The Identity Mine

XIV

‘It’s important!’

‘I understand that ma’am, but I don’t have the authority to let you in regardless of your badge.’

Hannah Ford stood at the entrance to the Defense Intelligence Agency with Vaughn alongside her and fumed in silence as she confronted the security guard blocking her access to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s DIAC building.

‘We called in advance,’ Hannah tried again. ‘We were told to report to this desk and await further instructions.’

‘And you have reported,’ the security guard replied. ‘Perhaps you should get on with the next bit?’

Hannah smiled a tight grin. ‘I haven’t got all day, genius. Y’know, criminals to catch, fugitives to hunt, things more important than standing guard?’

Vaughn took Hannah’s arm as the guard’s composed expression crumbled into a scowl.

‘Come on,’ he said as Hannah allowed herself to be led away. ‘They’re giving you the run around. You know how this works, we do it enough ourselves at the Bureau.’

Hannah sighed as she tried to contain her indignation. She did indeed know how the system worked when one agency simply did not want to talk to members of another agency. Meetings were booked then cancelled, or the subject would mysteriously not be available when agents arrived to question them. Documents would be promised but then never materialize or take months to do so, when they could be retrieved instantly using digital archives.

Hannah shook off Vaughn’s grip as she rubbed her temples and slumped into a seat near the foyer entrance.

‘This isn’t going to help anything,’ she protested, more to herself than to Vaughn. ‘I’m going to get in there one way or another.’

‘Maybe this is for the best,’ Vaughn suggested. ‘I’ve never felt that strolling right up to Warner was our best play. Why let him know we’re coming?’

‘He already knows who we are,’ Hannah replied, ‘and anyway, like I said it was to ruffle his feathers a bit.’

‘Well, if he’s watching now I’d say your plan backfired. We don’t know where he’s gone and the DIA isn’t going to be telling us any time soon.’

Hannah closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe for a moment.

‘You’re right,’ she said finally, hating herself and her temper. ‘We need to think of a new way to get to him.’

‘Good,’ Vaughn said, ‘because I have just the way to do it.’

‘How?’

‘Well, if you want to get to Warner you should think about talking to his family.’

‘But they’re not a part of his work and likely won’t know a damned thing.’

‘So?’ Vaughn challenged. ‘This isn’t about them, is it? It’s about bringing Warner out into the open.’

Hannah felt a surge of enthusiasm flood her system once more as she stood up.

‘What are you waiting for then? Where do we start?’

‘Natalie Warner,’ Vaughn said, ‘his sister. Natalie studied politics at the University of Chicago and gained an internment at the White House after her Honors Degree, and she once worked as an analyst for Congress at the Government Accountability Office in Washington DC. Who better to ask about suspicious activities at the DIA? Two birds, one stone.’

‘Damn,’ Hannah said. ‘Let’s go.’

The drive from the DIAC building to the Capitol where Natalie Warner worked was not a long one, and within an hour they were sitting in the plush office of a DC law firm as they awaited Natalie Warner. The former analyst emerged from a nearby office door ten minutes later and walked toward them, extending her hand and smiling brightly as Hannah stood.

‘Hannah Ford? Natalie Warner.’

Natalie was a brunette a couple of inches taller than Hannah, her long hair flowing across her shoulders like a mahogany halo, but there was a familiar arrogance to the set of her shoulders and a recognizable gleam in her eyes as though they were reflecting the frigid waters of Lake Michigan, where she had been raised. Natalie Warner looked every inch the image of her brother.

‘Thanks for meeting us at such short notice,’ Hannah beamed in response, keen to maintain an affable air as she introduced Vaughn. ‘We really appreciate it.’

Natalie beckoned them to follow her into her office, and she closed the door behind them.

‘So what can I do for you folks?’ she asked as she sat down at her desk opposite them and waited expectantly.

Hannah let her partner do the talking for a moment.

‘We’re here regarding your brother, Ethan Warner,’ Vaughn said.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. ‘What’s he done now?’

‘You don’t sound surprised we’re here,’ Hannah said, somewhat startled by Natalie’s lack of concern.

Natalie smiled, her eyes sparkling as she glanced briefly up at the ceiling as though for inspiration.

‘Let’s just say that Ethan has a remarkable knack for getting himself into trouble in the worst possible places. I know that he’s not dead, so what’s he into now?’

Hannah glanced at Vaughn, momentarily off guard.

‘A homicide,’ Vaughn said, ‘Virginia, three months ago. A man named Stanley Meyer.’

Natalie nodded.

‘It was on the news,’ she said promptly. ‘Both Ethan and his partner were being sought for the suspected homicide, but both were later cleared. Hard to miss that one, really, it was being paraded state to state before suddenly everything went quiet. It’s a wonder Ethan doesn’t have his own cable show by now.’

Hannah folded her arms, fascinated by Natalie’s lack of concern.

‘We’re here with the FBI researching an unsolved homicide that may be connected to your brother and you’re acting like this is the game show.’

