The Gambit (70 page)

She finally snapped out of it and shook her head, gazing into my eyes with complete clarity of mind.

“I have never been surer of something in my entire fucking life.”

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

I was a dead woman walking. There was no guarantee that tomorrow would ever come. All that mattered was this moment, and the events that would take place today. If I lost my life in the process, so be it. When I went to bed last night, I talked to my mother and Owen before I fell asleep. I asked them to watch over me. At this point, I was more concerned about what the outcome would be for this country if I were to fail.

No—I would
not
fail. That was not an option.

Last night Megan came over. I was in the shower for the first half of her visit, and when I walked out and saw her, I knew it was
her
. I was surprised. She looked like the exact opposite of me. Blonde hair, cream-colored skin, and blue eyes. I wondered how much time she spent dating Owen, but I kept my urge to ask her suppressed. We didn’t talk much. We barely even greeted each other. I sat back and listened, because my role in the plan was the easiest—to pull the trigger. Lucas warned me what would happen after. The cops would swarm the EPA building twice as fast as they did with Owen in Atlanta. He said I might be shot at, but I made it very clear to him that I was not worried. Death was an escape from all of this. I did not fear it any longer. He instructed me exactly what to do when the time came.

Briana had been working longer than any of us. She spent all day in the basement workroom with Megan’s ID, trying to make a duplicate with my picture on it. Her dark roots were getting longer, making the golden blonde in her locks disappear more by the day. Natasha and Grey worked well into the night. Lucas had to run to the department store to get her some business clothes and a flash drive. It was all a part of the plan. After seeing Grey do it twice, listening to them plan it out in front of me was nothing short of amazing. It was intriguing to hear what went on inside the mind of a hacker. They both were brilliant, and what I came to realize was that two-thirds of what they did was making their target trust them enough to let them in. All they needed to do was throw around some technical jargon and make a good impression. Once the people on the inside made the mistake of letting them in, the ball was in their court.

The only thing we didn’t know was what time the meeting ended and how many people were going to be in that boardroom. We knew for certain Veronica and Marc Fleming would be there, and in all honesty, I didn’t care about any of the others. Lucas and Megan both knew she was behind this, so in my mind that was the only justification I needed.

I was going to kill someone today.

We had all showered one by one early in the morning. Lucas’s wife made us breakfast and brought it downstairs before she took the kids to school. From what Lucas said, she knew what was going on, but for the kids’ sakes she didn’t want them knowing we were here.

Briana had just gotten out of the shower, and she was getting dressed in one of the nearby bedrooms. I stood in front of the mirror, curling my hair. The steam was slowly receding from the top of the glass, and I could finally see my reflection. Looking at myself, I felt like a whole other person. Rachel Flores was dead, and this was what remained. I tried my best to embrace it, so I wouldn’t focus on what had happened to the old me. I wore light makeup and some red lipstick. I felt like I spy, and I looked like one too. Lucas wanted to make sure that Natasha and me didn’t blend together. She was wearing business clothes. I wore black dress pants and a white blouse. I had on a black pea coat that went down to about my knees. I was going to wear all black, but Lucas advised against it. It would only draw more attention to myself. He said that all black would make me look more suspicious, and he was right. Strapped to the outside of my right leg was a holster, where Lucas’s gun was. Yesterday, when the sun set, he brought me to a vacant field. We walked near the edge of the woods, and he put up a target. I practiced point blank and went through many clips until I was confident. I knew when the time came I wouldn’t miss. Not after all she had put me and my loved ones through. Viktor had our files, and he would fax them to Ian right as I made my entrance. He wore a normal button up with khaki slacks. Lucas, Grey, and Briana would remain in the car. Briana and Lucas had done their parts, and Grey would work remotely while Natasha did what she needed to do on the inside. Lucas
borrowed
some goodies from his work. We all were going to wear earpieces that were too small to be visible, and they had a range of a mile. We would be able to hear each other, which was crucial in a plan as elaborate as this.

The time was ticking. Forty minutes until the meeting began.

I set the curling iron down and stared at my reflection again. I felt numb—empty. Perhaps, what would take place today would reset me. I hoped so. I could barely get out of bed each morning like this. I had no drive. The only thing that motivated me now was the notion I could save Owen’s party for him. So that all of his work wouldn’t be wasted.

“Knock knock,” Grey said, rapping twice on the door as he slipped in the opening.

“Hi, Grey,” I tried to muster the strength to smile.

“Happy Halloween!”

