Page 44 of Embedded
“Please take a seat.” Bruce stood at the head of the table and then to my utter discomfort and annoyance the door opened, and Dr. Bash suddenly appeared with an apologetic smile at Nicole. What the hell? He took a seat at the back. I glanced at Frank, who entered next. I shifted my gaze to Bash then back at him, but he just lowered his head and dropped the files he carried on the table. “Doc Roberts thought it would be best for Dr. Bash to join us,” General Bruce offered as an explanation.
What was I missing here? I glanced at Dr. Bash, who kept his facial expression neutral.
“Nicole, I’m going to just jump right into this.” General Bruce pointed the remote at the TV and brought up a photo of Bruno. “First, I want to let the record show that your assistance in helping Blackstone retrieve the young boy has not gone unnoticed. I know what you sacrificed to do so.” He cleared his throat. “I also know exactly what else it cost you.” Nicole tilted her chin like she was about to brace for impact. “Normally, I wouldn’t disclose such a secret?—”
“Secret?” fell from my mouth.
“Yes, secret.” I could tell he didn’t like my interruption. “Ms. Winter, maybe it’s best for you to introduce our guest?” The door opened, and before I saw who it was, I had my gaze trained on Nicole, who had paled to the point of looking translucent.
“I wish I could say it was nice to meet you all, but frankly, I’m pissed to even be here.” The man dressed in jeans and a polo entered the room with his eyes shooting a death glare at Nicole. He waited for her to speak, and when she didn’t, he rolled his eyes. “I’m Glen Digby, and I work for the DEA, and Ms. Winter,” he pointed to Nicole, “is my CI.”
“What?” Cole and I said at the same time. I did not see that coming. I whirled around to look at Frank. He was the one man who knew all our secrets, and I knew he’d take them to the grave no matter how much they cost us.
He raised his hands, and his face mirrored our shock. “I had no clue.” I believed him.
“No one did.” Nicole’s voice cut the silence. “I was approached years ago by the DEA and knew I had an opportunity to make a dent in the drug world. I was assigned to Agent Digby.” She looked at me, and I immediately made the connection to the person who kept calling her. “I’d been working with him on the side.” She addressed the room with confidence. I was impressed in spite of my instant annoyance that she’d told us nothing of this. “At that time, not even General Bruce knew. That came later.”
“Later, as in the past forty-eight hours,” General Bruce added rather bitterly.
Cole tapped his fingers on the table. “How long were you working as a CI?”
“I signed on my second year in Mexico.”
“Jesus.” Frank adjusted his glasses as he digested that.
“Was Digby the only agent you worked with?” Cole continued.
“Yes,” Glen answered for her, and Nicole sent him a nasty glare. Something told me he was difficult to work with.
“He’s a dick,” Cole barked boldly to me in Dari from across the table. “I’m surprised she lasted that long with him. You ever worry about a man in her life, it sure as hell wouldn’t be that one.”
“English, please.” Frank cleared his throat as everyone stared at us.
Cole looked at Glen. “I’ve heard of you, Agent Digby, and you’ve got a reputation for pushing limits and getting your way.”
“He does and tried.” Nicole’s voice held a sharp tone as she looked at the belligerent man. “But my moral compass can’t be broken. When Glen told me to ditch that poor child at the border so as not to compromise my position,” she glanced quickly at me, “I couldn’t believe it. And, of course, I ignored him.”
“Amateur,” Glen snapped at her. “A professional would have known better. We all have to make sacrifices if we ever want to win the war against the Cartels.”
Nicole raised her hand. “I’d never sacrifice a child. I told you no and kept my word to you, Paul.” She gave me a hard look. “Chase is just a baby. He never asked to be in that position. He can’t help that he was born into a world with Cartel blood in his veins and a monster for a father.” I felt the pain in my gut like a knife.
“And look where it got you.” His voice dripped with contempt, and I could barely hold myself back. I wanted my hands around that bastard’s throat. The guy had a death wish, and I hoped to make it come true.
“I know there was some question about you using the child for professional gain.” Frank glanced at me, ignoring Glen. Nicole suddenly stood, and all eyes went to her. She made a show of pulling out her GoPro.
“Yes, there was,” her tone was angry, “and as I said before, I would never do that but in case there are any lingering concerns, I can prove that my only motive was to get the child to safety.” She removed the cord from the laptop at the center of the table and stuck it in the side of the device. A moment later, her footage popped up on the TV. We all watched in horror as my son’s red face came into focus. He clung to Nicole’s shirt, his mouth open as he screamed in fear.
My fingers dug into my thighs as we continued to watch her footage, and when Bruno put his hands on her and Chase, we could see she fought him with everything she had. The look of pure shock on Bruno’s face when she shot him made my entire year. We all listened to her conversation with Glen telling her she should ditch the child and get back to work.
“The fuck,” I growled and glared at Glen with pure hatred. He simply shook his head.
“Easy,” Cole softly warned.
I tried to breathe as I tuned in to the conversation with her Washington Post friend, Jack. Then I heard her desperate public plea to find help to get Chase across the border. Nicole’s face was filled with pure terror and desperation. As I watched the entire situation unfold, it made me see it was the only move she had left. Not once did she show his face on camera when she was on air with the viewers. She never divulged anything about him, not his sex or name.
“Holy shit,” I whispered at how wrong I had been. Then I spotted Chili in the background in one shot. I appreciated that he had my back enough to risk being seen at all. I breathed a sigh of relief as if I was there in that moment when she weighed her options and decided to step into the back of his truck. I felt myself relax a little as Chili closed the door on them.
“That clears things up,” Frank said, very matter of fact, as if the footage had no effect on him. It bothered me that Frank, in his older age, was becoming almost robotic. He seemed to care more about the job and less about the people. Had he always been that way?
