“What happened?”

  “The same thing that happens every damn day in this country. Some nutbar with a gun aired his grievances, this time on a city bus. He shot the driver then several other passengers while screaming about people watching him and following him.”

  Kane’s head slowly shook. His country was going to hell in a handbasket over a uniquely American problem. There wasn’t a civilized country in the world that had this issue, yet as with most of America’s problems, there was no civil discourse. One side wanted no restrictions, the other wanted total bans, and those in the middle weren’t given the time of day by either extreme. It meant nothing would ever be done, and the carnage would continue thanks to the binary society where one side is absolutely right, and the other side is absolutely wrong.

  No middle ground.

  He sighed. “Keep me posted, and pass on my prayers if you get a chance. Now, back to the first problem. When do you think you’ll know, if ever, how we’ve been compromised?”

  “Unfortunately, I think it’s ‘if ever,’ but it’s way too early. It hasn’t even been an hour. I’ve spoken to the Chief. Some ops have been scrubbed already, but yours is considered too important. He said it’s up to you unless we get something concrete. We need that intel, and at the moment, you’re the only way we can get it.”

  Kane had to agree. Their asset had demanded an in-person meeting. He didn’t want it transmitted in any fashion. The intel was apparently explosive, something that could change the balance of power in China if used correctly. And that balance desperately needed to be tilted to the more reasonable side of things than the current leadership, hell-bent on world domination. “I agree with the Chief. You keep me posted if there’s anything specific. Otherwise, I’m proceeding.”

  “Understood. Good luck.”

  “Thanks. Let’s hope I won’t need it.” He ended the call and leaned forward. “You, of course, didn’t hear any of that.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Kane chuckled. “But keep an eye out for anybody following us. If we are compromised, you know your cover story. Just stick to it. They might try to break you, but as long as you stick to the story, you’ll eventually be fine.”

  Xu checked the rearview mirror. “My girlfriend will be very upset if they mess with my face.”

  Kane laughed. “Let’s hope they leave the money maker alone. In fact, let’s hope we’re worrying about nothing.”

  6 |

  Inova Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, Virginia

  Leroux sat in the ICU waiting room, two fingers rapidly tapping on each armrest. It had been fifteen minutes since he arrived, and all he knew was that Tong was still in surgery. He had no idea if that was a good thing or bad, expected or unexpected. Was an hour in surgery normal for a routine gunshot? He would have to think anything as traumatic as a gunshot, even if it weren’t life-threatening, needed an hour on the table, but right now he had no idea if a doctor would be coming through the doors in six seconds or six hours. He was certain longer had to be worse, though longer also meant she was still alive, and there was still a chance to save her. If those doors swung open now, he had no idea what the odds were, but he had to guess they were against her, and the sooner those doors opened, the sooner he could be finding out that his dear friend had lost her battle and was dead.

  A doctor walked up to the nurses’ station and the woman behind the desk pointed directly at Leroux. The man walked over and Leroux shot to his feet.

  “Are you Sonya Tong’s husband?”

  He was surprised at how good that mistaken identity felt. “No. I’m her supervisor and friend.”

  The doctor looked about the room. “None of her family is here?”

  “No. My team and I are her family here. HR is contacting her relatives, but I haven’t received an update on when they can be expected. They don’t live anywhere near here. Just tell me, is she still alive?”

  The doctor’s eyebrows rose slightly as if he were surprised at the question. “Of course she’s alive. It was just a round to the shoulder. I managed to remove the bullet and repair the damage. She lost a good chunk of blood, but we gave her a transfusion and she’s stable. She’ll have a scar and she’ll need some physio, but she’ll make a full recovery.”

  Leroux’s shoulders slumped with relief. “But on the news they said she was clinging to life?”

  The doctor grunted. “Well, that’ll teach you to listen to the news. They weren’t referring to her. We have several patients in surgery right now from that incident. And one of them…” He paused. “One was clinging to life, but we weren’t able to save her. She died on the table about fifteen minutes ago.”

  Leroux closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer for the lost soul, and also begging God for forgiveness that he was relieved it was a stranger that died rather than his friend. A thought occurred to him that had his heart racing. “Has that news been made public?”

  “Not officially, though I have no doubt it’s been leaked. Everybody wants their fifteen minutes.”

  Leroux cursed, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “If it’s been leaked, then Langley knows and they’re going to think she’s dead. Can I see her?”

  “In about an hour. They’re just situating her now in recovery, and you’ve got to give her some time for the anesthesia to wear off. I’ll let the nurse know that even though you’re not family you’re cleared to see her.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. It’s appreciated.”

  The doctor bowed slightly then left the waiting area as Leroux dialed Morrison.

  “Hi, Chris. I’m so sorry, I just heard.”

  Leroux ran his fingers through his hair, pulling hard, hoping the pain would stem the tears that threatened to flow. “No, sir, it wasn’t her. She’s not the one who died.”

  “What?”

