to hold a threat over my head is beyond me, and it backfired. So, there’s more to my demands.”

  “Spill. What do you want me to do in exchange for Ethan?”

  “Forget about the Christmas Day plot.”

  She snorted. “Again, too late. You must know about the heightened security surrounding the event.”

  “I also know your so-called fiancé is a Prospero agent, and he’s going to be front and center during the security check. He needs to facilitate the attack by doing nothing.”

  Mike pinched the bridge of his nose but kept his mouth shut.

  “He’s going to do his job. You have to know that.”

  “If the Prospero agent does his job and the Christmas Day plot doesn’t go off as planned or at least close to plan, Ethan dies.”

  Mike’s gaze jumped to Claire’s pale face, her violet eyes blazing.

  “You wouldn’t do that. You wouldn’t harm Ethan.”

  Correll coughed. “I admit a fondness for the boy, but I have a greater fondness for power. After the successful completion of the Christmas Day plot, we’ll be in a position to take control. We’ve been setting up our coup for over a year now. We’re ready. And now that I’ve gotten rid of Caliban, I’m ready for my close-up.”

  Mike’s head jerked up.

  “What do you mean you’ve gotten rid of Caliban? Who’s Caliban? You mentioned him before.”

  “Stop the pretense, Claire.” Correll laughed, a short bark of a laugh. “If you’ve been keeping company with a Prospero agent, you know all about Tempest and Caliban.”

  “Who is he, and if you got rid of him, how is he still sending these emails to you?”

  “Hell if I know. The power of a technology I don’t understand. In fact, you know Caliban very well. He was your archnemesis at one time.”

  As dizziness swept over her, Claire gripped the edge of the counter. “You can’t mean CIA director Haywood.”

  “Believe it or not. I took him out, using one of his own superagents to position myself for the takeover. I didn’t want to be forever looking over my shoulder. He doesn’t matter anymore. Tell your Prospero agent to back off, or your son dies.”

  Mike reached out and pinched Claire’s chin between his fingers. Her gaze locked on to his and he nodded.

  “I’ll try, Spencer. All I can do is try.”

  “You do that, Claire, because if our plot is foiled, Ethan dies, just like his father before him.”

  Claire squeezed her eyes shut, and a burning fury raced through Mike’s veins.

  “The Christmas Day plot will go off as planned. You have my word.”

  “I’d feel more comfortable about your assertion if I didn’t already know you for a lying bitch, just like your mother.”

  “I think you’re the one who lied to my mother.”

  “Oh, I admit to a few fibs, but she told me all her assets would be mine when she passed away. She even got an attorney to lie to me. Imagine that.”

  “Then I guess you murdered her for nothing.”

  “Not nothing, Claire, just not everything. Let the plot go as planned or lose your son.”

  He cut off the call, and Claire buried her head in her arm, her shoulders shaking. “He did it. He killed my mother, and now he’s going to kill my son.”

  “He’s not going to kill Ethan.”

  She rolled her head to the side and stared at him through red-rimmed eyes. “What’s one boy? What’s one little boy compared to a plot to destroy the White House and take over the world?”

  “I’ll save Ethan, Claire. We’ll do both. I’ll rescue your son and then we’ll foil the suicide bombing.”

  “Ethan’s in Colorado. How are you going to do both?”

  He stood up and stretched, extending his arms to the ceiling. “I’m only going to do one—save Ethan. That’s my number-one priority. You’re my number-one priority.”

  And he’d never been surer of anything in his life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The red-eye flight landed in Denver at the break of day. Jack had pulled some national security strings to get them on the flight at the last minute, and then he’d delved into Correll’s claim that Jerry Haywood had been Caliban.

  Mike picked up the four-wheel-drive rental and they took off for the mountain town where the Chadwicks lived. The snowy landscape flew by in a white blur. They’d exchanged one white Christmas for another.

  “Are you sure this will work?” Claire trapped her fidgeting hands between her knees. “How do we even know for sure that Lori is involved?”

