The Finish Line r5-5

by Cliff Ryder

  "As I stated in my mission action reports, all of which should be before you…" the dig was a jab at Judy, who didn't react this time, but remained stoic and unmoving "…you will note that our team encountered unexpected resistance at the primary mission site. Once the target was mobile, I authorized the Midnight Team to continue their pursuit, in the event that this other hostile team was also still trying to reacquire her. As they seem to have disabled the two French operatives who had been at the train station and made contact with the target, it seems obvious to me that a team trained to handle this sort of response was necessary." Sorry, Louis, she thought.

  The red-and-gold Chinese flag lit up. "That operational lapse will be dealt with separately. While it is true that the target was recovered, there is some concern from the board, and from your liaison, as well, about your insistence that this Midnight Team continue with the mission when this sort of operation is not what they had been designed for, to our understanding." Several other heads nodded in agreement.

  Kate darted another glance at Judy, who might have been carved from marble for all the reaction she displayed. But the Chinese member's words were enough to confirm Kate's suspicions that Judy had gone over her head.

  She returned her attention to the members in front of her. "Ladies and gentlemen, every operative in our employ is a clandestine agent first, dedicated to accomplishing their mission at all costs. The members of the Midnight Teams have been trained in urban infiltration as extensively, if not more so, than standard agents. I have every confidence that they can be relied on to do the job we ask of them every single time. Unfortunately, at times their missions may take them into public venues, and incidents like this may occur, despite our best efforts. Regardless, I can tell you that if those men and women hadn't been there, the body count could have been much higher."

  "Or a single operative might have found a way to extract the target without leaving such a public — and messy — situation." This observation came from the Saudi Arabia representative. "I mean, it is one thing if a civilian is caught in the cross fire, but we have a full firefight occurring in a very public place with dozens of witnesses, followed by a shoot-out on a hospital roof, and the crash and total destruction of a helicopter. All of this will be investigated by the local authorities, and will require extensive cleanup and media handling. The aftermath may place our entire operation at risk. Our invisibility is what lets us accomplish so much, but not if our activities are splashed across every front page and on every network — as is currently happening."

  Despite her mind racing to stay a step ahead of the Saudi speaker, Kate was impressed with his eloquence, particularly as a new member. Might have to keep an eye on him in the future — or try to cultivate him as an ally, she thought.

  "Strong points all. However, I'm sure that the director and all those in her employ are aware of what they need to do, and the best way to do it." This unexpected support came from the U.S. member. Kate seized the opportunity.

  "That is true. Ladies and gentleman of the board, we play for the highest of stakes every day, with the world as our game board. If that sounds facile or simple, let me assure you that it is not. The men and women who perform these missions always know what is at stake — they have to be aware of it to do their jobs. Although we can glean a fairly complete picture of what happened earlier today, I am sure that the men and women of this Midnight Team acted completely appropriately under the circumstances. However, I also prefer not to dwell on what might have happened. What we know, based on the information we have, is that the target is in our hands and is on the way to us, and that is the most important point. The mission was accomplished."

  And as long as David was still alive and with the target, that was her story, and she was going to stick to it. His implanted chip was still reading as live, so she had independent confirmation other than the woman's word. Kate had scrambled all available resources to track down the location of the cell phone, and sent a team to find and follow the car David was registered as being in, since the last intel they had gleaned had shown that it and the phone were now heading in separate directions.

  "I'm coordinating our resources in Europe to ensure that her journey back to us will be safe and uneventful," Kate said.

  The Russian flag glowed. "All prudent decisions. Still, I think we should move to suspend all new Midnight Team operations until further review. Any teams currently in the field will have the chance to complete their missions if absolutely necessary, and if not, they will be recalled immediately and placed on indefinite hiatus until a formal recommendation has been made."

  Kate resisted the urge to bolt up from her chair, but couldn't let this proposal to sideline one of Room 59's assets pass without a response. "If that is the board's decision at this time, I will of course abide by it. However, I would request that each member carefully review the operating reports of the various Midnight Team missions. Overall, their success ratio exceeds our regular operatives. They have succeeded in completing missions that would have been beyond the abilities or resources of our regular operatives, and have proven their dedication to the goals of this agency many times over."

  "Of course we will review all pertinent information before making a final decision," the U. S. rep said. "If there are no other questions, I move to call the vote on the suspension of all Midnight Teams until a formal review can be made."

  Small lights appeared above each board member, green for approval, red for disapproval. The vote was six to three for the motion, with Australia, Germany and the U.K. opposing.

  "The vote is six for, three against, and is carried. Director, we'll leave you to work out the details of placing the teams on inactive standby as soon as possible. Only vital operations that are already under way should be continued," the U.S. representative said.

  "I understand. Thank you, everyone." The board members began to fade away, and Kate sent a private message.

  "Judy, a word before we get started." It wasn't a request.

  Kate shunted her liaison into a private room on the agency network. As soon as Judy appeared, she looked as if she was going to say something, but Kate cut her off.

