Page 23 of Dangerous Protocol
By contrast, her skin was sallow from worry and a life on the run, her hair was a mousy brown mess, and her bodywas thinner than what was healthy. She’d often dreamt of their meeting again. In her dreams, her blond hair was always up off her neck—because Jeffrey liked being able to kiss her below the ear at will—and she always wore her favorite, killer little black dress with the spiky heels he favored. She was never such a physical and emotional wreck—she was the strong, self-assured agent who took no prisoners.
“I can practically hear the gears moving in that big brain of yours.” Jeffrey cast her a brief sideways glance before returning his attention to the road. “What are you thinking about?”
About how much I’ve missed you and how much I wish the feeling was mutual.
But she didn’t say any of that. Instead, she said, “I’m thinking about Isla. I’m concerned about how she looked in the video.”
“Yeah, I’m worried about that, too.” A light sprinkling of snow began to fall, and he flipped on the wipers. “I’m guessing they drugged her to keep her under control.”
“Isla is a shy child, but she is no pushover.” Their daughter would definitely resist at any given opportunity. “She likely caused a bit of a row and they decided to make their lives easier by subduing her.”
“Does she have any allergies to medications?” Jeffrey leaned his right elbow on the console. “Should we beconcerned about any possible reactions to whatever they’ve given her?”
“No allergies that I’m aware of, but she’s never taken any type of sleep-aiding narcotic before either.” Fortunately, Isla had always been a healthy child who rarely got sick.
“Did you ever find out who blew your cover?” His topic change surprised her.
“Several very high-ups at The Circus investigated and were never able to determine who it was.” She used the nickname given to MI6.
Some say the epithet came from John le Carré’s book titledThe Circus.Others believe it came fromSilk and Cyanide, a World War II memoir by Leo Marks, who wrote about how a section of the Special Operations Executive worked out of an office that formerly belonged to the owner of a circus. Either way, it was an apt description of MI6.
“Are they sure it was someone within the agency?” Jeffrey’s blinker clicked. He checked his rearview mirror and took the freeway off-ramp.
“They aren’t sure of anything, and, I must admit, it is quite frustrating that after all these years, we’re no closer to finding out.”
“How much do you trust Nigel?” Jeffrey came to a stop in the right-turn lane.
“Surely, you’re notimplying—”
“I’m not implying anything.” He turned and proceeded down the two-lane road. “I’m merely asking questions.”
“I trust Nigel implicitly.” She felt insulted on Nigel’s behalf. “He and I worked together on a previous undercover assignment.” He’d been her handler for about six months, and because they’d gotten on so well, she’d requested he be assigned to her case once again. “He was the first person I told when I found out I was pregnant.”
“Does he know I’m Isla’s father?” Jeffrey’s jaw rippled, and the leather steering wheel squeaked beneath his tightened grip.
“No.” She rushed to say, “But he has a letter that he is to open only if something happens to me. In that letter, I let him know that you are her father and ask that he reach out to you.”
“You could’ve toldme, Maya.” He gave her a long look, then turned back to the road. His voice was no longer tinged with anger but with regret and loss.
“Yes, well, it wasn’t Nigel who betrayed me.” She refused to believe such a thing. “But whoever it was, they’ve done a bang-on job of hiding their tracks.”
His phone pinged through the car speaker, and he touched the display screen. “Burke.”
“Hey, Burke, it’s Sammy.” Casey’s crush.
“Hey, Sammy. I’m here with Maya, Isla’s mother.”
“Hi, Maya. I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter. But you’ve got the best man for the job helping you out.”
“Thank you, Sammy.” Maya turned to Burke. “And I completely agree with you.”
“What did you find?” Jeffrey shifted the topic away from himself.
“I managed to pull the videos from the Qadiran Embassy compound. There were several cameras installed on the buildings and the grounds. Some weren’t operational during the timeframe you requested, but Casey and I reviewed the footage from the ones that were working.”
“Excellent.” He slowed down and turned right onto a gravel road. “Were you able to see when Al-Mansoori arrived?”
“Not only did I see him, but I can tell you what kind of shoes he was wearing.” Her excitement about her job was apparent in her voice. “And, yes, it appeared as if he had a child with him.”