Page 34 of Covert Past

She dropped her hand. “I’m fine. Just a reminder from that night.” She told him more about the knot. “I had an allergic reaction to whatever they gave me. It took weeks for the spot to heal.”

Ellie’s attention went to the Ruger that she’d placed on the table. “Wait, what about my gun?”

Boone didn’t follow right away. “What about it?”

“They keep finding me. I never thought about them tracking me by some device until now. What if there is something planted in the Ruger?”

Boone held her gaze for the longest moment before he whipped toward his team members. “Is it possible?”

Both men had been listening. “Maybe, but it would be subject to a certain range as well as the weather.” Eli picked up the weapon. “Do you mind if we take a look at it?”

Ellie shook her head. “Whatever you need to do.”

Eli removed the magazine and ejected the round from the chamber. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to take one of these apart. Let’s see if I remember how.”

Ellie slipped into the chair across from him. “It’s pretty basic.I’ve had it apart before, and I didn’t find anything, but I wasn’t really looking for a tracking device.”

Eli handed it to her and Ellie quickly dismantled the weapon.

“That was fast.” Eli picked up the barrel and examined it closely.

Boone claimed the seat beside Ellie and touched the grip. “What is this?”

She noticed him looking at the manufacturer's emblem on the side. “That’s the Ruger emblem. A bird then the R for Ruger.”

He held the grip up for a closer look. “Yeah, but this one is different.”

Ellie couldn’t explain. She’d owned the gun most of her adult life. It was her weapon of choice for her career. The gun was never out of her reach.

Boone gently worked the emblem free to reveal a minuscule compartment. “There’s something in here.” He turned the grip over and something metal hit the table. He let out a low whistle, his attention capturing hers. “I’m guessing that’s how they keep finding you.” He held up the smallest tracking device Ellie had ever seen. It was smaller than the head of a pencil.

Declan and Eli both leaned over his shoulder. “I’ve never seen one that small,” Declan told them. “As much as I’d love to dissect it, we need to destroy it. I’m hoping with the storm whoever is tracking you won’t be able to pick up the signal.”

Boone handed it to him, and he tossed it into the fire.

Ellie was stunned. “I can’t believe it. I’ve taken the Ruger apart many times. I missed looking beneath the emblem. All these years, and it was right there with me.”

“I’m surprised it held up for so long,” Eli commented. “At least, we know we’re safe for now. That gives us some breathing room to figure out what’s on the drive and try to understand how it’s connected to the peace summit taking place at Camp David.”

Ellie couldn’t believe it. She of all people should have realized they had some way of tracking her. She never thought to look at the weapon she carried. “I don’t understand how they got the tracker inside the weapon. I hid it in my boot on thenight of the attack. Not even Daniel knew I carried it.”

Boone frowned. “Maybe they searched you before they put you in the box?”

Maybe, but she didn’t buy it. “I had it concealed. It would have to be a pretty thorough search to find it, and I can’t imagine they had that much time.” It was the only explanation that made sense, and she couldn’t let it go.

Declan’s computer dinged, and he hurried over. “I’ve got a hit.” His eyes widened. “This is something along the lines of what the NSA uses only slightly different. It may take the program a while to work through the difference.”

Ellie latched onto the National Security Agency. It didn’t add up. “Why would Syrian Intelligence be using an encryption matching NSA?”

“Maybe it wasn’t put there by Syrian Intelligence,” Eli said.

Ellie couldn’t make the connection. “Then who? Daniel and I were there to meet with his contact within the Syrian Intelligence Agency that was believed to have gotten one of our agents to work for them. Daniel said his contact was working on getting the name of the traitor inside Mossad.”

“It would stand to reason that Syrian Intelligence wouldn’t want that cover blown,” Boone said. “They probably blackmailed whoever this person is. They wouldn’t want to lose that hook inside Mossad.”

A disturbing thought occurred. “What if it was my own team who planted the tracker?”

All eyes were on her. Boone took up her line of thought. “You think this is Mossad technology used against you?”

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