12. Delfino
12
DELFINO
I sat cross-legged amid the intelligence reports scattered across the Athens suite floor, staring at a page of fragments Oleander had uncovered about Minerva during our last call.
“You haven’t blinked in twenty minutes,” Hornet said, placing coffee beside me. Despite minimal sleep, he looked irritatingly fresh. His hand brushed my shoulder as he sat down. That casual contact sent heat straight to my core.
“Oleander found something,” I said, handing him the most intriguing document.
He scanned it, brow furrowing. “Dr. Eleanor Aldrich?”
“Former CIA Deputy Director who vanished in 2012. Not long before Irish Warrick began investigating Operation Argead.”
“The corruption network inside intelligence agencies.” Hornet and I exchanged a look.
“The same. Oleander suspects a connection between Aldrich, Argead, and Minerva.”
“Evidence?”
“Whispers. Aldrich allegedly went rogue to investigate corruption at levels Warrick couldn’t access. Then vanished—no digital footprint, no financial records.”
Hornet studied the document. “The Jekyll connection?”
“Unclear,” I admitted.
My phone buzzed with a message from Greenwich. Requested check-in from Reaper. No response.
“Right,” Hornet said, his tone off.
“What is it?”
“Amaryllis messaged me yesterday, requesting a private meeting at the Basilica. Reaper suggested going in my place.”
“She circumvented me?” My jaw tightened, irritated by both the breach in the chain of command and the easy manipulation.
“Exactly why Reaper volunteered.”
I abandoned my coffee and picked up my mobile, sending a video request.
The secure screen flickered to life, showing Amaryllis in what appeared to be her hotel room—not the Basilica.
“Delfino,” she greeted.
“Location check,” I demanded.
“My quarters, preparing for our next briefing.”
“You’re not meeting Reaper at the Basilica?”
Confusion flashed across her face. “No. I’ve been analyzing clinic records all afternoon.”
Hornet leaned in. “You messaged me yesterday, requesting a meeting at eighteen hundred hours. Alone.”
“I did not,” she replied, voice sharp.
Ice formed in my gut. “If not you…”
“It’s a trap,” Hornet said, grabbing his tactical vest.
“En route,” Amaryllis said, disconnecting.
As we geared up silently, my mind churned with possibilities. Was Jekyll attempting to lure us in once again? The FSB? Were unknown players manipulating us?
“No response,” Greenwich reported en route. “Last ping at the Basilica twenty minutes ago.”
“Then communications ceased?”
“Complete blackout. Equipment disabled or?—”
“Focus on what we know,” I cut him off. The alternative wasn’t something I was ready to consider. In these days working together, Reaper had proven himself invaluable despite his antagonizing Amaryllis at every turn.
As we raced toward the ancient ruins outside Athens, Hornet’s hand found mine. “We’ll find him.”
“They wanted you,” I said.
Hornet’s expression darkened.
The ancient Basilica stood on a hill overlooking Athens, its broken columns and partial walls a testament to time’s relentless march. We approached cautiously, Greenwich and Regent taking flanking positions as Hornet and I moved toward the central courtyard, where Reaper had last been tracked.
“Clear.” Regent’s voice came through the comms. “No immediate threat detected.”
“Spread out,” I directed. “Look for any signs of struggle or?—”
“Here,” Greenwich called from behind a fallen column. “Blood. Not much, but recent.”
My heart sank as I joined him. The small dark stain on the ancient stone was indeed fresh.
“And this,” he added, holding up a comms earpiece.
“Professional job,” Hornet observed, examining the surrounding area. “No shell casings, no footprints beyond the tourist path. They knew what they were doing.”
“They took him alive,” Amaryllis stated, arriving with her weapon drawn. Her certainty caught my attention.
“How do you know?” I challenged.
“If they wanted him dead, we’d have found a body.” Her clinical assessment betrayed no emotion, but the tension in her shoulders told a different story. “This was an extraction, not an execution.”
“The question is, by whom?” Hornet said. “And why make it look as though you requested the meeting?”
Amaryllis holstered her weapon. “Classic misdirection. Divide and conquer.”
“Incoming,” Greenwich interrupted, holding up his device. “Unknown caller using Baikal’s old encryption.”
“Connect,” Hornet ordered.
Baikal’s gravelly voice filled the ancient space. “Secure?”
“Affirmative,” Hornet replied. “What have you got?”
“My contact reports your American was taken by the FSB.”
“Who’s your source?” I asked.
“Listen carefully,” the Russian replied, ignoring my question. “Special Military Operation, or SMO, Romanov. New initiative built on old architecture.”
“Operation Argead,” Hornet said, eyes locking with mine.
“ Da . Americans dismantled much, not all. The FSB rebuilt under new management. Your target was approaching something valuable.”
“Jekyll?” I asked.
“Or his intelligence.” Baikal’s tone sharpened. “They’re keeping your American alive for interrogation. Perhaps forty-eight hours before they move him from Greece.”
“Location?” Amaryllis interjected.
“My sources suggest multiple temporary holding facilities throughout Greece.”
“Greenwich, coordinate surveillance on potential sites,” I ordered after Hornet’s call with Baikal ended. “Amaryllis, leverage the NSA for SMO Romanov intel.”
