Page 18 of Protecting Olivia

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Olivia answered.

“You’re very welcome.” Westinghouse turned to Tom. “Mr. President.”

Tom took the doctor’s outstretched hand. “Westy, thanks for all your help. We’ll be in touch.”

Once the doctor left the team went on alert, it was time to plan an op. We didn’t have time to mess around, the Bolivians were already two steps ahead of us.

Zane had his phone out and was already dialing. “Secure line nine. Call back in five. Stand by,”

“Copy, sir,” Rena’s voice came over the speakerphone. Z’s personal assistant was a saint. She was used to Z’s curt orders.

Zane slid his finger across the screen to disconnect without further instruction and tossed it on the desk.

Z was silent for a moment, I knew he was weighing his options. This was new territory for us. We had a civilian in the room that couldn’t be out of our sight. That made planning an op and speaking freely difficult.

“Olivia, we need to talk,” Zane started, obviously having made his decision. Tom nodded his approval and Z continued. “You’re going to hear and see things that you shouldn’t. However, it’s unavoidable. You’re not to share any of it with anyone. Not your mother, not Peter, or Erin. Not any fucking person outside of this room. Are we clear?”

“Yes.”

“Crystal clear? This is not a game. You talk, people die, and that will be on you.”

Olivia’s face paled, and she looked at Tom.

“What Zane is so eloquently trying to say is.” Tom’s tone was laced with condemnation. He didn’t like the way Zane was talking to Olivia any more than I did. “Is that it’s important that you never speak about any of this. Not your kidnapping, not anything you may hear. And you are not to try and contact anyone while you’re gone. I will be the only person outside of this room who knows where you are. It has to be this way, kiddo. I know it is scary and confusing. I wish there was another way. But you cannot be left unprotected.”

“Crystal clear,” she whispered, her voice shaky. I wanted to throat punch Z for scaring her even more than she already was.

Tex’s latest intel showed the Bolivians had more information about Peter Newton, Pamela Cox, and Olivia than we’d originally thought. They had been gathering information and planning this for months. The house we were led to was indeed a trap. Not that we hadn’t already known that and prepared for it. The body in the wall? A fucked-up gift from the cartel. Timothy Clark, our missing CIA analyst; further showing us they’d been watching the team as well.

Zane’s phone vibrated on the desk, and he picked it up. “We good?” he asked.

“Roger,” Tom answered.

Zane entered his security code to unlock his phone and answered, “Go.”

“Crash code of the day – Napa sixer,” Rena answered.

“Where’s Jake?” Z inquired.

Jake was another analyst employed by Z corps. He and Garrett were our information specialists. If we needed intel, they found it.

“Here, Z,” Jake came on the line.

“Mission shift. I need everything you can find on Gomez and any known associates. I want everything from his Capos and Lieutenants to his runners and territory leaders. Dig so far up his ass it hurts. And I want him to know we’re doing it. Leave him a trail. I need him to scramble. Start the kill chain and plant doubt.” Zane stopped for a moment and turned to Tom. “I am going to ask you to leave the room for a moment. Plausible deniability.”

“No,” the President answered.

“Tom, you need to leave the room. You asked me to take care of this. And I will, but it won’t be ethical and it won’t be legal. You have to leave,” Zane tried again.

“Boy, when have I ever left your balls hanging in the wind? Never. And I won’t start now. You may speak freely.” Tom wasn’t going to back down. Zane always gave him the option to leave the room, but Tom never took it.

“I need a thumb drive that is in the AG’s personal home safe. Send in the Blue Team to retrieve it,” Zane instructed.

“A little B and E, they’ll be pleased. Anything else?” I could hear Jake’s fingers clicking on his keyboard as he waited.

“All information is to be sent to Garrett, SAT COMM one. Red is black. All communication is B230. Operation dirt diver is a go,” Zane finished.

“Copy that.” Jake disconnected.