“Hmm,” was the only response Denzili gave.
“Well, that was fun,” Dr. Hennigan said, breaking into the conversation. “That was an excellent lesson for everyone about the joys of espionage. Now, as for why we’re here.” She turned to Kira and said, “I guess we should catch you up.” Dr. Hennigan disclosed the events of last night, along with the information she’d previously provided Blayne and Ethan. She also told Blayne about the conversation she’d had with Ethan earlier. As she wound down, she asked, “Any questions?” like a college professor nearing the end of a lecture.
“So, you’re not here to kill us?” Kira asked.
Dr. Hennigan rolled her eyes. “For the last time, if I wanted any of you dead, I would have done that already. Keep trying me like this and I just might change my mind.”
“Well, it’s not for lack of trying,” Blayne said under his breath.
Dr. Hennigan chuckled. “You do have us there. Denzili and I had a bear of a time trying to kill Ethan last month.” She turned and looked at Ethan. “For the record, I’m glad you’re alive. I’ve even become somewhat of a fan. ZERO is on my exercise playlist. And don’t worry. I always legally download my music.”
“You realize how crazy that sounds, right?” Blayne asked. “I mean. You run around the country killing people—”
“World,” Hennigan said.
“Huh?” Blayne questioned.
“You said we run around thecountrykilling people. We do it globally when necessary.” Blayne looked confused, so Hennigan added, “Since we’re being open and honest here, I just want to ensure the record is correct.”
Blayne scrunched up his brow. “Okay… As I said, you run around the world killing people but insist on legally downloading music. You don’t see the cognitive dissonance here?”
“My dear boy… Oops, sorry. I hope you don’t mind me using the word ‘dear.’ I know Ethan has an issue with it, so I promised not to call him that anymore.” She paused for a second, waiting for a response from Blayne. When none came, she continued. “You see us as being outside the law. That’s your first mistake. We exist in a bureaucratic gray area. Will the United States acknowledge our existence or have anything to do with us openly? Of course not. Will the US rely on our special ability to work outside the traditional confines of the Constitution to ensure US interests are protected? Every day. The Foundation is as important to the security of this country as any branch of the military or federal agency. We do what’s necessary by making the hard decisions no one else wants to make or wants to be held responsible for making. Are there times when we regret what must be done? Of course. That doesn’t mean I lose sleep at night over our decisions.”
“You realize you sound like one of those militia groups, don’t you?” Kira said.
Hennigan made a scoffing noise. “That’s a great transition—and the reason we’re back in Houston. We received intelligence that the National Democratic Party of Germany was on US soil to meet with a group of homegrown violent extremists known as the Constitutional Liberation Army. The CLA wasn’t even a blip on our radar, because they had done nothing.”
“Well, that sure changed last night,” Kira quipped.
“You are most definitely correct. Something has changed within the CLA. They decided to up their profile out of nowhere. And here is where you come in.” She gestured to Blayne. “We have intelligence that Pennington University is on the CLA’s hate list. We weren’t taking it too seriously, but after last night—”
“And let’s face it,” Denzili cut in, “if this group wants to make a name for itself, they’re off to a good start. These groups tend to ‘up their game’, so to speak. The next attack will be bigger.”
“Which is why an attack on Pennington University is highly likely at this point.”
“But you don’t know this for sure?” Blayne asked.
“In our world, you rarely know things for sure. And since I’m out of contact with…”—there was a hesitation as she searched for the right word—“my office,” she finally decided. “I’m not sure how the intelligence has changed. Currently, we’re flying completely without a safety net and little information. All I know is that I was targeted last night. Very few people know who I am and what I do.”
“Why are you telling us?” Ethan asked.
“Because I must trust someone. And right now, the people in this room are some of the most honest people I know. You can act all strong and fearless”—she stared Blayne in the eyes—“but I know that you’re still suffering from the post-traumatic stress from last month, which I apologize for inflicting. I don’t apologize for our methods, but I am sorry it had to be you.”
“What do you need us for?” Blayne asked. “It’s not like we’re superspies or anything. We’re average people just trying to live our lives.”
“Well, besides the help you provided me last night, we need to work together to stop whatever is going to happen. And because of the current communication blackout with my office, we must do this the old-fashioned way. Before the advances in technology, my organization regularly worked with people in the public during extraordinary circumstances. This is another one of those times.”
The group spent the better part of the next hour hashing out the details they had. Sadly, they didn’t exactly have much to go on. At some point, Ethan got up and made coffee for the group. Blayne had grabbed a stack of legal pads from his home office in the main bedroom, and the group had sketched out all the information they had.
Blayne’s pocket buzzed. Blayne looked at Dr. Hannigan as if asking permission to pull it out. Hennigan nodded.
“Area code nine-one-five? Where’s that?”
“El Paso,” Hennigan said. “What’s the number?”
Blayne read it off.
“Answer it,” Hennigan replied. “And put it on speaker.”
