Striking Distance. Debra Webb
giving him a straight answer.
“The man watching Victoria may be a professional assassin hired by Leberman. I believe his mission is to complete what Leberman started on that island.”
The air thickened with a new level of tension. All three were well aware of the events that had unfolded on St. Gabriel Island in a matter of hours. Events that had been years in the planning. The tiny island off the coast of Georgia had proven the perfect stage for his devious plans.
“Then she is no longer safe in any public setting,” Ian suggested.
“I would have to agree with you.” Evading the issue would be pointless. “To be frank, he’s had ample opportunity already, but has chosen not to take the shot. My conclusion would be that he’s keeping surveillance and waiting for final authorization from Leberman.”
“But you can’t be certain that Leberman is the one behind this,” Simon countered. “You don’t have any actual proof. No factual intelligence.”
“No.” Lucas looked from one to the other, reading the skepticism they wanted to cling to. No one wanted to believe Leberman was back, least of all Lucas. “Everything I have is speculation. But we all know he’s the most logical candidate.”
“Why haven’t you taken out the assassin already?” Ian pressed as his own sense of anticipation obviously moved to the next level. To his way of thinking that would have been the most strategic move. Hell, it made perfect sense, but Lucas had his reasons.
This would be the tricky part. “We all know that Victoria will not hide from this once she’s briefed on the situation. Nothing any of us could say would change her mind. And we also know that she will never be safe as long as Leberman is alive—”
“We’ve had this conversation already,” Simon noted matter-of-factly. His agitation was somewhat more evident than Ian’s. Tension radiated in every aspect of his posture.
“We have,” Lucas agreed. “My stand on the matter has not changed. We need to get Leberman. If this assassin can lead us to him, we have to take the risk.”
“The risk you speak of,” Ian interjected calmly, his subdued tone more lethal than if he’d shouted the words, “involves Victoria’s life, correct?”
Their gazes locked for two beats. “Correct.”
“And you are willing to take this risk?” Ian pushed for finite clarification.
“It’s our only option.”
The two Colby agents exchanged a look.
Simon spoke up first. “Lucas, I’m confident that Victoria’s best interests are your primary concern. I know you’ll do whatever is necessary to protect her, but you must know that we can’t simply pretend this isn’t happening. We have to take some sort of action.”
“The only action that will make a difference requires Victoria’s cooperation, which will compromise our efforts.” He divided his attention between the two somber-faced men. “I have an alternate approach in mind. First I have to persuade her to take a vacation with me. I’ve plotted a destination. She’ll be completely cocooned by my team of Specialists until we can reel this guy in. I won’t allow anything to happen to her, you can rest assured of that.”
“You’ll keep us informed of every step,” Simon persisted.
“I’ll keep the two of you informed.” Lucas gestured from one to the other. “I don’t want anyone else to know the plan. No one, is that understood?”
“Are you implying there might be a traitor inside the Colby Agency?” Ian inquired, one brow raised slightly higher than the other his only outward indication of surprise.
“I’m not implying anything,” Lucas asserted. “I’m simply not taking any risks. No one but the four members assigned to her security will know exactly where she is. And even those four won’t know where they’re going and for what reason until they get there. If there is a breach in security it won’t be on my end.”
“If you spirit her away to safety,” Simon countered, “how is that going to affect the situation with the assassin and his leading you to Leberman?”
Another dicey maneuver. “I’m going to send someone undercover to get close to him.”
“Since complete anonymity is essential, who will you utilize for that assignment?” Ian wanted to know, his tone reflective of his uncommitted stance on the matter.
“I’m going to use someone who isn’t affiliated with my people at Mission Recovery or the Colby Agency. Someone completely out of the game.”
“You think that’s wise considering who we’re up against?” Simon prodded, his arms folded over his chest. He clearly didn’t like this any more than Ian did. For that matter neither did Lucas.
“This agent is a recruit fresh from the CIA’s training facility. Our Forward Research group has been tracking her progress since before she entered the program. She’s good. Damn good. She has a degree in psychology, which could prove useful. And she has no stake in the matter either way.”
“What makes you think she’ll go for this assignment?” Simon looked even more suspicious of the whole strategy. It did sound like a suicide mission, even Lucas had to admit it.
“If she’s got half the fire burning in her belly to impress the brass as it appears, she’ll go for it.”
“But is she good enough to do the job?” Ian voiced the remaining variable.
Lucas smiled as he thought of the hotshot he’d observed steamrolling her peers, female and male alike. He’d been waiting for the right kind of opportunity to bring her onboard. “Oh, yeah. She’s good enough.”
“She’ll try to get close to this guy in hopes that he’ll lead her to Leberman, is that it?” Simon relaxed, but only marginally.
“She’ll get close to him, and then when Victoria vanishes he won’t have any choice but to contact Leberman for additional instructions.” Lucas hoped like hell it would be that easy.
Five seconds lapsed into thirty as the two men closest to Victoria at the Colby Agency considered his proposal.
“I can see how this might work.” Simon was the first to edge toward commitment.
“And what about you, Ian? Do I have your support?” Lucas couldn’t move forward without both these men on board. Timing and synchronized reactions were everything. There couldn’t be a single glitch.
“I have no reason to doubt your loyalty to Victoria,” he said in response, without actually answering at all. “I do, however, have reservations as to the plan you’ve outlined, but I can’t conceive of a better strategy.” His gaze locked fully with Lucas’s. “As you say, Leberman must be stopped. It’s past time we got this done.”
“All right, then. I’ll set things in motion on my end. The only thing I need on yours is full cooperation and complete secrecy.”
“You have that unconditionally,” Ian said with that quiet intensity that would unnerve most men.
Lucas nodded. “I’ll keep you posted.”
With the preliminary plans out of the way there was nothing further to discuss. “We’ll ensure status quo at the office until we hear from you,” Simon offered in parting.
“I don’t want Victoria to suspect anything,” Lucas reiterated as they moved toward the door. “She’s already picked up on my uneasiness.”
“We understand.” This from Ian. He paused before following Simon into the corridor. “Just one more thing.” He looked directly at Lucas. “I have no doubt that you will do all in your power to protect Victoria from this assassin.”
“I will,” Lucas assured him.
“If,”