Page 8 of A Moment Never Forgotten
“No,” he said quickly. “I don’t want you to leave your job. This would be just a little extra added onto what you’re already doing with Teagan Jackson.”
“You want me to spy on Teagan?” Berit couldn’t imagine the former Army helicopter pilot doing anything except her job at the Naval Air Station New River working on the Marine Corps’ newest helicopter.
He eyed her speculatively. “What do you know about Gabriel’s death?”
“He was allegedly killed by a terrorist who had hunted him down because he was the Director of Special Activities Division. Gabe was visiting Matthew Saint Clare at the time.” Defensively she added, “I made sure he had a hero’s funeral.”
“What I’m about to tell you is top-secret. You cannot speak to anyone, except me, about this.” He had spoken those words to her so many times before she instantly nodded her head.
“Yes, sir, of course.”
“Gabriel Davis was no hero. He was a traitor, killed by Matthew Saint Clare.” Noah Hennel’s words hit her like a shot to the heart while wearing a bulletproof vest.
Berit dropped back in the chair, as though shoved there. “Did Matthew kill him because he was a traitor?”
“No, Matthew shot him because Gabriel was trying to kill Elizabeth Kamp, who is now his wife.” Hennel let out a long breath. “When you worked in the Middle East, did you ever come across Nassar al-Jamil?”
At the name, Berit sat back up and leaned her elbows on the table. “Why the hell isn’t he on the Top Ten Terrorist List? I was just looking at a report this morning where tanks have now moved into Lake Urmia. He has been amassing an army for years. Have you ever listened to his speeches? That fundamentalist lunatic wants to take over the world and institute Sharia law.”
Her old boss smiled. “Damn, I miss working with you.” He looked longingly at his empty coffee mug before he got up. “Would you care for some coffee?”
“No. But thank you.”
He popped a pod into his single cup coffee maker. “About twelve years back, maybe thirteen, Gabriel was undercover with what they’re now calling the New Islamic State. We were afraid they flipped him, and he became a double spy. We’ve watched him for years. The only thing he really did to indicate his allegiance to anything other than the United States of America was to shove Nassar al-Jamil off to the side every time someone suggested he be put on the top ten.” Cup now filled, Hennel returned to the table. “That was, until he tried to kill Elizabeth Kamp. She’s the best translator we have for al-Jamil’s dialect. She also has a personal grudge against the terrorist.”
Berit was anxious to find out more. People do things for all kinds of reasons; a sense of honor, love of their country, duty to family. But a personal grudge should always be taken seriously. They can be the most dangerous people on the planet. “Can you tell me?”
He held the coffee cup to his lips, inhaling the aroma deeply. Finally taking a sip, the corners of his mouth kicked up. “Damn, I love coffee.” He took another sip before he set it down. “Short version. Gabriel had a tip on a munitions dump in Syria. Elizabeth Kamp, Teagan Williams, Mason Sinclair, Logan Jackson, and Micah Reid were part of a joint, coed task force. The five of them were sent in to blow it up. A charge went off early and Sinclair was killed. The rest have remained good friends ever since.”
“They’re tight.” Berit wasn’t sure if Noah Hennel knew just how tight they had been with Gabriel. “Did you know that Teagan and Marsha Davis had been friends since flight school? She introduced Marsha to Gabriel.”
He nodded. “I was aware of how intertwined they all are, which made it even tougher for us to believe that Gabriel was passing information to Nassar al-Jamil. We may never know, now. Anyway, Elizabeth Kamp had Mason Sinclair’s baby and got out of the Army as soon as she could. She came to work for us, at Gabriel’s suggestion, as an Arabic translator. We weren’t sure where his loyalties lay until he tried to kill Elizabeth.”
Hennel shook his head. “Gabriel Davis wasn’t working alone. Nassar al-Jamil has at least one mole inside our agency. Probably more. If you take this undercover assignment, you could be in more danger than you think. It might even be more hazardous to be inside the CIA building than in the field. Trust no one. There are traitors among us.”
She followed his gaze which held on one of the boxes on the flat screen. The countdown indicated less than two minutes.
Berit quickly picked up the remains of their lunch. “Can you give me a few days to think about this special assignment? I’ll have to figure out a way into the group…if I decide to take this assignment.”
“Take as long as you need. Just keep in mind I wasn’t exaggerating when I said there are traitors among us.” Noah Hennel sat down behind his desk and straightened his tie. He clicked the mouse several times on the world map, each section lighting up and expanding.
As Berit reached for the door, Matthew Saint Clare’s image appeared on the screen, replacing the countdown.
“Good afternoon, Director Hennel.” The stunningly handsome man with snow-white hair and black mustache greeted his boss. “Our most volatile spot today is a suburb of Pyongyang, North Korea.
Berit fought a grin as she stepped out of the office. The idea of going undercover again was exciting, a hell of a lot more interesting than anything Joseph Lambert was going to let her do. But her former boss hadn’t told her why he wanted her on the inside of that group.
Maybe, since he suspected Gabriel as being a terrorist, he thought someone else in the group was too. Could someone else be feeding information to al-Jamil? But Elizabeth Saint Clare held a grudge against the terrorist. Was the failed Syrian mission related to Nassar al-Jamil? Or was it the first attempt to kill Elizabeth, and they’d gotten Mason Sinclair instead?
In her new position, she had access to all kinds of information. She’d start with Elizabeth Kamp’s files. That would be very easy since she worked for the CIA and had been vetted several times.
She’d then check out Matthew Saint Clare. He hadn’t been on the Syrian mission but he might have other connections to Nassar al-Jamil. If Gabriel had been a double agent and in charge of special activities division, who’s to say that Matthew didn’t follow exactly down Gabriel’s path? That only left Teagan Jackson, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Logan Jackson, and Navy Captain Micah Reid.
She smiled when she thought about the handsome Navy captain. He would probably be the best conduit into their tightknit group. How the hell was she going to finagle her way into that man’s confidences?
And just how far would she take it? She had bedded assets before, but it had been years, more than she wanted to count. Seducing Micah Reid could be fun. As she walked back to her office, Berit wondered what kind of a lover he’d be.
As she turned the corner toward her office, she slowed her steps. What the hell was she doing? She liked Teagan. All the others seemed nice, too. Although she didn’t know them as well, she couldn’t imagine any of them being double agents. She wondered if any of them knew that Gabriel had deceived them, and his country.
