I thought of Uncle Jeff when I was in training at the academy. Every time I got punched, kicked, or knocked down while learning to fight, I thought of him and pushed myself harder. At the firing range, I imagined him looking over my shoulder and reminding me that not only could I do it, I couldown it. And I had, finishing at the top of my class.
Though I couldn’t save him, I can save others. Stopping men like Alex Hassan is how I honor my uncle, and I’ll stop at nothing to do it.
My phone rings from the living room, and I swipe the tears from my cheeks, put the photo back, and pull my work cell from my bag.
It was a text alert from Rae. The message reads,I’ll see you soon.
The message means she wants to meet with me ASAP at a café that’s one of our meeting spots. It’s the first time I’ve gotten this message since becoming an agent. My stomach churns nervously as I wonder what’s up.
She must know I cut out of the club last night. How will I explain it to her?
I quickly change into jeans and a black T-shirt and run a brush through my hair, then put on a baseball cap. After I grab my bag, I’m out the door, texting Rae to tell her I got her message.
It takes me around twenty minutes to get to the café by subway, and when I do, Rae is standing outside.
“Hey,” she says in greeting. “Let’s walk.”
“I’m sorry about last night,” I say in a low tone. “I kind of lost my shit. It was like Phoenix could see right through me.”
Rae gives me a look of alarm. “You found him?”
“Yeah, he was there. But he said he didn’t think I really like Alex Hassan, and…I don’t know, he just rattled me. So I left.”
“Instinct is the best tool we have in the field,” Rae says. “If you listened to your inner voice, you did the right thing. Do you want me to pull you from the club assignment?”
“No.” I say it adamantly. “I can handle it. Hassan asked Phoenix to do something that Phoenix won’t do. Hassan wants him to reconsider, but it doesn’t sound like he will.”
“Get me a full report today.” Rae looks side to side and behind us before continuing. “I have an operational assignment for you.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a surge of excitement. Olivia gets assigned operations often, but so far, I’ve only been assigned to monitor the Loft.
“There’s a software engineer in an intelligence agency who’s suspected of selling intelligence information. I need you to get into his office and run the program on the jump drive I slipped into your bag.”
I look down at my bag and then up at her. “You already did?”
“I already did.”
I pull my bag closer to my body, feeling like the worst spy ever.
Rae continues. “Here’s the catch. This engineer, Thomas, has his computer set up for retinal scan followed by password input to log on. It can’t be cracked. You have to get him to sign on to the computer for you. And he can’t suspect you’ve messed with it.”
I shake my head and sigh heavily. “Okay, so I have to get him to take me into his office, sign on to the computer, and then not notice I’m installing something on it?”
“And he has to walk you out of the building. Security won’t let you in or out alone.”
“This is a suicide mission,” I mutter.
“You want us to give it to Olivia?”
“No,” I say quickly. “I’ve got it. I need some time to go through the file and research him, though, so I can find a way in. How long do I have?”
“Five days max.”
I nod. “And what about the Loft?”
“We need you there as much as possible. Try to work both Phoenix and Hassan, but Phoenix is the priority. We need photos, a voice recording, and as much intel as you can get.”
“Okay.”
