distortion algorithm that left the words sounding tinny and jagged.
“Obsidian.” Shannon answered the challenge with the non-distress response. Any other word would have told the Ddirectors she and her team had been compromised.
“The device wasn’t on the Opongsan ,” said a different voice. In her years of speaking with the Directors, they always communicated through distorted voices and never in person. Despite their attempts to mask their voices, accents still crept through, and she used that detail to keep the Directors apart. Texas was speaking to her now.
“Correct. There’s still a chance we can recover the device by following the money to the drop site,” Shannon said.
“And the probability of success?” a different voice said, a woman Shannon designated as Vermont.
“I’d need the military’s cooperation, but the odds are in our favor.”
The green light flickered, and the line stayed silent. Another caller had joined the conversation and wasn’t interested in speaking to Shannon.
“You will recover the device with no further overt US involvement. Is that understood?” Texas asked.
Shannon’s face contorted in anger, but she held her tongue.
“Additionally, the Caius protocol is in effect once you’ve accomplished your mission,” Vermont said.
Shannon bit her lip as she considered the implications.
“Asset Ritter isn’t read on to Caius. Do we indoctrinate him?” she asked.
There was another pause before a new voice answered.
“Ritter is exempt from Caius,” Georgia said. “We will indoctrinate or terminate him without prejudice following the mission.”
“I have a course of action, but if it succeeds, it will burn the entire Vienna office. Can we remove the device from the playing field through a military strike and maintain our operation?” Shannon asked.
“Negative, Martel,” Texas said. “Do you lack the resources to accomplish your mission?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you lack the will?”
“No, sir.”
“Get it done. All assets are expendable toward mission accomplishment.”
The line went dead.
The security guard led Natalie into the vault room. Hundreds of box faces lined the walls. He guided her to box 12722 and inserted a key into one of two slots on the box face. He looked at Natalie, his face a mask of nonchalance.
Natalie put her key in the other slot and twisted it.
The guard shook his head slightly.
“ Drei…zwei…eins ,” he said. They twisted their keys together, and the box popped an inch from the wall. The guard turned and left, closing a steel gate behind him.
Natalie tugged at the safety deposit box, which was damn heavier than she would have guessed. She pulled it free and lugged it to a table in the center of the vault. A separate key opened a panel on the top of the box.
She slowly pushed the top open, looking at the contents with a sideways look. Packs of hundred-dollar bills had been wrapped in gold-banded “$10,000” labels. She dug ten of those out and set them aside.
Behind the cash was a plastic, black box. She popped it open and caught her breath.
Diamonds. Packets of diamonds had been wrapped in thick plastic and were vacuum sealed. Each packet was labeled with its value in the millions of dollars. A bar code was etched into a plastic tag attached to each pack.
Natalie counted out $37 million worth of diamond packs and put them in a padded envelope.
Where did all this money come from? she thought. The entire largesse from her brief experience with Shannon and her field office was at odds with her years of working for the US government as a Soldier and now as a member of the CIA. Uncle Sam bought from the lowest bidder for a reason—to save money. How could Shannon and whatever senior government officials supervised her ever justify this?
When she’d been in Iraq, dispersing even $1,000 in funds required receipts, contracts, and a signature from three different colonels. She might have a different number on her
“Obsidian.” Shannon answered the challenge with the non-distress response. Any other word would have told the Ddirectors she and her team had been compromised.
“The device wasn’t on the Opongsan ,” said a different voice. In her years of speaking with the Directors, they always communicated through distorted voices and never in person. Despite their attempts to mask their voices, accents still crept through, and she used that detail to keep the Directors apart. Texas was speaking to her now.
“Correct. There’s still a chance we can recover the device by following the money to the drop site,” Shannon said.
“And the probability of success?” a different voice said, a woman Shannon designated as Vermont.
“I’d need the military’s cooperation, but the odds are in our favor.”
The green light flickered, and the line stayed silent. Another caller had joined the conversation and wasn’t interested in speaking to Shannon.
“You will recover the device with no further overt US involvement. Is that understood?” Texas asked.
Shannon’s face contorted in anger, but she held her tongue.
“Additionally, the Caius protocol is in effect once you’ve accomplished your mission,” Vermont said.
Shannon bit her lip as she considered the implications.
“Asset Ritter isn’t read on to Caius. Do we indoctrinate him?” she asked.
There was another pause before a new voice answered.
“Ritter is exempt from Caius,” Georgia said. “We will indoctrinate or terminate him without prejudice following the mission.”
“I have a course of action, but if it succeeds, it will burn the entire Vienna office. Can we remove the device from the playing field through a military strike and maintain our operation?” Shannon asked.
“Negative, Martel,” Texas said. “Do you lack the resources to accomplish your mission?”
“No, sir.”
“Do you lack the will?”
“No, sir.”
“Get it done. All assets are expendable toward mission accomplishment.”
The line went dead.
The security guard led Natalie into the vault room. Hundreds of box faces lined the walls. He guided her to box 12722 and inserted a key into one of two slots on the box face. He looked at Natalie, his face a mask of nonchalance.
Natalie put her key in the other slot and twisted it.
The guard shook his head slightly.
“ Drei…zwei…eins ,” he said. They twisted their keys together, and the box popped an inch from the wall. The guard turned and left, closing a steel gate behind him.
Natalie tugged at the safety deposit box, which was damn heavier than she would have guessed. She pulled it free and lugged it to a table in the center of the vault. A separate key opened a panel on the top of the box.
She slowly pushed the top open, looking at the contents with a sideways look. Packs of hundred-dollar bills had been wrapped in gold-banded “$10,000” labels. She dug ten of those out and set them aside.
Behind the cash was a plastic, black box. She popped it open and caught her breath.
Diamonds. Packets of diamonds had been wrapped in thick plastic and were vacuum sealed. Each packet was labeled with its value in the millions of dollars. A bar code was etched into a plastic tag attached to each pack.
Natalie counted out $37 million worth of diamond packs and put them in a padded envelope.
Where did all this money come from? she thought. The entire largesse from her brief experience with Shannon and her field office was at odds with her years of working for the US government as a Soldier and now as a member of the CIA. Uncle Sam bought from the lowest bidder for a reason—to save money. How could Shannon and whatever senior government officials supervised her ever justify this?
When she’d been in Iraq, dispersing even $1,000 in funds required receipts, contracts, and a signature from three different colonels. She might have a different number on her
Similar Books
