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In DC, Ryan was on his way to meet with Vice President Woods. Aaron answered the knock and motioned Ryan inside. The two met sat down and got right to business.
“Your hunch was right about Carly; she wasn’t on assignment. She took personal leave,” Woods told him. “She’s also pulled all of the remaining files on Kat and tried to retrieve Carl’s records. Look Ryan, I know you have a history with her. Do I need to bring someone else in?”
“No sir. I will handle it.”
“For what it’s worth...I’m sorry.”
“It happens, sir. I just thought she was one of the good guys, that’s all.”
“How’s the team doing? Are they ready for his next phase of the mission?”
“They are flawless sir, and I believe they are more than ready.”
“Glad to hear it. Be safe out there Ryan—stay smart. I’ll check in again before the mission.”
“Yes sir.” Ryan left the office and checked with the agent who had been tailing Carly. He told Ryan that she was at the Capital Grill with another CIA operative. Ryan knew that he had to play this carefully. Carly knew him very well. Ryan walked into the restaurant and went straight for the bar. Ryan ordered a Crown on the rocks and a T-bone steak, medium rare, with a baked potato and side salad. He hadn’t looked around at all, but he could feel her eyes on the back of his neck. Ryan was halfway through his salad when the bartender brought him another drink.
“I didn’t order this.”
“It’s from the lady across the room.” Ryan turned around and hoped the artificial look on his face reflected both surprise and happiness to see her. It must have because she excused herself from her dinner companions and walked over to the bar. Kissing him on the cheek, Carly sat down next to him.
“I stopped by your place a few times,” she said.
“I know, my doorway told me.”
“Are you avoiding me?”
“Not at all, just been traveling a lot. You know how the secret service is; there’s always some kind of emergency.”
“Yes, I certainly haven’t forgotten that.”
“So how’s the new job going?” he asked in between bites of his steak.
“Pretty boring actually. You know I’ve never been one for paperwork.”
“I hear that,” Ryan laughed. The bartender cleared his plates and Ryan ordered them another round of drinks.
“I miss the old days. Remember being fresh out of the academy; we were going to change the world.”
“I still feel that way, don’t you?”
“You want to get out of here?” She asked, changing the subject. “My new place is just around the corner.” He knew he should say no, but he didn’t want to make her suspicious. Ryan secretly hoped that what he told Woods about being able to handle this was true. Maybe he should have let the Vice President bring someone else in.
There was very little conversation as they made the drive back to her apartment. Talking was never their thing. They were so in tune with each other’s body language, that they didn’t notice the men following them. Once Carly and Ryan were inside the building, the men made a call to Absame to report what they had seen.
“Detain him immediately. I want to know who he is,” Absame ordered.
Ryan woke before sunrise and gathered his belongings. There were roses by the door, so he took one and placed it on the pillow beside her. This would be the last time they would be together, and he knew it. It had to be.
One of Absame’s men followed Ryan, while the other two went to retrieve Carly. She awoke to a knock at the door. She saw the rose on the pillow and got up. She opened the door expecting to see Ryan, but instead everything went black. When she regained consciousness, she didn’t know where she was. She was tied securely to a chair in what looked like the cabin of a ship. The door opened and Absame entered. Carly felt the color drain from her face as she looked into his cold eyes. Absame struck her across the face so hard that the chair she was tied to tipped and hit the floor.
“Why have you not found anything for me? It’s been weeks.”
“I’m close to a breakthrough.” Absame hit her again.
“Who was that man you were with?”
“He’s just a friend, I swear it.” Absame hit her again. She yelped in pain. “His name is Ryan. We have dated on and off for years. We went to the academy together.”
“So he’s CIA?”
“No, he pushed paper for homeland security.” Absame contemplated her answer for a moment. Turning around, he picked up a long dagger from the table next to him.
“How you answer this next question is a matter of life and death.” Carly couldn’t take her eyes off the knife. “Were you able to get any information from this Ryan?”
“No, I...” was all Carly could manage before Absame severed her throat so severely that it almost removed her head. He turned to his men and instructed them to get rid of the body.
Ryan was on his way back to his own apartment and still hadn’t noticed the man following him. He pushed the button to the elevator door and was hit from behind. The man that hit him, joined him on the ground only seconds later. Agent Riggs helped Ryan to his feet.
“Thank you.”
“Sorry sir, I wasn’t quite close enough to prevent the attack.”
“What were you still doing there?”
“Just following orders, sir, from the Vice President, sir.”
“Is Carly still being watched?”
“No sir, you signaled for us to leave.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No sir, orders.” Ryan suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He told Riggs to detain this man and then meet him back at Carly’s apartment. Ryan tried calling her, but there was no answer. He parked out front and ran passed the doorway. The front door to her home stood wide open. Ryan pulled his weapon, but he already knew he was too late. Riggs was right behind him. They cleared the rooms. There were definite signs of a struggle. Ryan got on the phone with the Vice President, Jako, and Carly’s superiors. Ryan told them the whole story. Carly’s superior, Agent Cord, said that his team would take care of things from here. Ryan went home to get himself cleaned up. Just a few minutes later, his phone began to ring. It was Agent Cord requesting his presence at the morgue. Cord stopped him at the door.
“I know you two had history. I just feel like I need to prepare you for what you are about to see.”
“I need to see her,” Ryan pleaded. He immediately regretted going in there. It was truly the most horrific thing he had ever scene. He rushed out of the room; he thought he was going to throw up. What had she done to deserve this? Ryan made arrangements for an Agency funeral.