Oath of Honor

politicians came and went as frequently as the weather shifted, and he’d

never seen that whoever held power changed things very much. Money

was the only true power, and Russo had plenty of that. He’d follow

Russo’s lead as long as the money held up.

He packed his travel bag and meticulously wiped down everything

he’d touched in the motel room, which hadn’t been much. He’d just

arrived the night before after dark in another rental car that he’d

procured with one of his aliases. He’d eaten at a fast-food place across

the highway from the motel and slept in his clothes. He’d shower at his

next stop. Satisfied that he hadn’t left anything of himself behind, he

grabbed his bag and the cooler, left his room key on the rickety table

by the door, and walked out just as the sun came up. He couldn’t finish

this job fast enough. In five hours, he’d be at the airport headed home

for Christmas Eve.

v

Jennifer stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy white bath

sheet around her chest. It fell to her thighs, chasing away the slight chill

in the bathroom. The temperature had dropped again, and the old town

house let in a little of the night air through hidden cracks and crevices.

A small price to pay for its historic beauty, except on mornings like

these. She hurried into her bedroom, drying herself as she went, and

dressed hastily in a navy suit, white shirt, and low dark heels. She

didn’t plan to stay very long in the diner and doubted the man, Tom,

would want to linger, either. Twenty minutes, really, ought to be enough

for two people whose only connection was a common friend to share a

cup of coffee, make small talk, and go their separate ways. She’d timed

the meeting so she’d finish up and arrive at the clinic at shift change,

when she’d slide her lunch bag into the staff refrigerator just as she did

every morning. Only today, the bag would be a little fuller. Her stomach

trembled when she thought about the next step.

She wasn’t frightened, she was excited. Proud to be the one to

ultimately carry out the mission. Her family would be proud that she

• 256 •

Oath Of hOnOr

had fulfilled her destiny—that she’d learned her lessons well and had

struck a blow for true freedom and independence. If she was very lucky

and everything went according to plan, she might even survive. But if

she didn’t, she would die knowing she’d made a difference. And after

all, that’s what she’d been born for.

• 257 •

RADCLYfFE

chapter thirty-twO

Wes sat in the van beside Block and two Secret Service agents

she didn’t know, watching the monitor from a camera

trained on the front of Eva’s Diner. She’d been watching patrons come

and go since 0600. Two other video feeds—from cameras above the

restroom hallway in the rear and over the kitchen door behind the

counter—revealed the interior. A directional audio receiver that Block

could reposition remotely from his control panel had been secured to

an overhead light fixture. The place was small—a long, narrow room

with eight booths against the plate glass front windows and a dozen

black-vinyl-topped stools in front of the counter. At zero-seven twenty,

almost every space was occupied.

Roberts had advised the diner owner who’d arrived to open the

place at 0530 that the team, from an unnamed federal agency, needed

surveillance to document unspecified criminal activity. The owner, a

bottle-blonde of indeterminate age, was thrilled by the whole thing and

a very good actress. She worked the counter and never once glanced at

the cameras—or at the undercover agents posing as patrons.

Wes couldn’t see Evyn, who was posted inside the kitchen with

a view through the circular window on the swinging door. In order to

protect the civilians, the plan was to record the exchange on video and

apprehend both Jennifer and her contact outside the building in a safe

zone. Wes’s job was to receive the virus and supervise its transport to a

secure lab. The second part of her assignment—the part she hoped she

would not have to carry out—was to limit civilian exposure in the event

the virus was released and oversee the treatment of any individuals who

were exposed.

• 258 •

Oath Of hOnOr

The other agents inside the diner posed as a businessman reading

a newspaper at the far end of the counter opposite the rear exit and a

young couple having breakfast at a booth just inside the front door.

They blended in with the morning business crowd and neighborhood

diners, and Wes doubted even someone looking for it would pick up

their constant survey of anyone coming in the door.

“Here comes the subject,” Block murmured, and Wes swiveled

on her stool to get a view of his monitor. Jennifer Pattee, a large black

leather bag over one shoulder, walked briskly up to the diner door and

inside. The kitchen feed picked her up as she walked a few feet down

the aisle and then slowed as if searching for someone she planned to

meet. With a sudden smile, she hurried on and sat down across from a