Rising Hope by Edie James

2

“Wait. What?”

Enzo MacKenzie shook his head, unable to believe what he’d just heard. He stared at the FBI agent in charge of the covert operation, but the man’s blank face revealed nothing. Enzo’s CO stood across the table from the agent, looking equally unsurprised.

So the commander already knew. Interesting.

“You want me to go undercover here? In The Cove? You know I’ve lived here my entire life, right?”

Were these people crazy? He was born in MacKenzie Cove, the fifth generation of his family. Everyone in town knew him. So did most everyone in the surrounding county. And that didn’t even include the dozen or so aunts, uncles and cousins who’d spent their lives in The Cove, too. The few residents who didn’t know him knew someone who did.

What were these people thinking?

“We’re aware of your family history,” Special Agent Halliburton responded. “That won’t be a problem. You won’t be undercover, exactly. You’ll go about your regular duties, we’re just adding a couple cargo runs. One or two a week. It’s not like you’ll be selling drugs on Main Street. Our transfer site is in the mountains, closer to Pasada than MacKenzie Cove. All you gotta do is fly our undercover agent to the meets and get her back with the merchandise. Another set of agents will then transport the product to a locked-down evidence holding facility.”

Enzo pressed a fist to his mouth. The oversized burrito he had for lunch was making its way back up his esophagus. He should have refused the assignment. He knew it the minute he’d agreed to it. A Coast Guard rescue pilot, he could fly anything anywhere in any conditions. But helicopters were his specialty. The hairier the conditions, the better he liked them. When his CO had approached him about joining the super-secret interagency task force, he figured they needed someone to extract personnel or land an overloaded bird under fire.

But running drugs?

“We’ve got a pickup tomorrow,” Halliburton continued. “We need a pilot immediately. You came highly recommended.” He shared a look with Enzo’s CO, who nodded in acknowledgement.

“I can’t believe the DEA or the FBI don’t have competent aviators,” Enzo said. “Guys with undercover experience.”

The suit was already shaking his head. “That we got. What I need is an expert pilot with a high security clearance. We lost our last guy unexpectedly. Not mission-related,” he added hastily. “I need someone with your skillset. From what I understand, the flight back to our drop off area here isn’t any big deal, but the pickup spots can be tricky. These cartel guys design their meeting spots to be hard to get to, and hard to get out of.”

“What if they find out who I am?” His eldest bro was the current police chief of The Cove. Bro number two, Dante, was a firefighter, and the next oldest, Teo, was Harbor Patrol. And then there was his retired detective dad, Chip Mac.

Not the kind of family tree drug sellers would appreciate.

“All the better.” Halliburton tugged on his tie. “We’re counting on them learning about your background, actually. Who’d be stupid enough to recruit a guy with a family like yours to work undercover? They won’t question that you’re working for the dark side.”

Ifthis guy knew what he was talking about. Enzo’s gut roiled. He’d been in the Coast Guard twelve years now. He’d developed a sixth sense about who to trust with his life, but those judgements were based on observations in the field. He had no way to assess the slender agent’s competency. Given the man’s superior attitude, he wasn’t inclined to be generous.

He eyed his boss. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

Commander Paulson nodded. “Always, Lieutenant.”

“You’ve been stationed in The Cove a few months now. You get what I’m trying to say. This is nuts.”

Paulson looked grim. “I hear you, Lieutenant. I do. And I don’t disagree. But we’ve got an epidemic out there. This drug, B3yond, is taking down kids right and left. When the interagency task force approached the Guard, we thought it merited our involvement. Our first recruit is on medical leave, unfortunately. Emergency appendectomy, isn’t that right?” He turned to Halliburton for confirmation.

Halliburton looked like he couldn’t have been less interested. “That’s what I’ve been told.”

Coast Guard Station Piedras Bay was a small outfit. Enzo rotated duties with six other helo drivers. He couldn’t think of one who was currently on leave. None of the support personnel, either. “Do I know the guy?”

“I doubt it. He’s stationed out of San Diego,” his CO said. “He was one of my aviators at Station Santa Barbara a while back. Good kid.”

Halliburton checked his watch. “My field agents need time to solidify their plans for tomorrow’s buy. I need an answer now, Lieutenant. Are you a go?”

Before Enzo could respond, his commander held up his hand. “I need to be clear, son. This assignment’s outside the scope of your duties. As far as regular government channels are concerned, this task force doesn’t exist. It’s not what you signed on for, so you’re free to refuse. No harm done.”

Halliburton pressed his thin lips together. He looked like he wanted to shoot the CO in the face. Enzo’s CO ignored the look.

“Understood, sir,” Enzo responded. “I appreciate that.”

But if he refused, more drugs would make it into more hands. How many victims would die before they found someone to take his place and complete the mission?

“I’m assuming you have a few other aviators on your list,” he commented.

Halliburton answered first. “Not at this time.”

His CO confirmed the fact with a nod. “You’re the most highly qualified.”

