The Red Herring

Chapter 34

"Mother of God!" Beth screamed. She pulled out her own weapon and fired at the figure running across the lawn. The figure collapsed. "Get her!"
Mike took off running and the security guard ran down the steps. A small grouping of agents accumulated outside. "Christina!" her dad exclaimed.
"I'm fine, Dad. She got me in the shoulder. With a fucking .45 it seems."
"Looks like you returned the favor. That's my girl!" he replied.
Mike had reached the body and gave Beth a thumbs up. "Thank God that's over," she said. She looked up at the steps and saw Jim pushing agents aside so he could get to her. When he reached her, he sank to his knees and grabbed her.
"If she'd been just a few inches over, she'd have killed you," he said.
"But she didn't. I'm fine. It's over. Dovetail is finally over. Not that I relish getting shot in the shoulder again but maybe the recovery will be better this time."
"Let's get you to the hospital."
A week later, Beth walked into John's office and sat down. He looked up from his paperwork and rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
Beth pretended his words hurt her. "I work here."
"You've been injured, kid. Go home and do whatever women do during the daytime. Watch cooking shows or soap operas. Paint your nails or whiten your teeth or whatever."
Beth stared at him. "You need your eyes checked."
"Excuse me?" John asked.
"Do I look like I'm the kind of gal who does those things? If you think so, you need your eyes checked."
John laughed. "You're not cleared for duty. What do you want?"
"Answers, John. I want answers."
John Maartens put down his pen and folded his arms over his chest. "You're going to have to be more specific."
"Blackbird. You said if I closed Dovetail by the end of the week, you'd consider it. I closed it that day. I think that deserves a new assignment."
"I could use your skills in other areas. What makes you think Blackbird is where you're needed?"
Beth smiled smugly. "Because Blackbird has been active for at least six years. You know you need me to get this guy. He's a matter of National Security. You need me. Why won't you admit it?"
John sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. "It's not that I won't admit to needing you. I just think this op has too many secrets that you will not be able to deal with."
"I should think I've proven myself to you by now, John. I'm stronger than you think I am."
John shook his head. "You don't know what I know."
"I need you to trust that I can handle it. The last few weeks should have let you know I can handle damn near anything. Just give me the damn file."
John opened a drawer in his desk and brought out a fat file. "These are just the updates."
Beth took the file and flipped through it. A few pages in, she spotted her name. "It is Jack Tinley's opinion that our involvement in Afghanistan lies solely on the actions of former agent Beth Lachlan. She is considered to be his number one target," she read. "Seriously? This guy really is nuts. I didn't have anything to do with that. If he's referencing Hassan, he's wrong. Hassan and his men had nothing to do with the attack on the World Trade Center!"
"And that is why I struggle with putting you on it," John replied. "You're his target. It's why Jim sent you to Paris. It was one of the best evacuations I've ever seen. The operation was not compromised in the least. There was never even a question as to whether or not it was an abduction. Dmitry knew you may hate him for the rest of your life but he also knew your safety was important to many people. So he did it without question. Tinley left the city two days before you came home. He's been back but not until after you and Jim left."
"But this is a good thing," she said. "I can draw him out."
John shook his head again. "He's a sniper. O'Donnell said he was the best in their unit and you know what a good shot Ness was."
Beth nodded. "I still think I'd be valuable."
"Let's test you," he said and lifted the phone receiver on his desk to his ear. He turned around and spoke very quietly. If it hadn't been for his secretary shredding papers, she might have been able to hear him. He said, "See you soon," and turned around to hang up. "I'm bringing an agent in from the field. He'll fill you in. If you can handle it, I'll put you on the case."
"I'll be in Tommy's office. Call me when he gets here."
Beth went downstairs to Tommy's office. "What's up?" she asked.
"Paperwork. It's my favorite thing," he said sarcastically.
Beth laughed. "Want some help?" Tommy looked down at his papers and Beth continued. "John's bringing in an agent from Blackbird to talk to me."
Tommy abruptly looked up at her. "Which agent?"
"He didn't say. I didn't ask."
"Oh! I forgot. Mike said he needs to see you. Something about your reinstatement and electronics or whatever."
Beth looked at him suspiciously. "Sure," she said and walked out of the room.
Tommy picked up his phone and dialed John's extension. "Are you bringing in who I think you're bringing in?"
"Don't tell Beth," John warned. "And yes."
"Thanks for the heads up, asshole. Does the team know?"
"Nope," John replied. "Get ready. She's going to go postal. But if she doesn't, she's joining the team."
"I'm going out to lunch. I'll be back tomorrow," Tommy told him.
John laughed. "Coward. See you tomorrow."
Beth walked into Mike's office. "You rang?"
"What?"
"Tommy said you needed to see me," she said.
"Tommy what?"
Beth sighed. "I knew he was trying to get rid of me."
"Why would he want to get rid of you?"
"Probably something to do with Blackbird," she said, shrugging.
Mike went still. "What about Blackbird?"
"John's bringing in an agent to talk to me about joining the team."
"Who?"
"No idea. Why?"
"Nothing. I'm not sure you want to be involved with Blackbird."
"Whatever. I have to pee. Be back in a sec."
