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September 21 - Iraq
Hi John,
Hope all is well. I got a letter from Lina yesterday. She says you’re not acting right and you barely talk to her. What’s going on? Don’t make me come back there and kick some sense into you. Relationships are hard, and sometimes they suck, but it’s always worth it, so get your shit in line.
Now that’s out of the way...Last letter I told you about the missing crates from the ambushed convoy showing up. The next day, I went back to the town on another recon sweep. One of the guys with me, Murphy, acts as an interpreter when needed. He’s fluent and could pass for one of them if it weren’t for the uniform. We went through the block where I saw the crates getting loaded onto the truck, but the house the crates came out of was gone. My buddy talked to a couple of the locals and translated for me. The house caught fire in the night and two men inside died in the flames. I walked away convinced my only leads to the crates were dead.
On the way back to base, Murphy asked why I was so interested in the house. I brushed it off, but I don’t think he bought it. He knows something’s going on, especially after I slammed on the brakes halfway back to base. There’s a road that leads into the mountains there, and damned if I didn’t see that same pickup truck and one of the men who supposedly burned to death the night before turning onto it. I swear it was the same guy, alive and heading into the mountains.
I’ll write more later. Keep these letters safe. Things are getting crazy here.
Give Lina my love,
Dave
The low hum of the server was the only sound in the command center as Viper scrolled through another military record. She reached the end of the file and closed it with a sigh, moving it into her cleared folder. One by one, she was eliminating possibilities as one factor or another excluded them from her search.
Stretching her arms over her head, she leaned back tiredly. Her eyes fell on a photo, partially hidden behind the monitor, and her lips tightened briefly. It was taken a lifetime ago, when she was much younger and had no idea what the future held in store for her. Alina stared at the photo and a wave of melancholy swept over her. She was standing on the boardwalk at the shore, between her older brother and her then-fiancé, laughing and carefree. Alina suddenly remembered the scent of the ocean and warm breeze on her hair as if she were there again. She had been perfectly content, surrounded by the men she loved, safe and innocent.
Now, twelve years later, she was the only one still living, and she had taken more lives than she cared to count.
She shifted her gaze to the smiling face of Dave, her brother. He was killed a few months after the photo was taken. She had been devastated at the time. Now she was furious. Through pure chance, last week she had come across the emails Dave sent to John in the two weeks before his death. Now she knew Dave’s death wasn’t as simple as a shot taken from an insurgent.
Now she was looking for a traitor, and her brother’s killer.
Viper reached out and flipped the frame over impatiently. This was why she normally didn’t keep any photos around. The past served no purpose in her present. The only thing it did was remind her of a girl she didn’t want to remember, a life that held no promise for her anymore.
Viper glanced up as movement caught her attention. The flat screen on the wall displayed the dark kitchen above her and she watched as Michael walked around the island to the refrigerator. It was just past two in the morning. He’d gone up to the spare room after midnight, leaving her to her own devices. Alina descended the stone steps concealed beneath the kitchen island to her command center and there she remained, plowing through military records, searching.
Michael opened the fridge and studied the contents for a moment before reaching in and pulling out a bottle of water. Alina watched as he opened it and took a drink, capping the bottle before moving out of the kitchen. The camera in the living room picked him up in the next frame as he moved over to the sliding glass door to the deck, peering outside.
She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. He was looking for her. That meant he never went to sleep, and knew she had never gone upstairs. Suppressing a sigh, she turned in her chair, watching as he turned away from the sliding doors.
Why was he here? She didn’t for one second believe it was only for Blake. He was up to something. Viper leaned back in her chair, staring at the plasma broodingly.
Whatever it was, she was stuck with him for at least a couple of days. That was inconvenient for her, and potentially very dangerous for him. Someone wanted her dead. If they happened to catch up to her while Michael was around, she knew they would have no compunction about eliminating him as well. He knew the dangers. He wasn’t stupid, despite being a Marine. So why was he here?
Her eyes narrowed as he moved down the hall towards the front of the house and the stairs. At least she could keep an eye on him this way. Someone knew more about her than they should, and although Hawk thought she was reckless being back in New Jersey, Viper was acutely aware of her situation. The only way someone could know so much about her was if they were being fed the information. Only a handful of people knew anything about her past. With Michael’s arrival, they were all in New Jersey. It was only a matter of time before she uncovered the mole in Washington. Once she did, she’d know who, out of her very small inner circle, she couldn’t trust.
