“If you would’ve told me that my idea of a fun evening on the town was talking state secrets at a place like The Speak Easy four years ago, I would’ve laughed in your face,” Cara said. “It’s funny how things change.”
“That’s the part of growing up that I find fascinating,” Mallory said. “All the things you suddenly like that you never liked before, as well as the things you find yourself disliking that you were obsessed with at one time.”
“So true,” Cara said before gulping down another mouthful of wine.
“Now, what was so important that you just had to tell me tonight but couldn’t tell me over the phone?” Mallory asked.
Cara glanced around the room and then leaned in close. “You told me that you had some friends who were in danger after the fallout in the death of Omar Ebadi, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“From what I recall, you told me they were supposed to be killing Tahir Nazari.”
“That’s correct. What’d you find?”
“We intercepted a communication last night between Nazari and—get this—Falcon Sinclair.”
Mallory’s eyes bulged out. “Sinclair was talking with Nazari?”
Cara nodded. “And he mentioned something about going to New York City and getting it right this time. Got any idea what that means?”
Mallory sighed and slowly shook her head. “Nazari is picking up the pieces of a terrorist organization that has ties to his step-brother, Karif Fazil. After Fazil died, his cousin, Evana Bahar, renamed the group Al Fatihin. But she recently died, so it sounds like Nazari is trying to breathe new life into the group.”
“But what does any of that have to do with New York?”
“Karif Fazil tried to unleash a dirty nuclear bomb on New York City, but he was stopped by a secret agency. The people in that agency are the same ones being hunted by their own government right now as President Young searches for a scapegoat in that debacle outside Baghran.”
“So, now Nazari and some people from his cell are coming back to the Big Apple?”
“And apparently with some help from Falcon Sinclair.”
Cara finished off the rest of her wine. “We need to warn them as soon as possible.”
“I will,” Mallory said. “But I can’t just pick up a phone and call them.”
“Why not?”
“Cara, do you remember me telling you what the first rule of working in espionage is?”
“Yeah,” Cara said sheepishly.
“What is it?”
“Never trust anyone, not even those you trust the most.”
“Exactly,” Mallory said. “From where I sit, it’s pretty clear that Sinclair has bought half of Washington, if not half of the world’s top leaders. Not recognizing that and acting accordingly would be foolish.”
“So, what are you gonna do?”
“I’m going to do what a good spy does: I’m going to transmit the information to a place where only they can find it.”
* * *
LATER THAT EVENING, Mallory returned home to her apartment and fired up her computer. She resisted the urge to try and reach Alex through her cell phone, so as not to endanger her. Mallory knew the FBI, Homeland Security, and every other organization was so dialed in to Alex and all her points of contact that reaching out would be akin to professional suicide. No, Mallory needed to use a different way.
She fired up her computer and went to work. In a matter of minutes, she was scanning the dark web, hunting for a place to tuck away all the information she’d discovered. Upon settling on a location, she dumped the info there and hoped that Alex would find it. She wouldn’t have to look hard, but she’d still have to look.
Mallory made a few keystrokes on her computer before taking a deep breath.
This better work, Alex.
CHAPTER 38
Sydney, Australia
SHIELDS AND MIA retreated to their hotel to contemplate their next move. Their venture into Sydney hadn’t gotten them the answers they hoped for. And now the linchpin figure in their Obsidian investigation was dead. Not that Falcon Sinclair’s death was a bad thing in and of itself. But without him, showing the nefarious nature of Obsidian would be more difficult until they could identify other leaders within the organization. And that had proven to be a fool’s errand so far.
Shields crashed onto the bed, lying still as she stared at the ceiling.
“So, what next?” Mia asked. “And I’m really hoping you say something that results in me sitting behind a computer.”
Shields shook her head subtly. “Without Sinclair alive, there’s not much for us to do here. Plus, the sooner we can get out of here, the better.”
“Do you think Sinclair’s death will put an end to us being fugitives?”
“I doubt it. We’re going to need to get some proof, maybe some confessions.”
“Who’s going to admit they were working with Sinclair?” Mia asked.
“Someone will. We just need to find the right person to pressure.”
“Are you certain that will work?”
Shields sat up. “I’m not sure about anything these days. I don’t know which people are my friends and which ones are my enemies.”
“That makes two of us. So, how do we figure out which politicians to target?” Mia asked.
“We look for the ones who are the most vulnerable when it comes to their upcoming election. Exposing them would likely land them in jail. We need to find someone who’d admit to everything, someone who the justice department could grant immunity to in exchange for their testimony.”
“I think I could help identify a few of those individuals,” Mia said. “I’d do pretty much anything to avoid heading back into the field.”
Shields chuckled. “You weren’t bad out there. Without you, Sinclair might still be alive. And all