  "Save whatever excuse you've cooked up. You went above my head to the board, and that is inexcusable."

  The unflappable British woman didn't back down an inch. "I did what I did to preserve the agency. It is my job," Judy said simply.

  "Fine," Kate replied. "From this moment on, everything you do will be run by me first. Every order, every request, everything. If I find out a single document has gone out without my approval, I will do everything in my power to remove you from your position."

  Judy frowned. "But — you can't possibly mean that. The paperwork alone will double your load. I'm only trying to assist you!"

  "Assistance like what you just provided in front of the board I do not need. You should have come to me instead of going over my head. I expect to see updates on all current operations in the next hour. Get to it." Kate turned on her heel and stalked to the door, but stopped there. "And one more thing — you're off all Midnight Team operations — I'll be overseeing them from this point on personally."

  Her avatar left the room, and Kate pulled off the glasses as she closed the VR door behind her and leaned back in her chair, her heart pounding. She knew Judy really was just following procedure but in such a high-stakes mission, procedure could get people killed.

  I sure hope David has the situation under control. Otherwise Judy might get another shot at me sooner than I'd like, she thought. As much as she wanted to take a break, there was still more work to be done — there was always work to be done. She leaned forward and dialed a number, slipping on her headset again. "Hello, Jonas. There is quite a situation developing at the moment and I was thinking your skills would be quite useful. I expect you might be taking a little road trip immediately…"

  32

  David's eyes fluttered open to see the sunlight filtering in through the windshield, bathing his f
ace in its warm glow. It was almost worth being blinded as he woke.

  "Hey, you're up. Good, I was starting to worry." Maggie regarded him with cautious glances, dividing her attention between him and the two-lane highway they were speeding down.

  "Why?" he asked as he tried to remember what had happened.

  "You were moving around in your seat. I thought you might be having a seizure or something. I'm just glad you're not."

  "That makes two of us." Rubbing a hand over his face, David looked at the countryside. "Where are we?"

  "About two hundred kilometers north of Paris. Where we're going, that's for me to know at the moment."

  "Fine, play coy if you want. I've got to check in." David searched the car's interior, patting his pockets as he did so. "Where's my phone?"

  "I, uh, I got rid of it."

  David's head snapped around, heedless of the pain it caused in his shoulder. "You what?"

  "I couldn't take the chance of them tracking us, so I ditched it. I have no idea where it is right now."

  "That's great. Well, we need to find a public phone, then, don't we?" He wasn't concerned about the phone's loss. When Room 59 figured out it wasn't with him anymore, their techs would lock it down and broadcast a message to anyone who found it to mail it to a drop box for a handsome reward. The problem was that he had one less link to headquarters and backup now. He was sure they were still tracking him — the subcutaneous chip in his body was good for decades, probably long after he was gone, in fact. He quickly assessed his situation. He didn't have a weapon — he'd lost his pistol in the helicopter crash, he recalled. He was wounded, and at the moment he was at the mercy, more or less, of this woman, unless he wanted to try to wrest control of the car from her. That was an unattractive prospect at best.

  "They're going to keep coming after you, you know," he said.

  "Who, your people or the other people?"

  "Both, I expect."

  "Yeah, well, that's why I'm going underground with people I know."

  "Okay. If that's true, why am I still here?"

  Maggie shot him a sidelong glance out of narrowed eyes. "I may be a thief, but I'm no killer. Besides, I couldn't have gotten out of there without you, so I certainly wasn't going to repay the favor by leaving you in an unconscious heap by the side of the road."

  "I appreciate the thought." David's words came out without a hint of irony or sarcasm.

  "You're welcome."

  "Of course, you know I still need to continue my mission — bringing you in," he said.

  The car swerved toward the shoulder. "Well, then, that hospitality could be rescinded at any time. You may be some kind of hot-shit government agent, but I doubt you'd be able to put up that much of a struggle," she said.

  That's closer to the truth than you know, David thought. His side wound had clotted, but still ached, sending pain all through his chest. His shoulder was worse, however, stiffening a lot and rendering his entire arm pretty much useless. He was sure he could take her if necessary — hell, he could probably still overpower her if he was in a body cast — but there was no need to rock the car right now. He was sure Room 59 was tracking him, so she'd be brought into the fold regardless — she just didn't know it yet. Best just to let her think she's got the upper hand at the moment.

  "So what makes you think these people you're meeting can help you more than I can?" he asked.

  "Let's just say I have an aversion to organized anything, whether it's government or crime."

  "The ultimate freelancer, eh?"

  "Yup."

  "The question still stands, particularly in light of what happened earlier."

  "My friends prefer evasion to shooting people or trying to blow them up. Once I'm with them, we'll disappear, and go off where no one will be able to find me, electronically or otherwise," Maggie said.

  "Good idea, if you can pull it off. So you're a thief, eh?"

  "Yeah, what of it?"

  "Hey, I'm just making conversation. So what'd you steal that's got everyone so hot and bothered over you?"

  She frowned at him for a moment. "Are you serious?"

  He nodded.

  "What are you, like, some kind of killer mushroom?"