  “It was someone else. The news was right, but they were talking about someone else. Apparently, there are several people in surgery. I just spoke to the doctor. Sonya took a round to the shoulder but she’s expected to make a full recovery. He said I can see her in about an hour. It was another woman that died.”

  “Oh, thank God.” Morrison cursed. “You know what I mean.”

  “I know, sir. I had the same reaction.”

  “Okay, I’m going to hang up now. You call your team, because if I misinterpreted what I heard, you know they did.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Leroux ended the call then dialed the operations center as Fang rushed through the door, tears flowing, and he had to think she had heard the news report, misinterpreting it like everyone.

  She quickly rushed up to him. “I’m so sorry. I got here as soon as I could when I received your message. I just heard on the radio—”

  He held up a finger as Therrien answered, the man’s voice as somber as Leroux had ever heard it.

  “Marc, this is Chris. She’s not dead. It wasn’t her.”

  “What?”

  “It wasn’t her. It was someone else that died. I just spoke to the doctor. Sonya’s going to be all right. She’s already out of surgery.”

  “Oh, thank God! Everybody, listen up! Sonya is alive! It wasn’t her! It was someone else! Chris says she’s out of surgery and will be all right!”

  Cheers erupted in the background and Fang hugged him, her sorrow replaced with joy.

  “You’re not messing with me, are you?” asked Therrien.

  Leroux smiled. “No. The doctor has cleared me to see her even though I’m not family. As soon as I do, I’ll let you guys know what’s going on. She took one to the shoulder and they said they removed the bullet and repaired all the damage and replaced the blood she lost. She’s going to be fine. I’m going to let you go now. You just make sure that word spreads far and wide that she’s alive. Oh, and call HR. The last thing we need is them updating her employment records to indicate she’s dead. God knows when they’ll get her paychecks flowing again.”

  Therrien laughed. “That’s no joke. That happened to a friend of mine. I’ll call them right now.”

  “You do that. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Leroux ended the call then embraced Fang with both arms as they sobbed with relief. He had few friends in this world, even fewer good friends. Lee Fang was Kane’s girlfriend, and they lived together in the same building as he and his partner, Sherrie White. The four of them were very close, and with Kane and Sherrie out of the country on ops, he had messaged her about what was going on while he waited for word.

  “You didn’t need to come,” he said.

  She patted his chest as she broke the embrace. “Nonsense. I wasn’t going to let you go through this alone. I know how important she is to you.”

  Leroux’s stomach flipped as if he had been caught cheating on Sherrie. “She’s a good friend.”

  “I know. And I know how she feels about you.”

  Leroux feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”

  Fang gave him a look. “Don’t play dumb with me. A woman knows. And besides, Sherrie told me.”

  Leroux groaned, rolling his eyes. “For a spy, she’s terrible at keeping secrets.”

  Fang grinned. “There are no secrets between best girlfriends.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, you know that I would never—”

  “Of course not. I know you love Sherrie. It’s not your fault that another woman loves you. And I know you’d never act on it. But it doesn’t mean that you don’t care, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t care more than you think you should. Don’t feel guilty. Sherrie would understand.” Leroux sat back down and Fang took the seat beside him. She gestured at his phone. “Now, is there anybody else you contacted who needs to know she’s not the one the news is reporting as dead?”

  “No, you know her. She doesn’t have a lot of friends outside of work.”

  Fang leaned back and sighed. “It’s so sad. She’s such a sweet girl. She deserves to find someone that makes her happy.”

  Leroux put his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He wished the same thing, and at this very moment, he wished he was that man.

  7 |

  Hotel Hilton Beijing Wangfujing Beijing, China

  Kane lay on the king-sized bed of the luxury suite at the Beijing Hilton. It was one of his favorites and he stayed here regularly when his cover was in Beijing. One thing the authorities liked was predictability. His cover always used the same airlines, the same hotels, the same drivers, and frequented the same restaurants.

  But if he had been compromised, he had to vary things a little.

  He had been shown his room and immediately rejected it when he looked out the window. A construction crane was within sight. For his purposes, it could have been anything. He would have picked a gaudy color if he had to.

  “This view won’t do.”

  This had caught his porter off-guard. “Sir?”

  “Switch me to the other side of the hotel.”

  It had taken twenty minutes, but he’d been moved to another suite as requested. The view was worse. A frequent guest like himself, paying top dollar and tipping generously, was always given the best view on the first try, but he had feigned acceptance. If his host government had prepared anything special in his previous room, they wouldn’t have had time to do anything substantial in his replacement suite.

  He tipped the bellhop and closed the door. He pulled out his phone, launching an app that would search out any stray signals while he pretended to check his messages and nonchalantly toured the suite. His app reported three anomalous signals, one in the main area, one in the bedroom, and one in the bathroom. Routine fare, and nothing he ever worried about. This was the standard surveillance found in most high-end Chinese hotels so they could listen in on high-powered business executives. He never conducted business in his suite, but the fact it was only the regular surveillance gear detected suggested his switching rooms had successfully defeated any additional surveillance that might have been planned for him.

