Calculated Entrapment
The Calculated Series: Book 5
K.T. Lee
Vertical Line Publishing
Copyright © 2020 by Vertical Line Publishing, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, sold or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission, except for statuary uses, the use of brief quotations in a book review, and other quotations with appropriate reference.
K.T. Lee
www.ktleeauthor.com
Publisher’s Note: This work of fiction is a product of the writer’s overactive imagination. It is not intended to be a factual representation of events, people, locales, businesses, government agencies, or marine biology. Names are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Calculated Entrapment/ K.T. Lee - 1st ed.
ISBN: 978-1-947870-10-9
The Calculated Series
Calculated Extortion (Prequel Novella)
Calculated Deception (Book 1)
Calculated Contagion (Book 2)
Calculated Sabotage (Book 3)
Calculated Reaction (Book 4)
Calculated Entrapment (Book 5)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Note from the Author
Acknowledgments
About the Author
For my family
Prologue
Dmitri Yeninov waited until he could no longer hear the footsteps of the head of his country’s intelligence services before leaving his office. He reached the sidewalk outside of the government building and surveyed the area. Once sure he wasn’t being followed, he pulled his coat tighter, and began to walk in the opposite direction of his intended destination. Moscow was especially frigid today and the brisk wind offered no comfort. Dmitri had just been informed that he would be resigning his position, effective immediately. Moreover, he had been stripped of his clearances and demoted to a new job. A thankless, pencil-pushing job full of red tape. His blood thundered in his ears. All of his time, all of his hard work, had gone unrecognized. He doubled back and took several more wrong turns, leading him down alleys separating dilapidated buildings. He avoided making eye contact with the people huddled on the streets, watching him warily as he passed.
Dmitri’s cheeks grew cold and a plan began to form. This wasn’t the end. In fact, it might even be an opportunity. One of his sleeper agents was still waiting for his instructions. The remaining pieces of his plan fell into place just that quickly. He quickened his pace. Soon, Dmitri reached the small apartment building where he’d rented a unit under an assumed name. He climbed three flights of stairs, his determination rallying a little with every step, despite the smell of something rotting in the stairwell. Unlike his colleagues, Dmitri was not a simpleton. He could adapt his plans. When he reached the dingy, barely-used space, Dmitri paused to step on a cockroach skittering across the floor, then scanned the apartment for listening devices. Finding none, he dialed a phone number. It was time to activate his agent working at the Oceanic Exploration Group.
1
Three Months Later
Stefanie Ryland braced her hip against one of the shiny silver railings of the large, custom-built research vessel, The Dog House. While she enjoyed the expansive ocean view the ship’s bridge offered, nothing compared to the sight of the remotely operated submarine, ROVer 1, approaching its platform at The Dog House’s stern. Stefanie took a moment to find her balance, bracing her hip against the railing when the vessel rose and fell with a wave. Ocean water flew up and splashed her, but that was to be expected. The lowest spot on the ship gave her the best view of her equipment and a little water never hurt anyone. The chop wasn’t terrible today, for which she was grateful. She didn’t need any unexpected complications. One wrong move and Stefanie would turn her company’s expensive remotely operated vehicle into high-end ocean debris. Stefanie tightened her grip on a handheld controller, using the onboard camera and her view of the platform to guide ROVer 1 to its designated location just off the stern of The Dog House.
A green light flashed on the controller a moment after she heard a mechanical click. She rolled out her shoulders and took a deep breath of fresh ocean air, giving her body a moment to return to equilibrium. Stefanie noticed a little water had dotted her aviator sunglasses. She grinned and pulled them off to wipe them on her jacket, which was embroidered with the artistic blue wave logo of the Oceanic Exploration Group. The temperature was cool, but the sun shone cheerfully.
With her underwater research laboratory now deployed on the ocean floor and ROVer 1 safely returned to its platform, she finally had the luxury of fully appreciating her surroundings. Across the horizon, she spotted the yellow buoy that would serve as the link between the research platform and her cell phone bobbing cheerfully in the water nearby.
Once Stefanie’s heart stopped thundering, she turned to climb the stairs that led to the main deck to face the more experienced boat crew. When she reached them, their quiet murmurs transitioned to high fives. The group moved into a covered area with a large screen to watch their data stream in. The Dog House was not large in comparison to the ocean freighters she saw in the distance, but it was still sizable enough to comfortably hold a small crew of scientists and their equipment while towing up to two of their ROVs. It was impossible not to share the infectious energy of her fellow scientists. This. This was why she quit her comfortable office job at a start-up to come work for the OEG. Sure, she was working for a for-profit operation, but they supplied marine researchers around the world with meaningful tools.
Her coworker Nash looked over the railing to check that the ROV was in place, then turned to join the group with a big grin on his face. She raised her hand to meet
