by Cara Carnes
“We know she was sent into Probus and that Knightwind recognized her somehow,” Zoey said.
“Yes. I still don’t know how, but their intelligence gathering is far superior than most. They captured her, forced her to infiltrate The Collective. They wanted to gather what they could to ingratiate themselves with The Arsenal. She paid the price for that.”
“You knew The Collective had her. Why didn’t you tell us?” Vi asked, her voice low.
“How would I have explained knowing that? I’d heard from Knightwind that their plan went wrong. Besides, I knew you were already hunting down The Collective at that point.” He shrugged. “I knew your paths would cross.”
“They could’ve killed her,” Nolan growled.
“She is far too valuable alive. Or was. If they’d known her father declared her dead, she would’ve died. They couldn’t figure out who she was. No one could.”
“You should have told us once we rescued her,” Mary said.
“Any lie would’ve worked. You seem to be good at those,” Ram commented.
“She’s who the former Mossad agent wants,” Vi guessed. “Why?”
“I don’t know. It was a risk I couldn’t take, though.” Bob’s lips trembled. “Even though the bastard took my kids to force my hand.”
“Who is he?”
“Jaron Cohen. High up within Mossad before he was classified as rogue and branded a traitor,” Bob said. “His…his brother worked with Lily often.”
“What’s her real name?” Marshall asked.
“Leora. Leora Avraham.”
Vi’s fingers froze on the keyboard. Her lips thinned.
Yeah, anyone who’d ever worked in the Middle East recognized Avraham if they’d ever done intelligence work. The Quillery Edge had likely worked with him many times over the years.
“You let him think she’s dead,” Mary whispered. “Why?”
“She couldn’t go back home. It’s best for them both. For her. She never should’ve been in that life.”
“That’s not your call to make,” Mia spat, her anger striking the room. “You have a lot of sins to pay for, but that one is unforgivable.”
“Agreed.” Marshall’s gaze cut to the wall behind Bob. “We have what we need. Secure him in detainment. I’m sure we’ll have follow-up questions soon.”
Ram shifted his stance and let the silence unfold around him. All the women were typing away on their laptops. Jesse was talking with Nolan and Marshall in the corner. The latter held a phone in front of him. Whomever was on the conference call was likely still listening.
“You okay?” Bree asked.
“Yeah. You?” He stroked her arms when she nodded. “We’re getting closer. We’ve got names now.”
“We do. I get the feeling there’s more to Facility Six. He freaked out.”
He had. Ram glanced over at Mary and Vi. Their focus was on the Carews right now, but they’d have to look deeper into Facility Six soon. Something was definitely up. “We’ll figure it out. We’ll get your friend out.”
“Do you think he told us everything?” Liam O’Brien asked.
“Likely not,” Mary said. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Director O’Brien.”
“Please, call me Liam.” He glanced over at Marshall. “I’m thinking we’ll be working with one another a lot very soon.”
“So I’ve heard,” Vi quipped. “You should know we’re looking into you.”
“Deep,” Zoey added.
Liam chuckled. Wrinkles formed around his mouth and eyes. Ram suspected he was in his early forties, possibly middle. “I wouldn’t expect any less. I have nothing to hide, except maybe for an addiction to cotton candy and sunflower seeds. My ex-wife could testify my life outside work is rather boring, thus the ex.”
“Everyone has a body buried somewhere,” Zoey muttered. “I’ll find yours.”
“I’m sure you will.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “I’d expect nothing less from the infamous Zero D.”
Zoey froze. Gage growled. Doug and Pierce flanked him.
Liam threw up his hands. “I’m just laying my cards on the table. I didn’t get where I am without being good at what I do. On the record, I applaud everything you’ve all done. Even the off the books work no one knows about.”
“How the fuck did you know then?” Gage asked.