  His watch indicated a message arriving through his private network. He rolled off the bed and walked to the window with his phone, wearing nothing but a smile. He leaned against the wall so the phone screen was opposite where the signal was detected, just in case it was video surveillance, which it likely was since it was the bedroom. The Chinese were always horny to get footage of a subject having sex—it could prove to be valuable blackmail material.

  He logged into his private network and smiled at the message from the love of his life, Fang. Tong was going to be all right. She was with Leroux at the hospital now. Leroux had been his best friend in high school, a mismatch if there ever was one, and after drifting apart had been reunited when they discovered they both worked for the same agency, though in dramatically different capacities. Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without him in it.

  His friend had always been an introvert, painfully so, until Sherrie had drawn him out of his shell. The revelation that Tong had feelings for his friend had been almost comical. The poor guy hadn’t known what to do with himself, and he had to be feeling horrible with what was going on. Sherrie White was an incredible woman. Beautiful, vibrant, talented, funny, the complete opposite of what he would have expected Leroux to end up with. Tong was more his friend’s type, or at least that’s what he had always assumed. Extremely intelligent though quiet, witty when she was comfortable, though still beautiful, but in a less obvious way than the head cheerleader type that Sherrie was.

  His friend loved Sherrie and Sherrie loved him, and Kane was certain they could go the distance, but Sherrie was an operative just like he was. It was a dangerous life, and if something were to happen to her, he had always believed that Leroux and Tong would get together, though Kane might have to force the issue like he had before.

  His watch pulsed with another message and he brought it up through the secure app on his phone rather than manipulate the highly classified device. Their asset had confirmed the meet. One hour. If the exchange was successful, he would take the intel to another contact who would transmit it securely, then he would leave the country tomorrow as scheduled. If he was compromised, he just hoped he could get through the next two hours without being taken down.

  And if he were, the intel that might cost him his life better have been damn well worth it.

  8 |

  Inova Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, Virginia

  Tong swam through the fog, desperate to find the source of the sound, a steady beep in the darkness. Her legs and arms slowly moved as she tread water, a thick mist obscuring the surface and anything beyond her hands. It was dark, but there was a light surrounding her, a gentle glow, and she had to assume it was the morning sun here to burn off the fog to let her see what was making the noise, to hear where it was coming from.

  A gunshot rang out, then another and another. Her heart hammered and she reached forward to claw at the water in an effort to escape the danger, but she cried out at a horrendous pain in her shoulder. What was happening to her? Why was she in the water? Who was shooting at her? Why did her shoulder hurt? She needed help.

  “Help me! Somebody, please help me!”

  Someone took her hand and she gasped. “You’re going to be all right.”

  She called to the voice, to the sound of someone with her in the darkness. “Where are you?”

  He squeezed her hand a little tighter. “I’m right here, just open your eyes.”

  Her pounding heart settled slightly as she stared into the fog. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re in the hospital. You just came out of surgery. The anesthesia is still wearing off.”

  She gasped. Her car that wouldn’t start, her race to the bus stop, the handsome stranger, the lack of change, the tentative first date, the gunshots. She bolted upright, her eyes wide, reality clearing the fog. The beeping she’d been hearing was a machine to her left. She was in a hospital room, her shoulder ached, and she was as groggy as she had ever felt.

  “Welcome back.”

  Her head spun toward the voice and she inhaled sharply. It was the handsome stranger holding her hand. He smiled that incredible smile.

  “What happened?” she asked, still confused.

  “You were shot on the bus. Do you remember?”

  She closed her eyes, sniffing hard at the terrifying memory. She gave a curt nod. “I do.” She opened her eyes and glanced at her shoulder, bandaged up. “Am I…”

  “You’re going to be fine, full recovery. It’ll just take some time.”

  She lay back down on the bed, noticing he was still holding her hand and she was letting him. “Why are you here? Were you injured?”

  “No, I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” He held up his phone. “And I was hoping to get a name to go with this number.”

  A warmth spread through her body as the memories came flooding back of their brief encounter, the details vivid now. “Sonya.”

  He clasped her hand to his chest. “Sonya. Beautiful.”

  “Are you going to tell me your name?”

  He chuckled. “Nathan. Nathan—”

  “Hey, you’re not supposed to be in here.”

  Nathan let go of her hand then rose, turning toward a nurse standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure she was all right.”

  “Well, now that you’ve seen that she is, I’ll have to ask you to leave. Family only.”

  Nathan smiled at Tong. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Sonya. Can I come by tomorrow to see you?”

  Tong’s heart raced, the beeping betraying her feelings.

  Nathan glanced at the monitor. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  She smiled and nodded.

  He patted her good shoulder. “I’ll see you soon.”

  The nurse gasped as he walked toward her. “Oh, my God, you’re the one from the news! You’re the one who killed the gunman.”

  Nathan didn’t confirm or deny what the woman said, instead simply bowing slightly. “Have a good day, ma’am.”

 

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