Crossfire (Cross Duet #1)

14. GRAYSON

14

GRAYSON

“Look, I only have a few minutes before I have to leave for a meeting with other agencies,” Daniel said. The harsh yellow fluorescents cast an eerie glow over the room, turning his silver hair and beard into a ghostly, almost-greenish sheen—as if he’d aged decades in the span of hours.

“I’ve pulled in the FBI, DHS, CTC, the DOD, and others,” Daniel continued. “After what happened, there’s a chance the DHS takes the lead,” Daniel said.

Bureaucratic red tape—the bane of my existence. Every second we wasted arguing over jurisdiction was another second Vosch slipped further from our grasp.

Seth, Daniel, and I sat around a square table in the dimly lit back room of an unassuming office, one of the safe houses the CIA discreetly maintained across the city. Meticulously swept for surveillance devices and under the vigilant watch of hidden cameras, the space offered a fortress of privacy, where we could speak freely about the classified operation.

The air was oppressive with the threat that another agency could steal the case out from under us.

“That’s bullshit,” I said. “This is our case, so what changed?”

“For one, interrogations with the buyer, who was scheduled to meet Vosch in that garage, tell us the attack Vosch is supplying arms for is more imminent than we realized.”

When I opened my mouth to protest, Daniel held his palm up.

“That said,” he continued, “speed might be on our side; we’re more familiar with Vosch and his organization, so we may remain in charge.”

“This is what I hate about bureaucracy. We’re spending so much time deciding whose fire hydrant it is that the guy we’re chasing is six cities away before we decide who gets to chase him.” That, and how the red tape only seemed to appear when things went wrong. If things were going right, it had been my experience that agencies looked the other way and did not claim territory like this.

“We’re not sitting with idle hands,” Daniel assured.

Seth was still working with the team on the surveillance footage, Daniel was working with the FBI on forensics, and I was still working on finding out Ivy’s identity.

“We’ll get Vosch,” Daniel assured. “We just have to be patient while the bureaucracy plays out.”

“And what if someone else takes this case from us?” I couldn’t live with that. I had never screwed up something so badly. “I need to be the one to put the bullet in this guy’s skull.”

“Maybe you should sit this one out. You survived. Take that as a win.”

“He’s alive; it’s a loss. I’m not stopping until he’s dead,” I protested.

“You know most agents, when they fail at a target, they accept it as part of the job. You obsess. You let it consume you.”

“I’m fine. So, tell us what to do to keep the mission with us.”

Daniel sighed. “Look, the DHS won’t push us out. We’ve got the expertise and intel they need. Cutting us out could just put lives at risk.”

“But it’s possible?” Seth pushed.

Seth’s bleach-blond hair was cropped so short, it bordered on being buzzed, accentuating the angular contours of his face. His matching eyebrows framed his piercing light-blue eyes that gave him an air of innocence at first glance, but Seth’s powerful jawline and bulging muscles hinted at his strength and determination.

“Let’s just focus on the tasks at hand,” Daniel said. “This should all resolve itself within the next couple of days. Meanwhile”—Daniel leaned his elbows on the table—“it sounds like we might have another job coming down the pipeline.”

He has to be kidding.

“Shouldn’t we focus all of our attention on Vosch?”

“Unfortunately, Vosch isn’t the only threat to American lives. The good news is, the order coming down the pipeline is going to be right here in Chicago, too.”

“Chicago.” I couldn’t hide the skepticism in my voice. Our missions were often overseas. What were the odds of two cases being in the same city, back-to-back?

“It’s a lucky break,” Daniel said. “If we had to go chase someone else overseas, we would get cut out of Vosch for sure.”

“Who’s the target?”

“I’ll debrief you when I have the information, but for now, what do you have on our surprise guest?”

I wanted to press him more; surely, this target had something to do with Vosch if it was right here in Chicago. Killing one of his men would be a nice little appetizer for the main course at least.

Daniel looked at his watch for the third time.

This debrief was supposed to be quick; we had a lot to do, and the more time we sat, talking, the less time we were spending hunting Vosch.

“Not much,” I admitted. “First name: Ivy. She’s a regular at a coffee shop.”

“Seth, when you’re done with surveillance on Vosch, try to hack into the coffee shop’s computer network and find any customers with the first name Ivy. If we get her last name, we can run it through the database.”

“We’re still a day or two out from starting that,” Seth said.

Daniel’s lips thinned. “She meet anyone else?”

“An ex-boyfriend. They were arguing. Maybe the ex got her involved in this,” I suggested. “Maybe she doesn’t know what she’s gotten herself into.”

“You still think she’s innocent?”

“My gut is leaning that way, but I don’t know,” I hedged.

Daniel stood up and looked at his watch one more time.

“Seth, if your guys have time, run the first name Ivy through our database.” Daniel stared at me. “Tomorrow, go to that coffee shop. See if she shows. Try to get her name or a quality photo. Get us something to work with.”

Even if he hadn’t asked me to return to the coffee shop, I already planned to. Not only to try to find out her identity, but also to see if the ex would have the balls to show up again.

My money was on yes.

I saw it in his eyes, his ego—that it wouldn’t be the last she’d be seeing of him.

But lucky for her, if he made a move tomorrow, I’d be there, too.