“No. We’re all right. She just didn’t want to come downstairs.”
“Is she worried we’re going to attack her? Verbally, that is. Big Tag told us we couldn’t attack her physically.” His hands went up when Jesse growled his way. “I wasn’t the one who suggested it. My very lovely lady pit bull partner did. I had a talk with Erin. She’s going to play it cool, though I think we should just put them in a ring full of Jell-O and see how things go.”
Actually, that wasn’t an unpleasant idea. “Tell me what’s happening in the outside world. Sean is the only one I see on a daily basis, and he talks about what wine we should drink with dinner. I don’t drink wine.”
Li chuckled a little. “That’s Sean for you. Do you want a rundown of active cases or do you just want me to get to the good stuff?”
“Have they found anything out?” There was really only one case he desperately wanted an update on, and that was his. “All Big Tag will tell me is they’re working on it.”
“Whoever it is, he’s good. He’s careful. We think he’s likely been in place for years and has only been called into service recently. There’s a reason Chelsea and Adam can’t find anything.”
Because there wasn’t anything to find. It was why sleepers were so very dangerous. They could use non-traceable forms of communication. The US Postal Service didn’t keep records of the mail they delivered. All anyone needed was a stamp and if the person on the other end of the letter was smart enough to burn it, then there was no evidence the communication ever existed. It required patience, but it was possible to stay off the grid. “Is Chelsea okay?”
“She’s impossible. Simon had to order her to sleep.” Li leaned forward, the light from the bar illuminating his face. “I’ve been thinking about something.”
Jesse leaned in. Li O’Donnell wasn’t considered the brains of the operation, but Jesse had learned that when Li got serious, it was time to listen. He often saw things the others didn’t, had insights that escaped everyone else. “What?”
“Why would a sleeper come after you? I can’t get it out of me head. A sleeper like this is a valuable asset. Intelligence agencies will spend years developing an operative like this. Ten’s team was only recently put together, and every single man on it came from Special Forces or something like it. These weren’t new recruits. They’re the best of the best.”
“They should totally be killing someone more important than me.” Jesse understood what he was saying. Put like that it really didn’t make a lot of sense.
“Exactly. Ten’s unit has access to any manner of top secret information. Hell, they provide security in foreign countries for some high-ranking diplomats and politicians. This sleeper could go after anyone. Why you?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s what we need to figure out. While Chelsea and Adam chase their tails, I’m going to study you. You’re the answer. You’re the one who leads us to the sleeper. This is about you. We have to figure out why they want you dead.”
“Has anyone else like me died recently? You know, a soldier held prisoner?”
“No. I checked that first. I’m also looking at Ten’s group for the likeliest suspects. Ten swears he’s the only one who knew that number, but unlike our paranoid boss, Ten’s lazy. He had the phone transferred in from the head office. There’s a record of it in the system. Chelsea did find that.”
“Then it could be anyone.”
“No. Phoebe’s name and location are only on a NOC list. If someone’s got hold of that, we’re in for a lot more trouble.”
NOC stood for non-official cover. It was the way the Agency kept up with who was where and what name they were going under. It was highly classified. “So you think they found out through some other means?”
“Again, Ten’s been a little comfy. He calls her once a week and they’ve met three times in the last year. He could have been followed any of those times. Someone put it together and decided that she was the easiest way to get rid of you.” Li settled his beer on the counter. “The question becomes why not just take you out himself. The answer—because he’s got eyes on him. Because he’s got a team around him that might ask questions. That tells me whoever is pulling the strings doesn’t want to lose his puppet, but he was willing to take the chance.”
“And when he decides to sacrifice his pawn, he’ll do something desperate. He’ll come after me himself.”