Deep Cover

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “And then there’s me and the FBI guy. Who are the others?”

  “Cullen will represent CIA headquarters.”

  Kelsey hoped her surprise didn’t show on her face. While capable enough in Middle Eastern affairs, he had a reputation for being more concerned with impressing his superiors than making sure the job was done right.

  Lewis continued. “The last member of the taskforce is Ted Stoddard out of NCIS. He’s the one who has been heading up the investigation on the missing weapons.”

  “Who is taking the lead?”

  “That’ll be me,” Cullen said with a touch of arrogance. “The taskforce won’t be in place until next Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest. The tech guys are already gathering information on everyone we know who might be involved. Hopefully they will have some clues to help us put this puzzle together by the time we get everyone else into the same room. Until then, I want you working the Middle East desk so you can get a handle on the flow of information through that office and so you can get to know the players.”

  “Who am I going to be?” Kelsey asked, instinctively turning to Lewis. Since joining the Agency, her cover had run deep enough that she rarely used her own name even inside of CIA headquarters.

  “Since we want you interacting with people from other agencies, we’ve decided to keep it simple and have you follow your normal headquarters protocol,” Lewis said. “That way if any information pops about your other alias, no one will be any wiser that you’re sitting in the room.”

  “What about the information I was going over on the potential leak?” Kelsey asked.

  “Take it with you.”

  “Take it with me where?” she asked, confused. “The Middle East desk is right around the corner from my office.”

  “Yes, but the taskforce will be working out of Quantico,” Lewis told her. “From what we’ve already put together, the leak has to be coming from either the CIA or the FBI. Since protecting your identity is one of our top priorities, it makes sense to put you on a secure military base. Plus, it’s close to where you’re staying, so we’ll be able to limit your commute and the potential of someone trying to track you down prematurely.”

  He stood up and handed Kelsey a business card. It was blank except for a phone number typed on it. “If you think of anything you need, call this number. Otherwise, follow your standard headquarters protocol, and we’ll let you know when we’re ready to move you down to Quantico.”

  Kelsey read over the phone number several times, committing it to memory. Graham motioned to her. “Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll introduce you to the people working the Middle East desk right now.”

  “Are they all people I have personnel files on?”

  “Probably.” He led the way past her office into the row of cubicles just beyond hers. Three desks were situated in a single oversized cubicle. A woman of about forty sat at one desk, her blue eyes sharp and focused on the computer screen in front of her. The man beside her was younger, maybe thirty, and appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. “Cheryl Reinholt and Eli Salvino, this is Kelly Park. She’s going to be filling in for Karen for a few days.”

  Eli glanced up just long enough to make eye contact and to give her a brief nod of greeting. Cheryl shifted and gave her a friendly smile. “Great. It will be nice to have the help.”

  Graham put a hand on Kelsey’s shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “I’ll let Cheryl get you started.”

  “Thanks,” Kelsey said and then turned to Cheryl. “I assume you want me at this desk.”

  Cheryl nodded. “You can start working on that stack of cables in Karen’s inbox. We’ve had a hard time keeping up with all of the activity the last couple of days.”

  Kelsey moved forward and took a seat. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  * * *

  All the way into work on Thursday morning, Noah’s thoughts were on Kelsey. They had eaten pizza in her dining room last night before heading to institute. During class, she had seemed content to sit back and listen to the discussion, but he kept getting the impression that she had a deep well of knowledge she was reluctant to share.

  This morning he had been a bit disappointed that she hadn’t taken him up on his offer to use his kitchen to fix her breakfast. Her parents’ kitchen was now torn down to the wallboard, and her refrigerator currently resided in her living room. She insisted that she left for work too early to come to his house, but he had a feeling she would get tired of eating yogurt within a week.

  He was still trying to transition into work mode when he walked into his office and found his boss waiting by his desk. “Hi, Burt. Is everything okay?”

  “We’ve decided to bring the CIA in on the Medrano case.”

  Noah looked at him skeptically. “I thought you wanted to keep this in-house. Aren’t you the one who always says the Agency always complicates things?”

  “Yeah, but they have a lot at stake on this one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Five weeks ago, one of their ops was blown and an agent was killed. Another one was lucky to get out of Abolstan alive.”

  “What happened?”

  “According to the information they’ve shared so far, they suspect someone on the inside compromised their agent’s identity.”

  “A leak in the CIA? I’m surprised they’re reading us in on this one. They usually like to do their own investigations before they turn anything over to us.”

  “They aren’t sure if the leak is on their side or ours.”

  “Why would they think we’re involved?”

  “Someone tipped Salman Nassar off. It could be the same person who’s feeding information to Medrano.” Burt gave him a solemn look. “The man who killed their agent was Ruben Medrano.”

  Noah absorbed the information, trying to understand the bigger picture. “Who is Salman Nassar? And how is he connected to Medrano?”

  “If the CIA is correct, Medrano is supplying weapons to Salman. They think that’s what was being shipped out of that warehouse you stumbled onto.”

