“Canyou tell me if you’ll be in the country or outside of it?”
“Ican tell you thatIflew somewhere in theU.S. already today.Butthis one is out of the country.”
“Oh!” she says, surprised. “Twoin one day.Okay.Well, um, have a good trip.”
“Ireally am sorry,Mackenzie.”
“Iknow.”
Ialmost end the call with “Ilove you.”EventhoughIhaven’t said it to her yet, it feels like such a natural goodbye, which surprises me.ButIdon’t want the first time thatItell her howIfeel— howI’vebeen feeling for quite a while now— to be over the phone.
Instead,Ijust tell her goodbye.Iwant to keep talking to her.Iwant to see her in person.Andwhen we hang up,Iwant to keep her in my head constantly.ButIknow how quickly a mission can go south if my head isn’t in the game, so as much asIdon’t want to,Iforce my mind away fromMackenzieand head up to the roof and the waiting helicopter.
* * *
Iam concealed behind some garbage cans on the sidewalk of the dark street, watchingMerkleyas he stands at the meeting spot on a street corner in the outskirts of the business district.Thenearest streetlight illuminates him just enough as he waits for his contact to show up with the drive and make the exchange.
Frommy vantage point,I’llbe able to get to him fairly quickly.Ican also seePeretz, theMossadagent who is my counterpart and who is currently blending into the shadows at the corner of the building, and my asset,Shanna.She’sstanding against the nearest building, looking like she’s trying to become part of it.
ShannaisMerkley’sassistant and is part of everything that they do.Andwe also know that this isn’t his first illegal activity.Basedon her body language— the way she’s hunched in on herself, rigid except for the way her eyes are darting around everywhere— she’s terrified.I’mhoping that her boss is attributing her nerves to the situation and not to the fact that she’s sold him out.
Sheturns to look behind her, shifting her body just enough that the streetlight catches part of her, andIsee that she’s carrying a bag over her shoulder that is the same dark pink thatMackenzie’spurse was when she received the accidental brush pass that day at the outdoor mall.Thesame color as her dress at the gala we went to.Andsuddenly,IpictureMackenzieas the one standing against that building, afraid.
Getyour head in the game,Itell myself.
AndIdo.
Footstepssound on the quiet street, and all four of us turn our attention toward the data broker.AgentPeretzandIdidn’t know which direction the contact would approach from, so we had to guess, and we guessed wrong.Weknew we might be wrong, though, so we chose positions that would be decent enough regardless.
Wehave to wait for the exchange to take place before we can apprehendMerkley, soIwatch, barely breathing, my body tense and poised to take off running toward him.Myeyes drift for a fraction of a second toward my asset that is now inextricably tied toMackenziein my head.
Themen only talk for a small moment before the exchange takes place.Mybody wants to act the moment the drive is inMerkley’shand, butIforce myself to stay put as the data broker exits in the same direction as he came.
Sincethe data broker is presumablyIsraeli, theMossadhas a team concealed nearby who will apprehend him.ButapprehendingMerkleyis down to me andAgentPeretz.Wedon’t need the data broker to be out of sight— we just need him out of the way.Sowe wait a full five seconds, then we move.
BothAgentPerezandIconverge onMerkley, guns drawn, me from the south andPeretzfrom the east. “Putyour hands up,”Ishout.
Merkleygapes at each of us, standing less than a dozen feet away, a shocked expression on his face.It’sonly there for a split second before it morphs to understanding and he turns slightly to seeShannaagainst the building.
Heknows. “Handsup!”Ishout again, this time with more force asIclose in.
Thestreet light glints on a gun in his hand thatIdidn’t see in the darkness, and my body immediately springs forward, pouncing on him, tackling him to the ground as he fires off a shot.AgentPeretzis at my side, kicking the gun away fromMerkley’shand asIgrab his wrists behind his back.Assoon asPeretzstarts to put the cuffs on him,Irun straight toShanna, who is now lying in a heap at the base of the building.
Ihelp her to lay flat on the sidewalk and see that she took a bullet just between her shoulder and her clavicle.Itwon’t kill her, but she needs medical attention right away.AgentPeretzcalls for an ambulance asImove the dark pink purse out of the way and put pressure on the wound, saying to her over and over, “I’mso sorryIdidn’t protect you.”
CHAPTER35
BRACED FOR IMPACT
MACKENZIE
Iwould’ve been sitting in the front seat ofJace’scar— or he would’ve been sitting in the front seat of mine— as we drove the hour fromCipherSpringsto my parents’ house inLeesburg,Virginia.Instead,I’msitting in the back seat ofMaggie’sandRowan’scar, playing with my niece.
Which, to be fair, is fun.I’mplaying peek-a-book with her and she’s playing try-to-grab-Aunt-Mackenzie’s-shiny-silver-nose-splint.Sofar,Addihasn’t won, andI’mhoping her record doesn’t improve because the thing is still a little too sore for grabby baby hands.
Asfun asAddiis, and as great of a distraction as she is,I’msad thatI’mnot in a car withJaceright now.EspeciallybecauseI’vebeen hoping for more time with him soIcan figure out if things between us are okay.
Buton the bright side, withJaceabsent, it’s that much less time that he has to see me wearing this nose brace.Heseems to feel personally responsible for my un-sports-like tendencies, no matter how muchIassure him he is not.
