Her Fierce Warrior (X-Ops #4)(52)

Cree stopped to look at him in surprise. "So you're going to put Layla in the field, then?"

John shook his head. "I didn't say that. I told Layla I'd allow her to  train to be a field agent. She has a long way to go before I'd even  consider it. I offered him a job because he's a good man who needs  someone to give him a chance. And he can more than handle the job. He's  qualified on nearly any weapon you can name, he knows how to repair and  maintain them, he's good with explosives and tactics, and as a bonus, he  already has a top secret security clearance."                       
       
           



       

"Did he take the job?"

John nodded. It had been hard as hell convincing the former soldier that  it wasn't some kind of pity offering because of his connection to  Landon and Layla. "It took some persuading, but in the end, he took it.  The man's got a lot of pride, but he's not stupid. He knows a good deal  when he hears it."

"And how do you think he'll handle it when he discovers the DCO employs  genetically enhanced humans and that his girlfriend is one of them?"  Cree asked.

John smiled. "Something tells me he's not going to be that shocked."

Then, if and when Layla was ready to become a field agent, hopefully  he'd be able to team her up with Jayson. He'd seen them together, and  there was definitely a spark. But Layla wasn't the only one who had a  long way to go before she'd be ready for field work; Jayson did too, and  John wasn't sure either of them was ever going to get there-or if they  could even stay together long enough to make it that far.

Adam was seated in the leather wingback chair, gazing out at the setting  sun, which reflected off his dark-blond hair and emphasized the angular  planes of his face. He hadn't changed at all in the ten years John had  known him, reminding him once again that he didn't have a clue how old  Adam was.

John sat down in the chair opposite Adam. Cree perched on the arm and crossed her legs.

Adam turned to look at him with those unsettling eyes of his that had  taken John a long time to get used to. A combination of orange and  yellow, his pupils were partially slitted. He blinked, his eyes shifting  back to their normal hazel green. "Did you find anything on the hard  drives they brought back from Tajikistan?"

John casually pulled Cree onto his lap, where she fit perfectly.  "Nothing we can use to drag Thorn into court. On the good side, at least  now we know what the facts are. We just have to keep digging in the  right places to get solid evidence."

"We already have evidence." Adam regarded him with eyes that seemed even  colder than usual. "Thorn is behind the hybrid program, and because of  him, a lot of people have died-scientists and doctors he ordered  kidnapped, homeless veterans in Atlanta, hikers and campers in  Washington State his doctors experimented on, all those research  subjects that Landon and Ivy found all over the world. They're all dead  at his hands. What other evidence do you need? I can slip into that big,  gaudy mansion of his and kill him in two minutes."

John clenched his jaw. He and Adam had already had this conversation. "We're not going to do that, and you know it."

"Why not?" Adam asked. "You act like the DCO doesn't kill people every  day. Your operatives killed Klaus, Renard, and a slew of human guards  and hybrids. What the hell makes Thorn any better than them? Why does he  get to live while they all died?"

"He's not any better than them. He's ten times worse," John said.  "There's a difference between killing a man who's pointing a gun at you  and walking into his house in the dead of night and executing him."

Adam regarded him coldly. "And you're saying the DCO hasn't done exactly that before as well?"

"Dammit, you know we have. And you also know how extreme the  circumstances have to be before I ever authorize something like that,"  John continued before Adam could interrupt. "There must be a clear  indication that significant lives will be lost and that there's no other  alternative."

Adam swore, his eyes flashing color. He had good reason to hate Thorn.  "You don't think more people are going to die because of Thorn?"

"They very well might," John agreed. "But saying they might isn't enough to justify an execution."

Adam's eyes returned to their usual icy coolness, but he didn't say anything.

John sighed. "You knew this was the way it was going to be ten years ago  when you and I agreed to work together to figure out which member of  the Committee was abusing their position and using the DCO for their own  purposes. All along, the plan was to put that person in prison, not  kill them. Just because we've finally figured out that Thorn is that  person doesn't mean anything has changed. You said you were comfortable  following my lead on this. Have you changed your mind?"

Adam stared out the window for a long time before answering, his jaw clenching. "No."

John had to stop from letting out another sigh, this time in relief.  Adam was a good man, but he was also dangerous as hell, and it would be  stupid to ever forget that.

"So we go back to digging through email servers or hoping one of Thorn's  people makes a mistake and leaks something incriminating," Adam said,  turning his head to look at John again. "We've been waiting for that to  happen for years. What makes you think anything will be different now?"                       
       
           



       

John smiled. "Because now we know exactly what we're looking for."

Adam lifted a brow. "We do?"

"We do," John said. "Renard told Ivy that Klaus had every single  communication with Thorn saved on a computer in a research building that  burned down-orders from Thorn, money transfers, research data, status  updates on every success and every failure. I'm betting Thorn has that  same information saved somewhere, too. All we need to do is find it."

He expected Adam to take a shot at his logic, but the shifter simply  regarded him for a long time in silence before finally nodding. "A man  like Thorn would want to keep information like that somewhere close by,"  Adam said. "That means his home or his office at Chadwick-Thorn. Are  you seriously considering trying to slip one of your people into Thorn's  office or private residence?"

"I won't have to," John said. "Not if Thorn invites them in."

"Ivy and Landon?" Cree frowned. "You think he trusts them that much."

John nodded. "It's one of the unexpected benefits of Klaus and Renard  ending up dead. Thorn assumes Ivy and Landon manipulated events to make  it happen on his orders. He's already invited them over for another  meeting at his corporate office. If we get lucky, they'll have the  freedom to move around Chadwick-Thorn on their own. From there, who  knows?"

Adam considered that. "Are you sure you want to put them in that kind of  situation? If Thorn or Frasier get even a whiff that Ivy and Landon are  up to something, they're dead. And if he realizes they're following  your orders, you'll be next-or someone you love will be."

John looked at Cree. She looked right back at him.

"I know," he said. "Ivy and Landon will be careful. Besides, it's not  like I have anyone better to send in after Thorn and his secrets."

Even Adam couldn't argue with that. He glanced at his watch, then got to his feet. "I need to be going."

"I thought you and Milan were going to stay for dinner," Cree said.

Adam grabbed his overcoat from the back of the chair and shrugged into  it. "I'll be back by then, but I have some other business I need to take  care of first."

Adam didn't volunteer what that business might be, and John didn't ask.  Their friendship was based on a strong foundation of letting the other  person keep his own secrets. John knew that whatever Adam was up to, it  almost certainly had to do with taking down Thorn or keeping an eye on  something else related to the DCO.

Milan came out of Boo's room as they walked into the living room. Adam  whispered something to Milan that John couldn't hear, then smiled and  leaned close, his forehead almost touching hers. There was something  about the quiet, graceful woman that brought out a different side in the  former assassin.

Adam gave Milan a quick kiss, then a nod in John's direction before  letting himself out. Milan motioned that she'd be back in Boo's bedroom,  then disappeared down the hallway.

Cree turned and looked at John. The heat in her eyes was unmistakable,  and he felt an answering warmth gathering somewhere just below his belt.  It made him realize how long it had been since they'd had a chance to  spend some alone time together. Days off were in short supply for a  person in his position.