Chapter 44

44

Fenn stood in Burl's small office at the Endurance airport, his body still chilled to the bone after the high-speed snowmobile ride back to the settlement. He and Mason hadn't seen any signs of Steele or Consortium pursuit during their return, but the adrenaline lingered, keeping him on edge. He tried not to shiver, the movement aggravating his bruised ribs. The bullet to the chest had left him feeling like he'd been hit by a sledgehammer.

He glanced around the room, noticing the absence of his temporary posse. "Where are my guys?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

Graham looked up from tending to Kate's injured shoulder. "Apparently there are a couple jail cells in the back of the market. They headed off to lock Jimbo up and then fill their tanks at the Frostbite." He shrugged. "I told them we'd be over in a few."

Fenn nodded, his gaze drifting to Bridger and Mason, who stood in the hangar. Bridger spoke up, his voice carrying across the space. "Jimbo wasn't hard to interrogate. Guy's not Consortium. Looks like Steele hired him to play spy."

Fenn considered that, his mind racing through the implications. "The Consortium will want him erased. No way they leave loose ends."

Tai shook his head, his expression grim. "Copy that. Guy's going to have to hide somewhere more remote."

"More remote than Endurance?" Fenn raised an eyebrow.

Tai winced. "I know. Good luck with that, right?"

Silence reigned as the team chewed on that thought. Likely prison stint aside, Jimbo's future was not looking bright.

Footsteps drew his attention to the office door, where Bridger's friend, Klein, entered with Paige in tow. Klein, who had loaned Bridger the Airbus helo, teased his friend about the aircraft still looking good. "No scratches. I'm loving that." He tossed a set of keys to Bridger. "My spare de Havilland's outside. I just had it waxed. Park it carefully. I'm gonna grab a burger at the Frostbite. Best bacon cheeseburgers in a hundred miles."

Fenn couldn't help but ask. "How many burger joints are there in that range exactly?"

Klein paused, thinking for a minute. "Two? No. Wait. Buster's folded up when the mining company went away. Just the one now." He waved goodbye and disappeared through the door.

Paige stayed behind, carefully hugging Kate. "You've been through it, girl."

Kate managed a weak smile. "No joke." She seemed grateful for the female companionship.

Paige turned to Fenn, mouthing the words silently. "Is she good?"

He flashed her the okay sign, his heart aching for Kate. He wanted to help, to take away her pain, but for once, he saw the wisdom in keeping his mouth shut.

Give her space. Give her time. And hope for the best.

Not a very sophisticated strategy, but what else could he do?

He studied Kate's face, noting the determination in her eyes despite the pain etched across her features. Graham finished fashioning the sling, his expression apologetic as Kate gasped. "Sorry," he winced.

She shook her head, her gaze locking with Fenn's. "The Consortium has a mole. I almost forgot! Hawk let it slip." She slid off the desktop, arm protected by the sling.

Fenn shot to her side, holding her up by her good arm. "Take it easy."

She pulled away, her voice urgent. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you all. We have to warn Jason. Now!"

"Easy," Fenn urged her to slow down, but she forged ahead, her words tumbling out in a rush.

"He told me there's a mole in one of the government agencies. He's on the tech side. Used to work with the higher-ups running BlackOut Squadron."

"Before they morphed into the Consortium." Fenn's jaw clenched at the bitter memory.

Ten years ago, when he'd been recruited into BlackOut Squadron, the best-of-the-best and most secretive black ops team around, he'd been filled with pride. Until the missions got uglier, the objectives murkier, and then, finally, they'd been left wondering who they were fighting for. Turned out, while they thought they were serving their country, they were really just lackeys for a cabal of ultra-wealthy billionaires.

"Hawk said this mole knows Jason," Kate continued. "My guess is the Consortium found someone Jason would trust."

Paige's face paled, her voice trembling slightly. "Cody Lassiter. I remember Jason asking me about MIT when I first joined BlackOut. When he was still with The Unit, he ran a mission with another cyberexpert that graduated in my class. It's got to be Cody."

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to their cyberanalyst.

"He used to be with an outfit deep inside the NSA," Paige explained, her voice barely above a whisper. "But I heard he'd moved on to an even tighter group. A small, mobile unit with very little oversight."

"Like BlackOut Squadron," Fenn said, already calculating the implications.

Paige's lips curled, her expression sour. "Unfortunately," she said, her voice tight.

"You know this guy?" He couldn't keep the disbelief from his tone.

Paige stuttered, her gaze darting away. "Knew him," she emphasized, her shoulders tensing. "A long time ago. We were in some of the same classes at MIT."

Interesting. Whatever history she and this Lassiter had, it was big. Or it ended badly.

Kate, ever the one to cut to the chase, asked the million-dollar question. "Do you think he's Consortium material?"

"Absolutely. Cody was never one for rules. Or ethics. Him joining up with the Consortium wouldn't be a shocker," Paige replied, her voice tinged with bitterness.

Bridger stepped forward, his phone already in hand. "We need to fill Jason in." He dialed quickly, leaving a concise message before turning to Tai. "We should take another spin out to that satellite station. Steele might have left something we can use to locate him."

"Or his Consortium handlers," Tai added.

"Great point," Fenn said. "Take Mason and Graham. I'll handle things here."

Bridger looked like he was going to argue, but Fenn cut him off. "Steele could be thinking the same thing. What if he comes back with reinforcements to clean up the site?"

"Copy that." Bridger's jaw clenched, clearly unhappy with the idea of leaving Fenn shorthanded, but they both knew Bridger could use the manpower.

Fenn grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "I've got Kate and Paige and my new posse. We got this."

"Klein's got skills, too. Guy did twelve years as a Ranger," Bridger added. "He's good people."

"Nice." Fenn's gaze drifted to Kate, who had her head bent toward Paige, discussing something in low tones. "I won't turn down the help."

Bridger struggled into his snowsuit, the fabric rustling as he moved. "I'll ask him to stick around until we get back."

As the others filed out, Fenn took a deep breath, steeling himself for the conversation he knew he needed to have with Kate. He approached her slowly, his heart hammering in his chest. "Can we talk?"

Pain—the heartache kind—darkened her beautiful eyes. "I have to help Burl and Bridger preflight the borrowed Airbus. And I have a lot to think about," she added, almost as an afterthought.

His stomach dropped. He didn't like the sound of that, not one bit. But he knew better than to push. Kate needed time to process everything that had happened, and he had to respect that, no matter how much it hurt.