Chapter Nineteen
ANDRE’S HAND FISTED. No coincidences in this business. He’d keep tabs on the situation with Brown and Ludlow, but the real threat at the moment was Obsidian Storm. He and his teammates had believed the terrorist group was finished. Unfortunately for everyone, they’d risen from the ashes. How?
Seth rubbed the back of his neck. “Anything else I should know?”
Riley nodded. “I spoke to Veronica Miles Walker.”
Rayne looked puzzled. “Why?”
“She used to be a CIA field agent and knew Angie. Somehow, Berkley assigned me and Angie to Obsidian Storm and ensured we didn’t cross paths. I never saw her.”
“We can’t ask her about her role in the operation now. Can you hack into The Company’s database and find the information we need?”
“I just need time with my laptop.”
“You can do it without getting caught, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. This will be child’s play.”
“You left a back door into their computer systems, didn’t you?” Iona looked at Riley with admiration. “Nice work.”
Seth turned to Riley. “You’re sure this won’t blow back on you or Fortress?”
“They’ll never know I was in their system.”
“Doesn’t say much for their cybersecurity.
All right. After dinner, we’ll leave you alone so you can work your magic.
The rest of us will put together as many details and timelines as possible.
” He turned to Grant. “We need large notepads with sheets of paper that stick to the walls and markers that won’t bleed through.
Everyone, have your laptops handy so we can work after we eat.
Riley, you’ll have to give us a direction to look.
Whatever you find, we need to see it, classified or not. ”
“Yes, sir.” Expediency was more important than obedience. Riley had a feeling time was running out to dismantle the terrorist organization for good.
“Grant, after you eat, find an office supply store and get what we need.”
His smile was smug. “Already done. The supplies are in our SUV.”
Noah’s lips curved. “Are you bucking for a raise?”
His friend chuckled. “Nope. Trying to impress my gorgeous wife with my efficiency.”
Elias groaned. “Come on, man. Have a heart. You’ll make the rest of us look bad.”
“Too late.” Iona winked at him.
“Ouch, baby. That hurts.”
A knock on the door interrupted the laughter. Elias palmed his weapon and checked the peephole. He grinned as he holstered his Sig. “Room service with five loaded carts.”
The operative holstered his weapon and opened the door. After giving a large tip to the servers, Elias and Grant pushed the carts into the suite and secured the door.
While her teammates filled plates and sat around the suite’s living room to eat, Riley grabbed her laptop and got to work. They wouldn’t have anything to discuss except her old memories if she didn’t find The Company’s information about the Obsidian Storm mission.
Part of her relished the challenge of beating the system and running off undetected with information. Another part of her dreaded learning a shadow player had duped her into carrying out his hidden agenda. She gritted her teeth. Nothing worse than being played for a fool.
She scowled as another thought surfaced. The person who duped her might not be a shadow player. He could operate in the open under the guise of friendship. Betrayal by a friend was the worst kind.
Riley booted up her laptop. Time to face the truth. If she’d been tricked like she suspected, Riley would discover who was to blame and set wheels in motion to see justice served, even if the guilty party was someone she had considered a friend.
Was the culprit Angie? She rejected that. No way. Her old friend and mentor would never turn on her. Unless she was an award-winning actress, Angie had appeared worried about her safety.
She sighed. Then again, she hadn’t realized Angie worked for the CIA, either. For two years, they’d lived side by side in tents, and not once had Angie hinted at a secret this important in her past.
Shaking off her distraction and blocking her teammates’ chatter, Riley clicked on the secure Fortress browser and got to work.
Sometime later, Andre sat beside her. “Riley, you need to eat.”
“In a minute.” Her gaze remained fixed on the computer screen.
“Riley.”
Something in his voice broke her concentration. She blinked and tore her gaze away from the screen. “Yes?”
His lips curved. “Food, babe. You need food to fuel that amazing brain of yours.” Andre took the computer from her lap, set it on the coffee table, and handed her a full plate.
Her eyes widened. “Holy cow, Andre. You brought me enough food to feed an army.”
“I’m interested in feeding your army of brain cells, but you don’t have to eat everything. I wanted to be sure something tempted you to fuel up.”
