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Benson chuckled darkly. “They’re safe for now. I’ve been listening in, and it appears they’ve checked into a Mumbai hotel under a rock-solid Darkwater alias.”
Kaiser grunted. “Which hotel?”
Benson’s eyes narrowed. “I’d rather not say.”
Kaiser snorted. “What, you still think I might be going behind your back on this? Hell,Iwas the one who brought this toyou, John! You recruited O’Donnell, and I figured you should clean up your own mess.”
Benson snorted back at him. The earlier thought that perhaps Kaiser had been subconsciously drawn to call in Darkwater seemed ludicrous now. “You brought this to me because it suits you to have an off-the-books team handle Indy O’Donnell. I’m doing it because Darkwater owes you some favors for the help you’ve provided.”
“For the cover-ups, you mean? Yeah, no shit Darkwater owes me. But finish this O’Donnell thing clean and you can consider your debt paid off. We’re done after this.”
Benson frowned, a chill racing up his spine, reminding him of that troubling flicker he’d seen in Kaiser’s eyes before they’d gotten distracted talking about the twins. “Are you cutting ties with me, Martin? Is Langley off-limits for me once the O’Donnell mission is done?”
Kaiser rubbed the back of his head, shifted in his seat. “Hell, Langley might be off-limits for me too, if I don’t rein it in.” He sighed, shook his head. “Reinyouin, John. Or cut you off.”
Benson’s frown cut deeper. “That’s what Robinson called about, isn’t it? These rumors about Darkwater aren’t just hurtinghisreputation. They’re hurting yours too.”
Kaiser nodded grimly. “Robinson’s getting some pressure as head of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Apparently there are some parties who want him to recommend that the current President fire me and appoint a new CIA Director.”
Benson took a long breath, huffed it out. Then he shook his head. “Robinson’s still in your corner. He can hold his ground until he’s in the White House. Then it becomes his call, his choice, his damn decision.” He ran his fingers through his hair again, bit his lower lip. “Look, maybe I can talk to Robinson. Take Gale over there with me. She and Delilah are close like sisters. Hell, Gale is the reason Marcus Robinson and Princess Delilah got together. Gavin and Gale are in London, but one phone call and they’ll fly down to DC.”
Kaiser shook his head gently. “You still don’t get it, John. Darkwater is the problem here. Seven years of insane missions that have left smoking trails of death and destruction. Eight cover-ups and counting. You think the rest of the CIA hasn’t figured out that old man Kaiser is using the Agency to clean up after his buddy Benson? You know as well as I do there are ambitious CIA men and women itching to see me gone, waiting for their chance to take the corner office, rise to the top of the stack. And this adoption has got people talking too. We covered up what happened in the Valley from the public, sure. But you can’t really hide a cover-up that big from the folks in the shadows. Same with the Diana Jackson thing in Somalia. My enemies have too much ammo against me, John. Robinson’s feeling the pressure too, and he wants me to back off, cut ties with Darkwater, kill your access to CIA databases and all that. And Robinson doesn’t even know about the O’Donnell thing yet. So yeah, I admit it. I did call you because I want the O’Donnell thing handled quietly, without anyone in the CIA or Senate Intelligence Committee finding out. But you need this just as much as I do. If I’m on thin ice, it means you are too. Darkwater would have been dead in the water after the first damn mission if I hadn’t been there covering your ass. It’s the end of the line, John. Indy O’Donnell is the last Darkwater mission, so make it count.”
Benson tried to swallow the sickness rising up his throat. He’d worried things were heading in this direction. For a secret group, Darkwater was developing too much of a reputation. On one hand it was a good thing because it drew in the right sort of men from Special Forces, created those vortices of energy that set the great games into motion. But on the other hand it was spiraling out of control, potentially dragging good men like Kaiser and Robinson—and their families—into it as collateral damage.
And Kaiser was right—without his support in the CIA, Darkwater would be seriously compromised.
Just when they were so damn close, Benson thought as he felt the office walls closing in on him. If things played out, Robinson would be President and Delilah would be First Lady, which meant Kaiser and Benson would have a man and woman of like-minded commitment in the damn White House!
What could they all accomplish for America and the world?
What kind of wild missions would the universe spin up for Benson and his merry band of dangerous men and determined women withthatkind of power standing behind them?
Benson had to find out.
There was no way he could let this go.
No way he could let this end.
This washisdamn destiny.
It was why Sally had been taken from him.
Why he’d been set free from having to fear for her precious life as he barreled down the dark road to his private destiny.
Sally’s death set Benson loose on the world and its darkness, and he wasn’t going to let that be for nothing.
Not when they were so damn close.
“We’ve played power games in the CIA for forty years,” Benson reminded his old colleague. “And we destroyed anyone who tried to cross us.”
“There is nowe, John. You left the CIA seven years ago. And yes, I know how to play the damn game. Of course I do. But eventually all great players hit the wall. Maybe it’s my time.” Kaiser took a breath, let it out slow, a hint of wistfulness in the exhale, a bit of melancholy, a touch of yearning. “I’m suddenly a new father again. Alice is back with me. Maybe this is your woo-woo universe sending me a message that it’s time to turn my attention to family and home—two things I ignored the first time around. Maybe I’m getting a second chance. And maybe I need to take it.”
Benson stared, not sure whether to laugh or cry. “That’s a lot of maybes in there.” He rubbed his jaw feverishly, seeking the right words to talk his old buddy back from the edge. Benson knew he was a bastard for doing it, but no way was Kaiser going to be a good husband and father if he turned his back on his own individual destiny to do it.
Besides, Alice had always known that about Martin Kaiser.
Just like every Darkwater woman knew that about her man.
