9 |
9 |Acton/Palmer Residence St. Paul, Maryland
“Mai just texted, they’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
Archaeology Professor James Acton muttered a curse as he worked the ground beef with his fingers, mixing in the freshly cut onions and green peppers, along with the breadcrumbs and his secret blend of spices for the homemade hamburgers they would be grilling shortly. It was chilly outside, though an unexpected jump in the temperature had changed their plans from Laura’s pasta to his burgers, even if it meant shoveling a path to the barbecue.
A warm spell in Maryland should never go to waste.
And he had a hankering for barbecued burgers.
His wife and love of his life swept into the room, still taking his breath away. Laura Palmer was an accomplished archaeologist herself, and they had met under fire in London several years ago, a relationship kindled that never waned. “Almost done with those burgers?”
“Almost. You’re in charge of the salads, right?”
“Yup.” She sat on one of the stools at their breakfast bar and poured a glass of wine. She held up the bottle. “Want one?”
“Ahh, yes, and are those salads going to prepare themselves, my dear?”
She poured him a glass then gave him a look as she pushed it toward his meaty fingers. “I, unlike you, didn’t take a nap this afternoon, so I, unlike you, got my work done early, so I, unlike you, could relax before they arrived and watch you panic.”
He flipped her a beef covered bird.
And the doorbell rang.
“I thought you said fifteen minutes?”
Laura’s eyes narrowed. “I did.” She rose and headed for the door, the alarm chiming a moment later. He heard a mumbled conversation, Spotify playing through an Echo device in the kitchen drowning out anything recognizable as he prepared the food.
The playlist hit Panama, and all hope was lost.
He squeezed, punched, and smacked the beef mixture while banging his head, wishing he had long hair if only for these next few minutes, and nearly jumped three feet when a throat cleared.
“Should we leave you alone while you beat your meat?”
A smile spread at the sight of his former student, Dylan Kane.
“Alexa, stop.”
Kane looked disappointed. “I would have waited. Great tune.”
Acton grinned. “Serves his country, and has great taste in music.” He paused, staring at him. “While I love seeing you, Dylan, you never come without problems.”
Kane chuckled and took a seat at the breakfast bar, waving off the offer of wine from Laura. “Unfortunately, this is a quick pop-in to ask a favor of you. Or more accurately, a favor of a friend of yours.”
Acton’s eyes narrowed. Kane was CIA, a special agent. He was in the thick of the most dangerous things imaginable, and if he needed a favor, it had to be a big one. “Go on.”
“First, I’ll apologize upfront for being vague. The less you know, the better. Suffice it to say, we have a situation that’s rapidly developing, and those of us involved aren’t sure who we can trust. We need someone on the outside in the UK to do some work for us.”
“You mean Hugh.”
Kane nodded at Laura. “Exactly.”
Acton frowned. “Why not contact him directly?”
“Well, it’s a big ask, so we felt it coming from you might be better, but also, we can’t have anything tracing back to us. A call from you to him, if ever traced, isn’t unusual and would be ignored. From one of us, or worse, one of our secure lines, could raise flags down the road.”
Acton worked the excess beef off his fingers. “This sounds dangerous.”
“It could be, I’m afraid.” Kane sighed. “I’ll give you a hint. You’ve heard about what happened in Salisbury yesterday?”
Laura immediately replied, the UK her old stomping grounds. “You mean those poisonings, and all those emergency personnel getting sick as well?”
Kane smiled. “Two for two. It involves that.”
Acton tensed. “This involves the Russians, doesn’t it?”
Kane regarded him for a moment. “I can’t confirm that, but you’re a smart man, Doc.”
“So why does the CIA need the help of an Interpol agent? Don’t you have people there?”
“Like I said, we don’t know who we can trust. I really can’t say anything beyond that for your own safety.”
Acton shook his head. “Look, I’ll be happy to make the call and let Hugh decide, but he’s going to want to know more than what you’ve told me if he’s going to put his life on the line.”
“And I’ll fill him in with whatever is operationally necessary.” Kane leaned forward. “Look, at the moment, there are only five people who know what’s going on, not including you two, because I’m intentionally leaving you in the dark. I’m going to be running an off-the-books op, outside the CIA, to try and save lives, and hopefully prevent any more attacks like what happened in Salisbury yesterday.”
“So, it was an attack?” asked Laura.
“Absolutely.”
“And it was the Russians?”
Kane chuckled. “And you’re a smart woman, so I’ll leave it to the both of you to speculate. I’m leaving the country shortly, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. We’re doing this with a minimal team, so things are going to be difficult, especially with only two techs supporting me, but we just can’t use Agency personnel or equipment.”
Acton’s eyes narrowed and his heart rate picked up as an idea occurred to him. Then he shelved it.
“What?”
Acton flinched. “Huh?”
“I recognize that look, Doc, you had an idea.”
Acton shook his head. “It was nothing. Well, it was nothing I’d care to say out loud.”
“Spill it.”
Acton looked at Laura for a moment then sighed. “I was thinking about someone who might be able to help.”
Laura shook her head, jabbing a finger into the counter. “Absolutely not!”
