Guest: I agree that Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz have such good chemistry. That's one reason I don't ever see Aaron or Marta with anyone else. I also loved how subtly they played it in the movie. You never really see a kiss or anything like that, but it's there.
Lisa: LOL! "Except maybe Byer." That got both me and my husband laughing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!
As always, hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
oOo
Aaron woke early the next morning, blinking as the sun peeked over the horizon. Marta slept on, however, having shifted in her sleep so that she now faced him. He carefully slipped out of bed, leaning over her when she mumbled in her sleep. "Shh. . .I'll make breakfast."
A smile touched her lips before she burrowed back under the blankets and drifted off again. Aaron watched her sleep for a few seconds before heading into the bathroom. He showered and dressed in less than twenty minutes, taking that time to think about this latest development.
He could not be happier with his relationship to Marta than he was at this moment. He'd missed waking to feel her presence near him, knowing she was safe and happy. It went beyond the physical and into something deeper than he even knew how to explain. He loved Marta, but it was more than that. He loved her so much that he trusted her with his secrets and weakest moments. At first, in Manila, it had been necessary as she was the only person who could help him viral off the chems. Now, it was choice. He'd known how deep his emotions went, but seeing that same trust reflected back in her eyes last night. . . .He hadn't quite known how to respond, and I love you seemed inadequate. But it was all he had, so he gave it.
Now, pushing those thoughts from his mind, he left Marta sleeping and found Jason in the kitchen, pulling breakfast foods from the fridge. Both men had become accustomed to a lot more than just cereal and coffee in the mornings, and one or the other of them typically cooked. For Aaron, it was a biological need. His metabolism had been enhanced along with everything else, and he usually ate twice what most others did.
Now, Jason glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "How's Marta?"
"She's good." Aaron stared out the windows that Jason had obviously opened when he woke. "Still tired, but that'll probably linger for a while. The doc said that drug was pretty nasty and might have some side effects crop up when we least expect it."
Jason nodded and went back to cooking. Nicky stumbled into the area shortly after Aaron started coffee, and the two men smirked as she made a beeline for the coffee pot and waited for it to finish. She'd never been a morning person, and Aaron hadn't commented when she'd stayed at his place. He didn't comment now, choosing to leave Jason to breakfast while he moved to the windows and looked out.
Marta finally made an appearance just as Jason finished the scrambled eggs. Nicky buttered toast, and Aaron set the table. It felt very domestic and normal and something he'd want to do with family and friends more often. The group settled, each of them having filled their plates with what they wanted, and Aaron watched Marta try her best to eat a decent serving of eggs and toast. She finished the toast, along with a glass of orange juice, but she left half of her eggs. It was an improvement, and he was happy to see it.
Finally, the conversation turned to the CIA and their new jobs. Marta asked both Nicky and Jason what they thought about the offer, getting conflicting responses. Nicky wasn't certain about the CIA or about working with the agency again while Jason was okay with it. When Marta turned her attention to Aaron, he shrugged. "It's a means to an end. Right now, we need the resources to bring Byer down, and Landy's offering them. After that. . . ." He shook his head. "I don't know, but I won't give up the restoration business."
Marta frowned. "What do we know about Byer?"
Jason pushed his plate to the side, leaning his elbows on the table. "He's gone to ground, obviously. We believe he's triggered Vendel."
"Wait." Marta held up a hand. "Triggered?"
"Yeah." Aaron nodded. "Marta, Vendel's an asset. Like LARX. Only difference is that he can be switched on and off using a trigger phrase."
Her eyes widened. "Like Donald Foite?"
Nicky blinked. "Who's Donald Foite?"
Aaron sighed. "Donald Foite was the scientist Byer used to kill everyone except Marta at Sterisyn-Morlanta when he shut down Outcome. Foite was somehow brainwashed to commit murder-suicide in an attempt to eliminate anyone who knew anything about the program."
Marta shook her head. "I haven't thought about that in. . .months. There has to be a reason why Foite did what he did. I mean, he was just fine the day before. Someone doesn't do that, not someone like Foite. He was a doctor, interested in completing his cortex study, and he seemed happy about it. If there was a trigger—a particular noise or phrase designed to set him off—it would definitely explain the change in tactics and character."
