The alphabet agencies encompassed dozens of federal agencies that contracted with Potomac for training, security, and other services.Jake’s non-answer could mean anything from the U.S.Postal Service to the Secret Service and everything in between.
“Could you be a little more specific?”Omar asked.
“It’s an intelligence agency,” Ryan told him, loudly enough so the others could hear.
Olivia craned her neck to look at the attorney.“Domestic?”
Ryan glanced over her head at Jake.
Jake answered, “No.”
She turned to face him.“CIA, got it.”
Jake neither confirmed nor denied her statement.Instead he said, “We’ve been tasked with retrieving sensitive data for them.”
“Why aren’t they doing it themselves?”she pressed him.
He gestured toward the lawyer.“Wanna field this one?”
“There’s been a change in the administration’s stance toward certain foreign actors since the agency first undertook the operation.Now, they need distance.”
“You mean plausible deniability.”
Ryan shrugged.“Tomato, tomahto.”
“Where is this information?”Omar asked.
Jake took over again.“On a yacht.”
“A yacht?”Omar was sure he’d misheard.
“A yacht.”Jake confirmed.“A one-hundred-forty-seven-foot yacht named The Fakhar, which is currently sailing the Mediterranean.”
“That’s Arabic for glory.Or pride.”
Jake gave him a nod.“That tracks.The owner is believed to be a Tunisian national.”
“What do you mean, believed to be?”Marielle asked.
“The vessel is Malta-flagged, registered to a Maltese holding company with possible ties to the Salim Ben Mahmoud, a Tunisian oligarch.The Fakhar departed Tunis yesterday evening, bound for Mallorca.”
“And you want me to confirm ownership?”she guessed.
“No.It only matters because Idris, Mahmoud’s youngest son, is definitely aboard, which means his six armed bodyguards are also aboard.”
“So, why I am here?”
Jake eyed her closely.“You’re going undercover with Khan.You two need to infiltrate the yacht and get the data.”
“What!”Olivia, Marielle, and Omar exclaimed in unison.
Jake turned toward Trent.“Time for everyone except Marielle and Omar to scram.The rest of you are the support team.Trent’s in charge.”
A consummate professional, Olivia clamped her jaw shut.But she threw Jake a murderous look as she followed her husband and Ryan out of the office.
The moment the door closed behind them, Omar locked eyes with his boss.“No way.”
“Excuse you?”
