“A what?”
“A Chameleon. A member of a highly-successful covert ops team specializing in vice – drugs, guns, prostitution. But unlike other groups, this one’s not made up of ex-military or those with traditional training. They pull kids from hopeless situations. The kids give up all ties to family and friends in return for a new life and the organization basically erases them from modern existence. Then they’re sent through a couple of years of highly unconventional training. We’re still not sure exactly what that entails, but it’s supposedly intense.”
“She was working a mission here then?”
Ian shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it. From what I’ve been able to find out, your woman fractured a few rules and took a leave of absence.”
“They can do that?”
“Not typically, though Nicki’s just good enough that they’d look the other way as long as she was careful. Except ... ” Ian paused, shifting his eyes away from Sean’s.
“Except what?” Sean asked, the dread pooling in his stomach.
“Except they picked up on my sniffers and started paying closer attention. They might have been willing to overlook Nicki spending time with Nick – once they determined she never revealed herself for what she was – and for burying her mother.”
“But?”
“But... once they realized she was sleeping with you they got nervous and yanked her out right away. It doesn’t appear that Nicki knew who you were, outside of being Nick’s boss, of course. She probably guessed something of your background, but wasn’t aware of your active status until they told her.” He let that sink in for a few moments.
“So how does this tie in with Marscone?”
“You guys already know the history there, so I don’t need to cover that.” Sean shot Ian a look of gratitude; the last thing he wanted was to hear any more about what Marscone had done to Nicki and her brother. “But here’s the thing: at some point in the last year or so, Nicki caught wind that Benny was still operating, and took it upon herself to do a little investigating on her own.”
“That’s why she took the job at Angels.”
Ian nodded. “That and the fact that she needed a cover. Her last assignment out in Vegas was a perfect lead-in. All she had to do was ask her team to delay scrubbing the work records for a bit. No one looked beyond that when she applied at Jason’s place. He’s furious, by the way.”
“You think Nicki took out Marscone?”
Michael spoke up. “Nicki and her two partners, I’d guess. Everything was squeaky clean – they must have had a professional clean-up team come in – but there were still minute traces of blood found in the flooring and a couple of the walls. On the first floor, we picked up at least four. In the second floor master bedroom, two.”
“Two?” Sean had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like what came next.
Michael met his eyes. “One male, matching the DNA footprint on file for Benito Enrico Marscone. One female, unknown.”
Sean closed his eyes, willing the rage under control. Just the thought that Nicki had been hurt somehow – the idea that she was dead was unimaginable – had him ready to explode.
“Don’t even think that way,” Shane said softly. “She’s alive. We know they stayed at a motel about twenty miles out before vanishing. One of the ladies working housekeeping that morning said she saw three people matching their descriptions leaving, and all of them appeared to walk out under their own power.
Sean released the breath he’d been holding; his heart started beating again.
“So you’ve got a contact with the Chameleons, right? Can’t we use them to track Nicki?” This from Jake, who knew exactly what Sean was feeling at that moment, having gone through something similar with his wife, Taryn, a couple of years previously.
“It’s not quite that easy...”
Sean fixed Ian with eyes like ice. “Find her. I don’t give a shit what it takes.”
Ian hesitated. “Sean, there’s something you need to know about the Chameleons. It’s not just something you walk away from. It’s a lifetime commitment.”
“Excuse me?”
Ian looked uncomfortable. “Just what I said. The organization is very particular about who they accept. Potential candidates have to be extremely intelligent, have some natural skills, and possess an iron will. But their most important qualification? They have to have nothing else to live for.”