Then may God show them mercy, because Viper would not.
Alina sipped her coffee and looked out over the back yard. Dawn had broken and the early morning sun was just beginning to filter through the trees, lightening the shadows. She had slept for a couple of hours before coming out to the deck to practice her morning yoga. Now she grimaced and slid a hand under her shirt to the bandage at her side. The wound was throbbing, but the bandage was dry. Hopefully it was just sore from the workout.
She was just lifting her mug when her cell phone began vibrating on the chair behind her. Alina turned with a frown and picked it up, raising her eyebrow in surprise at the number on the caller id.
“Yes?”
She lifted her mug to her lips once again.
“Did I wake you?” Stephanie asked.
“No.”
“Good. It was already ringing when I saw it wasn’t even seven yet. Sorry.”
Alina sipped her coffee, waiting.
“Are you there?” Stephanie asked after a second of silence.
“Yes. I’m waiting on you. I assume you have a good reason for calling this early,” she replied, amused.
“Oh! Yes. I just got home from Angie’s a little while ago. Her house was broken into last night.”
“What? When?”
“Just after three in the morning. The guy made it to her bedroom before Angie stopped him.”
Alina’s brows snapped together in a scowl.
“Tell me,” she commanded.
Stephanie proceeded to fill her in on the events that dominated the early hours of the morning and by the time she was finished, the scowl had deepened.
“He got away?” she asked.
“Yes, and Angie couldn’t give a description other than tall and probably Caucasian, possibly light-skinned Latino. They’re checking hospitals now. The guy had a stiletto heel drilled into his neck. He had to get stitched up somewhere.”
Viper’s lips curved.
“Were they really Jimmy Choo’s?” she asked.
“Yes. Pastel pink.”
The smile grew into a grin before Viper could stop it.
“How’s Angela taking it?”
“She’s shaken up,” Stephanie said, then paused. “Wait. Are you talking about the break-in or the shoes?”
“The shoes.”
“She’s furious. She only wore them once.”
Alina turned to gaze out over the lawn again, a low chuckle escaping.
“Leave it to Angie to fight a man off with a thousand-dollar shoe,” she murmured. “Did he take anything?”
“No, and that’s what has me concerned. There was no sign of a search and nothing was missing. He went straight through the house and directly to her bedroom,” Stephanie said grimly. “I think it’s someone she knows, or someone who’s been watching her long enough to know her habits.”
Alina was silent, staring into the trees without seeing them.
“There’s something else that’s bothering me,” Stephanie continued when Alina made no comment. “Someone slashed her tire on Friday. It was only luck she noticed it before getting in and driving away. You know how flaky she can be. I wouldn’t put it past her to drive a couple miles on a flat before realizing something was wrong.”
“You think the two are connected?”
“I think it’s likely, don’t you? I’m worried about her. I don’t think she should stay there alone, and I have a full house right now.”
Alina glanced at the black pickup truck parked in her driveway.
“Mine’s not empty,” she murmured. “Michael showed up last night. He’s staying here for a few days.”
“You’ve got two spare rooms. They’ve both stayed there before. Can you take her?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s probably safer in her own house.”
“What? Your house is like Fort Knox!” Stephanie exclaimed.
Viper’s lips tightened slightly.
“There’s a lot going on you don’t know,” she said slowly. “You know I’d bring her here if I thought she’d be safer, but I’m not sure.”
Stephanie was silent for a long moment.
“You have Michael there,” she said. “Is he safe?”
“No, and he knows that. I’m not willing to risk Angie, especially after what she went through last night.”
“What are we going to do?” Stephanie demanded. “Until we find this guy, I don’t want her alone in that house. He could come back, and this time he’d be prepared.”
“Let me think about it and I’ll call you back,” Alina said after a long moment.
“Well don’t call in the next few hours. I’m going to sleep. I’m exhausted,” said Stephanie. “She’ll be fine for some of the day. We’re all going out to brunch.”
“Then I’ve got time to figure something out.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Stephanie invited. “Bring Michael. It’s Easter. You can’t spend it alone.”
“I’ll pass, thanks. I have things to do here. Michael’s going up to Brooklyn, I believe. I’ll tell him to call Blake. He said he has some information for him.”
“The viewing is tomorrow at 7. You are going to that, right?”
“If I must,” Alina said grudgingly.
