Page 9 of Cash

“I need you and Lore to go to Wyoming.”

Wyoming was where the mysterious Black Team was headquartered. Their base of operations a heavily guarded secret even from those of us who worked at Z Corps.

“You’re sending Lore to the ranch?”

“She’s nothing if not a survivalist. I don’t trust her, but being a survivalist, she’ll know what will happen if she breathes a word about Black Team or about the ranch. And since her top priority is herself, she’ll take it to the grave.”

Lore’s priority certainly was Lore. But what Zane wasn’t saying was if she ousted the location of the ranch, the team would simply move to a different state. That was if they survived whatever attack that drove them off their land.

Risky move.

“What do you need from Bolin?”

Bolin Chen was Jun De’s brother. A man called Dutch had tracked him down and taken him prisoner. Not that being the brother of an MSS agent was a crime, but Bolin had racked up a laundry list of felonies by playing a role in the recent terrorist attacks among other things.

“Bolin’s gone. A Mr. Blue picked him up from Dutch this morning. There’s someone else there I need you to talk to.”

I waited for Zane to tell me more. When he remained silent, I pressed, “Are you going to keep me in suspense or tell me who we’re meeting?”

“An old friend. Goes by Shades. He has something I need.” Zane paused, shook his head, and continued. “Whatever he gives you, don’t let it out of your sight. Lore doesn’t touch it and it’s to be on your person at all times.”

I knew I’d get nothing else from Zane, so I didn’t pry.

“Copy.”

“Dutch is also providing safe passage for a woman named Irine Peterson, formerly Irinia Kikoin, a Russian translator. She has intel we need before Dutch takes her to start her new life.”

I didn’t ask why Dutch couldn’t get the intel from the woman and relay it to Zane or why whatever this guy Shades had couldn’t be sent via a courier or sent electronically.

He was the boss. I was the good sailor who followed orders.

Nothing more than a highly trained killing machine that had been taught not to question.

“Copy that. When do we leave?”

“As soon as you deal with the spooks.”

“Got it.”

I stood but stopped at the bottom of the stairs when Zane called my name.

“Don’t let those fuckers dally. I only have so much patience and self-control. I want those assholes off my property ASAP.”

To say Zane and the CIA had a checkered past would be an understatement. It was more of a love-hate relationship. Zane would work with the agency when it suited him, and the agency would put up with his hostile attitude when they needed him. Making the relationship even more interesting, Zane and most of his team, including me, Theo, Easton, Smith, and Jonas had worked for the CIA.

I didn’t like the bullshit any more than Zane did, but he wasn’t exaggerating. Zane only had one-sixteenth of the patience of a normal person and it had been slipping by the day. If whatever case officer they sent to pick up Rutte and Chen didn’t do a quick pick-up and dash, Zane would be down at the shed and there would more than likely be bloodshed.

So I told him, “Your wife has already assigned me babysitting duty because I was defending your right to use deadly force. I fear what other diabolical plan she’ll put into action if I don’t stop you from making a mess. So, keep your ass down here in the basement until I have those fuckers loaded up and on their way to Costa Rica or whichever hole they’ll be finding themselves in while they learn a fun new game called No Lube.”

Zane cracked a smile.

I wasn’t sure if it was me mentioning his wife and kids or me reminding him it wouldn’t be long before Rutte and Jun De were tortured until the agency thought they wrung every last piece of intel out of them.

His smile died when he growled, “I want this shit done.”

That meant he missed his wife and kids and wanted to get home. Not that his wife and kids were back in Annapolis—they along with the rest of the families were in safe houses in Tennessee and Kentucky.

I didn’t have anyone waiting for me. I had a spider planet that was probably very nearly dead. Another sign I couldn’t be responsible for keeping anything alive.