Brady informed her that they weren’t flying out yet. Instead, they were waiting for her to talk to someone. She wasn’t sure who, but it seemed serious.
“Want something to eat?” Brady asked.
“Sure.”
“I’ll go find food. I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to speak to anyone until I get back.”
She let go of a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
He hugged her, but stepped back quickly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. “I’ll be back fast.”
The room fell silent when he left, so she paced to the end, then back to the table. There were no windows for her to look out, no tech for her to dig into. It was just her with her thoughts.
She closed her eyes, trying to figure out where someone might have come up with the idea that she could take control of a missile and aim it at DC. No question, she’d kept the idea to herself. Not once had she mentioned the fact that she could hack into missile sites and set off an attack.
Maybe someone she worked with had figured it out. Or could it have been something else? She couldn’t think of anyone who would know what was in her head or her notes.
The door opened, and two people entered. They smiled, but she could tell they were all business and just trying to act kind.
“I’m Agent Foster, and this is Agent Harris. We were brought in to assess the situation.”
Garnet shook their hands, trying to stall talking to them. She wanted to wait until Brady was back. She felt like maybe she’d done something wrong, but she hadn’t. She had been taken by terrorists. She hadn’t volunteered for the crap that happened to her in Beirut. But being innocent didn’t matter when the military wanted answers.
The agents indicated they should sit at the table, so she took a seat, and they took the two across from her. They bothopened their briefcases and removed folders. It was a little eerie watching them.
“We’re just trying to figure out what happened. We’ve read the reports, and we have a basic idea. Can you tell us more?”
She didn’t know what more they wanted. She wasn’t going to reveal to anyone how security could be breached. She’d found the information out on her own and had been looking for a way to prevent it from ever happening.
“I’m not sure what more I could tell you. The reports were fairly thorough.”
Foster sat forward. “Listen. We just have to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
The door opened, and both of the agents looked annoyed. Brady stepped in, and relief filled her. Agent Foster stood and squared his shoulders as he turned to face Brady.
“Listen, we need to speak with Miss Stratton alone.”
Brady shook his head. “Absolutely not. I was part of the unit that went in and rescued Miss Stratton.”
She decided to speak up. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with these two. “He should stay.”
Foster turned back to her, annoyance evident on his face. “Listen, it will go?—”
“He stays.” She crossed her arms over her chest, unwilling to bend on this. “He is the only reason I’m safe. I don’t know why these people are after me. There is zero reason for them to think I can do what they want.”
“Can you?” Harris asked.
She wasn’t going to tell these two the truth. No one, not one person inside or outside the government, needed to know what she’d figured out, not until she had a fix for the situation. “No. There is no way for it to be done. They made a leap, but they were wrong.”
Garnet was thankful Brady was with her. She had a feeling that these two would push her, digging into her brain by means she didn’t think were altogether legal. With Brady on her side, she knew he would keep her safe.
The car chase had thrown her off balance. She wanted to leave DC and head somewhere no one knew about. Were these two safe people? She didn’t have a great feeling about them and doubted they would keep her secrets. Too much stuff had happened for her to trust strangers.
Chapter 18
The skinon the back of Bean’s neck prickled. Something seemed off with these two. Who were they really? No question, he didn’t trust them.
He trusted the guys on his team, and he trusted Garnet. There was something in her eyes that assured him she was real with him. But these two couldn’t be trusted. They didn’t need to know where they were going or what Garnet would be doing.
