Using Forest and Mitzy’s virtual reality technology, we mocked up the compound Snowden was using in the Philippines. We anticipated every scenario. Troubleshot every contingency.
But there was one thing no one could foresee.
Snowden forced a terrible choice on Forest, and it came at a horrific cost. Forest didn’t balk. He made the trade. He surrendered himself and was lost to us.
Guardian HRS redeemed ourselves later, rescuing not only Forest but his aide as well; the woman who would later become his wife. Snowden died during that second raid, put down like the rabid dog he was by Paul, the third member of Forest’s unique triad.
We thought we destroyed Snowden’s human-trafficking ring.
We were wrong.
In telling his story, Forest’s stoic exterior fades. There’s a tiredness in the way he carries himself; a bone-deep fatigue I’ve never seen before. A victim of unspeakable cruelty, endured as a child, then again as an adult beneath Snowden’s reign, Forest is a survivor.
Now, he dedicates his life to rescuing others.
The man’s a legend, but that kind of intensity can wear anyone down.
Skye takes over the story, with Mitzy interjecting, detailing how Maria can help Guardian HRS. I gesture to CJ and Sam, needing to speak with them in the hall.
I’m not good with abandoning my team, and an operation like they’re proposing takes time.
“Want a little more?” I lean down, asking Maria about her drink.
The shaking in her hands is worse. No surprise. Forest and Skye make no secret of asking Maria to go to war against her family.
But there’s one massively huge problem.
Maria knows nothing about undercover work. She doesn’t know how to live a lie. That makes her unreliable: the very definition of the weakest link.
Chances of this whole thing turning on us is more likely than not.
Just as she picked up on the tension between her father and uncle when she was young, her family will sense a change within her. They may not know what it is at first, that Maria’s loyalties shifted, but they will notice something’s off.
That will prove lethal if not addressed and contained.
“I’m good.” Maria twists in her seat and cranes her neck to look at me. “Thank you.”
Her soft smile hits hard, lodging smack dab in the center of my chest. It tunnels under my skin and wraps around my heart, stirring up all kinds of protective instincts.
I gesture for the glass and take it out of her hand. While I return the empty glass to the bar, Sam and CJ excuse themselves. Mitzy follows. Which is no surprise.
They’ve spent the better part of an hour with Maria; an hour away from watching over Alpha team’s rescue efforts aboard Caviar Dreams.
Mitzy, Sam, and CJ wait for me in the foyer while Skye speaks to Maria. Forest appears to be done for now. Retelling his story took a lot out of him. He reclines in the chair and closes his eyes.
“What’s going on?” Mitzy looks between Sam and CJ while I exit the library.
On my way out, I close the heavy wooden doors.
“Ask Liam.” Sam jabs a thumb in my direction.
“Don’t have time for that. Alpha team is with CDR Fisher on the USS Charles Sexton. I’m needed back at Command and Control.” She says she needs to go, but Mitzy’s as curious as a cat. She’ll stay because she can’t bear to miss out on whatever it is I want to say.
“This won’t take long.” I glance over my shoulder. “Am I the only one who thinks this is one hell of a bad idea?”
“You mean putting you and Maria together?” Mitzy’s lips twist into a smirk. “With all the sparks flying between the two of you, it’s perfect.”
“Sparks? There are no sparks.” I give her a look. It does nothing to erase the shit-eating grin on her face.
“There’s a distinct vibe going on between the two of you. How is putting the two of you together a bad idea?” She couches her question as a simple thing but taunts me with the sparkle in her eyes. Mitzy’s having fun with me.
“There’s no vibe. No spark. No nothing.”
“Whatever.” She gives a little flap of her hand, dismissing my comment. “Doesn’t change a thing.”
“Maria won’t be able to pull this off.” I can’t be the only one who sees how big of a problem that creates.
“Not my problem, lover boy.” She rolls her eyes and that grin turns into a smirk.
“Don’t you start.” My words come out as a growl.
“What?” Mitzy gives a flippant shrug. “When the boss man speaks, we fall in line. Or don’t you trust Forest?”
“Of course, I trust Forest.” My eyes bug out a little.
Everyone trusts Forest.
The man’s brain doesn’t operate like the rest of ours, and it never stops. Whenever he comes to the Guardians with a hair-brained idea, we fall in line. Even when his tech gear does questionable things.
Memories of Rufus, Forest’s Robotic Ultra Functional Utility Specialist, aka robotic sentry dog, humping me during a test scenario in B-town, one of Guardian HQ’s mocked-up training towns, brings a frown to my face. That’s something my teammates have tons of fun with and not something I’ll live down anytime soon.
Forest’s tech is cool. His VR suite is beyond compare. The night vision tech is far superior to what we had in the Navy. Our weapons and protective gear are designed with one thing in mind: kill the enemy while keeping us alive.
What he’s not good with is people.
He thinks he can simply issue an order and Maria will fall in line. He doesn’t understand the tenuous minefield human relationships must navigate. He doesn’t comprehend the hundreds of hours required to train an undercover operative.
I have the training. Maria does not.
This is doomed from the start, and I have every intention of shutting it down.
“If you trust Forest, then what’s the problem?” Mitzy props her hands on her hips and stares me down.
“Maria.” I look to Sam and CJ for a little moral support and get nothing. Frustrated, I turn back to Mitzy. “Maria is the problem.”
“Whatever. I don’t have time for this. I’m going to let these idiots deal with whatever issue you’re having with your girl.” Her attention shifts to Sam and CJ. “Good luck.”
With that, Mitzy spins around and flits back to the dining room, where her technical team follows the progress of Alpha team.
I’d give anything to be with my team right now, instead of standing in the foyer of Rose Manor with my thumb up my butt staring at my boss’s boss and his boss.
“You have a problem with your assignment?” Sam shifts his attention from Mitzy’s retreating backside to me.
“It’s a shit assignment. My place is with my team, not babysitting Maria.”
“Your place is doing what Guardian HRS needs,” CJ jumps in. “What’s bothering you?”
“She’s not qualified for the kind of undercover work this requires. Her family will see right through this bogus relationship. That puts her in danger, places me at risk, and destroys any advantage we might have.”
“She’ll learn what she needs to learn.” Sam rocks back on his heels.
“How?” I glance back at the library with its closed doors.