  “Now what? Do we just turn over our files to the CIA? They don’t have any jurisdiction here in the United States.”

  “They’ve proposed a joint taskforce. The CIA chose you to be the FBI representative on it.”

  “Me?” Surprise lit his face. Noah knew these taskforces could be career-makers. The agents assigned to them also tended to be senior agents, not people like him with only a few years of experience.

  “You’re one of the few agents who has firsthand knowledge of Medrano’s operation who wasn’t working the case when the first leaks were suspected.”

  “I’ve never been on a taskforce before. How does this work?”

  “The CIA is still hashing out some logistical issues, but you’ll report to Quantico on Tuesday.” Burt handed a file to Noah. “All of the details are in there. You’ll have a few days to gather whatever information you think is pertinent to the case. If there are any hardcopy files you need, prepare them for transport, and we’ll have them delivered to the taskforce office on Monday night.”

  Noah nodded.

  Burt took a step toward his office and then turned back to face him. “Oh, and Noah?”

  “Yeah?”

  “The information uncovered on this taskforce is classified top secret and is strictly need-to-know. That means you only report to the CIA agent in charge.”

  “I can’t even tell you what I find?”

  He shook his head. “Not even me.”

  Chapter 12

  “What is this?” Eli demanded, Kelsey’s latest analysis clutched in his hand.

  Kelsey glanced at the printout. “My interpretation of the cargo manifest for the Libyan ship headed for Turkey.”

  “You wrote here that it’s stopping in Abolstan or Syria.”

  “That’s right.”

  He shot her a disapproving look, and his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Are you just making this stuff up to get noticed?”
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  “Is this some kind of a test?” Kelsey asked, confused by his aggressive tone. “If you don’t agree with my analysis, just write a dissenting opinion. It never hurts for the people in the field to have more than one point of view.”

  “I’d like to know how you came to your conclusions.”

  Refusing to be baited, she reached her hand out and took the analysis from him. Flipping a couple of pages into the report, she pointed at the second paragraph on the third page. Keeping her tone deliberately mild, she said, “Look at the cargo. According to the manifest, the ship is headed for a port in Turkey that is one hundred percent Sunni Muslim.”

  He skimmed the paragraph she indicated then glared at her impatiently once more. “So?”

  “It says right there that the shipment includes several cases of alcoholic beverages,” Kelsey pointed out. “Muslims don’t drink alcohol.”

  “Have you ever been to Turkey?” He didn’t wait for an answer or to find out that she had indeed lived there for more than a year. “You can get alcohol in nearly every restaurant you walk into. Plus, there are plenty of people who don’t follow their religion to the letter.”

  “But this village is known for being very conservative. Besides being small, not one of its restaurants serves liquor. The quantity of Scotch alone is enough to raise some eyebrows,” Kelsey told him. “My guess is that it’s headed either for Ziyad Albasari’s camp in Syria or for Bharat, Abolstan.”

  “And you came to this conclusion how?” Eli asked. “It could be headed to one of the terrorist camps in Syria. Or maybe to wherever Salman Nassar is hiding out in Abolstan. Intel indicates he left Bharat months ago.”

  Eli’s information about Salman leaving Bharat was accurate, but Kelsey knew for a fact that Salman didn’t drink. He also didn’t allow his men to indulge when he was around. Salman and his followers were capable of their own unique brand of evil without any outside influences. Knowing she couldn’t reveal such intimate details to him, she focused on the logic that supported her conclusions.

  “Albasari is known for appreciating a good bottle of Scotch, and according to the manifest, this is expensive stuff.” Kelsey cocked her head to the side. “Also, Bharat is less than fifty miles from this village. The Scotch could be a bribe to the rebels controlling that area to import goods into Abolstan.”

  Eli’s expression changed from one of disbelief to one of annoyance. He turned away from Kelsey and spoke to Cheryl. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee.”

  Cheryl waited until Eli was out of earshot before turning to Kelsey. “Don’t worry about him. He just has a lot to prove.”

  “Is he like this with everyone?”

  Cheryl sidestepped the question. “He got passed over on his promotion the last time around, and he seems to think he has to prove everyone wrong in order to show that the promotion board made a mistake.”

  “Especially people he thinks might get promoted in front of him.”

  “You got it.”

  Kelsey’s shoulders lifted. “It’s not like I’m much of a threat. I’m only here for a day or two.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The fact that you’re young and around the same grade level means he sees you as competition.”

  “Have you worked with him long?”

  “Just over a year,” she said. “I know you’re only working here temporarily. Where are you normally assigned?”

  “I’m between assignments, but personnel is supposedly working on placing me.”

  “Where were you before you got here?”

  Kelsey gave Cheryl a wry smile and offered her a shred of truth, the part that was consistent with her headquarters cover story. “Turkey.”

  * * *

  Noah was still thinking about his new assignment when he parked in his driveway, but by the time he reached his front door, his thoughts were on Kelsey and the possibility that she was inside. He hoped she was inside.

