Page 102 of Always Been Mine

Beatrice sat up straighter. This could be it.

Twenty minutes later,Caitlin breezed through the door with Travis. She already had her laptop open.

Without much greeting, she said, “Redrook sent me a message. Tomorrow night is the meet.”

“What? That doesn’t give much time for preparation. What if his buyers are not in the country?” Beatrice asked.

Caitlin shrugged. “I know. It’s take it or leave it. It’s as if this meet is not the major event but a precursor to something.”

“Where’s the drop?” Gabe asked.

“Coordinates are pointing to an area in Culpeper,” Travis said.

“Let’s go into the control room and pull up satellite images,” Gabe said. The group marched down the hallway into the communication and control room as he took out his phone to call Porter.

The admiral answered on the second ring.

“Porter.”

“Admiral, Caitlin made contact. Meet is tomorrow night.”

There was a long stretch of silence. “I’ve a strong suspicion that the meet is a distraction.”

“What?”

“I have reliable sources that say Redrook has already made a deal with the Russians.”

“What is this meet for then?”

“Not sure, but I don’t think Redrook is going to show up. He’s our priority.”

“Shouldn’t stopping this virus from getting into the hands of the bidders be our priority?”

“Look, Commander, I’m in the middle of something—”

“Goddammit, Ben. Stop keeping us in the dark,” Gabe growled. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Trust me,” Porter responded. “Plausible deniability, Gabe. What I’m doing is unsanctioned and entirely clandestine.I don’t want to bring you down with me if shit hits the fan. Give me the time and coordinates.”

Seething, Gabe punched in the information in his phone and sent it.

“Okay, got it,” Porter said. “Have you guys figured out where it is?”

“Culpeper.”

“Okay, we’ll do this. I’ll pick you up two hours before the meeting. I suggest you recon the area via satellite if you can.”

“Already on it.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

18

It was8:10 p.m. the following night. No sign of Porter. Gabe tried to call him earlier today. It just rang and rang. He had tried again a few minutes before the hour. No answer.

“Fuck. What do we do now?” Gabe asked Travis, who had returned to the safe house with Caitlin. The plan was Caitlin would work the communication systems and process whatever surveillance photos Gabe was going to transmit from the meet. Satellite imagery and timings were not sufficient to observe remotely. “If I don’t leave now, I run the risk of encountering the people involved in the rendezvous.”

“You’re not going by yourself,” Beatrice said. “You don’t even have the contact information of the covert group; they might make a mistake and shoot you.”

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