Declan O’Neill answered. “Hey, Cole. Got anything new?”
“Heard from CJ.”
“Good to know,” Declan said. “Was wondering when she’d make contact.”
“Dig into the Homeland Security Advisor, Chris Carpenter, since he’d texted Terrence Tully prior to the NSC incident.”
“I’ll get Jonah on it.” Declan paused. “Did she say anything else?”
“No.” Cole explained what had gone down with messages on the dark web and Trinity finding her at the library in Arlington.
“Does she need a place to stay? Charlie would happily put her up for as long as necessary.”
Cole shook his head, though Declan couldn’t see it. “She said she has a place for now. I gotta tell you, this assignment is killing me. How do I protect a woman I can’t see?”
Declan chuckled. “It’s like she’s a ghost. Most likely she’s gun-shy.”
Cole snorted. “I know I would be if I had a target painted on my back. Trinity doesn’t like to lose one of their own.”
“To Trinity she’s a loose end that needs to be tied up.”
“With a bullet.” Cole’s jaw tightened.
“That’s why you need to get closer to her and keep that from happening.”
“Tell me about it.” Declan was preaching to the choir. If only Cole could get close enough. Then he might be able to do his job.
In the meantime, all he could do was continue to sift through clues and data to find the Director.
Until CJ came out of the shadows, she was on her own.
Contrary to what she’d told Cole, CJ didn’t have a place to stay that first night after abandoning her apartment. She’d slept behind some bushes in a quiet neighborhood, leaving just before sunup to sneak into the twenty-four-hour gym she’d joined, paying for her annual membership in cash. After weight lifting and a run on the treadmill, she hit the shower and changed into clean clothes. She didn’t think she’d be able to come back to the gym. Trinity had come too close the day before. If she was smart, she’d leave the DC area and start a new life in a different state. Hell, a different country wouldn’t be far enough.
After a breakfast of a protein bar she had stashed in her backpack, she went in search of a new place to live. She’d done her own homework about the man assigned to protect her. Cole McCastlain lived in a town house in Arlington.
Last night, CJ learned that a town house a few doors down from the one Cole lived in was being sublet. The owners had just left on a world cruise and wouldn’t be back for six months. She paid the deposit with money she’d earned designing web pages, gave her fake identification and quickly passed the background check. By noon, she had moved into the fully furnished home.
She didn’t waste time settling in. While Cole and Declan’s Defenders searched the web for information on Chris Carpenter, CJ would follow the man and learn what she could about his habits and who he talked to. She might be chasing shadows, but the text he’d sent to Tully prior to the NSC assault was all she had to go on. It could have meant nothing. The text could have been a legitimate effort to make sure all was in place, nothing more.
All other coordination for the meeting had been done via emails throughout the weeks prior to the get-together. A text would have been appropriate for a last-minute adjustment to the arrangements. Or it could have been information regarding the attack.
Though CJ had a laptop and could access the internet by tapping into Wi-Fi at internet cafés or libraries, she couldn’t delve into the dark web anymore. Somehow, Trinity had found her and traced her IP address to the library. She could continue to hack into phone records and other sources of information, but they were getting too close.
Needing additional clothing and disguises, she shoved her hair up into a ball cap, dressed in a long gray sweater that hid her figure, and sunglasses. Disguised as best she could, CJ left the town house to visit a couple thrift shops. She found items that would help her to blend in and make her as invisible as possible. She even found a skirt suit that might come in handy if she wanted to get closer to some of the politicians on Capitol Hill. The total of her purchases barely made a dent in her cash. Afterward, she made a quick trip to the grocery store and stocked up on a few items she’d need to keep from having to eat fast foods. Once she’d unloaded the food and staples in the refrigerator and pantry, she put on a black wig, a different pair of glasses and a hooded sweatshirt and went out to scout the neighborhood thoroughly. Knowing where to go on short notice was always a good idea.
Stepping out on the sidewalk, she started toward Cole’s place. On the bottom step of the next town house, a stooped old woman stood with one hand on a cane, the other on a leash. At the end of the leash was a white ball of fluff.
“Good afternoon,” the woman called out with a smile. “You must be the one subletting the Anderson place.”
Normally, CJ didn’t stop to talk to anyone. But the woman and her dog didn’t appear to pose a threat. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Rebecca.” She didn’t bother holding out her hand since the older woman’s were both occupied.
The woman nodded. “Gladys Oliver.”
CJ squatted beside the dog. “And who do we have here?” The little dog wiggled and jumped up on CJ, excited to meet someone new.
“Sweet Pea, named after one of my favorite flowers,” Gladys said. “Down, girl.” Her gentle tug on the dog’s leash had little effect. “My granddaughter got me the dog, but she’s still a puppy and needs a lot more exercise than these old bones can give her. I’m thinking I might have to give her back.” The woman’s brow furrowed. “She’s such a sweet thing. I hate to give her up.”
“I’m going for a walk now,” CJ said. “I could take her with me, and she could burn off some energy, if you like.”
The old woman’s blue eyes brightened. “You would do that?”
“Certainly.”
“I mean, it’s not like you’re really a stranger. I know where you live and all.” Gladys handed over the leash. “She’s really no trouble. Just needs to move a little faster than I do. If you’re sure it’s not a bother...”
“We’ll do just fine together.” CJ smiled at Gladys. “We’ll be back in twenty or thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be inside. Just knock when you’re back. I’ll come to the door.” Gladys leaned down to pat the little dog on the head. “You be a good girl for Rebecca,” she said and scratched Sweet Pea behind the ears.
Her disguise complete with a dog in tow, CJ walked along the sidewalk, letting Sweet Pea take her time sniffing every tree, mailbox, bush and blade of grass along the way. The dog’s interest in her surroundings gave CJ plenty of time to study the homes, the street and places Trinity agents could be hiding, or where she could hide if she needed to.
Soon, she passed the town house where Cole lived. It looked much like the rest of the homes on the street. Two-story, narrow front, a four-foot-wide gap between it and the townhomes on either side, which she walked through to learn more. A five-foot-tall wooden fence surrounded a postage-stamp-size backyard. Nothing CJ couldn’t scale, if she had to. Without actually climbing the fence, she couldn’t see what the back of the house had to offer in the way of doors, windows or trees. It was comforting to know he was only a few doors down from where she was staying.
She moved on, back to the front, studying the other houses and alleys all the way to the end of the long street where it