“Yes, you must,” Stephanie snapped. “I swear, Lina, you’re enough to try the patience of a saint. I’ll text you the funeral home and all the details.”
“Fine.” Alina glanced at her watch. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Don’t think I’m letting you get away with not telling me why your house isn’t safe anymore. I’m tired and I want to sleep, but later I want to know what the hell is going on over there.”
“Go get some sleep, Steph.”
The early morning sun hadn’t penetrated the trees in the park yet. It was just as well. The sole occupant of the bench overlooking the river hadn’t been to bed yet, and the lightening shadows were already making his post-drunk eyes hurt. He rubbed them and yawned widely. He didn’t even remember the last bar. He thought there might have been a woman at some point in the evening...he shook his head groggily. No. There couldn’t have been. If there was, he’d be with her, not sitting on a park bench staring at the Potomac.
What was he doing here anyway?
The man shook his head and leaned forward to spit, grimacing at the metallic taste in his mouth. What did he drink at that last stop? Whatever it was, it was doing a number on him. Or maybe he was coming down from that last high. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep it off. He sat back heavily and stared at the gray shadows around him.
He was meeting someone.
The thought came to him suddenly and he nodded sagely to himself. Of course. The suit who hired him to plant drugs in the Fed’s house had another job for him. Another windfall was coming his way, which was good because he’d finished spending the last paycheck last night. Maybe this one would pay as much, if not more.
There was a brisk wind blowing off the river this morning and he watched as waves rippled across the surface, rising and falling in crests as the current swept swiftly by. He never came to the river, he realized suddenly. In fact, he hated the water. He never learned to swim and, instead of appreciating the beauty of the water, he always felt fear. It was a force he didn’t understand, nor did he want to. His feet were planted firmly on land, and that was where he stayed.
Something moved behind him and he turned, peering up at the figure walking down from the wide pedestrian path at the top of the mild rise.
“You came,” the man said. “I didn’t know if you were sober enough to remember.”
“I was pretty drunk,” the man on the bench admitted with a grin, “but I’m here.”
“You look like you need to walk,” the newcomer said thoughtfully. “Come.”
“I need to go home and sleep it off,” the man muttered, standing a little unsteadily.
The other man laughed and began to walk alongside the river, leaving the man from the bench no choice but to join him.
“This won’t take long,” the newcomer assured him. “I want you to do something for me. You handled the last job as we discussed, so I have another one for you. Are you interested?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“True.” The man paused for a moment, then glanced at his companion. “Did you tell anyone about the last job?”
“’Course not. Why would I?”
“Good. That’s good. That was a sensitive thing.”
The newcomer stopped and turned to gaze over the river. The bank was quite low at this section and the water lapped against it a few feet away.
“Have you seen the news?” he asked suddenly. “Someone was stabbed outside the Willard last weekend.”
“I saw something about it on Facebook,” the man replied, stifling a yawn. He was falling asleep on his feet. If this didn’t wrap up soon, he was going to pass out right here. “I don’t pay attention to stuff like that. I scrolled past it.”
“Smart man. Sometimes I wish I could just ignore the world around me,” the newcomer said almost wistfully. “I wonder if the dead man had anything to do with the bombs.”
“Bombs? What bombs?”
The man glanced at him.
“You don’t know? Someone tried to set off some bombs in different cities. It failed, of course.”
“Huh. No. Never heard about that.”
“Lucky you.” The man turned to face him. “This job I have for you is very delicate. You’re sure you haven’t spoken to a soul about the last one?”
“Dude, I told you no. I don’t snitch.”
The man nodded slowly, studying him.
“I believe you,” he finally said, nodding. “That’s good.”
He reached into the inside pocket of his overcoat and his companion watched, his eyes sharpening greedily. Good. He was going to pay him half up front. He loved it when they did that.
“I have something for you here,” the newcomer said with a smile. “Consider it a gift.”
He never got a good look at the gift, but he certainly felt it. It was a searing pain, sharp and more intense than anything he’d ever felt. Strange. He couldn’t seem to move his arms to stop it. In fact, he suddenly couldn’t do much of anything, including speak. His eyes widened in shock and he tried to gasp for air, but the pain was too intense.
“Don’t worry,” the man said soothingly as darkness overtook him. “You can sleep now.”
Less than five minutes later, the man in the overcoat was back on the pedestrian path, striding away as the Potomac River welcomed the body of the man on the bench, the current pulling it under until it disappeared from sight.