Chapter Five #3
Helen felt a flash of guilt until she remembered why she’d hit him.
She pursed her lips. Well, she hadn’t broken his jaw or his nose, so their good-natured ribbing was for her benefit.
Besides, she had the suspicion that they were trying to get her to say something, perhaps give information about why she was so angry.
She looked at him grimly. Let Mr. Know-It-All explain the situation himself.
Jed cocked his head for an instant. “I’m looking at you out of the good eye right now.
” Helen watched as he used the remote to move a set of photos.
“Resuming run-through. Gorman caught. Dragan Dilaver the subsidiary. The explosive trigger in Macedonia. The SEED in Germany. An underground network of moles inside the CIA, stealing and dispersing information. We’re still in the dark about the flight simulation program and the missing Stealth.
Question: Who’s the hidden power behind these thefts?
Agenda? Sullivan and Shahrukh, you were backtracking the list and following leads. ”
Helen bit down her lower lip. The cadence of his speech—it reminded her of Hades when he summarized things.
“Suggestion. We have the SEED. We can put it out in the market through Diamond. Right now, Deutsche International thinks he’s nabbed it from them,” Sullivan said.
“I think there is a bigger agenda than just weapons stolen. If the old KGB is involved, there is something going on behind the scenes,” Heath said.
Jed nodded. “Agreed. They didn’t collect information for ten years, wheeling and dealing weapons, just for profit alone.
” He clicked on the remote and two maps came up side by side.
“On the left is Velesta. On the right is Frankfurt. Both these cities are on opposite ends of the economic scale. We need to find out three things. One, who is Dilaver’s contact?
Two, why is Deutsche International, a think-tank, buying a decoder from a double-agent?
Three,” Jed paused for a moment, then added, “we need to find out what Hell bumped into when she was in the stairwell at Deutsche. These CIA hostiles were after the decoder and her, since they tranqued her instead of using live ammo.”
Helen straightened up at the mention of her name. He called her “Hell”, though. Hades liked to call her Elena.
“Wait, we don’t know if they were really after the decoder,” Flyboy pointed out.
“You don’t think it’s coincidental that they showed up right after Hell finished her mission? Why couldn’t they have just nabbed her when she was entering Deutsche?” Jed countered.
“Point taken, but if it was related to Hell, then it has something to do with the Supersoldier program and not the mission itself,” Flyboy said.
“Why would the CIA want me?” Helen asked, puzzled. “They trained me themselves.”
“We’re talking about the faction inside the CIA that’s been infested with moles,” Flyboy told her. “We’ve been working on zeroing in on their identities the past two years while you were in training. Many of them disappeared underground when we caught CIA Deputy Director Gorman.”
“Cummings and his wife were two of them,” Helen guessed.
Flyboy nodded. “A few of them took off with some important documentation. The SEED is one of the most important items that disappeared.” He gave her one of his trademark devastating smiles, flashing teeth and dimples.
“You finding and retrieving it before it was sold and distributed was tantamount to a miracle. Gorman could only provide a list of names and we have a special task force at the CIA working on matching up possible leaks and weapon drop-offs from the past ten years. It was taking forever.”
Helen smiled back. “Why do I get the feeling that no one had much hope that I’d get it done?”
“Not true. You think COMCEN’s going to waste all that money on something it hadn’t run through Eight Ball for success/failure percentages? You should know better than that by now, Hell,” Flyboy chided.
Eight Ball was the Center’s supercomputer. Helen liked its quirky personality. Its programmer obviously enjoyed tinkering with it, what with the computer’s knack at finding odd catch-phrases and using them at the strangest moments.
“What was Eight Ball’s percentages for my performance?” she asked curiously.
“Heath, any information coming from Mrs. Cummings?” Jed asked, interrupting them.
Helen looked at him and thought she saw a glint in his eyes. Was there finally a reaction to her punch? She glanced back at Flyboy who gave her a small shrug.
She turned her attention to Heath, sitting next to her.
A few days ago, she’d thought he could be Hades.
In comparison to Flyboy, there was something very dark and very still about Heath, like a deep lagoon.
When she’d asked about his role within the unit, she’d been told it was “retrieval”.
“Retrieval” appeared to include interrogation of prisoners.
“I’m working on it,” Heath said. “She gave up her husband for a reason and I’ll get a name sooner or later.”
“Make it sooner,” Jed said softly. “I’ve a feeling there is a time schedule behind all this. We have to find the connection between the trigger and the decoder, between Dilaver in Macedonia and the think-tank in Germany. Something’s brewing.”