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I didn’t care that the tears splashed over my cheeks. I needed AJ’s lips. The fire in his mouth. I had loved him like his soul was a part of mine. Whether this was hello or goodbye, I couldn’t separate it. We were entwined in a way that made it impossible to separate us without shredding a part of each of us.
He broke away. “Babe, I’ve got to tell you about Project Compass. Just say you’ll listen.”
I couldn’t look at him, but I knew he was right. I bowed my head. “All right. I’ll listen.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I’ve always been a recruiter,” AJ started.
“I know. I remember.”
“It’s changed over the years since we were together. I assemble teams now. I assess talent and recruit agents for their skill sets based on project needs. It’s very specific and high-level. Always classified.”
“Congratulations?”
He chuckled. “Thanks. That’s not where I was headed with that. I was given Project Compass to assemble.”
“Like a super hero gang?” I asked.
“Something like that.”
“I know you didn’t want me for the brawn. Clearly I play the nerdy hacker role.”
“Exactly. The sexy hacker.”
The plane hit a spot of turbulence and we were jostled into each other. I looked around, waiting for a sign that Beechum was going to change course or start our descent, but we seemed to keep the same altitude.
“There is something unique about Project Compass. Different from all the other projects I’ve worked on,” AJ continued.
“What’s that?”
“We don’t want our fingerprints on it. It’s beyond classified, Syd. It’s like it doesn’t exist.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s spear-headed by the Bureau but only four people know it exists. I’m one of the four.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered. There was no way for me to understand just how far the implications of this reached.
“They need you. Don’t forget that part. You have leverage. You have something to offer that they don’t have.”
I stared in bewilderment. “How can the FBI not have a hacker that can do the same thing I can?”
He laughed. “None of them have the balls to actually hack into the FBI like you do.”
“I did that to find my family. Not because I was trying to steal anything.” It was a defensive response, but everything was intensified in the cargo bay.
He eyed me. “What matters is that you did it. You broke through every firewall. Every security protocol they have in place. You waltzed in there like you had the highest clearance level. They don’t have anyone who can do that, that they can trust. You’re not a criminal. They know that.”
I didn’t know whether to feel honored or ashamed. Everything was a mixed bag of emotions right now. Staying alive was my top priority, and AJ was confusing that with national security secrets I had never considered having interest in before.
“What is it they want me to hack? What’s the point of Project Compass?”
“It’s a takedown, Syd. A takedown of the world’s top criminals. But the U.S. wants to stay clean. They need a team who can track on the ground and on the web the worst of the worst.”
“And you think that’s me? The web part?”
“I know it is.”
