John Sneeden: The Hades Conspiracy

As the operation came to an end, Zane did what he often did: he attempted to suppress his feelings. But any thought that the brief physical encounter was a one-time event was put to rest when the team returned to the States. Zane and Katiya joined Brett and Amanda Higgs for a time of rest in Key Largo, Florida, and rather than fading, their relationship sizzled. The tropical locale became a catalyst for deep romance.

After the trip, Zane returned to his work at Delphi, and Katiya returned to her work as an anthropologist at NYU. They spoke every day, with both expressing their genuine desire to follow their hearts and not let past tendencies cloud what was becoming something serious.

Unfortunately, things unraveled when the two planned a weeklong vacation to Charleston, South Carolina. Zane knew Charleston’s delights personally — the history and the fine Southern cuisine — but the true reason he’d suggested it was because he wanted a quiet place to map out their future. More specifically, he’d wanted the most special woman in the world to know he desired something more permanent.

A week before they were to depart, Delphi was asked to conduct an operation overseas. The stated goal was crucial to U.S. interests. In fact, those interests were so crucial the Oracle insisted Zane take the lead. At first, Zane had vigorously resisted, reminding him Carmen Petrosino was fully capable of handling anything he could. While the Oracle might ordinarily have relented, the clincher came with a call from the president. The operation was of such vital importance he wouldn’t accept anyone else at the helm. Zane knew he had no choice.

As he’d expected, Katiya had been devastated at the news. While she understood the national security concerns, she was also heartbroken their plans had been short-circuited at such a critical time. In the days that followed, Zane did the unthinkable. He ended the relationship. He told his closest friends it wasn’t because he’d lost his love for Katiya — in fact, he loved her more than ever — but it was because of his love for her. Rightly or wrongly, he knew his work at Delphi would always have to come first, and a woman like Katiya deserved a man who could always make her his first priority.

The conversation had been heartbreaking, with Zane holding Katiya in his arms as she wept. She tried to talk him out of it, saying she should have the right to choose who she wanted and how much she’d be willing to accept. But he stood steadfast, doing what he believed was in the best interest of the woman he loved. In the end, she’d said she understood, but he saw in her eyes that she still questioned all that was happening.

After the operation was over, Zane became deeply troubled with the decision. Insomnia became his new friend. Over time, he even found himself taking Katiya’s position. Shouldn’t she be able to make her own choices? If she was fine with the constraints of his work, did he have the right to deny that? Having come to a new conclusion, he reached out to her on several occasions. At first, she didn’t return his calls, so he took the additional step of calling her office at NYU. When he finally got in touch with her, she said she had moved on. She loved him more than she’d loved anyone else, but she didn’t think she could take any more damage to her heart.

Zane was drawn out of his thoughts by Brett’s voice. “Do you want to see how to trigger it?”

Zane shook his head in an attempt to clear away thoughts of Katiya. “Absolutely.”

Brett scooted his chair closer and took the device from Zane. “We decided to make detonation a two-step process. Complete only one of the two steps, and all you have is a flashlight that doesn’t work. Complete both in order, and you have a very lethal weapon.”

“So it’s a flashlight that doesn’t actually light up?”

“Correct.” Brett pointed at the place where the head of the flashlight connected to the body. There was a small black line on the head, which lined up with a small green line on the body. “As you can see, we’re now on green. The first step is to twist the head over to red. That indicates you’re live.”

“Just like a gun.”

“Once you’re on red, you proceed to step two.” Brett pointed at a cap on the opposite end, the place where you’d ordinarily load the batteries. “It’s not a screw-on. It’s a hinged pop-off.” He placed a fingernail along the edge of the cap and applied pressure. A moment later, it popped open, revealing a black button.

“Press it, and the detonation process is complete.” Brett snapped the cap back into place. “As I said before, you have five or six seconds to get it on target.”

“That cap looks hard to get off. Did we really need to make it a two-step process?”

“The Oracle insisted on it. He said he didn’t want any dead operatives.”

“Let me guess; he said it was an OSHA reg.” Zane took the device back from Brett and held it under the lamp again. “I have to admit, this is a pretty sick weapon. What explosive material does it use?”

“It’s a PETN blend,” Brett replied, using the acronym for pentaerythritol tetranitrate.

“A favorite of terrorists.” Zane nodded. “If I’m remembering correctly, I believe the Shoe Bomber and the Underwear Bomber both used PETN.”

“They weren’t the only ones. I could give you a much longer list. It’s widely used, but the key for us was combining it with the right detonating substance.”

Zane ran a hand through his long brown hair. “So you just came up with this yourself? Since when did our beloved computer geek become a ballistics expert?”

“I wish I could take credit, but I can’t. Let’s just say, I got some assistance from a couple of friends at DARPA.”

DARPA stood for the Defense Advanced Research Agency, an arm of the U.S. military involved in the research and development of cutting-edge technology.

“We’re working with DARPA now?”

“Not exactly. I have a couple of buddies at the gym. I—”

Zane’s phone lit brightly and skittered across the desk. He plucked it up and looked at the screen. “The Oracle.”

Brett glanced at his watch. “And to think, we almost made it out. If he asks, I’m not in the building.”

Zane laughed and placed the call on speaker. “Yes, sir.”

“Watson, where are you?”

Zane heard the rush of traffic in the background. “The office, why?”

“How soon can you be at our favorite watering hole?”

“If you’re buying, I can leave now.”

“Unfortunately, we’re not meeting for a friendly drink tonight. I need to bring you up to date on something that needs our immediate attention.” There was a brief pause as the Oracle cursed at a driver. “Where is Foster?”

Zane’s eyes shifted toward Brett, who shook his head vigorously. “He’s right here, showing me the new toy you two have been hiding from me.”

“Tell him he can join us if he’d like. Otherwise, I’ll see him in the morning.”

Brett let out a sigh of relief.

“I think he has plans.” Zane gave Brett a wink.

“Oh, and Watson…”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell him to give you a couple of the devices before he leaves. You’re going to need them.”

The snow arrived with a roar. Large, heavy flakes swirled out of the night sky like ashes from a cosmic fire. Spring was less than three weeks away, but winter refused to give up its grip on the nation’s capital.

His windshield was now a mushy mess. Zane switched on his wipers as he turned north on 15th Street. Minutes later, he eased the silver Jeep Cherokee up to the curb in front of the Old Ebbitt Grill. Situated just east of the U.S. Treasury, the iconic eatery was the favorite watering hole of Dr. Alexander Ross, a place where he could shake off the stress of late-afternoon meetings at FBI headquarters. In fact, over time, the restaurant had become Delphi’s unofficial gathering place for social events and impromptu meetings.