Dicing With Death A Lex Jackson novel 2.3

Chapter 37: Secret operations are essential in war

Central Intelligence Agency

Director Hamilton's pov:

Downstairs , alarmed bells sounded as the code word flashed onto the screen within seconds. The action officer jolted upright from where he was sitting staring wide-eyed at it. He knew who the code was for Lamont, one of their finest and best counter intelligence agents. This wasn't good at all; the only time these code words had been muttered was when an agent had been compromised or killed.

He jumped to his feet as he darted out of the operations centre, heart racing, heading over  to the elevator. The code had been sent from a CIA station chief in the Russian Federation embassy in  Moscow. Which meant that Lamont had probably got close to finding who Courtney's handler was. The doors slid open as he stepped in. As an action officer, he oversaw the operations the agents did and made sure that they were briefed beforehand and after.

A few minutes later, the doors opened to the eleventh floor, as Sam sauntered out and down the corridor to Director Hamilton's office. He pushed the door open as he dashed into her office. She looked up from her computer screen on her desk, seeing the look on his face.

Director Hamilton raised eyebrow as she jumped to her feet. " What is it Sam?"

"We retrieve a code from the CIA Station chief  in Moscow," the action officer told her.

Moscow, she thought to herself, it had to be Trevor.

Director Hamilton slammed down her fist on her desk. "Lamont must have gotten too close to something. My guess is it it was the Resistance."

"What do you want to do?" the action officer asked.

She thought for a couple of seconds, considering   going over her options; She needed to know what Lamont had found out that had gotten him killed? Still, how had the Resistance known that he was going to be in Moscow ? There was no way there could be another leak in the Agency, but then the arms dealer/ hacker had been one step ahead of them all this time. That would explain  everything.

"I'll have to send Nicky and Orleana there to see what they can uncover there. Lex and agent Charles are in St. Petersburg trying to find out more, about the Resistance and the arms dealer. We're going to have to tread carefully on this one. President Roberts and President Putin are going to be signing the treaty soon," Director Hamilton told him.

The action officer nodded in agreement with her, knowing what Nicky and Orleana could do. He strolled out of the office and walked down the corridor to the elevator. He waited for the doors to open while he thought back to when they had first recruited the arms dealer. Yes, they had done business with some of the most dangerous in the world, but it was for a good cause national security.

Director Hamilton grabbed the burner on her desk, snatching it up in her hands. She entered a secure encrypted number, holding the phone up to her ear.

*****

Malta, Valletta CIA Safe house shooting range

Nicky finished assembling Ballista, configured it for.338 Lapua chambering and slotted in a ten-box round mag. The rifle itself had been modified for 400 years. She laid in the prone position, peering through the scope; she adjusted the elevation turret on the sniper, knowing that there was a slight breeze and that the bullet could drop. She held her breath and fired. The rifle recoiled with a loud crack as the round, rushed out of the muzzle.

Her burner buzzed, laying on the ground as the scent of gunpowder rose in the air, the target had been  obliterated; she snatched up it and clicked the accept button before she spoke.

"Nicky," 

"Nicky, It's Director Hamilton, I need you and Orleana go to Moscow to see what agent Lamont had uncovered there."

She jumped to her feet, placing the sniper rifle back into the pelican case. "When do you want us to leave?"

"As soon you can, Nicky," Director Hamilton told her.

Nicky ended the conversation on her burner grabbing the  pelican case, heading back up the path to the safe house. She  had noted the urgency in Director Hamilton tone when she had called.  Grabbing the door handle  she entered, walking over to  the family room where Orleana was cleaning her pistol sitting on a sofa. Orleana  looked up, seeing Nicky expression hardened.

"Director Hamilton, need us in Moscow right away," Nicky told Orleana.

Orleana slipped her pistol back into the tactical mini-wing as he rose from where she was sitting. She walked over to the weapons vault and entered the passcode. The senor green turned green as the door clicked opened. They entered, grabbing their body armor off the rack and some spare ammo just in case they needed it. After that, they strolled out and closed the vault door.

*****

Director Hamilton placed her burner back on her desk, she rose  from where she was sitting, and strolled over to the window as she thought back to when she had first agent Lamont, Yes she had seen plenty of potential in him when he was trained at The farm. He had often reminded her of Lex when he was young and ambitious, that's why she had assigned him to the counter intelligence division.

It was a risky move sending two of her best agents to Moscow, but there too much at risk right now. She knew the risk all too well, yes, she had been agent herself, who had operated in the shadows risking her life for national security; but she didn't ask for agents that's what made her a great chief of the CIA.

Timing was everywhere here with the treaty getting close at hand,  she knew the Resistance wouldn't be far behind, she would not let them assassinate the Russian President on American soil. It wasn't just that but also the death of Lex's brother and now Lamont, who had been killed by them. She strolled back over to his desk and sat down in the chair behind it.

She had her own suspicions about the arms dealer/hacker and who he was really was working. Yes, in a way Martin Ray had kind been behind the Resistance himself, but not without help from powerful contacts higher in the echelons of power. She couldn't prove it yet.

As a spy herself and now the chief of the CIA, she didn't believe in coincidences at all, and she knew everything happens for a reason. She had gone after a lot of dangerous people, a traitorous CIA chief Tyler Quinn, The Raptor and the White Nights, and of course Victor Kenton who was behind the black market. But this was proved to be more dangerous, and not knowing who she could trust in her agency was going to be a problem.

She understood sometimes  that  you had to do business with dangerous people to get intel, there was nothing she would do to protect national security of her country. The asset had she once trusted to sell arms to rogue regimes to get intel; he was no longer the asset.

After typing her password on the screen to access the redacted file on Operation Gold Dust, she clicked on it. Within seconds, the file flashed on the screen. Her eyes narrowed on of the names: Deputy Director of National Intelligence Cassandra Lei. Her old stomping ground, it made sense that National Intelligence had been involved in the op back then. Still, she had a strange feeling that she was missing something?

Something immediately caught her eye. She rubbed her eyes this was strange; she thought to herself it showed that the arms dealer/hacker was on the National Intelligence payroll. She wondered how could that be?  

She knew enough about Operation Gold Dust, to know that it was the Shadow's first op in Iraq.  When they had stolen  the gold from Saddam's palace. The op itself had been  disaster from start to finish, a CIA station chief had been killed trying to stop them stealing the gold. She remembered that Azalea Elizabeth Grey had been the lead special operations operator back then. She couldn't put her finger on it yet, but somehow knew that Golddust had to be connected to The Resistance.

After a while she closed the file on her screen, she rubbed her chin as she thought about what the deputy director of National Intelligence could gain from working with the Resistance, there to be angle, but what was it? It finally dawned on her yes, of course the arms trade that was it, it made perfect sense to her now. If that treaty got signed by the Russian President and President Roberts it would put an end to the arms deals.