“As I said, I’m good at what I do.” Liam crossed his arms. “The FBI may celebrate the windfalls they’ve had in the trafficking industry lately, but I’ve learned nothing that good comes without a lot of hard work by someone. It’s a shame credit can’t be given where it should. We’d all sleep a bit easier if there were more people like you in this world, Zero.”
“It’s Zoey.” The woman blinked a few times. “I’m still looking into you.”
“Good. I’ll forward the names of everyone who’ll be assisting me. I hand-selected my team and vetted them as good as I could, but my ability to do that is nowhere near HERA’s.” His expression turned grim. “It saddens me we can’t trust those we work with. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I have every confidence we’ll clean a lot of houses.”
“Bree,” Marshall said. “A moment.”
Ram froze. Marshall walked Bree out of the room. What the fuck was going on now?
18
Bree looked around as she sat in front of Marshall’s desk. “I’ve never been in here before.”
“Not many have,” Marshall said as he sat. His gaze swept the photo montage along the wall. “That keeps me focused when things go sideways. Protecting those we love is what matters.”
It was. Bree breathed deeper. Whatever he’d called her in for was important. She licked her lips. “Is there something I can do to help you?”
“I’m hoping so, but I need to reconnect my call from earlier. The decisions are yours to make, Bree. Don’t feel any pressure to agree. I’m here to support whatever you decide, okay?”
Uh oh. Bree nodded.
Marshall pulled out his cell and punched a few buttons.
“That was quicker than I expected,” a voice said.
“I’m here with Bree Geissinger, Mr. President.” Marshall’s lips upturned when she gasped. “I haven’t spoken with her about anything. I figured you’d prefer to do that.”
“Yes. Ms. Geissinger, I’ve heard a lot of great things about your work from Marshall,” the president said. “He and my son were in a unit together. We grew quite close.”
“That’s good.” What the heck was going on?
The president chuckled. “I can see you’re probably wanting to know why you’re here. We’re in quite a predicament at the moment with Bob. While I’d love to toss him in a dark cell and throw away the key, he knows a great deal that could cause significant issues for a lot of people.”
Bree nodded. “I can certainly see that would be a problem. I’d imagine many international incidents could occur if he’s not handled properly, but I’m not sure how I can help with that.”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine. We need a way to keep him contained. Quiet. The things he’s done are horrifying, and I’m sure we’ve yet to uncover many of the poor decisions he’s made. I’ll be replacing him immediately, of course. It was my intention to do so anyway.” The president paused. “My term just started, though. It’s in everyone’s best interests to not let much of what we’ve found out see the light of day.”
“Understandable,” Bree said. She swallowed. “And getting rid rid of him isn’t an option either. That’d bring more light to the problem.”
“Yes. Then there’s the issue of this puppet master he had.” Anger filled the man’s words. “I hate knowing that group has likely penetrated many people within our government and there’s very little we can do to combat that. For now.”
“You’re worried they’ll kill him,” she guessed.
“That is a concern, a very valid one,” Marshall said. “We need some intense outside-the-box thinking, Bree. Something that will ensur
e he’s not a threat to us or Probus. We need him neutralized.”
Right. The man was more of an asshole than Bree imagined. He hadn’t even asked about his kids once during the meeting. He’d been so concerned about covering his ass he’d left them with their kidnappers and hired a freaking mercenary group to protect himself. Who did that?
She expended a heavy sigh and let her brain work the problem. He thought about no one but himself when shit hit the fan, which meant he’d give up anything he knew if cornered. He’d just proven that.
So how could they keep him quiet?
“I suppose Jud ripping his tongue out isn’t an option?” She let the question loom a minute and smiled when Marshall laughed. Damn. The man needed to smile more.
“I’m afraid that’s not an option,” the president said.
“Okay, so…” She thrummed her fingers on Marshall’s desk. An idea took root. “This sounds a bit nuts, but I promise an alien hasn’t taken me over.”
“I’m listening,” Marshall said, his eyes crinkling in the corners when he smiled. “Talk it out.”
