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“Yes. Thank you.”
“Do you have a place to stay while you’re here?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Figured so. Also, you should know that cell service is shoddy in Falcon Creek, as it is anywhere in Alaska, really.”
“I have a SAT phone.”
“Perfect.”
Resting my elbows on the table, I steepled my fingers. “The intel Astor gave me on this job is thin. I want to know everything you know about my target. I know that she’s an informant for Black Cell and married to their head guy, but that’s literally it.”
Leo shook his head. “I’m sorry to say the information on this one has been as shoddy as the cell service.”
“No shit.”
“Here’s what I know. Sophia wasn’t on anyone’s radar until she showed up here in Alaska. Her laptop—which is no longer active—was flagged for multiple reasons, including communication with an alias that the government knew belonged to someone within Black Cell. That person is no longer alive, FYI. From there, they began tracking her, and using facial recognition software, they were able to identify her in several photographs with Kusma Petrova in Russia. It was then confirmed that she was his wife.”
I sipped my coffee, having trouble picturing the woman I’d had such a visceral reaction to marrying a monster like him.
Leo continued. “Sophia moved to Falcon Creek from Russia three years ago. Bought a house, got a job, settled in. She appears to be a hermit. Wakes up early, goes to work, then straight home. Wash, rinse, repeat. Oh, and she likes books. Has, like, a million in her house.”
“Does she live with anyone?”
“No.”
“What about friends? Boyfriend?”
“Kusma would kill anyone she had an affair with.”
“So, that’s a no. What about friends?”
“Also a no.”
“How about siblings?”
“There are several photographs of her with a girl around her age, taken years ago. The two resemble each other. The girl’s name is Aleks; that’s all we know.”
“That’s unhelpful. Have you tailed Sophia?”
“Yes, in preparation for your arrival. I began the moment Astor called me, as were his strict instructions.”
“When was that?”
“Six days ago. I dropped everything and have been tailing her nonstop. He kinda called in a personal favor on this one.”
“He’s good at that.”
Leo snorted, then took a deep sip, his hand trembling slightly as he lifted the glass to his lips. “Again, I don’t know much more than you do. You’d have to talk to someone in the DOD.”
“Who?”
Leo shrugged. Picking up on my frustration, he continued. “Surely, this isn’t your first mission going in blind.”
“No.”But it’s the first that doesn’t feel right in my gut.
“I remember those days,” Leo said, reminiscing. “I was Army Special Forces. Led more than my fair share of half-baked missions. Broke my back on the last. One second, I’m Rambo, and the next I’m disabled and kicked out of the only thing I ever loved. Since then, I’ve had a total of four surgeries, plus years of therapy, but I would still go back in a heartbeat if they’d take me.”
