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“So after she left the CIA, we dated and eventually married.”
Aria cleared her throat, then asked, “Could there still be someone out there, not so happy with her involvement?”
“We took out the pharmacists and gathered as much of the product as we could find, but honestly at that moment, my attention was focused on my partner.”
“Did you two go in alone?” Ghost asked.
“No, not for the takedown. We had backup. That’s when I met my new partner, Vanessa. She was a part of the cleanup team. Since she was aware of the mission, my superiors later assigned her to me.”
“Tell us about Vanessa,” Ivy instructed.
“Not much to tell. We hadn’t met until that mission. She and the rest of the cleanup crew were involved in the investigation into Johnston’s death, which was ruled a homicide.”
“So the equipment was tampered with,” Aria stated.
Nodding, Carter continued. “It was hard for me to grasp. We kept our gear with us at all times.”
“And when you left, maybe to have dinner… what then?” Chaos asked.
“We never left at the same time. We were doing twenty-four seven surveillance on the warehouse. We weren’t in a highly populated area, and they had their own hired guns. We took point after the second crew arrived. We breached when there were less on duty, both in security and in the warehouse. Johnston and I were going to stay and see where the others would migrate to, but that all changed when Johnston died. It was all pushed forward, until Gwen provided us with an antidote. Together, Nessa and I were able to end the manufacturing, which resulted in a loss of product. Any of them could have beef with me.”
“Or with Voodoo, if they came to know about her antidote,” Ghost said.
“I can’t see how.”
“She was on location, doing her analysis. It’s reasonable to assume that the men had scouts too. She had basically put a target on her back,” Ghost added.
“But that still doesn’t explain the tampered equipment. Was Johnston targeted? If so, why him and not you both?”
“I’ve wondered that every day since. Our gear was in our packs. I guess they could’ve been wrongly identified, but doubtful. Johnston’s bag had white stitching. I used to tell him he was sending everyone our location with the contrast thread.”
“Maybe he had, at least to the killer.”
“I’ve never understood why it was him and not me. We were both highly trained, and Johnston had more to lose, with having a wife and son waiting for him at home. I had no one.”
The room was quiet, then Byte broke the silence.
“We need to look into his background. Like you said, CC, he had more to lose.”
“CC?” Carter asked.
“Cowardly Carter,” Chaos recalled.
Ignoring their sidebar conversation, Ivy shared her thoughts. “I also want to investigate everyone involved in the mission, from your superiors to the barkeeper at your hotel. If I was to guess, the tampering happened in either of two locations. One, at the CIA, and two, at the hotel.”
“The CIA?” Aria asked.
“Why would someone within the agency want to kill Johnston?” Chaos asked.
“I’m not sure, but I want to know if the same person wanted Voodoo out of the picture.”
“That would be a long game,” Seven stated.
“And a patient mastermind. Those aren’t easy to find. It’s easier when they are quickdraw,” Ivy said.
“Alright, I’ll write out everyone I can think of. It’s been years.”
“Give us somewhere to start and Byte and I can get a roster on the CIA side,” Chaos offered.
