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X shook her head. She wouldn’t be easily swayed. “We’ve already established the recording is outside the jurisdiction of our warrant. Even if we say we obtained it from a source, Virginia is a one-party consent state, so Kovac or Calder would have to have agreed to it.”
“Yes, if it were going in front of a judge.” I glanced at TJ. His expression was also unreadable, which was disconcerting. At least he was no longer scowling. “But if a journalist were to receive the recording from an anonymous source, and it turned out to be the last piece of evidence in the course of a long investigation, based on notes collected over the past year between Aiden and me...”
“You want to write your story, your real story, about Kovac and the Carbonados, with a powerful senator’s name thrown in for good measure?” TJ returned to scowling. “Would you like us to paint the target on your back in hunter orange or blood red?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him, but my message was for everyone in the room. “The danger in my work can’t be compared to yours, but it hasn’t been nonexistent. And once Luka goes down, the threat from him goes away, but Calder’s going to feel vulnerable, like a cornered animal. He might start fighting like one, and whether he believes I was part of your operation or just a witness to it, I’ll be in more danger than ever.”
“Unless you’re in WITSEC,” Penn said.
“Damnit, Penn,” TJ said.
I laid my hand over TJ’s, beyond caring what X or anyone else thought of my relationship with him. I needed to touch him, to remind him we were on the same team, and to convince him this was a decision I could—and had to—make for myself.
“I’ve realized that was back on the table from the minute Kovac marched me out of the guest room last night. I’m asking for one last chance to fight for my own life.” With my heart in my throat, I hoped he could read what I was trying to convey to him through the warm spot of connection between our intertwined fingers. I wanted to fight for him, too, for the possibility of a future together. “Do whatever you need to do to keep me safe in the meantime, but let me write the article.”
He nodded, and I knew that whatever happened next, he was, and would remain on, my side. “I can’t make the decision alone. This might take down Calder, but it won’t save HEAT. In fact, it might make things worse for us.” He stood and walked over to X. “You said you would need to cut off the limb right now to save the rest of the agency.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but apparently, everyone else did, based on the way they frowned and stared at the table, their own hands, the empty screen across the room, anywhere but at TJ and X.
“Fuck me,” X muttered, which drew the attention of the team back to her. “From this moment on, I can’t give you any other HEAT personnel. You won’t have any backup.”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. That sounded bad.
“Here’s what I can give you before I cut you adrift,” X continued. “I’ll get the warrant issued for Kovac and his top lieutenants today.”
“The FBI will want to execute the US arrests before dawn on Monday,” Kessler said, her knowledge—I now knew—stemming from her experience there. “They’ll probably make a plan with Interpol to do the same.”
X nodded. “I’ll inform DC’s FBI field office that there’s a delicate situation regarding Ms. Armand and make sure they and the surrounding offices are on standby to provide backup if you need it. But you know what that would do.”
“If we call for the cavalry, we’ll set off an investigation of this unauthorized operation,” TJ said.
I stood and looked around the room. “Unauthorized? I don’t understand.”
Kessler leaned across the conference table and touched my hand. “We’re about to support an investigative journalist in outing a sitting senator, one who is on the subcommittee that oversees this covert agency, and we don’t have any legally obtained evidence of probable cause to do it.” She glanced around the table. “The team will have to go rogue to execute this operation.”
TJ turned toward X. “On that note...”
X nodded. “If you need anything that I might be able to provide,” she made eye contact with each HEAT team member, “reach out to me through back channels.” TJ held out his hand, and she shook it, then laid her second hand on top of his. “It’s been a privilege. I’ll see you on the other side.”
Her words chilled me, but no one else flinched. I clasped my hands in front of me and watched her leave.
“Jensen,” TJ said.
The tech team leader opened his laptop and typed on the keyboard. The large screen at the front of the room came to life, showing a slide that read “Operation Sinking Ship.”
“Really, Jensen?” Li said.
“He’s not wrong,” Penn replied.
TJ stood off to the side of the screen. “There’s one more order of business before we get started. I’m with Ashlee on this, but I want to make it clear that not a single one of you is required to participate in this operation. In fact, doing so could mean the end of your time at HEAT, maybe even in this business.”
Another chill ran down my spine while I waited to see if there would be any takers, and pondered what it would mean for my story, my safety, and my future if there weren’t.
“Gates of hell,” Dr. Bond said, and TJ nodded as though he understood her meaning. “I’m in,” she said, and now I understood, as well.
Penn and Kessler said, “I’m in,” in unison, followed by the remaining four.
I blinked back tears. TJ laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “All right,” he said. “Let’s make our plan. We can’t have HEAT backup, but at least a few of us can call in favors for some off-the-books support.”
