Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
I t had been so quiet for the past several days that Cassidy had nearly forgotten the impending danger they were all in. She and Warrick had several dates to the Blossom Café. They’d hung with family, Warrick had worked out with Ahmed, the town was busy celebrating Blythe and Veronica’s engagement and the baby explosion that would take place next year.
Warrick had quickly become integrated into her daily life. They had coffee together every morning before they went their separate ways to train. They met up for lunch, usually with friends or family, and then they’d have a date night and fall into bed together.
However, that was over now.
Cassidy looked out at her friends and family as they gathered at Mo and Dani’s house. Tomorrow, all the dignitaries and diplomats would arrive for the summit Veronica and Mo had pulled together. It was the Summit on International Partnerships. It was basically a way to mix and mingle with international counterparts to form deals and to work together for better trade, security, intelligence, and partnerships.
The security plan had been worked out with Cassidy, Mo, Ahmed, Nabi, Nash, Matt, Cy, Miles, Greer, Elizabeth, and Warrick.
“I need servers,” Cassidy told the group. “People to blend in and listen for gossip.”
“That should be us,” Miss Lily said as she looked at her sisters and Marcy.
“I want you at the dessert table we’ll have set up. Grandma made pies and Poppy and Zinnia made cookies,” Cassidy told them.
“Poppy and I can serve,” Zinnia said, looking at her sister.
“So can I,” Nabi and Grace’s daughter, Faith, told them.
“Me too,” Grace added.
“We can, unless you need me with the sheriff’s department,” Andy said of himself and his girlfriend, Tandy.
“We can,” Camila and Evie said in unison.
“Perfect,” Cassidy said, pulling them over to discuss what she needed them to do as Warrick took over.
“Pam and her flame throwing Hummer will be in barn at the ready,” Warrick said. “Pam, I’m texting you a playlist of power ballads in case you need them.”
Pam gave him the thumbs-up.
“The royal family, Sebastian, and I will be mingling as invited guests,” Greer told the crowd. “Veronica will run intelligence communications. Pass all information you pick up to the Rose sisters or my grandma. No one will notice if one of them goes to Veronica. For those on the security detail, it should only be her voice you hear over your comms. Ahmed will tell you where your security posts will be.”
Cassidy called out groups of her family and friends. Sheriff’s department, fire department, and her family were divided into groups and Ahmed told them their assigned areas. Most were undercover. Some were put in assistant roles and some were literally hiding in rooms, up trees, or on roofs.
“Everyone know what their job is?” Warrick asked. She could tell he was getting nervous. He’d been quiet all day as they finished the planning and worked around the farm, setting up spying and target locations.
“We got you, Warrick,” Father Ben said. He was an invited guest who would lead an opening blessing with various other men and women of different faiths. What they didn’t know was that Ben was Special Forces trained and would be Warrick’s direct backup.
“Did I miss the fun?”
Fifty people turned and aimed their weapons at the little man standing at the door.
“Jesus!” someone gasped.
“Again, I’m Jewish,” Humphrey said, shaking his head as Father Ben said, “I’m just his messenger.”
“Humphrey, you have got to stop popping up without warning,” Elizabeth said in exasperation as she lowered her gun. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“I needed to share an update with you all,” Humphrey told the group as he entered the café. “Do I smell apple cobbler?”
Poppy raced to grab him a slice and practically shoved it at him. “What information do you have?”
Humphrey took his time savoring the first bite and groaning as he ate it. A wooden spoon flashed and smacked his hand. “I will part your hair with my next whack like parting the Red Sea if you don’t tell us why you’re here.”
Humphrey smiled. “Ah, a reference I get. I’m here because someone approached the president this afternoon about Warren Hawkins.”
“Who?” Warrick asked, his whole body tensing up as Cassidy took his hand in his in a show of silent support.
“Sutton Ramsey,” Humphrey said with a frown as the café exploded in discussion.