“Okay. He’s old and not exactly in the best shape,” Bree said. “Neutralizing a problem without gaining attention would typically be handled by making it seem natural or accidental, right?”
“Yes, but we aren’t looking to neutralize him,” the president said.
“Yes, but I’m thinking about the end result if that is necessary.” She took a deep breath and fought to ignore the fact that the freaking President of the United States was listening to her particular band of crazy ideas.
Pretend it’s Ram.
“Let’s keep the solution simple,” she said. “I can load a power supply for my micro drones into one of the implants we use for the trackers. Shoot it into him, warn him not to be stupid, and let him go.”
“And what would that do?”
“Depends. We could program several options into the power supply. Option one would be like a taser from the inside. It’d knock him out, but not cause any permanent damage. We could level up from there, with the final option being something that would mimic a complete system shutdown. It’d mimic a heart attack and be completely undetectable.”
“Except for the implant housing,” Marshall said, amusement in his eyes.
“Meh, I have one that’d burn off. I started thinking we might need to destroy trackers if an operative is burned in the field or goes rogue.” She shrugged. “I could make something that’d melt when the power supply is turned up too high.”
“And is that something you’d be comfortable doing?” The president’s question clanked around in her mind a few heartbeats.
The answer spilled out quickly. “Of course. The son of a bitch betrayed my friends. Repeatedly. One of our teams almost died yesterday because if him and his stupid games. I wouldn’t lose a single night’s sleep doing this.”
“Good, let’s make it happen. What will you need?”
Hmm… that was quick. Bree took a deep breath. “I know you probably want to keep this contained to just a few people, but I need either Mary, Vi, or Zoey involved. One of them will have to segregate a section of HERA to run the implant. I’d also want them to verify my programming. I’m not nearly as good at that as they are.”
“Marshall? Thoughts?”
“Zoey, Mr. President.” Marshall leaned forward. “Mary and Vi would be fine with it, but they’re too close to this. They’ve got a lot of baggage to work through from what he’s done. Zoey’s in the right frame of mind to handle this without hesitation.”
“Yeah, she’s definitely pro-grenade,” Bree mumbled.
Laughter sounded from the phone. “Let me know what you need, Marshall. Facility Six is an issue we’ll need to handle quietly, though. I don’t trust either side of Knightwind to run that location.”
“I’m sure we’ll find even more problems once we have more intel,” Bree said.
“Agreed,” Marshall said. “I’ll be in touch.” He clicked off. Silence loomed a few breaths. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Bree nodded. “I am. There’s very little I wouldn’t do to protect everyone here, Marshall. You know that.”
“I do, which is why when he asked for suggestions, I immediately thought of you.” He leaned back in his chair. “Everyone thinks Edge is our lethal solution, and she is. But you’re the real weapon—the one we rely on more than anyone. I’m sorry it took me a while to see that.”
Bree basked in the praise within the man’s words. “Thank you. It’ll take a few days to get something ready. I have a lot of eyes on me right now.”
“Understood. I’m thinking most everyone will be busy very soon.” His voice softened. “We’ll get Shelly out of there, Bree. You have my word.”
“Thanks.” She stood. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready. I won’t tell Zoey about it until we’re ready to implant. She works best without a lot of warning.”
Bree knew the conversation she’d just had should’ve freaked her out, but it didn’t. Marshall was trusting her to be the endgame to protect everyone at The Arsenal from anything Bob could share. He knew way more than he should. If her idea worked, it’d keep everyone safe.
Hopefully.
More importantly, it’d keep Probus from making a move—assuming she could warn them off. Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun, but if it kept Ram off their radar, she’d do it. She’d do anything to protect him.
She opted not to return to the whiteboard room even though she’d love to see Ram again. God, her mind drifted back to him easily. The warm sun struck her when she exited the building. Although her brain was already knee-deep in thinking about the tech she’d just promised to make, it’d have to wait.
