Page 60 of Code Name: Reaper
Amaryllis nudged me. “He’s meeting someone.”
I was able to get clear images on my phone of both Briggs and his companion. The second man was in his fifties, well-dressed, and had the kind of bearing that screamed Russian intelligence.
“I’ll run facial recognition.”
I loaded the images, and within seconds, we had a match.
“Denis Bogdanov. He’s connected to the SVR—Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service,” I reported.
“Any link to Vasiliev?”
“Negative.”
We watched as Briggs slid a manila envelope across the table. The Russian operative opened it briefly, glanced at the contents, then tucked it inside his jacket. Their conversation lasted maybe ten minutes—long enough for us to capture dozens of photos.
The two men stood to leave. “I’ll take Bogdanov, and you stay on Briggs.”
“Roger that,” Amaryllis responded, already on the move.
I tailed Bogdanov for six blocks, where he entered a parking garage, then emerged a couple of minutes later in a black sedan with diplomatic plates. I snapped as many images as I could. Once we returned to the SUV, I’d see if my contacts at the NRO could track him.
When I arrived, Amaryllis was there, waiting.
“What happened with Briggs?” I asked.
“He returned to his multi-million-dollar waterfront mansion,” she muttered without looking away from her phone.
“Ready to return to the town house, or is there a reason you think we should stick around?”
“None I can think of. On the way, I’ll pull everything I can on Bogdanov. Oh, and Vera requested a meeting.”
“NSA headquarters are in the opposite direction.”
She glanced over at me with a look of exasperation I’d seen so many times I lost count. “Thank you for the reminder of the location of the office where I spent the majority of my career.”
I grinned inwardly as I pulled the SUV out of the parking place. “You’re welcome. Now, should I go the other way?”
“She’s coming down. Or rather is already in Norfolk. I told her I’d let her know when I arrived.”
When she arrived? Not both of us? “Is the meeting related to the investigation?”
“She didn’t say one way or another.”
I glanced over at her several times and saw that rather than searching anything on her phone or tablet, she appeared lost in thought.
“It’s Wren,” she said when her phone vibrated and she raised it to her ear.
“Hey,” I heard her answer since I was sitting so close. “How’d it go with Briggs?”
“Reaper and I are returning to Newport News now. Okay if I put the call on speaker?” While I could hear her regardless, it was better to confirm whether I should be privy to whatever she had to say. More so now that Vera had requested a meeting alone with Amaryllis.
“Of course. Delfino found something. It appears Jekyll was investigating Operation Avalon after he joined Minerva.”
“Interesting but not surprising,” Amaryllis replied. “As for Briggs, shortly after our meeting ended, he left his office and met with Denis Bogdanov. I was getting ready to prepare the brief.”
“Bogdanov. Not familiar with the name.” We could hear Wren’s fingers on her keyboard in the background. “I’ve got a hit, but if it’s the same guy you saw with Briggs, he’s not Russian.”
“What is he?”
