Page 98 of Code Name: Atticus
“If you wouldn’t mind, I prefer if you did,” she responded.
“Not at all,” he said with a single nod of his head. “First, outstanding work dismantling this intelligence operation. This was one of the most sophisticated networks we’ve encountered.”
“As you know, Morrison, Liu, and Castellano were taken into custody without incident yesterday morning,” Tank reported, pulling up the arrest records on his screen. “FBI picked them at their respective residences at zero six hundred. No bail due to flight risk and the international nature of their crimes.”
“And Trevor Collins won’t shut up,” Kodiak added, leaning against his chair and linking his hands behind his head. “By the time he gets done, the bureau will have the goods on everyone who worked with Morrison and his cronies, from IT personnel to project managers to janitors who had master keys.”
Alice raised her head. “We were successful in intercepting the latest classified AI algorithms—the ones for autonomous weapons and targeting systems—right before they could be transmitted to foreign buyers. We were literally minutes away from losing them permanently.”
Dragon pulled up the financial data on her screen, the numbers scrolling past in neat columns. “Emma and I traced over one hundred million dollars through various cryptocurrency exchanges. The money trail goes through Cyprus, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, and finally to accounts connected to foreign intelligence services. Treasury’s freezing everything they can reach.”
“Which is about sixty percent,” Emma added, her expression frustrated. “The rest is already in jurisdictions where we have no authority.”
“Sixty percent of a hundred million is still a win,” Admiral commented.
“The letter,” I heard Alice lean closer to her husband and say.
“Right. Atticus, we need to discuss your resignation.”
Brenna’s head shot up. “You already resigned?”
“Monday night,” I admitted, squeezing her hand under the table. “When I thought I’d failed Luke, failed you. Seemed like the honorable thing to do. Very dramatic. I may have used the phrase ‘unworthy of the badge’ unironically.”
Admiral snorted. “I tossed it in the trash bin, where it belongs. You’re not resigning. However, I understand you’re relocating to DC?”
“Yes, sir. Brenna’s life is here, her work?—”
“I’ve been thinking about your suggestion,” he interrupted, leaning forward. “About hiring Luke Austen. The more I consider it, the more sense it makes. We need a presence in the capital, close to the DOJ, FBI, and the other alphabet agencies. You can run it, and Luke will be your second, assuming he accepts.”
I blinked, stunned that Admiral had made a decision so quickly. “You’re serious?”
“I called him this morning. He seemed interested but wanted to think it over. My guess is he’ll be in contact with you sometime in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Thanks, Admiral,” I managed.
“Don’t thank me yet. You have testimonies to give, paperwork to file, and a DC office to establish from scratch. I’m thinking we start with a small space—maybe something in one of those shared office buildings—until we know what we need.”
“I can help with that,” Emma offered. “Treasury has connections with several federal-approved facilities.”
“Appreciated,” Admiral said, then turned his attention to those on the West Coast. “Kodiak, Tank, when are you flying back?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Tank responded. “We’re doing the final evidence collection today with the FBI.”
“Red-eye tonight,” Kodiak said, then glanced at Emma on his screen. “Unless Treasury needs me back sooner.”
Emma rolled her eyes, but I caught the slight upturn of her lips. “We’ll manage.”
Admiral went through a few more points, nothing urgent, then asked Brenna if she had anything else to add.
“I don’t, other than to say thank you, both from the DOJ and me personally. I’ll be eternally grateful.”
“Just doing our job,” said Admiral. “But you’re welcome.”
After the conference ended and we’d closed the laptop, Brenna stood, plopped down on my lap, and wrapped her arms around my neck, then kissed me, long and deep. It was the kind that made the rest of the world disappear. Eventually, we made it into the bedroom, where we spent the rest of the day and night.
A week later,I stood in the Austen family’s living room in Annapolis with my grandmother’s ring burning a hole in my pocket. The drive from DC had taken just over an hour, but it felt like days with the weight of what I was about to do.
The house was exactly as I remembered from visits over the years—comfortable furniture that had seen three decades of family life, photos covering every surface, and the smell of something amazing always coming from the kitchen. The walls held a gallery of Brenna and Luke growing up—gap-toothed school photos, academy graduation, Brenna’s law school commencement.