Aaron couldn't help the slow grin crossed his face. "That's why Landy wants you on her team. You understand this stuff better than anyone else."
She stared at him, blinking as she realized she did have something to offer the CIA. After a few moments, she nodded. "I'll talk to Landy," she said. "But I make no promises. About working for them, I mean."
"I knew what you meant." Aaron realized after he murmured the comment that the two of them had drifted off topic and into personal issues. Nicky cleared her throat and started taking dirty dishes to the kitchen while Marta joined her friend. Jason just rolled his eyes and shook his head, finishing up his coffee.
Within the hour, the four of them headed for the CIA office. Once there, Aaron forced himself to shut down his "romantic side," as Marta had called it years ago in Johannesburg, and focused on his job. Marta knocked on Landy's door, and the two women spent a long time discussing the particulars of Marta's work for the CIA. When they reappeared, Marta nodded to Aaron, letting him know she'd accepted the job offer. She followed Landy to a group assigned to tear apart the files on Vendel, and Landy walked away a few moments later after putting Marta in charge of figuring out exactly what had been done to Vendel.
Turning back to his own file, which focused on the hierarchy of Byer's organization, Aaron buried a grin. With Marta working to figure out what had been done to Vendel, Nicky analyzing Byer's state of mind and trying to find his weakness, and Jason helping him locate the one weak link in Byer's organization, they stood a good chance of ending this soon. It just took the right time and the right person.
oOo
That right time and right person didn't make themselves known for another week. In that time, Nicky made a decision. No matter if she continued her work for the CIA after this latest incident, she knew she couldn't go back to the coffee shop. She had grown beyond that point, though she would probably always hold a soft spot for the barista who made her coffee. The night she made the decision, she curled into one of Marta's couches, watching her friends flirting and wondering when she and Jason would be that open. They'd had several late-night conversations in the workout room of the apartment building, giving Aaron and Marta enough time to do whatever they wanted to do. Those conversations had lengthened each time they happened, and she realized Jason had made an attempt to be more open with her. In response, she tried not to push him to talk. He just seemed to gravitate toward conversations.
Marta's face brightened. "You could open your own coffee shop," she said, bringing Nicky's attention back to the current topic of conversation.
Jason, much to everyone's surprise, grinned and nudged her foot. "That's an idea."
Nicky rolled her eyes. "You just want free coffee."
From his spot behind Marta, Aaron shrugged as he rubbed Marta's shoulders. "What guy wouldn't want free coffee?" When Marta glared up at him, he blinked. "What? It's free coffee."
Nicky laughed at the idea, but it lodged in her head. She could open a coffee shop of her own. Since she'd accepted the CIA's money, she'd barely touched it, so she had plenty of investment capital. Plus, a coffee shop had potential to be useful for all kinds of things, and Nicky's experiences with the CIA told her not to discount the idea.
As Aaron and Marta continued to bicker over free coffee, Nicky readied for work. Jason jumped up to walk her out as Marta laughed at something Aaron said, and he wound up driving her to the coffee shop. She shook her head and made a mental note. She also needed to find her own apartment.
At the coffee shop, she found the owner and manager of the place wiping down tables. He straightened when she opened the door. "You okay?"
She smiled at him. "Yeah. What were you told?"
"Some guy in a suit came by and said you'd been taken into protective custody." He shrugged. "Something about an incident in Washington State before you came here."
Nicky knew then what had happened. Landy had covered for her. "Everything's fine," she said, falling smoothly into the cover story. "But. . . ."
Her boss's face fell. "You're leaving us."
"Yes."
He nodded, accepting her decision. "Well, I'm sorry to see you go. I know you were needing just a temporary job, but you're good at this."
Nicky thanked him, accepted a free coffee for her and Jason, who had followed her inside, and left after waving one last time to her former coworkers. Unless she followed through on her idea to open her own coffee shop, she'd be back often, and she wanted to maintain good relationships with everyone there.
Once back in the car, she let out a deep breath. Jason eyed her. "Better?"
