Lethal Echo by Cara Carnes

18

Bree looked around as she sat in front of Marshall’s desk. “I’ve never been in here before.”

“Not many have,” Marshall said as he sat. His gaze swept the photo montage along the wall. “That keeps me focused when things go sideways. Protecting those we love is what matters.”

It was. Bree breathed deeper. Whatever he’d called her in for was important. She licked her lips. “Is there something I can do to help you?”

“I’m hoping so, but I need to reconnect my call from earlier. The decisions are yours to make, Bree. Don’t feel any pressure to agree. I’m here to support whatever you decide, okay?”

Uh oh. Bree nodded.

Marshall pulled out his cell and punched a few buttons.

“That was quicker than I expected,” a voice said.

“I’m here with Bree Geissinger, Mr. President.” Marshall’s lips upturned when she gasped. “I haven’t spoken with her about anything. I figured you’d prefer to do that.”

“Yes. Ms. Geissinger, I’ve heard a lot of great things about your work from Marshall,” the president said. “He and my son were in a unit together. We grew quite close.”

“That’s good.” What the heck was going on?

The president chuckled. “I can see you’re probably wanting to know why you’re here. We’re in quite a predicament at the moment with Bob. While I’d love to toss him in a dark cell and throw away the key, he knows a great deal that could cause significant issues for a lot of people.”

Bree nodded. “I can certainly see that would be a problem. I’d imagine many international incidents could occur if he’s not handled properly, but I’m not sure how I can help with that.”

“That’s what we’re trying to determine. We need a way to keep him contained. Quiet. The things he’s done are horrifying, and I’m sure we’ve yet to uncover many of the poor decisions he’s made. I’ll be replacing him immediately, of course. It was my intention to do so anyway.” The president paused. “My term just started, though. It’s in everyone’s best interests to not let much of what we’ve found out see the light of day.”

“Understandable,” Bree said. She swallowed. “And getting rid rid of him isn’t an option either. That’d bring more light to the problem.”

“Yes. Then there’s the issue of this puppet master he had.” Anger filled the man’s words. “I hate knowing that group has likely penetrated many people within our government and there’s very little we can do to combat that. For now.”

“You’re worried they’ll kill him,” she guessed.

“That is a concern, a very valid one,” Marshall said. “We need some intense outside-the-box thinking, Bree. Something that will ensure he’s not a threat to us or Probus. We need him neutralized.”

Right. The man was more of an asshole than Bree imagined. He hadn’t even asked about his kids once during the meeting. He’d been so concerned about covering his ass he’d left them with their kidnappers and hired a freaking mercenary group to protect himself. Who did that?

She expended a heavy sigh and let her brain work the problem. He thought about no one but himself when shit hit the fan, which meant he’d give up anything he knew if cornered. He’d just proven that.

So how could they keep him quiet?

“I suppose Jud ripping his tongue out isn’t an option?” She let the question loom a minute and smiled when Marshall laughed. Damn. The man needed to smile more.

“I’m afraid that’s not an option,” the president said.

“Okay, so…” She thrummed her fingers on Marshall’s desk. An idea took root. “This sounds a bit nuts, but I promise an alien hasn’t taken me over.”

“I’m listening,” Marshall said, his eyes crinkling in the corners when he smiled. “Talk it out.”

“Okay. He’s old and not exactly in the best shape,” Bree said. “Neutralizing a problem without gaining attention would typically be handled by making it seem natural or accidental, right?”

“Yes, but we aren’t looking to neutralize him,” the president said.

“Yes, but I’m thinking about the end result if that is necessary.” She took a deep breath and fought to ignore the fact that the freaking President of the United States was listening to her particular band of crazy ideas.

Pretend it’s Ram.

“Let’s keep the solution simple,” she said. “I can load a power supply for my micro drones into one of the implants we use for the trackers. Shoot it into him, warn him not to be stupid, and let him go.”

“And what would that do?”

“Depends. We could program several options into the power supply. Option one would be like a taser from the inside. It’d knock him out, but not cause any permanent damage. We could level up from there, with the final option being something that would mimic a complete system shutdown. It’d mimic a heart attack and be completely undetectable.”

“Except for the implant housing,” Marshall said, amusement in his eyes.

