“Amazing,” Bryan said in disbelief. “Do you think the information on this file has something to do with the attack on your team, Jase?”
“It has to. It’s too big a coincidence otherwise. Something our team witnessed must have set this all in motion.”
Jase explained the type of missions the Scorpions performed back then.
More than an hour had passed. Bryan sipped his coffee and continued to watch the screen as the software ground through the process of decoding.
Reyna tried to relax, but her heart was drumming a fierce beat. Every minute of it was filled with tension. Even though Jase had taken all the necessary precautions to protect them, every second they were out in the open like this was dangerous.
She glanced out the window. From where they sat, she could see their Jeep, along with several other vehicles that had been there for a while. Parked a little ways in front of them, she spotted a blacked-out Suburban like the one near her home in Texas.
“What is it?” Jase asked when she let out a gasp.
“That Suburban wasn’t there earlier.”
He realized it, too. “You’re right. Bryan, can you speed the process up? We can’t afford to be caught and you can’t be seen with us.”
Bryan shook his head. “Afraid not. It will take however long it takes.”
Reyna said a silent prayer for a speedy conclusion.
Both Reyna and Jase kept a close eye on the Suburban. So far, no one had emerged from the vehicle. Were they waiting for them to come out to grab them?
After another half hour, Bryan blew out a shaky sigh. “I have it. I’ll copy the translation onto the thumb drive. Do you think you’ll need the encryption software again? I can copy it onto the drive for you. It’s pretty self-explanatory.”
“That’s a good idea. I don’t think we can risk meeting again. It won’t be safe for either of us. Can you do it quickly?” Jase asked when he saw four men exiting the Suburban.
“Done.” Bryan removed the drive and handed it to Jase, who slipped it back into his jacket as he and Reyna got to their feet.
“Jase, they’re coming this way,” Reyna whispered frantically.
Bryan rose quickly and briefly hugged Jase. “Hurry. Please be careful.”
Jase didn’t move right away. “You should come with us, Bryan. They might have seen us together.”
“I’ll be fine. This booth is pretty secluded,” Bryan tried to reassure him. “Besides, they’re looking for you, not me.”
“Still, I’d feel better if you disappeared for a while, just in case they traced the call I made to you. Do you have some place you can go for a few days?”
Bryan smiled grimly. “I do. You and Reyna get out of here before it’s too late. Don’t worry about me. Call me the minute you can talk freely.”
Through the storefront window, Reyna could see the four men dressed in dark clothing, sunglasses hiding their eyes, striding quickly toward the entrance.
“Let’s hope there’s a back exit.” Jase grabbed her hand and they headed for the back of the coffee shop.
They slipped through curtains separating what appeared to be the kitchen and storage area from the rest of the coffee shop just as the four men entered the building.
A single employee, a young woman, was working dough on a floured counter. She was obviously surprised by their sudden appearance.
“We need a way out of here quickly. We’re being followed. Is there a back entrance?” Jase asked her.
She hesitated for a second as if trying to decide if he were telling the truth or just some kook. Then she nodded. “Yes, follow me.” She wiped her hands on her apron and led them past stacks of coffee cups to the back door. “If you go down the alley behind the building and make a left, it will take you back to the main street.”
Jase stepped outside and looked around. “It’s clear,” he told Reyna, and she followed him. Jase turned back to the woman. “Thanks for your help. If anyone should ask about us—”
“Ask about who?” She smiled and winked at him before closing the door.
He and Reyna headed quickly in the direction the young woman indicated.
“We need to hurry. It won’t take them long to realize we’ve slipped out the back even with our helper in there,” Jase said as they raced through the alley.
Behind them, Reyna could hear the sound of someone opening a door with such force that it slammed against the outer wall.
“They had to have come this way. Are you sure you didn’t see anyone leave the building?” An angry-sounding man spoke to someone.
Another voice, the young woman, answered, but Reyna couldn’t make out what she said.
“You’d better be telling the truth—otherwise, we’ll be back. Everyone fan out. They can’t be far. Find them.”
Jase and Reyna slipped around the corner and headed for the street where they’d parked the Jeep.
Once the reached it, Jase stopped and peeked around the edge of the building. “The Suburban is still there. I think there may be more people inside. We need to stay in the shadows as much as possible. Let’s hope they won’t see us before we reach the Jeep.” A noise behind them had him glancing that way. Footsteps. The men were coming after them.
“Over there.” Jase pointed to a streetlight that was out. “Let’s cross here and then keep close to the parked cars until we reach the Jeep.”
Reyna looked over her shoulder as someone yelled, “There they are! They’re getting away! Stop them!”
Reyna and Jase raced across the road, their cover blown. Up ahead two more men exited the other side of the building.
“It’s not much farther. Keep behind me. We know they’re armed,” Jase called as they ran for their vehicle.
Ten more feet. Almost there, Reyna thought to herself.
Jase hit the unlock button. Three cars ahead, the passenger-side door of the Suburban opened and another man wearing a jacket with something bulging from underneath headed straight toward them.
