“London,” Donovan addedquietly.
Alexei reached for Sean’s hand beneath the table, linking their fingers together. Sean squeezed his hand tightly for a long moment before relaxinghisgrip.
“For the past few years, North Star International has been present in many of the cities where a Splice attack has happened, escorting Vitae Neurotherapeutics shipments. Now, correlation is not causation, but looking at the timeline, a generally informed person would be hard-pressed to completely ignore the evidence, especially if you look deeper into theiraccounts.”
“They’re taking bribes?” Madisonguessed.
Nazari shook his head. “Not outright. The payments are legitimate for security services rendered. It’s their reasons for being in these cities, at these times, that arequestionable.”
Jamie shifted in his seat and tapped at his terminal, bringing up a list of the PMC’s accountings entered as evidence in previous lawsuits. “These wire transfers run through a multitude of companies and banks. How many of them are shellcompanies?”
“Quiteafew.”
“What are theybuying?”
“The better question is, what are they selling ontheside.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Alexei saw Sean go still. Alexei glanced over at him, but it was impossible to read the expression onSean’sface.
“Sir,” Sean got out in a tight voice. “They’re selling Splice on the blackmarket?”
“We believe so, yes,” Nazari said after a briefpause.
Alexei wasn’t the only one who seemed furious aboutthatnews.
“That doesn’t explain why the CIA deputy director would want to reveal Sean’s identity to them,”Jamiesaid.
“North Star International is a privately held company with a multitude of shareholders. Many of those are shell companies that are difficult, but not impossible, to trace even if you have the manpower to spend on thesearch.”
“What did the MDFfindout?”
“That a company with a solid ten percent stake in North Star International is technically owned byBennett.”
Sean pulled his hand from Alexei’s, placing both of them on the table, data flowing away from his fingertips in a standby mode. Alexei settled his hand on Sean’s leg instead, fingers stroking over histhigh.
“North Star International is a multi-million dollar company that’s making gains every year. If Bennett has a stake in it, and if he’s hiding that stake in order to cover himself, then he has to know about the Splice sales happening on the side,”Seansaid.
“He’s the CIA deputy director. I’d bet good money he knows which terrorist groups are interested and whether or not they’d be willing to pay the high price Vitae Neurotherapeutics and North Star International would sell Splice at,”Jamiesaid.
“It would make sense if those two companies together are one of the main providers of Splice on the black market,” Katie said slowly, eyes flickering rapidly from side to side as she skimmed a report on herterminal.
“You have a PMC and a biotech lab with high-security clearances and access to chemicals and weapons the average person will never see. Pair that with a high-ranking intelligence officer within the United States government with knowledge of terrorist group movements and their ideological intentions, and you come away with a decent cycle of supply and demand,”Nazarisaid.
The silence in the conference room was chilling. The knowledge that someone who was supposed to be on their side was instead possibly working to supply terrorists with a chemical weapon of mass destruction to pad their bottom line was both sickening and rage-inducing.
“My last mission with the CIA was to try to find out who was supplying the Reborn IRA with Splice,” Sean said, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “If Bennettalreadyknew…”
“Your mission was most likely green-lit to cover his tracks,” Nazari said when it became apparent Sean couldn’t or wouldn’t finish his train of thought. “The fact that you were getting close to the truth was probably a factor in Cillian Halloran receiving and then using Splice in the Belfast Market Blast. That terrorist group’s internal fighting was merely a cover intargetingyou.”
Sean looked sick to his stomach at that information. Alexei tightened his grip on Sean’s thigh, trying to silently get across hissupport.
“Can you prove it?” Kyleasked.
Nazari shook his head. “Not yet, but we’re gettingthere.”
“So no smoking gun at the moment,”Jamiesaid.
“Our previous circumstantial evidence is rapidly evolving into probable cause, but making an argument still takes time, especially if we want it to be airtight. The investigation is ongoing and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Because of your long-term mission with Pavluhkin, you will be kept updated on thesituation.”
