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At the compound, Jako had filled the team in on what was going on in DC, and that Ryan would be staying in the background for the remainder of the mission.
“For the next two days, we will be running mock exercises. There is an island approximately ten miles out. I have a freighter exactly like the one that Absame is on. Same amount of men on board. They don’t know when they will be attacked, so it should be a fairly authentic simulation. Run the drill as many times as possible. Kat, you will be on Jake’s team. Let’s get busy.”
They practiced their mock maneuvers all day. It would be time to head up for dinner soon. Then, they would head out to do the trial run on the ship. Jako had been observing all day. They were the tightest team he had ever seen. They opted to break into two teams: one on board the ship, and the other to cover the side boats. Janie was steering the boat for Jake’s team. Kat was on point, and Thomas was in the middle with Jake. With the next team, BJ would sit as snipper to cover Sarah and Reese as they boarded the ship from the starboard side. Shawn and Bill were strategically placed on either side of the freighter to move in as back up and to detain any pirates that attempt to make a run for it. When it was time to cast off, Jako wished them all luck.
It took about an hour for them to arrive at the anchored ship. They split up and went in silent. The entire operation went down without a hitch in fifteen minutes. By the third run, they were able to shave off two minutes. Reese called it a night and they returned to the compound. Jako congratulated them on a job well done and told them to get a much deserved night of rest. Janie found Kat in the study and could tell how uncomfortable she was.
“Are you in pain?”
“Yes, but I don’t want these stupid pills to own me.”
“How about this...I’ll hang onto your pills. That way, when you really need them, you can ask me and you won’t be tempted to take them when you don’t need them.”
“Thank you Janie. Thank you so much.” Janie handed her two pills and bid her goodnight.
Mendoza had just gotten off the phone with Absame. The anger surged through him. Absame was causing so much more trouble than they needed. It was one thing to kidnap an undercover CIA agent, but to kill one so brutally after her predecessor had shown up dead was reckless. Mendoza knew that he needed to rid himself of this barbaric man...and soon. The deal that was currently in motion would be their last. He trusted Reese much more, but in truth, he trusted no one.
Ryan was sitting in his DC office, finishing up some paperwork, when Cord came in.
“Have you found out anything on Carly’s murder?”
“No actually. That’s why I’m here. She took a leave of absence saying that her mother was ill in California, but her mother has been dead for over ten years. The hotel she booked said that she never checked in.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Did she say anything to you that may have sent up a red flag?”
“No. We didn’t really do a lot of talking when we saw each other.” Ryan put his head in his hands for a moment. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”
“It’s okay. I brought you the last few files for some of her more recent cases. For your eyes only.”
“Thank you Cord.” Cord had a feeling that Ryan wasn’t being level with him, but that was just the nature of their line of work. A little while later the two men left for Carly’s private service. There was only one other person present, which broke his heart. As they laid her to rest in the cemetery, Ryan noticed to figures standing in the tree line. They had been following him all day. He was sick and tired of this cat and mouse game. He should be back at the compound with his team.
When Ryan got back to his apartment, he swept the entire place for bugs. He found three, so he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower and called Jako with an update.
Reese, Sarah, Jake, and Janie decided to spend the day in New Orleans. That way, Mendoza would have no reason to suspect anything. Kat was beginning to feel the effects of withdrawal since Janie had begun monitoring her consumption. Janie had only left her enough to get her by while they were away. She took them all at once, but didn’t get any relief. She paced back and forth in her room before deciding to go for a run. That didn’t seem to help much either, so she went down to see the doctor. He gave her an injection and refilled her prescription. He told her to come back if she didn’t get better and he would give her something else. The shot helped almost immediately. She went back upstairs to enjoy the sweet feeling of relief.