Deep Cover

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  The phone on her desk rang, and she moved toward it. Before she picked it up, she spoke to Noah, her tone professional. “Your files have already arrived from the FBI. I thought maybe you and Ted might be able to piece together any common elements on your two cases.”

  Then she turned and lifted the phone from the cradle. “This is Kelly.”

  Noah lowered himself into his desk chair, feeling both numb and overwhelmed. He was still processing this new knowledge about Kelsey when Ted crossed the room toward him.

  “Hey, you were on the stakeout for Medrano, weren’t you?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Great. I’d like you to take a look at this.” He pointed at the plasma screen. “I think we may have found another link.”

  Noah tried to ignore the ache settling deep in his gut and forced himself to move toward the screen. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  Chapter 18

  Kelsey hung up the phone, her stomach twisted in knots. Noah and Ted were searching through files together at the worktable in the center of the room. She had felt Noah’s stare when she had answered her phone, and she had sensed his bewilderment. Surely he would understand why she had misled him. After all, he was FBI. He knew what it meant to be undercover. She only wished she could erase the image of his face when she had turned toward him and he had made the connection between who she really was in comparison with who she had claimed to be.

  As soon as she finished her phone call, she reached for her computer keyboard. She was well versed on the CIA’s protocol for situations like this, but never before had she been required to worry about it. Her heart sank as she opened the secure e-mail and typed a single word in the subject line. Compromised.

  She hit the send button and wondered how long it would take before someone from the security office showed up to debrief her.

  Hoping to get her mind off of Noah, Kelsey opened the transcripts Skip had e-mailed her. The moment she started reading through the first e-mail, one believed to have been sent by Salman to his oldest son, a sickening feeling seeped through her. In that instant, she could imagine all too well what was happening in the household.

  She noted the date and time of the conversation, considered the possible players. The IP address had bounced all over the world, but the NSA had ultimately traced it back to Salman’s compound in Abolstan.

  After reading through Skip’s analysis, she started making notes of who had really been on either end of these e-mails. She knew Salman didn’t use e-mail at all. The e-mail was written in Urdu, which meant the recipient was likely one of his associates in Pakistan rather than Salman’s son, Fathi. As she read through several more e-mails, she finally gave up and printed them all out so she could mark them up.

  With a red pen in hand, she made notes in the columns of the printouts, deciphering codes within the messages and noting names of the individuals she believed were involved. She was deep in thought, trying to translate an e-mail in Pashtu, not her strongest language, when a knock sounded at the office door.

  Kelsey didn’t pay attention until she heard Noah’s voice greeting the visitor. She turned just as Lewis Tate walked in. Kelsey had expected someone from security would come to debrief her, but never in her wildest dreams did she consider that a security breach would prompt the deputy director of operations to pay her a personal visit.

  “She’s right over there.” Noah pointed in her direction but didn’t look at her.

  Lewis stepped forward. “Kelly, I need to speak with you in private, please.”

  “Of course.” Kelsey shifted the printouts, secured them in her drawer, and reached for her cane. She followed him out into the hall. They walked in silence, making several turns before they arrived at the building’s security office. He showed Kelsey into a small office and motioned for her to sit down.

  After closing the office door, he took the seat across from her. “I received your message. What’s the situation?”

  “The FBI agent assigned to this taskforce knows my real identity.”

  Frustration showed on his face. Or maybe it was disappointment. “Name?”

  “Noah Cabbott.”

  “How do you know him?”

  Kelsey struggled not to show any emotion. “He’s currently my neighbor.”

  Lewis shook his head, clearly not pleased. “How much does he know about your cover story?”

  She hesitated a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. “He knows enough. I told him I’m a nanny working overseas and that I’m home recovering.” Her shoulders lifted slightly. “He assumed my wound was from a car accident.”

  “Wait here. I’m going to bring him in so we can control the damage.”

  Kelsey watched him leave, her heartbeat quickening at the prospect of facing Noah now that he knew the truth. The minutes stretched out painfully. She forced herself to remain seated, breathing deeply to try to calm herself.

  The practiced breathing techniques didn’t work. The minute the door opened and Noah walked in, her stomach went to battle with nerves and her palms dampened. Noah took the seat Lewis indicated, the chair right beside Kelsey, yet he didn’t even glance in her direction.

  Lewis settled behind the desk once more. This time he took out a little notebook and pen before he began his questions. He looked at Noah. “I understand you know Kelly outside of the workplace.”

  “That’s correct,” Noah answered, his eyes remaining on Lewis.

  “And what is your relationship with this woman?”

  Noah didn’t hesitate before responding. “I’m friends with her parents.”

  Kelsey’s heart sank. Was Noah being private, or had he already given up on the friendship they had shared?

  Lewis jotted something down in his notebook. “I called you in here so we can ensure that Kelly’s cover remains intact. It is imperative that her family not be aware of why she has been overseas for the past several years.”

  “I understand what it means to be undercover,” Noah said stiffly.

