Chapter Twenty #2
Andre walked to the small kitchen and pulled out the things he needed to make non-lethal coffee for himself and the others.
Might set himself up for team criticism, but he needed caffeine in the worst way right now.
A few minutes later, he poured the first mug for himself and a second one for Riley.
The rest of their teammates were on their own.
When he offered the drink to her, she mumbled something unintelligible and returned to her work, typing one-handed. He couldn’t help smiling as he returned to the couch to sip his drink.
After finishing half of the excellent coffee in his cup, he picked up a marker and wrote on a sheet of paper Rayne had pressed to the wall. By the time he finished, Riley’s research filled three sheets of paper.
Seth and Teagan were the last ones to finish reading their summaries. Seth faced the others. “Let’s talk. Who wants to explain their notes first?”
“I do.” Andre walked to the wall with his sheets of paper and pointed to the first one with Berkley’s name written at the top.
“Nathan Berkley has been with the CIA for fifteen years. During his first years, he worked in the field as an agent. After he was injured on a mission, his handler brought him into the office, where Berkley showed even more skill as a handler. He was reassigned to the home office. Not long after he shifted to this role, he met Riley.”
Teagan frowned. “Who brought her to Berkley’s attention?”
Andre glanced at Riley. “Angie.” When his girl flinched, Andre’s hands fisted. He hated hurting her. “She saw the potential in Riley and thought she needed a goal to achieve and to feel like she was contributing to something bigger than herself.”
Riley inclined her head in silent agreement. “She saved my life. Despite the sense of betrayal over how things went down, Angie saved me.”
Seth glanced at Andre. “What else do you have?”
“Berkley groomed Riley for the Obsidian Storm mission. He couldn’t go himself because of his other agent’s gaffe that left Garcia suspicious of all unknown men.
His best bet was to find a woman skilled enough with computers that she could hack into a stand-alone computer, troll through the memory, and make a copy of everything on the hard drive.
Not only that, but he also needed someone who could fight her way out of trouble if discovered. ”
Violet scowled. “If he was so enthralled with her skills, why did he send her on a mission that was a death trap for a rookie?”
His smile was more of a baring of his teeth. “That’s something I intend to ask when I meet him.”
“When?” Rayne’s eyes twinkled. “I’d like to be there. If I work it right, Berkley will run into my fist. What a shame for an operative to be sporting a black eye.”
“We’ll cross paths soon. This whole situation has Berkley’s stench all over it.”
The other members of Echo exchanged glances. Yeah, they knew him well. Andre’s gut said trouble was coming soon. What he didn’t know was whether Berkley would lead the charge or wait in the shadows to see how things panned out before making his appearance.
Was Berkley an inept handler, or was he involved with the Obsidian Storm mission more than was obvious?
As much as he would love to lay the whole blame on Berkley, Andre had a feeling someone else was involved. He didn’t know to what extent, but that was one of his new missions in life.
“I don’t enjoy his hovering in the shadows as a silent threat.”
“Same.” He looked at Riley. “Do you have anything to add to my assessment?”
“If he’s involved to the extent you believe, Nathan had help.”
“You don’t believe he could do it alone?”
“No way. He isn’t good at long-term planning. His strength is short-term goals.
“Who is the most likely person to have helped Berkley?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say Sam Cowan. He was my second contact if I reported in and Nathan wasn’t available.”
“Did he at least know what he was doing?” Noah’s voice was filled with disgust.
“I thought he did when The Company hired me. Now that I’ve had training from Fortress and have seen excellent handlers up close, I know he was as pitiful as Nathan.”
Andre shook his head. “It’s a wonder any of you survived their bumbling.”
Seth held up his hand. “Anything else, Andre?”
“Only that we need to talk to him as soon as possible, and he lives in D.C.”
Elias groaned. “A trip to D.C.? I hate that place. Politicians are everywhere.”
Andre chuckled. “Trust me, I dislike it as much as you do. We’ll do our best to keep you away from the politicians.”
“Not possible.”
Teagan turned to Andre. “So, what are we going to do with this information we have about Berkley?”
“We’ll pay him a visit and find out what he knows.”
Violet stared. “He’s CIA. Do you think he’d talk to you?”
“We’ll make him.” He didn’t apologize for doing what was necessary to protect Riley, and he didn’t feel guilty either.
Teagan scoffed. “Come on. He trained Riley to resist torture. He has defenses against what he taught her.”
“That’s why she won’t question him. I will.”