The Puppeteer

CHAPTER 17



“WHERE IS SHE?” TY DEMANDED as he flung open the door to the study. Drew stood at his desk, looking grim faced and pissed. Ty couldn't have cared less. It was eight in the morning and he had no idea how long Dani had been gone from their bed.

“Back off, Fuller,” Drew replied. “This isn't about you.”

Ty held back from decking the man. He knew something about Dani and like hell would he let Drew keep it from him. He advanced on Drew, who didn't back down. As Ty approached the desk, he glanced down and saw a photo with a red circle drawn around a man in the background. Ignoring it, he raised his eyes and met Drew's gaze.

“If it's about Dani, it has everything to do with me.” His words were quiet but his tone made it very clear to the man exactly where he stood when it came to Dani.

Drew stared at him for long time. Ty watched the muscles tick in his jaw and saw the deliberation in his eyes. Drew wasn't happy about something but he didn't think it had to do with him or Dani, not directly anyway. He looked like a man who'd just had his plan shot to shit and was being forced to rely on plan B—when there was no plan B.

“Where is she,” Ty repeated again.

Drew swallowed and, for a fleeting moment, Ty could see pain in the man's eyes. But then Drew shook his head and turned away.

“She said she was going to the shooting range. At least that's what her note said. I didn't see her this morning.”

Ty didn't take the time to respond, he just turned and stalked out.

He found her where the note said she would be. He watched her for an hour. She stood three lanes down from his observation point, oblivious to the comings and goings around her. He'd never seen her quite like this before. Yes, he'd seen her intense and focused, but this—this was the stuff of demons. The target at the end of the shooting gallery had a face, if only in her mind. And Dani blew it away time and time again.

When he couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand to watch her hurt all alone, he pulled on his ear guards and entered the range. The next time she stopped to reload, he stepped behind her, pulled both their ear guards off and out of the way, and wrapped his arms around her waist. For a split second, he could feel her gratitude that he'd come as she relaxed against him. And then, in an instant she pulled away and continued to reload.

“That's enough, Dani,” he whispered in her ear.

“You have no idea,” Dani shot back. Ty raised his hands and cupped them over her forearms, pulling them back down to her sides. She stood there, rigid in his arms.

“Then tell me, Ella,” he whispered against her hair. And it triggered something in her. Her arms dropped to her sides, her head fell back to rest on his shoulder and her eyes closed. And he just held her.

“I'm so tired, Ty. Take me away somewhere.” Her voice was nothing more than a whisper but it was etched with so many years of pain that even Ty had to close his eyes under its weight.

“God, Dani,” was all he managed to say.

They drove for hours. Through country roads, along the coast, everywhere Ty could think of that might soothe Dani. She didn't talk for a long time and when she drifted off to sleep, Ty called Drew to let him know she was with him and that they wouldn't be back to the house for a long while. It was the first time in his life, and probably Dani's, that he'd put off his duty for personal reasons. He could argue that he'd pulled the two of them that day because Dani wasn't fit to fulfill her duty and he'd be telling the truth. But it wasn't the reason. He was making Dani, and her health and mental state, the priority in his life and he felt, bone deep, it was the right thing to do.

He pulled into a deli, picked up a few sandwiches and drinks, and made a call, all while Dani continued to sleep. A few minutes later, he drove to the marina, parked, and woke Dani with a gentle touch.

She looked around and then asked, “Where are we? What time is it?”

“We're at a marina north of town, I have a friend who has a boat here. It's close to five and little early for dinner, but you haven't eaten all day. I thought we could just sit on the boat for a while and watch the water?”

Dani turned her gaze to the water, watched it for a while, then nodded and opened the door.

Twenty minutes later, Ty handed Dani a glass of iced tea and slid down to the deck of the boat where she was sitting, legs hanging over the edge, arms over the first rung of the safety railing, staring out at the Atlantic Ocean.

She glanced at the glass and then looked up to study Ty. After a few minutes she mumbled her thanks and took a sip.

“How are your shoulders?” he asked. The amount of shooting she'd done that morning was bound to have an effect on her arms and shoulders. Not to mention the fact that she'd followed the spree with several hours of sitting inert in a car.

In response, she rolled her shoulders, testing them. “They'll be a little sore tomorrow, but I should be okay.”