  “Then you also understand that when someone is undercover in their own workplace, situations exist that require extra precautions.”

  Noah nodded, his expression stern.

  “Good. Then I assume you won’t object to having our agents go sweep your house for listening devices.”

  His eyebrows drew together. “Why would that be necessary?”

  “You have had interaction with a part of Salman’s organization. We need to make sure no one is watching you, that your proximity to our agent won’t compromise her.”

  Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “I assume you want to take care of that today.”

  “Yes. As soon as possible.” After Noah slid his house key off his key ring, Lewis held out a hand and took it from him. He then turned toward Kelsey. “We’re going to sweep your house too. Our agents will go in disguised as maid service.”

  “I have contractors at my house today. They’re remodeling the kitchen.”

  “We’ll go in on their lunch hour or wait until they knock off for the day.”

  “My keys are in my purse in my office.”

  “Here, I’ve got one.” Noah pulled his keys from his pocket once more.

  “You have a key to her house?” Speculation and accusation showed on Lewis’s face when Noah slid another house key off his key ring.

  “Her parents gave me the key so I could look after their house while they’re away,” Noah clarified.

  Lewis looked from Noah to Kelsey, his stare intense. Then he focused on Noah once more and spoke sternly. “Let me be clear. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is a matter of life and death.”

  Noah remained silent, but the muscles in his jaw twitched.

  “I know it won’t be easy, but both of you need to treat your relationship here as completely separate from any friendship you have outside the office. You cannot discuss your home life at work, nor can you discuss your work at home.” He paused for effect then calmly added, �
��No exceptions.”

  Kelsey nodded and glanced over at Noah to see him nod as well.

  “I’m going to give you two a few minutes to discuss how you are going to handle this situation.” Lewis stood up and tucked his notebook and pen into his jacket pocket. He then retrieved a business card and handed it to Noah. “If you have any difficulties, give me a call. Keeping Kelly’s cover intact is one of this Agency’s top priorities.”

  He took a step toward the door before turning back to face Kelsey. “And, Kelly, I don’t have to remind you that your missions remain need-to-know.”

  Kelsey shook her head slightly, her chest tightening as Lewis walked out the door. The moment the door closed, she shifted to face Noah. “I’m so sorry.”

  Noah took a deep breath, staring at the wall across from them for a long moment. He still didn’t look at her when he asked, “Are you sorry that you lied to me or that now I know the truth?”

  She absorbed the verbal slap and found herself at a loss for words. When he finally shifted to look at her, she could see the hurt and betrayal on his face. She tried to think about how she would feel if she were in his place but couldn’t quite do it. She had lived this life for years. She understood that lies were necessary for survival and hoped she would be able to forgive someone who had lied to her for the same reasons.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Noah demanded.

  Her voice was soft, almost wistful when she spoke. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “I don’t either. I thought I knew you.” His shoulders lifted. “Now I’m not sure I know you at all. You’ve been lying to me this whole time.”

  His words cut through her, but her back straightened, and her fighting spirit bubbled up inside her. “I haven’t lied to you.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “I told you I was a nanny. I was.” Her eyes met his with direct frankness. “I simply didn’t tell you that I had other reasons for choosing to live overseas.”

  “Lies of omission . . .”

  “Are necessary when you work for the CIA,” Kelsey finished for him.

  “Your parents. Your brothers and your sister. They have no idea what you do.”

  “No,” Kelsey said quietly. “I couldn’t risk them. I couldn’t risk their safety.”

  “They think you don’t care,” Noah told her bluntly. “Every Christmas your mom sets a place for you at the dinner table, hoping you’ll walk through the door and surprise them. And every year we all pretend we don’t see her tears when she goes into the kitchen to hide while she pretends she’s just doing the dishes.”

  Kelsey could imagine the scene too well, and her voice turned sharp. “How could you possibly know that? Since when are you such an expert on my family?”

  “I’ve been there. For three Christmases now. Three that you missed.”

  “So it was okay that I missed three Christmases as a nanny but not because I was undercover?”

  “It was never okay for you to miss that many holidays. No job is that important. You should never let a job take your family away from you.”

  Even though his words were painfully true, she stiffened, dozens of justifications racing through her mind.

  “How can you sit there and criticize me for not being home with my family when you obviously weren’t with yours?” Kelsey shot back. “Was your mother crying over your spending the holiday with my family instead of your own?”

  “I don’t have a family. The only family I have is yours.”

  Her eyebrows drew together, her confusion dissipating some of her anger. “What are you talking about?”

  Noah swallowed hard. He seemed to struggle for a moment before he forced out the words. “My family was killed in a car accident six years ago.”

  “Noah, I’m sorry.” Kelsey reached out and put her hand on his arm. “I didn’t know.”

  He pushed out of his chair and stepped back to break contact. “That’s okay. I obviously didn’t know anything about who you really are either.”

