“Fine,” the man said, slumping in his seat. “I’ll talk.” He took a breath and told them how he’d been embedded for the last year with the Hermitagi, the Bulgarian mob. How he’d risen through the ranks and convinced the boss’s son, Dimitri, to turn evidence. It had taken months to set up. But just when he thought he was in the clear, he’d been made. Thrown into a car. The car stopped for gas—Dimitri was suddenly gone—there was a fight and he managed to get away. He looked up at the kids expectantly.

Parker rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, this is sounding very familiar,” Teri said, shaking her head. She told him the details from the other Gilroy’s story—and how they’d escaped and gone on the run. “So forgive us if we don’t believe you.”

“Yeah,” Chris added, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But that means…,” the man said, frowning. He looked like he was putting something together. “Then Dimitri… so he could… it makes sense, but…”

Teri looked at him closely. She’d seen a lot of bad acting over the years. She knew what it looked like when someone was spinning. That didn’t seem like what was happening here. “But what?” she asked, keeping her eyes on him.

“But this means Dimitri had a plan I wasn’t aware of. And he outed me as a way to get free himself—then used my backstory when it became necessary to convince you.”

“Why would he have done that?” Dustin asked, looking like he was trying to keep up.

“He’s always been passed over for his brother. Never the favorite. It was this weakness I exploited to get him to turn.”

“That’s what he said in the car, right?” Chris turned to Teri. “About his brother? What does this mean?”

“Can you prove it?” Teri asked. “Can you prove you’re who you say you are?”

“I have my badge—”

“Not enough,” Chris and Daryl said together.

The man frowned. “I couldn’t have too much on me—undercover, of course. But I have a locked file on my phone. It’s in my pocket.” Dustin got the phone, used the man’s face to unlock it, then found the folder and keyed in the password—1234. “I know.” The man hung his head. “I need to change it.”

“You work for the CIA.” Chris sounded appalled.

Parker shook her head, clearly disappointed.