Chapter 51

51

Teddy was carried down a hallway, his feet dragging behind him.

“Finally,” the familiar voice of Felix Braun said. “Get him inside.”

Teddy’s handlers maneuvered him through a doorway and into a room, where he was dropped into a chair that didn’t move.

“Don’t just stand there,” Braun said, “tie him up.”

Someone grabbed one of Teddy’s hands and set his forearm on the arm of the chair. Using the heel of his palm as a base, Teddy adjusted his arm’s position so that it was hovering above the chair. He held it there as a cord was wrapped around and tied off. While it appeared to be snug, it wasn’t. He did the same with his other arm.

Once that was finished, Braun said, “Wake him up.”

A needle pierced Teddy’s arm and a jolt of adrenaline rushed through his system. His eyes opened wide as he sucked in breath.

Across a metal table from him sat Braun. Behind Braun were Dieter Wenz, his buddy Rolf, and a man Teddy guessed had been in the van. The only other person present was Jillian. She was pressed against the wall near the door, looking very much like she wanted to be anywhere else. Teddy could sense no one standing behind him.

“I bet you didn’t think we’d be seeing each other again this soon, did you?” Braun said.

“What’s going on?” Teddy said, as he began quietly working his arms from their restraints. “Why am I here?”

“Because we have business to discuss, Mr. Fay. Or can I call you Teddy?”

“What?” Teddy’s left hand slipped free of the first loop. “My name’s Billy Barnett.”

Braun smiled. “Sure, you are Billy Barnett. But underneath your Billy Barnett facade, you’re Teddy Fay.”

Teddy’s left hand was almost completely free now, and his right was not far behind.

“I have no idea what you’re going on about. I don’t know who this Teddy person is. But why don’t we make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You let me go now, and I won’t let anyone know what you’ve done tonight.”

Braun smirked. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying you’ll give us a pass if we let you walk away?”

“Exactly that,” Teddy said, both of his arms now free. “I won’t say a word.”

Braun glanced at Dieter. “What do you think, Dieter?”

“I think he’s lying,” Dieter said.

“I couldn’t agree with you more. But we need to remember, it’s all people like him can do.” Braun focused back on Teddy. “Let’s stop playing games, shall we? We both know who you worked for and what you did.”

“I work for Centurion Pictures.”

“You work for the CIA.”

“I guarantee you, I don’t work for the CIA.”

“You worked for them when you killed my father.”

A click came over the comm in Teddy’s ear.

“Your father?” Teddy dropped all traces of fear from his expression. “You mean Tovar Lintz? The same man whose efforts contributed to the deaths of thousands?”

Braun stared at him, looking like he could hardly believe what he was hearing. “You…you admit it? You’re Teddy Fay?”

“Like you said, let’s stop playing games.”

Minutes earlier, Vesna, Stone, and the Strategic Services team had rappelled down the elevator shaft and landed softly on top of the elevator car at the bottom.

The trapdoor in the ceiling was quickly found and opened.

Vesna went through first and dropped softly into the car. Strauss and one of his people followed.

Once they had the doors pried open, the others came through the hatch.

As soon as Vesna stepped out of the elevator, the audio feed from Teddy’s mic went active. From Stone’s reaction, he was hearing it, too.

They moved down the hallway until they reached a door with the number one painted above it. Muffled voices from the other side matched the voices coming over the feed.

As Braun was telling Teddy that he knew Teddy worked for the CIA, Vesna tested the door handle. As expected, it was unlocked.

In the room, Braun said, “You worked for them when you killed my father.”

Vesna clicked her mic to let Teddy know she and the others were there.

Braun laughed, deep and loud.

Teddy merely looked at him blankly.

“Of all the people associated with Golden Hour, you were the one I’d wanted to eliminate the most. Since you were dead, I thought that chance had been denied me. But here you are in the flesh. I have never been so pleased to be wrong in my life.”

“I’m happy for you,” Teddy said.

“You should be. I’ve worked hard to reach this point.”

Teddy shrugged skeptically. “Have you really?”

“The fact that you’re sitting in a room from which you will never leave alive is proof of that.”

“You say fact . I say unlikely possibility.”

Braun tutted. “Try to delude yourself however you want, but we both know how this will end.”

“I’m going to have to disagree with you about that, too.”

“I would think an intelligent man like yourself would be able to work it out on your own. But if you wish to play ignorant, I’m happy to spell it out for you. Tonight, Operation Golden Hour officially comes to an end.”

“Is that so?”

“I have assassins in place near all the remaining agents associated with your vile mission. As soon as you’re eliminated, they’ll finish everyone else off.”

“Thanks for sharing, but you appear to have misunderstood what I meant when I said I disagreed with you. I’m not the one who doesn’t understand how this will end.”

Braun snorted. “You just don’t know when to give up, do you?”

“It’s not in my nature.”

“Nothing you can do about it, I suppose. Fine. Think what you will. That won’t change what’s about to happen to you.”

“I want to make sure I have this right. You kill me, then give your assassins the word and they kill the rest of my team. And then you go after the director of the CIA and the president of the United States. Or will you wait a bit before you attempt to kill them?”

Braun’s mood darkened, but he kept his mouth shut.

“I just ask because I’m curious,” Teddy said. “If you don’t want to share, that’s fine. It’s never going to happen anyway because they already know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s what you and your buddy Dieter talked about at lunch the other day. Or don’t you remember that?”

The first signs of concern flashed through Braun’s eyes.

“The director and the president have already been informed of your intentions.”

Braun’s sneer returned. “Nice try, Teddy. Nothing you say is going to change your fate. All you’re doing is delaying the inevitable.”

“Am I? Perhaps you should check in on those assassination teams you think you have on standby.”

Braun stared at him for a few seconds, then looked back at Dieter. Dieter pulled out his phone and started making calls. Each time he hung up without anyone answering.

Braun whirled to face Teddy. “You son of a bitch! What have you done?”

“My job.”