Ivanov grinned. “You must have missed the desperate sincerity in my voice.”

  Borodin chuckled. “Let’s hope your dramatic skills continue to fool them long enough.”

  “Let’s hope.” Ivanov guided them through the streets, their lights and sirens clearing a path. They rounded a corner at high speed and he killed both, blending in with regular traffic for several more minutes before pulling into the underground garage of a shopping center. Moments later, they parked beside two SUVs, one white, one metallic silver.

  “How long do we have?” asked Borodin, Ivanov in charge of Plan B and intimately familiar with all its details.

  “As little as three minutes for them to reboot their system.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of here.” Borodin climbed into the passenger seat of one of the vehicles as the others loaded the still unconscious Thorn once again into a coffin occupying one side of the folded down rear seats.

  In fewer than the three minutes they had before the security cameras were reenabled, they were out on the streets again, heading toward where those pursuing them would least expect.

  16 |

  Operations Center 3, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  “What the hell just happened?” cried Tong. “Those were Finnish police!”

  Leroux shook his head. “There’s no way those were Finnish police. They either stole those vehicles or mocked them up. Has the embassy provided us with a liaison yet?”

  “Negative,” replied Tong.

  Leroux cursed. “We need more manpower. Almost everyone assigned to this op is dead or dying.”

  “Watchdog Zero-One still has a few people guarding the Chief, but that’s it.”

  Leroux stared at a satellite image of the shopping mall into which the two police SUVs had disappeared. “Do we have that Finnish translator yet?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s in the other ops center with the rest of the team.”

  Leroux fit his headset into place. “Put me on with him.”

  She tapped at her keyboard and gave a thumbs-up. “His name is Nick Jarvela.”

  “Nick, this is Chris. Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’re patching you through to the Finnish police emergency line right now.”

  Tong’s eyes widened slightly and she made the call.

  “I want you to tell them that you just saw two police vehicles enter the Jumbo Shopping Center, and the people that got out of it weren’t police and looked very suspicious. You think they might be terrorists.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The phone rang and it was immediately picked up. Jarvela, with a panicked voice, relayed the message in Finnish, and a rapid-fire conversation took place before the call ended.

  “Did they buy it?” asked Leroux.

  “I think so. They were starting to ask too many questions, so I told them I was scared and ended the call.”

  “Good work.” He disconnected then turned to the others. “Now, let’s see how fast the Finns are.”

  Child spun in his chair, staring at the ceiling. “They could be as fast as the Flash, but it’s probably already too late. Those guys are long gone.”

  Leroux regarded him for a moment. The sad truth was that he was probably right. This plan was so well executed, they had likely left the shopping center within minutes. This was obviously a backup plan. They had anticipated something potentially going wrong with their escape by air—the mocked-up or stolen police cars were not a last-minute contingency. This was a perfectly executed secondary plan. They had headed straight for the shopping center, disabled the cameras, and he had no doubt had vehicles waiting for them. He sighed heavily. “Have the security cameras come back on line?”

  “They just did. I’m reviewing the footage now.”

  “Good. Find me those police vehicles.” He turned to Tong. “Have the rest of the team start pulling any external footage that shows vehicles leaving the shopping center from the moment our hostiles entered to the moment those cameras came back on line.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Tong, relaying the message to the other team.

  Leroux leaned back, his shoulders sagging as he struggled to box his emotions. So many had died today under his command, it had him struggling to maintain control. He had lost people before, but nothing like this. This was on an insane level. The viciousness of what had occurred in less than one hour gave more credence to the theory that the $200 billion had already been stolen—today’s carnage couldn’t possibly be justified simply for the possibility of getting a hold of the intel leading to that kind of money.

  Yet $200 billion was an unfathomable amount, and people killed over lottery tickets, so slaughtering a dozen security personnel perhaps wasn’t as far-fetched as one hoped it would be. But he had to put all that aside. There was still a mission. Thorn had to be recovered, they had to discover the truth about what had happened to the money, and they had to find out who Red Eagle was and where he was, so they could hopefully bring this entire situation to an end and stop the body count from rising even further.

  How the hell he’d accomplish any of that, he had no idea.

  17 |

  Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Vantaa, Finland

  Jackson stared down at the bodies of four more of his colleagues, shaking his head in disbelief as a cold rage formed. He didn’t give a shit about the law anymore, he didn’t give a shit about the rules. He wanted every single person responsible for what had happened today, dead. They had shown his people no mercy, and he had no intention of showing them any either.

  This was undeclared war.

  One of the Finnish security officers had said what appeared to be Finnish police had gunned them down. Jackson was confident they weren’t. It was yet again more evidence of how well-funded and well-organized this operation was. The Chief’s trip here was last minute, so to pull this off so quickly was remarkable. They had a day to plan at best. One of the questions running through his head was how had they known about the meeting? There had to be a leak somewhere, possibly a mole inside the Agency. In fact, there likely was, as he was certain his country had moles within most others’ security agencies. But even moles only had access to so much, and with the Chief involved, few would have known about the trip, and fewer still about the purpose.

