Page 31 of No More Spies

He did not get in the middle of Taggart sister fights. Everyman who knew them knew to take a step back. He would stand behind Kala, andDare would do the same for Tasha, and they would stay out of the line of fire.

“Well, he was Agency for years, and even after he left hefucked over like a million bad guys,” Kala pointed out. “Do I need to go intoall the Russian mobsters Mom screwed over?”

“Hey, I always killed them so they couldn’t come back tohaunt me,” Charlotte explained. “And your dad tried to as well.”

“The ones left remember,” Kala said quietly, and Coop couldsense her mood shift. She’d been joking before, but this part was serious.

Kala was like flying sometimes. He had to get a feel for theair around her, find the good streams that swept them along, and know whenturbulence was going to batter them.

“Well, Big Tag didn’t even kill Huisman’s dad.” There weretimes to protect himself and times to give her cover. Her mom was looking ather like she wanted to ask some questions, and he saw the tightness to Kala’sshoulders. It was time to deflect. “So in addition to wanting to find abombmaker, he used the Montreal op to begin his revenge on Ian. Who againwasn’t even there when his dad died.”

“Fucking Levi Green killed his father,” Big Tag said in alow growl, mentioning the unalived CIA operative who’d haunted them for years.“But what we learned recently is he blames me. Huisman believes if I hadn’tprotected the Lost Boys, his father would be alive and all the dominoes thatfell after wouldn’t have and his life would be sunshine and puppies and roses.It’s ridiculous but he believes it.”

“I have Lena working on a profile of him,” Drake replied.“And, Ian, you couldn’t have known that twenty years later some kid you’venever met would decide you’re the devil and he needs to take you out. Thisisn’t on you.”

“It’s not. I was just joking about the fact that when youtake down as many assholes as my parents have, you should expect someone’sgoing to come after you,” Kala said, her tone flat. “I believe he said he wouldvisit the sins of the father on his children. Or some bullshit like that. He’san overly dramatic motherfucker.”

“Yeah, he was definitely overly dramatic when he was usingmy daughter as a test subject,” her mother said, her tone dark. It was a goodreminder that there were two Charlotte Taggarts. Or at least two versions ofthe same woman. One was the loving wife and mother, the mom every kid adored.One had been a Russian mob assassin, and she never forgot how to kill.

Kala had been given an experimental paralytic, and despitethe fact that all the doctors said she was fine, he still wasn’t sure what thelong-term effects could be. Huisman had made her vulnerable and then pouredfire into her veins.

He really wanted to kill Emmanuel Huisman.

“Do we have any idea where he is?” Tristan asked.

No one needed to ask who he was talking about.

“Who?” Except TJ.

Drake simply ignored him. “The last location we have forHuisman is three days ago in Algeria. He met with a group of mercenaries. Wehave to think he’s hiring. We believe he’s no longer in Africa. I’ve got someintelligence that has him traveling to Asia, though we’re not sure where. TheCanadians are going to announce an investigation into the Huisman Foundation ina couple of days.”

“Are we worried that could set him off?” Charlotte asked.

“I would have to ask Lena,” Drake replied. “We’reconsidering her the subject matter expert. She’s spent the last couple ofmonths diving into his history.”

“Eve thinks yes,” Big Tag said, sitting back. “You have yourexperts and I have mine. I think we should authorize protection for thefamilies of the Lost Boys. In particular Owen and Rebecca Shaw. They’re inSweden right now. I think we should bring them in.”

“I can’t authorize anything without Lena’s go-ahead, but Iwill talk to her,” Drake offered, closing his folder. “And I’d love to readanything Eve has on Huisman. As for Zach, he’s disappeared off the face of theearth. I’ve gone over his file about three thousand times, and there’s not ahint of a lie there.”

“Sometimes you don’t have to lie. You just have to keep yourmouth shut,” Big Tag replied. “We know his mother spent time in jail forcooking meth. We know she had some very sketchy contacts, but we’re talkingalmost twenty years ago.”

“Where is she?” Cooper was curious. “According to Zach, shedrifted out of his life when he was a teen and never returned. He thought shewas back to making designer drugs.”

“She’s gone, too,” Drake replied. “We do know she wasconnected to a couple of cartels back ten years ago. The last known location wehave on her is El Salvador. From there she disappears, and nothing I’ve foundconnects her back to Zach after she split. We have to consider the idea thatZach’s mom is in some way connected to the arms community and knows something.I would love to talk to Zach’s aunt. If I could fucking find her. Disappearingis a way of life for this family.”

“Joyce lives a nomadic life,” Big Tag explained. “After Zachleft home, she built out a van and took to the road. I can find her. I justneed some time. She’s…a character.”

“She also might be working with her nephew, so be careful.We have no idea why Zach killed The Jester in the first place. I think thelikeliest scenario is he wanted to become The Jester,” Drake replied.

“Then why not kill Tris?” Kala pointed out. “He could easilyhave done it.”

“I wouldn’t say easily.” Tris looked slightly offended, buthe carried on. “But Kala’s right. He could have taken me out but he didn’t, andnot once did he try to manipulate me in a way I would say would bring him somemonetary gain.”

“This isn’t about money.” Cooper felt like he knew the guy.“This is something else.”

Drake stood. “Well, you need to figure out what it isbecause pretty much every agent out in the field is looking for him. I can’tcontrol what they do when they find him. This is a dangerous situation. I needyou guys to lay low for a while. Let Lena do her job. I’ll work on thehigher-ups to get more resources. I’ll be in town for a couple of days if youneed me.”

“So we’re supposed to sit on our hands?” Kala asked,irritation flavoring every word.

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