Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“His former CO is dead.”
“Yes, I find that intriguing as well,” he admitted. “He died in Australia. I believe your team had something to do with that. And a CIA operative named Chet Whittington recently died under mysterious circumstances in prison. No one seems to know how that happened.”
“Are you trying to tell me MI6 thinks TJ is working with this Jester person and he what? Is doing the dude’s wet work?” It was a ridiculous thought, but the truth of the matter was she couldn’t clear it up for him. What happened on the Australian op was classified, and he was a foreign agent.
“I’m not sure what to think. That’s why I’m here. I have intelligence that points me in the direction of TJ. Because of his connections, I’ve tried to keep that quiet until I can figure out what kind of trouble he’s in. However, I’m working with someone who wants answers, and he wants them now. I’m in a bit of a bind, love. That’s where you come in. You’re going to spend a couple of days helping us figure this out so I can either have TJ brought in or I can exonerate him.”
“All right. Let me see this intelligence of yours.” TJ had mentioned some pictures, but naturally he hadn’t been able to take them with him so she couldn’t debunk them. “I assure you I can take it all apart if you set me up with a laptop.”
“I think setting the brilliant Louisa Ward up with a laptop would be the height of idiocy on my part.”
“You should call my boss. This whole kidnapping thing isn’t necessary. Or his boss, Drake Radcliffe.”
The man snorted, an oddly elegant sound. “I doubt Ian Taggart believes Radcliffe is his boss. And I have my reasons for not involving the higher-ups. I’m working with someone who thinks you’re the key to figuring this all out. He wants to avoid the rest of your team if he can.”
“They will look for me.” Of that she had no doubt. “There will be repercussions.”
“I think I can handle anything the old man wants to throw at me,” he said with all the surety of someone who had obviously not spent a lot of time with Big Tag.
What would TJ do? Would he be angry she’d let herself get kidnapped?
Or would he be the one leading the charge to find her?
“Tell me something. Do Kenzie and Kala know The Jester? Did TJ make contact for them?” the man asked.
“Who the hell are you?” How did he know about her best friends and their secrets?
“Let’s say I’m an old friend,” he allowed. “Which is precisely why you should trust me. Like I said, I’m hoping to clear TJ and your team before anyone can think to bring you in for more formal questioning. I don’t believe for a second the twins are doing anything criminal, but my partner in this endeavor apparently got burned by them once.”
That could be any number of foreign operatives. Kala could be stingy with intel. She didn’t like to share, and she didn’t mind stealing anything she thought her team could use.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he continued. “We’re going to a private airfield. We’ll fly to a location where we’ll meet with my partner in this endeavor. You’ll be kept safe. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re going to give me the information I need to make contact with The Jester, and I won’t turn over the intelligence connecting your friend to an arms dealer to Interpol. Right now, they don’t have any idea TJ is involved with him. If they do, he’ll likely be arrested, and I doubt you’ll see him again. Is that the outcome you desire? This doesn’t have to be hard. Unless you’re involved with The Jester, too?”
Lou glanced out and realized they’d been driving for a while. They’d left Dallas and were on the road that would eventually take them to Fort Worth, though she doubted they would go that far. There was a private airfield outside of DFW airport, and that was almost surely where they were headed to. “I barely heard the name twenty-four hours ago.”
“Then he’s been keeping secrets from you or you’re an excellent liar. I’m not sure which. All right. Let me lay a couple of facts out for you. I came across the man known as The Jester three years ago. We believe he’s responsible for the bombs used in the Jakarta terrorist attacks. I managed to connect with him via the Dark Web. It took eighteen months to get him to agree to meet with me. In Berlin.”
Where TJ had said the photo of him had been taken. “And what happened at your meeting?”
“He didn’t show,” the man admitted. “He did, however, apparently meet with the young Taggart.”