Mike punched John's extension into his phone. "Please tell me you're not bringing in who I think you're bringing in. You know we're dead men if you do."
"Don't tell Beth. This is her test to prove herself," John said and hung up.
Beth returned a few minutes later. "John just called. I'm heading downstairs to meet this guy."
"I'll go with you!" Mike said quickly.
"Whatever," Beth said. Everyone was acting very strange today. She wondered what was up.
More than ten years had passed since Eliot "Ness" O'Donnell had been killed when he walked through the front door of the CIA building. Beth was exiting the elevator with Mike when she saw him. She fell to her knees, grabbing Mike, and pulling him down with her. Ness grinned widely and rushed over to help her up with the guard yelling for him. Ness tossed his badge to the guard and wrapped his arms around Beth, pulling her to her feet and hugging her tightly.
"What the hell is going on?" she asked. "You're dead."
Mike pulled her from Ness and stood between them. "What kind of game is this? Where have you been? And how are you not dead?"
Ness chuckled. "You mean you and I weren't working the same op? I could have sworn you were in the same meeting as I was."
Beth looked from Mike to Ness and back again. "Someone had better tell me what the hell is going on or I'm going to shoot you both!"
The guard came over and handed Ness his badge. "Welcome back, Agent O'Donnell!" he said.
Beth looked from the guard to Ness and back again. She unholstered her gun. "Now," she said.
Mike sighed and dragged her to an interrogation room with Ness following. He left them inside the room and went next door to disable the cameras and microphones. When he returned, Ness was leaning back in a chair with his hands behind his head. Beth was standing with her arms folded across her chest and Mike knew she was very, very angry. She glared first at Mike and then at Ness. "Start talking."
Beth was looking at Ness but Ness was looking at Mike. Very slightly, Mike shook his head. Ness blinked once in acknowledgement. "So back about three months before Hawk became active again, the CIA begged me to come back. We were getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan and there was an issue with a rogue Marine. It should have been the Navy's problem but Jim knew Hassan was back in play and he took the case. I knew Mike was formerly involved in Naval Intelligence so I mentioned that he might be useful."
"They asked me to find him," Mike said. "Then they asked me to come to work for them full-time."
"Who asked you?" Beth asked.
"The acting director of the CIA. Back when Jim was searching for you after Rykov threw you in the ocean with that stab wound. You know it wasn't Jim. He hates me. He's always hated me. So I stole you from him," Mike said.
"Both of you stop lying to me right now. I already know that neither of you left the CIA."
Ness laughed. "Looks like Bond did her homework."
"I haven't heard that in a while," Beth said. "No one's called me that in ages. And why the hell did you fake your death?! I cried over you!"
"It was a really sweet touch. Thank you. Made me think you really did love me," Ness said.
"You're an asshole," she replied. "Also, you didn't answer my question."
Ness sighed. "I knew the guy. We were Marines together. He did five tours of duty in the Middle East before he snapped. Stole some nukes. Start taking out civilians. Jim knew about it of course. He enlisted Dmitry Kovalev to be on diamond watch. He wanted to know if anyone tried to trade nukes for blood diamonds."
"I am going to kill him," she said.
"Jim or Dmitry?" Ness asked.
"Both!" she screamed.
"You're in luck. They're both in town still," Mike said.
"I am no longer speaking to you," she said.
Mike chuckled. "Good because you're a pain in the ass."
Beth slapped his arm. "You let me think my very best friend in the entire world was dead. I deserve to be a pain in the ass. I even named my son after him!"
Ness beamed and Mike said, "Baby, you've been a pain in the ass since I met you in daycare."
Beth turned and stormed out of the room. Ness looked at him seriously. "She still doesn't know, does she?"
Mike shook his head. "I don't know. I think she knows more than she's letting on but she's not one to show her cards."
"She never asked why you changed your last name?" Ness asked.
"I told her it was so that I could remain anonymous."
"Well, Mike Riley, you'd better tell her soon. If she finds out on her own, she'll kill us both."
"She knows I've been CIA as long as she has. She knows a lot more about Paris than I'd like her to. She's going to kill us. She's divorcing Jim and she rejoined the CIA."
Ness sighed. "Jesus, a lot happens when you're dead. I've been all over the world looking for this guy. I wouldn't suggest it but she may be our best shot at getting him."
"Don't worry. She already did," John said as he walked in the room with Beth in tow.
"He knows you're here," Ness told her. "He knew you were here the second you stepped off the plane. He was pretty pissed off someone else was after you but now that she's dead, he's back in the game."
"Then let's get him," she said.
Ness laughed. "It's not that simple. I know it's not exactly protocol but I'm not taking him out. We served together. I owe him an arrest but not a bullet to the head."
"I don't owe him anything. He comes at me, I'll put that bullet in him," Beth said.
The door to the interrogation room opened. It was Tommy. John looked him, confused. "Thought you were going home?"
"There's been an accident. Sniper. Jim's been shot. It's bad."
Beth stood there like a statue but he brain was working overtime. In a split second, she wondered if her kids were ok. She wondered who'd shot Jim. Was it Jack Tinley? Was he trying to draw her out? She turned and walked out the door.