Chapter 9
Piper didn’t know which was worse. Raider who so obviously wanted to flatten John, or John who was completely oblivious and kept not so subtly threatening her. She sighed and stood. She had no interest in talking to Fielding. By all accounts, he was a flipping blowhard who was great at the political stuff but not so good at doing the actual work.
“Piper,” John called and waved her over. She stood and moved around Raider to go stand with John and Fielding.
“Agent Holloway. Nice to meet you.” Fielding cast a disdainful eye over her ratty blond hair and her dirty clothes.
Yeah, she wasn’t looking her best but that’s what undercover was like. Of course, his look made her want a shower even more. “Assistant Director Fielding,” she greeted him with a nod. She might look like hell, but she wasn’t going to let him run over her. Keep it professional, Piper.
He glanced around the room. “Is there somewhere we can talk, John?”
Chambers nodded and led the way out of the main room. Fielding followed him, walking like an overrated jock on the football field. Piper trailed behind and wondered what Raider thought of the man. He’d always had good instincts. Chambers proceeded down a hallway to a small office. Fielding entered, ushered Piper in like he owned the damn place, and then closed the door. He sat behind the desk. John ushered Piper to the guest chair by the wall and he sat down beside her. She had the instant impression that she had been cornered.
Whatever was coming wasn’t going to be good.
“So, John was telling me how you got here and I have to say it was a pretty ballsy move getting on that flight. Some might call it insubordinate.” He let his gaze rest on her face.
She fought the urge to justify her actions. Instead, she just said, “Yes, sir.” He wasn’t here to yell at her, at least not yet. He didn’t fly out here in his pristine white shirt and light gray business suit with a white pinstripe to tell her she’d screwed up. He was here for something else. If she kept quiet, eventually he’d get around to telling her what that something was.
“John assures me you are one of his best agents.” He looked skeptical of John’s opinion of her. “I understand you lost your partner in the warehouse debacle. I am truly sorry. We’re still working on finding out how that guy got inside without us knowing.”
She merely nodded. His statement didn’t require a response.
“So, you came in without bringing in the leader, this guy named Denlo. Why is that?” Fielding narrowed his pale blue eyes at her. His dark blond hair was neat, and his skin looked sun-kissed. The perfect picture of an understanding, experienced ATF agent. He was just there to hear what she said, nothing more. That’s what the look said…but that’s not what he really meant. He wanted to know how she could’ve pulled the plug on the op at this stage.
“Sir, Denlo was starting to fall apart. He was getting more and more agitated. It was only a matter of time before he killed someone.” And she sure as hell hadn’t wanted to be the person on the receiving end of all his crazy. Her or Raider.
“I see,” Fielding said. But clearly, by the look of his pursed lips, he didn’t. “You felt you were in danger.”
“Yes.” And she had. Moreover, and more importantly, she thought Raider might be in danger because if anyone was going to challenge Denlo it would be her ex-husband and the idea that he might get hurt on her watch was just untenable. She wouldn’t survive it. She owed Marta but she wouldn’t sacrifice Raider for her deceased colleague.
Fielding spared a glance at her boss and then redirected his focus to her. He leaned back in the chair and said, “What if I were to tell you that we know that Denlo is actually pretty low on the totem pole? That he’s merely answering to someone else…the man who killed your partner probably, but even that guy answers to someone else. That this whole op is much bigger than you thought?”
She blinked. Snake wasn’t the top guy? That was an interesting thought. “How much bigger?”
Fielding’s lips curved up at the corners. “A lot. We think you and Agent Grant stumbled onto the tip of the iceberg. A group has been shipping guns in and out of the US for some time now. Fueling an assortment of terrorist groups with weapons from our own military.” He sneered in disgust. “We have a gang problem in the military and they’re stealing equipment and selling it to our enemies. What you and Agent Grant came across was the tip of that. We’ve been working it from another angle for months now. Our other operation has ferreted out that there’s a small group at the top running the whole show and that your op is just one arm of it.” He paused to let that sink in.
