Shadow Rising (A Lacy Merrick Thriller Book 2)
Page 26
Lacy finally stood. “Agent Delgado, thank you for bringing them home.” She spotted the woman in the distance and began to cry once again. “Celeste.” She pulled her close. The woman who had helped her so much through all of this. “Thank you for coming home. Thank you.”
“That’s what this place is. It’s my home and I’m so very glad to be back.” She pushed Lacy gently away. “Is it finally over?”
“Yes. It’s over.”
Lacy turned back to Delgado. “What about Agent Axell? Any news on his release?” But before he could answer, she saw him. “Trevor!”
“Boy, I can’t get a word in edgewise over here.” Delgado stepped aside yet again for Axell.
“Lacy.” He pulled her close and hugged her almost as tightly as she had her children. “You did it.”
She began shaking her head. “We did it. You risked everything for the truth and you lost a friend.”
“Can I go see my room? I want to see my room!” Jackson began charging up the stairs.
“I’m going to see my room too!” Olivia followed him.
“I’ll visit with them while you all figure this out.” Celeste headed toward the steps. “I missed them so much.”
“The president’s speaking now,” Lacy said.
“I heard. He’s not going to say anything we don’t already know,” Delgado replied. “They took Turner into custody and Lei Jian is on a transport back to Beijing. But this time, they won’t be releasing him. In fact, if he survives the night, I’d be surprised.”
“What’s going to happen to Turner?” Aaron asked.
“Federal prison. I don’t know how long. And so will his assistant, Dunn. Kid should’ve got out while he stood a chance.”
And what will happen when they do rid themselves of Jian?” she pressed on.
“The Chinese premier will want their president to see that they understand the severity of the charge and will want to have the sanctions lifted as quickly as possible.”
“But how can we let them back in?” Lacy continued. “They tried to undermine our entire economic system. Surely they’ll pay for what they did.”
“Money’s money, Lacy,” Will began. “It’ll only be a matter of time before they’re allowed to trade with us again.”
“Listen, I’d love to hang around, but I’ve got to go clean out my office,” Delgado began. “No more FBI for me. Heading back to Langley for a new assignment.”
“Thank you, Agent Delgado—Martin, for everything. I know we started on a rocky path, but I also know what you’ve done for me,” Lacy said.
He smiled and tipped his head. “I hope to have the pleasure of working with you all again in the future, but if I don’t, you take care of yourselves, and Axell, better watch yourself at the office. I owe you a hard left hook.”
“Any time—after I’ve had a few drinks. Take care, Delgado,” Axell replied. “What else is the president saying?” He started into the living room.
“Looks like he’s finished. I’m sure it won’t be the last time he’ll have to account for his people. I wonder if the country will forgive him,” Will replied.
“So I guess we’re back where we started,” Axell sat down. “Caison, will you be returning to Louisville?”
Will turned his attention to Lacy and back to Axell. “I don’t think so. There’s a lot of work to be done here and Kelly has asked me to stay on. And, you know, I’ve moved all my stuff here now, so there’s that.”
“And what about you, Hunter?” Axell continued. “What are your plans?”
“Well, I guess I’m not returning to Langley, which I’m kind of happy about. I mean, I’m not cut out for all that espionage stuff. I’ll probably just go back to consulting for mom and pop companies. Help them fight the war on cyber security.”
“Well, there is a reason why I came here today, apart from giving thanks to Lacy for making sure they got me released. I owe you a lot, Lacy.”
She didn’t know what to say because he’d given up so much to help her too.
“So, I guess I’ll just say it.” He looked to the three of them. “A new joint task force is being formed at the president’s request. And he’s asked that I head it up. Director Mobley will be a part of it as well.”
“What’s it for?” Lacy said.
“It’ll involve coordination between the FBI and the CIA and will involve monitoring foreign companies’ activities in the US and abroad, on a more specialized level. More scrutiny than before. After what happened, the president believes we need to get a better handle on the new war.”
“A new war?” Aaron asked.
“The economic war. One that will use, as we’ve already seen, all available tactics necessary to achieve global trade dominance.”
Lacy began to see where Axell was headed. “And who else will be on this new task force?”
“All of you in this room. We all have a special skillset that will be useful. And, we’ve proven we can work together effectively.”
Lacy glanced up the stairs and began to think of her children. “I won’t put my children in harm’s way again, Trevor. I can’t do that to them.”
“I’m not asking you to. No one is. We’ll operate under complete anonymity. Publicly our jobs won’t have changed. Privately we’ll report directly to Mobley and CIA Director Handley. They’ll both, in turn, brief the president on any and all activity we deem to be a concern.”
She looked to her friends surrounding her now. “I’m in if you all are.”
“I’m in,” Aaron replied.
“Me too.” Will placed his hand on Lacy’s shoulder.
“Good. Then we’ll start as soon as possible.” His cell phone buzzed with an incoming message. Axell retrieved it and read the message before returning his attention to the newly formed task force. “Jian’s just been executed by his government.”
“Oh my God,” Lacy began. “It’s finally over.”
“Except for one thing,” Axell said. “Our first target is the Dalian Company. Based on what we know right now, Shen Yang has covered his ass pretty well. It’ll be tough to get proof of his cooperation with Jian and Turner. And, to top it all off, they just sold a majority share to a stockholder here in the US to avoid the sanctions.”
“Why am I not surprised? The Dalian Company. Where it all began,” Lacy said. “Good.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Mahle lives with her husband and two children in Arizona. Having always been a lover of books, Robin attributes her creativity to the wonderful overseas adventures she has shared with her husband of 17 years. Traveling throughout Europe and having lived in England opened her mind and with that came a steady stream of story ideas inspired by her author-idols in the mystery/suspense genre.
If you enjoyed Ms. Mahle’s work, please share your experience by leaving a review on Amazon
OTHER WORKS
Primal Deception – A Lacy Merrick Thriller (Book 1)
All the Shiny Things—A Kate Reid Novel (Book 1)
Law of Five – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 2)
Gone Unnoticed – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 3)
Blackwaters – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 4)
Endangered - A Kate Reid Novel (Book 5)
The Pretty Ones – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 6)
The Kate Reid Series Box Set (Books 1-3)
Inherent Clarity
Landslide
Beyond the Clearing
**Get Exclusive Previews of new releases, information about giveaways and so much more just by signing up to receive Robin’s Newsletter!
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