53. GRAYSON
53
GRAYSON
“How did you get this?” I asked.
The office’s air clung to my skin as muted lights illuminated Barry’s face.
“You know my history.”
Yes. Ex-CIA. But this…I was staring at classified, confidential papers from the US government. I was hoping for…well, something specific that would make it obvious Daniel was the one who manufactured evidence against Ivy. This…this was so much more.
“Intelligence isn’t impenetrable,” he continued, “despite what people hope. I’ve built a team of the best in the business—many of which have intelligence and security backgrounds.”
“Should we be worried about our enemies breaching it?” I wondered aloud, arching a brow.
“We have entire branches of the United States government working to combat that, and I know where and how to look. Now, is that what you really want to talk about today?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “No.”
I was tired of the days bleeding together, one after the next, in a heightened state of panic. It felt like we were running out of time and luck, so meeting Barry here today couldn’t have come sooner.
We’d taken every precaution to finally meet, but nothing was foolproof. Flanked by Barry’s grim-faced team, Seth, Jace, Bryson, and Hunter leaned against the wall while Ivy clutched her mother’s hand.
“From what I’ve pieced together…” Barry laid down a fresh set of papers. “Daniel started clean. Typical operative, moving up the ranks. A rising star, until about four years ago.” He laid out a grainy photo of Daniel with another guy. “This man is a known associate of Ivan Vosch.”
My gut plummeted with realizations, mixed with questions.
This confirmed Daniel was in bed with Vosch, and if that was true, then Vosch likely knew about that assassination attempt. Otherwise, I’d imagine Daniel would be dead by now for not having warned him. But if Vosch knew about the termination attempt, why did Vosch show up?
It made no sense—a massive hole I couldn’t piece together—but the bigger headline here was that no matter which way you sliced that, Daniel hadn’t just risked Ivy’s life in that garage; he’d risked mine, too. The man I’d trusted had thrown me to the wolves.
I thought back to the bomb and how it had activated. I’d assumed it was from Vosch’s car bumping into it when he’d sped away, but looking back…had Daniel triggered that bomb himself? To eliminate loose ends and save his own skin?
“One day after this meeting”—Barry tapped a form—“suspicious transactions appeared in Daniel’s accounts. The accounts were nearly impossible to track down, of course.”
Jesus.
“We need to ensure anything we present to the CIA is bulletproof. Anything short of that will mean a death sentence for Ivy. And me,” I added.
“It’s bulletproof,” Barry assured. “Bottom line: in Daniel’s career, there are three separate assassinations that are, at best, questionable. Daniel’s gone rogue. Unsanctioned hits, leaking intel…he’s gone off the deep end.” Barry shoved his hands into his pockets. “Now for the good news. Looks to me like he has not pulled support from the CIA to hunt Ivy.”
“I thought the evidence was already in their hands?”
“Her abduction wasn’t sanctioned. He’s trying to contain this.”
I knew it. “So, he’s working alone?”
“Didn’t say that,” Barry clarified. “He wrangled up those men to abduct her, so chances are, he’s wrangled up more to find her. But the CIA, at the moment, does not appear to be involved. My guess is, he’s building a case against her, so when she…” He paused. “ If she were to wind up dead, he’d claim it was a clean termination.”
I couldn’t believe the lengths Daniel was going through to kill an innocent civilian in order to shield his association with the very criminal he was tasked with eliminating.
It was impossible to reconcile the father figure who’d taken me under his wing with this vile human he’d become.
“Did you find out why he did all this?”
“From what I’ve gathered about Vosch so far, he likes to have inside men within the organizations that threaten his livelihood. How he obtains them varies, but in this case, it appears he went with old-fashioned threats. Daniel kept some evidence of those threats on file, probably back when he was trying to fight against it, but at some point, Daniel must have become too scared to resist anymore.”
“Daniel said something about Vosch going after his son,” Ivy said. “Maybe that was the turning point.”
Barry nodded. “With a little more time, I can likely confirm that’s it. And once Daniel gave him a little intel, Vosch could blackmail him further into submission.”
Jesus. It made sense—the charges and repercussions Daniel would face would be huge.
“We need to be precise about how we bring this to the CIA,” I said. “Barry, you still have leadership contacts there?”
He nodded. “Many.”
“Would it be possible for you to bring this information to several of them at the same time?” I asked.
“I have seven in mind,” Barry said.
“Good. Seth, you bring this to your old handler at the same time Barry does that. If we time the information being delivered, even if one or more of those people have been compromised, all we need is one to run this information up the chain and put Daniel to a stop. But this has to drop at the same time for it to be effective.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible. But first, we have to come up with a safe location for Ivy and my family. Someplace where Daniel can’t locate them.”
I knew confronting the CIA would put us all at risk, but it was a risk we had to take. The truth had to come out, and justice had to be served.
I turned to face the window, my gaze drawn to the darkening sky. Somewhere out there, Daniel was plotting his next move, unaware that we were closing in on him. The game was about to change, and I was ready to play my hand.