  Gripping her cane, Kelsey struggled to stand and face him. “I’m the same person I was with you last night. I just happen to have a higher security clearance than you realized.”

  “No, Kelly. You aren’t the same person I was with last night.” He shook his head. “And it’s too bad. I was really starting to like that girl.”

  “Noah . . .” She took a hesitant step toward him.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  Kelsey watched him jerk the door open and then stalk out into the hall. Anger and annoyance rippled through her. Alongside those emotions was a sense of loss that both overwhelmed and surprised her. She blinked rapidly against the tears stinging her eyes. She hadn’t even known Noah for a month, and yet she had come to rely on him in that short time.

  She suspected it wasn’t just his friendship that she was afraid of losing; it was the possibility of something more. When she started toward the door, her cane caught on the chair. Her leg buckled, causing her to pitch forward. She bit back a cry of pain when the chair rammed into the most tender spot of her leg, tears springing instantly to her eyes.

  She nearly gave in to the urge to cry and had to remind herself that this was a place of business and that she couldn’t indulge in such luxuries right now. Stumbling a bit when she took another step, she wondered if she would ever find her footing with Noah again.

  Chapter 19

  Noah stood in front of the plasma screen, waiting for the other two members of their taskforce to come online. The local members of the taskforce stood with him, Kelsey positioned on the far side of the group, her wounded leg bent so she wasn’t putting any weight on it. Her limp had seemed more pronounced when she’d returned to the office after their meeting with Lewis. Not that he had really been paying attention.

  He still couldn’t believe he had told her about his family. He had planned to confide in her, just not like that. In his mind, he had imagined taking her out to dinner, expressing his appreciation that her family had been so welcoming of him, and then explaining how his parents and two younger siblings had been killed on their way home from his brother’s soccer game.

  Outside of the Webers, very few people knew of his loss. Ward members and neighbors saw him simply as the FBI agent who had been assigned to the DC office. No one had noticed that he never had any family visit or that he was always home for the holidays. But the Webers had noticed. And they had changed his life.

  He glanced over at Kelsey, furious that she was keeping secrets from the family he had adopted as his own. He could understand in theory why she was lying, but already, he could visualize the future. From this point forward, he too would have to hide the truth from these people who had been so kind and generous to him.

  The teleconference started when the plasma screen lit up and the other two members of their taskforce appeared in split-screen mode. Introductions were made, and objectives were given. Noah struggled to keep his thoughts off Kelsey and the awkward situation she had landed him in. Instead, he tried to focus on the two men he was meeting for the first time.

  On the right of the screen, Skip from NSA scribbled notes as Manuel from Fort Huachuca informed them of a call his office had intercepted and translated from Abolstan. “We keyed in on this call because Medrano was mentioned. Salman expresses his frustration that their plans could have been compromised. The other man assures him that none of their equipment was lost and that they still have access to everything they need to carry out their plans.”

  “Do they say anything about their plans or when they are going to carry them out?” Noah asked before Ted or Kelsey could voice the question.

  “No,” Manuel said. “They were very careful about dancing around that information.”

  “Can you play me the recording of the conversation?” Kelsey asked. “I’d like to hear it for myself.”

  “I assure you, the translation is correct,” Manuel insisted.

  “I trust your
office did its job well, but I want to hear the voices.” Kelsey’s voice was sincere but held an underlying authority.

  “Okay.” He fiddled with the keyboard in front of him. A moment later, two men’s voices came on speaking in Arabic. Everyone remained silent until the recording ended. Then Manuel said, “The first man was Salman. We believe the second was his son, Gabir.”

  Kelsey shook her head. “No, that wasn’t Gabir.”

  Noah turned and stared at Kelsey, taken aback by her absolute certainty. When he glanced up at the screen, he saw that Manuel shared his surprise.

  “The voiceprint puts the probability at ninety percent accuracy.”

  “I understand that,” Kelsey said gently, “but it’s not him.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  Kelsey’s voice was confident when she spoke. “It’s my job to be sure. Our intel shows Gabir is still in Abolstan, so he and Salman wouldn’t be talking on the phone. They tend to avoid electronic communication whenever possible.”

  “If it isn’t Gabir, then who is it?” Manuel asked.

  “I don’t recognize the voice, but if the probability is that close, my guess is that it’s Fathi Nassar, Salman’s oldest son. His last known location was in northern Africa.”

  Manuel rifled through the notes in front of him. “That’s consistent with this call. Salman was in Abolstan, and the person he was talking to was in Libya.”

  “Which means Fathi is probably training with Salman’s men at one of his terrorist camps,” Kelsey concluded. “They’re definitely planning something. If Salman is panicked enough to use the phone, it must be happening soon.”

  “What do you mean?” Ted asked.

  “Salman rarely uses the phone, and he never uses e-mail.”

  “What about those e-mails I sent you that we traced back to Salman’s compound in Abolstan?” Skip asked now.

  “I’ve started going through those to help identify the players. I’ll try to get you my notes by tomorrow.”