“That’s how we finally saw how it was being transmitted. Mr. Bond has Ms. Mitchell listed as his ICE and vice versa. The file started bouncing back between both phones.”
“Would the owners of the phones know this was happening?”
“The National Security Agency analysis says there’s no reason to think the recipients would know.”
“Could the NSA figure out what was in the file?”
“They can watch what’s happening, but unless we get our hands on a device being used, we have no way of locking the file down. And even then, if we don’t have the key, there’s no way to crack the encryption code.”
“Interesting,” Hennigan said, steepling her fingers under her chin. She took a bite of her duck and chewed, coming up with her own assessment of the situation. “What would you recommend?”
“Best-case scenario, asset retrieval with no liquidation. However, if it’s not doable, then liquidation followed by asset retrieval or destroying all the assets in play. Whatever this file is, it’s much too dangerous to have floating around,” the First Lady said.
“Indeed.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask,” Cleo started. “When did The Foundation first realize Cynthia Dunning was working as a double agent for Tiandihui out of Hong Kong?”
“We’d heard chatter that the Tiandihui had been reconstituted and were looking to make inroads into the US. We didn’t know it had happened until an unauthorized data retrieval was linked back to Dunning. She was liquidated as soon as we traced the data to her, but the file was already forwarded. We’ve been trying to put the cat back in the bag, so to speak, ever since.”
“What did she retrieve?”
“That’s the terrifying part. We don’t know. Whoever helped her with the hack was good…very good. Our techs have been working around the clock to figure out how the hack happened and to secure The Foundation network all week. Your intel from the DHS mirrors what we’ve discovered.”
“Any chance we’re exposed?”
“Cleo,” Hennigan said with zero emotion, “there’s a chance every facet of The Foundation has been exposed, which is why we’re taking this leak seriously.”
“So seriously, you blew up an entire jumbo jet of innocent people to get one target?” Cleo asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Watch yourself, Mrs. Barnes,” Hennigan replied.
Dr. Hennigan’s phone started vibrating. She picked it up, still staring at Cleo Barnes as she said, “Hennigan.”
“We have one team heading to New Orleans to handle Target S and the other on the ground in Houston going after Target E,” Ms. Wilson said over the phone. “Orders?”
“Liquidation and asset retrieval.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan
Around six a.m., Ethan’s eyes popped open. He was still cradled against Blayne’s back. He had to pee. Ethan unwrapped himself from Blayne’s body and smoothly exited the bed. The bedroom was dark, but a sliver of light shone under the door.We left the hallway light on. Ethan quietly padded over to the door and slipped out, using his body to block as much of the light as possible. He then closed the door behind him.
After relieving himself, he opted to go for a run to clear his head. He wanted to jump back into bed with Blayne but went back to the guest bedroom and slipped into his running gear.There had been a spark last night.If yesterday hadn’t been so insane… He let the thought fall from his mind. He wasn’t even sure if Blayne saw him that way. Sure, they’d flirted a bit, but Ethan questioned if that meant Blayne was into him or just being a good host.
Ethan headed out of the apartment and stretched for a minute in the parking lot before taking off on the same path he’d run the previous morning. He quickly found his running groove as he quickened his pace. Ethan’s mind was a jumble of thoughts, from revealing who he was to Blayne the night before, to Jamie’s attack, to issues with ZERO, to how amazing Blayne’s body had felt next to his. With each additional problem entering his head, he tried to run faster, hoping he could outrun all the difficulties in his life and have no blood running anywhere but his arms and legs.
Halfway through his run, he deviated from the previous morning to run by Dream Bean, pick up breakfast and a couple of coffees for himself and Blayne. He paused on a corner, waiting for a traffic light to change colors. He spoke into his watch, “Dream Bean,” and waited for the GPS to plot him an alternative course.
“Proceed to highlighted route,” his watch said in his ear buds.
Ethan took off in the new direction and found himself a block away from the coffee house in a few minutes. He rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. In front of the building was a gaggle of paparazzi.Fuck! The vultures have arrived.
Over the years, Ethan had gotten good at spotting paparazzi from a mile away. The celebrity photographers were part of being in the public eye, but to say they were intrusive was an understatement. Half the reason Danny and he had always been so careful with their relationship was because the paparazzi were always around the corner. Ethan knew it made him sound paranoid, but he also knew they really were out to find him. If they could find him in a compromising position, the photographers would have snapped a shot and sold it to the highest bidder.
A photographer glanced in his direction. Since the photograph he’d seen online the previous night showed him in his hat, he took it off to show his newly blond hairdo. He rolled up the cap and put it in his waistband under his tank top. The photographer lowered his camera when he saw Ethan’s blond hair.Thank God, that guy didn’t look through his telephoto lens. Ethan crossed the corner, going the opposite direction from the coffee shop, which forced him to take a much longer way back to Blayne’s house.
By the time he got back to Blayne’s, it was almost seven-fifteen. He walked into the house and found Blayne sitting on the couch, drinking coffee.
