Itake his face in my hands and press my lips against his.Hewraps his arms around me, pulling me close, and we kiss as all the people who matter most to us are loudly cheering us on, their voices echoing off the nearby cliffs.
WhenIam finally ready to release his beautiful, slightly sun-kissed, and wind-blown face, he releases his arms from around me, bringing the ring box back around to between us.Duringthat kiss,I’dcompletely forgotten it was still in his hand.
NowthatI’mcloser and not blinded by the sun reflecting off it,Ican see that it’s platinum and has a beautiful center diamond with pink sapphire gems swirling around it, and it’s the most beautiful thingI’veever seen.Fornot being a crier, there sure are a lot of tears wetting my face.
Ihold out my hand, and he slips it on my tired (but now super strong) finger, and everything feels right.Itip my hand left and right, letting the sun catch different facets of the diamond and gems, just admiring it.
ThenImeetJace’seyes. “Ihave to say that on top of a cliff that we just lead-climbed, with all our family present, is a very impressive way to propose.Andfor a man who pulls off impressive feats for a living, that’s saying something.Icrown this day the winner of everything.”
Jacegives me a kiss on the lips, then leans in close and breathes into my ear, “Fornow.Justwait to see whatIhave in store for the rest of our lives.”
Iraise an eyebrow in curious anticipation, a smile spread clean across my face.Asall of our family closes in to congratulate us,Itake a moment first to take his hands and say, “You’vegot my heart,Jace.Allof it.
EPILOGUE 2
THIEVES IN THE NIGHT
Zoe
It’sa calm night, yet the wind from my speed rushes across my face and whips my ponytail that’s sticking out from the bottom of my helmet asIlean right in my paraglider, putting in just enough brake asIsoar through the sky in the direction of the target building.It’sa very dark night here inCairo, and with my black glider, gear, and outfit,Iam invisible.
There’san object that theCIAhas been closely monitoring— a device that can be used to hack into secure government sites— and it’s on the move.It’snow finished and operational, and the seller has a buyer.Thehandoff to the buyer is going through a third party, and tonight is the one night that it’s in the third party’s hands.
Obviously, we want it in our possession instead of in the possession of some very bad people.Whichmeans tonight is the best chance for us to acquire it.
Whenmy director asked for a volunteer for this mission,Iwas the first to raise a very eager hand.Thisdevice is worth a lot, and we aren’t the only agency that wants the accolades from bringing it home.TheCSAdoes, too.AndIam all for a little friendly competition.
Knowingthat theCSAwould likely chooseLedgerLancasterfor a mission like this makes it all the sweeter.
AsIlean left to pull in tight toward the five-story building thatIneed to land atop, the faint light catches a small object in the air.Adrone.Ilet my focus slide from my path long enough to see that the drone is depositing a grappling hook at the top of my building, with a rope trailing from the hook down to the ground.
Icome in fast toward the building’s roof, butIspare a glance down at the last second to see a man beginning to ascend the rope.It’sdark, butIwould recognize that hulking body barely lit by the sliver of the moon anywhere, andIsmile.
Ledger.
I’vegot a nice pendulum going asIsteer in, a good round out, and thenItouch down gently, taking only a few running steps across the roof, barely making a sound.Mykill technique is among the best, so my canopy is down in seconds, not dragging me at all from whereIlanded.
Normally,Iwould secure the canopy well, butLedgeris a formidable competitor, soIneed to move quickly.Thelack of wind here helps.Istep out of my harness and toss it, along with my helmet and goggles, onto the canopy to help weigh it down from any breeze that might come along asIsay to my handler, “Arethe sensors and camera disabled?”
“Affirmative,”Ihear through my earpiece. “You’regood for approach.”
Wedetermined that the object is in a case on the top floor of this building, and if we want to avoid most of the security measures, coming in from above is the best course of action.Thisleft me with two infiltration options— landing on the roof, and scaling up the building along a narrow strip on the backside that none of the cameras can see.
Iwill always choose the option that lets me paraglide.Itseems thatLedgerchose to climb.
Ihurry to the roof access door.Myhandler remotely disabled the motion sensor and camera, but the lock is all me.IfIwasn’t racing againstLedger,I’duse an auto-dialer, but speed is now more important than maintaining the integrity of the lock.So,Ipull out my snap gun and have the lock open in a second.
ThenIslide inside and go down the stairs, my feet not making a sound, verifying with my handler that the cameras are off on the fifth floor before silently slipping into the hallway and then into the office where we know the safe is kept.
Ittakes a moment to find the safe— it’s on a bookshelf behind a false panel that appears like it really is just books.Movementcatches my eye, andIglance at the window to seeLedgerhanging from a rope, his feet pressed against the frame of the window.
Andthen, the man waves at me.Allfull of calm confidence, like he’s going to somehow win.Yeah,Idon’t think so.
Ashe is cutting the window glass so he can gain entry to the office,Ifocus on the safe.It’saProLockEliteSGX-35, so it won’t be as easy to bypass as the lock on the roof door, but it’s also no real challenge.Ipull out a targetedEMPdevice and disable the digital locking mechanism.Butthis model also has a hidden tumbler lock.Iclear the random accessories from the shelf to the side of the safe soIcan access the skinny panel along the side of the door and expose the key lock.
ThenIpull out my lock picks and get to work, trying to focus on nudging each pin into place with the pick and not onLedger’sprogress on the window.Justas he finishes the circle cut and uses the handled suction cup stuck to the window to set it down inside the room,Iget the last pin in place, and the tension wrench shifts.Iturn it, then pull on the door, and it opens.
Ledgersteps into the room asItug the black canvas case out of the safe and sling its strap over my shoulder.
