Cassandra Johnstone sat at her office in the middle of the Free Communities Headquarters compound. Windows looked out on tropical jungle high in the Colombian mountains. She read the report from her agent in place near Shawna Nightingale and smiled slightly.
It had worked. Skull had accepted the job.
Cassandra knew Skull was unlikely to help her again after all the times she’d been less than honest with him, so she’d hacked Larry’s account and sent the email in his name, for Shawna to contact Skull.
She also felt sure Skull was at least a little bit in love with her, and she didn’t want to jeopardize that tiny spark of humanity and connection.
And now I’m using him again, she thought. Being deceptive instead of asking for his help. Not just with Alan, but with Larry’s wife as well. Do I have no shame left in me?
“I’m doing what I need to do,” she whispered. She needed a non-Eden to check into this, and frankly she was unsure whom to trust these days. Anybody could be a Unionist infiltrator, even an Eden. Someone who could blend in, but someone unlimited by the virtue effect.
Psychos, they were called. Terrible threats is how she thought of them, and it disturbed her as a trained intelligence operative that she’d grown complacent, missed the obvious, and had the tables turned on her so easily.
But Skull wasn’t an Eden. He could at least be relied upon and trusted...to a point. And she thought she knew what that point was.
She rubbed her face and tried to clear her head. What was done was done and there would be time to tidy up any personal friction burns later.
Cassandra composed a secure message to Geoffrey Rayburne, her mole in British Intelligence. She told him Skull would likely be traveling to Europe on Larry’s trail, and to have his people be on the lookout for him and to help him if they could.
That assuaged her guilt a fraction.
I’m not a bad person.
Sometimes the end did justify the means.
A knock came on the door and Cassandra’s secretary stuck her head in. “Ma’am, you asked Sergeant Repeth to come by?”
“Yes, please send her in.”
The athletic woman they called Reaper entered, measuring Cassandra up and down before looking around the room.
Cassandra had spent a lifetime as a CIA operative in the business of manipulating people. All types of strong personalities. Leaders, nerds, warriors, politicians, criminals, saints, beauties, and monsters. Working with them had been a tough job, a necessary evil and she’d done it well, making them believe she was on their side and in some cases letting them think they were using her.
But this woman was one of the few who made her feel uneasy. An element of danger and violence lurked just below the surface, and a refusal to be manipulated beyond a certain point.
Like Skull, a small voice said in her head and she pushed the thought away. And Spooky. They all remind me of myself.
Cassandra realized that an awkward silence hung in the air. She stood quickly and stuck out her hand, shaking Reaper’s. “Sorry. Haven’t had my coffee this morning. Thank you for coming. Please take a seat.”
Reaper sat, looking at her watch. “I’ve only got a few minutes before I have to get back.”
“How’s that going, by the way?”
“Good,” answered Reaper with a false smile. “If you’re asking me if I’m happy serving as Daniel Markis’ personal security detail chief, I am. If you’re asking me if I miss working for Spooky doing his dirty work, I don’t.”
“Fair enough. Just seems like the sort of job that would involve a lot of sitting around doing nothing. Not what I imagined someone like you would be happy with.”
“Someone like me?” Reaper said with a glint of amusement.
“A professional warrior. Someone who’s spent her life fighting and leading others. That’s all I meant.”
Reaper sighed and pointedly examined her watch again. “Ma’am, you asked me here and I came. Would you mind doing me the professional courtesy of putting down your stick of butter and beginning the barbecue?”
“No buttering. More like…easing into it. You might be shocked.”
“So shock me.”
“You know what a Psycho is, right?”
“Supposedly an Eden without the virtue effect.”
“Not just supposedly. They do exist, and we’ve discovered a clandestine CIA program to infiltrate the Free Communities, especially our power structures – military, governmental, police. The usual biological tests are useless. They read as Edens.”
Reaper sat pondering for several minutes.
Cassandra let her think.
“This isn’t good.”
Cassandra made a face. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“You believe that as the head of Markis’ security team, I need to know, so I can screen my people. I appreciate that.”
“That’s part of it, but not all. I need help finding these hidden Psychos too. They could be anywhere. Anyone. We’ve gotten stupid, relying on a virus to do our job for us. Now, we have to weed them out the old-fashioned way. With good counterintelligence work.”
“…and I already have a mental list of people I suspect,” Reaper said. “People getting into trouble when they shouldn’t. People with bad habits.”