“Meh, I have one that’d burn off. I started thinking we might need to destroy trackers if an operative is burned in the field or goes rogue.” She shrugged. “I could make something that’d melt when the power supply is turned up too high.”

“And is that something you’d be comfortable doing?” The president’s question clanked around in her mind a few heartbeats.

The answer spilled out quickly. “Of course. The son of a bitch betrayed my friends. Repeatedly. One of our teams almost died yesterday because if him and his stupid games. I wouldn’t lose a single night’s sleep doing this.”

“Good, let’s make it happen. What will you need?”

Hmm… that was quick. Bree took a deep breath. “I know you probably want to keep this contained to just a few people, but I need either Mary, Vi, or Zoey involved. One of them will have to segregate a section of HERA to run the implant. I’d also want them to verify my programming. I’m not nearly as good at that as they are.”

“Marshall? Thoughts?”

“Zoey, Mr. President.” Marshall leaned forward. “Mary and Vi would be fine with it, but they’re too close to this. They’ve got a lot of baggage to work through from what he’s done. Zoey’s in the right frame of mind to handle this without hesitation.”

“Yeah, she’s definitely pro-grenade,” Bree mumbled.

Laughter sounded from the phone. “Let me know what you need, Marshall. Facility Six is an issue we’ll need to handle quietly, though. I don’t trust either side of Knightwind to run that location.”

“I’m sure we’ll find even more problems once we have more intel,” Bree said.

“Agreed,” Marshall said. “I’ll be in touch.” He clicked off. Silence loomed a few breaths. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Bree nodded. “I am. There’s very little I wouldn’t do to protect everyone here, Marshall. You know that.”

“I do, which is why when he asked for suggestions, I immediately thought of you.” He leaned back in his chair. “Everyone thinks Edge is our lethal solution, and she is. But you’re the real weapon—the one we rely on more than anyone. I’m sorry it took me a while to see that.”

Bree basked in the praise within the man’s words. “Thank you. It’ll take a few days to get something ready. I have a lot of eyes on me right now.”

“Understood. I’m thinking most everyone will be busy very soon.” His voice softened. “We’ll get Shelly out of there, Bree. You have my word.”

“Thanks.” She stood. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready. I won’t tell Zoey about it until we’re ready to implant. She works best without a lot of warning.”

Bree knew the conversation she’d just had should’ve freaked her out, but it didn’t. Marshall was trusting her to be the endgame to protect everyone at The Arsenal from anything Bob could share. He knew way more than he should. If her idea worked, it’d keep everyone safe.

Hopefully.

More importantly, it’d keep Probus from making a move—assuming she could warn them off. Yeah, that wouldn’t be fun, but if it kept Ram off their radar, she’d do it. She’d do anything to protect him.

She opted not to return to the whiteboard room even though she’d love to see Ram again. God, her mind drifted back to him easily. The warm sun struck her when she exited the building. Although her brain was already knee-deep in thinking about the tech she’d just promised to make, it’d have to wait.

“Hey.” Bree turned toward the voice. Mia closed the distance quickly. “So, you and boss man disappeared quick. Everything okay?”

“Yep.” Unsure what else to say, she kept quiet.

“Right. So, we have a green light to start dealing with Gavin.” Amusement glimmered in the woman’s eyes. “You ready?”

Oh yeah. More than ready. “What’s the plan?”

“We have permission to out him, let him know we know about Melanie.” Mia stretched her arms out above her head. “I have a plan, one that’ll change depending on how he reacts. Just play along and remember none of what I’m saying is true. Okay?”

Bree nodded. “I know you’re good at this sort of stuff.”

“We’re about to find out how good.” Mia smirked. “You know how to push his buttons. I’ve been working that for a while, making sure he sees me arguing with some operatives around here. Breaking into his place and moving random shit around. I’ve kept him tweaked long enough. He should be nice and ripe for the takedown.”

Oh boy. She could only imagine what all the woman had done. Bree almost wished she’d witnessed it herself. “Not sure that’s true. You know, me knowing his buttons.”

“I have faith. Let’s do this. Keep your focus on getting Shelly out. He played that card. Let him think it worked. You’re really worried about getting her out.”

“I am,” Bree admitted.

“Hone that into your weapon. Let the emotion flow.”

Weapon. Okay, she could do that.

