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“Not the first one?” He frowned and looked up to the ceiling as if trying to decipher the meaning.
She tried to slip her hand into the front of her bag without Lee noticing. Her fingers reached a smooth metal object the size of a tube of lipstick. A thumb drive perhaps?
“Was there anything else?”
Audrey hesitated. How was she to know whether she should trust Lee? Granted, he had saved her life and wasn’t the one who shot at her. “Why was Kendra using my name at the conference?”
His forehead wrinkled in thought, but his lips formed a tight line.
Audrey knew it. If she didn’t play hardball, Lee wouldn’t answer any of her questions. She narrowed her eyes. “My memory is coming into focus, but I’m sure it would be a lot clearer if I had some answers.”
He reared back and raised an eyebrow. A second later a smile crossed his lips. “Every time I start to doubt you could really be her twin, you surprise me.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and faced forward. “Fine. You already know that Kendra and I are undercover federal agents.”
“That’s so vague.” She still hadn’t seen so much as a badge. He had identification for both of them—obviously fake—that he provided for hospital registration, but he didn’t have any insurance cards for the attendant. Instead, Lee had rattled off Kendra’s insurance member number and said it was a Federal Blue Cross account.
“We’re FBI special agents. But before I say more, I need to know why the Bureau didn’t know you existed.”
“I didn’t know Kendra existed, either.”
“But we do a comprehensive background search on agents.”
“Obviously, the fact we had a twin wasn’t disclosed at our adoption. I’m positive my papers said I was an only child.” Her voice rose as she processed her statement. Perhaps they weren’t twins after all, but that didn’t explain their shared birthdays.
He narrowed his eyes. “Where do your adopted parents live?”
“Michigan.” She leaned into his gaze. “Do you know where Kendra’s are?”
“Montana.”
The fact they both started with M struck her as funny. Why would their birth parents adopt them separately? A wave of sorrow took her breath away. She could’ve had a sister growing up.
“But why didn’t the Bureau find you?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What social media are you on?”
“None. My parents have always thought those sites were untrustworthy. They were passionate about parental controls until I graduated high school. By then, I knew I was going into academia, and didn’t have any interest in risking my career over a tagged photo or rumor being spread about me.” Though it did seem odd how passionate her parents were about avoiding social media. Was it possible they knew something? “Okay, I answered your question so back to mine. Why was my sister using my name?”
He shrugged. “The best I can figure is it was a mistake.”
“That seems highly unlikely. I’m going to need more.”
He blew out a forceful breath. “I can’t give you an easy answer. What you want to know is classified.” He studied her for a moment. “We’re allowed a bit of wiggle room to gain informants or assets. In fact, we often recruit from college campuses, and since you are in academia...” He shook his head as if belittling himself for what he was about to do. “If, in the future, the FBI should need your expertise or services in any way, Dr. Clark, do I have your word that you will help us to the best of your abilities?”
She didn’t even have to think twice. There was no way the FBI would ever need her help, and if saying she would was what it would take to learn more about her sister, so be it. “You have my word.”
He placed an elbow on the back of his chair and leaned sideways. “Well then, as my asset, I can tell you the man that approached you is—was an FBI agent. While undercover within a drug trafficking enterprise—the less you know, the better—he was able to move up the ranks to a lieutenant. At that time he gained access to something much bigger. Have you ever heard of The Masked Network?”
She shook her head.
“It’s essentially a cellular network for criminals. They use smartphones that are wiped of all normal capability and equipped with encrypted software. Members within their organized crime sect can only talk to each other.”
“So it’s like a private cell phone group?”
He shrugged. “For lack of a better explanation. It’s impervious to any attempts at tracking, hacking or eavesdropping. Criminal enterprises use the service to plan murders, drug and human trafficking, weapons deals... You name it, the network helps facilitate the crime. Only, no one can join the network without personally meeting the so-called CEO, and he only agrees to meet through a referral of a high-ranking current subscriber.”
She leaned back, processing. “You said Adam moved up the ranks in an organization. Was he one of those high-ranking subscribers willing to give you guys a referral?”
He regarded her with surprise and admiration. “You catch on fast. What was your doctorate in?”