  Now it was David's turn to frown. "I don't follow."

  "Do your superiors keep you in the dark all the time and feed you lots of shit?"

  He chuckled at the analogy. "No, not all the time. But you say you're a thief, yet you're hanging out with ecoterrorists. They don't have a lot to steal — unless you like diseases, I suppose."

  "No, I'm a data thief. System hacker, that sort of thing. The greenies were just a cover, they were conveniently located next to where my bro — where I did a job."

  David thought about the Wyvil Road house for a moment and he had difficulty wrapping his mind around it. "But the nearest target with any data worth having is — MI-6."

  "I can neither confirm nor deny that statement." Maggie actually smiled for a fleeting second. "Isn't that what you government types say when you want to tell the world something but can't?"

  "I've never had the opportunity to use it myself. So the guys chasing you — they're not MI-6 security. They wouldn't have cleansed the house — they would have arrested everyone there. They know you have what you have because…" he blinked again at the realization "…they hired you to do it?"

  "Maybe you should have been a detective instead of a hired gun. You seem to have the knack for it."

  "So, what happened? Is the adage true — no honor among thieves?"

  Maggie looked over, and the ferocity on her face startled him. "You're lucky I'm driving. Otherwise I'd slap that look off your face. I've already lost more on this job than any amount of money can replace." She took a deep breath and collected herself, bringing the now racing car back down to the speed limit. "Even with my experience, the job was much more difficult and time-consuming than expected, leading us to invoke the additional-expenses clause in our contract. Our employer chose to disagree, and tried to enforce their decision with those assholes at the house and train stations."

  David noticed the change to plural, but continued the conversation. "They almost succeeded, too. What makes you think they aren't still after you?"

  "I've been keeping an eye out for tails, and haven't seen anything behind us. Besides, we gave those guys the slip at the hospital. I can't possibly see how they'd find us again."

  "If I had my phone, I could make sure of that. I could scan for bugs, tracking devices, that sort of thing. That guy might have planted something on you in the station."

  "Not likely. He was too busy trying to get me outside," she said.

  "Do you mind if I take a look at your computer bag anyway?" David asked.

  "I don't see any reason," she said.

  "Humor me. Besides, it will keep me occupied during the trip."

  She sighed. "Very well, but don't open it."

  Turning awkwardly in the bucket seat, David managed to retrieve the case from the backseat of the car with a minimum of jostling to his wounded shoulder. It was a simple padded nylon case, with plenty of pockets on the exterior to hold just about anything a computer geek — or hacker — would need. David examined the pockets first, carefully emptying them and running his free hand along every inch of the interior. He next turned his attention to the case's exterior, and after a long examination, found what he was looking for, embedded in the nylon near one of the plastic feet the case rested on when it was set down.

  "You mean he couldn't have planted something like this?" he said.

  The item he held up was no bigger than a grain of rice, and matte black, to blend into the case's surface. It had a little claw that would hook into just about anything. David found it was surprisingly difficult to remove.

  Maggie peered at the black speck in his palm. "Is that what I think it is?"

  "If you think it's a tracking device, you're right." David rolled down the window and opened his hand, pitching the tiny bug outside.
"When you have a chance, I'd suggest getting rid of all your clothes and that case and scanning your computer, in case they were able to plant a program in it, as well."

  "That I know they didn't do — my firewall is impossible to crack. Nobody gets inside but me."

  "Maybe so, but doing the rest of it wouldn't hurt — preferably, before we arrive wherever it is we're going."

  "Why are you so helpful all of a sudden?" Maggie asked.

  Because I already know who's going to win this round, and it isn't going to be you, or those other guys, he thought. "Because I want to show you that I can help you — out of this situation, maybe even out of this life you're in. If you want me to."

  "Here, we can stop here and change." Maggie pulled off the highway at a small town. "But no phone calls. In fact, I think you'll stay here in the car altogether."

  "If you insist. I suggest leaving the engine running — it would be much harder for me to hotwire it with a bum arm."

  "At least I know you won't take off on me," she said.

  "I could leave you stranded here, you know," he replied.

  Her level gaze met his. "You could, but I don't think you will."

  The corner of David's mouth quirked up a passable half smile. "We'll never know. Here." He held out a folded sheaf of Euros. "Find me something loose and comfortable. A hooded, zip-up sweatshirt would be fine. And a belt to sling my arm."

  Maggie looked from the money to his eyes, her brows narrowing with suspicion.

  "Go on, it's fine. If you're really running off the grid, you can't have much, and you need to change out of that outfit."

  "Are you saying you don't like it?"

  "Somehow I see you wearing something more tasteful in your everyday life."

  With a final squint at him, as if trying to see if he was putting her on, she snatched the banknotes from his hand and also took the laptop case from him. "Thanks."

  David leaned back in the seat, content to just keep an eye on her. He knew Room 59 agents would have been dispatched to all major cities in the area. Given their direction, he was pretty sure he knew where she was going, and he fully expected that there would be a welcoming party there — just not the one she was expecting.