Bree nodded and followed the woman as she wound her way around the building. They found their quarry sitting at one of the picnic tables Burton Construction had added to The Arsenal. Multiple playgrounds and eating areas now filled the landscape, making the compound feel more like a small town than an operational base.

“I’m telling you what I saw, okay? This is a big problem, one I can’t fix alone. I need backup. Now.” The man’s gaze cut to Mia and Bree. His eyes widened. “I have to go.”

“Don’t stop talking on our account,” Bree said. “I haven’t seen you. I really need to talk. This is Mia, by the way. I’m not sure if you’ve officially met yet.”

“We haven’t.” He offered his hand. “Your reputation precedes you, my dear. I’m looking forward to hearing how you managed to break someone out of an impenetrable facility.”

“I bet you are.” Mia shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t kiss and tell without reason. Give me a good reason, and I might talk.” She took a step forward into his personal space. “I bet you’d have lots of interesting things to share.”

Gavin leered. Bastard. Bree shuddered. How had she ever found him attractive?

“Gavin, I needed to talk with you. Mary and Vi don’t want to help get Shelly out. They’ll offer their opinions and help strategize, but…” Bree let all the anger and fear assail her. Tears formed in her eyes. “They don’t think she’s worth the risk.”

“It’s bullshit,” Mia said. “Total crap. Fuck them, Bree.”

“We don’t need them,” Gavin said. “You and Mia are the ones who know how to do this. Your tech secures the facility. With her skills, we can do this without them. I’ll help. That’s why I came.”

“A real knight in shining armor, huh?” Mia flashed a coy smile and moved to sit atop the picnic table. She hopped up easily despite her short stature. Her feet thumped heavily on the seating area. “So, Gavin. I’ve heard quite a few interesting things about Knightwind. I can’t say they were very impressive.”

“Oh? What’d you hear?”

“Your civil war wasn’t a war as much as a forced removal,” Mia commented. “Not even by Knightwind. An outside group cherry-picked those worth keeping and tossed the rest of you out like rubbish. You blokes never stood a chance.”

Gavin fisted his hands. “That’s not what happened.”

“Oh?” Mia leaned back, resting her palms on the picnic table as she peered up at the sky. “I heard that from quite a few places. Tell me, why should I trust tossed out rubbish?”

“Bloody hell, love. You’ve got balls.”

“I’ve had quite a few balls, none of them worth keeping.” Mia shrugged as she tossed her hair back and smiled up at the sun. “You aren’t giving me any reason to give a damn about your precious facility. I don’t do something for nothing, not even for my girl here. See, I want to help her get her friend out, but everyone has a price. Mine’s too steep for her to pay.”

“The Arsenal agreed to help.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I agreed to share my secrets. Besides, there’s a big difference between strategizing and acting. They might do one, but not the other. That’s where I come in. I’ve got the skillset to make this happen. That’s worth a lot.” She sighed heavily. “A woman has needs, Gavin. Those can get expensive.”

“I can make it worth your while,” he promised.

What was Mia up to? Bree moved to sit beside her, opting to use the seating area to climb because there was no way she could leap like a freaking mountain lion.

“The problem we have, Gavin, is that I was the reason you all brought Bree here in to increase your security.” Mia winked at Bree. “Bet you hadn’t figured that out yet. Yeah, they panicked when I extracted one of their precious detainees from there. Should I mention who it was, Gavin? Do you even know?”

“Of course I know,” he gritted out. “And who you freed isn’t a discussion point. It hardly matters.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. See, I’ve been thinking.” Mia paused. Gavin’s fists coiled and uncoiled. “If you’d hold a high-level CIA agent captive there, who else is a guest at that facility? Hmm? It wouldn’t take more than a whisper in the right ear around here to make this issue of yours into a full-blown problem.”

Damn. Mia was good. Gavin looked away. “I’m surprised you haven’t already shared. You’re Arsenal now.”

“I’m here, yes. That doesn’t mean I’m one of them. I doubt they’ll keep me around much longer. I’m a thorn in a bed of rosebuds. They’ve dealt so far because, see, they understand my kind don’t always play well with others. I’m sort of the loose cannon. I can only camouflage my real self so long.”