“Electrical engineering.”
He nodded but seemed disappointed. Her stomach suddenly felt hollow, a weird sensation she couldn’t shake. There was no reason to care what he thought. She loved her field, excelled in it.
“We certainly hoped that’s what Adam wanted to meet about. Kendra and I have been undercover for years working toward that very goal. Adam arranged a meet with Kendra. He chose the location. It was last-minute because there was a raid scheduled to take down his organization today. Today was the earliest we could meet.”
The flash drive grew hot in her hand. If she’d known that its contents had the potential to hit most of the criminal organizations in the country at its knees she would’ve handed it over the moment she’d remembered. But she still didn’t know why Kendra had used her name, so she nodded for him to continue.
“Like other federal agencies, the FBI has arrangements with many colleges. They’re usually perfect public places to meet. Our university liaison—who isn’t an FBI agent—assigned Kendra your name as a cover. If I were to make an educated guess, I imagine the liaison thought Kendra already had a cover because her photo was already in the system—except it was really you—so all she had to do was add me as her husband.”
A lightbulb went off. “Yes, my photo was already on file with conference attendees. They required one when I signed up for the conference, along with my bio.”
He shrugged. “If we want more answers on how the mix-up happened, we’ll have to wait until Kendra is awake.” He smiled as his eyes searched hers. The extra scrutiny increased her pulse. “For your safety, Kendra is registered with the last name Catmull at the hospital. No one should be able to connect the dots between you two.”
The speakers crackled and invaded the silent room. “Lee Catmull, please report to the surgery waiting room.”
Lee’s face turned white. If Audrey hadn’t known better, she would’ve believed that Kendra was his wife in that moment. Maybe their covers had become so ingrained that he loved her like one. She tried to imagine him as a future brother-in-law, but her brain refused. Too much to wrap her head around in one day, especially since her newfound sister might not live through the night. She reached over and grabbed Lee’s hand, squeezing to keep her fingers from shaking. She bowed her head before either of them could object. “Lord, please help.”
It was probably the lamest prayer in the history of prayers, but it was all she could vocalize. An unbidden thought surfaced. If her sister died, would a target suddenly be on her back instead?
* * *
Lee didn’t let go of Audrey’s hand, but instead helped her to standing and walked back out of the chapel. He’d just made her an FBI asset—he didn’t even want to think about the paperwork that awaited him in the future—but after what he’d just told her, he needed to make sure she wasn’t a flight risk. They still had so much to talk about.
They strode together to the open doorway of the surgery waiting area. He continued to hold her hand because it seemed to help her remain calm. Besides, she was the one who’d reached for his hand in the chapel, and if it kept her from breaking down like she did at the hospital entrance, it would be rude to let go before she was ready. Rows of chairs faced monitors displaying lines of patient numbers and surgery status updates.
“Look at your bracelet.” Audrey pulled her hand from his and reached for his wrist.
He’d forgotten the registration attendant had placed the plastic-coated identification on him. He looked down at the number and found its match on the screen. “Surgery in progress.”
A man in scrubs approached, holding a blue bag. “Can I see your wrist?”
Lee held it up and the man handed him the bag. “Thanks for answering the page. Here are her things. The doctor will be out shortly, after surgery, to update you.”
Lee opened the bag enough to see Kendra’s clothes, folded, and the white gold wedding band she wore. He took the nearest chair, far enough away from listening ears.
“I think it’s time you have this.” Audrey pressed a flash drive into his hand.
Lee looked between the silver object and Audrey. His blood burned hot. “Is this from—”
“Yes. Don’t be mad. I had no idea if I should trust you or not. I’m still not sure exactly what mess I’ve landed in. And to be fair, I didn’t realize Adam had put something in my purse until a few minutes ago. I thought he was trying to steal from me.”
Lee took a deep breath in through the nose. His partner was in surgery and her lookalike had no inkling of what was at stake on the mission. Anger wouldn’t benefit anyone.
He rolled the drive in between his fingers. Two caps bookended either end of the drive. He flipped off one side to find the standard USB adapter but the other cap was designed for iPhones. He inserted the adapter into the charging port. The screen flashed an encryption notice.
