Page 76 of Girl Lost
She listened to his side of the conversation, piecing together the fragments. “Yes, sir ... I understand ... Yes ... It’s important ... We’re on it, sir.”
Corbin winced, holding the phone away from his ear for a second. “Yes, sir. Rosati and I have a lead. Yes, sir. Following up now. Got it.”
He disconnected the call and turned to her. “That was a call to, quote, ‘Light a fire under us.’ As if we didn’t already have one.” He flashed a lopsided grin. “You ready for a stakeout?”
Corbin didn’t wait for an answer. He backed out of the parking space and pulled out into traffic. He turned onto Ocean Drive, the road winding along the coast. Beyond the car windows, the waves surged and pounded against the shore, a relentless, chaotic force that mirrored her own roiling inner state.
No more secrets. She’d promised him that, hadn’t she? But some secrets were buried deeper than others. Secrets she wasn’t sure she could ever reveal. Classified secrets.
He pulled into a secluded spot overlooking the research facility, parking the car beneath the shade of a sprawling banyan tree. The engine purred, then fell silent. The automatic shutoff kept the AC running, at least until they drained the battery.
The Chiron BioInnovation Center stood on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic, a gleaming white fortress of glass and steel. It looked more like a luxury resort than a medical facility. Palm trees swayed in the ocean breeze, their fronds casting long shadows across the manicured lawns. A fountain, its water cascading in a series of graceful arcs, gurgled softly in the center of a courtyard. The facility straddled not only the ocean but the edges of Millie Beach.
Beneath the surface of beauty and tranquility, a darkness lurked.
Not taking his eyes off the building, Corbin said, “You think this is where they’re holding Stryker?”
“Maybe.” She shifted in her seat to settle in.
He turned to her, and his eyes lingered on her hands. “I noticed your manicure back at the clinic. Very ... professional.”
She cringed. Busted.
“I also noticed you told the receptionist you’d had them done two weeks ago. Here. Locally.”
Honesty. It was time. Or was it? She’d spent a lifetime hiding behind masks, becoming someone she wasn’t. Revealing the truth, even a sliver of it, seemed dangerous. Like stripping naked in a crowded room.
“What I’m about to tell you is off-the-charts top secret.” She had her eyes on the employee entrance of the research facility but glanced at Corbin as she spoke. “I’m cleared to tell close family a redacted story, and right now, I guess you’re the closest thing I have to family.”
He turned to her fully now. “You can trust me, Luna. I promise. We’re partners, remember?”
She took his hand and nodded. Where to begin?
Peshawar. The market. The vibrant colors of the stalls, the scent of spices, the press of bodies, the sudden blinding flash, the deafening roar, the acrid smell of smoke, the screams, the blood, the dust settling on a scene of unimaginable horror.
A child’s lifeless eyes staring up at her, a silent accusation.
“I had an asset get killed.” The words came out a whisper. “I don’t know how, or why, but she’d been compromised. Forced into wearing a suicide vest.” She stared at the research center, eyes almost unfocused. Seeing but not.
“Analysts back at CIA headquarters had sent a cable saying all checks were complete and I was clear to proceed with the meeting. I traced my escape routes, watched for tails. Did everything by the book. Except...”
The narrow alley filled with tables of fruits, vegetables, and sacks of spices. The scent of cumin and curry wafting through the air. Children sitting on the side of the road with cupped hands held up.
“My eyes locked onto a street kid begging for money or food.”Luna shook her head at the memory. “A girl with dark hair and eyes that mirrored mine. I remember feeling struck. A piece of my past, one I’d tried so hard to keep buried, shot to the surface. I was back here. Holding a tiny life in my arms. Seeing the girl with such a striking resemblance reminded me that somewhere in the world a child I’d brought into being was thriving. A child I’d relinquished for a chance at a better future.”
She risked a glance at Corbin.
He squeezed her hand. “A sacrifice made with love but one that left an indelible mark on your heart. Mine too.”
“I couldn’t afford involuntary emotional leakage, so I walked to my meeting across the street. I sat with my asset on a wooden bench and sipped tea. I didn’t want to look at the beggar girl, but my eyes involuntarily drifted in her direction. So I used it. Used it to get closer to my asset. To make her more comfortable.
“It’s a technique we call ‘You Me, Same Same.’ The more my asset saw herself in me, the faster and stronger we would bond.” It sounded so evil when she said it out loud now.
“You did the same thing to the receptionist, right? Bonded over manicures?”
She bobbed her head. “Yeah, like that. So I told the asset that the street kid reminded me of myself. I told her I grew up like her and I wanted to make the world a better place. So children like her could have food and a safe place to live.”
“Did it work?”
