Bravo and Echo were a shadowy group of operatives that didn’t follow the same rules as the CIA. Of course, Natasha had practically gone rogue from the CIA when hunting down the elusive hacker and criminal The Knight. What was he thinking? Natasha would fit right in.
“We can’t risk anyone else on the task force knowing about you, and since Natasha is not only already aware of your operations but one of the best officers at the Agency, it was decided by the CIA director she was the right person for the position. And POTUS agrees. It wasn’t easy for me to come to this decision, but I trust her.” The admiral’s voice dipped low like a challenge to Wyatt and Wyatt alone, as in, Do you not trust her?
Wyatt got the message and pivoted around, his eyes going straight to the woman wearing his grandmother’s engagement ring.
“Are we okay with having these agents essentially spy on their own departments? I mean, that’s what you’re doing, right?” Chris asked before Wyatt had a chance to respond to the admiral’s unspoken question.
“It’s not so much about spying on our own people, but about having real-time access to all of the cases within each agency that may need an assist from you all,” Natasha explained. “Agents on my team will only flag potential issues from within their own agency and share the details with our task force. Not all situations will require your help, but in the cases that do, I’ll share that information with Secretary Chandler.”
Secretary Chandler? Not Dad. “And the other four agents won’t know you’re coming to us?” A.J. asked, a bit alarmed at all of this. “Who do they think will be helping?”
“It’s need-to-know, and well, they know they don’t need to know,” the admiral answered as if it were that simple.
Say that three times fast. A.J. resisted the urge to reach around for the knot at the back of his head. He was still off from that fall. He’d had a lot worse over the years, and for a rock to be the straw that broke the camel’s back—well, damn.
“Most cases, this task force will be used as a way to communicate and better collaborate with our colleagues across agencies and won’t involve you all,” Natasha added.
“Can we have a word in private?” Wyatt moved toward her, and she quickly nodded, then followed him out of the room.
A.J. opened the water bottle and nearly drained every last drop as he allowed his mind to circle around the idea they’d be working with Natasha as a liaison for a covert task force.
“We’re keeping this all a family affair, huh?” Owen directed his question to Secretary Chandler. “Jess and Luke co-run the teams. They’re brother and sister. Jess and Bravo Three are almost married. Bravo Five’s dad is POTUS. And now you, sir, well . . . you get the idea.”
It also made it easier when the guys fell in love with someone who already had access to additional high-level security clearance, such as Owen’s wife with ties to the Intelligence Committee before they married. And then there was Liam’s wife, who worked for the U.S. Attorney General.
“I take it you have a mission for us already as a result of this newly formed group?” Harper brought the focus back to the immediate reason they were all there: an operation.
Admiral Chandler’s attention turned to the stack of folders. “Yes, and unfortunately, this was not the way I wanted to kick things off, but for starters, we need to be certain we don’t have a mole or a leak at the Bureau.”
Yeah, and “for starters” means that’s the tip of the iceberg. And damn, the FBI? They’d encountered an issue with the FBI in the past, and they weren’t jonesing to do it again. The wounds were still fresh.
“I’ll let my daughter explain the case when she returns,” Admiral Chandler said as Finn reached for his phone. “You won’t get a signal. This place blocks all devices. Safety precaution.”
“Just gonna play some Candy Crush.” Finn was withholding a smirk, and A.J. could see it in the quiver of his lips.
The admiral rose at the sight of Natasha entering the room with Echo One a few minutes later. Neither looked pissed. That was good news. It couldn’t be easy for Wyatt to be in this position, but bright side? They’d get to spend more time together. Maybe fit in some last-minute wedding details.