Last Chance to Die by Noah Boyd (good books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

“Then I’d use the list to get free, plus get what I want, so why don’t I just tell you what I want?”

Kate knocked on John Kalix’s door. When he opened it, she said, “John, sorry to bother you at home, but Vail, believe it or not, has come up with another whole list of moles. And since that’s your division, I didn’t want to waste any time getting it to you.”

“Really? Come on in.”

She walked into the living room and sat down, opting for a chair by the window.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“You know, I think I could use one. Any kind of whiskey and water, if you have it.”

A few minutes later, Kalix brought her the drink and sat down in a chair opposite her. She took a sip and pushed the list of spies across the coffee table between them with a touch of drama.

He opened a drawer and took out a pair of glasses. “Wow,” he said. “And how do we know these are spies?”

She explained about the Web site and that Radkay’s name was on it.

“Yes, of course, how obtuse of me.” He continued to look at the list. “Wow. This is going to keep us busy for years. Where is Steve?”

“Scuba diving in Florida—I think. He’s turned in his creds, so as far as he’s concerned, he’s done. I don’t think we’ll see him again. At least I won’t.”

“Really? I thought you two had a little more going on than work.”

“Very briefly. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be. He left the list along with his Bureau property and cleared out of the off-site.”

“No explanation, no good-bye?”

“We had a discussion of each other’s character flaws that got kind of vicious,” she said, smiling sadly. “The only other thing he left was something he wrote on the wall. ‘The Sixth Why.’ ”

“What’s that?”

As briefly as possible, she explained the Japanese inventor’s process for getting to the root of a problem and how they had used it to discover the LCS’s role in the spy ring. “It’s called the Five Whys. In this case I guess Vail felt there was one more that needed to be answered.”

“What was the question?”

“ ‘Why would the CIA agent Rellick have to meet with Calculus three times in exactly the same place and in such a short period of time, knowing that the Bureau was tracking his movements?’ ”

“That is an interesting question. Maybe Calculus had to keep checking with him to make sure that whatever clue he was leaving wouldn’t cause Rellick any exposure.”

“The little bit of experience I’ve had with counterintelligence would indicate the opposite. Besides, we tracked down Rellick by the phone that he and Calculus used to contact each other. They didn’t need to meet. Meeting with your handler too often is probably the easiest way to be discovered. Hasn’t that been your experience?”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. I guess I was just trying to play the devil’s advocate. Do you think there’s anything to this question, or is Vail just messing with you?” Kalix chuckled. “It’s no secret how much he loves management. From what you’ve said, I’m guessing that’s kind of how he sees you now.”

“At first I thought it might be just that. But once I started driving over here, the validity of the question sank in. If you think about it, why weren’t the Russians afraid someone would figure it out? I mean, they met near CIA headquarters at the same park all three times. Almost regimented. Wasn’t that the reason you were able to narrow it down to those nine agents whose photos you showed me?”

“Yes, I guess it was.”

“It’s almost like they wanted us to figure out who Rellick was.”

“What advantage would that be for the Russians?” Kalix asked. “Giving up such a highly placed source would be completely counterproductive.”

“Maybe that’s the real Sixth Why. From all the copies of the documents they recovered at his house, it looks like Rellick’s information had dried up a couple of years ago. If they were giving up Rellick, it changed only one thing: Bill Langston was removed as head of counterintelligence because he failed to chase down the connection between Rellick and his handler, Nikolai Gulin.”

“Why is that an advantage for the Russians? Langston wasn’t exactly dismantling the Russian SVR single-handedly.”

Kate laughed and let her voice shift from a tone of curiosity to one of accusation. “Would you say that the assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division is privy to a lot more classified information than his deputy?”

Kalix took off his glasses and set them on the table. He opened the drawer again and drew out a small silver automatic, pointing it at her. “Nicely done, Kate. You walked me right into it.”

She stiffened in reaction. “So this was all about you getting to the top of the intelligence chain.”

“Sorry about having you locked up, but I had to rescue you and at the same time show how Langston’s incompetence was the cause. Nothing personal, Kate. It was all to make me the hero and the heir apparent.”

“And that included killing one of the LCS men in that shoot-out when you saved Vail?”

“Unfortunately, Vail saved himself. The guy behind the false mirror was supposed to kill him, and then I was supposed to shoot the second LCS man and switch guns with the one who shot Vail, having it look like I killed the lone gunman who killed Vail. I was outside and assumed that Vail had been killed when I heard the initial shooting. I just opened up on the second man. When I came in, they were both dead.”

“The LCS was willing to give up one of theirs to make you a hero?”

“He was the one who tried to kill you at your house by trapping you in the garage with your car running. He told Zogas, who was waiting outside, that you were in fact dead. Alex didn’t like incompetence, so someone