“No way,” Val said. “We’ve worked with her in Italy. She doesn’t know who we are, but she was all-in helping us.”
“Birch felt the same, so he asked her where she heard it. She told Birch that it was all over her office. She heard two people talking about in in the elevator. She came to ask Birch because the murder of Ambassador and Mrs. Hawkins was a huge State Department failure and she wanted to know what she could do to help,” Humphrey told them.
“I don’t think it’s Sutton,” Elizabeth told them thoughtfully, “but it does seem to be coming from within the State Department. Are they the only one’s talking about it?”
“Yes,” Humphrey told them. “I even went to several other higher ups at State and elsewhere. I met with congressional party leaders. I talked to all the directors of the intelligence agencies. I even spoke with several members of congressional committees. No one mentioned it.”
“Who is coming from the State Department?” Cassidy asked.
“Sutton, Secretary of State, Jacob Alexander who is the Deputy Secretary of State, Tim Kelsey who is the head of Diplomatic Security, and Heather Ring who is the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security,” Warrick said as Kale and Delaney instantly got to work on their laptops.
“Okay, we’ll pay special attention to them tomorrow,” Warrick finally said. “Thanks for telling us, Mr. Orville.”
“You won’t be the only one. The president has asked for them all to fly on Air Force One with him. He’s sticking Tate on them,” Humphrey told them.
“Good,” Elizabeth said. “Tate is great at ferreting out information.”
“The first lady?” Warrick asked. Cassidy could tell he didn’t like it. His jaw was tight and he was trying not to squeeze her hand too hard.
Elizabeth nodded. “She was part of our group. She was a reporter who saw behind the curtain. She’s good. Very good.”
“I’m putting all my trust in a president I don’t know or trust, his wife, who was a reporter, and a man who likes to sneak up on people? I should have just done this myself. The obvious answer is that the Secretary of State is in on it. She is rumored to be running for president. She has access to diplomatic security. She has access to Culpepper. She has access to Branson Ames. She has access to foreign leaders and foreign rebels.” Warrick’s voice grew louder and louder as he spoke and finally, he yanked his hand from Cassidy’s and began to pace.
“Stop.” The single word command came from Ahmed. “It does no good to let your brain run wild. Get it together, soldier.” Warrick snapped to attention and took a deep breath. “Little man, we will meet with the president and his wife before the summit opens. Make it happen. Mo will go over the details with Veronica and we’ll get back to you.”
“Yes, sir,” Humphrey snapped. “Such a pleasure to be in the presence of the Ahmed. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”
“Now,” Ahmed said, coming to stand in front of Warrick, forcing Warrick’s attention on himself. “We have a lead. Kale, Delaney, what do we know about the suspects?”
“Sutton Ramsey was the youngest Secretary of State in history at thirty-three and is posed to possibly be the youngest president, having turned thirty-five just six months before the election. She’s single with no children. She is well-respected. Doesn’t put up with disrespect from any quarter and was an Olympic fencer. No noticeable contact with Culpepper or Houser. Any contact with Crusina has been with Deming but Jin was cc’d to some of the emails. Those emails dealt solely with visit itineraries. By all accounts, she runs a clean ship,” Kale told them.
“Jacob Alexander, forty-one years old. Also single with no children. He’s a career politician specializing in international relations. He works closely with Sutton, and from what I can see, has never been to Crusina or contacted either Deming or Jin. No contact with Culpepper or Houser or any emails as far as we know. His email search, similarly to Sutton, shows no keywords for Warren Hawkins,” Delaney explained before getting back to work on her computer.
“Tim Kelsey,” Kale said, picking back up. “Fifty-eight years old. He’s been the head of diplomatic security for two years. He’s been in contact with Crusina and specifically Jin Kuzmin, who we know was a traitor. However, it appears the contact was in the course of regular business. Tim started as a DS agent at twenty-five and worked his way up from low-tier posts to more powerful ones until he joined the leadership team when he was forty-five. Since then, he’s slowly been climbing the executive ranks. He’s been married three times. He’s been with his current wife for ten years. He has two children. Both from his first marriage. They’re both in their twenties now.”
