Dark Deceptions (6 page)

“Whatever,” she said, her impatience growing by the second. “Let me talk to Adam.”

“As you wish.” The line went dead. And for a moment she panicked, fearing Rivon’s promise had been nothing more than empty
words, but two minutes later the phone signaled an incoming video. And holding her breath, Annie waited for the call to connect.

“Mommy?” Adam’s face swam into view, blurred as much by her tears as by the quality of transmission.

“I’m here, baby. I’m right here.” She leaned closer to the picture, as if in doing so she could somehow physically connect
with her child. “Are you all right?”

“I think so.” He nodded, his little face looking older than it should. “At first I was really scared. But there’s a nice man
here. He has a Wii. And we’ve been playing Super Smash Brothers. It’s really cool.” He paused, his chin quivering. “But I
want to come home.”

“I know, sweetie. And I’m doing everything I can to make that happen.”

He nodded again. “Come soon, Mommy. Please.”

Tears ran down her cheeks in earnest, her heart threatening to shatter. “I will, Adam. I promise. And in the meantime, you
be brave.”

“Like Daddy?”

“Like your daddy.” She nodded, wondering for the millionth time why she’d made the man seem so much larger than life.

“He was really brave, right?”

“Yes,” she said, frustration and anger blending with agony. “And so are you. Just hang in there, baby. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He nodded.

“Everything’s going to be okay. I swear it is. We’ll be home before you know it.”

“Can we have hot dogs?”

Annie felt a bubble of laughter but before she could say anything the screen went blank. Adam was gone.

“Hello?” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “Adam?”

“He’s no longer on the line,” a disembodied voice said.

“When can I talk to him again?” she asked, desperation mixing with dread.

“When you’ve accomplished your objectives. I need for your focus to be complete.”

“You have to know that I can’t do anything well, knowing my son is in danger.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a professional, Ms. Gallagher,” the tinny voice said.

“That was a hell of a long time ago.”

“Just get the job done.” The connection went dead and Annie stood staring down at the phone. For one second, she considered
forsaking common sense and calling in help. She and Nash might be estranged, but he’d never let her hang in the wind. Especially
if he grasped the true significance of the situation. Even as she had the thought, she rejected it. She’d reached out to him
once before, and he’d turned her down flat.

And besides, even if for some reason he did agree to help, she still didn’t trust the CIA. At least not with her son. His
death would be viewed as nothing more than collateral damage, the primary objective being to take out the threat, no matter
the cost.

No. She couldn’t risk asking for help. Nash was a Company man to the core. He’d proven that in no uncertain terms eight years
ago. Which meant she was in this alone. And she’d find a way to save her son. Even if it meant killing an innocent man.

T
his is crazy,” Tyler said, lowering her field glasses. “We don’t even know that Blake Dominico’s our man.”

“That’s why Avery assigned secondary teams to watch over Wright and Packard. But Hannah believes Dominico’s the most likely
target. And she’s not wrong that often.” Nash shrugged, dropping the aerial photograph he’d been studying back onto the table.
Something about it felt off to him, but staring at it didn’t seem to be helping.

They’d been in Manhattan following Dominico for just over twenty-four hours. And in that time they’d agreed that the man’s
most vulnerable access point was his apartment. Situated on the southeast corner of a building fronting the East River, it
was lined with windows and a wraparound terrace. The setup was perfect, with a variety of places for a seasoned shooter to
find concealment.

Attempts to convince Dominico to move somewhere safer for the duration of the threat had been met with his signature arrogance
and a blunt refusal, the fortitude that had helped make him a first-class negotiator also making him a blind fool.

So they’d secured the building immediately across the way. A man on the roof was tasked with protecting egress and Dominico’s
men were taking care of additional security in the ambassador’s building. That meant fewer options for the killer, but it
was impossible to eliminate everything. Which left Tyler and Nash stuck doing surveillance from a conveniently empty studio
apartment directly across from Dominico’s.

Nash sighed. There was nothing worse than trying to protect an idiot. Especially a politically connected one.