“That’s simplistic. We know there is variance in the virtue effect. We should have known there might be people who lack it entirely, but we can’t simply assume anyone not living a model life is a Psycho. The Eden Plague doesn’t wipe out all temptations to crime; it only eliminates biological reasons, such as drug dependencies.”
“We institute behavioral tests, then. And how about bringing back polygraphs?”
“Already in the works. But that’s only part of the problem. Just because we’re pretty sure all the CIA moles are Psychos, doesn’t mean all Psychos are CIA moles. Nobody created this version of being an Eden. It’s evidently a naturally occurring condition for maybe one in ten thousand of those infected. Maybe fewer.”
“So what does Spooky think about all of this?”
“Spooky?” Cassandra looked away and reached for a piece of paper, stared at it, and then set it down. “Are you implying something about him?”
“He’s always seemed to be able to suppress his conscience when needed. Maybe he’s a full-blown Psycho.”
“Perhaps.”
Reaper chuckled. “Oh, so he doesn’t know you suspect. Good for you. Finally keeping something from that shifty bastard. But he’s going to find out about this sooner or later. He always does. Maybe he already has and hasn’t told you.” She cocked her head. “You think he’s working for the other side?”
“If by the other side you mean the CIA, or worse, then no. I don’t think he’s working for anyone but Spooky, and currently his interests align with ours. My concern is that they stay aligned. As long as they do, I can work with him. We need him. He’s frighteningly effective at what he does. And fortunately, he’s a little busy right now with a special mission of his own.”
Reaper leaned forward. “What type of mission?”
“He hasn’t told you?” Hesitating for a moment, Cassandra asked, “I presume you know the FC has been working to get Edens out of areas where they’re being persecuted?”
“I’ve seen it firsthand. Persecuted is a criminal understatement. It’s genocide. A new Holocaust. Organized mass murder.”
“You’d think humanity would have learned.” Cassandra drummed her fingers. “We’ve been trying to set up a worldwide system to get them out of unsympathetic countries and into the FC. A giant underground railroad supported by Eden sympathizers across the globe. Something much more organized than a few raids liberating prison camps, no offense.”
“None taken. I know our efforts are drops in the bucket. Your way makes sense for the long term.”
“We were working to evacuate the last remaining survivors of Spooky’s extended family, get out of the U.S. They’d been hiding in a safe house for over a year, but we decided the time was right to extract them.”
“But something went wrong,” Reaper said.
“Yes. Security Service forces intercepted and searched the convoy carrying them. We’re not sure if it was chance or if we were betrayed, but Spooky’s family was taken to an experimentation camp.”
“How many?”
“Twenty-five or so. Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins. Several are children.”
“And Spooky is setting up a rescue?”
Cassandra shrugged. “Markis couldn’t really forbid him, not after forcing his hand so many times to save Edens. Besides, family is particularly important to his people.”
“Family is important to everyone.”
“Nevertheless, Spooky has drafted your old team to go with him.”
“Not my team anymore. His monkeys, his circus.”
“They still respect you,” Cassandra said. “They know you, not him.”
Reaper looked at her watch. “I really need to go soon. What exactly is it you want from me?”
“I want you to accompany Spooky on this mission.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Reaper said with a tight smile.
“I’m serious.”
“I’m sure you are, but the answer is still no.”
“I know you’ve had some issues with him in the –”
“Issues? He’s a lying snake. And I have an important job. He’ll be fine. They’ll be fine.”
Cassandra shook her head. “I don’t think they will be. What chance do you think your people stand without you there? And I agree that he’s a lying snake. That’s why I want you along.”
“Nice try. They’re all big boys and girls. No one is forcing their hands. They can take care of themselves.”
“Be that as it may, we’d like to rescue these Edens if we can.”
“We, who? The only person who can order me around is Markis, and I don’t see him here. And by the way, trapped and imprisoned Edens are everywhere. We can’t go after all of them. That’s what your new system is for, right?”
Cassandra waited, letting the guest stew until she became uncomfortable with the silence.
Reaper shifted in her seat. “Other than them being Spooky’s family, what makes these people so important?”
Cassandra still didn’t answer. Better to let her work it out for herself.
Realization began to dawn. “This isn’t only about the Edens, is it? This is about Spooky.”
“If he is a Psycho, he could bring us all down. The power he holds is immense. We have to know how far he’ll go in pursuing selfish goals, or whether he’ll stand with Markis and the FC. With us.”
“And if he turns against us?”
