I realized Lang had been digesting a different piece of the information when he said, “Kompromat on that many people must be a national security risk, which is HEAT’s turf. So, if the drugs are tied to Anson, that means Riker’s drug ring falls under our jurisdiction.”
Kat clasped her hands behind her back. “Yes and no.”
We collectively groaned.
“The FBI and DEA are holding hands on this one,” she continued. “They want a piece of the action and they’re being very difficult about it, so X has made a deal.”
“Can’t wait,” Wheeler said, then sighed.
“Trust me, we’re all feeling the pain,” said Pasco. “Now I have to play footsie with their IT departments to access the data they’ve collected through secret warrants.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “If we had this case free and clear, they’d have to turn over everything immediately.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Kat said. “In the meantime, I need all of you to remember we are playingnice. All efforts targeting Riker and his accomplices will either be coordinated through the FBI or a heads up will be given to them before we execute any operations, as a courtesy.”
“Meaning they get veto power over our mission,” I said. I was already pissy about not being able to run straight at Cami’s ex. Now there was yet another barrier erected between us. “Please tell me the FBI isn’t already making a back-door deal with Riker.”
“Not according to X’s sources or mine,” she said.
That was at least something. X was possibly the best-connected person in DC, and Kat had been FBI for a few years before she’d come to HEAT. They both went way back with some powerful people. But there was still an elephant in the room. There were tens of thousands of drug cases in the country at any given time. Why the hell was this one so important to the other agencies? Plus, nothing in our briefing thus far had risen to level of being classified. There was something more coming, something big.
“Why are we in the SCIF for this meeting, Kat?” I asked.
She nodded to Pasco, who tapped on his keyboard. A new image popped up on the screen.
“Because of this man,” she answered.
“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Lang said, as if some of us might not recognize the highest-ranking military officer in the country and advisor to the President.
“Fuck me,” Hayes muttered. “We’re not going to like this mission, are we?”
The lead ball sinking in my gut agreed with him. “Are you telling us there’s kompromat on the general?” I asked.
Kat shook her head, and I relaxed. “Not the general. His son.”
Shit. That wasn’t much better. In fact, it might be much, much worse. People could be coerced into doing things to protect their kids that they’d never consider doing to save their own skins.
“The son has a taste for expensive designer drugs,” Pasco said. “Word on the dark web is he’s looking for a reliable supplier for himself and his high-profile friends,” Pasco said.
Lang folded his arms over his chest and stared at the screen. “How long has X known Anson and his cult are tied up in this kompromat ring?” He glanced at Kat. “I’m guessing at least a year, since that’s when she put together the plan for this team at this location.”
Kat met his steely gaze with one of her own. “I’m not privy to X’s innermost thoughts or machinations, but it’s safe to assume. And before you ask, I was briefed on—and not given permission to share—this information about six months ago.”
“About the time Savannah needed my help to deal with her ex-business partner who’d gotten drawn into Anson’s orbit,” Hayes said, anger darkening his face. “Did X set up Savannah to draw me into it and bring me into HEAT?”
“No,” Kat answered emphatically. “But she’s very opportunistic, a master chess player, if you will, and your interest in helping Savannah brought you on to X’s radar.”
I understood exactly how Hayes felt. “And what about Cami, how does she fit on X’s chess board?” I asked
“She wasn’t targeted by HEAT, either,” Kat said. “But we suspect the dog rings working with WCI will target veterinarians in their areas for access to drugs or even animal surgery. It’s not difficult to imagine a high-profile veterinarian like Cami would have crossed our path eventually.”
Hayes and I exchanged a glance. We’d probably neverknow the whole truth, but that was the price of working for a covert agency. This was the work. Take it or... Well, we couldn’t leave it, not without a hell of a lot of red tape.
“All right, on to assignments,” Kat said.
Lang and I would focus on deconstructing the logistics of the drug operation, from figuring out where else Riker and his accomplices might be to tracking down building blueprints, to monitoring and reviewing security camera footage, to identifying all the ways criminal elements could move people, drugs, and weapons. We’d feed our information to Pasco so he could develop an algorithm to predict future shipments.
“That’s it for now, but we’ll reconvene at 1600 to share updates,” Kat said.
“Wait,” I said, “we haven’t discussed any plan for taking Riker into custody.”