Okay, then. He couldn’t say no. He’d have to place his faith in the Lord, no matter what the consequences.

He threaded his hands together at the base of his skull and squeezed hard, trying to think of a way out of this dilemma. Nothing materialized. No matter how ugly the situation they were throwing him into, he couldn’t refuse. Saving lives was his calling from the Lord.

“I can’t keep my family in the dark on this,” he said. “No way that’ll work.”

And no way he’d worry his father to death thinking his youngest boy had gone criminal. Chip MacKenzie was a legend in the MacKenzie Cove police department, and he’d lost his wife seven years ago.

No way he’d let his father believe he’d lost a son, too.

Halliburton shook his head. The overhead light glinted off his balding scalp. “Your role in this stays ‘need-to-know.’ Authorized personnel only. We’re keeping the circle tight on this op.”

The circle would include his family. Not negotiable. “My family does need to know.” He appealed to his commander. “Rollo’s going to see through this.”

“The Lieutenant’s got a point,” Paulson said. “Chief MacKenzie’s former Special Ops, and he’s got active Pentagon connections. Lots of them,” he explained to the agent.

“We’re aware.” Halliburton flattened his hands on the table, pressing his weight into his palms. Then he stared Enzo down as if Enzo were a suspect he planned to grill. “You’re brother’s not due back from his honeymoon for another few days. This whole thing’ll be wrapped up in a week. Two, tops. We’re almost ready for the big buy. You won’t be making more than two or three deliveries. By the time anyone starts asking questions, it’ll be over. We’ll have the cartel heads in custody and you can tell your family whatever you want.”

“Why aren’t local law enforcement agencies involved? They should be aware you’re working on their turf.”

“Normally, I’d agree with you.” The agent spread his hands in a silent plea. Arrogant as he was, the man must have realized Enzo was close to walking away. “Here’s the deal. This thing has gone interagency for a reason. We suspect the cartel manufacturing the drugs has ties to a well-known terrorist organization operating out of Libya. The decision to lock down the task force—to compartmentalize what each team knows and to keep all local cop shops out of it—comes from the highest levels of the White House.”

The agent paused, sweeping the room with a piercing look as if he expected to see eavesdroppers. “This op is about a lot more than taking down a booming drug business. National security issues are involved. One hint to the wrong people, and the whole operation’s blown. And whoever leaks the info will be dead. That’s how these people operate. Disclosing your role to anyone puts them in danger.”

Like Dad, or his niece, Wren. Or his new sister-in-law, Alyssa. The burrito rose in Enzo’s throat again. The Coast Guard ran thousands of drug enforcement missions each year. He knew the kinds of vicious violence some of these criminal operations were capable of. “A week, you think?”

“Two, tops,” Halliburton assured him. “Agent Walker is working up to making a huge order from the contact, something massive enough that the higher-level bosses will want to supervise the transaction. The plan is to catch the higher-level perps with the drugs in their possession. Then you walk away. The end.”

He didn’t like it, but he’d respect their rules. For now.

They didn’t know his father or his sibs. Anything he told them in confidence would stay that way. Period. But for now, he’d go along.

“Fine.” He pulled his shoulders back, standing at attention. “I’m in.”

The agent tossed a thin packet of papers across the desk to Enzo. “These are Agent Walker’s mission reports. They don’t leave this room. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Enzo plucked the envelope off the table. Almost empty, by the feel of it. “How long has she been undercover here?”

Halliburton sighed. “A couple months.”

Enzo arched his eyebrows.

The agent rubbed the bridge of his aristocratic nose. “She’s not a big one for reports.”

Definitely a trait he shared with his new partner. “But she’s got skills, right?”

Halliburton didn’t hesitate to respond. “She’s one of the best undercover agents in the DEA. She’s top-notch. Top-notch,” he repeated.

Was the guy trying to convince Enzo, or himself?

“She’s participated in over a dozen high-level busts,” the man continued, his tone flat, as if he was reading a shopping list. “The woman’s got skills. You’ll be in good hands.”

Now Enzo was certain there was another shoe ready to drop. From his stony expression, Commander Paulson felt the same.

“So you’re vouching for her personally?” Enzo’s CO fired the question at Halliburton.

That earned the man another exasperated look from the agent. “The Bureau’s happy to have her on board. The NSA contingent, too.”

“Can she handle herself if things go off the rails?” Enzo asked.

“Absolutely. Agent Walker took down three armed members of the Mexican Mafia by herself. They’d already shot her partner.”

“Sounds like she’s more than capable,” Enzo’s CO said.

Halliburton rubbed thin fingers across the bridge of his nose. “Affirmative. Agent Walker can take care of herself.”

Enzo didn’t have his sister Viv’s skills at reading people, but whatever Halliburton’s real feelings about the woman Enzo would be working with, they weren’t entirely good. If Enzo had to guess, he’d say the man disliked her. Intensely.

Not that he cared. Their association would be brief. He only hoped it wouldn’t prove harmful.