Then, maybe, when the safe opened with a silky pop, and she grabbed the tiny, pale green case and prepared to bolt, she wouldn’t have been so surprised to turn around and discover Dr. Brown standing behind her with a disappointed look on his face.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A quarter mile from Devon Mirabel’s mansion
For the first time in her career, the Unicorn had a long and horrific moment in which she did not know what to do and did not know if it was going to be okay.
The moment the face of Dr. Brown filled their monitors, everyone in the van went silent—Gramercy, Atlas, two tech agents whom KC had handpicked, and a marine provided by the embassy.
Gramercy moved first. He left the van, taking with him the comm set that gave him a direct line to the highest decision-makers and was reserved for literal national emergencies.
Atlas started talking to someone at Evenes, snapping at the tech to pull up intel. Their eyes met Yardley’s. “Stay with her.”
“She can’t hear me.”
“But you can hear everything going on in the room, you can see it, and you can send messages to the visual comm. Get it together, Yardley. Get it the fuck together.”
KC still hadn’t said anything. One of the techs was already talking to Kris, likely trying to figure out if there was any way to wipe or disable the drive remotely. They already knew there wasn’t, but this was a desperate moment. The other tech was pulling down every mind in the CIA to keep any alarm or notificationoff KC until it was clear whether she had a shot of escaping with the drive.
Twelve hundred days.
That was what Yardley thought, frantically, and it was enough to start her heart beating again.
They would make it to twelve hundred and one.
She studied the monitor showing KC’s visuals. This time, instead of looking at Dr. Brown’s face with shock, she started looking at the circumstances and how to get KC and the drive out of there. In that order.
She sent a message to KC’s visual display.Checking Dr B credentials.
It was the understatement of the year in a year that deserved every bit of hyperbole she could throw at it.
Yardley didn’t know for sure why Dr. Brown was in Mirabel’s carriage house, but she had certainly prepared herself for the possibility he’d show up. There was always a chance Dr. Brown was here in good faith. In Yardley’s experience, however, the good guys didn’t suddenly appear where they weren’t supposed to be, and they didn’t engage with people whose shock at seeing them could potentially endanger their mission.
She’d kept the secret of Dr. Brown’s supposed black op from Atlas and Gramercy, despite her reservations. There simply hadn’t been any way to preserve KC’s safety while also opening up questions about the veracity of Dr. Brown’s involvement in the development of this weapon to a wider audience. There were very few “trust no one” circumstances in the trade, despite the movies, but when such a circumstance arrived, it was time to figure out where you were in the web and who you cared about.
KC stood up from her crouch in front of the safe. It had onlybeen moments, but they’d felt like hours. Yardley noted, hated, and ignored KC’s biometric readings, which had all been within normal range until she was surprised by Dr. Brown.
“You’re here.” The comm on the safe picked up KC’s voice as clear as a ten-thousand-dollar speaker, for which Yardley was grateful.
“It’s much more surprising that you are.” Dr. Brown looked around. “I assume we’ve still got borrowed time from the boys?”
Dr. Brown always called tech “the boys.”
“Mm. Has the auction started?” KC’s voice was even. Her heart rate had settled into a respectable rhythm.
“You don’t know?” Dr. Brown reached up to tap his own ear. “Who’s your handler?”
“I didn’t have intel you’d be attending.”
Good. KC hadn’t answered his direct question. Yardley didn’t know yet where KC had determined Dr. Brown’s loyalties lay, but a careful operative remained circumspect. KC was a careful operative.
“You’re not going to be told more than the basics, Tabasco. I can only assume you’re in the field because the Unicorn’s been compromised. Or turned.”
Yardley felt her nostrils flare.Turnedwas bait. Dr. Brown was baiting KC. Dangerous for a handler to fuck with agents’ emotions.
Her heart was pounding in her ears. Where was Gramercy with the intel?
“I’m glad you’re okay,” KC said. “Truly. It was frightening to know you were hurt and not hear from you for so long. It’s been difficult to keep my loyalties safe.”
