BooksBarbecue
Back The Asset
Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

When she found Roth’s house, she thought she must have the wrong address. Even small properties in the area sold for well over a million dollars. This was a veritable mansion. She double checked the address to confirm she had the right place.

She did.

As far as she’d been able to tell, Levi Roth, Director of the CIA’s Special Operations Group, was 69 years old and had never married.

This house was an awful lot of real estate for a bachelor.

There was a car parked at the end of the driveway, a secret service detail, and behind the car was a high iron gate.

She drove past them without slowing down. She couldn’t see the house from the road but there was a sign announcing the private security system that had been installed. She doubted it included anything that would trouble her.

She rounded a corner and looked for someplace to park her car that wouldn’t draw attention. There was an entrance to a hiking trail and she pulled in there. It was night, not a likely time for a hike, but it was better than leaving the car on the side of the street.

She locked it and followed the trail a few hundred yards until she was at the back of Roth’s property. The fence was iron, at least fourteen feet high, but it wasn’t electrified. Tatyana walked along it looking for sensors, either on the fence itself or in the trees beyond. She didn’t see any.

She found a place where a fallen tree made climbing the fence a little easier but it was still an ordeal getting over it. Her gunshot wound was healing but it was still tender, and when she leapt down on the other side, it throbbed in pain. She checked to make sure it hadn’t opened, but it looked okay.

She walked through a forested area, careful for sensors or cameras, and emerged onto a beautifully manicured lawn, laid out with symmetrical flower beds lined with topiary.

At the end of the lawn was a pool. It was covered for the winter but she could imagine how inviting it was in summer.

She’d never met Roth, and knew very little about him other than what she’d been able to gather over the past few days. She wondered how it was that he’d become so wealthy. A high up position in the CIA paid well, but this house was beyond the means of even the highest salary.

Perhaps Levi Roth was on the take, she thought.