“Get packed up,” Ladd says, and while it is still an order, his tone is less commanding. But I don’t have any reason to argue now that he’s pointed out he’s in as much danger as I am.
Ladd is putting his son where he’ll be safe, and it’s going to be up to the two of us to end this nightmare.
♦
Regardless of whether Ladd is going to be involved in my current predicament, it was absolutely the right decision to come to Pittsburgh and hire Jameson. Hire might be a loose word, though. As soon as Ladd brought me back to their headquarters, we had a brief meeting with Kynan. He told me in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t take my money. “Ladd is family, and we protect our own.”
So it seems I have all the might of Jameson behind me as well as Ladd beside me.
We’re currently sitting in a large conference room. Present at this meeting are Kynan’s assistant Anna, who seems to be the administrative glue for this company, a woman named Bebe, who looks wicked smart, and two other men, Dozer and Cruce. Ladd sits across the table from me.
We work to formulate a game plan, focusing first on the suspected original source of our present danger.
“Why don’t we just go to the director of the CIA?” Dozer suggests as he leans back in his chair.
Cruce, I’ve learned, is the one married to the president’s niece. He chimes in. “Or better yet, let’s go to the president. We can have her in custody by the end of the day.”
Ladd shakes his head, and I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing I am. “We need proof first. All we have is our instinct that she’s behind this, and that’s not going to be enough to take her down.”
Cruce drums his fingers on the table thoughtfully. “We could at least get an investigation started.”
Given that I am the foremost authority sitting at this table on today’s modern CIA, I shake my head. “An internal investigation like that would likely last months. And it would have to be done covertly so as not to alert her. She’d stay in power the entire time. It’s better if we can be stealthy about it.”
The woman who was introduced as Bebe Grimshaw leans forward in her chair, crossing her forearms on the table. “I’ll find a backdoor and see if there’s any digital trail between Newman and Mejia. But given that she’s CIA, she has to know how good the current technology is and that it’s difficult to obliterate traces of calls, texts, and email. Even on encrypted servers. So if she was communicating with Mejia, it was most likely via a third party or done face-to-face.”
I like this woman. There’s something special about her, and I wonder what her background is. It’s clear she knows her way around cyberspace backdoors, and I have a feeling she’s got a good story.
Kynan, who’s the only one not sitting but rather standing at the head of the table, looks to Cruce. “What else do you have other than the president?”
I want to laugh, because it’s ridiculous he’s asking what else Cruce has to offer when having a direct line to the president is about as good as anything anybody could have.
Tipping back further in his seat, Cruce replies, “There are some former CIA folks in the Secret Service that I still keep in contact with. I’m talking about people I implicitly trust. I’ll do some very low-key poking around and see what the inside word is on Gayla Newman.”
Kynan crosses his arms over his chest, expression thoughtful. “Not much we can do about Newman at this point. The real question is what we do about Mejia. Until he’s taken down, both Ladd and Greer are in danger.”
“We take Mejia out. Eliminate him,” says Ladd with a tone I’ve never heard from him before.
Ice-cold and hard.
His meaning is clear, and I’m slightly shocked. “You can’t mean that. It’s murder, Ladd.”
He swivels his head my way. “You would have killed him in El Salvador.”
I shake my head, frowning. “Only if there was no other way. I wasn’t there to kill him, only gather intel.”
Kynan interrupts us by stating very adamantly. “He has to be taken into custody. You can’t have murder on your hands, Ladd.”
Ladd doesn’t acknowledge the truth of that but merely says, “We’ll go back to El Salvador. Knowing he was in league with Newman means he probably has no incentive to leave the area. He knows the intel that Greer stole was bogus.”
Dozer speaks up for the first time. He sits beside Bebe, and I’ve been told they both run the technology and research division. Dozer’s eyes shine with keen intelligence. “I’ll work on locating Mejia. I’ll confirm his current whereabouts and get as much information as I can for you.”
Ladd lifts his chin to Dozer, then nods to the laptop opened before him. “Track down a man by the name of Frankie Orellana. He’s a snitch for Vecindario 18 in San Salvador, and I was hooked up with him via a CIA intermediary. We can’t go that route again because no telling who’s on Newman’s payroll, but I’m going to need to meet with him. He’s our best source of information on Mejia.”
Ladd’s eyes then slide to Kynan. “Which means I’m going to need cash. I’m most likely going to have to buy some information.”
“Have it for you by the end of the day,” Kynan replies, and I have to wonder how he has access to the type of money that would be offered as a bribe to a gang snitch. It’s going to have to be a lot because they know it’s not only death they would face if caught, but a whole lot of painful torture prior to.
“We don’t need your money.” All eyes come to me, but it’s Kynan I’m speaking to. “I withdrew a substantial amount of cash from my accounts before I came here. I have everything we need.”
No one argues with me on that front. Had Kynan used his own company’s money, I would’ve reimbursed him, or rather, it’s likely the government would reimburse him once everything is said and done and we’re able to take down Gayla Newman.
At least for now, I feel like I’m having a direct impact on bringing this to an end.
“We’ll go in with at least eight agents,” Kynan says, finally taking a seat.
“Count me in,” Cruce says.
“No,” I exclaim, shaking my head adamantly. “I’m not putting any of your folks at risk.”
“You can’t go in just the two of you,” Kynan counters. “It’s suicide.”
“Wrong,” I argue. “This is exactly what Ladd and I trained for. How to slide in, get the job done, and slide out again. Just like Ladd did in rescuing me.”
I can see it on Kynan’s face that he’s irritated by this stance. He turns to Ladd, an eyebrow cocked.
Ladd is quiet for a moment, and then says, “I agree with Greer. The two of us, easy in, easy out.”
“Not going to be easy,” Kynan growls. “I’ll send in two others with you.”
An argument ensues, but Ladd and I remain united in our position. I came to Jameson with the idea of asking for one person’s help, and that was Kynan. That’s off the table, and it’s Ladd who will be my partner. And that’s probably the way it should be since he’s as much a target as I am and has the same incentive to end this. But I’m not willing for any other person at this company to risk themselves for me. Kynan refused my money and wants to help because Ladd is part of their family.