Oath of Honor

single man in a Redskins cap drinking coffee in a booth. Wes had looked

at him a half dozen times and noted nothing out of the ordinary—mid-

thirties, possibly older, rugged outdoor type in a flannel shirt with faint

dark stubble along his jaw. He half rose as Jennifer sat, and Block

adjusted the audio receiver for maximum reception.

“Hi,” Jennifer said as she settled across from the man. “You must

be Tom.”

“And you’re Jennifer. Ellie’s told me so much about you.”

“She hasn’t told me nearly enough about you,” Jennifer said. “It’s

great to finally meet you. I’m sorry you won’t be able to stay longer in

the city. I could play tour guide.”

He smiled, sipped his coffee, and said nothing while a waitress

approached. Jennifer asked for coffee and a plain croissant.

“Maybe next time I’m through,” he said.

“That would be great.” Jennifer picked at the pastry, although she

didn’t appear nervous. She glanced at her watch several times while her

contact passed on a refill on his coffee and watched the door as other

customers came and went.

“Excuse me,” he said, fishing his cell phone from his pocket. “I’m

expecting a message.”

“Please—go ahead,” Jennifer said quickly.

He checked the readout and grimaced. “I’m so sorry, a business

message from a client overseas. They’re available now and I have to get

back to them. It may take a while. I hate to have gotten you all the way

out here only to run out on you.”

“That’s okay—if you can get free for lunch or dinner in the next

• 259 •

RADCLYfFE

day or so, you have my number. If not, maybe I’ll see you the next time

I visit Ellie.”

“Absolutely.” He started to rise and paused. “Oh, I almost

forgot…” He reached into a backpack beside him and drew out a small

narrow box. “Ellie asked me to give you this. A Christmas present. She

said she didn’t get her shopping done in time to mail it to you.”

Laughing, Jennifer slid the small box into her oversized bag. “That

sounds like her. Thanks for bringing it along.”

“No problem. Well—I should go.”

“All right. Hopefully we’ll meet again sometime soon.”

He held her gaze a moment. “I hope so too. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Jennifer said softly.

v

Roberts’s voice came over the COM. “Team one, subject is on his

way out. Take him at the corner…Go.”

Wes watched as two men closed in from either side and a woman

stepped from a parked SUV into his path, forcing him to slow. The

subject’s expression went from surprised to wary, and he quickly scanned

up and down the street as if considering his chances of escaping. Within

seconds, the two male agents each grabbed an arm and the trio pushed

him forward into the back of the idling SUV. The agents followed him

in, and the vehicle sped away. The whole thing was over in less than a

minute.

Wes scanned all the monitors for Evyn and didn’t see her

anywhere. Her mouth went dry but her pulse stayed steady. She glanced

at the masks and hazmat suits stacked by the van door. Evyn knew her

job, and she knew hers. No matter what happened out there, she’d find

Evyn.Inside the diner, Jennifer searched through the large shoulder

bag and came out with bills that she laid on the table next to her

uneaten croissant and nearly full cup of coffee. Wes wondered if she’d

transferred the stolen sample to another container inside the bag. Any

unnecessary handling risked rupturing the seal on the tube or, even

worse, breakage.

“Showtime,” Block muttered as Jennifer stood and pulled on her

topcoat, slipped the strap of her black leather bag securely onto her

• 260 •

Oath Of hOnOr

shoulder, and strode directly toward the front door. The next second,

she stepped out into the morning.

v

“Go,” Roberts said over the COM.

Evyn pushed away from the side of the diner and strode around

the corner to the front. Jennifer was thirty feet away, one hand in the

pocket of her coat, the other on top of her bag.

“Hi, Jen,” Evyn said brightly, watching the hand on the bag. As far

as she could tell, the bag was closed. She looked past Jennifer down the

block, saw Paula Stark intercept a woman with a stroller and redirect

her back the way she had come. The sidewalk right in front of the diner

was clear—the inside team would have prevented anyone from exiting

until the intercept was over and the area secured. Directly across from

Jennifer, Roberts stepped out of a parked SUV.

“Oh hi, Evyn.”

Twenty-five feet.

“How about I give you a ride to work.”

Twenty feet.

Jennifer’s friendly smile dimmed. “I’m not due in for another hour

or so. Thanks anyhow.”

Fifteen feet.

“I’ll give you a lift home, then.” And focused on shoulder bag, on

Jennifer’s fingers gripping the zipper along its top edge.

Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. Stark strode rapidly toward her.

Her gaze cut across the street. Cam, joined by another agent, arrowed

toward her. Jennifer’s eyes widened.

Ten feet.

“You’ll want to say yes, Jen,” Evyn said, watching Jennifer’s hand

ease toward the now open bag. “Make this easy.”

Jennifer’s other hand came out of her pocket. The Sig looked