Albatross (36 page)

Denise Cratty had spent the last three months getting used to the new operations center (code-named Bravo) in New York City. The move was easier for her since her mother had passed away two months prior and her life partner was no longer interested in adopting. It had also become clear that her partner no longer wanted to be with Cratty as well. Personally, Cratty was in a bad place. Professionally, she had been through hell and back with the internal investigations, reassignments, and overall restructuring of the operations centers. She had used much of her political clout defending her decisions, which included redeploying Jill Davis to the auxiliary control room. Cratty did not believe for one minute that Davis had been a weak link in the chain. Cratty had heard of the famous Alexander Burns, and she was convinced that Davis had been the best person to have taken him on. Cratty and Davis had never really gotten along or cared much about the other, but she respected Davis and had fought to keep Davis with her team. Cratty never really knew if Davis was aware of how she had tried to get her reassigned to New York so that they could work together, but her attempt had been met with such a political fire storm that Davis opted to become a consultant for the FBI. Davis did send her a serrated knife with a graphite handle and a note saying, “Thank you.”

Not exactly a nice bracelet or a pair of earrings,
Cratty thought at the time.

But still a nice gesture,
she had to admit.

Cratty’s immediate boss, Deputy Director Thomas “Steel” Webber, ran the operations in Maryland (code-named Alpha). It was easy for Cratty to see that he was both political and ambitious. More importantly, he was not happy that this ghost Alex Burns and his homegrown terrorists were able to “walk away with classified data” from his newly acquired and transformed shop. Burns had cost Cratty a possible promotion and Webber had been demoted from director to deputy director for being MIA when he had been needed most. Cratty was not remotely upset about not getting a promotion and especially not concerned about Webber’s career. She was angrier that she was not given critical information about Burns at her level as a manager until after the breach.
Why the hell wouldn’t they let everyone, supervisor and above, know about Burns?
she thought. When she read only a sample of Burns’s early missions and his profile, she was able to understand how he did what he did, but she was not sure why or why his mode of operation changed from not caring about collateral damage to minimizing it to an incredible degree.
Three fatalities? No innocent bystanders hurt or killed?
That’s not the Burns we know in the files. He’s a different man now
, she concluded.

As much as she personally wanted to get Burns, none of the data made any sense. Cratty had spent weeks trying to convince Webber and Chairman Daniels that based on the information provided by their own analysts, Andersen’s reports, Helms forensic and behavioral science evaluations, and the leverage Burns possessed, the best course of action would be to “let sleeping dogs lie.” At the most, Cratty was all for locating them but only for observation and not for detention or termination. But Chairman Daniels was petitioning the Pentagon, Homeland Security, and even the West Wing Executive Office to pursue this group to “bring them to justice.”

So when Cratty signed for a sealed letter that was personally couriered from Alpha, she was pretty sure it would be a memorandum with an order she thought would lead to hell.

Cratty opened the letter, found her glasses, and read it:

To: T. Webber, Deputy Director, Op. Alpha Center

Cc: D. Cratty, Manager, Op. Bravo Center

From: Chairman Eric Daniels

Re: Operation Rising Phoenix (Classified)

As discussed in prior meetings, you are to assemble three separate teams that are fully resourced and equipped with material, intelligence, and support staff to locate, apprehend, and bring to justice Alexander J. Burns for his role in the May 2 attack in the Merrimack Valley, the dispersion of explosives and threat to detonate, the cyber-attack on two federal agencies and local government offices, attack of federal officers, the abduction and accomplice to the murder of a federal agent, the stealing of classified documents, and espionage.

In addition to Mr. Burns, the following two people are persons of interest who are to be apprehended, detained, questioned, and if necessary, prosecuted for their role in assisting Mr. Burns: David Caulfield and Samantha Littleton.

Rebecca Littleton (sister of Samantha Littleton) is a person of interest in her role of possibly assisting the above mentioned names in the formation and commission of the above mentioned charges.

This order is to take effect immediately with daily updates scheduled for 0900 hours.

As your subordinate, Ms. Denise Cratty, has made it clear that she disagrees with this course of action, I am assigning you a new manager, Mr. Jeffery Glenn, to be lead on operation center’s Bravo team, NY. He is to lead the first shift. I want Ms. Cratty to run the second shift. Also, Ms. Cratty’s performance review is bumped up by six months.

I will not approve any further time off for senior staff until this operation is launched and successfully completed.

E. Daniels

Cratty put her glasses down.

She had a momentary flashback to seventh grade with Sister O’Neill standing over her as she carefully recited part of Dante’s work about hell.

Cratty remembered as if it were just yesterday.

“All hope abandon ye who enter,”
she recited in her head.

She leaned back in her leather chair and wondered if she would really have enough time in her role as manager to appreciate her new office. She sat and quietly looked through the glass transparency overlooking her operations center. Her repeating thought was that this course of action would pave the way to hell. “Nothing good will come of this,” Cratty said to herself.

Becky had finished reading her evening e-mails and texts from Samantha. She had to admit that she could see that her sister was a changed woman. She spoke about wine, shoes, movies that Burns and her had seen, places they were going to, all things that Becky had always wanted her little sister to experience.

Finally, she found the right guy. An international spy, domestic terrorist, fugitive … but a nice guy,
Becky thought.

