Last Chance to Die. Noah Boyd

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      As he started for the kitchen, she said, “This time I need to be on the inside of the investigation, Steve.”

      “Okay, but just remember it comes with a lot of liability.”

      “Have I ever denied you when you wanted to commit a felony?”

      “I said you’re in, Deputy Assistant Director Bannon.”

      “Then explain your question about the classified documents Calculus gave up. What was that about? And don’t give me that ‘curious’ stuff. I’ve seen that look before.”

      “Well, isn’t this getting off to a familiar start?” Vail said, laughing for a moment. “Sometimes in the spy business, your opponents will run a game on you. They’ll salt the mines with borderline information to convince you that they’re on your side. It’s just something to be wary of. And if they’re good, they can wind up getting more information from you than you get from them.”

      She stared at him for a few seconds. “That sounds like a reasonable explanation, but it always does—and then suddenly I’m being shot at.”

      “There are worse things than being shot at.”

      “Like …?”

      “Living a life where you’re never shot at.” He went into the kitchen and yelled out to her. “These are spies. They don’t shoot at people. But I’d be careful what I ate.” The refrigerator was stocked with food, including a carton of eggs. He took them out and checked the date. “These eggs are fresh. How about I make some breakfast?”

      “I assume that you have no desire to poison me.”

      “Sure, we’ll say that.”

      “Do you want me to do that?” she asked.

      “I’m just going to scramble some eggs. Why don’t you have a look through those files they left us.”

      Ten minutes later he walked out with two plates loaded with eggs and toast balanced on top. She looked at the plate he set in front of her. “Make enough?”

      “With you I never know when I’m going to get to eat again.” He picked up his fork. “Anything in the files?”

      She took a bite of toast and pulled a photograph from the back of the file. “Here’s that shot of Calculus’s message.”

      She watched him carefully as he laid it on the table next to his plate and studied it while he continued to eat.

      To Moscow unexpectedly. Find CDP now!

      Finally she said, “Do you think CDP is our ‘little fish’?”

      Vail continued to eat, staring at the message. “It has to be. He uses only three words to notify us of his possible impending death: ‘To Moscow unexpectedly.’ Someone that economical wouldn’t waste the last three words on something meaningless. He used exactly the same number of words to indicate that they’re as important as the first three.”

      “Why would he care whether we found the spies if he knew he was going to be taken back there and tortured, and probably worse?”

      Again Vail was lost in thought. She took a mouthful of eggs and watched him as he ate absentmindedly. Finally he said, “This is good. Very, very good.”

      “The eggs?”

      “Your question about him caring. It could be the key to unlocking this. He shouldn’t care. Yet he sent us the first mole’s initials. Why?”

      “Maybe he figured since he was being sent back to Moscow, he’d give us the first name hoping we’d send the money to the Chicago bank and it would get to his family or whoever.”

      “That’s a possibility. Here’s another one: What if he planned for this contingency? He knew that if the Russians get it out of him about the list and recover what he’s hidden for us, they’ll have all they need to convict him of treason and execute him. But if he can get us to whatever evidence he left for us, before the Russians can recover it, they won’t be able to prove a thing. Maybe he’s in Moscow right now enduring torture to give us whatever head start he can.”

      “It’s urgent, I get it. But first we have to find this CPD. How do we do that? Like Kalix said, there’s got to be a lot of people with those initials.”

      “Another good question. Unfortunately, one that is going to require a little sleep to answer. I hate to waste the time sleeping, but it’ll be a good investment.” Vail picked up his plate and asked her, “Are you done?”

      “Yes, thanks.”

      “Can you be back here in four hours?”

      “Seeing how the alternative is to let you go wandering off with a new set of credentials and a gun, and then having to answer to the director, I guess I’ll have to.”

      ALMOST TO THE MINUTE, four hours after leaving him, Kate pulled up in front of the old Bureau observation post. It was midafternoon, but the temperature was still near freezing. She took his suitcase out of the trunk and carried it upstairs. He was in the room where the meeting with the director had taken place. He had shaved and showered and was reading one of the files that had been provided.

      “It didn’t take you long to get back at it. Anything in there?” she asked.

      “There is one interesting thing. The cell phone they gave Calculus, it tracked him twenty-four hours a day. We have detailed coordinate charts telling us where he went and when.”

      “Nothing else?”

      “Not yet, but I’m already getting the feeling I’m missing something.” He stood up and went over to a computer that was on. “Take a look at this. You’ve probably seen it before.”

      She peered over his shoulder. “Sure, that’s a spy satellite we have access to. How’d you know about it?”

      “I kept reading in the file about transverse tracking. When I turned on the computer, I saw the icon on the desktop.” She sat down in a chair next to him. “I looked through those cell-phone GPS logs. I think they’re important.”

      “Important how?”

      “Take a look at his message again.” He handed her the file. “How do the last three words differ from the first three?”

      To Moscow unexpectedly. Find CDP now!

      “The exclamation point?”

      “And …?”

      She looked for a few seconds and then shook her head in frustration. “I don’t know, what?”

      “Look at my hand,” he said, holding it with the fingers spread as wide as possible. “Now look at the message again.”

      She did and then said, “It looks like there’s an extra space between the ‘CPD’ and the word ‘now.’” She thought about it a little longer. “I still don’t get it.”

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