the devil wears a suit and tie • billy russo

chapter 7

Finley Peña was the poster boy for a perfect CIA operative. With his brooding yet handsome face, cool disposition, uncanny ability to emotionally detach from any situation, and a willingness to do whatever it took to accomplish a mission, he was destined to climb the ranks. He was the ideal candidate for just about any operation, including Agent William Rawlins' Cerberus Squad—the same operation that Frank Castle and Billy Russo found themselves stuck in the middle of, but he wasn't chosen for it. Why? Because Finn knew people. Important people. People who outranked Agent Rawlins. If his operation was to remain off the books, Finn couldn't be involved.

Enter Jordan Strader. Jordan was Finn's female counterpart, and although spycraft didn't run in her blood, she was just as much a protégé. What she lacked in the language skills that Finn had, she made up for with technical skill. She could easily fly and for the most part maintain all manner of aircraft. Because of her ability to pilot planes solo, and the fact that she had no notable connections within the Agency, she became the perfect target. Rawlins had acted as a mentor to the young woman, gaining her trust so she would eventually be able to serve as an asset to his off the books operations.

He wanted her to be his Barry Seal, his loyal pilot who would smuggle his heroin near and far. He disliked working with Bennet, so when he finally had his distribution network sorted, he pulled Jordan from her station in Dubai so her work could begin. She was going to make him rich, and she was going to do the dirty deeds that even his team of top tier operators couldn't pull off.

However, there were two things he failed to take into account, the first being that perhaps even Jordan wouldn't be willing to do the things he wanted her to do, and the second being that Finn Peña was also stationed in Dubai, and naturally, being two young Americans of a similar disposition in a far off land, they shared a rather intimate relationship. So when Jordan disappeared as a result of what she saw in Afghanistan, it didn't go unnoticed, and when she was branded a deserter and a manhunt for her began, the one person who was skeptical was Finn Peña. He did hours of research, trying to figure out what might've happened in Afghanistan to cause her to go AWOL. He found nothing, and when he tried explain to his mother that Jordan wouldn't just do that, she brushed him off. It wasn't until mere days before his sister's wedding that he remembered her soon to be husband was in Afghanistan during Jordan's disappearance. Finn knew he had to ask him about it while he was in town for the wedding.

He waited anxiously for a moment alone with the man so he could ask his question, and finally on the day of the bachelor party just half an hour before guests were supposed to arrive, Finn got his chance.

"Can I ask you about a work thing?" he asked casually while scrolling through his phone, he couldn't make the question seem like a big deal. He had to know what Billy's genuine reaction would be in order to tell if the man was lying.

"Sure," the veteran sighed, not expecting a question about the one thing he absolutely could not talk about.

"Did you know an Agent Jordan Strader when you were in Afghanistan?"

Internally, Billy started to panic, but his poker face held, "No, I didn't," he lied. In truth, he had met Jordan, and he knew exactly why the woman went on the run. "Who's that?"

"A friend of mine, she went AWOL a year ago after something happened in Afghanistan, and I've been trying to get to the bottom of it, but I've come up with nothing. I just remembered that you were over there at the same time so I thought I'd ask."

"Yeah, I get that," it appeared that Finn believed his lie, which was an incredible feat, and Billy allowed himself to relax a bit, "I can talk to some of the people I know who were over there at that time too and see if they know anything."