“There’s no way we can cover every angle.” Tyler frowned, echoing his thoughts. “Where do you think she’s most likely to set
up?”

“The most obvious,” Nash said, joining his friend at the window. “Because we’re the most likely to dismiss it. Annie is fond
of hit and run. She’s in and out before anyone has time to realize what’s happened.”

“Sound strategy.”

“Except this whole thing feels off to me. Annie’s been out of the game over eight years. Why get back in now?”

“Money.” Tyler shrugged, lifting the glasses again as she scanned the skyline, looking for anything out of the ordinary. “You’ve
got to admit it’s a great motivator.”

He turned away from the window, not bothering to answer. Whatever her motivation, if Annie really was planning to kill Dominico,
she’d crossed a line he couldn’t even contemplate. Nash was as ruthless as anyone in the game, but he was also clear about
which side he was fighting for. And as far as he was concerned, there were no shades of gray—only stark black and white.

“So tell me honestly,” Tyler asked, swinging away from the window, her expression reflecting her concern. “How are you handling
all this?”

If it had been anyone else asking he’d have given a flip response, something that firmly closed the door. But he and Tyler
went way back. If nothing else, he owed her honesty. “I’ve been better.”

“Look, I know this is rough. Nobody would blame you for sitting this one out.”

“Avery made it pretty clear the suits want me involved.”

“So be an armchair quarterback.”

“Not exactly my style,” he said, allowing himself the sliver of a smile.

“I figured you’d say that. But I’m afraid there’s one more fly in the ointment.” She paused, her expression rueful. “Avery
called while you were checking on the roof-top surveillance.”

“And I take it you weren’t pleased with what he had to say?” Nash leaned back, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“It’s not really me he was worried about. Apparently the powers that be have asked Tom Walker to be part of our operation.”

“But he’s Homeland Security. Why the hell would they want him in on this?”

“It’s not a matter of wanting him. It’s more about playing nice with the other boys. Homeland Security has access to the same
intel that we do, and they don’t much like the idea of our handling something that normally would land in their backyard.
So after some wrangling it was agreed that someone from HLS would sit in on our operation.”

“Tom. But why him, specifically?”

“Oh, come on. I think that’s pretty obvious. You and Annie worked with him for what, ten years?”

“Nine.” He frowned.

Tom Walker, acting as a CIA division head, had coordinated most of Nash and Annie’s Eastern European operations. He’d been
their handler, the man primarily responsible for getting them into and out of trouble. The latter more times than Nash cared
to count.

Tom had also been the one who’d secured Nash’s shot at A-Tac, his influence key in convincing higher-ups that Nash was the
man for the job. And it’d been Tom who’d pulled his ass out of the fire after things had gone south on the last mission in
Saida—literally. Tom had rescued him when Annie had left Nash high and dry. And Tom had been there to help put the pieces
back together.

But shortly after Nash had joined A-Tac, Tom had left the CIA for a suit job in Homeland Security. It was a huge promotion
for Tom, a coup of sorts. In part because of the rescue in Lebanon. Nash had been happy for him, but after a couple of congratulatory
phone calls, the two of them had more or less drifted apart, their friendship a casualty of political turf wars between two
agencies whose objectives collided more often than not.

“I’ve got no problem with Tom,” Nash said, shaking his head, “but I thought we were supposed to handle this. The CIA taking
care of its own.”

“You know there are always layers in these kinds of operations. Accountability. And you know as well as I do that Homeland
Security can get pretty pushy when they believe someone is treading on their territory.”

“So they wrangled their way onto the team.”

“Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to play nice.” She shrugged. “And who knows, maybe the two of you sharing history
will make it easier.”

“Or maybe it’ll just make an already difficult situation worse.”

“Way to look on the bright side.” She smiled. “Anyway, Avery says it’s just a temporary inconvenience.”

“Avery doesn’t know Tom Walker.”

“What do you mean by that?” She frowned.

“Nothing ominous. Just that Tom’s a by-the-book kind of guy. Real results-oriented. That’s how he’s risen so far so fast.”