The team dispersed, but Hornet and I stayed where we were.
“SMO Romanov could make Argead look like child’s play.”
“Understood,” I muttered.
At headquarters, Amaryllis worked the NSA channels while Greenwich and Regent established surveillance parameters.
“The NSA confirms SMO Romanov rumors,” Amaryllis reported. “Russian operation inheriting Argead’s infrastructure.”
“Target profile?” Hornet asked.
“Intelligence personnel, diplomats, politicians—anyone with sensitive knowledge or access. Purpose unclear,” Amaryllis said. “Also, I might have something on Minerva. Fragments, but…”
“Let’s hear it,” I prompted.
“There are whispers about some kind of independent operation connected to Dr. Aldrich after she left the CIA. Intelligence-community rumors suggest she didn’t simply retire.”
“Meaning?” Hornet’s skepticism was evident.
“She may have established something outside traditional structures,” Amaryllis explained. “Details are scarce, deliberately obscured.”
“And Jekyll?” I pressed.
She hesitated. “If there’s a connection…”
“If…” I said under my breath. Long gone was the naive sixteen-year-old who thought her stepfather was a hero. I’d spent the last three months unable to understand how he could’ve faked his own death and left my mother and me on our own. There’d been a time I would’ve wanted to believe the best about him. Not anymore.
Hornet’s hand found mine under the table. “It would suggest another explanation beyond betrayal.”
“Right now, Reaper is the priority,” I said. “Then we find Jekyll and get answers.”
“Agreed,” said Hornet. “If Jekyll’s working against the same forces behind SMO Romanov…”
While the team gathered additional intelligence in order to craft a rescue mission, I stepped onto the balcony. Athens stretched before me, ancient ruins among modern structures—mirroring how my personal quest had evolved into something vastly more complex.
Hornet appeared beside me. “Processing?”
“Jekyll,” I said, feeling his arm slide around my waist. “Trying to be realistic.”
“What happens next?”
I studied him. “What do you mean?”
“When this ends. Jekyll, Reaper, all of it.” His gaze held intensity and rare vulnerability. “What’s our next mission?”
The question blindsided me. Since leaving London, I’d lived moment to moment, lead to lead, never contemplating beyond my immediate objectives. But Hornet was asking about something I hadn’t permitted myself to consider.
“The coalition won’t exactly throw a welcome-back party,” I said.
“Typhon might actually kill me,” he agreed, mouth quirking.
“Not while I’m breathing,” I said.
His expression softened, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“We should—” I began.
“Regent has confirmation,” Greenwich interrupted from inside. “Multiple FSB sites active.”
We found the team studying thermal imagery of various locations around Athens.
“Signal analytics reveal scattered thermal anomalies,” Regent reported. “Multiple potential spots across Athens, including shipping districts and commercial zones.”
“FSB protocols?” Hornet asked.
“Evidence of their presence at three sites,” Greenwich confirmed. “Can’t determine which might hold Reaper. They’re using sophisticated countersurveillance measures.”
“Deliberately dispersed,” Amaryllis noted. “Classic misdirection. They know we’re looking.”
I examined the marked locations on the digital map. “We can’t investigate all simultaneously with our current resources.”
“We need reinforcements,” Hornet said, catching my eye. “Doc and Merrigan Butler should be briefed. Reaper is officially on their payroll as is his brother, Blackjack. We should also request support from Unit 23, MI6, and the coalition.”
“I’ll contact Typhon now. He can arrange for support from other branches of SIS as well as from Nemesis.”
“I planned to contact Ares so I can also request coalition support.”
Ares was married to Nemesis, the coalition commander, as well as being Reaper’s immediate supervisor in his role as part of the US task force. Hornet’s approach made sense, and I said so.
“Delfino.” Typhon answered on the first ring.
“The FSB has Reaper,” I said. “Operation called SMO Romanov.”
Silence. “Location?”
“Athens. We have partial intelligence suggesting possible FSB facilities in the area, but nothing concrete.”
“Four hours. Stay put.” His tone altered slightly. “Status?”
“Operational. Hornet present. We’re requesting full backup support.”
“Roger that.” There was a brief pause. “Reinforcements confirmed. En route within the hour.”
“I appreciate this, Typhon.”
His tone switched from Unit 23 commander to my guardian. “He’s one of our own, Kima.”
“Understood.” I returned to the makeshift command center. “Typhon is en route with additional support. ETA approximately six hours.” Knowing Typhon, they’d be in the air quicker than that. However, we needed to deploy our op as soon as we had something concrete to go on.
“Ares is calling in favors with US National Reconnaissance as well as making contact with the Butlers. He anticipates full deployment of their team within a few hours.”
When the rest returned to preparations, Hornet pulled me aside.
“Multiple potential sites complicates things,” he said quietly. “I’m going to suggest something you may not be in favor of.”
“You want to ask Jekyll for support.”
“It won’t hurt to ask.”
“Do it,” I said, looking over his shoulder and finding Amaryllis paying close attention to our conversation. When I gave Hornet permission to proceed, she turned and walked out of the room.
“What was that all about?” Hornet asked, noticing the same thing I had.
“No clue, but I can tell you this much, if she interferes with Reaper’s rescue in any way, she’ll be out.”