Page 32 of The Ghost

I reached for the door, my heart beating wildly. I half expected him to block my way, to force my hand and make me hurt him. But he had the sense to stay right where he was, sitting on the bed, staring up at me.

I hated him in that moment. I hated myself for ever falling for his lies. I hated the CIA and Dark Sparrow for keeping me in the dark, and I hated New Dawn for taking over my life. The only person I didn’t hate was Theo.

Wherever he was, I hoped he was having more luck than I was. I couldn’t wait to see him again so that I could debrief. He was the only one I trusted, and he might have a novel perspective on Ryan’s cover story that would help me make sense of what had just happened.

I didn’t think Ryan had amnesia. Yes, he had a dangerous job, and it was likely he had been hurt. But to bounce around a CIA stronghold for three years with no memory stretched credibility.

I pulled the door open and barged out, leaving Ryan to pick up the pieces on his own. I wasn’t sure why he was so hell-bent on getting back together again, but something told me it wasn’t out of love. He wanted something from me. Maybe the same thing that the government wanted from me. Maybe it was all about Mr. Ashcroft and my early experiences with New Dawn. If that was the case, I might be in over my head. I needed to cool down and find somewhere to think. If only Theo was back from his mission and available to talk. I really needed a friend right about now.

Chapter 15

Theo

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BY THE TIME I CAUGHT up with Regg, he was no longer in Finland. I was halfway there when a new set of coordinates were routed to my navigation system. I checked the authenticity and found that they were from Dark Sparrow. So I made the course correction toward Norway instead.

I touched down outside of Oslo, at the closest Dark Sparrow headquarters. From there, I took a car into the city and dropped it off about three blocks from my target. I was well equipped with surveillance gear and weapons. It felt marvelous to be back in the saddle again.

For so long, Clark and I had been running, making do with whatever clothing and gear we could find on our way. To have my hands on some real, authentic government equipment again was remarkable.

Rain fell as the clock ticked toward midnight. I had an earpiece in with a Dark Sparrow operative guiding me along the way. I didn’t know the man, but I reasoned that he couldn’t possibly be worse than Regg. At least he wouldn’t be trying to kill me or frame me. At least, that’s what I hoped.

“Take a left,” the man in my ear said.

I reached the next corner and did as I was told. It had been a while since I’d been in Oslo, and never in that particular neighborhood. I was flying blind and relying on Dark Sparrow’s intel to guide me. I walked up on a high rise building that looked like a set of apartments.

“Around the back is a service entrance,” my technician said.

I snuck through the alley to the back of the building and found the door he was talking about. It was locked. Going down on one knee, I pulled out my lockpicks. Making quick work of the low-tech device, I gained entrance. I was past the point of plausible deniability at that point. Anyone who saw me would know I didn’t belong.

I wore dark clothes, but nothing completely black. As long as I didn’t look like a burglar in direct light, I would be safer. I could blend into the shadows just as easily in blue and gray. Before the technician guided me to the right staircase, I could hear shouting down below. It was obviously some kind of party or gathering, and that was likely where I would find my target.

I eased my way down two flights of stairs to a sub-basement, following the noise. At the bottom, I was faced with a burly guard, who looked like he had just stepped out of the ring with a major prize fighter.

“Password?” he grumbled.

“Password?” I repeated, hoping that my contact would know the answer.

“Sunrise,” the technician whispered.

“Sunrise,” I repeated in English.

The bodyguard stood aside, allowing me entrance. I pressed ahead, pretending like I was on the guest list. I had no idea what I would be walking into, but I could tell from the raised voices that it was pretty rowdy.

Inside, the ceiling was low. The air smelled like mold and sweat. There was no furniture and nothing but a cement floor stretching away into the distance. A small crowd was gathered in the basement, euros in every fist. I heard a scuffle, and when people on the front lines drew back, I caught a glimpse of two fighters in a painted ring.

They were each bare-chested, one of the guys wearing bandages on his hands. Blood streaked both faces, and there were bruises evident from fights a long time ago. One guy was massive, but the other was cut, so it looked like they were evenly matched.

I scanned the arena, searching for my prey. If he wasn’t there, I could wait for him. It wasn’t a difficult scene to blend into. As long as I didn’t call attention to myself, I could move past the spectators to get a better view.

There weren’t any women, and most of the men looked like they had served time. I wasn’t shocked that Regg would have found his way to this rat hole. He was just the kind of guy who would put money on an illegal fight. Even back when we were friends, I knew his tendencies ran toward violence.

Pretending to pay attention to the fight, I circled the ring. It was drawn on the cement in white paint, providing almost no separation between the fighters and the crowd. A cheer went up when one of the opponents landed a punch. And there was an answering boo from the opposite side of the room.

I caught sight of him in one corner, talking secretively to a shorter man. He had his hand out, asking for payment. It looked like a separate transaction that didn’t have anything to do with the fight. Not that I cared.

After all the time I’d spent running from the government, accused of crimes I didn’t commit, I had found him. I narrowed my eyes and closed in on him before he could react. He looked up at the last minute, so focused on his shakedown of the other person that he didn’t see me at first.