Cassandra stared at her without blinking. “Then we’d like you to take care of the situation.”
“Take care of the situation? You mean kill Spooky?”
“If necessary.”
“And you’re still saying ‘we.’ What we, Kemo Sabe?”
“Others at my level in the FC hierarchy. People like me who know Markis is too reluctant to make the hard calls, so sometimes we have to make them for him. You’re in charge of Markis’ security? This is part of keeping him secure.”
Reaper folded her hands in her lap and sat back, thinking. “Why not just arrest Spooky here and now and figure it out?”
“Because arresting him might tear the FC apart. Word would get out about the presence of Psychos among us, sowing waves of distrust. The innocent would be accused, some framed by real Psychos. And arresting him will tip him off. We’ll never figure out where his true loyalties lie. If he’s found guilty of something serious, the scandal could rip apart this very fragile thing we call the Free Communities. If it is to be done, we need it done quietly. If he dies, he dies a hero of the FC, not a traitor.”
“What gives you the idea I’ll do this? I already turned down wet work assignments. There are other people. Hell, get Skull to do it. I hear he’s sweet on you.”
Cassandra whitened and compressed he lips, but ignored the jab. “You’re someone who can be counted on to do what needs to be done. You have a strong moral compass and I know you can be trusted. And let’s be honest: haven’t you wanted to kill him more than once?”
Reaper pointed a finger at Cassandra. “Don’t be flip about this. We’re talking about betrayal and assassination. He’s our colleague. He trusts us. We have to be damn sure.”
“We’re talking execution of a suspected traitor, but only if he betrays us first. It’s the best option we have. We can’t leave him in such a powerful position not knowing. This mission should give you a good opportunity to gauge if he’s loyal to the FC, or only out for himself.”
“And get him far away from here if I do have to kill him.”
“Of course.”
“You’re no different from him.”
Cassandra’s lips thinned further. “There’s an enormous difference between wanting to do something abhorrent and believing I must do it. In fact, I suggest to you that it’s more admirable to sacrifice my own qualms for the good of all than to give in to my distaste for it.”
“Sophistry. Aha, you’re surprised a grunt like me even knows that word, aren’t you? Well, here’s another one. Casuistry.”
“Hairsplitting? Sure. I cede the moral high ground, Jill. I know I’m sinking into the muck here. But I don’t see any other way.”
***
Reaper thought for several long minutes. Despite her words, she did miss her old team, and she worried about them under Spooky’s direct command. She also couldn’t really fault Cassandra’s logic, despite her objections. She wished the task would fall to someone else, but she needed to face the fact she was probably the right choice. Only someone Spooky trusted, someone he wouldn’t suspect could turn against him, might get a chance to take him down.
Also, Marines didn’t whine when given an unsavory task, or ask why another couldn’t do it instead. She might not wear the uniform anymore, but in her heart she remained Semper Fi. Always would.
And, she’d been bored out of her mind recently anyway. Following Markis around on trips. Securing hotel rooms and vehicles. Checking dumpsters to ensure some crazy with a grenade or a machine gun didn’t pop out. Over the last few months Reaper realized that she’d begun hoping something would happen just to provide excitement, and that attitude courted disaster.
“I have a responsibility,” Reaper finally said. “There’s no one to do my job.”
“How about Karl Rogett?”
“He was part of INS, Inc., working for Durgan before he became an Eden. Too much baggage. I already turned him down for the security detail.”
“We all have skeletons in our closets,” Cassandra answered. “He’s been a good soldier since becoming an Eden and joining us here. And he knows his stuff. He’s been in charge of overall compound security for almost a year.”
“How do you know he isn’t one of these Psychos? Now that we’re talking about it, what do you really know about him at all?”
“I have my sources. My people have checked out Mister Rogett thoroughly and have been watching him. All indications are that he is a changed man and is loyal to us.”
“Are you willing to risk Markis’ life on that? Better yet, is Markis willing to trust his life and maybe that of his family on this belief?”
“He is,” answered Cassandra solemnly.
“You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din.” Reaper sighed. “Damn you, and damn Spooky. I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
Her voice grave, Cassandra said, “Thank you.”
“I’ll do my duty, wherever it may lie.” She gave Cassandra a chilling look before standing. “Wherever it may lie. Better make sure you’re never in Spooky’s position, chiquita.”
“I’m not a Psycho.”
“How can we be sure?” Reaper pointed a finger-gun at Cassandra and pulled the trigger. “Pow,” she said before turning and walking from the office.