“Yeah.”
“I don’t like him either.”
“You know him?”
“No. But I know the type. They would sell out anyone to get ahead. Plus, he was trying to drive a wedge between me and Eden. That makes me suspicious.”
“He is such a yes man that Ed is probably right about why he did it.”
“But?”
He sighed as they stopped next to Ian’s car. He had been suspicious of Ian when his sister first started as his partner. Once Sam had checked him out, and El had gotten to know him, he’d begun to like the guy. He was intelligent, dependable, and not as stuffy as he sounded half the time. It was that public school British accent of his.
“You’re right. He would sell me out. He would sell Eden out. Granted, he wouldn’t go ahead with it without getting something in return, but he would still get it done.”
“He sold you out when you were taken,” Ian said.
“No, not in the way you think. You know what being an operative means. You get taken, especially in a powder keg environment like the Middle East, and The Company will deny knowing who you are. Going in, you understand that.”
“Your sister didn’t stick with that plan.”
His mouth curved. “My sister would never leave anyone behind.”
“That’s good to know.”
“So, on some level, she understands what he did. She would never be that person, but she gives him some grace because I think she feels sorry for him.”
“How so?”
“He has given his entire life to the CIA. The man has no family. Not even any siblings. His parents died when he was in college. He never married.”
“So, pity?”
He smiled. “Yeah. That’s the basis of it. And while I don’t think he had anything to do with what happened to me or what is happening now, he can’t be trusted.”
Ian nodded. “I’ll reach out to a few people I trust about him. First stop will be with my father. He knows everyone on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Ian’s father had been MI-6 also. He might be able to give them some insight. “Be careful. One thing we know about these assholes is that they monitor things we’re doing.”
“Sure thing.”
Then, he slipped into his car and pulled away from TFH. El was heading back into the building when Team Bravo, sans Kap, came striding out of the building. He didn’t know much about each member other than Kap, but he knew that they were considered the SAR group.
“Where are y’all heading?”
“We’re headed over to the sniper’s nest,” Seth said. “Did you want to come?”
He hadn’t expected that.
“I would love to, but my sister and I need to keep going over all the victims. We’re the two with insider knowledge.”
Seth nodded, and they went on their way. He wanted to go with them. To be doing things rather than sitting around. He knew he was needed by her and, for once, he would definitely prove he had his sister’s back. As he walked back into the building, he realized that part of him still blamed himself for what had happened. He knew that whoever was behind this was a master manipulator. He wasn’t the only agent who had fallen for the lies that had almost ended his life. His question had always been, why had he been left to live? So many of the others were found in less than twenty-four hours after they went missing. He had been kept alive.
“Hey,” Ed said as he walked back into the room. He stared at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Something that has bothered me.”
“A lot of this crap bothers me.”
