Chapters (96)
- Cover
- Berkley titles by David Ricciardi
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- CHARACTER LIST
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- What’s next onyour reading list?
THE ELEVATOR OPENED onto the top floor. Jake and Thanya did a quick tour of the floor to ensure that the cleaning crew was gone and check for anyone who might be working late, but the area was deserted. There were two more CCTV cameras mounted in the corners, but Athena had spotted them both, and the infrared LEDs rendered them blind.
They paused outside the agent’s office suite. Athena had noted an alarm sensor on the other side of the door and, from the description, Thanya was 90 percent sure that it was a wireless model.
“Black bag jobs,” as they were known in the trade, were usually planned days or weeks in advance, but another pirate attack could happen at any moment and Jake had decided to compress the planning phase for tonight’s operation into just a few hours. With more time and different equipment, Thanya could have learned the model of the alarm system and fooled it into thinking that all of its sensors were functioning normally even when they weren’t, but she had confidence in Athena’s recall, and defeating a wireless model was much easier and faster.
It was a calculated risk.
Thanya switched on a device she’d pulled from her purse and nodded to Jake. He pressed his keycard against the reader and opened the door.
The device started flashing red—never a good sign—as the door sensor began transmitting to its base station that the door had been opened.
But the red light went out a second later and began to flash yellow. The device had discovered the alarm sensor’s frequency and instantly jammed it using a higher power signal on the same frequency. The original signal had made it to the base station for only a fraction of a second and had failed to trigger the alarm.
The two CIA officers entered the agent’s suite and closed the door behind them. Thanya located the alarm panel, plugged the jammer into a wall outlet to boost its power, and placed it next to the panel to block the signals from any other sensors they might trip while they were working.
She and Jake entered the agent’s inner office at the end of the hallway. Their cover story was that they were friends of Athena’s who were supposed to pick her up after her meeting with the agent but were running late. It was the thinnest of covers. Neither was armed, and they had good identification, but their only real chance in an encounter with the police would be Athena’s word and the hope that the agent wouldn’t press charges against his largest client.