Piper cocked her head. What he was saying made sense. They’d suspected there was something bigger going on because the size of the deals made by the criminals they were following were way too big for what they should be. Snake being part of a much larger operation made sense.
“So do you know who the top people are?”
“Not yet. But we do know that the reason Denlo wants you to break into the bank isn’t about money. Apparently, someone kept a record of all the deals. The person in question is dead but the record is still out there in the form of a USB drive. Rumor has it that the drive is at the bank that Denlo wants you to break into. That’s why he’s desperate. If anyone but the inside people find that information, the whole operation comes crashing down.”
A cautionary shiver crept along Piper’s nerves. The info was all too vague. “And how do you know all this if you don’t know who’s at the top of the food chain? Do you know who created the list?”
“We have our sources.” Piper must have had a misbelieving look on her face because Fielding relented. “We have a man on the inside. We do know the identity of who kept track and created the list. But that lead turned into a dead end when his body washed up in San Diego a couple of months ago. The thing is, he’d just finished traveling to all kinds of places when he popped up and there’s been a mad search ever since to locate the thumb drive. We now believe that that documentation is inside that bank. Or at least that’s what Denlo and whoever his immediate boss believes. We also have reason to believe the drive contains a list of names. A holy grail of who is breaking the law by allowing these gangs to sell American technology and weaponry. Our understanding is that we will find some high-ranking officials on the list as well as law enforcement and politicians.”
Piper’s stomach rolled. A list like that would be a gold mine for the ATF, but the number of people that would want it buried would be huge as well. Anyone who’d actually seen the list was in a very dangerous position.
Including her now. He’d all but just hung a target on her back. “Why are you telling me all this,” she asked, doing a piss-poor job of keeping dread from her voice.
“Because”—he nodded at John—“we want you to go back in. We need you to break into the bank like Denlo wants. We need that thumb drive and you’re going to get it for us.”
Piper’s heart stopped, then thumped harshly to restart. They wanted her to go back. They were willing to risk her life to get this thumb drive. She’d gotten out because she’d felt the situation had been unsafe, and now they wanted her embedded with a crazy man again. Not a care in the world for her safety, or Raider’s. Fielding had all but said this thumb drive was more important than her life. Shit.
“I’m not sure how I can make that work,” she said finally. Even though she accepted that she had no real options, here, she tried to buy time to decide how much of a death wish she really had.
“You and the others would have to go back,” Fielding said. He implied that it would be easy but what in the hell could they tell Denlo, and how would she convince the others to join the party?
“You make it sound easy, but I don’t think it’s that simple. Why would he trust any of us now?”
Fielding nodded. “I know it might seem daunting, but I think we’ve devised a plan that might work. You’re going to tell Denlo you got spooked but now you’re good and you just want to get the job done.”
She snorted. It was an asinine plan that didn’t have a hope in hell of working. They’d need a better story than that. She glanced at John expecting him to share his thought process but his face was impassive and…what the hell?...he was nodding slightly. Was he for real? No way would that stupid ass plan work. Plus, she’d need the whole team.
“How are we going to get Wells and Baker to do what they’re told?” It seemed an obvious issue, but she thought she’d better bring it up since they seemed to have very limited understanding of how this would work in the real world.
John cleared his throat. “Our guys are telling them if they don’t cooperate then they’ll spend the rest of their lives at a black site and talking to no one but the CIA.”
She frowned. “What? Why would they believe that?”
Fielding leaned forward. “Because we can tie the guns to terrorism, and they are being told that the money in the bank is proceeds from the sale of said guns and they are now an accessory after the fact.”
“But that’s all bullshit,” Piper exploded.
John shrugged. “Yes, but they don’t know that. They’ll believe whatever we tell them. Honestly, I don’t think they care,” he added. “They don’t want to go to jail. We tell them if they help us then we’ll take prison off the table. And would you look at that… they’ll be on board.
