Mission: Memory Recall. Virginia Vaughan

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      “Why didn’t you report to a US military base? You would have been safe there.”

      “I had no idea who I was. For all I knew, I was on the run from the US government. I thought I would be arrested, or worse, killed.”

      She gave him a disgusted look and shook her head. “You have a US army ranger’s tattoo on your left shoulder. No one could mistake that. You had a duty to return to the base when you were able and let someone know you were alive.”

      He pulled up his sleeve and showed her his shoulder. There was no army ranger tattoo, but the scarred flesh suggested that something had once been there. He’d never thought about it being a tattoo of any kind. Had just chalked the scarred flesh up to his injuries. Had someone burned off his tattoo to keep him safe? “I depended on those people to keep me alive. I did as I was told. Besides, they were right. The CIA was after me.”

      She stood and gathered the items, placing them back into an evidence container. “Tomorrow, the US Marshals will arrive to transport you back to CIA headquarters, where you’ll be fully briefed about what happened the night of the ambush. There will be a lot of questions about how you survived and why you haven’t come forward. I suggest you come up with a better story than this amnesia one.”

      “I can’t tell you anything that isn’t the truth, Beth.”

      She stopped, turned and glared at him. “You don’t get to call me that.”

      Her words held a bite that chilled him. He’d hurt her. Badly. In his heart, he knew it hadn’t been on purpose, but how could he prove it? How could he exonerate himself from a jail cell?

      “I’m sorry.” He spoke softly. “I don’t mean to cause you more pain. I don’t know how to prove to you that I’m not lying, but I promise you I’m not.”

      She folded her arms and gave him a stern look. “You may have made a fool of me, but don’t worry, Marcus, you never hurt me.”

      She opened the door and called to a guard who grabbed him by the arm. He couldn’t miss the pain simmering behind her eyes as he was led out of the room and back to lockup.

      * * *

      She was in her hotel room when her phone rang and she looked at the screen. It was Dillon Montgomery, her former partner in the CIA. They’d worked many operations together, including the one they’d been on when the ambush occurred. Dillon was one of the few agents in her division who hadn’t forgotten about her when she’d accepted a desk job and he was the only one who still called her regularly and tried to encourage her back to field work.

      She noticed she’d had several missed calls from him. She pressed the on button. “Dillon, hi.”

      “Where are you? I’ve been phoning you all day. I was starting to get worried.”

      These days, it was nothing for her to wake up to a text or email from Dillon that he was going on assignment. He could be called to a mission at a moment’s notice and be gone for days or weeks. Bethany knew the routine well—she used to live it. But since she’d stopped doing field work, her job kept her closer to home, so her disappearing without a word was considered unusual by Dillon.

      “I’m in Texas,” she told him. “I decided to take a few days off.”

      The hesitation before he responded meant he knew why. Her obsession with finding Marcus was a constant source of tension between the two of them. Dillon had been the only one in the department to encourage her to follow her gut when it came to her investigation into Marcus. Everyone else had considered her obsession with finding him nothing more than a hopeless pursuit. But even Dillon’s encouragement had waned recently.

      “When are you going to give this up, Bethany?”

      “I’m not giving up, Dillon. In fact, I found who I came looking for.”

      “What do you mean you found him?” His voice perked up. “Are you serious? Marcus Allen? You found him? Are you sure?”

      “I am. It’s definitely him.”

      He gave a low whistle. “Unbelievable. You always believed it, Bethany, even when the rest of us tried to dissuade you. Impressive. I’m so proud of you.”

      “Thank you, Dillon. I still can’t believe I found him after all this time.”

      “A soldier presumed killed in action discovered alive? I, for one, can’t wait to hear his story.”

      “Well, there won’t be much of a story. He has amnesia.”

      Dillon snickered. “Amnesia? Really?”

      “That’s what he’s claiming. Right after I confronted him, someone started shooting at us. He insists he has no idea why someone would try to kill him and no knowledge of who the sniper is.”

      “Of course he would say that,” Dillon stated. “He’s wanted by more than the CIA.”

      She frowned. Rick had alluded to something like that, too. “What do you mean?”

      He laughed. “Come on, Bethany. What do you think he’s been doing all this time? He must have been working for someone. Probably weapons traders, if I had my guess. If he’s back in the States and someone is trying to kill him, he probably betrayed them, too.”

      “But why did they wait until I arrived to take those shots?” she asked. “Were they following me? Did I lead the shooter to him?”

      Dillon gave a disgruntled sigh. “I doubt anyone in the CIA was following you around on the off chance you found a presumed-dead army ranger.”

      When he said it, it sounded so implausible that she blushed even thinking it.

      “And who else would know about your investigation? I don’t mean to put you down, Bethany, because you did it, you found Marcus Allen. But your investigation into this matter has been like a wild-goose chase. No one in the Agency or any other government agency gave your conclusions any merit. Certainly there was no one here waiting around to see if you found him.”

      He was only stating what she already knew to be true. It was silly to even think differently. Marcus was a target and had been for a while. He’d probably gone into hiding to begin with because someone was after him and thus had been dodging bullets for years. That certainly made more sense than that she’d led someone to him. She grimaced to think she’d let him plant doubt in her mind.

      “Of course. You’re right.”

      “Tell me where you are,” Dillon said. “I’ll hop a flight and be there in a few hours to help you bring him in.”

      “That’s not necessary. I’ve already made arrangements. He’s being held in the local jail and Rick has arranged for the US Marshals to escort us back to Langley tomorrow morning.”

      “Are you sure? I don’t mind making the trip.”

      “No, it’s fine. I’ll see you when I return.”

      “Okay...have a safe trip,” he said. “I’ll see you when you get back. We’ll celebrate this victory. Steaks on the grill at my place. СКАЧАТЬ