the dark.
“He’s just unconscious,” Chry shouted, allaying his main concern. “They attacked him unexpectedly with a blow to the back of the head.”
In a perimeter around the vehicle there were a half-dozen dead men.
A volley of shots peppered the pavement, and they all took cover.
They each took up defensive positions and took aim at a dark van parked not far from the SUV, the side door open. Muzzle flashes and a hail of bullets pinged against metal and concrete as they returned fire. The van’s engine gunned, and through the passenger window, he saw a blonde woman turn her head, her face contorted in rage. Even as they opened fire at the retreating van, he was sure it was Kelly Sparks.
After the vehicle disappeared, they converged on Chry, Pitbull bending down to Fast Lane who was coming around.
“What are you doing here?” 2-Stroke shouted over the heavy rain.
“Insurance,” Chry said, her voice cold as the grave.
Their former CIA liaison had tried to kidnap Fast Lane. They’d been fucked over again.
What the hell was her game? And why did she want their LT?
13
“What is so important?” Anna asked as they came into Mouse’s computer room. He had what looked like an email account up on his screen. Her skin was still sensitive from their lovemaking, and even her loose pullover and sweatpants made her tingle.
“I was monitoring the Czech thugs’ remote connection while I was updating their data to my file, and one of them was reading this email.”
My friends,
Even though you have failed in securing the satellite activation code that was promised us, and the infidel has been dealt with, we will move forward with the rest of our plans. The West will feel our wrath.
MAS
“MAS?” Dodger said. “Muhammad Angar Said?”
“That’s not all,” Mouse said. “If you scroll down, the draft is really long. It’s all the planning and implementation of a huge plot. The US Satellite System was only one-fifth of the overall plan.” He scrolled down and said, “Look at this.” On the screen were several compound words: starwars, theox, thebell, fatalvision, whitesmoke.
“And this snippet of conversation: ‘We will hit them in every aspect of their lives—technological, intellectual, financial, tactical, and spiritual,’” he read.
A chill went down Anna’s spine as her mind whirred. “Starwars? The US Satellite System. Intellectual? The Ox…oh, God…Oxford University?”
“More localized,” Mouse said. “It’s the Rhodes Scholars according to what I read in the email. They’re planning to murder the staff and the scholars at their annual trust event at Rhodes House in the middle of Oxford.” He turned to look at her. “I can’t keep this a secret, Anna. I need to inform my government. It’s my job and the duty of this listening station.”
She set her hand on his shoulder. “I understand. Let’s take a breath and figure out all the details of everything and we’ll act accordingly.” She looked at Dodger as the threat of what they were facing touched them all. “You will have to tell them how you got this intel and, I’m sorry to say, MI-6 may not take it seriously. They might think that I’m a rogue and the intel could be contaminated. On top of that, Mouse, you’d be implicated in aiding and abetting a fugitive.”
“But all those people. We can’t let this happen.”
“We’re not going to,” Dodger said. “Trust me, Mouse. We’re not.”
He rested back in his chair, quiet for a moment as he turned to look at the volatile email. “I trust you both. You’ve done nothing but good here and in for a penny, in for a pound.”
“Let’s sift through all of this and try to decipher what their plans are. It’s obviously a strike against the West, including the US. We’re in this together. Unfortunately, without backup and the possibility of leakage since we have no idea how far the CIA has been affected, we’ll have to be very careful how we proceed.” She bent back to the screen and gestured toward the email. “Do they say how they’re planning this terrorist act?”
“Suicide bomber, but there’s no indication of who they have planned to carry out the attack.”
“Timeframe?”
“All I can get from the email is that it’s supposed to be next week.”
“Bloody hell,” Dodger said.
“Yeah, after we work out the other coded attacks, looks like we’re heading to London, Dodger,” Anna said. She smiled thinking she’d be in Dodger’s hometown. “Any chance of getting to meet your family?”
He grinned. “Mixing business and pleasure?” Then he sobered. “If my mum found out I was