Radclyffe - Oath of Honor

At precisely 0600, Cameron Roberts walked in. “Morning, everyone. Thanks for getting here on such short notice. I think the only one needing introductions is Captain Masters, the new chief of the White House Medical Unit.”

Stark and Block introduced themselves to Wes and they all shook hands. Evyn wondered why Tom wasn’t there.

“This is need-to-know,” Roberts said as if reading her mind, “and I won’t be giving you much in the way of details.”

Evyn sat still, keeping her shoulders relaxed, preventing the tension curling around her spine from showing in her face or body. She’d learned years ago to school herself, to never give away anything, but it was hard with Wes only a few feet away. She had what she wanted—an impersonal, cordial working relationship, and she hated it. She hated that Wes would walk into a room and not seek her out first, not connect with her in a way she didn’t connect with others. What the fuck was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she be satisfied with the way things had always been? Why did she want things now that she’d never wanted before? Why did Wes Masters make her yearn?

Wes looked over at her as if she had been broadcasting her thoughts, and Evyn quickly looked away. She wasn’t certain she could hide what she was feeling from Wes, and she didn’t want her to know she regretted the night before. She regretted walking out. She regretted letting Wes think she could walk away without bleeding inside.

“We need surveillance on an individual we suspect might have ties to a domestic terrorist group that is planning an attack on POTUS.”

None of the agents moved, but the air suddenly vibrated. Evyn’s skin tingled and her heart rate had picked up. Her groin tightened as her senses went to full alert. Wes hadn’t moved either, and she seemed completely composed. Why was she here? This was a security matter.

“We suspect the individual may have access to a biocontagion or may be a contact for someone else who does. This is where Dr. Masters comes in.”

The muscles at the angles of Evyn’s jaws clenched, and she had to force her teeth not to grind. What was this about? Wes wasn’t trained for this.

“The individual in question is Lieutenant Jennifer Pattee, a member of the White House Medical Unit.” Roberts opened her laptop and brought up an image of a woman who looked enough like Jennifer Pattee to be her sister. “We have reason to believe she may have connections to this woman—Angela Jones, although we doubt that’s her given name. Jones is an employee of Eugen Corp, a private laboratory doing viral gene research. They’ve reported an inventory discrepancy in their Level Four lab which we believe may actually be a stolen specimen.”

“The nature of the specimen?” Wes asked.

“Our understanding is it’s an engineered virus—a mutant form of an avian flu virus.”

“What do we know of its properties?”

“Not very much,” Roberts said. “The lead investigators are stonewalling us because their work is preliminary and unreported at this point. They don’t want information being disseminated prematurely, but the transformed avian virus is apparently much more highly transmissible than the natural avian virus.”

“That’s a problem,” Wes said. “The avian flu virus has a high mortality rate, but it is not easily transmissible between fowl and humans, and not transmissible from one human to another.”

Roberts nodded, her expression grave. “They won’t come out and admit to this, but we believe this variant has been aerosolized and is transmissible between humans.”

Wes frowned. “Then you have an agent with the potential to kill vast numbers of individuals.”

Evyn shook her head. “This seems pretty complex for an assassination plot.”

“On the surface, yes,” Roberts said. “There are faster and more direct ways, none of which we need to enumerate here. But while assassination by gunfire is horrifying and dramatic, the public doesn’t see a single act of violence as a personal threat. However, the release of a biological agent capable of killing scores or even more places the danger directly on the public itself. People will be terrified.”

“And consequently,” Paula Stark said softly, “the government will be distrusted and destabilized.”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t know the lieutenant very well,” Wes said. “I can’t say that I’ve seen any particularly suspicious behavior from her.”

“Nor would we expect you would have.” Roberts clicked off the computer and pushed it aside. She addressed Wes directly. “If what we believe is true, these individuals have been trained since childhood to carry out specific acts of terrorism after achieving positions of power and trust. If indeed the lieutenant is part of this conspiracy, she’s not going to reveal anything or do anything suspect until the attack itself is set in motion.”

“What’s the goal of surveillance?” Evyn asked.

“We need to intercept her when she receives the agent. Failing that, then we have to prevent the release of the contagion.”

“I can adjust our schedules so I’m on duty with Lieutenant Pattee,” Wes said. “Of course, that’s only going to be ten or twelve hours a day.”

“Yes, do that,” Roberts said. “In addition, Captain, given that the lieutenant has expressed a personal interest, you might be able to observe her in less guarded circumstances.”

“What?” Evyn stood before she could stop herself. She looked from Roberts to Wes and then back to Roberts. “The captain isn’t trained for undercover work, which is essentially what you’re asking her to do. Whatever information she might gain isn’t worth the risk to her or the operation—”

“I think I’m perfectly capable of making expert observations,” Wes said calmly, “and would probably recognize conditions or circumstances conducive to exchanging and transporting a biologic agent more readily than anyone else. If it’s a question of asking her out to dinner or spending an evening with her or more, I’m perfectly willing.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Evyn squared her body to Roberts. “You can’t really expect her to do this.”

“Evyn—” Wes said.

“It’s up to the captain, of course,” Roberts said, “but we expect an attack to be imminent, and we need to take advantage of every avenue of information we possibly can. I admit it’s a long shot, but even the remote possibility of picking up information that would help us pinpoint and intercept the individuals involved is worth pursuing.”

Stark asked, “How strong is the connection between the lieutenant and Angela Jones?”

“Loose,” Roberts admitted. “But more than we have been able to find anywhere else. I want Agents Daniels and Block to work together on surveillance. The lieutenant is familiar with PPD, so Agent Daniels’s presence will likely be unnoticed. And Pattee doesn’t know Blair’s agents at all, so Block can take the lead outside official functions. That will allow us to stagger the coverage without putting a larger detail in place. Unfortunately, we’re not sure how deeply we’re compromised.”

Evyn was no longer a suspect, but that knowledge didn’t make her feel better. All she could think about was Wes suddenly in the middle of some crazy extremist conspiracy, without backup.

“Is Wes going to wear a wire?”

“Yes.”

Evyn closed her fist by her side, struggling to keep her voice even. “That’ll help us monitor her. But if she’s discovered with it on, she’ll be an immediate target.”

“You forget, Agent,” Wes said softly, “I earned my rank. I can take care of myself.”

“This isn’t some field hospital, Wes—”

Roberts cut in. “You can leave Captain Masters’s security to me, Agent Daniels. Your job is to keep the lieutenant in your sights whenever she’s in proximity to the president.”