Page 55 of Deadly Hope
“Your car?” the woman demanded, keeping her weapon low but ready as emergency vehicles’ lights painted the snow in rotating red and blue.
“Black SUV, north end?—”
“Reinhardt!” the woman called, just loud enough to carry. “Your team to the vehicle. Now. We’ve got at least six hostiles using the crowd for cover.”
Police were trying to establish a perimeter, directing confused academics away from the building. EMTs were checking people for smoke inhalation. And through it all, Olivia could see the practiced movement of Driscoll’s men, slowly closing in.
“Stay close,” the woman murmured. “We’re going to walk, not run, through these people. Running draws attention.”
They moved steadily through the crowd, the woman’s hand firm on Olivia’s elbow. Ahead, she saw her security team doing the same—Kenji helping a coughing professor, making it look natural as he maintained his position. Zara chatting with a police officer while her eyes scanned constantly.
The woman surrendered her weapon to Axel the moment they reached the SUV, her focus purely on getting Olivia inside. Griff was already behind the wheel, engine running. Zara cleared a path through the panicking crowd, her federal credentials making people move.
“In, in, in!” Axel commanded, practically lifting Olivia into the back seat. The woman slid in after her, hands raised slightly as Ronan kept her covered. Axel took the front passenger seat while Zara brought up the rear, slamming the door as Griff shoved the vehicle in Reverse.
Griff accelerated smoothly through the chaos, avoiding the clusters of emergency vehicles and evacuees. In the rearview mirror, Olivia glimpsed dark figures pushingthrough the crowd, weapons now clearly visible—but they were too late.
Snow swirled in their headlights as they merged into traffic, leaving the chaos behind. The woman sat motionless between Ronan and Zara, their weapons still trained on her, but her eyes were locked on Olivia’s face with an expression of grim satisfaction.
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With Izzy’sdrones guiding them and making certain they weren’t followed, it didn’t take much longer than normal to pilot the powerful SUV back up to the safehouse. Axel lifted a prayer of thanks for the successful mission, never once taking his eyes off the older woman in the seat beside him.
Once back inside the safehouse, Ronan gave out orders for watch duty while Axel kept his eyes on Margaret Voss sitting calmly at the kitchen table. She didn’t look like much—mid-fifties, sensible haircut, practical clothes—but twenty-plus years of tradecraft meant she was far from harmless.
Olivia leaned against the wall, glaring at Voss, fingers tugging at the tiny cricket pendant Voss had given her. “What do you know about my brother? Were you two working together?”
Her questions came out in a predictable rush. He wanted answers, too. So did the rest of the team. But interrogating an asset with Voss’s background had to be done strategically.
Not that Olivia would know that. Or care at the moment.
Lucky for them, Voss appeared more than willing to engage. She raised a hand, eyes on Olivia. “I know you’ve gota lot of questions. I’ll get to them. Trust me. But before I talk about James, you need background context. Operation Cerberus began as a legitimate program—identifying domestic terror cells through social media analysis. But Driscoll twisted it, using the data to blackmail politicians, judges, anyone useful.” She looked at Olivia. “Your brother discovered Driscoll was selling intel to private military contractors. When James threatened to expose it, Driscoll arranged his ‘suicide.’”
Axel’s stomach clenched at the clinical way Voss delivered this bomb. He watched Olivia carefully, noting the slight whitening of her knuckles where they rested on the table, the barely perceptible tightening around her eyes.
But her voice, when she spoke, was steady. “The phone in the safety deposit box,” Olivia said. “That was you?”
Voss nodded. “I needed you to find James’s note, but safely. The coded message ensured only you could access it, even if Driscoll’s people forced you there.” She hesitated. “I’m sorry about the complexity. I had limited options.”
Zara looked up from her computer, catching Axel’s eye before turning to Voss. “You’re Agency. Or you were.”
The older woman nodded. “I’m still active. Barely. Once Driscoll had James killed, I started planning my exit, but I couldn’t leave without taking Driscoll down first. One last mission and I’m out for good.”
“Why now?” Axel demanded. “Why is Driscoll suddenly so desperate?”
“He’s about to be nominated for a cabinet position. He can’t risk Olivia piecing together what she might have heard from James.” Voss’s eyes fixed on Olivia. “Your brother died trying to expose them. Driscoll was using Cerberus to build a shadow network of influence. James had proof.”
Axel watched Olivia absorb this. The weight of it settledvisibly on her shoulders—her brother died a hero. But that truth came with its own burden.
Kenji appeared in the doorway. “Perimeter check complete. We’re clear for now, but the snow’s getting worse. Local channels are calling for a full whiteout by nightfall.”
Axel nodded, mentally adjusting their exit timeline. Bad visibility worked both ways—good for concealment, bad for rapid evacuation if needed. He studied Voss, who met his gaze steadily.
“There’s more,” she said. “James left a failsafe. Data that would expose everything—not just Cerberus, but the entire network Driscoll built. Names, dates, transactions.” She glanced at Olivia. “He encoded it into patterns only you would recognize. Patterns in your shared history. We just have to figure out where he stored it.”
Zara shifted position, her weapon never wavering from Voss. “You’re saying Dr. Kane has the key to exposing a major intelligence scandal, and she doesn’t even know it?”
“James was brilliant that way,” Voss said softly. “He hid the truth in plain sight, knowing his sister would eventually see the patterns. That’s why Driscoll’s getting desperate. The nomination hearing is in three days. If Olivia puts the pieces together before then ...”