Becky was pulling together the ingredients she planned for a late dinner. Late by American standards. On Kea, dinner at 7:00 p.m. was early. It was so different living on a Greek island, more different than Becky could have imagined. Several months ago, she remembered shedding one identity for another under the shadow of a national crisis, a crisis she had helped to create. When Becky looked back on May 2, she truly wondered how she had survived it all.

Becky remembered having a glass of wine on St Catherine’s Street in Montreal that very night several months ago. In fact, it had been surreal and far from relaxing. They had entered Canada as Canadian citizens, and they were already set up to live not far from McGill University, which would have been great. But the plan was accelerated, and the “final port of call” came up four months earlier than planned. By the Fourth of July, David, Emma, and Becky were now the rich Canadian expatriates living in a modest home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on the island of Kea.

Wow. Amazing what money and forged passports can do,
she had thought.

When Becky moved to Kea, she wasn’t sure if she would like it, but when she saw her new home, she immediately fell in love with it. Their home was rustic but clean and orderly. The ocean breeze was constantly making even the hottest days cool. Growing up, Becky and Samantha had never had money. Living a lifestyle where money was not a problem and food and shelter were never in question, was a little strange to her. Becky loved it.

Becky had always thought that all the Mediterranean islands were constantly filled with visitors, vacationers, and tourists. But that was what Becky knew from the brochures she used to look at when she lived back in the States … before Emma, David, and Burns. Tourism on this Greek island was nonexistent because there were next to no non-Greek visitors that knew of this treasure. Even though it was clear to Becky that their new neighbors saw them as
xenos
, it didn’t take very long for Emma to win the hearts and minds of their children and grandparents.

Becky originally thought it had been David’s idea to live on Kea, but it had been Burns who had chosen for them to live on the small Greek island. Choosing to live on Kea was not based solely on its beautiful location and perfect climate; it was also small, and newcomers stood out. Plus, everyone watched out for everyone else. If there was someone new in town who was not a tourist, David and Becky would hear about it first.

Always thinking tactically, aren’t you, Burns?
Becky thought to herself.

Reluctantly, she found herself agreeing with him.
This is what he does,
she would remind herself when she would miss some key point and he would figure it out in milliseconds.

Becky did know that being on Kea was bittersweet for David. She knew he had always planned on going to one of the Greek Isles with Jenny. Kos was the original place they had talked about, but they had never gotten the chance. David had never planned on her dying; he had never seen any of this at all.
None of us did.

For a long time, Becky thought that while David cared for her and Emma, she also knew that living on Kos would have seemed wrong to him in memory of his deceased wife. A month after their arrival, Becky noticed that David seemed more depressed. He had the classic signs—not sleeping, not eating, unplanned weight loss, and irritability. She knew the symptoms well from firsthand experience. So when she confronted him about what was wrong, she expected him to tell her that he missed his wife and wanted to be with her. Becky knew she was strong, but she was sure that she would just die if he left. She had very few relationships when she was younger because she always had obligations—obligations to her parents, Tony, and Samantha. The guys who were drawn to her were always immature and not responsible. They were nothing like her brother, Tony. They were nothing like David. David had never made any commitments to stay with her. They both committed to be Emma’s parents; Becky assumed that was the only reason why they were together.

But David’s response surprised. When he told her he was anxious about the future and feared losing her and Emma and not being able to live with that, she was just speechless. Becky felt her heart break as he revealed to her his greatest fear.

He can’t live without us. He can’t live without me.

She could only rush to him and hold him as she tried not to burst into tears.
He is so strong but so vulnerable,
she thought.

She had never been with a man like him. Actually, she did know of one.

Maybe it’s the same thing with Sam and Burns,
she wondered.

Right now, Becky could hear that Emma and David were doing their evening ritual of dancing to music; Emma would chose music, and they would dance together. Becky knew that Emma wanted to live the way they used to in Rhode Island because Aunt Samantha had lived with them and she would see Uncle Alex more too. Emma liked the snow as well, but she really liked to swim and dance. Becky was always impressed with her choice of music. Today, she chose “Uncle Alex’s song,” Johnny Rivers’s 1966 classic “Secret Agent Man.” The irony was not lost on Becky, and she was sure it was not lost on David. David and Emma had just finished when Becky announced her presence.

“So how long were you watching?” David asked while he rubbed sweat from his forehead.

“Not long. You’re both totally cute,” she had to say. But she had more to say once she told Emma to get ready for a trip to town for an early lunch. “Sam just let me know that your Lieutenant Andersen needs to communicate with Alex. Sam doesn’t trust him or the situation, but Alex is seldom wrong. Just to be careful though, Alex wants us to be ‘on heightened alert.’ Sam also sent a couple of places, people, and events she thinks we should research and possible relocation ideas for Sam and Alex. They both want to be closer to us.”

David smiled. “That would be very nice. I hate to admit it, but I miss the Rhode Island days just like Emma. We were all together,” David commented.

Becky came up close and embraced David. He held her too. It was funny that David always wanted to be held by her; he rarely initiated sex, as did she. But neither took it personally. They were very intimate in other ways, and they loved each other. Becky knew that.

I believe it,
she thought.

Becky started to break away when she heard Emma giggling. Emma always giggled when the adults “huggied.” Becky noticed that David didn’t pull away from her hugs; he never did.