“I’m going to need you to look away.”
She rolled her eyes and twisted her torso in the opposite direction. Lee keyed in his credentials and opened the FBI software to read the contents. An image of Lee and Kendra popped up on the screen with the covers they’d started developing three years ago. Lately, he’d started to wonder if he would ever get to be himself again.
The notice listed an address Lee recognized and tomorrow’s date. Adam had made the referral happen.
From what Lee and Kendra had gathered before the meet, a referral meant the CEO of the Masked Network was planning to meet them and had their photos to boot. Their covers would’ve been investigated and held up to scrutiny.
Except, Lee and Kendra’s covers were a package deal. Kendra would in no way be recovered in time, but if she didn’t go, the network would want to confirm where she was and why she didn’t show.
Any unnecessary attention could lead them to discover Audrey and, worse, the discovery of Adam’s death, which would prompt the network to go farther underground than ever. If Lee lost the chance to take the network down, more senseless assassination orders like the murder of Diego, the teenage boy he’d mentored in Seattle, would continue to happen without law enforcement being able to find evidence. If clients of the Masked Network were ever arrested, they only had to say three little words and their phones would automatically erase all data. Lee had seen it happen with his own eyes.
A man in scrubs, complete with cap and a surgical mask hanging from his neck, exited the double doors at the end of the room. He approached the nursing station, and an attendant pointed at Audrey. Lee unplugged the drive from the phone and pocketed it. He placed a hand on Audrey’s back as they were led to a consultation room the size of an office cubicle.
The doctor’s dark brown eyes and kind smile focused on Audrey. “We think your sister is going to make it.” He finally looked at Lee. “We removed the bullet from your wife. It missed the brachial artery by a fraction of a centimeter. We’ll need to keep a careful eye on—”
“What about her head? She hit the ground hard.”
Lee inhaled deeply at Audrey’s interruption. He wanted to hear everything the doctor had to say.
“There was a small fracture of the skull.”
It was as if cold liquid ran through Lee’s bones. Audrey placed her hand over her mouth.
The doctor shook his head. “Believe it or not, it’s actually a good thing in this situation. The skull works as a helmet of sorts, and the crack will hopefully work to prevent swelling. We don’t see any signs of brain damage at this point, but we will need to watch for any symptoms of nerve injuries or bleeding.” He leaned back, seemingly pleased. “Everything went well today. She’s just going to need a lot of rest to heal up.”
The doctor leaned forward and asked if they had any other questions. Lee remained silent and let Audrey question him on other possible things that could go wrong. Lee preferred to worry when there was actually a problem to address. And right now the biggest problem was the upcoming mission.
If Audrey went for his idea, she would be in danger, but if she refused, she’d likely be in even more danger. He owed it to Kendra to make the right decision.
“My understanding is the police are on the way, and they’ll want to talk to you. And my nurse will be in shortly to ask you some more routine questions.”
Audrey fell silent and the doctor finally exited, leaving them alone on the padded bench. Her light green eyes met his again. He had the oddest sensation that each time she did that she could figure out his thoughts, something he never worried about with his partner.
She tilted her head. “Is this sort of thing old hat for you? Getting shot at and waiting to see if a colleague survives?” She threw a thumb over her shoulder before he could answer. “And did you notice? The doctor didn’t even ask why someone was shooting at her.”
“They have their training. Someone is required to report a gunshot to the police—we should be gone before the questions start—but you’re right. These guys are focused on saving lives. There’s no time or place to stop and judge.”
“It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. Their job, your job, so many people trained to do the right thing automatically without question.” She blushed, a rosy spread across her cheeks.
His job was nothing worth envying, at least most of the time, but he didn’t want to discourage her impression. If she admired the career then it would make what he was about to propose easier, though.
She slumped against the back of the bench. “In my career we have to second-guess everything we do. We have to prove ourselves, that our pursuit is worthwhile and has the potential to make a difference every step of the way.” She sighed. “I don’t know why I told you that. I like my job. I do. It’s just... I want to make sense of what happened—is happening—today, and I don’t have even an inkling of how to do that.”
