Chapter Fourteen

"I guess it's possible this was taken before she would have died, but I don't think so." Declan blew up the photo. "See the car she and Gideon are standing near? That's at least a 2016 Mercedes." He tapped the screen. "She was still alive after her supposed death. What was Gideon hiding?"

"I wish I knew." Ellie was as baffled as the rest of them.

"Let's see who the other man is." Declan captured the mystery man's image and ran it through the facial recognition program. The identity was shocking. "That's a high-up official in Syrian Intelligence. What's the connection?"

Boone rubbed the back of his neck. "We have a former Mossad agent who is supposed to be dead but is alive meeting with the director of Mossad." He stopped. "What if it isn't something nefarious, but Gideon ordered her to go deep undercover for a purpose?"

"The only question is why?" Ellie said with a sigh. "And how is it connected to the Syrian Intelligence agent? Let's hope there are more answers in the file."

"I'm going to check in with the office," Boone told them after taking a slug of coffee. Once it connected, he put it on speaker.

The static on the line made it difficult to hear JT.

"JT, can you hear me?" Boone said over the noise.

"I've got you, Boone. Go ahead."

"I guess even using the best high-tech boosters available and having a cell tower right on the island doesn't eliminate service from being susceptible to the weather." Boone attempted a laugh.

"Unfortunately, no. But I can make out what you're saying. How's the storm?" JT asked.

Boone told him about the rising water level. "Let's hope we don't have to try and evacuate. I don't think there's another place to go. Unless we go to the cabin of Declan's friends, and it might have the same problem."

"Anything on the device?" JT spoke to someone. "Bryce and his wife are here. Everyone's hunkered down at the office. Looks like most of the storm is going to miss us. That's good news anyway."

Declan told him what they'd found so far.

"Wow, I can't even begin to understand what's happening or its importance to Ellie."

Boone looked her way before answering. "None of us understand either. I'm sure there are answers on the drive."

Ellie really needed to believe that.

"How are things in town? Has there been any more flooding?"

"Nothing more. Most of the water is receding. I checked in with Hank earlier. Things are good at the coffeehouse. Thankfully, there wasn't any significant damage."

"Any further spotting of those men from earlier?" Ellie asked.

JT told her no. "Not a peep. I'm thinking they're holding up somewhere until the weather passes. As we suspected, the address that was given on the driver's license to secure the rental car was a bust. The house had been abandoned for years."

No surprise to Ellie. "I don't suppose there were any prints left at the coffeehouse?"

"Lots but none that would identify our Arab visitors."

"We really have no idea who sent them." She tried not to lose hope.

"It appears so. On the bright side, the weather is predicting that the storm currently camping out over Breakers should be moving away soon. "

It was something.

"Hopefully, we'll be in touch with more information on the drive," Delcan told him.

"Appreciate it. Bryce and I are on standby. As soon as you're in the clear, we're coming to you. I'll leave Rachel and Janine to man the business. We can stay as long as it takes to unravel the truth and get Ellie answers. I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get to figure this puzzle out."

Boone ended the call.

Help would be on the way soon. So far, all they had to battle was the weather. Would that change? Her spy instincts told her something big was in the works and they'd better figure it out soon, otherwise lives might be lost.

She'd been in the crosshairs of a dangerous plot for years. Was it all because of what was hidden in the engagement ring given to her by someone she cared about?

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. A nervous habit she couldn't break.

She looked up and noticed Boone watching her. Even though they'd only known each other for a short amount of time, there was something about him that had gotten past the walls she'd built around her heart to protect it. Under the worst possible circumstances, she'd developed feelings for Boone. Her stomach clenched at the thought of something happening to him because she'd gotten him involved in her problem.

"This is taking longer than the previous data." Declan frowned at the laptop screen. I have a feeling this next part will be data rich and probably a more detailed encryption was used to protect what's there."

"So far, we have a former Mossad agent who is supposed to be dead, only she isn't. Clearly your director knew about it and covered it up." Boone wondered aloud why Gideon would do such a thing and risk his career. "The damage could be astronomical. At the very least, the director of Mossad could be removed from office. Worse, tried as a traitor."

Ellie rejected the suggestion of her director's involvement. "I know Gideon. He would never deliberately keep something like this a secret. He and I were close, but when I went to him for help, he told me he had to turn me in. There's more to the story than we know. Maybe she's deep undercover and the only way to make the cover believable was by faking her death."

"It's possible, I guess. You know him better than I do." Boone couldn't hide his doubts. "Someone, and I'm guessing it's an enemy of Israel, has been watching him and has proof that she's still alive and he knows it. They might believe there's a play there for blackmail. What I don't understand is why they included one of the top leaders of Syrian Intelligence."

"I agree with Boone," Eli interjected. "From what you've told us, Ellie, we have to assume the people coming after you are part of Syrian Intelligence. If so, then the photo of one of their leaders doesn't add up."

"Unless he's being investigated." Declan said quietly. "And I think I have proof that might be the case."

"You have more information?" Ellie rose and went over to view the laptop with the others.

