Page 114 of Sinner's Salvation

“We say jackass,” Evan mumbled in her direction.

She didn’t look away from the CIA agent. “I will ask again. What do you want, Mr. Taft?”

“I would like a relationship with you.”

“I’m sorry,” Anna said, with a completely straight face. “You’re not my type.”

Evan chuckled.

Taft coughed and added, “Of a non-romantic nature.”

“What kind of relationship?” she asked. “Do you see us as equals or do you plan to use your knowledge of me and others like me as leverage to get us to do whatever you want?”

“I take it you’ve had to deal with that sort of thing more than once?” he asked.

“Several times. The occasional despot, tyrant, or dictator has discovered there are people who were different. Stronger, faster, harder to kill. It always went the same way.”

“What way was that?” Marek asked.

She smiled, showing off her teeth. “With the tyrant dead, of course.”

“Of course,” Taft said, with a weak smile.

“I am not an attack dog, Mr. Taft. I am not an assassin, or a spy. I do not take orders from anyone.” Anna leaned forward as she spoke, pinning Taft in place with a direct gaze.

Taft looked like he hadn’t been spoken to like this in a very long time.

“What I am is a business woman, a diplomat, and the matriarch of my family. I have a wide information gathering network across Europe and the rest of the world. I have relationships with people in almost every country, and I speak more than twenty languages. My focus has always been and will continue to be to keep my family safe.”

“I have no problem with that,” Taft said. “Information gathering about potential conflicts, terrorist attacks, and international crime is what I’m looking for.”

“That’s all well and good,” she said. “But what do I get out of this relationship? Do you have enough power and authority to stop people like Mr. Ledger from attempting to use me for their own gain?”

“We are in the process of doing that,” Taft said. “We’re setting you up with a background file indicating that you’re an asset of the CIA. When you’re in the United States, you’re a consultant for various law enforcement agencies on the topics of international crime and terrorism. Marek and I will be your handlers. You’ll be off limits to anyone else.”

She sighed. “How many will know about all this?”

“I think we’re up to ten?” Taft glanced at Marek, who nodded.

Anna shook her head. “They’re not going to be able to stay quiet. It might not be today or next month, but they will tell someone. My disease and its effects are too fantastic, too incredible for people to keep quiet.”

“Like our grandfathers,” Evan added. “And they did it in an attempt to help her.”

“Exactly,” Anna said.

“Your story is too fantastic and incredible,” Taft said. “That’s what makes it work. Most people would laugh at anyone who believes you can do all the things you can do. Even if someone happens to take a video of you doing incredible things, it’s easy to say the footage was doctored in some way.”

“What happens when you retire?” Anna asked. “Will the next person in your role have the best interests of your country and me in mind as you do?”

Taft drummed his fingers on the table. “I hadn’t considered that. We might have to plan for you to retire or even kill you.” He put air quotes around the wordkill.

“I’ve done that several times. Then re-emerged a few years later as my own daughter or granddaughter.”

She turned to Marek. “What do you get out of this, Major Marek?”

“My goals are the same as Taft’s. Information, though I’m probably looking for more onsite intelligence if a threat is detected at an event or targeting someone in particular.”

“So, Mr. Taft and the CIA are looking at bigger pictures while you and Army Intelligence are concerned with specific incidents?”

---