Ty let a few minutes pass before he asked. “Will you? Be okay?”

The silence stretched between them, but Ty didn't doubt she would answer. Finally, she spoke.

“When I was thirteen, my sister Sammy and I were supposed to have a sleepover at Lucky Adams' house. My mom loaded us up into the car and drove us down the road. It was summer and we were in the Hamptons, as usual. By the time we got to the Adams' house, I was sick as a dog. One of those sudden virus things, I guess.” She paused, staring out at the harbor.

“Anyway,” she resumed, “I came back with my mom, lying down in the back seat the whole time, I was so sick. When we got home, I went straight to bed. Sometime later, I don't know how long, I woke up and heard voices. I knew my dad was coming for the weekend, so I thought it was him. I wanted to see him. Even though I felt so sick, I still wanted to see him.

“I managed to crawl out of my bed and make my way to the top of the stairs. And then, I don't know what happened, instinct kicked in? Something didn't feel right. I was terrified but didn't know why.” Dani shivered as a soft breeze blew across the boat. A bell rang in the distance.

“I froze in the hallway and listened. I heard my dad talking to someone and the tone of his voice scared me even more. He was angry. Not screaming and yelling angry, but the kind of angry you get when someone disgusts you. I didn't know what it was then, but after doing what I've been doing for as long as I've been doing it, now I recognize it. It's the kind if tone you use when someone is so disgusting that their mere presence on the planet is offensive. And I don't just mean people who don't bathe. I'm talking about traitors, backstabbers, turncoats, that kind of thing.” She turned to Ty for acknowledgment. He brushed his fingers across her check, tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and nodded. He did know the type. All too well.

“I was terrified, but wanted to know who my dad was talking to. After a few minutes, I gathered up the courage to peek around the corner.” Dani paused and took a deep breath before continuing. Her face was pale and her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to stop her body from shaking.

“And I saw a man with a gun. I'd never seen a real gun before but I was old enough to know that's what he held in his hand. I don't know how long I stood there before I realized I needed to do something. I was shaking so hard that I was afraid I would press the wrong buttons on the alarm system. But some angel was looking over me that day. I crawled down the hall to the upstairs alarm pad. I pushed in the silent alarm code and then snuck into my parents' room and dialed 911. I don't remember doing all that, but I've been told it's what happened. I do remember telling the 911 operator there was a man with a gun in my house. I remember her telling me to stay on the line. And then I remember standing at the top of the stairs, holding the phone, watching.

“The argument was getting more heated in a quiet sort of way. My dad sat down and I thought it wasn't a good idea for him to relax around a man with a gun. In retrospect, I know he was trying to convey that he wasn't concerned about anything the man with the gun could do to him. Whether he believed that or it was a bluff, I have no idea. But then my mother walked in.” Dani's voice broke. She closed her eyes again, took a few deep breaths, and then gathered strength.

“I can imagine he, the man with the gun, saw my mother as both a threat and an opportunity to prove to my dad that he was serious. My mom had about as much time as it took her to take in the fact that my dad wasn't alone before the man shot her. Execution style, in the middle of her forehead.”

Ty swore under his breath and took Dani's hand in his. She didn't resist, but she didn't welcome him either. He didn't take this as a rejection. He knew she just didn't have the energy to do anything else but talk.

“Everything happened so fast after that. My father jumped up and the man turned his gun on him and shot my father in the same way. I must have screamed or something because he turned and looked straight at me. I didn't remember anything about his face but his eyes—until today. But his eyes were burned into me. Even from the top of the stairs I could see they were ice blue and expressionless. He looked at me like he'd done nothing more than take the trash out. No sign that he'd just killed two people. No sign that he cared or that the two lives meant anything to him. He just stared at me and raised his gun in my direction.”

Dani stopped talking and gazed out at the ocean for a long time. She shook her head like she was still trying to puzzle out what happened that day. “I don't know,” she said. “The next thing I remember is coming to in the hospital with Sammy and Karen, Drew's mom, at my bedside. I guess I'd been conscious the whole time, but I was in shock. I don't remember why he didn't shoot me. I don't remember the arrival of the police, or even being taken to the hospital. Some sense of preservation must have kicked in and blacked it all out. I remember coming to and seeing Sammy and Karen, eyes red and swollen, and I knew it wasn't a dream.”

