Page 71 of Echo: Burn
"And they're destroying it," I say. It's not a question.
"Started yesterday according to my sources. They're burning hard drives, shredding documents, dismantling equipment. By the time you get there, you might find empty rooms." Karina's voice is grim. "That's why you need to move fast. And why Dr. Hart's presence is critical—whatever trace evidence remains, Odin can detect it."
My encrypted comm chirps. Victoria Cross. I step away from the table to take it.
"Kane." Her voice is smooth, cultured, expensive. Cross deals in information the way other people deal in weapons. And rightnow, we need what she's selling. "I have your intel on the DC shipment route."
"Talk."
"The Committee's using diplomatic cargo. Russian embassy shipment, flagged as sensitive materials under international treaty. Impossible to inspect without triggering an international incident."
My hand tightens on the comm. "When does it move?"
"Forty-eight hours. Private airfield outside Kalispell to Reagan National. From there, it goes to a 'secure storage facility' that happens to be three miles from the Capitol." She pauses. "Kane, if you intercept this cargo, you'll be violating every diplomatic protocol in existence. The fallout will be catastrophic."
"Less catastrophic than chemical weapons deployed at the inauguration or just about any other place in the Capitol."
"Perhaps. But you'll need to be very, very careful how you handle it. No direct confrontation with Russian diplomatic personnel. No obvious American government involvement. This has to look like... something else."
"A robbery."
"Exactly. Private contractors hired by unknown parties to steal valuable cargo. Tragic but not political." I can hear the smile in her voice. "I can provide you equipment and cover identities. For a price."
"Name it."
"Two hundred thousand. Half up front, half on completion."
I don't hesitate. "Done. Send the intel package to Tommy. And Cross? We'll need extraction support if this goes sideways."
"That will cost extra."
"Everything costs extra with you."
"That's why I'm so good at what I do." The line goes dead.
I return to the table where Rourke's already studying potential intercept points on a map of the route between Kalispell and DC.
"This is insane," Mercer says quietly. "Intercepting Russian diplomatic cargo?"
"The Committee's counting on everyone being too scared to act," I say. "That's how they've operated for decades. We stop being scared, they lose their advantage."
"We also risk starting an international incident," Rourke points out. "Russia will scream bloody murder."
"Let them scream. As long as we have proof of what was in that cargo, the world will understand why we did it." I look at each of them. "Tommy and Sarah run operations from here. The rest of us get ready to move."
"What about me?" Khalid asks.
"You stay with Tommy and Sarah" I say, and watch the boy's eyes widen.
Khalid straightens, pride and fear warring across his young face. "I won't let you down."
"I know you won't." I turn to Tommy. "I need real-time surveillance on the op. The second anything goes wrong, you pull us out. Understood?"
"Copy that."
"We move out at 2200 hours. That gives us six hours to prep gear, review protocols, and get some rest." I look at Willa. "Especially you. You've been running on adrenaline and atropine. You need sleep."
"So do you," she counters.
