Chapter 4 #2
Bishop chuckled. “Cannon said you were a cocky son of a bitch. He wasn’t wrong. And yeah, kid, we’re good.”
Ethan cringed a bit at the nickname, then shifted his gaze over to her, the lethal gleam back in his eyes.
He stared until she thought she’d have to excuse herself—seek refuge in the ladies’ room—before he finally looked at Gibson.
“So, the mission… Do I get to know the details, or will I only be viewing this op from three thousand meters away?”
Gib grinned. “Make no mistake, Vale. Your skill behind a scope is immeasurable. Don’t know another mate who could make the shots you have.
And having that kind of secret weapon could be our ace in the hole.
But that’s only part of the gig.” He ran a hand through his hair, scanning the café, again.
“Let’s talk about Smyth, yeah? You’re the only one here who’s actually met the bloke. What do you know about him?”
Ethan shifted in his seat, the quick sideways dart of his eyes the only tell that he was at all uncomfortable with the question.
“Like I told Cannon and Crow, not much. He’s caucasian, shorter than me.
Looked in his late forties with dark hair, hard eyes.
He wasn’t wearing a uniform. I assumed he was CIA, but he never confirmed or denied that.
Though, he definitely has to be some kind of high-ranking asshole to have the info he did, not to mention the resources. ”
Gib nodded. “Can you walk us through your meeting?”
A glance down, this time, and Olivia knew Ethan was deciding how much he wanted to share. “The bastard approached me on a secluded stretch of beach, three days before that incident at the warehouse. Said he wanted to talk. That he had a topic I’d be interested in.”
“What were you doing on the beach?”
Ethan glanced at her for a moment, then over to Gib. “Considering my options. Not really the takeaway, here, Miller.”
“Fair enough. Is that when he brought up Anna?”
The vein in Ethan’s temple jumped at the mention of her alias, his gaze slipping to her for one agonizing heartbeat before shifting back to Gibson. “Claimed she was still alive. That he wanted to make a deal.”
Bishop leaned forward. “He wanted you to kill Slader, right?”
“I didn’t know the details, then. Just that he’d release Anna in exchange for what I did best. Obviously, I assumed it was killing someone.
I followed him to an abandoned building, then went inside.
I was given a burner cell for updates—which got destroyed in the blast—along with a very thin folder of intel.
Nothing I could use to track back to Smyth, now.
It contained coordinates for the warehouse.
A photo of who I now know is Ian Slader.
Smyth never gave me any names. Claimed Slader was a rogue CIA agent, and the people he was meeting at that warehouse were double agents, selling highly classified information.
Bastard went so far as to say I was doing a great service for my country. ”
“So, what was the plan?”
Ethan snorted. “What do you think? I was supposed to drop everyone. Retrieve whatever intel they’d unearthed, then wait for Smyth to call. Set up an exchange a couple of days later. Except…”
Gibson sighed. “Except you recognized Crow.”
“Crow never would have turned. As soon as I saw him through the scope…” He shook his head. “I knew it was all a lie.”
“So, instead of bugging out, saving yourself, you risked your arse to see we all made it out alive. Had a damn building fall on you for your efforts.”
“None of which meant anything when I thought…”
Her heart stopped. Dead weight in her chest because she knew what he’d been going to say. That it hadn’t meant anything when he thought he’d lost her, again. That he’d gotten her killed because he’d chosen to save his teammate. A man she knew he considered a brother.
Ethan glanced at his hands folded on the table.
“I haven’t had any contact with Smyth, since.
Not that I really believed he’d keep his end of the bargain.
I’d planned on hunting his ass down, but…
” Another huff. “All I do, now, is keep looking over my shoulder for the men I know he’ll send my way. Hope I can use them to find him.”
“Well, with any luck, mate, we’ll take the fight to him before his men catch up with you.” Gib reached into his jacket and removed a beige folder. He opened it then placed a photo on the table, passing it over to Ethan. “Have you ever seen this man before?”
Ethan picked up the photo—studied it—then shook his head as he placed it back on the table. “Should I?”
“A real charming bloke by the name of Conner O’Leary. Guy’s been making a name for himself throughout Europe and into the States. Specializes in solving difficult problems with a well-placed bullet.”
Ethan snorted. “He’s a hitman.”
“Of sorts. Anyway, I had a chat with him—”
“Wait.” Ethan leaned closer. “You had a chat with an assassin?”
