The smile left my face. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Settle down, Irish. I was just joking. Although, we did see her truck last night when we returned from the dining hall, so I don’t think you can get away with telling us she came by to drop something off this morning.”
“She stayed over, okay? But nothing happened.”
Ali put her arm through mine as we walked to the waiting SUV. “Either way, Irish. It’s none of our business. I’m just happy to see you happy.”
Five minutes after we walked into the ranch house where we were scheduled to meet, every bit of happiness I’d felt was knocked out of me when I saw someone I’d expected even less than Saint.
“What the fuck is Dr. Benjamin doing here?” I barked at Decker, whose head snapped up.
“It was in the brief I sent this morning.”
“I didn’t have a chance to read it.”
He raised a brow.
“I’ll do it now.” I sat at a table and opened my laptop. When I got done reading, I wasn’t any happier about Benjamin’s arrival than I had been when I saw him. It had been Saint who suggested he join us, and from what I read, the only person he’d cleared it with was Lynx.
“I thought I was the lead on this part of the investigation.”
“You are.”
“Then why wasn’t I read in on it before it happened?”
“That’s a question you’re going to have to ask for yourself.” Decker motioned with his head to where Lynx and Emme were standing. I stalked over to them.
“A word,” I said to Lynx, also motioning to Saint. They both followed me out the door to the front porch.
I spun around on them. “I don’t know what chain of command the two of you believe you’re operating under, but for this mission, I’m at the top. Everything that happens with it from here until it’s called, goes through me. In my absence, it goes through Stella. Are we clear?”
“What’s this about?” asked Lynx.
“Dr. Benjamin.”
“What of him? The man is an MI6 asset.”
“I don’t care if he’s the chief of MI6. You should’ve cleared it with me before bringing him here.”
An SUV pulled up, and Doc Butler got out along with Razor Sharp and Gunner Godet. “Good morning, gentlemen,” said Doc, walking up to join us. The other two men went inside. “Anything you want to read me in on.”
“Irish was just informing us we should’ve cleared Benjamin’s arrival through him,” said Saint.
Doc turned to me. “That’s my fault. They cleared it with me. I apologize, Irish.”
I was livid but nodded. “Is there anyone else you cleared?”
The man looked contrite, which made me feel like an asshole.
“Negative.” He turned to the other two men. “Lynx, Saint, would you please excuse us?”
They went inside, leaving me alone with Doc.
“Look, I’m sorry I snapped about Benjamin. The truth is, I hadn’t expected the two of them, either.”
“Understood. Is there a problem you need to make me aware of?”
“Negative.”
“Irish, are you sure?”
I had nothing to go on but my gut, and it could very well be that my reaction to Lynx, Saint, and Dr. Benjamin was a direct result of the part of the op that took place in Cambridge. Even my thinking Benjamin was one of the men I thought I saw in Hong Kong nine years ago could’ve been clouded by my experience with Lynx and Emme as well as the prejudice I’d felt against Saint since I’d first heard he was the agent being sent in by MI6.
“I’m sure.”
“If that changes, let me know.”
I followed Doc inside. Before I could get much past the entrance, Cope intercepted me. “What is Dr. Benjamin doing here?” he asked.
“I asked the same thing. Apparently, Lynx ran it past Doc, who approved him joining us.”
“Why?”
Before I could respond, Decker joined us and motioned back outside.
“According to Doc, Saint believes Dr. Benjamin may be able to assist with our investigation—enough that it warranted bringing him here.”
“Why didn’t either of them say that?” I didn’t expect an answer to my rhetorical question and didn’t get one.
“What do you want to do?” Decker asked.
“For now, he stays. If at any time I believe he shouldn’t, he’s gone. Same with Saint.”
“Roger that,” said Decker.
“Tell him about Hong Kong,” said Cope, nudging me.
“That first mission, the one when Dingo, 337, and Julius were taken out. I saw two men right before the hit was carried out. It was from a distance, but I believe Dr. Benjamin was one of those men.”
Decker nodded his head slowly. “In that case, perhaps the doctor is exactly where we want him.”
38
Irish
We broke into four teams, each with a task list.
Stella, Buck, and Rile focused on sorting through the stockpile of evidence her aunt had left her in a vault, in Tiffany’s no less.
Burns, Doc, Gunner, and Razor centered their attention on Ming Shen-Lin and Nicholas Kerr along with Stanley Donofrio and Antoine Moreau, the two men who’d served on Interpol’s executive committee years ago when Kerr was president. Up until two days ago, Kerr had been the sole survivor of the four.
Decker led a team made up of Lynx, Emme, Saint, and Dr. Benjamin. Their area of concentration was the current executive committee—Daniel Byrne, also recently deceased, Boris Antonov, and Chen Wang-Su aka Kim Ha-joon.
My team—including Cope, Ali, and Money—concentrated our efforts on the man the Chinese government had recently granted permanent asylum, William “Xander” Harris.
With the evidence Money was able to gather, we had a clear picture of the level and amount of intelligence he’d systematically released over the course of ten years. Just in sheer documentation, it numbered in the tens of thousands.
Figuring out his motive wasn’t difficult. The boy who’d watched his father go off to two wars grew into a man whose father committed suicide outside a VA hospital after allegedly being denied treatment for a combination of Gulf War Syndrome and PTSD.
That suicide took place one year before I first met Sumner Copeland at The Farm.
Like with the deaths of the agents I’d been tracking, I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, and offered a moment of reverent silence for the man, the soldier, the patriot—Herbert Harris. He’d proudly served his country, not once but twice, and his country let him down in his time of need. When tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, I didn’t try to hide them. Mr. Harris’ death was a tragedy like every other we were investigating.
Ali reached over and put her hand on my arm. “Irish, are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I just need a minute.” When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Flynn walking from the dining hall to another entrance that led into the main house. “Excuse me.”
I pushed back my chair, stood, and went outside, hoping I’d catch her.
“Hey, Paxon,” she said, turning to look when I approached.