“Lastly,” Delaney said, still looking at her computer. “Heather Ring. She’s forty years old, married to an investment banker. They were college sweethearts. No children, but it looks as if they’re inquiring about adoption. She has her degree in political science and was ROTC, having served four years in the Middle East after college graduation. I see several emails with Crusina’s military department. I believe some of them are the men who were found guilty of crimes against the citizens of Crusina. Again, though, all the emails appear work related.”
“Okay,” Ahmed said, glancing around. “Kori,” he said of the young man in his late twenties who Cassidy knew was new to Keeneston. He was Nash’s mentee. “You flirt with the secretary of state. See if you can find anything out.”
“Yes, sir,” Kori said with a nod of his head.
“Faith,” Ahmed ordered after getting a nod from Nabi. “You flirt with Jacob.”
“I can do that.” She was a college senior now and would be perfect as a flirtatious waitress.
“Nikki,” Ahmed said, calling out the queen of the Keeneston Belles. They were a charitable group of single women looking for husbands. “I know you’re with Sam. Let’s hope some of his FBI training has worn off. You flirt with Tim and see if you can find anything out.”
Nikki batted her lashes, Cassidy felt sure the thick extensions were causing a tsunami somewhere. She adjusted her giant breasts and grinned. “Oh, sweetie, it wasn’t FBI training that taught me how to seduce a man.”
“Heather might be hard,” Delaney told him. “Her private social media posts are all pictures of her and her husband.”
Ahmed nodded. “We’ll go a different direction. Sydney,” he said to Cassidy’s cousin. She was a former model and now a designer of a wildly successful clothing company. “Girl talk. You’ve both adopted and given birth. You’re also a working mom. Buddy up to her.”
“No problem,” Sydney said, her face serious as Cassidy could tell she was already planning what to say.
“Warrick,” Ahmed said, getting his attention. “You talk to the president and first lady. Then to Sutton Ramsey and Jacob Alexander. Mingle some more, then hit up Tim and Heather. Then mingle. Pass along any feelings to the Rose sisters that may help us decide who to focus on or who to cut loose.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cassidy tried to hide her grin. Ahmed was a natural leader and falling back into military command helped calm Warrick down.
“Good. Then we have a plan. Be at the farm tomorrow morning at five. The event starts at nine. Is there anything else?” Ahmed asked.
Nabi stood up. “We put hidden video and microphones all over the house, the summit area out back, and even some nearby buildings. We will be monitoring the conversations from the security center and will send out any warnings we might hear.”
“I have something to say,” Warrick told everyone. Cassidy looked up at him, worried about how he was handling this, but he was very calm as he stood looking around the café. “I appreciate you all welcoming me into your town and into your family. I’ve fought alone for almost ten years. I might not trust the president but I trust each and every one of you. Thank you for helping me.”
“No, thank you!” Aniyah pulled out a gun and everyone hit the deck. “I can’t wait to shoot someone again.”
Cassidy reached up and yanked Warrick down. “For the love of God, get down. She doesn’t have her glasses on. You could lose an appendage.”
DeAndre got Aniyah to put away her gun and people began to trickle out. They all stopped and told Warrick everything would be okay. Her mother hugged him, patted his check, and told him while he and Father Ben were hanging out tomorrow, they should talk about wedding dates.
“Ready to go home?” Cassidy asked once the café was mostly cleared out.
“I am. I want to spend the night holding you.”
Cassidy slipped her hand into his as they walked to their car. Tonight was different. When Warrick made love to her, it almost felt final. Like a goodbye. There weren’t any words. Warrick let his body do the talking and Cassidy listened.
They’d finally found each other. She wasn’t going to lose him now. She’d bet her life on it. In fact, she was doing just that.