Page 77 of Code Name: Reaper
Reaper looked at me.
“I doubt our meeting this afternoon will last more than an hour or two, so yes.”
“Excellent. We can kill two birds with one stone, as they say. Rick can try to answer any questions you might have, and I can get to know Amaryllis better. Not to mention spend time with my son, who I never see enough.”
“I’d like to suggest we meet here,” said Reaper. “That way, we won’t have to be concerned about sensitive information being overheard.”
It was a good idea and the reason we’d made the same suggestion to Vera.
“I can order something from one of the local restaurants, and your dad and I can bring it with us. Anything off limits?”
“Pizza,” Reaper and I said at the same time, then laughed.
When Vera arrivedat fifteen hundred hours and I invited her inside, I was stunned by her appearance. It was as though she’d aged five years in the seven months since I last saw her.
“How are you?” I blurted.
“I was about to say the same thing to you.” She set her bag on a table in the living room.
“Tired, frustrated, and as ready to give up the search for Mercury as I am determined to find her.”
“Ambivalence is a curse I understand all too well.”
“Have the two of you met?” I asked when Reaper returned from upstairs.
He approached and extended his hand to shake hers. “I haven’t had the pleasure.”
After the two had traded greetings, I motioned for us to take a seat in the living room.
Reaper looked between us. “Should I be present for this meeting, or would you like me to leave the two of you alone?”
“Most of what we have to talk about will be beneficial to you both. I can’t think of anything you shouldn’t be privy to, but will let you know if there is.”
We both sat on the sofa and waited for Vera to continue.
“We have a lot to cover, so let’s get started. To begin, from my perspective, the most troubling thing I’ve come across is the volume of intelligence that has either been redacted or appears to never have existed. Things that should have.”
“For example?” I pressed.
“Primarily, Operation Avalon since it so closely relates to both Prism and Mercury. Like you, I was disappointed that you weren’t able to learn much from Hal Edmonds. That he gave his daughter the names Hyde and Minerva is interesting, though.”
“I thought so too but would like to hear why you do.”
“After reviewing the brief from the state department on Operation Avalon, I anticipated he’d share intel focused on that, including the details of what Prism and Mercury were investigating. The supposition is that Minerva Protocol was created specifically for that reason. Therefore, his mention of it makes sense. What doesn’t is the Hyde reference.”
“More mysterious is the addition of the letter H,” Reaper commented.
“Is there any update on his condition?” Vera asked.
“I haven’t checked, but his daughter offered to keep us posted,” I responded.
She retrieved her tablet from her bag and swiped the screen. “One of the primary reasons I wanted to meet is to discuss Avalon in correlation to both Argead and Romanov.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured.
“There’s evidence suggesting that the three organizations, if you will, are more connected than initially thought.”
Reaper’s brow furrowed. “In what way?”