  But they weren’t after the Chief. They were after the woman he was meeting.

  Somehow, they had found out about the meeting. He had already dismissed the idea they had followed her, for if she were the target, then they would have merely picked her up earlier, and there would have been no need to wait for the meeting. It had to mean they were after her, knew she was meeting with the Chief, and had actually tracked the Chief, waiting for her to show up. And again, if that were the case, how did they find out? Any communications between the two of them would be encrypted.

  It brought him back to the idea of a mole. Someone inside the Agency must have tipped them off, and the very idea sent shivers through his body. For the few who would know enough of the details weren’t lowly agents like him.

  He watched as a jet took off from an adjacent runway. Langley had restored the power as soon as the hostiles had made their escape, and the Finns were evidently eager to get their international airport back in business.

  He pointed at Herrera. “Stay with the bodies.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jackson stepped away and climbed into his SUV. He activated his comm. “Control, Watchdog Zero-One. Any update on our suspects’ location, over?”

  “Negative, Zero-One. We traced them to a shopping center, but the security cameras were down. We suspect they switched vehicles and left before the cameras went live again. We’re trying to trace them but at the moment, we’ve got nothing to go on.”

  Jackson cursed. “Copy that, Control. Zero-One, out.” He watched as they loaded the last body bag into the back of an ambulance, then closed his burning eyes as the doors shut. It pulled away, its lights and sirens off, any urgency long gone. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment, then exhaled loudly, throwing open the door, his job today far from done.

  18 |

  Leroux/White Residence, Fairfax Towers Falls Church, Virginia

  Sherrie White glanced at the call display, recognizing the coded number as that of her boyfriend, Chris Leroux. She pressed the button to kill the treadmill then tapped the phone, putting it on speaker. “Hey, sweetie, quiet day at the office?”

  “No, anything but. Dylan should be home shortly. He’s going to stop by and brief you. Something serious has happened, and I’m assigning you to the op.”

  Her eyes widened as she grabbed the phone and the towel. “Really? They’re letting you assign me to one of your ops?”

  “You’ll understand once you’re briefed. This is serious. Sorry, but I’ve got to go. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  He ended the call and butterflies formed in her stomach. She couldn’t recall ever hearing him so concerned, and they had been through a lot together. She had been assigned as the honeypot when the Chief had tested Leroux’s loyalty. She had read his file and wasn’t certain how she’d pull it off. He sounded so unappealing. His file photo showed he was attractive enough, though his hair was unkempt. He was clearly somebody unconcerned with his appearance, and more concerned about what was on the screen in front of him. He was a geek, a nerd, whatever you wanted to call him. Painfully shy, socially awkward, but brilliant. And the Chief had wanted to make sure that not only was he loyal, but that temptations of the flesh couldn’t turn him.

  For he was not just a genius, he was a horny young man.

  They had planted her in his office where she had begun the flirtation, and he had eventually taken the bait. But when push came to shove and she offered herself to him in the heat of the moment in exchange for classified information, he refused. He had passed the test. And when he discovered that it had all been a ruse, it had devastated him. But what he hadn’t known was that during the operation, she had fallen in love with him just as hard as he had fallen in love with her. And thanks to his best friend Dylan Kane, he had forced them back together, and now she couldn’t imagine herself happier, despite being with a man she could never have believed she’d end up with.

  Over the years they had been together, he had emerged from his shell, the confidence the relationship had given him making him realize he was more than just the book smarts he possessed. He was a good looking, charming man with a terrific sense of humor and a dynamo in the sack.

  She tingled all over as she turned on the shower then stripped out of her workout gear. And as she showered, her mind kicked into overdrive as she cycled through various scenarios as to what could be going on, but in her business, it could be anything. She was a spy, an operative just like Kane, though he had far more experience than her. One day, she hoped to be as skilled as he was, though few were capable of it. Kane was exceptional in so many ways, achingly handsome, charming, witty, all of which helped him in his chosen profession, but his tradecraft skills were equally exceptional. His reflexes, his strength, his ability to think on the fly, were remarkable, which was why they gave him the toughest of assignments.

  The Chief knew that if he needed something done, Kane would get it done.

  But there was something going on here, something different. The Chief had permitted their relationship, and it had nothing to do with her, and everything to do with Leroux. He wanted Leroux happy. He was grooming him for something more, and in the past few years, had promoted him to analyst supervisor, giving him a team of ten, something no one could have imagined him capable of managing. However, his growing confidence because of their relationship continued to transform the man she loved into so much more. The Chief had recognized it was the two of them together, outside of the office, that had caused this change, so had let them continue to break the rules, pushing Leroux into a job he didn’t want, but had ended up excelling at.

  Yet despite the Chief allowing them to continue their relationship against protocol, he rarely let them work together, unless it was absolutely necessary. For him to give permission on something that sounded so critically important, something must be seriously wrong. She turned off the shower and rubbed her hands over her body, beading up the water on her skin before stepping out onto the bathmat and toweling dry.