She smiled. "Yeah. I'm now jobless and still apartment-less, but better."
He rolled his eyes at her dry tone and drove her back to Marta's. By the time they arrived, Aaron had spread his payroll paperwork across the table and was working on it while Marta sorted through work emails. Landy had covered for her as well, but Nicky knew her friend was considering the logistics and ethics of returning to a job that had bitten her in the behind not once, but twice.
Their big break came three days later. Aaron and Jason had been at separate computers, both men anxious to do something that worked out some of the adrenaline. Aaron had spent that morning on the job site, working with Manuel and Bobby to just burn some energy. Jason had chosen to go for a run at dawn to do the same thing, but Nicky saw what the inactivity did to them. While it gave Aaron and Marta the chance to bond—and reminded Nicky that Jason had promised to pursue their relationship when this was over—it still wore on all of them.
Aaron perked up suddenly when his computer beeped. Nicky, as well as Landy, caught the way his head suddenly lifted from his palm, and both women hurried to him. He pointed wordlessly at the screen, not becoming too excited until he'd opened the email.
It was from one of the techs on Byer's payroll, a young man who had been a promising tech for Apple before Byer recruited him. Aaron had discounted him as the leak initially because he'd been so careful up until then. But during his time in New Mexico, he'd befriended one of the ranchers' daughters and had needed to send an email to her to let her know he was okay. He tried to be careful, but the CIA was ready for him.
Landy immediately whipped her team into action, ordering the techs to begin their trace and instructing Cronin to have a plane fueled and ready for them.
No one left the CIA office that night. Nicky, Jason, Aaron, and Marta watched, Marta biting her nails, as the techs spoke in Geek and typed faster than any of them thought possible. Landy occasionally asked for an update, but she left them to work for the most part. Finally, one tech crowed triumphantly. "We got him!"
Landy whirled. "Where?"
A set of GPS coordinates came up on the screen. "North of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He's in Canada."
Landy stared at her tech. "You're sure?"
"Yes." The guy nodded emphatically. "The reason we haven't found anything is that no one made contact—obviously. We expected that, when they did, they'd do something like hopping onto secure WiFi or using an SSH Tunnel."
Aaron, who'd been sitting in a chair out of the way, lifted his head from his hand. "A what tunnel?"
"SSH Tunnel." The tech became more animated the longer he spoke. "Secure Shell Protocol. Basically, it's using a proxy server to make your connection."
Landy, who motioned for Cronin to prep the plane for a flight across the US-Canada border, nodded her understanding. "Not this guy?"
"Not this time." The tech shook his head. "This guy was an up and coming tech for Apple before he went rogue with Byer. He wouldn't make this mistake without cause. What probably happened is he used a computer other than his own so Byer couldn't track him, hopped on an unsecured WiFi connection, and sent his email. He probably thought we'd trace things back to the proxy computer he used, not his actual address."
Landy cut off the rest of his explanation with a raised hand. "Okay, it took us twelve hours to find him. We're on the clock. Let's get packed and out of here. I want to be in the air within the hour." She turned to Jason and Aaron. "You two ready?"
Aaron nodded, the venom on his face making Nicky smile. "Yes."
"Good." Landy glanced at the other two women who were waiting. "Let's get moving. I want Nicky there to help coordinate the logistics, and, Dr. Shearing, we may need your expertise if we're able to capture Vendel. Let's go."
oOo
The flight to Sault Ste. Marie took less than two hours. They landed quietly and disembarked, setting up their base of operations in the Best Western with minimal fuss. The CIA paid for the rooms, and the hotel was the best that the small city had to offer. Marta appreciated Landy's consideration in making certain she and Aaron shared a room, and she grinned at the tactfulness of the older woman. Landy had made certain two beds were available rather than just assuming they'd only need one. Instead of thinking about it too much, they made their way to the office space that the CIA had rented just for this use.
Within the hour, Aaron and Jason had a plan of action. Byer was hiding out in an abandoned house less than a hundred miles away from Sault Ste. Marie. He was likely using long-range WiFi to keep in touch with the outside world. It made the tech's job a bit harder when hopping onto an unsecured network, but it could be done. And it also made the mistake that much worse.
