Chapter Nineteen #2
“Two days. I found a safe place nearby and watched the compound and its rhythm. That’s how I discovered people from the area went in and out of the compound to do laundry, cook, clean, garden, everything.
The soldiers did nothing but terrorist cell business, guard duty, and whatever their leader, Eduardo Garcia, told them to do.
I found clothes that matched the local natives, and when the housekeeping staff entered the compound the next day, I went with them.
Maria was kind enough to hire me when I told her I was running from an abusive boyfriend and needed money to escape his clutches. ”
Rayne smiled. “Oh, I like that one. Maria must have been very kind-hearted to hire a complete stranger. I assume you didn’t show her any identification.”
She shook her head. How like Rayne to ask such a question. “I didn’t have extra identification in those days. Maria accepted my story when I told her I was hoping to earn enough to purchase new identification before my boyfriend caught up with me. She believed everything I told her.”
Riley wrinkled her nose. “I still feel guilty about lying to her. We have to lie sometimes while doing our jobs. I understand that. However, I feel like I duped a good woman with a trusting soul who did her best to protect a young woman.”
Seth looked thoughtful. “So, you walked into the compound under Garcia’s nose. As part of the housekeeping staff, you would have access to most of the compound.”
Andre gave a slight nod. “If they were anything like most people, they totally ignored the help. Am I right?”
“Exactly. While I cleaned, I kept my eyes and ears open and stumbled across the isolated computer in Garcia’s office.”
Violet’s eyes widened. “How did you get into his office? Wouldn’t he have stayed close to protect the machine?”
“Maria cleaned Garcia’s office personally, and she brought me with her that day.”
“And?” Iona signaled for her to move the story along.
“Garcia had an unusual quirk. He had a phobia about being in the same room with the cleaners, something about dust and dirt flying in the air and joining with germs and causing him to be more susceptible to illness.”
“Did you know that before you landed in Mexico?” Teagan asked.
She nodded. “It was an interesting fact I memorized in case I needed it. Turned out I did.”
“So he left when you ladies were inside the office.” Elias folded his arms across his chest. “How were you able to hack the computer with Maria a few feet away from you?”
“I told her I needed to email a friend to send me extra money, and I didn’t have a computer of my own.”
“Did she question you being able to access the computer without a password?”
“She did. I told her Garcia had written it on a piece of paper and taped it to the underside of his mouse pad. Once I figured out the password, I trolled through the computer’s memory and copied everything.”
“Then what happened?” Violet’s eyes widened more.
“I worked the rest of the day, gave Maria a hug, and walked down the road until I was out of sight of the compound. I returned to my safe space to wait for nightfall, then went back to the compound under the cover of darkness to complete the second phase of my mission.”
Seth stared at her for a moment. “You’re the reason our mission was easier than expected. You killed Garcia before we arrived.”
“I was under orders.” Her friends and teammates would understand. Right?
“You and your CIA buddies are lucky you were gone before we arrived. You might have been caught in the crossfire between American military forces and Obsidian Storm’s soldiers.”
Riley frowned, thinking back to the mission orders that she’d followed to the letter. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know about the other agents, but I was told repeatedly to infiltrate at midnight during the festivities, kill Garcia, then leave the compound before one o’clock.”
“The CIA knew we were going in.” Seth scowled. “Our mission was classified. How did your handler know, Riley?”
“That’s an excellent question, but I don’t have an answer for you.” Yet.
“I understand why the CIA sent Riley to hack the computer,” Teagan said. “What I don’t understand is why they sent Angie. They had to know the history between the two women. The risk that they would run into each other was high. Why take that chance?”
Andre squeezed Riley’s fingers. “Given their history, Berkley might assume Angie would watch out for Riley and help her if she ran into trouble.”
“Except that they were in two different parts of the compound with no way to communicate with each other.” Elias shook his head. “Berkley doesn’t have a clue how to run an operation.”
“Wonder if he was a rookie at the time?”
“If so, his trainer needs a refresher course.” Grant glowered. “Riley and Angie were lucky to make it home alive with that setup.”
“If we’re right and someone is after Riley and Andre because of their part in taking down Obsidian Storm, we have two things to chase down.”
Seth tilted his head. “Which are?”
“Wait.” Riley held up a hand. “It makes sense that I’m being targeted because I killed Eduardo Garcia. But why Andre? How did he catch the attention of the man behind the assassins and kidnappers? Is he a target because he had the misfortune of falling in love with me?”
Andre shook his head. “It’s not a misfortune. That was a stroke of luck on my part. No question in my mind that you could do a lot better than me.”
She waved that aside. “But why are they fixated on you, Andre? You were part of a Special Forces team of Army Rangers. Why did they focus on you when you and the others were acting as a unit?”
Andre glanced at Seth, who gave a slight nod. “I killed the second in command of Obsidian Storm, Rico Mendoza.”