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“Your brother knew I had it, and from time to time, I’d visit. But I wanted something simple and quiet. I wanted somewhere no one could find me, not even your brother, and this place is it.”
Evie exited the truck and walked toward the front door of the ranch style home. She was thirty feet from the front steps when I called out to her. “I wouldn’t take another step if I was you.”
She halted in her tracks and turned to face me. “Why? You got land mines in the ground?”
“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “Worse, Mildred.” Evie narrowed her brows and pursed her lips, waiting for me to respond further. “Mildred is the eighty-three-year-old lady that rents my house. If you step one foot closer, the dog will bark, and then she will come out of the house and ask a thousand questions I’d prefer not to answer. Just follow me.”
Taking Evie's hand, I tugged her toward the sidewalk leading to the back of the house and then down the gangway to the water's edge, where my boat was docked. Seeing the forty-two-foot Hatters yacht anchored at the end, Evie halted, tugging her hand from mine.
“And that,” she pointed, “is inconspicuous. I think someone will notice that huge thing down there and ask questions.”
Grasping her hand, we made our way further down the gangway. “People think it belongs to Mildred’s son.”
“Wait, I’m confused. Who is Mildred's son?”
“Me, of course. Phil Rudd.” I stepped aboard, and Evie followed me. I spent ten minutes showing her around and how to work everything. Once I was confident she would be fine, I broke the news. “I’m going to leave you here for a few days. I’ve got to head back to DC and figure out what’s happening. But before I leave, I’ll ensure you have everything you need.”
Half an hour later, I returned with a week's worth of groceries and two burner phones. Handing one to Evie, I laid the groundwork. “Call me every three hours. If I don’t hear from you, I will think something is wrong, do you understand?” She nodded her head. “I don’t expect you to call once you’ve gone to bed, but I’ll expect to hear from you first thing in the morning.”
“I got it, Max. I’m not a stupid child,” Evie pouted.
“I know you’re not.” I turned and grabbed the keys for the truck. “I’ll be back, and we’ll talk about that song you were singing in the shower when I get back.”
I dumpedthe stolen truck in a parking lot at the dock next to an old Oldsmobile I’d gotten for Mildred last year when hers broke. Before I left, I stopped by the house and told her that I had a friend staying on the boat and that she didn’t need to worry about her. She’d given me a kiss on the cheek and told me to be safe.
When I got to DC, I parked at the station, jumped on the Silver Line Metro, and headed to CIA headquarters. Once inside, I headed to Sawyer's office. Unfortunately, Ginny informed me that Sawyer had decided to work from home for the day. Thanking his secretary for her time, I decided it was time to pay my best friend a visit.
Sawyer never saw me coming. I’d snuck in through an upstairs bedroom window and stealthily made my way down the stairs. He’d been sitting at his dining room table working on his laptop and had his phone to his ear. His head turned to face me when he heard the slide of my gun forcing a bullet into the chamber.
“I’ll call you back, Peter,” Sawyer said and then disconnected. “I expected you to pay me a visit.”
“You have a lot of explaining to do, friend, and don’t you lie to me. I already know you’ve done plenty of it already. One, you forgot to tell me the whole reason I was in Russia. Two, you never went to Amsterdam, and last but not least, it appears you’re working with the Russian, Mr. Fedora hat man.”
“It’s not what it appears, Max. Just put the gun down, and we can talk. We’ve been friends since we were five. Do you think I’d honestly put you in danger and not tell you? Or that I’d sell out my country to work with the Russians?”
I took a step back but didn’t lower my gun. Pulling out a chair, I took a seat but kept my nine focused on his head. “Get to talking, Sawyer.”
“I sent you after Vladimir, but I didn’t tell you that Sergei, the older Russian you killed, worked for us, and I didn’t anticipate you would kill him. The letter you got from him had the information on the exchange point, but what he told Vladimir was a lie, and he led him to believe they were sending the Americans on a wild goose chase. Your mission was to retrieve the letter from Vladimir and send the message that we knew he was a double agent. You fucked that one up good, and I had to pivot in a new direction.”
I listened as Sawyer explained that the original man in the fedora was another agent he’d brought up to speed to assist with the interception of the HCNGB gas. When Lucas turned up dead, he knew something was wrong, so he needed me to focus on Evie while he got to the bottom of what was happening. The Amsterdam lie was necessary because he had to meet with the agent in the fedora, and once he did, it was evident that he was working with the other side, so he had to kill him and then take his place at the exchange.
“I’d never have been there at the warehouse if I hadn't killed my other agent. I promise you that. I never once fired a shot at you, and I couldn’t. You’re my oldest and dearest friend,” Sawyer explained. “If you still don’t believe me, then kill me now.”
I wanted to believe my friend with every fiber of my being. “Where is the gas now?”
“In the right hands at headquarters. Where is my sister? I went to your house, and all her belongings were there but no sign of her.”
I wasn’t ready to let on where I had stashed Evie. The place in Annapolis needed to remain a secret. “She’s safe. You asked me to protect her, and I will. When I decide it's safe, I’ll bring her to you.” Lowering my gun, I stared into my best friend's eyes. There would be no mistaking the seriousness of my following statement. “I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt, Sawyer. So here is what you will do to solidify your loyalty to me. You have twenty-four hours to deliver the two men with you at the drop to the marina in Edgewater. There is a boat docked in slip six. I’ll be on that boat.”
As I got on the Silver Line, my burner rang. “Hey beautiful, you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, you?”
“Good. I’ll see you soon. Oh, Evie.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the reason I stay alive.” I sang the words to her, knowing she’d pick up on their reference.
