Cliff Ryder - The Ties That Bind

Jason chuckled. "That makes two of us, at any rate." He turned to Jesse. "You've got my stuff?"

"Over on the table there," he said. "And the generator is up, so we've got full power."

Jason pulled a rickety wooden chair over to the table and sat down. "The question is whether or not I can get a good linkup from belowground. That can be sketchy sometimes, but maybe today we'll be lucky."

"I thought you didn't believe in luck on this mission," Tina said.

"The tide's got to turn sooner or later," he said, booting up his computer. He quickly looked his system over, but it appeared that Chris hadn't had time to explore anything before Jesse arrived.

"All right," he said, launching the software that would connect him to Room 59 via a virtual private network, routed through a satellite. "Let's see if we can get a tune out of this trombone."

He listened as the computer clicked and whirred through its task. It took slightly longer than usual, but the log-on screen eventually came on and he went through the security protocols. Once confirmed, he sent his avatar down the hallway and into the virtual offices of Room 59.

As usual, he didn't pause to greet anyone else, but made a beeline for Denny's office. He tapped urgently on the door, and his boss's smooth voice said, "Come in, Jason."

Jason entered Denny's virtual office, while in the real world, he motioned for Tina to move closer. In the shadows under the table, he held his Glock in one hand. All he had to do was pull the trigger.

"I've been expecting a status report from you, Jason," Denny said, gesturing for him to sit down. "What's your mission status?"

"Complicated, sir," Jason said. "Before we go any further, I need you to do something for me."

Denny didn't reply, just lifted one eyebrow.

"I need you to pull up the personnel files database and confirm an identity."

"That's an unusual request," Denny said.

"I'm in an unusual situation," Jason replied. "Please."

"Very well." Denny tapped at some icons floating on his desktop and a modulated voice said, "Personnel database online."

"Tina Kanut," Jason said.

Denny chuckled quietly. "There's no need to search that name. I can confirm her identity. She's one of ours. You found her out, did you?"

"No," Jason admitted. "She told me that she worked for the agency a short time ago. She played her cover perfectly…though it does explain her uncanny ability to sneak up on me."

"I'm glad to know that all her skills haven't rusted away up there in the frozen north. She's mostly a translator."

"So she told me," he replied.

"What's going on that she needed to break cover?" Denny asked.

"The situation here has gotten extremely complicated," Jason said.

"All right," Denny said. "Break it down for me and don't leave anything out."

As succinctly as he could, Jason explained to Denny what had happened so far, and that he, Tina, her grandfather and Jesse were holed up in a hidden weapons bunker and trying to plan their next moves. "In short," he admitted, "the original mission parameters are FUBAR."

"That sounds accurate," Denny said. "What do you intend to do about it?"

Just as he was about to reply, he felt Tina tapping him on the shoulder.

"Don't forget to tell him about Feng Li," she said. "And put your gun away."

Jason slipped the Glock back into his shoulder rig and turned his attention back to Denny. "There's one more thing," he said. "The man behind it all. He's not Russian."

Denny looked surprised. "If it's not a Russian, who is it?"

"A guy named Feng Li," he said.

"What?" his boss said, coming halfway out of his chair. "He's dead!"

"Not as dead as I'd like him to be," Jason said. "Tina positively identified him."

"Hold on a minute," Denny said, sitting back down. "We need to bring someone else in on this one." He tapped at another icon on his desktop and it began to flash an urgent red. A moment later, the Room 59 director, Kate Cochran, appeared at the doorway.

"This had better be the end of the world," she said, striding into the room. "I was in the middle of a sparring session and that emergency page cost me a kick to the head."

"It's not the apocalypse," Denny said, "but it's close."

Kate looked at him soberly. "All right," she said softly. She took a seat next to Jason and glanced at him. "Agent Siku," she said. "Aren't you on a recon mission in Alaska?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "But it got…a little complicated."

"It always does," she said. "Give it to me," she added to Denny.

His boss went through everything Jason had told him, including the final bit about Feng Li.

For several moments, Kate was deathly silent. "Damn," she finally said.

"Excuse me, but I'm not quite clear on something," Jason said.

"What would that be, Agent Siku?" Kate asked.

"Well, when Tina told me about Li, she said she was terrified of him. Now you two are acting like his return from the dead is a sign of very bad things.

Can you tell me why everyone is so frightened of this guy?"

"Good question," Kate said. "And there's a simple answer. When we started Room 59, we put it together with one agent representative from each of the participating nations. A 'prime' is what they were called. They trained and developed future training methods at one of our facilities here in the United States, then returned to their own countries to train the agents there. Li was a prime. When he got tired of straight fieldwork, he asked to be promoted to midnight teams, and his request was granted without question. If the midnight teams are the best of the best, Li was a perfect fit."

Jason shrugged. "Okay, so he's a tough guy, I get that. But lots of agents are tough."

"You don't understand, then," Denny cut in. "When Li turned rogue, it took us a long time to track him down. And we didn't go in light. Two midnight teams of five and two field agents went in where he'd been cornered. He decided to make a last stand. He killed all but one agent. It was a disaster."

"So why'd you think he was dead?" Jason asked.

Denny shrugged. "I had a sniper — one of our best men — stand away and wait. He shot him," he said. "Twice in the chest."

"And he was dead, right?" Jason asked. "Dead, dead?"

"Yes," he said. "It was a clean, confirmed kill. He was shot twice in the chest from less than two hundred yards away with a sniper rifle using armor-piercing rounds. The sniper checked his body. He was dead."

"Not as dead as one would think," Kate said.

Despite himself, Jason felt a surge of relief wash over him.

"Maybe it's time to abort," Kate continued. "Extract Agent Siku, debrief Tina, take the smaller fish into custody and let things calm down."

"We can't do that!" Jason said. "No way do we let this guy go!"

"Agent Siku!" she snapped. "I'm thinking of your safety. The mission is a bust. There comes a time to admit that."

Jason shook his head. "It's not a bust yet. The sub is still out there — and the Asp. Give me twenty-four hours," he said. "Please."

Kate and Denny exchanged a long look.

"Look," Jason said, "they've got the sub, they have it armed with nukes and they even have the damn Asp helicopter. These small-timers don't mean anything in the big picture. Give me twenty-four hours to finish the mission — including Li and his men. If I come up short, then I'll pull the plug myself."

Denny remained silent. This one was Kate's call. She studied Jason carefully, then said, "Agent Siku, are you really as good as your friends at the CIA say you are?"

"How good do they say I am?" he asked, grinning.

"They say you're the best," she said.

"I hate to be immodest," Jason replied.

"You better be the best," Kate said. "Because if you're not, Li won't give you a chance to pull the plug on the mission. He'll hunt you down and kill you without hesitation."