“I forgot that was today,” I admitted.

I saw him look my reflection up and down.

“What?” I chuckled.

“Your costume…and you, look marvelous.”

A smile tugged at my lips.

“Thanks, Grey.”

“Did I forget to mention deadly?” He winked.

“That’s more like it,” I teased.

“So…” He began hesitantly. “Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He snorted and nodded his head.

“You know, he would have never let you do this. He wouldn’t have ever gone along with this idea because he wanted you safe.”

Our eyes locked in the reflection of the mirror. Grey pressed his lips together.

“I just wanted to make sure I told you before we go, how much he loved you.”

Hearing those words come from Grey’s mouth caused tears to pool in the corners of my eyes. “I’ve known him since I was six, Rachel, and I had never heard him talk about another girl the way he did you. He loved every moment he spent with you, and he told me all of this the night in the penthouse, out on the terrace…”

My mind flashed back, and I could see him again. He was leaning in across from Grey, talking animatedly with his hands. I wondered what they were talking about, and now I knew.

“Just remember, Rachel, no matter what happens, I will take care of my end of things. Briana and your cousins will get their portion of the money. I will do what is right. It’s what he would have wanted.”

I threw myself into Grey’s arms and hugged him in a firm embrace. Tears rolled down my cheek and disappeared into his shirt. The warmth coming from his body was soothing. It reminded me of Owen. I was holding onto a piece of Owen—Grey—his childhood friend.

“Thank you, Grey, for everything. Thank you…”

Natasha and I walked side by side towards the main entrance of the EPA. I tried to breathe in an attempt to steady my racing heart, but it was pointless. I had to embrace the adrenaline. The metal of the gun was now warm against my leg. With every step, it reminded me of its presence. Natasha cleaned up well. Her hair was straightened, and I was surprised at how much longer it was when it wasn’t up in the chaotic bun. We both wore business heels, but nothing too flashy. I was glad that we wouldn’t be together because we looked like twin assassins or something. Our jet-black hair was identical.

It felt so odd to be here in Washington. I looked around at the massive sandstone and marble-clad buildings and realized this was where it all began. Owen lived here for almost a decade, and now I was back in his turf to finish what he started.

We were maybe one-hundred feet from the entrance. I used my finger just to double check my earpiece hadn’t fallen out. It was so tiny I didn’t even know it was there. Natasha looked at me midstride.

“You ready?”

“Yes,” I breathed the words.

“We are in position in the parking lot,” Grey’s voice said in my ear. “Rachel, do you have your ID?”

“Yes,” I replied softly. I didn’t want anyone to hear me talking to myself.

“Megan,” Lucas began, “how is everything up there?”

“All is well. Still in meeting.”

“Remember, only respond if you think you are being spoken to. We don’t want to jumble ourselves up in a situation like this.”

None of us answered Lucas’s reminder. We knew what to do.

We neared the revolving door, and I split off to the right.

“Good luck,” I whispered to her. She winked back at me, smiling. After hearing her and Grey plan this out together, I could tell she lived for moments like these. I walked over to a bench nearby and sat down. Now I had to wait, but more importantly, I had to listen.

The feed went silent for fifteen seconds.

“Good morning,” I heard a male voice say.

“Good morning,” Natasha replied. Her voice was louder than the man’s in my ear, and I had never heard her speak in this tone. She almost sounded delicate.

“Empty all of your belongings into this bucket and step through the metal detector, please.”

I heard nothing. No beep, just silence.

“Have a good day, officer,” she said.

Good to know. It was one officer—not two.

In the background, I heard the faint clacks of her heels against the floor.

“Good morning, how may I help you?” a female asked.

“Good morning to you, too,” she said politely. “I actually have an interview with Ms. Walling. She told me it was on the second floor, correct?”

There was a pause. It made my gut wrench.

“Oh, okay. My apologies, I was just a little taken aback. They haven’t hired in the archives in over a year.”

“Guess it’s my lucky day, huh?” Natasha chirped. I smiled in reaction. She didn’t miss a beat.

The receptionist laughed. “Why yes, I guess so. Let me call her line to tell her you’re here. What is your name?”

“Natasha Ericsson.”

“Thank you, Ms. Ericsson. Just give me one moment.”

“Great, thank you so much.”

“That’s my girl,” Viktor cheered in my ear. “Using her real name like a badass.”

I restrained the urge to chuckle. Another pause.

“Hi, Megan, there is a Ms. Ericsson here to see you for an interview. Shall I send her up?”