Jase lifted Reyna and all but carried her the rest of the way to their vehicle. She slid into the driver’s seat and he followed. He started the Jeep and threw it into Drive, then hit the lock buttons as two of the men chasing them reached for the door handles and tried to jerk them open. Jase peeled out of the parking spot barely missing the man who had just left the Suburban.
“Get in the vehicle. Don’t let them get away again,” one of the thugs bellowed to his partners.
Jase floored the gas pedal and sped down the street until they reached the edge of the small town.
Reyna glanced behind them. The men had gotten into the Suburban and were giving chase. “They’re coming after us, Jase! We can’t go back the way we came.”
Through his rearview mirror, he watched the Suburban rapidly advancing on them. “I know another way to Aaron’s place, but first we have to lose them. Hang on.” He jerked the wheel hard to the right and they sped onto a smaller side street and headed out of town.
The Suburban somehow managed to make the turn and was within a few feet of their bumper.
“They’re going to pass us,” Reyna gasped.
“They’re trying to get in front of us so that they can stop us. Hold on tight.”
The Suburban swerved to the left of them and tried to pass, but Jase jerked the wheel and the Jeep blocked it from succeeding.
The passenger in the Suburban rolled the window down and pointed something at them.
Jase flicked a glance her way. “Get down. He’s going to fire on us.”
She ducked low and prayed with all her heart as the sound of gunfire exploded all around them. Jase swerved the vehicle from side to side. Thanks to his evasive maneuvers, the bullets missed them.
He pulled out his weapon. “I think I can take out the engine. Can you hold the wheel steady for a second?”
Reyna wasn’t so sure, but she would do everything she could to help. “Yes, I think so. Go ahead.” She sat up in the seat and grabbed the wheel.
While Reyna struggled to keep her attention on the road ahead, Jase leaned out the window as the driver of the Suburban joined the passenger and continued to fire on them.
Unrattled by the onslaught of bullets whizzing past his head, Jase carefully aimed the Glock and fired once. Reyna heard the shot hit metal. She glanced in the rearview mirror in time to see the Suburban run off the road and slam headfirst into a tree.
Jase took the wheel from her. “You hit it dead center,” she said in astonishment.
“They won’t be following us anymore, but who knows if they’ve called for backup. We have to disappear fast.”
She looked at the wreckage behind them. “Do you think anyone survived?” Even though those men had wanted to harm them, she couldn’t wish the same fate on them.
“Let’s hope.” He grabbed his phone and called 9-1-1. “There’s been an accident just outside of Aspen Grove heading south. Send an ambulance and the police right away.” Jase ended the call and dropped the phone in the seat beside him.
Reyna couldn’t stop shaking. “I can’t believe what just happened. How did they know where to find us?”
He slowed the Jeep’s speed as he turned onto a back road. “That’s a good question.” He spared her a quick look. “I think they may have traced us through Bryan. If that’s the case, they’ll be monitoring my phone now.” He rolled the window down once more and tossed the phone out.
They traveled in silence for a long time. All she could think about was how close to death they’d come once more. God had been watching out for them throughout this whole ordeal and she whispered her thanks to Him.
“Do you think Bryan will be okay?” Reyna finally asked. She couldn’t bear it if she’d put someone else’s life in danger.
She could see from Jase’s tense profile that he didn’t know. “Bryan’s pretty resourceful.” He turned to her and touched her arm. “This isn’t your fault, Reyna. These men, they’re the ones who are responsible for killing Eddie and probably the rest of the Scorpion team. They’re dangerous and they’re planning something deadly. They have to be stopped before they can hurt anyone else.”
EIGHT
Reyna brought two cups of coffee over to the table and handed Jase one.
“Thanks.” He smiled up at her appreciatively. After their narrow escape from the thugs outside of Aspen Grove, his adrenaline was working overtime. He was desperate to get back to Aaron’s place and find out the contents of the encrypted file.
While Reyna settled down beside him, Jase grabbed one of the extra burner phones he’d stashed in his backpack and video conferenced Aaron to explain what had happened at the coffee shop.
“I can’t believe it,” Aaron said. “That’s incredible. Let’s hope whatever’s in this file will put the pieces of the puzzle together, because so far, I have no idea what’s going on.”
“You’re not the only one.” Jase inserted the drive into the laptop and sat back, amazed. “It looks like there are several files contained within the one.” He clicked the first file. The second it opened, he realized it was going to be a long day.
“What are those?” Reyna asked, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw the numbers.
Jase stared at what appeared to be a page of numbers grouped in sets of twos and then it hit him what he was looking at. “They’re longitude and latitude coordinates. Hang on a second, Aaron. I need to check something on my phone.”
He typed the first coordinate into the phone. “It brought up a location in Islamabad, Pakistan,” he told Aaron. “Nowadays, Islamabad is a dangerous place. Terrorist groups are vying for control of the city.”
“Do you think the coordinates are leading to where the weapons are being stored?” Reyna asked.
