Brad Thor - The Athena Project

“Delta,” said Harvath, shaking his head with a wry smile as he turned to go up to the bridge.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Casey.

He waited till he was on the stairs before replying. “It means all you think about, whether male or female, is sex.”

Casey’s jaw dropped, but she couldn’t fight her smile. “I can’t believe I just heard that. I dare you to come back here and say that to my face,” she challenged, but Harvath had already walked upstairs.

Stepping into the doorway of the stateroom where Cooper was, Casey said, “Did you hear what he said? Unbelievable. And coming from a SEAL, of all people. Do those guys do anything but drink and chase women?”

Cooper was standing in front of an open closet that had been stocked with clothing. “I wouldn’t mind him chasing me.”

“You know what? That’s a good idea. It’d be good practice for you.”

“Don’t worry,” Cooper said with a grin. “I’m not going to cut your grass.”

“My grass?”

Cooper shook her head. “I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

“You think I’m after every guy I look at.”

Holding up the outfit Casey had given her, Cooper changed the subject, “I don’t know where you found this, but they already put clothes for us in the closet.”

Casey was about to tell her not to worry about it when Riley came down the passageway and stopped at their stateroom. “Where’s Scot?”

“I think he’s upstairs,” replied Casey. “What’s wrong?”

“Tell him Bianchi is starting to wake up.”

DENVER, COLORADO

As far as geeks went, Vicki Suffolk could have done worse; much worse. At least Ben Matthews was a halfway decent-looking geek. One of those Colorado guys into road biking, mountain biking, and backcountry skiing, he had a killer body, and that helped boost him from a seven to a solid eight in her eyes. Not that his rating on a one-to-ten scale mattered. Matthews was simply a means to end.

“So?” Suffolk asked as he poured her a glass of wine. She was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter of his loft wearing jeans and an almost see-through peasant blouse. “What are we celebrating?”

At twenty-five, Vicki was about four years younger than he. They had met in a café not far from her apartment. It was one of the free wi-fi places she used so that her internet traffic couldn’t be reliably traced. She had noticed him a few times before, but she noticed everyone when she walked into a room, just like she noticed where all the exits were. It was simply how she had been trained. But it was the book he was reading on one particular visit to the café that had caught her attention. The title was very interesting, American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us by Jesse Ventura. She filed it away in her mind and did nothing about it, until the next time she saw him. By then, she had read the same book, as well as four more listed in the bibliography, from cover to cover.

He appeared to be a creature of habit, always sitting at the same table in the corner, away from the windows and most of the bustle of the café. He struck her as a bit of a loner, which made him an even more perfect mark.

On the day she had set to make her move, Suffolk arrived at the café earlier than usual. When she got there, she took a table in the same corner and discreetly baited her trap.

Twenty minutes later, Ben Matthews walked in, ordered his usual large coffee, and sat down at his usual table.

Vicki had dressed down for the occasion; a lot more geek than chic. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing glasses. She had on a tight black sweater and jeans.

She didn’t need to look up to know he was looking at her. She had noticed him checking her out before. He might have been a loner, but he was still a man and he definitely found her attractive.

Looking over at him, she asked, “Can I help you with something?”

Matthews immediately dropped his eyes. “No.”

“There must be something you want, because you haven’t stopped looking at me since you sat down.”

“Actually,” he said, “I was looking at one of your books.”

Suffolk had a couple of conspiracy theory books, a notepad, and her open laptop on the table in front of her. “What about my books?” she asked.

Ben pointed to one of them, The Mammoth Book of Cover-Ups. “I read that one about a year ago. It absolutely opened my eyes to what’s going on in the government.”

She reached over and picked up the book he was referring to. It was one of the titles listed in the bibliography of the book she had seen him reading. “This one?”

He nodded.

“It’s not bad,” she replied. “I think Jesse Ventura’s book was better, though.”

“You’ve read Ventura’s book?” he exclaimed. “I’m reading him right now.”

Suffolk smiled and, thawing the frostiness in her voice, said, “Now that was an eye-opener.”

Pointing to the chair across from her, Ben replied, “Do you mind?”

Suffolk invited him to sit and with that, she had him hooked. Matthews fell for her instantly.

From just that one book she had seen him reading, she had learned everything she needed to know about him. He was perfect for her plan.

Now, sitting at his kitchen counter with a glass of wine, Vicki hoped he had good news for her.

“Ben,” she said. “You’re killing me. What are we celebrating?”

Matthews smiled.

Vicki looked at him, her eyes widening. “You got it?”

Nodding, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his new Transportation Security Administration credentials.

“You got it!” she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. “You got the promotion!”

Ben laughed. “Can you believe it?”

“Of course I can. They should have promoted you a while ago.”

“I don’t know about that ,” he said. “I haven’t been there that long. But pretty cool, considering it all started over a random box of pizza.”

Suffolk smiled to herself. There was nothing random about it. The TSA was so hard up for employees that they had actually started advertising on pizza boxes. She had picked the pizza delivery place on purpose. Everything she did she did for a reason.

The TSA ad was the perfect segue for suggesting that Ben take a job at Denver International Airport. If he could get wide enough security clearance, Vicki Suffolk would be only steps away from the most innovative attack the United States had ever seen.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” she said.

Ben nodded, and an even bigger smile spread across his face. “Lots more airport access.”

Vicki stole a glance at her watch. This was a huge development, and she needed to let her handler know. None of them had expected Ben to get promoted this quickly. But now that he had, they needed to decide what their next move was going to be. They were finally going to have someone who could get all the way inside the airport.

“Earth to Vicki,” Ben said, waving his wineglass in front of her. “Are we going to toast or what?”

“Absolutely,” she said, getting control of her thoughts. “Here’s to your promotion.”

“Here’s to our exposé on what the government is really doing beneath Denver International.”

They clinked glasses and as she drank, all she could think about was getting out of there and reporting in. She hadn’t seen her handler in weeks. They’d communicated, but he hadn’t wanted to meet in person. He’d said it was too dangerous. But with this development, he’d have to meet with her. At least that’s what she hoped.