Chapter 25

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Stephen's throat tightened.

He hadn't known any of this. Larchmont hadn't shared this information with him. He didn't even know if it was all true or not.

Either way, his heart panged with empathy for Heidi.

None of this could be easy to hear.

More than anything, he wanted to grab her hand and comfort her. But he couldn't do that. Especially not now. Not in front of Larchmont.

However, the grief on her face broke his heart.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Heidi stared at Larchmont, something close to contempt in her gaze.

"Because we need to find Rafferty and stop him."

"Stop him from doing what?" Her voice pitched higher. "Haven't all the guys on your team had those devices removed from their hearts? Why else do you want to find him?"

"This is bigger than that." Cynthia spoke for the first time, her voice strong and confident.

Stephen bristled at her words. "How is it bigger?"

"The intel we've heard has led us to believe that Rafferty is planning an assassination," Cynthia said.

"An assassination?" Stephen almost wanted to laugh—not that the subject was a laughing matter. The words simply hadn't been what he expected to hear. "I need to know more. Who is the target of this assassination plot?"

Larchmont's gaze locked with his. "All we know is that it's a high-level political leader, someone whose death would rock the nation."

Heidi blinked several times, unsure if she'd heard everything correctly.

Larchmont's words were like something straight out of a book or a movie. But definitely not reality.

Her thoughts raced. She needed to know more—even though she wasn't sure what she could do. She was out of her league right now.

Before she could find her voice, Stephen spoke. "Why would you think that?"

Larchmont let out a long breath and rubbed a hand over his face, clearly exhausted. "Rafferty didn't start out bad. His intentions were good, actually. Along the way, he simply became disillusioned."

"Keep going," Heidi said.

"He's unhappy with the current state of our country. He sacrificed everything for the missions he was in charge of—he dedicated his whole life to the country. He did those things in order to build the United States into a nation he could be proud of."

"I would say he succeeded," Heidi said. "We're a stronger country because of the sacrifices our military has made for us, not just recently but throughout the years."

Larchmont's lips flickered downward. "Unfortunately, Rafferty didn't see it that way. When the people above him began to give orders he didn't agree with, he began to feel as if everything he did was in vain."

"Is that when he broke away from Project Elevate?" Stephen asked.

Larchmont nodded. "Yes. He was quite vocal about his displeasure. He was actually fired."

"And then?" Heidi asked.

"It's a rather long story, but to get straight to the point, new world alliances have been formed."

"What does that even mean?" Stephen's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm aware of the current state of the world, but how does that affect Rafferty and his work?"

"Many of his missions involved subterfuge." Larchmont's voice gained more strength as he shared this part of the story. "He developed super soldiers who would do the jobs no one else could be trusted with. People like you." He threw Stephen a pointed look.

Heidi glanced at Stephen and saw his lips press into a tight line. She could only imagine the things he'd had to do.

"This subtle espionage that turned countries against each other, all so certain agendas could be met," Larchmont continued. "But now new alliances have been formed, and all the suffering that Rafferty saw—the deaths—felt like they were for nothing."

Heidi's heart beat hard in her ears. Alliances meant everything when it came to world peace. Political leaders needed to trust each other. But sometimes those alliances had to be perfectly orchestrated.

In those cases, she could understand why Rafferty would think the sacrifices he'd made were for nothing.

"I can see where that's a terrible thing." Heidi crossed her arms. "I truly can. But I still don't understand how this equates to assassinating a political leader."

Larchmont grimaced before continuing. "According to the intel I've gathered, he wants to leverage the upcoming election and ensure the right people are in office."

"Rafferty really thinks he can do that?" Heidi asked. "I mean, it's a little more complicated than removing someone from the picture, isn't it?"

"It's definitely more complicated than that. He has a lot of very powerful people on his side, powerful people who can pull strings. If he makes it look as if the opposing party was behind the assassination, then he can build support for his own issues." Larchmont paused and shook his head.

"So how does this all tie in?" Stephen shifted in his seat. "We've been chasing a lot of leads. But I don't understand how everything connects."

"We believe Howard Monarch has been helping Rafferty, that Monarch is involved in this assassination attempt as well."

"What reason would he have to do that?" Heidi asked.

"Financial gain." Cynthia raised her eyebrows. "Power."

"What about Davis and Wagner?" Stephen asked. "Are they connected with this?"

"Davis and Wagner?" Heidi's mind raced. "Who are they?"

"Commander Davis is a former military leader with the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Stephen explained. "And Wagner is Senator Tom Wagner of Nebraska. We've been keeping an eye on them over the past few weeks."

"Longer than that, actually." Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Things were going on behind the scenes before you came onboard with this."

"Is one of them the commander Monarch mentioned?" Heidi asked.

"Maybe. We've concluded that Davis and Wagner are both in on this, that they're involved somehow with this overthrow." Larchmont swallowed hard, his eyes drooping as if this conversation were wearing him out. But he didn't seem ready to stop yet either. "The mission we're about to undertake isn't one for the faint of heart. It could cost us everything. Absolutely everything."

Heidi let his words settle as she waited for Larchmont to continue.