“Oh, honey,” Ty said wrapping his arm around her shoulder. This time she leaned into him as the boat swayed beneath him.

“I can imagine that the police arrived right as he was deciding whether or not he had time to come after me. I must have run because the police report said they found me curled up on my parents' bed. Maybe he figured it wasn't worth the risk? I wondered for a long time if I was grateful for that decision or not.” Dani pulled her legs up and curled them at her side as she leaned more fully onto him.

“I got sick after that. In two years, I didn't gain any weight. I was comatose but functioning. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I was physically fine, other than the weight—but I wasn't there. I ate, bathed, and did all the necessities, but I almost never spoke and almost never left my room. Karen and Andrew, Drew's parents, became our guardians and fought tooth and nail to keep me home with them. I guess the doctors wanted to put me in a hospital but the Carmichaels would have none of that. Karen homeschooled me as much as she could—as much as I would let her. Jason, who was still living at home, and Sammy did their best, too. I think the truth of the matter was, I had no will to live.” The thought of a young Dani scared, locked into her own hell, alone, twisted his heart. He pulled her closer and, resting his cheek on the top of her head and closing his eyes, gave thanks that she hadn't given up.

“Finally, during the first weeks of summer two years after the shooting, Drew came home from his second year in college and got through to me. I don't remember how he even convinced me to take a walk, I just remember sitting on the boat dock with our feet hanging in the water and staying that way for a long time. Drew put his arm around me and said ‘Talk to me, kid,’ and I did. I cried, I talked, I told him everything I remembered. It had been locked inside me for so long that I think, once I started talking, I didn't want to stop. I must have told him the story a dozen times, crying harder and harder each time.” She wrapped her arms around Ty and rested her head against his chest.

“By the time I was talked and cried out, it was almost dark. We stayed though, and watched the moon rise. Drew knew then that he wanted to go into the CIA, so he offered me a deal. Once he could, he would do anything he could to help find the man who killed my parents. In return, I had to get strong, physically and mentally.

“The deal worked and I regained my strength. I started with yoga, then moved on to Tai Chi, and then I worked my way through all the other forms of martial arts. When I was eighteen and could go to the shooting range without permission, Drew started taking me. And then I went on my own. By then, Drew was working for the CIA and he started to bring me pictures of anyone who might fit the description I'd given him. By the time I was twenty-three, I'd finished my bachelor's and master's and entered the CIA myself. Drew was senior enough at that point that he took me onto his team—it was beneficial for both of us. Our families have known each other forever and our family businesses are intertwined enough that it's a great cover for us when we travel together. But regardless, we've kept our deal all these years—he still gives me pictures and information and I work on staying strong.”

Dani smiled at this last statement. “At this point, I don't think it's much of a deal, but we stick to it anyway.”

“And this morning?” Ty prompted, running a hand down her back.

“It was him,” Dani's voice became stronger. “Sitting in a chair behind Sonny at some café in Miami. I was so shocked, after all these years, to see his face that I think I—well, you know how I reacted.”

Ty pulled her closer and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “And how are you now?”

Dani seemed to ponder this for a while before answering. “I'm good,” she said, and Ty could hear the truth in her voice. “I was shocked and it took me back for a while there, but I feel okay now, relatively speaking. We can work on getting an ID on him and go from there. I won't ever be able to forget what happened, but at least I can work on bringing the man to justice.”

He didn't answer, thinking that if it was justice Dani wanted for the man, she was much more forgiving than he.

“Ty?” she said after another long silence.

“Hm?” he answered, still holding her close, her head back on his shoulder.

“I've never told anyone, other than Drew, what I just told you.”

Ty took a moment to digest this and then pulled her closer, resting her whole body against his. She didn't require an answer, so he didn't offer one. She just wanted him to know.

“You realize you blew your DEA cover by telling me that you're with the CIA?” Ty pointed out, after the moon had risen even more.

“We knew you knew,” Dani answered.

Ty laughed. “We knew you knew,” he mimicked, making Dani laugh, too. “Who blabbed?”

“Your brother. Who is a great guy, by the way,” she answered.

