The Bin Laden Plot

19 POTOMAC, MARYLAND

Dusk was giving way to darkness, streetlights flickering on, as a silver Ford Mustang followed a blue Prius as it turned onto Highland Farm Road in Potomac, Maryland, in an affluent neighborhood of twenty-thousand-square-foot mansions. A few houses after the turn, the Prius pulled into the driveway of an eight-bedroom house brightly lit in the distance, stopping at the closed metal gate. The Mustang passed by as Captain Andy Hoskins lowered the window of his Prius and spoke into the intercom box, announcing his presence. The gate slid slowly aside and the Prius pulled up the driveway as the Mustang disappeared around the bend.

Mixell drove on for a while, pulling his Mustang to the side of the road near a break in the trees where there was a clear view of Hoskins’s destination: Secretary of the Navy Brenda Verbeck’s estate. The Prius stopped beneath a portico, where Hoskins, carrying a briefcase, was met at the door by a servant, and the front door closed after he stepped inside the mansion.

A light flicked on in an upstairs room, which Hoskins entered while Brenda Verbeck waited by the doorway. He placed his briefcase on a conference table, then stopped beside Verbeck, placing his hands on her waist as he gently kissed her neck. They disappeared from view, and a moment later, a faint light lit the master bedroom at the back corner of the house.

A twisted scenario indeed, Mixell thought.

Verbeck was having an affair with the man she had contracted to kill. But perhaps he had gotten it wrong and someone else had targeted the Pentagon Navy chief and captain. After considering the possible scenarios, Mixell’s conviction returned; his assessment was likely correct. What he’d gotten wrong was underestimating how conniving and ruthless Verbeck was. A woman truly to be admired.

With his eyes on the bedroom widows, Mixell reviewed the relevant details he had gleaned thus far. Hoskins had been divorced for about a year, with custody of his daughter on weekends. Verbeck, on the other hand, was a married woman, whose husband worked and lived in San Diego. Whether Brenda and her husband were estranged or she was simply taking advantage of their separation, Mixell didn’t know.

It looked like there was no more to learn tonight about Hoskins’s travels, so Mixell started his car and headed down the road.

Shortly after Mixell returned to his hotel room, his phone vibrated, followed by a notification sliding onto the screen.

An encrypted message.

He launched the application and typed in his password followed by his thumbprint, and a message appeared on screen.

You were spotted at National Harbor and identified. You shouldn’t have been so sloppy.

Mixell typed, “I wasn’t sloppy. I prefer they know who was behind the attempted assassination.”

But I also know who you are now, instead of a faceless For Hire on the dark web.

“Is that supposed to be some sort of threat?”

No. It means there’s the potential for future work.

“What kind of work?”

Finish your current assignment, then we’ll talk. How long until the other two men are eliminated?

“No definitive timeline yet. I’m working on the plan for the Pentagon captain. The fifth man on the list is on the other side of the country, so I’ll deal with him last.”

The fifth man has been rehired by the CIA. He’s in your neck of the woods now.

Mixell considered the new information, then grinned. Harrison had been rehired to track him down. A new message appeared on his phone.

Don’t let authorities discover you’re behind the other four deaths. My client doesn’t want these killings connected.

“Preventing the authorities from connecting the dots is going to be difficult. You’ve got two men at the Pentagon, plus three retired Navy SEALs. It won’t take a rocket scientist to make the connections. I’ve already linked the Pentagon men. But what’s the connection between the three SEALs?”

None of your concern.

“Not even a hint?”

Focus on your assignment. Complete it as soon as possible.

The secure connection terminated and the messages disappeared from Mixell’s phone.

He put the phone down and focused on the remaining two men on his list. Hoskins was next, and his thoughts soon shifted to Jake Harrison. Mixell envisioned several possible scenarios, searching for the one that would inflict the most emotional and physical pain.

One scenario in particular was immensely appealing.

He was saving Harrison for last. When it happened, he would savor every moment.