He wasn’t going to help matters. “Remember when I said agreeing to be an asset would mean you might be called upon sometime?”
“It was ten minutes ago.” She blinked hard once.
“I’m not insulting your memory. This drive had more information than I expected.”
Her eyebrows rose but she remained silent.
“Adam was successful in referring us to the Masked Network.”
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Kendra’s photograph was sent to the head of the Masked Network.” He paused, and as he hoped, her eyes widened with understanding. “If she doesn’t come that likely warrants—”
“Attention.” She gasped. “And Kendra was wearing my name when the shooter took down Adam. Do you even know for sure that Adam was the target?”
“By all accounts, it seems that was the case. The raid of the drug trafficking group Adam took down accounted for all members. The only one missing was a man scheduled for initiation tonight. Low risk as he’s not on the network yet, but he might’ve seen what went down and pegged Adam as the traitor. My guess is he’ll be the shooter Kendra took down.”
“You said referrals to the Masked Network could only happen by high-ranking members of criminal enterprises on the network, right? So when you arrested the drug group, what about the phones?”
Lee grinned. Audrey caught on so fast, he was certain this would be easy. “The FBI used a sonic device so no one could utter those words to erase the phones. They were all confiscated. The arrests aren’t public knowledge, but that’s part of the time crunch. We can’t keep it a secret forever, but if we get evidence and a facial identification of the CEO, those phones can be used as leverage to get them to talk and take the whole network down.”
“You want me to be a spy, don’t you?” Her words were loud, clipped and, despite being in the consultation room, two heads from opposite directions leaned from their chairs to look at Lee and Audrey.
Audrey cleared her throat. “Because playing I Spy feels childish, even if it does pass the time.” She stood and paced before she whispered. “Think they bought it?”
Lee hung his head. “Probably.” She was a quick thinker, albeit a little unbelievable in her delivery. “Though we are actually special agents. Not spies.”
She shrugged. “Semantics. Look up the synonyms for spy, and I’m sure undercover special agent is somewhere on the list.” She sat down next to him, so close he could smell the vanilla and rose-scented fabric softener from her clothes. “What exactly does taking her place involve?” she asked, this time in hushed tones.
“We have a very well-developed cover in place. Essentially we turn dirty money into clean—”
“Laundering money.” She blew out a long breath. “You’re asking me to pretend to be a criminal?”
“Kendra’s cover is known to be very good at what she does. It’s not as if you would have to do anything. If anyone asks, you want to offer services to some criminal enterprises higher up on the food chain, but staying under the radar requires a little help from Masked. I’m the right-hand man and an excellent lawyer and visionary so I should be able to do all the talking. We go in and shake some hands, get on the network and get out with the evidence. I’ll ensure your safety before the team goes in and takes down the CEO.”
“A fact-finding mission.” She crossed her legs and leaned back. “So I would play the part of a smart, ambitious criminal with an equally immoral husband?” She placed a finger on her chin and shook her head. “I’m not sure. I once had a nightmare that I made a mistake on my tax deductions. I woke up in a panic and ended up in the hospital.”
He reared back. “Why? A heart attack?”
“No. Ulcer.” She sighed. “Well, I thought I had an ulcer. Turned out my bedtime snack of jalapeño poppers coupled with Google searches at three in the morning weren’t a good idea. What I’m saying is that this is going to be a stretch for me. But I’ve also lived my life feeling like there was a giant puzzle piece missing, and finding Kendra...” She clasped her hands together and shook her head. “I’m desperate for the day when we can get to know each other without danger over either of our heads so I’ll do it. But I have conditions.”
Well, of course she did because nothing was going to be easy today. “Come on. We’ll get a quick blood draw and DNA swab for the Bureau on our way out.”
“For the Bureau?”
“They’ll want definitive proof whether you’re twins or not. In my view, it’s extraneous. But that way you and Kendra will have no doubts.”
If Audrey took Kendra’s place, she’d definitely be in danger, but at least he could be in control of keeping her safe. If she didn’t go through with the mission, he couldn’t foresee the threat ever going away. This was their only chance.
THREE (#u9dc933ba-dec5-5ebb-ba17-9a4d5b4e9703)
