Page 4 of Blind Prophet

“It’s fine, Sophia. My marriage isn’t a secret.” Not exactly. “Let’s go. Time is of the essence, right? I left hot coffee on my desk. Let me grab it, and I’ll meet you there.”

She smiles, visibly relaxed. She’d been tense, worried how I’d take her request. I climb the stairs, releasing a sigh.

What have you gotten yourself into, Dorian?

“And that date? Yes? No?” Sophia calls from behind me in her standard, relaxed tone.

“I swear. You and Stella need to find a new television series to entertain you.”

“I half-expected Stella to be at your desk this morning.”

“She texted at six.”

Behind me, Sophia laughs, the sound light, airy, and out of place, given the reason we’re in the stairwell. Some people hate their exes, but I’m not one of them. Our marriage failed, but I never hated my husband. A queasiness sets into the pit of my belly.

“You know, if things don’t work out with Luke, Stella mentioned Ethan is overdue for leave.”

Stella’s son is in Special Forces, following in Trevor’s steps. Trevor, Stella’s husband, is also one of the Arrow Tactical founders and a former SEAL. Based on the photos in her office, Ethan’s handsome. “Isn’t Ethan younger than me?”

“As if that would matter to Stella.”

Fair. Stella jokes about being a cougar, but you’d never know she’s the older spouse when looking at her and Trevor. She’s aged well, and while he’s physically fit and hot as hell, he’s got a lot of gray, especially in his beard. And he adores his wife.

“Ethan’s actually a couple of years older than us.”

“Huh.” If I’m thirty-one, and her son is older than me, how old is Stella?

I pull open the stairwell door, and our conversation stops as several people seated in cubicles, headphones or earbuds in place, look our way.

With one quick detour to grab my coffee and laptop, I catch up to Sophia before she steps inside the conference room.

Trevor sits beside Ryan Wolfgang, who is also a founding partner, and I’m his direct report. Ryan oversees mission strategy and client management, and Trevor functions as a coach and trainer to the operatives Arrow hires. All of the founders are long-time friends.

“Caroline, the CIA, NSA, and Homeland Security have granted security clearance for you to join our team,” Ryan says.

Wow. Three US intelligence agencies. What the hell have you done, Dorian?

“Welcome to Project Unity,” Ryan continues. “Later, Sophia will provide a complete briefing. Over the last several weeks, allied intelligence services have gathered evidence that a multipronged attack is in the works. Planned timing remains unknown, as does the architect. Small-scale attacks have been occurring across Europe over the last six weeks, and we believe those are designed as tests and point to a larger, coordinated attack.”

I’m familiar with the attacks Ryan is referencing. I keep up with the news.

How would global attacks relate to Dorian? I read in an article recently that Zenith, the company he founded the last year we lived together, has the most extensive satellite network in the world. Governments are Zenith’s clients. Dorian wouldn’t attack his clients.

Ryan continues with the update in a staid monotone. “Chemical weapons were stolen from a factory in North Korea. We’ve located the ship carrying the weapons and are tracking it via satellite to gain a better understanding of its intent before we disarm it. Transcontinental wires on the Atlantic Ocean floor were tampered with and damaged. Sources are telling us an EMP attack is likely. Plans to disable GPS across the United States are being circulated online.”

An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack is a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy that can disable or destroy electronic devices and electrical infrastructure. It would cause widespread power grid failure and halt communications. Coupled with plans to disable GPS, mass hysteria might be the goal. These days, everyone, from ambulances to delivery services, relies on GPS. But GPS goes beyond getting around. Military operations, telecommunications, and financial systems would be impacted. They’re talking a black swan event.

“That would be next to impossible to accomplish.” I can’t stop myself from interrupting. “The US government has measures in place to protect GPS infrastructure and can selectively deny or degrade signals if needed.”

“We didn’t consider the threat to be high risk either, but two days ago, security at a ground control station in Nebraska was taken out by a sniper. Again, it appears these are tests to prepare for a full-scale attack,” Ryan says.

“Chat boards have been whispering about EMP attacks for years,” I say, skeptical that this is any more than fear-mongering propaganda.

Homeland Security monitors the threat. At the CIA, we worked with Homeland Security on threat assessment, as an EMP attack would have a global impact.

“True,” Ryan agrees. “Our assignment is to determine who is behind the recent attacks. Global tensions and concerns are rising. Russia and China are obvious suspects, but they deny culpability.”

They always deny culpability.

---