Cliff Ryder - The Finish Line

Despite her mind racing to stay a step ahead of the Saudi speaker, Kate was impressed with his eloquence, particularly as a new member. Might have to keep an eye on him in the future — or try to cultivate him as an ally, she thought.

"Strong points all. However, I'm sure that the director and all those in her employ are aware of what they need to do, and the best way to do it." This unexpected support came from the U.S. member. Kate seized the opportunity.

"That is true. Ladies and gentleman of the board, we play for the highest of stakes every day, with the world as our game board. If that sounds facile or simple, let me assure you that it is not. The men and women who perform these missions always know what is at stake — they have to be aware of it to do their jobs. Although we can glean a fairly complete picture of what happened earlier today, I am sure that the men and women of this Midnight Team acted completely appropriately under the circumstances. However, I also prefer not to dwell on what might have happened. What we know, based on the information we have, is that the target is in our hands and is on the way to us, and that is the most important point. The mission was accomplished."

And as long as David was still alive and with the target, that was her story, and she was going to stick to it. His implanted chip was still reading as live, so she had independent confirmation other than the woman's word. Kate had scrambled all available resources to track down the location of the cell phone, and sent a team to find and follow the car David was registered as being in, since the last intel they had gleaned had shown that it and the phone were now heading in separate directions.

"I'm coordinating our resources in Europe to ensure that her journey back to us will be safe and uneventful," Kate said.

The Russian flag glowed. "All prudent decisions. Still, I think we should move to suspend all new Midnight Team operations until further review. Any teams currently in the field will have the chance to complete their missions if absolutely necessary, and if not, they will be recalled immediately and placed on indefinite hiatus until a formal recommendation has been made."

Kate resisted the urge to bolt up from her chair, but couldn't let this proposal to sideline one of Room 59's assets pass without a response. "If that is the board's decision at this time, I will of course abide by it. However, I would request that each member carefully review the operating reports of the various Midnight Team missions. Overall, their success ratio exceeds our regular operatives. They have succeeded in completing missions that would have been beyond the abilities or resources of our regular operatives, and have proven their dedication to the goals of this agency many times over."

"Of course we will review all pertinent information before making a final decision," the U. S. rep said. "If there are no other questions, I move to call the vote on the suspension of all Midnight Teams until a formal review can be made."

Small lights appeared above each board member, green for approval, red for disapproval. The vote was six to three for the motion, with Australia, Germany and the U.K. opposing.

"The vote is six for, three against, and is carried. Director, we'll leave you to work out the details of placing the teams on inactive standby as soon as possible. Only vital operations that are already under way should be continued," the U.S. representative said.

"I understand. Thank you, everyone." The board members began to fade away, and Kate sent a private message.

"Judy, a word before we get started." It wasn't a request.

Kate shunted her liaison into a private room on the agency network. As soon as Judy appeared, she looked as if she was going to say something, but Kate cut her off.

"Save whatever excuse you've cooked up. You went above my head to the board, and that is inexcusable."

The unflappable British woman didn't back down an inch. "I did what I did to preserve the agency. It is my job," Judy said simply.

"Fine," Kate replied. "From this moment on, everything you do will be run by me first. Every order, every request, everything. If I find out a single document has gone out without my approval, I will do everything in my power to remove you from your position."

Judy frowned. "But — you can't possibly mean that. The paperwork alone will double your load. I'm only trying to assist you!"

"Assistance like what you just provided in front of the board I do not need. You should have come to me instead of going over my head. I expect to see updates on all current operations in the next hour. Get to it." Kate turned on her heel and stalked to the door, but stopped there. "And one more thing — you're off all Midnight Team operations — I'll be overseeing them from this point on personally."

Her avatar left the room, and Kate pulled off the glasses as she closed the VR door behind her and leaned back in her chair, her heart pounding. She knew Judy really was just following procedure but in such a high-stakes mission, procedure could get people killed.

I sure hope David has the situation under control. Otherwise Judy might get another shot at me sooner than I'd like, she thought. As much as she wanted to take a break, there was still more work to be done — there was always work to be done. She leaned forward and dialed a number, slipping on her headset again. "Hello, Jonas. There is quite a situation developing at the moment and I was thinking your skills would be quite useful. I expect you might be taking a little road trip immediately…"

David's eyes fluttered open to see the sunlight filtering in through the windshield, bathing his face in its warm glow. It was almost worth being blinded as he woke.

"Hey, you're up. Good, I was starting to worry." Maggie regarded him with cautious glances, dividing her attention between him and the two-lane highway they were speeding down.

"Why?" he asked as he tried to remember what had happened.

"You were moving around in your seat. I thought you might be having a seizure or something. I'm just glad you're not."

"That makes two of us." Rubbing a hand over his face, David looked at the countryside. "Where are we?"

"About two hundred kilometers north of Paris. Where we're going, that's for me to know at the moment."

"Fine, play coy if you want. I've got to check in." David searched the car's interior, patting his pockets as he did so. "Where's my phone?"

"I, uh, I got rid of it."

David's head snapped around, heedless of the pain it caused in his shoulder. "You what?"

"I couldn't take the chance of them tracking us, so I ditched it. I have no idea where it is right now."

"That's great. Well, we need to find a public phone, then, don't we?" He wasn't concerned about the phone's loss. When Room 59 figured out it wasn't with him anymore, their techs would lock it down and broadcast a message to anyone who found it to mail it to a drop box for a handsome reward. The problem was that he had one less link to headquarters and backup now. He was sure they were still tracking him — the subcutaneous chip in his body was good for decades, probably long after he was gone, in fact. He quickly assessed his situation. He didn't have a weapon — he'd lost his pistol in the helicopter crash, he recalled. He was wounded, and at the moment he was at the mercy, more or less, of this woman, unless he wanted to try to wrest control of the car from her. That was an unattractive prospect at best.

"They're going to keep coming after you, you know," he said.

"Who, your people or the other people?"

"Both, I expect."

"Yeah, well, that's why I'm going underground with people I know."

"Okay. If that's true, why am I still here?"