Page 79 of Smoke and Mirrors

My eyebrows cross, and a slight cough pushes up from my chest. “Seven years? Fucking hell, how did I not see that? How did Dad not see that?”

His breathing slows, and he sits up a little taller. “Your dad got suspicious of us—”

“So you had him killed?”

Mark shakes his head. “No, Camilla did. He was too close to the truth.”

I furrow my brows. “What truth?”

He exhales. “Your mom got power-hungry. She was pulling toward command and control, and your dad was all about being virtuous and protecting people.”

“The Agency is supposed to be about protecting people.”

“Your mom thought The Agency was better consorting with the powerful companies in America. So we aligned ourselves with them, and everything we do is to benefit the profit margins of those businesses which, in turn, helps line our pockets.”

Furrowing my brows, I shake my head a little confused. “What do you mean, everything we do?”

He sighs and slumps his body. “Well, when the economy crashes, businesses can either fall or rise to the surface taking out those who are failing.”

I shake my head again, still not understanding. “So what does this have to do with The Agency?”

He scowls. “Think about it. What makes the economy crash?”

I freeze, swallowing hard as the blood drains from my face while I think about it.

He laughs and nods. “That’s right, Kace. Terrorists, mafia bosses, all the crap in the world, they strike, assault, attack, and these events aid toward our financial gain. It’s so easy, Kace.

Wincing, I say, “Go on…”

“We secure access to the Intelligence agencies’ Watch Lists. Those terrorists or radicalized persons are listed all in one easy place, so we’re able to coerce them and give them the information they need to formulate a strike. There’s a terrorist attack… panic ensues, shock and dread follows, but more importantly for us, there’s uncertainty.”

Feeling lightheaded, I nod my head once. I’m not sure I know where this is going, but the feeling building inside me is one of dread and hesitation. “Uncertainty?”

“One of the first things uncertainty brings is to the stock market, which crashes, and we gain. So while the country goes into full-scale alert and meltdown, we’re benefiting from the misery. Let’s face it, they destroy infrastructure, and the businesses we have onboard benefit from reconstruction.”

I can feel my face paling as I listen to him. My stomach churns while he seems almost proud of his words.

“Our intention is totally on soft targets, ones that are relatively unprotected and vulnerable. We do this for two reasons… one, to minimize innocent lives lost, and two, to ensure we cause the most infrastructure damage. We are not completely unconscionable, we ensure lives lost is minimal. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Oh yeah, I can see you’re scrupulous.” I cough sarcastically. “Are you telling me The Agency is virtually funding lone wolf terrorists and mafia to reap profits from economic crashes and attacks on our soil?”

He smiles, his eyes squinting like he’s the devil incarnate, and it sends a chill down my spine. “No, Kace, The Agency is the terrorists.”

Lily gasps as my heart pounds so hard in my chest I want to scream. All this time I’ve been working for the wrong side.

How could I have been so stupid as not to see this?

“But what is SO7’s part in all of this?”

“You know SO7 is a black ops team funded solely by The Agency. SO7 is off-grid and works on a need-to-know basis, so only a specialized few know about its existence for obvious reasons. You’re assassins, trained hackers, infiltrators, the cream of the crop, and you work for The Agency to find the families, loved ones, and associates of the known radicals on the Watch Lists. Once you’ve found them, we issue the waste orders for their families or loved ones to coerce them into cooperating fully with The Agency. If they think their families are threatened… especially after you take one of them out, they’re more likely to collaborate and work for us. You, as an SO7 Operative, think you’re taking out the terrorists, heads, and cartel leaders when, in fact, you’re murdering innocent civilians that just happen to be in their lives.”

“This is fucking crazy! What the hell do you get for helping businesses profit from a failing economy? How can a government agency benefit from that?”

He smirks. “It doesn’t. Shit, you’re slow. Your mother was the one who saw how this could all work for us… this is her love child. She saw that if The Agency started under-handing its dealings, then certain people could profit from it. Her… me… senators who sit in Congress… are all in on it, too. This is not just The Agency, Kace… this filters through the entire government system.”

“But the President—“

“Of course, the President has no idea…” he cuts me off, “… nor his cabinet or trusted advisors. Basically, it all started with Camilla, and you had no idea you were working for the wrong side all this time. It was working flawlessly… until Lily.”

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