It was almost ten at night when Lynx pulled up to Emme’s building, where I’d been waiting for the last few hours. I walked over and opened the passenger door. After helping Emme out, I stuck my head back in the car. “Where have you been?”
“Dinner, not that it’s any of your business,” he spat.
“We need to talk.”
“She knows who I am,” he said, motioning to where Dr. Charles waited just inside the foyer.
“About Saint,” I spat back, slamming the door and stalking away. As livid as I was, I knew better than to let Emme see any more of my anger than she already had. Why had he divulged his identity to her? It made no sense.
Like earlier, I called Cope and told him what Lynx had said.
“What the fuck is he up to?”
“My question precisely.”
“I’ll follow up with Z about this, but, Irish, I suggest you be proactive with your own cover story before she digs any deeper. Regardless of what Lynx may have told her, stick to the story that the CIA put you in place in order to gain her as an asset.”
“What about Saint and Benjamin?”
“Since the CIA received the message, it makes perfect sense you would be read in on it. It also makes sense you, in turn, would read Lynx in.”
“Roger that.”
“I don’t need to tell you what it will mean for both of us if Dr. Charles figures out what you’re really doing undercover at MIT.”
“Understood.”
“You need to sell this and sell it good, Irish.”
After ending my call with Cope, I went up to Saint’s apartment where Lynx was staying. I read him in on the brush pass but cut him off when he began asking questions. “I need to speak with Dr. Charles.” I heard him ask why as I walked out, but I ignored him, walked over to her apartment, and knocked.
“Can I come in?” I asked when she pulled it open.
“Of course,” she said, waving me in. I noticed her look beyond me.
“He’s not with me. I asked for a few minutes on my own.”
“Okay. Can I get you anything?”
“No. I’m here to apologize.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. You’re doing your job.”
“Sometimes, the hardest part of being undercover is getting to know the people you work with and then feeling regret that the role you play in their lives isn’t real.”
“I understand. What happens now?”
“Nothing changes, except that you know who I really am, and that makes it harder on you. On the other hand, both Lynx and I are going to ask you to help us, and that we can be upfront about it, makes it easier for everyone.”
“Does anyone else know who you really are?”
“Only Dr. Baker.” The man was the head of the International Policy Program, so it had been necessary for Dr. Baker to approve us working undercover within IPP’s walls.
“Are you going to tell me what’s happening with Saint, or is Lynx?”
“He will.”
“Thank you for coming over to talk to me rather than waiting until tomorrow when it might be awkward.”
“It’s late. I should go.” She seemed accepting of what I considered a vague explanation. Giving her the chance to ask me more questions would compromise my real mission. Lynx’s mission was exactly what she believed both of ours to be—finding the British diplomat and the wayward MI6 agent that had been put on the man’s detail. I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised if we ultimately learned the two missing men were double agents.
Emme walked me to the door, but before I could walk out, she put her hand on my shoulder. When I turned, she hugged me. The relief I felt at her gesture was a reminder that I’d allowed myself to care far too much about her.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said, stepping out into the hallway. Instead of going back to Saint’s apartment, I waited for the elevator. The doors had just opened when Lynx brushed past me without a word.
I was walking through the lobby when I received another call from Cope.
“I’ve just ended calls with both Lynx and Z.”
Archer “Z” Alexander was the head of MI6, and thus Lynx and Saint’s boss.
“What happens next is Z’s call since it’s an MI6 agent and a British diplomat who are missing. He’s decided to bring in a third-party private intelligence firm to locate them.”
“Which firm?”
“They’re new. They call themselves the Invincibles Intelligence and Security Group.”
“I heard Decker Ashford joined up with them.” The man was an enigma and a genius when it came to intelligence technology. There wasn’t a single person in the business who hadn’t heard of him.
“He hasn’t made it official yet,” said Cope. “But if he’s brought in on this mission, it may not bode well for our investigation.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The guy doesn’t miss much.”
“I’ll just have to keep a low profile.”
“I’m thinking you should play up your infatuation with Dr. Charles. That way, if you seem too attentive, that explanation would be readily accepted.”
“Roger that,” I said, wondering which of the agents working this op Cope believed were the type to readily accept anything.
I ended the call and went across the street and a few doors down to a bar that had outdoor seating. I wasn’t there long before I saw Lynx walk up. The man looked as bone-tired as I was.
“You look like I feel,” I said, raising my pint to him. He waved and went in the bar’s main entrance. A few minutes later, he came out with a pint and a shot.
“I didn’t expect to see you again tonight,” I said when he pulled out a chair and sat down.
“Nor I, you.”
I decided to do as Cope suggested and play up my interest in Dr. Charles. “I guess I know why you asked how close Emme and I are this morning.”
“It isn’t what you think.”
I shook my head. “I said I’d like our relationship to change once the mission was over. You decided not to wait.”
“We’ve met once before.”
His tone explained a great deal; I didn’t need to ask any further questions about their “personal” relationship.
“Have you come to any decisions about who to use for Saint and Dr. Benjamin’s extraction?” I asked as though I didn’t already know.
“Yes. A private firm.”
“Who’s heading it up?”
“Decker Ashford and Cortez DeLéon.”
“Rile?”
“Yes.”
Rile DeLéon had a long career as an MI6 agent as well as ties to both the British and Spanish monarchies. “I heard they started a new group. Some bullshit name like the Invincibles or something.”
He laughed. “That is correct.”
“What’s the plan?” I asked just as his cell rang.
“This is Decker now.” His call was brief, and when it ended, he told me the Invincibles team would be arriving in the morning.
I took another drink of my beer. “About Emme—”