With a car fueled and waiting for them, Aaron pulled Marta to one side of the room. "Stay close," he said softly.
"I will." She tried to smile and failed. "Aaron. . . ."
He put his finger on her lips to keep her from saying anything. "I know. I'll be safe." Glancing over her shoulder, he saw that Landy and the rest of the room were trying to give them as much privacy as possible. He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I love you," he whispered.
She smiled then. "I love you, too."
Aaron and Jason left then, neither of them discussing their plans. They'd packed all the gear they would need and now had nothing left to do save drive to the location. The drive took nearly three hours as they stayed under the speed limit to avoid detection. Aaron drove, letting Jason rest his eyes to avoid a severe headache. They arrived near sunrise, and both men hefted heavy packs on their backs to make the hike.
Landy had spent the night mobilizing strike teams to take Byer down. They knew it, but they also called the shots. It was part of Aaron's agreement with Landy, one he'd struck during the time Marta had been in the hospital. Since Vendel was likely to be a major adversary, Landy hadn't complained. If Aaron and Jason managed to save the lives of the strike teams, then it was a win in her book.
The cottage came into view with the sun behind it as Aaron and Jason crept through the trees. They stayed low, using binoculars to watch throughout the day. The surveillance took some time, particularly in an attempt to avoid the roving patrols, and they made certain not to arouse suspicion of any kind. It tried the patience of both men, who had split up to watch opposite sides of the house.
Jason found the path leading to Ranger Lake. It wound through the forest but eventually ended up at an abandoned dock with a small speedboat hidden there. Aaron agreed that it was likely one of Byer's planned escapes should his position be compromised. Out here, there were only so many ways in and out. And a car in the forest when a team was moving in would be oh-so-noticable. The two men spent just a few moments sabotaging the engine so that no one could use it. If Byer decided to make a run for it using the boat, he'd have a pretty big surprise waiting for him.
Finally, they met back at the car after dark, connecting to Landy via a satellite phone. Aaron relayed guard shifts that he'd observed, with Jason confirming things. Finally, Landy had everything she needed. Her voice was certain when she spoke next. "Good. You have a go. Bring him in."
oOo
When Byer saw Vendel walk into the living room of their latest base, he knew something had changed. The rest of his group had slowly trickled in over the last week, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves with their activities. But Vendel's face showed absolute anger. He bent to speak directly into Byer's ear. "We have a problem."
Byer followed him, keeping a calm face while seething inwardly. In the bedroom, Vendel pointed to an email on the screen. Byer read it, shaking his head at his tech who had thought to contact some girl he'd met in Rodeo, New Mexico. Personal entanglements like this had always been a weakness for assets, hence why NRAG had come down so hard on agents like Outcome 3. But this was worse. In sending this email, the idiot had revealed their location to anyone watching for them. And Byer knew Cross and Bourne would be waiting.
He straightened. "Take care of it." The order was calm, and he waited until Vendel had left before he put his fist through the wall. The last two weeks had been spent fortifying the place, setting up guard patrols, and ensuring that no one could find them. And one stupid idiot had jeopardized that by contacting his girlfriend.
He heard the front door open and close, the voices in the main room rising in surprise, and smiled. His leak had been plugged, but he couldn't know if he'd been compromised again.
oOo
Jason blinked as the door to the house opened, and Vendel dragged a young man out by the scruff of his neck. He keyed his comm unit. "We've got activity."
Aaron replied a moment later. "I see it." After a pause, he continued, "Vendel's taking him out to eliminate him. This is our leak."
Landy, who had been monitoring the chatter, chimed in. "Can you take Vendel and save the kid's life?"
Aaron sighed. "Possibly, but it would draw attention."
"Do it." Landy's order was firm. "Strike Teams, move in on my mark. We take Vendel and Byer at the same time."
Jason abandoned his post and moved to Aaron's side. An asset the likes of Vendel would give anyone a challenge, and they needed this to end as quietly as possible. As soon as Jason reached his side, Aaron took a deep breath and nodded. He keyed his mic. "This is Outcome 5," he said softly. "Standing by for orders."
~TBC