Gibson merely shrugged, picking out a piece of paper from amidst more photos. “I had a free Friday night. Anyway, seems he was recently contracted by our friend, Agent Smyth, to manage an internal problem. Smyth gave O’Leary some names he was hoping could be dealt with.”
“Is this where you tell me he’s got my name?”
Gibson shuffled it over. “Top of the list, mate. Quite the honor. Which is why I had Bishop ask Cannon to send someone. I knew he’d be upset if he wasn’t part of the team protecting his crew. Though, it’s some of the other names on there that you might have some…issues with.”
Ethan took the paper, his mouth pursing into a tight line as he scanned the paper. “There’s most of Cannon’s unit on here, including Ellis and Kam.” Ethan looked up. “Looks like your alias is on here, too, Olivia, which hopefully means he doesn’t know your real name, yet. A common theme for you.”
Olivia let the comment go unchallenged. He wasn’t wrong.
Gibson sighed. “I assume the names I’m unfamiliar with are other agents that worked for Slader. Either way, you’ve definitely made some very powerful enemies.”
“Not everyone appreciates my charm.” He shoved the list back over. “While it’s nice to have a breakdown of who Smyth’s after, it doesn’t get us any closer to putting a bullet between his beady little eyes.”
“I’m getting to that part. And by bullet you mean bringing him in for questioning, yeah?”
Ethan smiled. “Of course.”
“Thought so.” He removed another picture and gave it to Ethan. “O’Leary was apparently dealing with Smyth via this sod. Name’s Jason Parker.”
Ethan snorted. “It’s a photo of the back of someone’s head.”
“The bloke’s careful not to get caught on camera.
I’ll grant him that much. But he’s got a tattoo behind his left ear.
Looks like some kind of family crest. Can’t imagine there are many other blokes with that same marking.
I also discovered Crow’s lass, Devlyn, was right.
Parker’s listed as a field analyst for the DIA, though, it doesn’t specify which branch or location. ”
“The Defense Intelligence Agency?”
“Devlyn mentioned that their Clandestine Service works closely with the CIA, as well as the Joint Special Operations Command, which gives them access to Special Forces operations and field operatives. Not to mention about a hundred and forty embassies around the globe. Sounds like the perfect position to pull a lot of covert strings, while maintaining the ability to cover everything up. Or simply eliminate anyone who loses their usefulness.”
Ethan nodded. “So, Smyth isn’t with the CIA.
He’s part of the DIA, too. Though, knowing that doesn’t help us get any closer to him.
Aside from the fact we don’t even know the bastard’s real name, he could be based at any one of their four regional centers.
Or, maybe holed up in a joint location with the CIA or god knows who else.
And even if he was in DC, I’m pretty sure we can’t waltz into their headquarters and accuse the man of treason without getting shot.
And I doubt there’s a good nesting spot I can camp out in while I wait for the bastard to show his face. ”
“Again, we’re trying to take the man alive. And it helps because that bloke, Parker, is part of an intelligence detail assigned to an annual retreat that’s taking place at a remote lodge right here in the North Cascades.”
Ethan straightened. “A retreat?”
“Think of it as a dark ops unofficial summit, with a few key officials from various federal organizations, including a couple of military reps, and some international guests. All together for one week of off-the-books schmoozing. Most likely the kind of deals that wouldn’t get authorization through the normal channels.
We’re talking prototype weaponry, and introductions that will keep those unauthorized missions running smoothly.
While the officials all have their own security details, the lower-level duties are outsourced to companies that are known for having former-military personnel in their ranks.
Who might be willing to overlook the fact this is all off-the-record.
Since we’re in Northern Washington, it only took a few phone calls to get Timberline Tactical on the docket. ”
Bishop grinned. “Cannon hooked me up with some of his influential contacts after he started up Wayward Souls. Thanks to their reputations and positions, it wasn’t hard to swing the deal.”
Bishop eased back in his chair. “The lodge is really more of a facility. A pretty well-guarded one. We couldn’t find any kind of blueprints.
But it’s safe to say they’ll be some underground levels no one knows about.
I expect those levels to be quite robust. I’ve flown past it a few times, and it’s massive.
Masquerades as a high scale corporate retreat when it’s not being used for covert operations.
Probably why it’s remained so elusive. Hiding in plain sight, and all that. ”