Decker got an alert on his phone. “Speaking of Dr. Charles, it appears she’s leaving. Warrick, go and see if you can find out where she’s headed.”
“Going somewhere?” I asked, eyeing Emme’s suitcase near the door.
“To see my parents.”
“When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure, Paxon.”
“Can I give you a lift?”
“No, um, Lynx’s driver is taking me.”
“Huh. Okay, well, can I walk you downstairs?”
She thanked me and walked into the waiting elevator; I followed. Once inside, I set the bag down that I’d been carrying for her. I wanted to warn her about my suspicions that Lynx was a mole, but that was part of a mission she knew nothing about—and never could. Instead, I went with Decker’s suggestion.
“Emme…I…um…just want you to know…Lynx told me about you and Saint.”
“Yes, well…” she stammered.
I cleared my throat and took a step closer. “I realize this might be coming out of left field for you, but to be honest, once this mission was over, I planned to ask you out myself.”
Evidently, my proclamation left her speechless. Something I hadn’t seen very often.
“Uh, that’s very nice…” she said as we exited the elevator.
I handed Emme’s bag to the driver and put my hand on her arm. “Wait. I want you to know that when this guy’s boss leaves your heart in pieces”—I pointed to the driver—“there’s someone who cares enough to help you put it back together.”
She got in the car without another word, and they sped off.
“Any luck?” Deck asked when I returned to the apartment’s bedroom.
“She’s headed down the Cape to her parents’ place. I was also able to suggest that if things don’t work out with Lynx, I’d be waiting in the wings.”
“Excellent on both fronts. As for her visiting her parents, the longer she stays there, the better for us. Excuse me for a moment,” he said, standing and leaving the room.
“How are you feeling about this?” Cope asked after the door closed.
“Not sure.”
“Understood.”
“Do you trust Ashford?”
“Kind of late to ask, Irish.”
“I mean moving forward.”
“I’d rather you not be arrested. However, with Decker’s involvement, we have access to support we haven’t had to this point.”
“Backup?” I asked.
“Exactly. Decker said he’d make arrangements for you to be held in a place where we can keep you safe. That means he intends to have people on the inside.”
After ending the video conference, I heard Decker’s raised voice in the hallway. “Lynx, are you aware Dr. Charles is on her way out of town?” There were a few seconds of silence. “Where are you now?” he asked as I eased the door open.
Decker ended the call and set the phone down. “He’s on his way back here.”
A few minutes later, when we heard the code being entered into the keypad, Decker motioned for me to go into the bedroom. “Ready to do this?” he asked.
“Affirmative.”
A few seconds later, he came in with Lynx.
“No one knew Dr. Charles was leaving?” Deck asked me.
I pointed at Lynx. “His driver took her.”
“Took her where?” Lynx asked.
“To visit her parents.”
“You didn’t know about this?” Decker asked him.
“Of course I didn’t.” Lynx pulled out his phone and placed a call.
“He’s your driver; how did you not know?” I asked.
“Tell me what he looked like.”
“The driver?”
After I’d described him, Lynx placed another call. “I need transport arranged from Boston to Cape Cod.” He ended the call.
“What’s your plan?” Deck asked.
“I’d like to wring her neck before we return.”
“You might not want to bring Emerson back right away.”
Bingo. That was the setup Deck, Cope, and I had discussed. In order to have enough time to plant evidence suggesting I was the mole—or double agent—we needed her to stay away from MIT for several days, at least.
“Why not?”
I watched Decker hand Lynx an envelope, the contents of which I’d already read.
“What’s this?”
“Background on Emerson’s father.”
I was sure Decker shared my hope that learning about Matrix would distract Lynx from asking any more questions about why Emme needed to be kept away from her office.
“Thanks for this,” Lynx said after reading through it.
“I’ll brief you on what else we know as we know it.”
“My transport is waiting,” he said, walking into the main room to say goodbye to the three other men in the apartment, all of whom were on their laptops.
After Lynx said goodbye to Rile, Grinder, and Edge, he walked toward the front door. I followed.
“I hardly need an escort,” he snapped as I continued to follow him to the elevator.
“I’m going with you.”
“You’re doing nothing of the kind.”
“This is the CIA’s mission as much as it is yours.”
“The CIA’s initial mission was to convert Dr. Charles into an asset in the same way MI6 intended to. Given that the mission was aborted upon the disappearance of one of our assets along with one of our agents, you are no longer needed.” The elevator door closed between us.
“How’d it go?” asked Deck when I came back into the bedroom.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure Edge wasn’t paying attention. “As planned.”
Decker and I spent the next two days in my office at MIT, pulling reports designed to make it look as though I was stockpiling information.
Mid-afternoon on the second day, my cell rang with a call from Emme. Decker motioned for me to take it. I put the call on speaker.
“Paxon, I’d like to make arrangements to return to Boston.”
Decker shook his head.
“You can’t,” I said.
“What do you mean I can’t?”
“What did Lynx tell you about the brush pass?”
“Paxon, I am in no mood for games. If there’s something I need to know, just…fucking…tell me!”
“Okay, you don’t have to yell. Saint’s message contained a warning.”
“What…was…the…warning?”
“Essentially, it said to keep you safe.”
“That isn’t a warning.”
“Look, you need to talk to Lynx. If you don’t want to talk to him, talk to your dad.”
“My dad? What the hell does my dad have to do with this?” she shouted. “Are you going to answer me?” she said when I didn’t respond.
“I can’t. Talk to Lynx.” I ended the call when Decker indicated
