Page 38 of Code Name: Reaper
“How much do we know about Aldrich’s history? Her childhood, things like that?” I asked Wren directly.
“I’ve been working on that. It’s buried so deep that even I can’t get my hands on it.”
Nemesis’ brow furrowed. “What are you thinking?”
I shrugged. “I’m curious.”
Nemesis stood. “If there’s nothing else, we have a full agenda. Blackjack can coordinate transport and arrange for a place for you to stay.”
Reaper pressed his leg against mine for the third time, then stood when Nemesis walked out of the room.
He didn’t speak again until we were on our way from the command center to the cottage. “How are you feeling about Edmonds being from your hometown?”
“The coincidence plagues me.”
“I get it, but do you care to elaborate anyway?”
“How does it all piece together? Mercury, Jekyll, Edmonds…”
“Aldrich.”
“I swear if she’s from anywhere near Newport News, I’m going to freak out.”
He raised a brow, glanced over at me, and smirked. “Freak out?”
“It’s highly classified, secret-agent code for ‘enough is fucking enough.’”
Reaper laughed out loud. “I’ll have to remember that. Is it exclusive to the NSA?”
“Exclusive to me is more like it.”
The next hourwas a whirlwind of logistics. Blackjack and Reaper coordinated flights and accommodations while I contacted Edmonds.
The man was hesitant when I mentioned we’d received intelligence from Senate sources about something called Operation Avalon. His voice reminded me so much of my grandfather’s that I wondered if they were contemporaries. “The investigation into the organization involved two missing intelligence agents—Eleanor Aldrich and Lyra Carrington. Do either of those names sound familiar?”
“Prism was presumed dead years ago,” he commented.
“In the past few weeks, we’ve received intelligence indicating that wasn’t the case.”
“How credible is this intel?”
“I saw her myself.”
“Interesting,” he muttered. “So what do you need from me?”
“Everything you know about the investigation and Prism’s and Mercury’s role in it. Including why it was abruptly terminated. I’ll be in Newport News in the next day or so and was hoping we could meet.”
When he agreed to the day after tomorrow, I was elated, given I’d been close to certain he’d turn me down. “One more thing. Two actually,” I said as we were getting ready to end the call.
“Go ahead.”
“I’m curious how much you know about Prism’s early years.”
“Meaning?”
“Do you know if she was from the East or West Coast?”
“Are you playing games, Agent Beaudoin?” His question confused me.