“If that’s the case, I can offer you protection afterward. Come and work with us. We need better field assets,” Gavin said. “I’d make it worth your while.” His voice turned seductive at the end as he approached.

Gross.

Mia threw her head back again and laughed. “Oh, Gavin. You need much bigger balls to get my interest. I need no help finding quality entertainment. What I want is information. A quid pro quo, if you will. See, I have intel you need. And you should have access to what I want.”

“Which is?”

“An associate of mine disappeared a few months ago. A trusted asset believes he was detained. Then he vanished. We both know what that means. He was too valuable to kill, so he’s locked up tight somewhere.” She shifted her body to face him fully. “Verify he’s at Facility Six, and I’ll help you. Hell, I’ll even go in myself as long as he’s got a ticket out. All I need is proof he’s there, along with the reason you really want in there. We both know your mission isn’t about getting control of that facility back. You’re too desperate.”

“Love, you’re crazy.”

“Probably.” She leaned forward and wiped her hands on her snug pants. “But that’s the offer. Give me proof Carver is at Facility Six. I’ve already checked all the other black sites. No joy.”

“I’ll need some time,” he clipped. “It’s not like we have full access to the system. We can get in, but…” He paused. “It’s complicated.”

“I bet.” Mia chuckled. “That’s not my circus or my monkeys to worry about.”

“Not sure The Arsenal would be okay with you offering this deal. I should probably have a word with Edge, let her know.”

“Go ahead.” Mia shrugged. “Hell, I’ll just phone her and let her know right now.” She pulled out her cell.

“You’re crazy.” Gavin grabbed the phone. “Fine. I’ll make a call and see what we can do, but I’ll need more than Facility Six. Tell me what’s been going on here. I know something’s going down and I’m not being read in on it.”

“Oh.” Mia sighed. “That.”

“Mia, you shouldn’t,” Bree whispered. Whatever the woman was doing, she’d dug a deep ditch and Gavin had dove headfirst into it without hesitation. She’d go along with the play. She had to trust that Mia knew what she was doing. She was a badass commando, after all. “I know you haven’t agreed to stay here, but you don’t want to piss Edge off.”

“True. She’s way scarier than weenie dick here,” Mia said. “She’s right. I guess we’re at an impasse. Besides, what could possibly be happening worth worrying about? It’s not like you’re hiding anything. Right?”

“Right.” He dragged the word out. His gaze darted around the area. “Look, you’re right. Okay? There’s someone in there that I want to get out. Someone very valuable to a lot of people.”

“That’s interesting,” Mia said. “Still not worth the effort if I’m not getting anything out of it.”

“There’s a high price tag on this asset. I’ll split it with you if you get him out.”

“Sure. I’ll just believe you.” Mia laughed. “You have no credibility with me, love.” She spat the last word out as though it tasted bad. “Tell you what. I’ll give you a little something to show I’m serious. Consider it an olive branch.”

“Okay, fine. Give me something about what’s going on around here, and I’ll tell you who I want out. Deal?”

Mia smiled. “Certainly. We found an unknown asset in Bob’s house. A captive. HERA’s initial facial recognition identified her as Bob’s housemaid, but that bullshit didn’t fly. Whoever did her cover did really shitty work. Positively lazy. Her background only went back two years. So, we know she’s someone’s asset. We’re just unsure whose.”

“Where is she? I need to see her.” He cleared his throat. “I could possibly find her in our offline databases.”

“You mean the ones you were going to hook us up to but haven’t?” Bree asked.

She secretly loved Mia right now. Seriously, the woman had embedded Gavin so deep at this point he was about to spew info in exchange for something they’d already intended to tell him. Wow. Bree wished she had a notebook to write this down.

“I don’t know where they took her. Somewhere safe. That’s all I know,” Mia said. “She was drugged, so she hasn’t talked so far. I’m sure we’ll learn more soon. HERA moves really fast.”

“Shit.” Gavin paced. He ran his hands through his hair and cursed again. “It’s possible she’s one of ours, but I was told she was dead. Okay? Get me a picture and I can confirm.”

“Why would Knightwind have had an asset with Bob? I mean, you supposedly told us about all your assets in play around him, and she was never mentioned once.” Mia hummed. “This seems fishy to me, Gavin. I don’t like working with liars.”

