Page 21 of Code Name: Reaper
Unsure I could speak through the doubt clogging my throat, I nodded.
After climbing the airstairs, we settled into seats across the narrow aisle from each other as the engines spun up with a low whine that vibrated through the plane’s interior. I felt the familiar knot of tension that always came with crossing points of no return.
I pulled up reports on my tablet and pretended to review them. The device served as a shield between us, a barrier against the tension building in the confined space.
We lifted off smoothly, banking toward England, uncertainty nauseating me. I studied the tablet’s screen, but I was hyperaware of Reaper’s presence across the aisle. How his long legs stretched out in the narrow space, the way his head rested against the seat, and the steady rhythm of his breathing.
We’d been in the air maybe twenty minutes when he finally spoke.
“So,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “Wanna tell me about the dream you had last night?”
6
REAPER
Yeah, I was an asshole. A fact that was confirmed when Amaryllis’ shock and dismay played out on her face. Like she’d swallowed a bug. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my grin.
Before hiding behind her tablet like she so often did, she shot me a glare meant to kill. I should let her crawl into her cocoon and leave her be, but something in my gut told me to press on, keep the lines of communication open between us.
“Tell me what happened after you saw Aldrich and Vasiliev on that ridge, watching the villa burn.”
I was gifted with another glare, followed by a huff. Then she started talking. “I waited until they left, then raced from the woods to the parked vehicles belonging to those who’d been at the party. I took the first one I found with keys in it.”
“More grand theft auto.”
“More thinking on my feet to stay alive.” There was a sharp edge to her retort.
“Right. So, you didn’t return to the safe house. Where did you go instead?”
“Tivet. I abandoned the car, then made contact with an NSA asset, who gave me the coordinates and access code to a safe house.”
An asset. She wasn’t ready to trust me with a name, but that was okay. For now. “Go on.”
“I searched as much as I could on my cell, reviewing every piece of intelligence from the past month and cross-referencing communication timestamps with security breaches. The data that emerged made my blood run cold. The FSB was always one step ahead of us. The gala in Cape Idokopas, then again in Athens. Every safe house we’d used was compromised within days. Every plan had required last-minute adjustments due to ‘unexpected FSB presence.’”
“Do you think it was Vasiliev’s doing?” I asked.
“And Prism’s.”
“What did you do?”
“I got lucky and was able to get a partial on FR—facial recognition. It wasn’t enough to see Aldrich clearly, but I knew it was her, and she was headed to London. I caught the next flight out I could.”
“Where was she traveling from?”
“Podgorica.”
“And you beat her there.” I grinned, feeling inexplicably proud of her.
“Not by much, but it was enough. I followed her to the Langham Hotel and settled into a café across the street with a clear view of the entrance. Oh, and on the way, I picked up a few electronics.”
“Do I want to know from whom?”
“I’m sure you do, but that’s another story.”
“Go on. I’m on pins and needles here.”
She stared at me as if she was gauging if I was being sarcastic. Then she continued. “For six hours, I kept watch as assets came and went. Then, at twenty-one hundred, everything changed.”