She scanned the plate’s offerings. “You did a great job, Andre. You chose all of my favorite foods. How did you know what to choose?”
“I’ve paid attention to you and your choices.” He leaned over and brushed her mouth with his.
He had done more than pay attention to her. This man had learned what pleased her and memorized her preferences for everything. Andre Marsh was a keeper.
Although she longed to continue her task, Riley couldn’t help her teammates if she didn’t take care of herself. Eating wouldn’t take long, and then she could return to the task consuming her attention.
While she ate, Riley let her mind drift to those days in Homestead, remembering how Angie guided her through the steep learning curve of navigating homelessness and avoiding authorities who’d send her to children’s services.
She’d been Riley’s lifeline, yet she had hidden from people in the CIA who feared her.
When did Angie return to work as a field agent, and how long did she continue her activities?
When Riley was full, she looked down at the plate, surprised nearly all the food was gone. “I was hungrier than I realized.”
Andre took her plate. “When you’re under pressure or are stressed, you don’t take the time to eat.”
She grinned. “Looks like the solution is having you bring me food and sit with me while I eat.”
“Happy to serve.” He brushed her mouth with his and stood. “Break time is over unless you want dessert.”
“Maybe later.”
Andre stroked her hair, then carried her plate to the serving cart.
Riley picked up her laptop and resumed work. She tuned out her teammates organizing into groups and tossing ideas around that were recorded on large sheets of paper stuck to three walls.
Focused on the file she was reading, she jerked when Seth called her name.
He chuckled. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. We’re ready for you. Do you have anything so we can start this search?”
“A few things. It’s not enough.”
“We’ll worry about that later. What do you have?”
“A story.”
“Good or bad?” Violet settled deeper into a recliner.
“It starts out good and turns bad.”
Rayne wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a fan of those, but let’s hear it.”
“Years ago, Nathan Berkley called me into his office, which was unusual for him.”
“Wait.” Noah frowned. “Was he your handler?”
“He became my handler the minute I accepted this first mission. Anyway, until this point, I had been an analyst, though The Company trained me to be a field agent as well.”
“Why send you out on this mission? What was so special about it they needed your dual skills?”
“Obsidian Storm didn’t trust anyone, including anything connected to the Internet.”
Iona looked puzzled. “They used paper to keep track of the business side of the terrorist group?”
She shook her head. “They used a computer not connected to the Internet. Any numbers and names they wanted to communicate to the outside world went out via their satellite phones. What I didn’t know when Nathan talked to me is that another CIA operative had infiltrated their organization the year before I arrived.
“In interacting with the terrorists, he made a mistake that cost him his life. After that, Obsidian Storm was locked down. Before he died, the only thing the agent sent to Nathan was a warning that the group planned something big inside the US borders in the next six months to a year. No matter how hard Nathan tried, none of his other field agents got anywhere in the quest to join the group and learn their plans.”
Grant flinched. “Sounds a little too familiar.”
“Oh, yeah.” Seth nodded. “Reminds me of our experience with The Brotherhood a few months ago. Go on, Riley.”
“I was so glad to be heading out into the field that I didn’t ask questions. Rookie mistake on my part. The operation was a simple one, according to Nathan.”
All the operatives groaned. Yep, she’d also been gullible too. “Other operatives would provide a distraction to keep the soldiers in the compound busy. My job was to get inside, locate the computer used by the head of the organization, and hack it.”
Andre’s brows furrowed. “How were you supposed to get inside the compound?”
“That was up to me. The other agents’ job was to provide the distraction. I didn’t know who the agents were. They were supposed to do their thing at the front gate while I infiltrated the compound from the back by any means necessary.”
Elias snorted. “Did Berkley give you the schematics of the compound?”
“Are you kidding? Of course not.”
“Unbelievable.” Seth rubbed his face with his hands. “There had to be more than one computer in that compound. How did you figure out where the right computer was located?”
“I didn’t like the timeline for the mission, so I infiltrated early.”
Andre’s head whipped toward her. “Without a partner or any backup in the area?”
Riley nodded. Andre and the others wouldn’t like parts of the story she was laying out for them. Too bad. They hadn’t been there, and she’d been crazy enough to make the attempt without an entrance or exit strategy. Her survival had been a miracle.
“How early?”