“Hey.” Bree turned toward the voice. Mia closed the distance quickly. “So, you and boss man disappeared quick. Everything okay?”
“Yep.” Unsure what else to say, she kept quiet.
“Right. So, we have a green light to start dealing with Gavin.” Amusement glimmered in the woman’s eyes. “You ready?”
Oh yeah. More than ready. “What’s the plan?”
“We have permission to out him, let him know we know about Melanie.” Mia stretched her arms out above her head. “I have a plan, one that’ll change depending on how he reacts. Just play along and remember none of what I’m saying is true. Okay?”
Bree nodded. “I know you’re good at this sort of stuff.”
“We’re about to find out how good.” Mia smirked. “You know how to push his buttons. I’ve been working that for a while, making sure he sees me arguing with some operatives around here. Breaking into his place and moving random shit around. I’ve kept him tweaked long enough. He should be nice and ripe for the takedown.”
Oh boy. She could only imagine what all the woman had done. Bree almost wished she’d witnessed it herself. “Not sure that’s true. You know, me knowing his buttons.”
“I have faith. Let’s do this. Keep your focus on getting Shelly out. He played that card. Let him think it worked. You’re really worried about getting her out.”
“I am,” Bree admitted.
“Hone that into your weapon. Let the emotion flow.”
Weapon. Okay, she could do that.
Bree nodded and followed the woman as she wound her way around the building. They found their quarry sitting at one of the picnic tables Burton Construction had added to The Arsenal. Multiple playgrounds and eating areas now filled the landscape, making the compound feel more like a small town than an operational base.
“I’m telling you what I saw, okay? This is a big problem, one I can’t fix alone. I need backup. Now.” The man’s gaze cut to Mia and Bree. His eyes widened. “I have to go.”
“Don’t stop talking on our account,” Bree said. “I haven’t seen you. I really need to talk. This is Mia, by the way. I’m not sure if you’ve officially met yet.”
“We haven’t.” He offered his hand. “Your reputation precedes you, my dear. I’m looking forward to hear
ing how you managed to break someone out of an impenetrable facility.”
“I bet you are.” Mia shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t kiss and tell without reason. Give me a good reason, and I might talk.” She took a step forward into his personal space. “I bet you’d have lots of interesting things to share.”
Gavin leered. Bastard. Bree shuddered. How had she ever found him attractive?
“Gavin, I needed to talk with you. Mary and Vi don’t want to help get Shelly out. They’ll offer their opinions and help strategize, but…” Bree let all the anger and fear assail her. Tears formed in her eyes. “They don’t think she’s worth the risk.”
“It’s bullshit,” Mia said. “Total crap. Fuck them, Bree.”
“We don’t need them,” Gavin said. “You and Mia are the ones who know how to do this. Your tech secures the facility. With her skills, we can do this without them. I’ll help. That’s why I came.”
“A real knight in shining armor, huh?” Mia flashed a coy smile and moved to sit atop the picnic table. She hopped up easily despite her short stature. Her feet thumped heavily on the seating area. “So, Gavin. I’ve heard quite a few interesting things about Knightwind. I can’t say they were very impressive.”
“Oh? What’d you hear?”
“Your civil war wasn’t a war as much as a forced removal,” Mia commented. “Not even by Knightwind. An outside group cherry-picked those worth keeping and tossed the rest of you out like rubbish. You blokes never stood a chance.”
Gavin fisted his hands. “That’s not what happened.”
“Oh?” Mia leaned back, resting her palms on the picnic table as she peered up at the sky. “I heard that from quite a few places. Tell me, why should I trust tossed out rubbish?”
“Bloody hell, love. You’ve got balls.”
“I’ve had quite a few balls, none of them worth keeping.” Mia shrugged as she tossed her hair back and smiled up at the sun. “You aren’t giving me any reason to give a damn about your precious facility. I don’t do something for nothing, not even for my girl here. See, I want to help her get her friend out, but everyone has a price. Mine’s too steep for her to pay.”