“Maybe,” Jase said doubtfully. Something about that theory didn’t add up. He brought up another coordinate and then it dawned on him. “They’re the locations of US embassies.”
Reyna shook her head. “I don’t understand the significance.”
Jase didn’t, either.
“Why isn’t the military going after the missing weapons more aggressively?” Reyna asked in frustration. “Besides the cost factor of losing so many weapons, I can’t imagine what would happen if they were to be used against us.”
The thought was sobering. “It could be...catastrophic,” Jase said, and opened the next file. It took him a few seconds to accept what he was seeing. “I can’t believe it. Aaron, I’m looking at a list of CIA safe houses across Afghanistan.” How had such confidential files come to be on the laptop? The implication was terrifying. Had someone within the CIA supplied the information?
“The CIA strictly guards those locations,” Aaron put in. “Their agents’ lives depend on it. So how did it end up in the hands of a possible terrorist?”
“That, my friend, is the million-dollar question.” Jase’s pulse pounded at the possibility of someone from the CIA being corrupt.
He opened the third file. “Oh, man, I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” he said in shock. “Aaron, it’s a list of CIA agents working in Afghanistan.” Jase recognized many of the names on the list. He’d worked with them personally.
It took a second for Aaron to answer. “Brother, that doesn’t sit well with me.”
Jase opened the next file and what it contained was even more shocking. “It’s a list of foreign assets the CIA has cultivated since the war began. If the names fell into the wrong hands these people’s lives could be in jeopardy.”
Aaron let out a long whistle. “Sounds like Eddie may have uncovered a possible mole within the CIA.”
Shocked, Reyna turned to Jase. “Do you really think that’s true?”
“As much as I don’t want to believe it, I think Aaron may be right.” Jase opened the next file, which didn’t seem to fit with the rest. He frowned as he stared at the information. “Oh, wow. I’ve seen this type of document before. When I was active, we used to get these updated lists on a weekly basis.”
He showed the document to Aaron. “It’s a list of the CIA’s top ten terrorists operating around the world—several in the area where Eddie died. It has their aliases along with where they are supposed to be operating. Their lieutenants. Even the names of their family members. This information could be a valuable commodity to someone. The question is, who?”
“You think we have a new player in the game? Someone who the CIA doesn’t know about yet?” Aaron asked. “Someone wanting to take down the rest of these guys?”
Jase hesitated. “It’s possible, but I’d say it’s more likely one of these guys on the list is gathering the information.” He scanned the list of names. Several were dead or had been captured. Most didn’t have the influence to bribe someone in the CIA to help them with their plot. He had an uneasy feeling this was the handiwork of one man in particular.
Jase opened another file and the contents all but confirmed the truth. Someone was planning a major attack.
“What are those?” Reyna queried as she looked at the information before them.
Jase blew out a sigh. “It’s a list of the same US embassies across Europe I just looked at. Only this time the document has blueprints for the secret emergency exits and how to disarm the security systems. Other than the Pentagon, only high-ranking embassy personnel and the CIA detail attached to the embassy would have access to these.” Turning toward Reyna, he gave her a grim look. “Aaron’s right. Someone in the CIA is leaking this information. That explains Eddie’s warning in the letter. I’m guessing the only reason the information hasn’t been used yet is because it hasn’t gotten into the hands of its prospective buyer. I believe we have Eddie to thank for that.”
Reyna stared at him wide eyed. “I can’t believe it.”
Nodding, Aaron confirmed what Jase had just said.
“Who’s the Fox?” Reyna asked innocently.
“Only the CIA’s most deadly terrorist leader working today,” Jase told her. “He operates one of the largest cells in the world. The Agency has been tracking him for years and yet he is always just one step ahead of them. And he just happens to be the one the CIA believes was responsible for Lena’s death.”
“That’s horrible,” Reyna breathed the words aloud.
Jase considered the possibilities. What if the person who compiled the lists had intended to sell them to the Fox? The information contained there would be an invaluable asset to him. He thought about what he knew about the Fox. The man was crafty, he’d give him that.
“Why is he called the Fox?” Reyna asked curiously.
Jase ran a hand over the back of his neck. “The CIA nicknamed him that because of his ability to keep his identity secret. No one had ever seen him. He has countless safe houses spread out across several continents. He’s gotten good at operating in the cloak of anonymity. He has hundreds of soldiers doing his bidding so that he doesn’t have to get his hands dirty,” he said with disgust. “The CIA discovered that once a soldier fulfills his mission, the Fox has them killed. His identity is kept hidden with the blood of his followers.”
Reyna stared at him in horror. “He sounds ghastly. I can’t believe anyone would follow such a person.”
That was something Jase couldn’t wrap his mind around, either. How did bad people like the Fox end up having followers who would give up their lives for him? “It’s unbelievable, I know.” He tried to make sense of what they’d uncovered so far. “So, if the Fox were the intended target for the information, the damage he could do would be astronomical.”
Rocky Mountain Secrets: Rocky Mountain Sabotage ; Rocky Mountain Pursuit Page 27