Page 99 of Code Name: Reaper
She motioned to a sideboard. “There’s coffee and a light breakfast if either of you is hungry.”
“What would you like?” Kingston asked, already moving in that direction.
“Just coffee for now. Thank you.”
“I’m sure you have many questions,” Lyra began once I’d taken a seat. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to start at the beginning.”
“Of course.”
“Mama told you some last night, but I’ll offer a more comprehensive overview.”
She sounded so much like the professor I’d once believed her to be. As she spoke, I caught a hint of a British accent that was only evident with certain words, unlike Eleanor’s, which was so pronounced.
“I’d appreciate that,” I responded, then thanked Kingston when he handed me a cup of coffee, then sat beside me.
“My father, Horatio Hyde, began working for the CIA when he was in his mid-twenties. That was when he met Mikhail Stepanov, who was a Russian national who’d become a spy for the agency.”
I took a sip, savoring the rich dark roast. “Anna—Grandmama—mentioned Horatio’s code name was Minerva.”
“That’s right. As she alluded to, life was quite different then, particularly in regard to technology. While code names are meant to shield identities now, it was more necessary that they did then. Agencies often used code names that were intentionally misdirecting—using a traditionally feminine name for a male agent was a deliberate operational security measure.” Her expression shifted to one of pride, and she squared her shoulders. “Minerva represented wisdom and strength, tactical intelligence and strategic thinking. All words that described exactly who my father was.”
“Please go on. I’m sorry I interrupted.”
Lyra turned to Kingston and smiled. “She was always so inquisitive. And challenging,” she added with a wink. “You made me very proud, then and now.”
My cheeks flushed, and I murmured my thanks.
“My father and Mikhail found evidence of Operation Argead years prior to when Irish Warrick began investigating the criminal enterprise. When their probe led them to suspect high-ranking officials from the CIA were involved, they took their research ‘offline,’ so to speak. Or, in other words, they went rogue.”
“Were you still living in the States at the time and attending Bethel-Rhodes?”
“Yes. By then, your mother had already graduated and was attending the University of Virginia. That’s where she met your father.”
“Was she interested in a career in intelligence also?”
“Her major was in foreign affairs, and her plan had been to pursue a career in diplomacy. However, she and Stephen married shortly after he graduated, and she quit university to build a life with him closer to the CIA headquarters.”
“Did my father know Horatio?”
“He did. In fact, my dad became Stephen’s mentor. In the years following the accident, he carried great guilt over it.” She turned toward the window and wiped a tear away.
“If this is too difficult, we can stop for today. Or completely,” I offered.
“No. It’s important we continue.”
“Of course.”
“When you were three and your parents died in the car accident, my father suspected foul play. However, it wasn’t until Pavel and Oksana died in a similar way a few months later that he and Mikhail became certain their work had been exposed.”
“That was when the rest of the family went into hiding?” I asked.
“Yes, my mother and Polina primarily. Eleanor was already with the CIA by then. And, like you eventually became, I was an intern with the NSA.”
“And Edgar?”
“His dream was to attend Cambridge, so he’d been living in the UK and working for SIS for some time.”
“Right out of university?” Kingston asked.