  The scent of curry had his mouth watering the moment he opened the door, and his stomach grumbled in anticipation. His pace was quicker than usual as he made his way down the hall, and his heart knocked hard in his chest when he entered the kitchen.

  Kelsey was wearing his apron again, and her feet were bare. His smile was instant. A ripple of satisfaction ran through him at the idea that she was able to make herself so comfortable in his home.

  He was struck again by what he was missing, what so many of his friends now had. Someone to come home to, someone to share the events of the day with. Sure, he would never be able to confide everything about his work with anyone outside of the Bureau, but he liked to think that someday he would at least be able to share the basics.

  “Hi.” Kelsey turned and smiled. “How was your day?”

  He wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “Interesting.”

  She leaned on her cane and gave him an inquisitive look. “Dare I ask why it was interesting?”

  “I was given a new assignment today.”

  “Is this a good thing?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m still trying to figure out why I was chosen out of everyone in my office.”

  “Maybe you should just assume that it’s because you’re the best man for the job.”

  Humor lit his eyes. “I’d like to think that’s it.”

  “Of course that’s it.” She gave a definite nod and then added, “Think positive.”

  “What about you?” Noah shrugged out of his suit jacket, revealing the gun holstered at his shoulder, and draped the jacket over the back of one of the kitchen stools. “How was your day?”

  “I just found out I’m starting a new job sometime next week.”

  He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. Ignoring the little lurch in his stomach at the thought of her leaving, he drank deeply. “I thought you were going to stick with office work until your leg heals.”

  “From what I understand, I’ll only be watching two kids, and they’re older, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Plus, it’s closer to home, so I won’t have much of a commute.”

  Relief swept through him. “What will your hours be like?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I guess I’ll find out when I start.” She turned off the stove and shifted the frying pan off the burner.

  “Is that ready?”

  Kelsey nodded.

  Noah picked up the frying pan, taking an appreciative sniff of the curried chicken and rice dish. Holding his water glass in his other hand, he carried both to the table, where Kelsey had already set two place settings. “Do you already have a drink?”

  “I do.” She moved to refill the glass she had left on the counter by the stove. They both sat down at the table and folded their arms. Noah had noticed over their past few meals together that Kelsey seemed hesitant to pray aloud in front of him. To his surprise, she offered to bless the food. The words were simple and direct, but Noah couldn’t help noticing the way she fumbled over the words as though they were unfamiliar to her.

  Noah took a bite of his dinner and looked up at her. “You honestly need to think about opening that restaurant we were talking about. This is amazing.”

  She laughed. “Are you always this easy to please?”

  “According to your mother, yes, but I’m being serious,” he said, his face earnest. “People would pay good money to eat your cooking.”

  “I think I’ll stick with cooking for friends for now.”

  “I’m okay with that as long as it’s my kitchen you’re using,” Noah said, scooping up another bite. “How is your parents’ kitchen coming?”

  “It’s going to take longer than I expected. I didn’t realize they’re replacing the floor. The tiling alone is going to take at least two weeks.”

  “That’s great news.”

  Confused, she looked over at him. “Why is that great news?”

  He just grinned and held up a forkful of food. “I like having dinner with you every night.”

  She gave him a half smile. “I’m sure you’ll get tired
of my company soon enough.”

  “I seriously doubt that’s going to happen.” As he continued to enjoy his meal, he realized how relieved he was that this arrangement wouldn’t come to an end too quickly. Talking with Kelsey, just spending time with her, had already helped ease some of his anxiety about the unknown he was bound to face next week.

  After they started cleaning up the kitchen, Noah said, “I was thinking about going to the shooting range tonight. Any chance you want to come with me?”

  “The shooting range?”

  “I thought it might help me blow off some steam before I have to face this new assignment.” With a shrug, he added, “I figured since you carry a weapon, you must know how to shoot.”

  “Yeah, I know how to shoot.” She gave him an odd expression of surprise that slowly melted into an accepting smile. “I’d actually love to go to the range. I haven’t been shooting since before I got hurt.”

  “Do you have your weapon with you?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll need to go home to get more ammo.”

  “We can stop by your house on our way out.” He put the leftovers in the refrigerator and realized he was completely out of milk. “Do you care if we stop by the grocery store on our way back? I need to pick up a few things.”

  “You want to go grocery shopping with me?” She gave him an amused smile. “This is getting scary. We’re starting to sound like an old married couple.”

  An image of his own parents surfaced in his mind. He thought of the way they had been together, a true team in every sense of the word. He didn’t fight back the hope that he might be on the path to find such a treasure for himself. “Is that such a bad thing?”

  Her eyes lowered as though she was staring at a spot on the floor between them. “It’s just not normal for me.”

  “It isn’t normal for me either.” He took a step toward her and then another. “Maybe this is a good time for us to find a new normal.”

  She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. Those fabulous dark eyes widened when he reached for her hand and leaned closer. He hesitated when his lips were just a breath away from hers. He saw the awareness in her eyes, heard her quick intake of breath. Then his lips were on hers.