Vengeance

28 LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

The morning traffic in the District had already begun to thicken when Jake Harrison pulled out from the parking garage near his temporary agency-provided lodging at the Hotel Washington, only a block from the White House. After heading north on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia, he took the exit for the George Bush Center for Intelligence, where a gate guard verified he was on the authorized visitor list, then waved him through.

Harrison pulled into the main parking garage, then entered the lobby of the CIA Original Headquarters Building, taking the elevator to the seventh floor. After informing the director’s secretary that he had arrived, he was asked to wait in a conference room down the hall. Three others soon arrived: CIA Director Christine O’Connor, Deputy Director Monroe Bryant, and the new member of the seventh-floor oligarchy whom Harrison was meeting for the first time — Deputy Director for Operations Frank McKinnon.

“Welcome back, Jake,” Christine said as she took her seat at the head of the table.

Bryant and McKinnon likewise welcomed him back to the agency. The conference room door opened again and two women entered. The first was Deputy Director for Analysis Tracey McFarland, carrying two manila folders. The second was a woman Harrison hadn’t expected to see again — his previous partner, Khalila Dufour — an attractive six-foot-tall Arab with straight black hair falling across her shoulders.

Khalila had been assigned to assist Harrison during his two previous stints in the CIA, accompanying him whenever leads took him to the Middle East. Khalila’s contacts in the region and linguistic skills were the best the agency had to offer.

McFarland greeted Harrison after taking her seat, but Khalila said nothing after settling into her chair, offering only a brief glance in his direction. It seemed that her typical aloofness hadn’t changed, but Harrison detected a notable improvement in her demeanor. Instead of sitting with her arms folded across her chest, projecting a why-am-I-here attitude as she had done in previous meetings, she presented a respectable, business-like persona. He followed her gaze toward the new DDO.

Four months ago, Khalila had put a bullet into the previous DDO’s head, acting as judge, jury, and executioner in response to his treason. But instead of tension between the new DDO and Khalila, McKinnon exuded a calm confidence in the presence of the woman who had slain his predecessor. The DDO apparently didn’t know Khalila as well as he did. Harrison was convinced that Khalila was a sociopath who had killed several previous partners — ones who had learned too much about her true identity.

When the conversation resumed, the deputy directors expressed their condolences for Angie’s death. Harrison nodded his appreciation and silence in the conference room followed, eventually broken by Christine.

“Your primary goal is to locate Mixell. He assassinated the secretary of defense, and we’re also concerned about what else he’s up to. You two are being teamed up again due to your previous experience tracking Mixell down. Here’s a summary of what we’ve got regarding the SecDef’s assassination.”

Christine turned to McFarland, who handed Harrison and Khalila the folders she had brought to the meeting. The folders held identical contents, and Tracey walked Harrison and Khalila through the material.

“But first,” Christine said after McFarland finished, “we have a higher priority mission for you. Iran has just received a shipment of one thousand advanced gas centrifuges from Russia.” Christine went on to explain how Iran would now be able to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb every two weeks instead of every twelve months.

When she finished, Harrison said, “I understand the problem, but not where Khalila and I come in.”

Christine answered, “The president wants to avoid a direct military attack on Iranian facilities. We’d prefer something stealthy, such as the Stuxnet virus that was discreetly injected into the computer software controlling Iran’s previous centrifuges. Unfortunately, the Iranians have significantly improved their defenses against cyber strikes, so a more direct approach is required.”

McKinnon took over from Christine. “You’ll team up with several other agency members. Mission details will be provided upon your arrival in the Middle East. Your qualifications are obvious, Jake; you’ll be joining several former U.S. special operations force personnel. Khalila will accompany the team due to her linguistic skills, as she is fluent in Farsi and the other prevalent languages in the region.”

“When do we leave?” Harrison asked.

“This afternoon. Your travel arrangements to the Middle East have already been made. The details are on the last sheet in your folders.”

After a momentary lull, the DDO added, “You know the drill, Jake. You’re being assigned to the special operations group within the special activities center. Pick up your ID and check out a weapon and any other gear you need. Any other questions?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Well, then,” McKinnon said, “we’ll let you and Khalila get started.”

After wishing them good luck, Christine and her deputy directors left the conference room, leaving Harrison and Khalila behind.

Harrison turned to his former — and present — partner, but she spoke first, keeping their conversation perfunctory as usual.

“Get your gear and I’ll pick you up at the entrance.”