Betrayal (28 page)

Steven Brady heard the car door opening. “Thank God you came to your senses,” he began as he turned to the driver’s side. He jumped at the smile that greeted him.

“Agent Brady,” the man smiled. “Well, we meet again.”

“Meet again?” Brady knew the man and knew him well. He had sorted through dozens of files on this agent. “We have never met, Agent Krause.”

“Oh, I forgot. I had the advantage that day.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Brady asked apprehensively.

Krause nodded and gestured out the front window. “O’Brien and Brackett are not alone, Brady; look.”

“What the…”

“You need to get out of here,” Krause ordered.

“I can’t. Toles is…”

“I’ll take care of Agent Toles. You get to the other side of the pier. If Brackett and O’Brien make it that far; follow them. Go.”

Steven Brady was no coward but Jonathan Krause was nothing short of a legend in intelligence circles. He traveled in the upper most echelon. He was an anomaly; known and yet untouchable. “I am supposed to leave Toles with you? I don’t think so.”

Krause snickered. “You are over your head, Brady. I will get Agent Toles out of here,” he said as he began to reopen the door.

“Why would you help Alex?”

Krause winked. “Over your head, Agent. Trust me, if O’Brien and Brackett make it to their car, you’ll want to follow. Don’t make me tell you again,” he said coolly.

Brady swallowed hard and moved into the driver’s seat. He watched as the tall CIA agent expertly made his way closer to Agent Toles. “What the hell is going on?” he asked himself.

“You’re here alone then?” Mitchell asked, catching sight of a shadow off to his left.

“Of course.”

Ian Mitchell smiled. “Relax, Congressman. Were you not expecting me? You look as though you have seen a ghost.”

The congressman fidgeted with the case in his hands. “This is…uh, what you came for, I believe.”

“Is it now?”

“I’m sorry?” O’Brien asked.

“What’s in that case, Congressman. That is what I came for?”

“I was given to understand…”

Mitchell laughed as he kept tabs on the shadow that was edging closer. “You were given to understand what exactly, Mr. O’Brien?”

“Well…I…President Strickland made clear that you would…”

“Have you seen another ghost, Congressman? You seem to have gone white again.” O’Brien swallowed hard and attempted to steady himself as Mitchell turned his attention away. “BOO!” he yelled in the direction of the cement barrier.

Claire Brackett popped up, gun held securely at her side, just concealed by the three foot high barrier. “Ian. What brings you to Corsica?” she fluttered her eyelashes.

“I came at a friend’s request. Didn’t expect to see you, Claire. Daddy send you to protect the little flower here?”

O’Brien bristled at the statement. “Claire is only…”

“BOO!” Mitchell barked at the congressman causing him to leap backward a pace. Brackett tucked the gun in her pocket and kept her hand firmly on it. Deliberately and seductively she walked toward the pair, winking at the congressman along the way and hoping he would understand that as her subtle signal to be ready. “Daddy won’t be happy that the sparrow flew so far from her nest,” Mitchell said.

“Oh….I like to think of myself more like a falcon,” she cooed.

“Really? A messenger bird, is that it?”

She allowed a slight sarcastic laugh to escape her as she moved closer. “Strong, beautiful, commanding,” she said moving closer to the MI6 agent as the congressman seemed to remain planted in place.

“Strange,” Mitchell said. “I see you more as a gull. You know; what do they call them? A dump duck?” Claire Brackett seethed at his insult and tightened her grip on the gun in her pocket. A few feet away Christopher O’Brien did the same. She moved only slightly and before she could retrieve her weapon, found Mitchell’s aimed at her.

“Now, Ian; is that any way to treat family?”

“Shit!” Alex growled, looking across the short distance that separated her from the threesome. “Shit,” she repeated. The taller man was pointing his weapon at Brackett and O’Brien. She focused her gaze on the congressman. “Christ, Claire you gave that imbecile a gun?” O’Brien was aiming directly toward the
unknown figure now. Alex withdrew her sidearm and grasped it firmly with both hands, swiftly moving in a sideways motion toward the unfolding scene. “Dammit,” she groaned as she pressed forward. “O’Brien!” she yelled as she moved closer.

POP. POP. POP. POP. Four quick pops lifted Steven Brady from his seat. He looked in the rear view mirror. It was dark. Someone was falling toward the ground. He couldn’t make it out. He shifted his gaze out the side window and saw Brackett lifting something. “Shit. Alex, where are you? DAMMIT.” He considered his options for a split second. Jonathan Krause’s words were still ringing in his ears. The breath in his lungs fell forcefully out of his mouth in a large rush as his foot connected with the gas pedal. “Better be right, Krause.”

“IAN! NO!” a voice bellowed. Alex shifted her gaze slightly to try and see who the voice belonged to.

POP. POP.

“IAN!” the voice called a second time. “TOLES!” POP. POP. Krause fired his weapon toward Brackett as she pulled the congressman to his feet. “STOP!”

It felt like glass, sharp glass. Searing pain traveled down one arm and it seemed as if might never stop. Connecting with the ground felt like falling twelve stories. In the distance there was a faint voice. “Christ, Ian; what were you thinking? Get out of here…GO!” It sounded muffled somehow; far away. The warmth that Alex felt traveling down her back seconds ago suddenly turned cold. It was eerily familiar and she fought to keep
her eyes open when the voice returned. “Toles. Jesus. Just hang on. Hang on.” The voice was vaguely familiar but she couldn’t place it.

“What?” Alex struggled to speak.

“Toles…just relax. I’m gonna get you out of here,” the voice promised.

There was noise all around but it was becoming harder to discern. “Brady?”

“Fraid not, Agent. Hang in there.”

“I don’t,” Alex tried to open her eyes. She could see the hint of an outline in the falling lights but everything was swirling now.

She heard a clicking sound and then the voice spoke again. “It’s me. I need a favor…..no….no, it’s Agent Toles….Calm down…Just calm down and listen to me.” There was silence for a moment before the voice continued. “I know that….I can get her there….No, I won’t. Just listen. Do you have a way to get to Cassidy...I sent Brady off.…..I will….I’ll explain later…Just get her there.” Another click. “Hold on tight, Agent,” was the last thing Alex heard before her world went dark.

m I dreaming? Cass? Are you there? Cassidy?” Alex wasn’t certain if her words were only in her head or if she was actually speaking them. It was dark. Her head was pounding and she felt cold, incredibly cold. There were voices. She strained to listen. She struggled to remember. “Where the hell am I? Who’s? Cassidy…..”