That whole scenario made the hair on Piper’s arms stand up. Didn’t sit right at all. There was so much that could go south here. Wells and Baker, although would-be bank robbers, weren’t really bad guys. They kept to themselves and just wanted to make money. Stringing them along with the idea that they’d be dropped into a black site seemed underhanded.
“Let me get this straight… You want to send me in with two guys who could blow my cover at any moment,” she stated baldly. She wanted it on the record that her boss was overriding her worries. Of course it wasn’t really on the record. John and Fielding were acting more like Pete and Re-Pete on this one. Just two peas in the damn pod.
John shook his head. “I think we were clear, Piper. These guys don’t want to go to jail so they won’t say anything. Honestly, I think it’s a bit of a relief for them. Denlo is scary to them and now they know the ATF is backing them up, so there’s less chance of them getting hurt.”
Piper shook her head. “What if I don’t want to go back in?” she asked, testing the waters.
John glanced at Fielding, who said, “I guess if you really feel that you can’t do it, then we’ll have to live with your decision. But declining this opportunity means you’ll never get justice for Marta. You’ll be walking away from the one chance we have to get these bastards. I, for one, would hate to miss this opportunity. Our fallen colleagues deserve justice.” He looked at her like she was worse than pond scum for even thinking about walking away. Heaving an exaggerated sigh, he frowned. “There’s also the question of your insubordination. I’m sure you’ll have to answer for that at some point but it would go much better if you helped bring down this criminal enterprise.”
Bile filled Piper’s mouth. There it was. The cold unvarnished truth. Do this or you’re going to be drummed out of the ATF. Maybe even face jail time herself, likely in the same prison she’d sent many, many villains to. A blue streak of curses was on repeat in her head.
It was her own fault though. Why the hell had she gotten on that airplane?
“Of course, Raider will have to go with you. Denlo needs an explosives expert, and we can’t just pop a new one in, it would be way too suspicious,” John added.
So not only was she supposed to risk her own life, she would risk Raider’s too. Wells and Baker could open their mouths and Denlo would kill them all. Her heart pounded in her ears as adrenaline hit her veins. What she had here was a really bad hand. And she’d dealt it to herself. Now she was going to have to go back in there and deal it to Raider.
She stood. “It’s not just my decision. I have to talk to Raider and Wells and Baker. I’ll not put Raider in harm’s way if I don’t think Wells and Baker will keep their mouths shut. Raider is a civilian.”
“Hardly a civilian,” John said. “He’s a Navy SEAL. He’s got more experience at this type of thing than most of the guys in that office combined.”
“But he’s not ATF.” Piper pointed out. “And this is an ATF operation.”
John opened his mouth but Fielding waved him off. “Fine, go talk to him. See what he says. But the clock is ticking. We can’t leave Denlo hanging out there. The longer you’re gone, the harder it will be to get him to believe you when you return.”
Piper glared at John until he moved out of the way and then she left the office. This was bullshit, all of it. Her gut told her something else was going on, but it didn’t matter. She no longer had a choice and now she had to tell Raider he didn’t have one either. This wasn’t going to go well.
She found him sitting where she’d left him. She asked one of the guys to bring them coffee and once they had their cups, she took him outside to the back parking lot and sat down on the bumper of the van.
“They want you to go back in,” Raider said before she’d even had a chance to open her mouth.
She nodded. “They say that this is the tip of a very large weapons dealing ring involving terrorist organizations and our military. Fielding says that the ATF has a man on the inside in a secondary op. The thing Denlo and Snake are after is a thumb drive with a list of the sales, buyers, and sellers, as well as a list of government officials involved.”
Raider whistled. “So a who’s who of corruption and arms deals. Excellent.”
“Yeah.” She took a sip of coffee to stall. “They say this is the only chance they have to get this list.”
Raider stared at her. “You’re going to do it? You’re going to go back in? But Wells and Baker have to go, too.”
“According to John and Fielding, the two are so scared of going to jail that they’ve agreed to keep their mouth shut.”