  A coded knock at the door indicated Kane’s girlfriend, and her best friend, Lee Fang, was at the door. She wrapped the towel around her and walked out of the bathroom. She peered through the peephole to confirm it was Fang and smiled as she opened the door.

  “Hi, girl. Is Dylan with you?”

  “He’s upstairs showering. He just wanted me to let you know to come up as soon as you’re ready. Bring a non-tactical go-bag. You’re heading to Finland.”

  Her eyes popped. “Finland? Wasn’t expecting that.”

  Fang shrugged. “Neither were we. We got word about the Chief when we were skydiving.”

  “What about the Chief? What’s happened?”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  “I don’t know anything. Chris called me to tell me to get ready, but he wouldn’t say why over the phone. “

  Fang frowned. “I think it’s best if Dylan fills you in. But just hurry, okay?”

  “Okay, I’ll be up in a few minutes.” She closed the door and yanked her towel off, rapidly drying the rest of her body as she headed back to the bathroom. Within minutes, she was prepped with the appropriate bag removed from her closet, one that had enough for a three-day trip, everything inside innocent, with no weapons that would cause difficulties at customs. She had no doubt that as soon as she arrived, a CIA asset would fully equip them with whatever they needed.

  She locked the door to the apartment then headed for the unit Kane and Fang shared in the same building. They had moved here not too long ago to be closer to her and Leroux. Fang was isolated with no friends, trapped inside a country providing her with a life-long pension for what she had done to help it, but also imposing many restrictions on what she could do as a career.

  She and Kane had fallen in love after he extracted her from China, but he was gone so often, they had moved into her building so she’d have somebody he trusted for her to be around, and who was also fully aware of her situation. It allowed her to speak freely without worrying about revealing her secrets. And thanks to that decision, she and Sherrie had become good friends, to the point she now had a tough time imagining her life without Fang in it. The four of them had become extremely tight with few, if any, other friends penetrating their circle. With the four of them all in the business, all knowing each other’s secrets, it was a bubble they were all content to live within.

  She knocked on the door to their apartment, and Fang immediately opened it. Sherrie stepped inside and closed the door, dropping her bag in the entranceway.

  “Is that Sherrie?” called Kane.

  “Yes,” replied Fang, turning her head toward the bedroom.

  “If she doesn’t mind watching me dress, have her come in here.”

  Fang gave her a look. “Well, do you?”

  Sherrie grinned. “I’m always up for a show.”

  Fang laughed and they both headed to the bedroom. Kane was already reaching for his dress shirt.

  Sherrie feigned mock disappointment. “Aww, can you start over?”

  Kane didn’t smile, his expression remaining serious, indicating whatever was going on had him concerned. “What’s Chris told you?”

  “Nothing, except to meet with you.”

  “Okay, here’s what we know so far. Less than an hour ago, the Chief was meeting with my handler in Helsinki. They were attacked. Six agents killed, two severely wounded, and the Chief was shot four times. We don’t know if he’s going to survive. My handler was abducted, and we’ve lost track of where she is.”

  “Holy shit!” gasped Sherrie. “Who the hell did this?”

  “We think it was Russians or someone acting on behalf of the Russians. Apparently, an old Soviet double agent of ours has found over two-hundred-billion dollars of hidden assets that the Russian leader has stolen from his people.”

  Sherrie’s eyes bulged. “My God! Does that mean we’d be able to take it?”

  “Apparently. He’s offering accounts and passwords. Everything we would need. Everything anyone would need.”

  “Are we actually going to use this intel and take the money?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It can’t fall into someone else’s hands that might. We need to secure that intel so that it’s us who decides what happens with it, otherwise we could be risking war.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” said Sherrie. “So, what’s the op?”

  “Two-fold. Try to retrieve my handler, and try to find a double agent codenamed Red Eagle.”

  “Any leads?”

  “None.”

  “Lovely.”

  “Well, hopefully your boyfriend and his team will have something for us by the time we’re on the ground. Our flight leaves as soon as we’re on board. We’ll be on the ground seven hours later. I need somebody I can completely trust on this op, that’s why I requested you, but if you want to back out, you can. This is going to be dangerous. I have a feeling we’re going to be entering Russia and engaging their people. If we get caught, we’ll be disavowed.”

  Sherrie’s heart pounded at the implication of what Kane had said. She had undergone torture before, and it wasn’t something she cared to have repeated, but she was also honored that Kane felt this way about her.

  And there was no debate, no question as to what her response would be.

  “You can count on me.”

  19 |

  Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Vantaa, Finland

  Borodin watched as airport employees loaded the coffin containing the drugged and unconscious Thorn into the back of the regularly scheduled Finnair flight to St. Petersburg. The power outage had delayed everything, no doubt caused by the CIA in their failed attempt to save their asset, and, of course, the firefight hadn’t helped. His rivals’ efforts had been brilliant, though ultimately unsuccessful. He had to give them credit for foiling his initial plan. If he were honest with himself, he was shocked they had caught up to them. Someone at Langley knew what they were doing, but it didn’t matter.