The Backup Asset

…71

Alex checked her temporary desk, drawer by drawer, making sure she didn’t leave anything behind. Hmm… her own office inside an FBI building, who would have thought?

She was getting ready to leave. Her case was closed, and her client, Walcott Global Technologies, happy. Well… as happy as it could have been under the circumstances. She was joining Mason and Sam for dinner later, to celebrate. The next day, she’d board a flight back to her home in California.

“You ready?” Weber asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, ready.” She turned to grab her laptop bag, then added, “One more thing I gotta ask you.”

“Shoot.”

“When you interrogate Smolin, can you ask him… well, about the man, that Russian…”

“You mean the man from the case you said you had no idea what I was talking about?” Weber asked with a crooked smile.

“Yeah, the case we never worked on, that one,” she confirmed and winked. “Ask him about a Russian with the initial V, who calls all the shots and plans majestic endeavors of espionage and warfare,” she said, almost laughing at how cheesy her description sounded. But how true … she thought bitterly.

“You got it. And here’s something else that you might find interesting. It’s highly confidential; please handle it appropriately.” He handed her a manila envelope containing a dark blue brief bearing the insignia of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“What is it?”

“It’s a report prepared by a senior CIA analyst regarding Russia’s intentions to invigorate its nuclear arsenal and restart the Cold War. It might help you identify your Russian.”

She dropped the laptop bag to the floor and flipped through the pages.

“I have to meet with this analyst,” she said, then looked on the cover page for the name she was missing. “I need to speak with this Henrietta Marino ASAP. She’s missing critical information.”

“That’s a bad idea, Alex. Hell, no.” He ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of exasperation. “See? That’s why I shouldn’t break the fucking rules, ’cause they bite me in the ass every goddamned time,” he said angrily. “You’re not authorized to know this report even exists. Don’t get me in trouble, all right?”

“I won’t, I promise. But I do have to speak with her, and it’s urgent.”

He shrugged, defeated, then added, “Trying to stop you is like trying to stop the damn midnight express. Good luck with that…” Weber rubbed his neck as if to get rid of a migraine. “But be careful, all right? Not every agency out there is willing to look the other way on some of the stuff you… didn’t do.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Alex replied with a frown. “I have to.”