"I do. This informant appears to be identified only by the code name of A. I'm guessing A is Issam Rafiq, the Syrian Intelligence leader seen with the prime minister. Clearly, he's been under surveillance for some time. The writer of this report seems to believe he may be involved with someone who could compromise his decisions."

"Someone like Neesa," Ellie added, shaking her head. "If Neesa ended up going deep undercover to get in with Issam, she would have changed her look, which explains the way she looks in the photo with Gideon. What I don't understand is why wait seven years to bring down Issam?"

"Maybe the person who gathered this information wasn't working for Syrian Intelligence but Mossad."

Ellie slapped her forehead. "That's it. These are Gideon's files. Gideon put this information on the drive for protection." All eyes turned to her.

"Why would the director of Mossad feel the need to hide sensitive information?" Boone asked, clearly confused. "There would have to be a better way to protect the intelligence."

"Unless he worried someone from our team was betraying him." She paced the room. "This is just a theory, but what if this was such an important mission that Gideon didn't tell anyone about it. He kept the information secret. Maybe he believed there was a breach within our team and he couldn't afford to let the surveillance fall into the hands of anyone else."

"What about hiding the device in your engagement ring? I'm thinking he had someone from your team involved."

Boone was right. "It had to be Daniel. Gideon trusted Daniel. He would have made sure Daniel knew about the information hidden in my ring."

"It may be why Daniel was killed. Somehow, details got out that the information existed but perhaps without naming names."

If so, the information gathered by Gideon seven years earlier had resulted in the death of his right-hand man and had sent Ellie undercover on the run for her life.

Ellie noticed something she hadn't before. "The storm's letting up."

Boone cocked his head. "You're right. The rain's definitely lessening."

"I want to check on the sandbags." Declan rose and then stopped because of something on his computer screen. "That's it. The decoding program is finished. There's no more information available."

Ellie couldn't believe it. All they had were a couple of photos and some data that didn't clear up anything. "Now what? We don't know what any of this means. All we can do is speculate."

Declan shook his head. "We really need to reach Gideon. Maybe he can fill in some of the blanks. After so long, the data here might not even be relevant."

Outside, the weather had drastically changed. Off in the distance, lightning was barely visible. The responding thunder confirmed the storm was losing intensity. A gentle rain replaced the earlier deluge.

"Looks like the sandbags held." Boone pointed to the water that had reached the bags but hadn't broken through.

"Thank You, God," Declan exclaimed. "It'll take a while for the water level to recede. Hopefully by daybreak, we can figure out a place for JT and Bryce to dock."

"I think we should loop the team into what we've been discussing." Boone looked to Ellie. "We could use some fresh input."

"That's a good idea. First, I'd like to make sure the Petersons are okay. I'll be back soon." Before Declan had taken a single step, Boone stopped him. He couldn't explain it, but it didn't seem wise for one person to be wandering through the woods alone. There could be more dangers than what was left behind by the storm. "We should all go with you."

Declan picked up on Boone's concerns and agreed. "You're right. There could be downed trees. I'll grab a chainsaw from the storage shed first."

They all donned jackets and headed out, not knowing what they might find.

Dead limbs that had come down in the storm littered the woods, making the going slow. Finally, they reached the Petersons' cabin, and not a single light showed through the curtains.

"They couldn't have left." Declan reasoned to himself. He stepped up on the porch and tried the doors. "Locked." The rear entrance proved the same. All the curtains were drawn. "I don't get it."

"Maybe they're getting ready to leave." Boone tried not to give in to the panic that was growing inside. "Where's their boat docked?"

"At the end of that path." Declan led the way down to the water, where a boat sat. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Something's wrong."

As they neared, it became evident that the boat had sustained irreversible damage when it slammed against the rocky shore.

"If they didn't leave the island, where are they?" Eli shone his flashlight over it, examining the damage.

"I don't know. Maybe they saw the damage and called a friend to pick them up."

Boone wasn't buying it. "Wouldn't they have checked in with you first?"

Declan rubbed the back of his neck. "You'd think. I left them a message, unless they didn't get it because of the weather." He appeared worried about his friends, with good cause. "It's almost daylight, and the weather is clearing. I'll keep trying them. If we don't get an answer by time the sun rises, I say we find a way inside."

Boone agreed. Something was off.

As they walked back to the cabin, Declan tried Robert Petersons' number again. He stopped suddenly. "Robert?"

Everyone gathered around.

Declan put the call on speaker. "Buddy, I've been worried about you."

Robert's laugh sounded forced. "Sorry for the concern. We left as soon as the storm broke."

Declan's brows rose. "How'd you get out of here? Your boat's destroyed."

"Carter. He was on the mainland with our second boat. How's the damage to your place? I didn't realize you and Wynona were here, otherwise we'd have offered you a ride."

Declan didn't correct him, which drew Boone's attention. "We're safe. Glad you made it off the island okay."

Robert thanked him and ended the call.

"Something's off. That boat that ran ashore. It didn't look like theirs," Declan said once the call was over. "I'm pretty sure he's lying.