“Yeah, so great he ratted me out,” Ty said, but without malice.

“Not exactly, if it makes you feel better. I saw the email address on the information you gave to Drew, I recognized it and called him to check it out. I've worked with Cameron a couple of times over the last few years. I knew his last name was Fuller but there are a lot of Fullers out there so I didn't make the connection right away when we contacted them for information on Getz's equipment.”

“Still, he didn't tell me he told you,” Ty pointed out.

“You going to tell your mom on him?” Ty was happy to hear the relaxation in her voice.

“So, tell me why you guys are in on this operation? And I assume you had some idea the blue-eyed man was involved somehow with Sonny, which is why you pitched a fit about going to San Diego rather than Miami. And why Drew opted to send you to San Diego rather than Miami, come to think of it,” he added.

“I did know, but not until we were onto Getz.” And she told him about Jonathon Smythe, the weapons, and how the weapons led to Getz. This part of the story was new to him, but he knew the rest from the files he'd read the other day. Once they were onto Getz, they'd found Eagle's Wing and Sonny Carlyle.

“And when I saw Sonny's name in conjunction with the Eagle's Wing, I knew.”

“How?”

“His dad did some occasional work for us,” she explained. “He wasn't an agent or even a contractor. He kept his ears open and, on occasion, passed on interesting bits of information to us, but that was all. So, when he was killed, we knew. And we knew how he was killed before we ever knew about Smythe and Getz.” She took a deep breath before continuing.

“The murder caught my attention because he was shot execution style and something about the scene was too similar to my parents' murders—and to a few other murders that have come to my attention in the past several years. I had kept my eye on it, more out of curiosity than anything else,” she admitted before moving on.

“And you think the man who killed your parents may be the same man who killed Sonny's father?” Ty asked.

“I think it's too much of a coincidence to have two people in similar industries, killed in the same way, so yes, I think it's the same man.”

“Which is why it came as such a shock when you saw him in the picture with Sonny. The last man you'd expect to see hanging around the son is the man who killed the father.”

Dani nodded. “And, because he was there, it makes me wonder what else he might have planned. I know how vulnerable Sonny might be. And for a few days we've been thinking someone must be pulling all the strings in this situation. Maybe it's him?”

“You think the man who killed Sonny's father might have convinced him the government was behind his father's death and he should get back at them by joining the militia?” Ty asked, intrigued by this new information.

“Or that the government wasn't doing enough to solve his father's murder. I think either would be motivation enough for a young man, angry over his father's death.”

Ty mulled this over. He didn't know enough about Sonny to say, but if he was a hotheaded kid, he could easily see this happening. Easily imagine someone manipulating him into action. The question was why. So he asked.

“I'm not sure why. I know this all must sound like a crazy web of similarities, but my gut says they're all connected.”

“Okay, I'll grant you that. So, tell me why your instinct is telling you this?”

“The country my dad was working in was fine when he started his research. It wasn't rich but it was stable and experiencing moderate growth. Nothing crazy, nothing like the western countries experienced in the eighties, but it was slow and steady. After my father's death, a report was issued, from a different firm, stating that there were significant reserves of gold in the country. Lots of it. The country didn't have enough money to invest in the resources to extract the metals so they applied to the World Bank for a loan on the basis of this report.”

“And let me guess, there was no metal?” Ty asked, though he knew the answer.

“None, or not much. You can imagine what that kind of debt did to the country over time. One thing led to another, one coup led to another, one rebel group to a counter rebel group. The country backslid and war broke out. It's been clawing its way out of poverty over the past decade. With the generous assistance of the United States, of course,” she added. Her caustic tone was mild but unmistakable.

“You think the US set the whole thing up?” Ty knew governments could do all sorts of things, and he wasn't blinded by his own allegiance to his country, but he had a hard time believing what Dani seemed to be insinuating.

Dani frowned and thought before answering. “See, that's the thing that I can't figure out. I don't actually think the US government is involved. There's no doubt they're benefiting from the situation. We offer debt relief, but in return we get to set up a puppet government—though, of course, we'll never admit that. But, I don't think the government has the patience to set up a situation like this. It would take too many years to see any benefit, too many terms, too many political changes for the US government to commit to that kind of scheme,” she conceded.