“My bosses heard about some meetings Bob had with individuals he shouldn’t have been associating with, okay? They put her in to confirm what they’d heard and gather evidence,” Gavin said. “We fully intended to disclose that to The Arsenal once we had proof.”

“Interesting. Very well, I’ll get you a picture,” Mia said. “Now, tell me. Who’s worth so much to break out of Facility Six? I mean, Bree’s desperate to get her friend out. That’s the only reason I’m even talking to you right now.”

“Right. We’ll need to get Shelly out, too.”

“She’s not going back to Knightwind,” Bree said, letting her anger out.

“Fine. I couldn’t care less about that woman.” Gavin rubbed his chest. “Many organizations hired us to secure detainees at Facility Six, which worked well for us because we could gather intel from them.”

“So you get paid and get a bonus by gathering intel you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Nice.” Mia whistled. “Quite a racket. Sounds fun.”

Gavin tugged on his hair. “The asset is in a group that was brought to us a few months ago, right before the Knightwind war began. None of the higher ups wanted to detain them at the facility, but the payday was too big. We were bleeding cash trying to keep the site.”

Dread seeped into Bree’s gut. Her pulse quickened. Whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be good.

“Fucking Mandrake. We never should’ve agreed,” Gavin said. “We don’t ever get the details on why someone’s being detained or how they were taken. That’s not our business.”

“Heaven forbid you have any morals,” Bree muttered. Mia elbowed her side.

Right. Play along.

“I don’t give a damn about anything except getting Shelly out,” Bree said. “I couldn’t care less who you have there, okay?”

“Fine. Mandrake had six detainees they brought to us. It took some time, but they were eventually identified as a Delta team. We’d intended to reach out to the U.S. government and offer them up in exchange for helping us secure the facility against the assholes trying to take it over.”

Except those assholes were other Mandrake operatives working with Bob and his precious committee. Fuck this was bad. So bad. Bree’s gut churned. A Delta team. In Facility Six for months.

“So you want to extract them,” Mia said, her tone even. Seemingly bored.

“Not all of them. We just need one,” Gavin said. “He’s the high-value target.”

“Why him?” Bree asked, her voice low.

“He’s the president’s nephew,” Gavin said. “He and his cousin both went into the military. The latter retired when his team leader left the service. The nephew stayed in, though.”

Fuck. Marshall was that team leader. Bree would bet her lab on it.

“So you want to break him out and auction him to the highest bidder. If that’s the U.S., then they can help you get control of Facility Six. If not, then you still have a big payday, one you’ll cut me in on.” Mia folded her arms near her knees. “Is that right?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll get proof that Carver guy is there. We get them both out, along with Shelly. Agreed?” Desperation filled Gavin’s face. “And don’t think about fucking me over. I’ll deny any of this if you even think about telling Edge or anyone else.”

“Oh, I don’t think proving this happened will be a problem.” Mia vaulted off the table. Her legs impacted with Gavin a second later and wrapped around his throat.

He screamed as a loud snap sounded.

“I hope that was enough. I couldn’t listen to the bastard any longer,” Mia spat as she jumped up. Bree stood and made her way to the woman.

She peered down at a passed-out Gavin, whose arm was broken at the elbow. “Holy. Shit.”

“I’ll show you how to do that,” Mia said with a smile. “We good, Edge?” She quieted. “Right. We’ll be there in a minute. I think my girl here needs some caffeine. Or a stiff drink.”

“How did you know that would even work?” Bree asked. “I mean, why would it work?”

“He’s desperate and cornered. He knew my background, that much was obvious. We used it to our advantage and took a chance,” Mia said. “If he hadn’t taken the bait, we would’ve used Melanie. This way we didn’t confirm we got her. We merely said we found someone.”

“And he read into it what he wanted to hear, what he was most worried about.” Damn, that was smart. “Wait. Is Carver real?”

“Nope. Well, yes. But there’s not a facility in existence that could contain him. He makes Jud and me look like kindergarteners.” The woman’s laughter filled the area as they made their way into the mess hall.

“Shouldn’t we stay with Gavin? Take him to detainment or something?”

“Nope. Levi and the others were nearby. They’re on cleanup.” She wrapped an arm around Bree. “Now, tell me where my new roomie was last night. I’m starting to think you’re avoiding me.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. The woman really was a nut.