Jack sat at the conference table in the war room below John Halverson’s study, having slept in until eight o’clock. Anne sat beside him, holding his hand beneath the table. All was better with the world, but not quite good enough.
Yes, he had the woman of his dreams beside him. She was well and alive after a frightening attempt by Trinity to kill her. Which brought him to the conclusion something had to be done about Trinity.
Declan stood at the end of the conference table, a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked tired, like all of them felt. “I’ve been trying to figure out what the vaccination deaths in Syria had to do with the explosion in the West Wing,” he said. “We learned this morning that Waylon Pharmaceuticals completed a sale of one of its divisions this morning. It happens to be the one doing the research on the nanotechnology-based cancer vaccination. If sanctions had been voted in, that sale would not have taken place. Maybe it’s adding one plus one and coming up with three, but we think the explosion delayed implementing sanctions long enough to complete the sale. We think they only wanted to delay a decision on imposing Russian sanctions. At the same time it gave Trinity the cover they needed to kidnap the vice president and Anne so they could lure CJ out of hiding.”
“Seems like a lot of trouble for those two goals,” Jack said.
“The sale netted close to a billion dollars,” Declan said.
Mustang and Gus emitted low whistles.
“That might be worth disrupting an NSC meeting,” Jack admitted.
“That brings us to why we’re all here this morning.” Declan took a deep breath and continued, “Though I never had the pleasure of meeting John Halverson, I feel as though I’ve gotten to know him through the people whose lives he touched and the work he was doing to bring down a mafia-like organization that has the potential to rot our great country from the inside out.”
Jack nodded, his lips pressing together.
“You all know Jasmine, aka Jane Doe, a former member of Trinity.” He nodded toward Jasmine, who sat beside Gus at the conference table. “And most of you got to meet the latest addition to our little team yesterday at a little farmhouse in the Virginia countryside.” He waved a hand toward the auburn-haired woman who stood near the door.
She had politely refused to take a seat, as if being in an enclosed room made her nervous.
“CJ is with us because she wants the same thing we do. The destruction of Trinity. We’ve managed to eliminate some of the operatives, but there will always be more where they came from, as long as the organization remains intact.”
“We need to cut off the head of the snake,” Jack said.
Declan nodded. “In order to effect change, we have to neutralize their leadership. We hope that between CJ and Jasmine we can learn more about the inner workings of Trinity so that we can find the leader of the organization and take him down.”
Charlie sat at the other end of the table, her hands folded together on the surface. “My husband died trying to do what you all are about to undertake. I hope you succeed where he did not. And I pray you all survive the effort. If anyone feels they’ve done enough and want out, now’s the time to go. No hard feelings. I will understand and stand by your decision.”
Declan raised his eyebrows. “Anyone want out?”
As one, the men of Declan’s Defenders responded with a resounding, “Hell no.”
“Okay then,” Declan clapped his hands together. “Let’s make it happen.”
He turned to CJ. “You’ve put yourself at risk by joining forces with us. You need someone to have your back and look out for you.”
CJ shook her head. “I don’t need a bodyguard, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
“I’m not suggesting that,” Declan said. “Cole is more like the eyes in the back of your head, an extension of your abilities.”
CJ frowned. “Cole?” She looked around the room at the men. “Which one of you is Cole?”
Cole lifted a hand.
She snorted. “Again, I don’t need a babysitter or bodyguard. I’ve managed to survive on my own for over a year since I left Trinity. If I have someone following me around, that leaves me even more exposed.”
Cole lifted his shoulders. “It’s your choice. But it helps to have another set of eyes watching your back. We’ve been a team for a long time. Each man on this team has saved my life at least once, and I’ve saved theirs.”
“I’ll think about it,” CJ said. “And if I agree to this arrangement, it will be on my terms. For now, I’ve got work to do to figure out who the leader is of Trinity. Thank you for inviting me to come here today. It is nice to know I’m not alone.” She turned and started for the stairs leading out of the basement. She’d only gone three steps when she turned back. “Cole, I’ll be in touch.”
“Do you need my phone number?” he asked.
“No need. I’ll find you,” she said confidently and left.
Jack chuckled at the look of irritation on Cole’s face. “Cole, I suspect you will have your hands full with that one.”
Cole’s brow creased. “I suspect you’re correct in that assumption.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Well, let’s get this party started.
* * * * *