But she had, and each time David tried to apologize, she gently but firmly stopped him and told him that it was all right.They were going to work together to stop the 93rd.They were a team, and nothing was going to get in their way.
He didn’t deserve her.He didn’t deserve Michael.He didn’t deserve Jessica, who was politely enjoying dinner alone in the dining room so he and Faith could enjoy their impromptu tryst.
He deserved none of this.But he was grateful.
His phone buzzed.An email.He didn’t recognize the address.
A chill ran through him.He heard the water shut off and waited for Faith to step out of the shower before opening it.
When he read the email, his eyes widened.His heart began to pound, and his first thought was to wonder if this was real or some sort of trick.
“Hey, Faith?”he called.“Can you come here a minute?”
“Already?”Faith called.“Jeez, we just got finished.”
Her tone was jocular, but her eyes were serious, and when she saw his eyes, she dropped the playfulness and became businesslike.“What is it?”
“Read this,” he said, handing her the phone.
She scanned the email, and her eyes widened just like his when she finished.“Wow.”
“Do you think it’s real?”he asked.
She bit her lip.“I don’t know, but we should probably find out.”
“Yes,” he agreed.“I think we should.”
The email was short but what it lacked in length it made up for in weight.
It was a list of seven researchers attached to the 93rdTesting Brigade’s Canine Enhancement Project.Dr.Martin Ramsey’s name was struck through.Another name, Dr.Carolyn Maldonado, was highlighted.
Underneath the list was a message.Start with Maldonado.Be quick.They’re going to expand the project.
The email was signed simply,A friend.
Faith and David shared another look.If this was bait, then it was only another sign of how seriously the CIA was taking them as a threat.But if it was real, then it could mean that their task wasn’t so impossible after all.
If they had a friend on the inside, then maybe bringing these bad guys to justice wasn’t as out of reach as they thought.
***
Lieutenant Jayce Broward took a deep breath and hit send.The air rushed from his lungs after the email left his outbox.He had encrypted the message, but he deleted it anyway.Better not to have any record at all.He closed the email application just before the door opened and Colonel Chastain walked inside.
Chastain’s cold fish eyes flicked across Jayce and the nine other technicians busily entering data from the most recent battery of tests.Jayce’s shoulders tensed as Chastain settled on him and approached his desk.
He doesn’t know.He didn’t see the email.Your screen isn’t facing the security cameras, and the application you sent it from is shielded from the intranet.
“Broward,” Chastain said in his mellifluous baritone voice.“Talk to me.”
Jayce swallowed.It was all right to show anxiety in front of Chastain.Everyone did, and Jayce was pretty sure the colonel liked it.
“As usual, sir, Sierra-9 scored well above the rest.However, we noticed improvements in all assets, particularly in the areas of clairvoyance and submissiveness.”
“Clairvoyance?Interesting.That’s typically a low-scoring metric, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir, and I want to clarify that the scores are still well below the threshold of effective remote viewing or mental reading.The improvement was just notable enough that I thought it worth mentioning.”
“Hmm… I see.Carry on.”
He laid a hand on Jayce’s shoulder, and Jayce resisted an urge to cry out and flinch away.It felt like a dead eel had flopped onto his body.Chastain was a sociopath if Jayce had ever met one.
One?You work for the CIA.You’ve met dozens.
True, but Chastain was by far the worst.It would be one thing if he got off on torturing animals the way Staff Sergeant Whitaker and some of the other handlers did.But he didn’t.He just looked at them like they were interesting math problems that he was very close to solving.
Jayce kept his expression neutral and moved on to the rest of his reports.These were just procedural pencil-pushing, common to all agencies, even the oh-so-secretive CIA.
Chastain chatted with a few other techs before leaving the room.Jayce kept working for another twenty minutes before shutting his machine down and heading for the exit.His heart thumped—with fear yes, but also with excitement.That doctor—the FBI vet who had killed Corporal Charles and gone into hiding—had inspired him.If a civilian could become that much of a thorn in the 93rd’s side, then with the help of someone on the inside, that thorn could pierce Chastain’s heart.
Just you wait.We’re coming for you.