Natalie leaned forward on her desk, folded her hands and kept an even smile on her face as she looked directly into Hannah’s eyes.

‘I’ve watched my brother serve his country for over two decades now in one role or another, and I’ve been directly involved in one of those investigations that almost cost the life of one of my colleagues and resulted in the murder of another. I’ve seen both Ethan and his partner, Nicola Lopez, hunted down by rogue elements of the CIA and entrusted with secrets of national security so classified you’d probably burst into flames if you laid eyes on them. Through all of that Ethan never once has lost his humanity, his patriotism or his willingness to lay his life on the line for causes greater than his own. If you think that he’s involved in a homicide I have absolutely no doubt that you’re right, just as I have absolutely no doubt that Ethan either did not commit the crime or did so in self — defense.’

Hannah sat in silence for a long moment in the wake of Hannah’s riposte.

‘Very eloquent,’ Hannah replied. ‘It doesn’t change the fact that I’m looking for Ethan Warner in connection with a homicide and he seems to keep avoiding me.’

‘Can’t imagine why,’ Natalie smiled sweetly.

‘You said that you were involved in one of your brother’s investigations,’ Vaughn pointed out. ‘That it resulted in the death of a colleague?’

‘Ethan and Nicola were working a case for the Defense Intelligence Agency, which the CIA opposed as it would uncover programs they would have rather kept under wraps.’

‘What kind of programs?’ Hannah asked.

‘Classified programs that involved the manipulation and abuse of American citizens,’ Natalie explained. ‘As a result, the CIA inserted an assassin inside a non — governmental — organization office in an attempt to ensure that none of the offending documents reached the light of day. I was working in that office and almost lost my life too.’

Hannah frowned, glancing at a series of notes she had made earlier.

‘How did they get involved with you, exactly?’

‘Ethan had asked me to help him out in a search for his fiancée, Joanna Defoe. Jo had gone missing five years earlier in Gaza, Palestine, presumed abducted by militants when she and Ethan were working there as journalists. No trace of her had ever been found and Ethan wondered whether I would be able to use my office privileges to see if there was anything in the records about Jo, which it turns out there was.’

Hannah blinked, scribbling as she went. ‘And this Joanna, did he find her?’

‘Yes.’

‘And?’

‘And what?’

‘What happened?’ Hannah snapped. ‘Is she alive? Can we talk to her?’

‘She’s alive, but you won’t find her,’ Natalie replied. ‘She went off the grid a couple of years back and hasn’t resurfaced yet. Shame, I liked her. She has a way with people.’

‘She does?’

‘You wouldn’t know,’ Natalie smiled again.

Hannah felt color flush her cheeks with heat as she saw Vaughn fight off a smirk beside her.

‘And where is Ethan right now?’

‘Who knows?’ Natalie replied. ‘One minute he’s in Chicago hunting down bail jumpers as usual, and then next he’s called in by the DIA and I won’t hear from him for a couple of months.’

‘You said that you knew that Ethan’s not dead,’ Vaughn pointed out, ‘that’s why you’re not concerned about our visit, right?’

‘That’s right,’ Natalie agreed. ‘He called this morning, said he and Nicola would be out of the country for a few days, a rush job of some kind for the usual suspects. That’s a sort of code between us that means they’re working for the DIA again.’

‘You got any idea why they headed over to New Jersey?’ Hannah asked.

‘How long’s a piece of string?’

Hannah felt prickly heat rise up over her head as she shot out of her chair and turned for the office door.

‘Many thanks Miss Warner, you’ve been very helpful indeed.’

‘Always a pleasure.’

Hannah was half way down the hall and storming toward the exit before Vaughn caught up with her.

‘You’ve really got to reign in that attitude of yours, Hannah,’ he said as they walked out into the sunshine.

‘The hell I do,’ Hannah shot back. ‘That cow in there only just fell short of giving me the bird. Why do I think that if we visit Warner’s parents we’re going to get the same treatment?’

Vaughn sighed.

‘Because Warner might actually be a stand up guy,’ he replied. ‘Maybe there’s something more to this than we know about?’

‘Yeah,’ Hannah uttered, ‘maybe. All we’ve got left now is his former commander in the Marine Corps, a Douglas Jarvis. His address is in the district but he’s also DIA so he’s going to be wrapped up tighter than a mosquito’s ass.’

Vaughn shrugged.

‘That doesn’t mean he won’t talk. Let’s stick with it, maybe Jarvis will open up a little and we may even be able to figure out why Warner’s in New Jersey.’

They walked together across the street and got half way to their pool car when two glossy black SUVs pulled into the sidewalk alongside them. Doors opened as armed agents stepped out and surrounded them.

‘What the hell is this?’ Hannah uttered as she reached for her badge.

An agent’s hand shot out and forestalled her as the rest of the agents reached for their concealed weapons. Hannah froze, as did Vaughn.

‘We’re FBI,’ Vaughn warned them.

‘We know who you are. Step inside the vehicle, please,’ said the lead agent, square headed, shaven hair, eyes hidden behind designer wrap around shades.

It wasn’t a request.