“And?” Ty prompted.

“Sonny's father was in a similar situation. I think a man capable of executing people without hesitation or remorse might be capable of a lot of things, including arms dealing.”

“Okay, so if this man who killed your father, and Sonny's, is involved, he must be in it for money and power. But why involve Sonny in this part of his plan?”

Dani took a deep breath and sighed. “I don't know, maybe he's setting Sonny up for something? Maybe the bombing plot we've been gathering intelligence on is going to be blamed on him?”

“How would that benefit him?”

Dani shook her head again. “I wish I knew, but I don't. I'd guess it has something to do with power and money and manipulation, but beyond that, I just don't know.”

“I wondered if you all might get around to sharing information with me.” He tempered his mild rebuke with a gentle kiss on her head. “But why all the secrecy?”

“Even though Smythe, as a foreign diplomat, is firmly within CIA jurisdiction,” she clarified, “we still had to lobby for it. We wanted jurisdiction, we wanted to lead the investigation because of Sonny's dad. We felt we owed it to him. Drew threw some fancy, if stretched, logic into his request that included Sonny's international travel experience, his multiple passports. Between those facts, the potential involvement of a foreign citizen, and arms trading, Drew was able to convince the powers that be to give us the lead.”

“He wanted the case because you asked him to get it.” Ty laughed when Dani gave him a chagrinned looked.

“Yeah, he did. We'd tracked the weapons and were about to hand the case over to the feds, but when Sonny Carlyle's involvement cropped up, I asked him to do this for me.”

“But what started as a favor, may be what breaks the investigation.” Ty offered. “Now we know the man who killed your parents is involved, and considering he might be the man manipulating everything from behind the scenes, I'd say that's a pretty good catch. A man like that, with those kinds of connections, needs to be stopped.”

Dani sighed. “I haven't been thinking about much of anything since I saw him in that picture. But it's a thought. Drew is probably thinking along the same lines we are. My guess is we'll have all sorts of new information when we get back to the house.”

Ty wrapped both arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. “Drew's a good egg, isn't he?”

Dani tightened her arms around Ty's waist, tucked her head against his neck, and nodded. “Although I'm sure he won't be happy with the delay I caused today,” she added.

“Drew is more concerned about you than this case, but to put your mind at ease, there wasn't any delay. He sent Jay and one of the women who works for Cotter to drop Roddy and Fawkes.”

“We're collecting a rather ragtag team,” she commented on the number of people now participating in the investigation that weren't employed by the CIA. “How'd it go?' she asked.

“They're all contractors. It's all legal,” Ty responded to her first comment. “As to the rest—good. Fawkes and Roddy made it up to the boathouse and back with no problems. They thought it was great fun so they made a second run this afternoon, only they went in from up the coast. One of Jay's places has a boathouse so they dropped there, swam down the coast, checked out the security again, scoped some areas, and then made it back.”

Dani shivered in Ty's embrace, no doubt remembering the chill of the water. “Of all jobs, I'm glad I don't have that one.”

“Me, too. I'd hate to hear what Fawkes would have to say after seeing you in a wetsuit,” he mock shivered himself, making Dani laugh.

“He's harmless,” she teased.

“I know, but it still bugs me,” Ty said with affection.

“So, are we all set for the water approach?”

Ty nodded. “Fawkes scoped the shoreline and he and Roddy are drawing up a plan tonight to detail who will go where and when once they get the monitoring equipment good and fouled up.”

“Any new information on the time frame?”

Ty shook his head. “Not since the last time I talked to Drew, which was a couple of hours ago.”

Dani sighed. “I guess we have to get back,” she said without much enthusiasm.

Ty could understand, he sympathized. He would be happy to sit there holding Dani long into the dark, quiet night. He didn't plan on letting her go, but he knew they'd have to change venue—they still had a job to do.

“Yeah,” he agreed, resting his cheek against her hair. “Drew will want to see with his own eyes that you're okay.”

“I don't want to leave you, Ty.”

Dani's matter of fact statement had the same effect as a swift kick to the stomach. If he had any doubt before, he knew, in that moment, that he was in love with Dani Williamson and would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe, and to keep loving her.

He cleared his throat and swallowed. “Good, I'm glad, because I'm not going anywhere.”