Page 51 of Raven's Claw
He nodded toward Bodie.“Bodie called me a couple days ago, after the incident at the café involving Tucker Grant.He knows we’ve got a tech analyst who’s…” Cannon chuckled.“To say she’s scary good with a keyboard is an understatement.She also happens to be NSA?—”
“You involved the National Security Agency?God, do you all have a death wish?”Jordan ignored Kash’s hand on her arm.“Do you have any idea how dialed in Rook is?He’s got people watchingeveryagency.He gets just a suggestion that someone is searching for him or Scythe…”
Dead.
They were all dead.Sure, she suspected Rook already knew her location before Tucker had waltzed in and outed her, but that incident had sealed her fate.The fact someone from the NSA had gone digging after meant Rook would be more suspicious.More prepared.
Cannon glanced at Kash then back to her.“Trust me, Becca Tate doesn’t leave trails or traces.She’s you, only with computers.A ghost.”
“If I was half as good as you seem to think, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“You’ve avoided Scythe for seven months on your own.And yeah, I know exactly who and what they are.Had a buddy go dark with them.He discovered something he shouldn’t and tried to leave.Only made it a week before he had an ‘accident’.So, you do the math.”Cannon rolled his shoulders.“Bodie’s going to get Becca on a secure video chat.You really need to listen to what she has to say because this goes so much deeper than just Rook Donovan.”
Cannon nodded at Bodie, and the man started hitting keys, mumbling to himself before light flickered over his face and he smiled.
“Hey, Becca.Great to see you, again.Give me a second, and I’ll spin the monitor.”Bodie turned it, then walked around to the other side of his desk.“Quick introductions.The guy with long hair is Foster Beckett, and the woman on his right is Mackenzie Parker.It’s her father, Atticus, who’s gone missing.Next to her is Zain Everett, then Chase Remington.Finally, over here,” he waved at Jordan and Kash, “we’ve got Kash Sinclair with his furry sidekick, Nyx, and Jordan Archer.You know her through your digging as Ember.”
The woman on the screen — this Becca person — smiled.“Nice to meet everyone.Circumstances suck, but that’s usually how these things go, and time is never a luxury we have so, let’s get to it.Jordan… I assume you’re not going by Ember any longer?”
Jordan snorted.“I’d hoped I’d buried her in the past, but we can’t really do that, can we.”She hadn’t phrased it as a question, and Becca merely nodded.
“Well, you’ve done a pretty kickass job of staying off-grid.Which is saying a lot considering how many resources Scythe has invested in finding you.They’ve got agents monitoring cell phones and CCTV footage.Anything they can hack from dash cams to ATMs to traffic cams.Any sort of photo or video that makes it online.Hell, they have agents just driving through small towns live-streaming on the off-chance they’d catch a glimpse of you.I’m impressed it took them this long.”
Jordan shuffled on her feet.Being praised for simply surviving then putting people she cared about in harm’s way didn’t sit well.“In the end, the result’s the same.Cannon says this is about more than just me pissing off Rook and threatening to post the intel.”
“First off, I’m running all of my programs remotely through Bodie’s setup, so nothing was transferred over.You still have the intel on your end.Speaking of which… What you downloaded.”Becca whistled.“I’m assuming you didn’t have a chance to go through all of it?”
“Rook sent an RPG into the bunker while I was attempting to extract the asset.So, no, I didn’t have time.”
A growl.Low.Gravelly.
Jordan glanced at Nyx, then Kash, but she couldn’t tell if it had been the dog or the handler.
“Sounds like your team’s the same as mine.Which is lucky because you’re going to need every ounce of skill they have.”Becca tapped more keys, had images and manifests scrolling down the screen.“I’m betting you’re familiar with all the weapons and drug dealing, the intelligence smuggling and asset elimination.But that’s all under Scythe’s jurisdiction.The reason Rook’s so hellbent on getting his hands on this is what I suspect you weren’t aware of.What do you know about an agency called Sandman?”
Jordan frowned.“I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s Rook Donovan’s own creation.I guess running a ghost agency wasn’t enough.He needed to create his own within the company.”
“Wait.Rook created his own ghost squad?Is running his own missions?”
“Seems he handpicked a few agents from Scythe and started sending them on unsanctioned ops about three years ago.Nothing too obvious at first, but they got riskier and crazier over the last year you were with them.”
“Is my name on that list?”
Becca looked over Jordan’s shoulder at Kash.“Youarethe list.Well, there’s one other who pops up a lot.Icarus.”
“I’m not familiar with that operative, but we always worked alone.”
“It’s a bit strange.I haven’t been able to uncover anything about them, other than the code name.It seems they were recruited differently.I’ll keep digging until I have an answer, but you were his go-to.Looks like you didn’t disappoint.”
“Not exactly something I should be proud of.”Jordan pinched the bridge of her nose, just like back in the diner.Hoping to stop the spread of pain through her temples.“Why didn’t I figure this out sooner?Hell, at all.I thought it was just about the drugs and the weapons, but…”
“He hid it well.Got one of his IT guys to route everything through the Scythe mainframe — made it look legit.I’m impressed you picked up on anything becausethisis a work of art.”
“So, that’s why he won’t let it slide.If Scythe finds out he’s been playing them — possibly trying to replace their agency with his…”
“I imagine it wouldn’t end well.Even for someone with his connections and status.”Becca pursed her lips, looking at Cannon then Kash.As if she’d already figured out Jordan was intimately involved with him.