“I know, which is why I stopped myself.”
Kane frowned, then glanced at his watch. “Listen, Doc, if you knew what was going on, you’d realize that there’s no time to waste, and that lives are at stake. If you know of someone who can help, tell me, so we can at least discuss it.”
Acton sighed, and Laura threw up her hands. “Fine. Tell him.”
“Tommy Granger. He’s a grad student of mine who is a whiz with computers, and can hack pretty much anything you can dream of.”
Kane’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Yeah, I remember him. He’s the kid who hacked the DoD mainframe when he was like twelve or something.”
“Something like that.”
Kane’s head bobbed slowly as he leaned back in his stool, folding his arms across his chest. “He could be perfect. It would mean we could always have two people providing support, instead of one every shift.”
Laura shook her head. “And I said no. There’s no way I’m letting Tommy get involved.”
“Letting me get involved in what?”
Acton and Laura both flinched, though Kane didn’t even look behind him, as if he already knew their houseguests had arrived.
Laura hopped from her stool and rushed forward, giving both Tommy and his girlfriend, Mai Trinh, hugs. “I’m so sorry, we didn’t hear you come in.”
Mai flushed. “We were going to ring the doorbell, but Tommy insisted you kept saying to just come in, so…”
Laura gave the diminutive Vietnamese girl another hug and a kiss on the top of her head. “You two are always welcome to just walk in.”
Acton cleared his throat. “Well, only if we’re expecting you. We might be in the middle of some sweet lovin’ or something you wouldn’t want to walk in on.”
Kane snorted and Tommy moved in for a fist bump but was waved off. “Sorry, I’m still covered in meat.” Acton headed for the sink and washed his hands, then properly greeted their guests. He gestured at Kane. “This is an old student of mine, Dylan Kane.”
Handshakes were exchanged.
Tommy looked at them. “So, what were you talking about? I heard my name!”
Acton and Laura exchanged glances. Laura started. “Well, Tommy, umm…” She paused, throwing up her hands. “Dylan, I don’t know what I can say!”
Kane laughed then turned to Tommy. “I’m an operator with the Special Activities Division of the Special Operations Group in the Central Intelligence Agency.”
Mai gasped and Tommy’s jaw dropped. “That is so freakin’ cool!”
Kane grinned. “It is.”
Mai appeared confused. “What does that mean? You’re a spy?”
Apparently not so confused.
“Yes. I kill people for a living, and by doing so, save many more lives in the process.”
Tommy paled slightly. “And you want me to get involved somehow?”
“I need a computer whiz for an off-the-books op. Anything you see or do will be strictly secret, and you can never talk about it with anyone, including your friends, lovers, priests, rabbis, whatever.”
Tommy gulped. “Umm, okay?”
Mai wrapped around Tommy’s arm. “Is it dangerous?”
Kane regarded her for a moment. “I’m not going to lie to you. Anything in my business is dangerous. However, you’ll be working in a secret location barely an hour from here, only half a dozen trusted people will know where you are, and even fewer will know who you are. When it’s over, you walk away, and I’ll make sure it’s worth your while.”
“You mean I’ll get paid?”
“Handsomely.”
Acton leaned forward. “I thought you said this is off-the-books? How are you paying him?”
Kane eyed him. “What are you, his agent?”
Acton chuckled. “No, I’m not doubting you, I’m just curious.”
“Let’s just say I’ve got funds tucked away for rainy days like this.”
Laura frowned. “And just how rainy is it?”
Kane looked at her. “It could be very rainy for a good friend of mine.”
“I’ll do it!”
Everyone turned to Tommy. Mai was the first to break the silence.
“Are you insane?”
Tommy shook his head, but his entire body was trembling, and his wide eyes suggested he too was shocked at what had come out of his mouth.
“You don’t have to,” said Kane, apparently recognizing the fear. “We’ll manage without you.”
Tommy shook his head then inhaled deeply, steadying himself. “No, I want to help. Ever since I was arrested, I’ve wanted to try and make up for what I did. I want to do this. I need to do this.”
Kane slapped him on the shoulder, the poor kid almost shrieking in terror. “Kid, if you do this, I think you’ll have more than made up for any past transgressions.”
Tommy’s eyes shot wide, his fear forgotten. “Do you think I’d be able to get a job at the CIA?”
Kane turned to Acton and Laura, jerking a thumb at Tommy. “Look at this guy, already renegotiating.” He rose then grabbed a notepad and pen sitting by the phone, quickly jotting down something. He pressed it into Tommy’s hand. “Don’t show this to anyone. Don’t program it into any GPS. Don’t Google the address. Just know how to get there. When you get there, give it to the man in charge.”
Tommy shook out a nod, trembling once again. “Y-yes, sir.”
Kane turned to Acton. “You’ll make that call?”
“Right away.” He paused. “And if he says yes?”
“Have him contact me through the secure app.”
Acton nodded then gestured toward Tommy. “Can he at least stay for burgers before he leaves?”
“Of course.” Kane checked his watch. “How fast can you rustle me up a couple to go?”
“Alexa, fire up the grill.”