Chapter 3 #2
“The operational security concerns are significant,” Brenna warned. “These people have been operating successfully for two years without detection. They’re skilled at identifying law enforcement operatives, federal agents, and anyone else who doesn’t belong in their world.”
Alice loaded the behavioral analysis charts. “They’re looking for social markers—how you handle money, what you drink, how you interact with service staff, the way you discuss business opportunities. Any deviation from the expected behavior will raise their hackles.”
“And if we slip up?” I asked.
“They disappear,” Kodiak stated flatly. “These aren’t street criminals who panic when threatened. They have the resources to vanish completely if they detect law enforcement interest.”
“So no pressure.”
Brenna’s face turned serious. “This is a one-shot op. If we’re blown tomorrow night, the entire network will shut down and I’ll lose my only chance to prosecute them.”
“Which is why we’ve established multiple contingency plans,” Tank assured us. “If you need to abort, if you’re compromised, or if you discover immediate threats to other targets, we have extraction and evidence preservation procedures in place.”
“What about when they try to phish us?” I asked.
“You’ll need to appear to fall for the attacks while actually providing us with access to their systems,” said Alice. “It’s a delicate balance—seem vulnerable enough to encourage them, but not so careless that they believe you’re feeding them false information.”
“We’ll have cybersecurity specialists monitoring your devices around the clock,” Dragon added. “We’ll help you respond in ways that encourage their continued interest while protecting actual classified information.”
Brenna scanned the team. “Anything else?”
Alice highlighted recent surveillance photos.
“We’ve identified three additional couples who will be at tomorrow’s event who we suspect are already working with the network.
Watching their behavior and interactions will give you models for how successful recruits operate within these social settings. ”
Brenna waited for questions. None came. “Then, we’re set. Thank you all for your support on this.”
“I’m heading to JFK now. I’ll arrive in San Fran by seventeen hundred,” Kodiak announced.
“Gotcha.”
“I’m staying in the city so we won’t bump into each other,” he muttered, looking at me with a glint in his eye.
“Copy that,” I responded
“Atticus, a private word?” Admiral requested.
The rest of the team signed off their individual connections, and Brenna left the room and went upstairs, leaving Admiral and me alone.
“What’s your comfort level with this assignment?”
“Ready to proceed. The briefing clarified several important considerations about their methodologies.”
“Is there anything about the personal dynamics between you and Brenna that might affect mission success?”
“They might actually enhance our cover authenticity,” I offered carefully. “Genuine attraction is difficult to fake convincingly.”
He raised a brow. “As long as you can maintain focus when the situation requires it, I’ll let your last statement go.
The people buying what these tech guys are selling are dangerous, not social dilettantes.
If they sense deception, they won’t just ghost. They’ll act to eliminate perceived threats. ”
“Copy that. Anything else you wanted to talk about?”
“Just remember that sometimes the most dangerous moment in an undercover operation is when you start to believe your own cover story.”
Once he signed off, I sat, processing what I’d learned in the briefing and the risks we’d be facing.
This wasn’t just about infiltrating social events and gathering evidence.
We were up against professionals who killed people to protect their criminal enterprise.
I closed my laptop and went upstairs to look for Brenna.
“That was thorough,” she said when I walked into the bedroom.
“Intense,” I agreed. “Not unlike K19’s typical approach.”
“Which means we need to be absolutely convincing at this mixer,” she said, closing her laptop. “No room for hesitation or uncertainty.”
“We could spend the rest of today preparing,” I suggested. “Cover story rehearsal, behavioral synchronization, contingency planning.”
“Agreed.” Her tone was professional, but something flickered in her eyes. “Where should we start?”
“Do you want to do this here or take it downstairs?”
“Definitely downstairs,” she decided, immediately getting off the bed.
We took a seat at the dining table where we’d been before, and I opened our fabricated background files. “If they probe our supposed vulnerabilities, we need consistent, believable responses about why we might be motivated to consider illegal income sources.”
For the next two hours, we immersed ourselves in preparation. We rehearsed responses to hypothetical recruitment approaches, developed consistent backstories for our relationship and professional histories, and synchronized our behavioral responses to various social scenarios.
“How would you respond if Morrison approached you privately and offered a legitimate consulting contract worth three times your normal rate?” she asked.
“Express interest, but mention that my current security clearance work restricts certain types of private consulting. Create an opening for him to suggest alternative arrangements that might bypass official channels.”
“Good. And if he asks about the economic pressure?”
“Mention the delayed government contracts, express frustration with bureaucratic payment delays, and suggest that I’m considering expanding into private sector work to reduce dependence on federal contracts.”
She nodded approvingly. “My turn. You’re Liu, and you’re probing my fund’s performance pressure.”
“Mrs. Nolan, I’ve been following your fund’s portfolio performance. Impressive work, but I imagine your investors are demanding higher returns in the current market environment.”
“They always want more,” she responded, diving into role-playing. “Especially when they see other funds posting fifteen, twenty percent gains. Sometimes I wonder if they understand that legitimate investments have ethical constraints that limit potential profits.”
“Interesting perspective. Have you ever considered opportunities that might exist outside traditional ethical frameworks?”
“What kind of opportunities?”
Perfect. She’d created the opening without appearing eager or suspicious.
“That was excellent,” I said. “You sounded genuinely frustrated. Curious about possibilities without seeming prepared for illegal proposals.”
“Thanks. This feels more natural than I expected.”
“Because you’re essentially playing yourself in an alternate reality. Same smarts, same competence, just with a different moral flexibility.”
She smiled. “Speaking of moral flexibility, we should probably address the physical chemistry component of our cover. I was thinking we should go out.”
Physical chemistry. I felt like we had that in spades. “Out?”
“You know, maybe a romantic dinner later? We need to be comfortable with casual intimate contact in public settings.”
She was absolutely right. We’d need to look our parts convincingly, particularly since our cover story was that we hadn’t been married long.
“So, dinner?” I closed my laptop and pushed it to the side. “I mean, no reason not to start now.”
She raised a brow. “Okay…”
I stood and held my hand out. “Come with me.” I led her to the living room sofa, settling in the center and patting the cushion. “Sit here.”
As she sat down, I shifted closer so my thigh was pressed against hers.
“Better,” I murmured. “Now, rest your hand on my thigh like you do it all the time.”
Her fingers settled closer to my knee, I moved them up, then put my arm around her. She relaxed into me immediately.
“How does this feel?” I asked.
“Natural,” she admitted. “Surprisingly so.”
“Good. Because this needs to look effortless.”
“What about the rest?” she pressed.
“Such as?”
“You know, kissing in public, extended physical contact, appearing genuinely passionate about each other.”
The implications of that statement sent heat racing through my system.
“We should probably practice that too,” I suggested. “So it looks authentic when it matters.”
Before she could respond, I moved one hand to the side of her face and leaned forward close enough that our lips almost connected. Then I waited. Her hands came up to frame my face, and I dove in. The kiss was different than this morning’s. More purposeful, less exploratory.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing harder.
“That should work,” I managed, winking.