Afraid of the Dark

Chapter Sixty-nine

Sid Littleton watched from his office window as the snow fell on the illuminated buildings and monuments of the capital.

The phone call from London had been unsettling, but Littleton always had a backup plan. The plan’s name was Lisa Horne-or whatever her real name was-and he just hoped the weather wasn’t going to screw things up and keep her from coming to the office on short notice.

“She’s in the building,” said Bahena.

Littleton turned away from the window and saw his right-hand man standing in the doorway. Danilo Bahena had been with Littleton since the formation of Black Ice. Most of the company’s four hundred employees didn’t know him. Very few knew he was the mastermind of the black sites that the company ran for the CIA. Only Littleton knew him as the specialist who would do anything to see a mission succeed.

“Good,” said Littleton. “Go down, take her to the limo. I’ll meet you there.”

“You sure? I could just take her for a ride. Very treacherous roads tonight. Accidents could happen.”

“No,” said Littleton. “We need to know who she is first.”

“Her name is not Lisa Horne, that much is for sure.”

“If she’s an investigative journalist chasing rabbit holes, that’s one thing. If she has some other agenda, I want to get to the bottom of it.”

“Whoever she is, she knows too much.”

“That may be,” said Littleton. He turned back to the window, thinking. The gist of the warning from London replayed in his head: I have my exit strategy. You need yours.

“Get the limo,” he said, watching his own reflection in the window. “And let’s be quick about this.”