Lady Death by Brian Drake (good e books to read .TXT) 📕

Raven’s smile vanished. From the look on her face, she appeared to mean every word.

3

Misty Watson walked ahead of Raven with the brute behind him. They exited the hotel to the parking lot. Misty clicked the key fob to a black Mercedes Sprinter Passenger Van.

Raven whistled as Misty opened the rear doors and gestured for him to enter. He stepped into a plush cabin. Space was narrow. Plush bench seats waited on either side of the cabin with a small table in the center. The table was folded upright, creating a partial barrier.

“Sit down.”

Raven cleared his throat and sat. Misty climbed in and sat opposite. She folded the table into its flat position and pulled a laptop from a cargo bin below her seat. She placed the computer on the table.

The brute shut the rear doors and assumed his position behind the wheel. A half barrier on Misty’s side blocked part of Raven’s view of the man.

Misty typed commands into the laptop and used the mouse pad to make a selection. She tapped the pad twice.

Raven watched her. The glow of the screen lit up her face. With the glare, some of her freckles showed through the light layer of makeup. Her white blouse and black slacks fit tight over her petite frame. Raven reflected she always felt fragile despite the hard muscle under her skin. Their past intimate moments had always been short but memorable.

“It’s nice to see you, Misty,” Raven said.

“I’m Misty now?”

“You hate it when I call you Watson, my dear Watson.”

She glared at him over the top of the screen.

“Hey,” Raven said, “you know who you’re talking to, right?”

“I’m talking to an embarrassment.”

“Really?”

“We know about Berlin,” she said. “We know about Operation Triangle and the boondoggle the CIA is in the middle of.”

“Is there a leak?”

“No,” she said. “Christopher Fisher called my boss and they had a long talk. Seems Fisher is touchy about you going off the reservation in Berlin. He doesn’t want similar bloodshed in Madrid. Ben Doyle is an MI6 asset. I’m here to make sure you don’t murder him.”

“I have no intention of murdering dear old Ben.”

She scoffed.

“What do you want, Misty?”

“Fisher and my boss decided on something. If Operation Triangle is an attack with three separate targets, the UK might be one of the targets.”

“We were assuming three targets within the United States. The US is the country that killed Tanya’s husband, after all.”

“The matter has been decided, Raven.”

“So, we’re working together now?”

“Does that bother you?”

“Why should it, considering we’ve worked so well together in the past.”

This time she laughed.

“Or are you my watchdog?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Going to handcuff yourself to me, Misty?”

She tried to fight the grin, but her lips pulled back into a smile anyway. “Behave, Sam.”

Raven grinned. Misty rotated the laptop to allow Raven to see the screen. A photo of Ben Doyle sat on the left side of the screen. A column of text information filled the right side.

“Ben Doyle has been an informant for about six years,” she said. “Every now and then he passes along useful information we’ve been able to act on.”

“You know what he’s doing right?”

“Using us for protection.”

“You aren’t bothered?”

“No. Not when we get to round up bad guys now and then based on his information.”

“He’s throwing you crumbs.”

“Can you read?”

“I’m not illiterate, no.”

“You’re acting like it. See this list? These are the terrorist attacks Doyle helped us foil thanks to his information.”

“He sold out his own clients?”

“In a few cases, yes. Other time he heard information through the grapevine and passed it along. These aren’t crumbs, Sam.”

“I don’t work for the CIA,” Raven said. “I don’t work for you, either.”

“I have my orders, Sam. If you want to question Doyle, we are going to be there. If you refuse, we are taking you off the playing field. The CIA is ready to pick up where you left off.”

“Fisher really is upset about Berlin, isn’t he?”

“You have no idea.”

Raven exhaled. There was no use in getting angry. He could have a talk with Christopher Fisher later. Clark Wilson had kept a lot from him during their last chat. He supposed it wouldn’t have mattered either way. Raven’s commitment to the mission wouldn’t waver. With or without official sanction, he’d shut down Tanya Jafari and Operation Triangle.

“How can you help me, Misty?”

“It’s to your benefit I’m here. You won’t have to break into Doyle’s penthouse or grab him off the street. All I have to do is snap my fingers.” She held up her right hand and snapped for emphasis. “He’ll do what we tell him. He may be scamming us, but he knows he needs to cooperate too.”

“All right. When do you propose to snap your fingers and make him cooperate?”

“Why not tonight?”

“I don’t want a full crew.”

“It will be you, me, and Sean.”

“Who’s Sean?”

The brute behind the wheel called back, “I’m Sean, mate,” in a Cockney accent. “Sean Mason.”

“A pleasure,” Raven said. “I trust you know how to use the handgun under your jacket?”

“I’m former SAS.”

“Of course, you are.” Raven faced Misty again. “Okay, no more argument from me. We’re in this together.”

“I’m glad you see it my way.”

“Oh, my dear Watson,” Raven said, “you know if I refused, there wouldn’t be anything you could do about it.”

“I wouldn’t,” she said. “Sean, however—”

Raven laughed. He glanced at the former SAS man, who watched him in the rearview mirror. Sean was laughing too. But the doubt in his eye gave Raven the upper hand. The Brit might be tough, but he knew Raven’s reputation. He didn’t want to find out if he was up the task of taming the outlaw.

Raven felt the same way. He wasn’t in the business of beating on allied forces.

Cooperation was the best course of action.

“Is there anything else to talk about?” Raven said to Misty.

“No.” She closed the laptop and returned the unit to the storage compartment.

“I suggest we go back inside,” Raven said, “and let you do some snapping.”

4

Sean Mason, the former SAS man,