best man. Again, not to be egotistical, but who else would you send to Caracas on the most high-profile case of the decade, if not the century? And if Brodie took all this information and put it in the right order, then Maggie Taylor being assigned as his partner a few months ago was not a random occurrence. If Trent and his pals were thinking long-range, they were concerned that CID would eventually get on this case. They might or might not have known where Kyle Mercer was at that point, but some inquiries would tell them that if CID got the Mercer case, then CID would want to assign one of their few combat veterans—someone who could think like Kyle Mercer and who could talk his talk, man-to-man, if the time ever came. And this needed to be a top investigator, an exceptional detective, and a man who had a few snatch jobs under his belt, a fearless rogue who took chances but got the job done. And that would be… well, Chief Warrant Officer Brodie.
And somehow the CIA got their asset, Maggie Taylor, assigned to Warrant Officer Brodie before the CID even knew where Mercer was. Taylor might have been part of the process herself, asking to be partnered with Scott Brodie. And voilà—everything fell into place, and the CIA could count on having eyes and ears on the ground in the unlikely—but possible—event that the CID would eventually get a tip on Mercer’s whereabouts, and that Scott Brodie would get the case. Or… maybe it was vice versa: The CIA had influenced the decision to put Brodie on the case because Brodie’s partner, Maggie Taylor, was their man. Or, in this case, their lady. Trent’s lady.
If even part of this was true, he had to admit that the Agency had some good thinkers onboard. Probably Trent, in this case.
He said to Taylor, “Did you ask to be partnered with me?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Trent told me to do it.”
“Right. If you’re going to place a mole in an organization, you put the mole next to the fastest-rising star in that organization.”
“I’d never even heard of you. And when I asked around… I got mixed reviews.”
“Really?”
“Everything from brilliant and tough, to arrogant asshole.”
“Some people are jealous.”
“A female investigator did say you were charming, handsome, and always a gentleman.”
“Who was that?”
“Not telling. But she also said you never showed unwanted attention toward female personnel. I liked that, so…”
Brodie knew that even if he looked like Stanley Dombroski, Taylor was under order from Trent to apply for the job. This manipulation of the CID by the CIA was disturbing. But that was the least of his problems today. Nevertheless, he asked, “Who was the lady?”
“No one you slept with.”
“That narrows it down.”
“I’m sure.”
“Sorry about my unwanted attention last night.”
“Not entirely unwanted. And not all on you.”
“We’ll wait until we have dinner at your place.”
She nodded, then said, “A pigeon.”
“For dinner?”
“No. How the hell can you mistake a heron for a pigeon?”
“I got it right on the second guess.”
“You only get one guess, Scott.”
“Mercer was on to us anyway.”
They heard Emilio’s voice outside, and it sounded like a one-way conversation, so maybe he was on a walkie. Brodie asked, “Ready to bust out of here?”
“I don’t know…”
“You can do this. Ready?”
Brodie got himself into a crouch and worked his hands under the log, and Taylor did the same.
He said, “Think of this log as one of your Civil Affairs people with a sucking chest wound who needs to be lifted onto a medevac.”
She nodded.
But don’t think of what’s going to happen to you if this doesn’t work. “Okay, one, two, lift!”
They lifted the log, but Brodie found it heavier than last time, meaning he was weaker, and he could tell that Taylor was drawing on the last of her strength.
“Hold on.” He walked the log around so his end was about three feet from the door. “Call for Emilio to come in.”
“Scott… my knees are buckling…”
“You have to get this guy on the chopper, Maggie. He’s bleeding out. Call Emilio.”
She took a deep breath, but instead of calling she asked, “Are we going to kill him?”
“No, we’re just going to crush his fucking skull. Call him.”
“My arms…”
“Kneel. We’ll get this on our shoulders. You can do it.”
They both knelt and pushed up on the log until it rested on their right shoulders. “Okay… stand.”
They both got themselves into a standing position, and Taylor said, “That’s better…”
Emilio must have heard them talking and he shouted