“No,” Simone replied. “I’m not you, Z.”
Luciano and Sin laughed.
“No, you’re not,” Luciano said under his breath.
“I’ll get you access here,” Evangeline said, “and I’ll create a text thread where we can talk securely.”
Erica returned with a rolling cart carrying small bottles of sparkling water, a coffee carafe, glasses, mugs, cream and sugar. She left the cart nearby, shut the door behind her.
Evangeline rose, poured coffee into two mugs, added a trickle of cream to one, and returned to the table. She placed the black coffee in front of Sin and kept the other for herself.
Simone loved their secret language. Evangeline didn’t need to ask. She just knew.
“Inferno531 posted again,” Luciano said, snapping her out of her romantic thoughts. “He wrote, ‘The Bomb Maker and Friends are unstoppable. Epic destruction on victory day.’ The friends he’s referring to are members of the Haqazzii terror cell.”
“Show Z the map,” Sin said.
Luciano opened the map on the conference table. “I got this from a Haqazzii terrorist.”
“Where?” Z asked.
“Heathrow, on his way to DC,” Luciano explained.
“Where is he now?” Z asked.
Luciano’s gaze darkened. He hitched his eyebrow ever so slightly, but said nothing.
“How many?” Simone asked.
“Three,” Luciano replied. “A fourth arrived late to the party.”
Z studied the map. “This is massive.”
“Despite the size of the potential attack, there’s no chatter out there,” Luciano explained. “They’re not talking on the Dark Web.”
“The Bomb Maker must be making the weapons and selling them to the terrorists.” Simone said.
“He’s gotta be making a fortune,” Z said. “Haqazzii has deep pockets.”
“If we find the terrorists, we can stop this,” Simone said.
“But we have to find The Bomb Maker,” Luciano said. “If we don’t, he’ll sell to another terror cell. America has a long list of enemies.”
The weight of the case felt like a boulder on Simone’s shoulders. But, as she eyed the people around the table, a sense of duty filled her bones. She wasn’t alone. She had powerful allies in her corner. People who made decisions that protected the nation.
I can do this.
What choice did she have? She’d stayed hidden for years. She owed it to herself, to Frederica, and to a country she loved to find the son of a bitch and turn him over to these hungry wolves. Her gaze fell on Luciano. As they regarded each other across the table, she believed they could get the job done.
“Z, I need to know who got fired from ALPHA or left with a chip on their shoulder,” Simone said. “Anyone who might have a reason to hate the organization.”
Z broke eye contact for a few seconds. “There were several, but only one stands out.”
“Who?” Luciano asked.
“Peter Hirzog,” Z replied.
What the hell.“Peter was in ALPHA?”