“You think he’ll go hard on Annie.” Tyler frowned, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

“I don’t know. Hell, if she’s really hired herself out to the highest bidder maybe she deserves what she gets.”

“You don’t believe that.”

“Yeah, actually I do. But I’m done discussing it.”

“All right,” Tyler said, holding her hands up in surrender. “We’ll stop with the heart-to-heart. I just wanted you to know
that I’m here if you need me.”

He appreciated the thought, but was uncomfortable with the sentiment. He’d paid once before for allowing himself to get too
close to his partner, and he wasn’t about to do it again. “So what have we got?” he asked, moving back to the window.

“Nothing at the moment. Everything is pretty quiet. So far Dominico’s managed to stay off the balcony and away from the windows.
Which means for the moment, at least, he’s safe. There’s no way anyone unauthorized is getting into the building. And I’m
not seeing any identifiable threats out there.” She nodded at the terraced buildings across the way. “Of course I’m just one
pair of eyes.”

Tyler hated surveillance. She preferred the heated exchange of a firefight to the incessant waiting that was an integral part
of this kind of operation. Annie had been just the opposite. Comfortable with her own company, Annie had the ability to outwait
and therefore outmaneuver even the most elusive of targets. It had made her a valuable asset to any team. And a woman impossible
to read when it came to relationships.

She’d held things close to the vest. Too close, if he’d had any say at all. But he hadn’t, and that was, at the end of the
day, the whole point. He blew out a breath and angrily pushed his memories firmly back into the past where they belonged.

“I’ll check the video feed,” he said as he walked over to a monitor bank sitting against the far wall. The top row of screens
showed Dominico’s apartment from every conceivable angle. Dominico himself was currently sitting at the dining room table
reading the paper, the scene looking deceptively ordinary. On the next monitor over, his housekeeper was chopping vegetables
in the kitchen, while some kind of soup boiled away on the stove.

“Anything?” Tyler queried.

“Nothing worth reporting.” Nash shook his head as he turned his attention to the bottom row of monitors, their affiliated
cameras homed in on the buildings across the way, highlighting possible areas of access. “Pretty dead on our side, too. The
only action’s in the park. And that’s been limited to a dog walker or the occasional jogger.”

Dominico’s building sat at the end of the street, parallel to the FDR and the river. The park sat about three levels below
the street, connected to it by two flights of steep stone steps. A cement walkway extended from the first flight of stairs
across the highway to connect with the river walk on the opposite side.

“They’re too far down to be a danger,” Tyler said, coming up to look over his shoulder. “And the angle is wrong to shoot from
the highway, even if Dominico was standing on the railing waving his arms for attention.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. But I agree that the FDR isn’t an option. The park is all wrong, too. Like you said, it’s too
far down. Which leaves us with a big fat zero.”

“So what did the guy on the roof have to say?”

Andre was an NYC man. He seemed competent, but Nash had never liked working with unknowns. “Nothing. Just that everything
seemed normal.”

“Beats the alternative.”

“I don’t know,” he said, watching a jogger below on the walkway using the railing to stretch and warm up. “I don’t like the
quiet.”

“The optimal time to make a move?” Tyler frowned. “You think Annie knows we’re here?”

“I doubt it. She’s working without backup, which puts her at a distinct disadvantage. She’ll have done her homework, though.
Which means she’s more than aware of Dominico’s security detail. And she’ll factor in the possibility that others are watching.
Hell, it’s standard protocol.”

“But she won’t be expecting you.”

“Not sure how that matters. But no, she won’t.”

Tyler shifted to face him, her brows drawing together in concern. “You sure you’re up to this? I mean, if things go south…”
She let the words trail off, her meaning more than clear.

“You’re asking if I can take Annie out.”

“I wouldn’t blame you for saying no.”

His jaw tightened as he contemplated the unthinkable. “If the situation presents itself, I’ll do what has to be done. Satisfied?”

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“I know,” he said, shaking his head. “And you had every right to ask. Anyway, push comes to shove, you’ll be there, too. So
I’d say we’ve got it covered.”