Black Ops 03 - Deadly Games by Cate Noble Read Free Book Online Page A

bullets in the shoulder had Abe begging for mercy. Turned out the man was terrified of dying. In those last few hours of his life, Caldwell had spilled his guts over and over, hoping to win a respite.
    “You and I can strike a new deal,” Abe had blubbered. “You can come to Zurich. We’ll both be protected there. I have connections you can only dream about.”
    As a desperate show of good faith, Abe had spewed forth the combination to his safe, which had been well stocked with cash and gold Krugerrands. Not enough for Harry to retire on, however.
    “I can get more,” Abe had gone on. “Please! Just let me call my personal physician.”
    In the end, Caldwell even gave up his most valuable human asset: his mole within the Agency.
    Taking over Caldwell’s personal traitor had been disgustingly easy. People sold their allegiance for money, not friendship. Loyalty was a matter of cash flow. And while the CIA mole would have to be done away with soon, for the time being the man was worth his weight in the Krugerrands Harry now controlled. Krugerrands the mole had been smart enough to stash away, amassing a secret fortune without the telltale trail of cash the Agency regularly checked for.
    Growing impatient, Harry peeked out the blinds again. This time he noted that the southbound traffic was starting to creep along.
    His cell phone went off just then with a special ringtone. Edguardo. “Finally,” Harry said. “What’s your ETA?”
    “There’s been a problem,” Edguardo said.
    Those four words had Harry snapping off the television. “Go on.”
    “The men we hired were spotted by another woman, who ran to warn the target.”
    “Jesus! If they blow this job—”
    “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they did. They knew they could be identified, so they firebombed the place before the police arrived.”
    Harry groaned. Even though riskier, he and Ed-guardo had agreed to hire local talent to grab Gena Armstrong. A new face in a Podunk town like Sugar Springs would draw the attention of hometown cops faster than a hot fresh doughnut.
    If everything had gone as planned, Edguardo would have eliminated the locals once Gena was handed off. In this part of the country, dead bodies were part of the landscape and were always blamed on border issues.
    “I’ve taken care of the men,” Edguardo went on. “So it can’t be tied to us. In fact, the cops are already blaming the husband of an illegal alien.”
    Harry peered out at the traffic again. It moved slowly. The familiar urge to flee built in his chest as he began shutting down his laptop. “What about the target? Is she dead?”
    “Unknown. I’ve got a report of one fatality at the shelter. Plus several burn victims were transported to the local hospital. The fire spread to a nearby apartment building, so the body count is expected to climb.”
    Harry climbed behind the wheel but didn’t start the engine. “See if you can find out if one of the victims is a thirty-year-old Caucasian female. Blond hair, blue eyes. Five-six. Then call me back.”
    Swearing, he disconnected and stared out the window before drawing back and smashing his fist against the dash.
    Gena Armstrong Gambrel would pay for screwing with Harry again. If she was one of the burn victims, he hoped she was suffering, but alive. Because right now he needed her to survive … just long enough to get leverage.
    God, please, don’t let the bitch die.

Chapter Six
     
    Washington, D.C. Area
October 4, 7:00 A.M.
    “I want breakfast. Two eggs, scrambled, with toast. Coffee, black.” Rocco looked directly at the closed-circuit camera that monitored his movements in the room. He maintained three seconds of eye contact, then turned away before giving in to the urge to flip off the viewer.
    Food was the last thing Rocco wanted, but he figured Thing 1 and Thing 2 would be more likely to respond to an innocuous-sounding request. Offering threats had done nothing.
    And after a night of no sleep Rocco