Page 39 of Covert Past

“Unless he’s being investigated.” Declan said quietly. “And I think I have proof that might be the case.”

“You have more information?” Ellie rose and went over to view the laptop with the others.

“I do. This informant appears to be identified only by the code name of A. I’m guessing A is Issam Rafiq, the Syrian Intelligence leader seen with the prime minister. Clearly, he’s been under surveillance for some time. The writer of this report seems to believe he may be involved with someone who could compromise his decisions.”

“Someone like Neesa,” Ellie added, shaking her head. “If Neesa ended up going deep undercover to get in with Issam, she would have changed her look, which explains the way she looks in the photo with Gideon. What I don’t understand is why wait seven years to bring down Issam?”

“Maybe the person who gathered this information wasn’t working for Syrian Intelligence but Mossad.”

Ellie slapped her forehead. “That’s it. These are Gideon’s files. Gideon put this information on the drive for protection.” All eyes turned to her.

“Why would the director of Mossad feel the need to hidesensitive information?” Boone asked, clearly confused. “There would have to be a better way to protect the intelligence.”

“Unless he worried someone from our team was betraying him.” She paced the room. “This is just a theory, but what if this was such an important mission that Gideon didn’t tell anyone about it. He kept the information secret. Maybe he believed there was a breach within our team and he couldn’t afford to let the surveillance fall into the hands of anyone else.”

“What about hiding the device in your engagement ring? I’m thinking he had someone from your team involved.”

Boone was right. “It had to be Daniel. Gideon trusted Daniel. He would have made sure Daniel knew about the information hidden in my ring.”

“It may be why Daniel was killed. Somehow, details got out that the information existed but perhaps without naming names.”

If so, the information gathered by Gideon seven years earlier had resulted in the death of his right-hand man and had sent Ellie undercover on the run for her life.

Ellie noticed something she hadn’t before. “The storm’s letting up.”

Boone cocked his head. “You’re right. The rain’s definitely lessening.”

“I want to check on the sandbags.” Declan rose and then stopped because of something on his computer screen. “That’s it. The decoding program is finished. There’s no more information available.”

Ellie couldn’t believe it. All they had were a couple of photos and some data that didn’t clear up anything. “Now what? We don’t know what any of this means. All we can do is speculate.”

Declan shook his head. “We really need to reach Gideon. Maybe he can fill in some of the blanks. After so long, the data here might not even be relevant.”

Outside, the weather had drastically changed. Off in the distance, lightning was barely visible. The responding thunder confirmed the storm was losing intensity. A gentlerain replaced the earlier deluge.

“Looks like the sandbags held.” Boone pointed to the water that had reached the bags but hadn’t broken through.

“Thank You, God,” Declan exclaimed. “It’ll take a while for the water level to recede. Hopefully by daybreak, we can figure out a place for JT and Bryce to dock.”

“I think we should loop the team into what we’ve been discussing.” Boone looked to Ellie. “We could use some fresh input.”

“That’s a good idea. First, I’d like to make sure the Petersons are okay. I’ll be back soon.” Before Declan had taken a single step, Boone stopped him. He couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t seem wise for one person to be wandering through the woods alone. There could be more dangers than what was left behind by the storm. “We should all go with you.”

Declan picked up on Boone’s concerns and agreed. “You’re right. There could be downed trees. I’ll grab a chainsaw from the storage shed first.”

They all donned jackets and headed out, not knowing what they might find.

Dead limbs that had come down in the storm littered the woods, making the going slow. Finally, they reached the Petersons’ cabin, and not a single light showed through the curtains.

“They couldn’t have left.” Declan reasoned to himself. He stepped up on the porch and tried the doors. “Locked.” The rear entrance proved the same. All the curtains were drawn. “I don’t get it.”

“Maybe they’re getting ready to leave.” Boone tried not to give in to the panic that was growing inside. “Where’s their boat docked?”

“At the end of that path.” Declan led the way down to the water, where a boat sat. He stopped dead in his tracks. “Something’s wrong.”

As they neared, it became evident that the boat had sustained irreversible damage when it slammed against the rocky shore.

“If they didn’t leave the island, where are they?” Eli shone his flashlight over it, examining the damage.

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