Raider snorted. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Apparently, they’ve been told that this involves terrorist organizations and if they don’t cooperate, they’ll be dropped in a CIA black site.”
“For shit’s sake, what kind of idiot would believe that?” Raider demanded.
Piper glanced up at her ex. “Those two strike you as smart?”
Raider stared at her and then sighed. “I guess not.” He shook his head. “What’s the plan?”
She frowned. “You don’t have to do this. I called you because I was desperate, and I needed help but now John is here and Fielding. We can find another explosives guy.”
“This only works if we all go back. Denlo won’t buy it any other way.” Raider stared into his coffee. “Why don’t they just round Denlo up and then go into the bank and look for themselves?”
Piper laughed. “Spoken like a SEAL. There are search and seizure laws we have to abide by. We need probable cause for a warrant. We can’t just go in and search the bank. Plus, we don’t know anything about the thumb drive and from what I’ve gathered, no one has seen it, so we’re not even positive it exists. No way can we just stroll in there and search the entire bank for something we don’t know who owns and we can’t even say for sure exists.” She grinned. “Must be nice being a SEAL and waltzing in anywhere you want.”
“Except for the whole I was behind enemy lines worried about getting my ass shot off thing, so yeah, not worrying about a warrant was great fun.”
The sarcasm hit her hard and she immediately felt like shit. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.” Her breath rushed out. “Wait, you said was.”
“What?” Raider asked.
“You said ‘I was behind enemy lines’.” She stared up at him.
Raider grimaced. “I retired about six months ago.”
“Holy shit. Seriously?” Piper had a hard time comprehending what Raider was telling her. “You retired?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got to say so far retired life isn’t living up to the hype. Too boring.”
Piper burst out laughing. Of all the things she thought would happen, Raider retiring wasn’t one of them. He just couldn’t stand not doing something. He needed to be moving constantly.
“Probably would be a lot less bored if we’d stayed married and had a couple kids by now.” Raider studied his boots.
Guilt rose like a ready-to-strike cobra. The pain in her chest made her feel like it had already sunk its fangs into her. She’d always figured when he got out, he’d go into something else right away. Any law enforcement agency would kill to have a guy with his kind of experience.
She forced a laugh. “I don’t know, I can’t imagine changing diapers would be your cup of tea.”
He looked up sharply and scowled. “I’m glad you think it’s funny. You know how much I wanted that life,” he said, his voice cold.
She stood up and touched his arm, looking for a graceful way out of this conversation. “I’m sorry, Raider. I just never pictured you retired. You hate doing nothing. Wait, no! Tell me you didn’t take up golf?”
He shrugged. “I’ve played a few rounds. Damn boring if you ask me but the guys seem to like it.”
“All the guys retired too?”
He nodded. “We all requested permission to go ashore at the same time. It’s what’s been keeping me sane. Hanging with them and traveling around the world.”
Piper sobered up. She’d put this man through hell and he was still standing there ready to help her. She didn’t deserve that kind of loyalty and support. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “You came when I needed you. I owe you.”
He grabbed her chin. “I’ll do this on one condition. When this is over, you’re going to tell me the real reason you kicked me to the curb. The whole truth.”
She held his gaze and bit her lip. That was the last thing she wanted to do. He’d hate her probably more than he already did, but he was right. She owed him the explanation. “Fine,” she breathed, grateful for his help, and the short respite she’d have before having to unbury her secret. She swallowed hard to keep from tearing up. “Deal.”
“Now we need to go in and get Wells and Baker on board. Then we need to get back to Denlo and somehow convince him that we didn’t run out on him.” Raider dropped his hand from her chin, and she shivered with the loss. He squared his shoulders. “I’ve got some ideas about that.” With that, he turned and headed for the door.
Piper watched him go. This whole thing was a clusterfuck of her own making. All of it. What had happened, and then the divorce, getting Marta killed... All of it was on her. And now the chickens were coming home to roost. Karma was a bitch that was coming for her like a freight train.