  “Gut feeling, Claire. Something bothered me about her exchange with Correll in the dining room.”

  “But she doesn’t have to tell you anything. They’ll kill her if she does. I’m sure she knows that.”

  “After tomorrow, Tempest will see all its plans come to nothing. Correll won’t be in a position to get back at anyone.” Mike turned up the defroster and rubbed the inside of the windshield with his fist.

  “Will Prospero be able to root out all the Tempest superagents? Or will another Caliban rise in the vacuum?”

  “I’m not sure, but the agency will be crippled all the same, and if the CIA under Haywood had been protecting Tempest all this time, that will all come to an end.”

  “If Lori doesn’t talk, if we can’t get to Ethan—” Claire traced a pattern on the passenger window “—what happens? You won’t be able to stop Jase and Liam from nabbing Ali-Watkins and thwarting the attack...even if you wanted to.”

  “You’re right. That’s not even a possibility at this point.” He cupped her cold cheek with his hand. “But this will work. Trust me.”

  “You asked me to trust you when we set out for Vermont.”

  “And?” He ran his hand down the length of her hair. “How has that worked out for you?”

  “Well, I’m still alive, we’ve been able to tie Spencer to a terrorist plot and Prospero is about to foil that plot, so I guess it was a smart move on my part.” Her bottom lip trembled. “But now they have Ethan.”

  “I’m going to get him back for you, Claire, and when this is over, we can start fresh—both of us.”

  “You’ll head off into the sunset of your retirement, and I’ll take Ethan back to Florida and a normal life.” The corner of her mouth turned down.

  Was it the thought of going their separate ways that made her sad...or something else? He had to find out, not that her answer would change his current plan to rescue Ethan.

  “Will that normal life for you and Ethan include that shrine to Shane?” He sucked in a breath and held it.

  She jerked her head toward him, her lips forming an o. “I—I’m free of that now. As soon as Yousef is captured, I can put that to rest.”

  “And what if he’s never captured? There is that possibility. We have terrorists on watch lists for years sometimes.” His jaw ached with tension.

  “I’m done, Mike.”

  “Good, because if you’re
my priority, I’m going to have to be yours—or at least a close second to Ethan.”

  “You weren’t just saying that back at the Bennetts’? I was afraid...”

  “Afraid of what?” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger.

  “That maybe you’d just gotten carried away with the situation.”

  “The only thing I’m carried away with is you. I love you, Claire. I want you in my life, whatever that life looks like after this.”

  Covering her mouth with one hand, she closed her eyes. “You don’t know how much I wanted to hear those words from you.”

  “Sure I do, because I’ve wanted to hear the same words from you.” He held up his hand. “I’m not putting you on the spot. Your focus right now is getting Ethan back, and that’s my focus, too, that’s my commitment to you.”

  “I believe you, Mike. I believe you’ll get him back.”

  And that was what he wanted to hear even more than her pronouncements of love. He needed her confidence and faith in him that he could do this. He’d let his Prospero team members bask in the glory of disrupting the Christmas Day plot.

  He wanted to rescue Ethan and bask in the glory of a pair of violet eyes.

  Almost an hour later, when they turned up the mountain road that led to the Chadwicks’, Mike spotted the police car parked on the side of one of the cabins.

  He pointed it out to Claire. “I’m guessing that’s their place.”

  “It is. How are we going to play this?”

  “You’re not going to play anything. You head straight to the Chadwicks and the rest of the family and talk to the police. Leave the rest in my hands.”

  She nodded. “Got it.”

  He parked the rental car down the road from the cabin. No need to give Lori a head start.

  Their boots crunched on the ground up to the front door and a sheriff’s deputy greeted them. “Can I help you?”

  A woman with a long gray braid over one shoulder peered around the officer. “This is Ethan’s mother. Claire, we didn’t expect you so soon.”

  Claire brushed past the deputy and embraced the older woman in a hug. “Where else would I be?”

  The rest of a very large family crowded around Claire, and Mike looked over their heads and locked eyes with Lori.