Sins of the Titanic (A James Acton Thriller, #13) (40 page)

Assembly Covert Communications Facility, Moscow, Russia

Nadja Katz waited for the last of the members’ monitors to activate.
She was now facing a grid of eleven silhouettes, the twelfth blank.

Thanks
to her.

She
hadn’t been certain Mashkov was one of the twelve, though she had a strong suspicion.
It didn’t matter to her, though it did seem to cement her position in the
organization. She was their go to person, clearly trusted to carry out the most
sensitive of missions, even if she had failed in Maryland. The professors were
alive, the infection hadn’t been stopped, though there had been no further
evidence it was spreading. Her sources told her the painting had been
confiscated and the feds were burying it.

Leaving
no real evidence of whatever it was these people were hiding.

“Welcome
everyone,” said Number One, his digitally modified voice always giving her a
curious sensation in her spine, almost an instinctual reaction to a distant
memory. “There’s been a development that you must all be made aware of.”

“I
assume by Number Twelve’s absence he has been taken care of?” asked Number Six.

“Yes.
Number Twelve unfortunately died earlier when his private plane lost power.”

“Clever.”

That had
been Katz’s idea, Dimitri taking care of the details.

“Number
Twelve is no longer our concern,” said Number One. “However his legacy is. We
have received a message.”

“A
message?” It was a question echoed by several.

Katz
leaned forward, curious herself.

“Yes. It
was received through an old server used to monitor our security taps of the US
Navy’s personnel records.”

“Who
sent the message?”

“The
CIA.”

There
was a pause, nobody saying anything.

Finally
Number Six broke the silence. “Was it to us?”

“Yes.”

“What
did they want?”

Katz was
completely absorbed now, it somehow interesting to hear the discomfort in the
voices of people so powerful.

A door
opened behind her.

She
looked to see Dimitri enter the room, closing the door behind him. She nodded,
returning her attention to the screens.

“The
message was quite clear. Quite specific. I’ll read the pertinent details. It
says, ‘We know who you are. If you harm any of our operatives, specifically
Chris Leroux, Sherrie White or Dylan Kane, you will be exposed. If you harm
Christopher Jones or his family, you will be exposed. If you harm Professor
James Acton or any of those affiliated with him, or Steve Wainwright or any of
his family, you will be exposed.’”

“A
fairly specific list,” said Number Four. “Why is this of any concern to us? We
will continue our work. The Assembly is eternal.”

“Normally
I would agree,” said Number One. “However, the email also lists several names.”

Again
silence. Katz sensed Dimitri behind her, standing against the wall.

“Whose
names?”

“Some of
yours.”

Several
people audibly gasped.

“How
many?”

“Three
including our late associate. All accurate.”

“But
how? Even in our communications with that idiot we never used names.”

“We’re
not sure yet, but the fact is, they are aware of two more of you so far.”

“What
are we going to do?” asked Number Six.

“Contain
the infection.”

“But
how?”

A
gunshot sounded, a flash on the monitor labelled #2 actually startling Katz. Another
gunshot, another flash, the silhouette of #6 gone.

“The
infection has been contained. For now.”

No one
said anything, even Katz slightly stunned.

They’re
more ruthless than I realized.

Which
meant she had to be even more careful when dealing with them.

Dimitri
was closer now.

She
shifted her feet.

“What do
we do now?” asked Number Three.

“Nothing
for now. But in time this infection will be contained, and when it is, we will
eliminate all involved.” There was a pause, no one saying anything. “Meeting
adjourned.”

Dimitri’s
jacket rustled behind her. She knew instantly it wasn’t going to be a gunshot,
he would have stood back and done it. It was going to be something silent.

Not a
knife.

The back
of the chair was in the way, and reaching around to slice her throat would be
awkward.

She
shoved her arm high, lowering her chin as she used her already prepared feet to
push away from the chair.

She felt
the wire of the garrote slice into the leather, but he had failed to get it
around her neck.

Which
meant he was already dead, he just didn’t know it yet.

Her free
hand pulled her weapon as she felt the thin wire slice into her arm.

The pain
was a mere sensation, not to be ignored, but not to be distracted by. She spun,
raising her weapon, firing two rounds into Dimitri’s shocked face.

Pulling
the wire free, she realized the monitors were still live, all remaining nine
silhouettes still watching her. She aimed her weapon at the screens.

“You
shouldn’t have made an enemy of me.”

THE END

This one took a little longer than usual, stupid life getting in the
way of what I love to do. This was fun, the Titanic always an interesting
subject to me. Though the motivations of the characters on the Titanic are
entirely my own invention, some of the lines delivered on the bridge and when
Astor said goodbye to his wife are taken from witness accounts. Heroism was in
full display that night. As was dignity.

The SS
Californian was not a work of fiction. It existed, saw the Titanic as it
floundered, and did nothing. I think it is safe to say their captain honestly
did not believe the Titanic was in any danger, though many felt he should have
hung for his inaction. The Californian’s captain spent much of the rest of his
life a pariah, the Californian itself sunk by a U-boat in World War I.

And the
other ship? That too
may
have existed, some witness accounts reporting
rowing toward what they thought was a ship that seemed to never get closer.

No proof
was ever found that she existed.

Hmmm.

Here’s a
fun fact: the story Leroux tells of his mother calling to tell him his father
is in the hospital is true. It happened to me! And yes, my mother has learned
her lesson.

Lots of
people again to thank. My Dad of course for the research, Jennifer Dunn for
some naval terminology, the real Chris Leroux for some French help and tech
info, Fred Newton for some poker help, Ian Kennedy for some EOD stuff, Greg “Chief” Michael for some US Navy
help, Marc Quesnel for the “mayday fun fact”, Brent Richards for some weapons
info, and Chris Holder for some tech info. And as usual my wife, daughter,
mother and the rest of my family and friends for their continued support.

To those
who have not already done so, please visit my website at
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Thank
you once again for reading.

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Why not try the Special Agent Dylan Kane spin-off series?
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USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure
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For two thousand years the Triarii have protected us, influencing history from the crusades to the discovery of America.
Descendent from the Roman Empire, they pervade every level of society, and are now in a race with our own government to retrieve an ancient
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