“Precisely. What if she went to the police with everything? I knew it was a long shot, but I had to consider the possibility. ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’ I had to do everything within my power to ensure her true identity never made it into a public record of any kind. That could have been disastrous. What if, as you believe, her father’s not behind all of this and someone else is trying to silence anyone and everyone who could prove his innocence? What if they found Mackenzie? I couldn’t stand aside and do nothing. The best way for me to protect her was for her to doubt whether any of it happened, that she never met you. So don’t blame your brother or Benson. Blame me,” he said adamantly, straightening the lines of his dark suit. “He was simply following orders, just like you when you took this assignment.”
I stood in place, absorbing Martin’s words, as several pairs of eyes stared in nervous anticipation. If I could listen to and trust anyone in this room, other than Eli, it was Martin. He was practically family. He had been my father’s right-hand man when he was still alive and running the company. Growing up, I couldn’t really remember a day when I didn’t see him at my father’s side. After my father was killed on an assignment, Martin temporarily ran the company while we figured out what to do. When Alexander requested an honorable discharge and left his SEAL team to come run the company, we were all surprised. Suffice it to say, Martin knew what he was talking about. Despite not wanting to believe there could have been any valid reason to gaslight Mackenzie, maybe there was.
Taking a breath, I ran my hands over my face as I considered his words. He was right. Following orders and chain of command was all we had to make our missions and operations successful. Without it, there would be disorder, chaos. I knew I would do anything to protect Mackenzie. And Martin would, too, despite the effect it had.
“We okay?” Benson asked, slowly approaching me and extending his hand.
Eyeing him, I nodded, shaking it. “Yeah. We’re okay.”
“Well, good,” Eli’s voice cut through. “We’re all ready to start if you are.”
“Right.” I took a seat at a large round table, everyone following my lead. “I know you have all been answering to Martin over the past several months.” The agents surrounding me nodded. “Not anymore,” I said, my voice firm and demanding, trying to demonstrate that I was in a position of authority. This was the first time I was leading a team this size. I had been part of protection teams in the past, but now that I was calling the shots, it was nerve-wracking. I was no longer following my brother’s orders. The success or failure fell on my shoulders, and mine alone.
“Eli will be running point here. Everything goes through him. He has been working this assignment with me since day one and is the only one, other than me, who is fully aware of all the intricacies of this case. He’ll bring you all up-to-date with what we know, so pay attention.” I nodded to him.
Raising himself, Eli stood in front of the assembled team. Pressing a button on his laptop, an image of Mackenzie’s father from his army days appeared on the large television monitor on the far wall. “This is Colonel Francis Mackenzie Galloway. He was our original target in this operation.”
“Original?” Benson interjected.
Nodding, Eli said, “Yes. Galloway was thought to have been the mastermind behind hundreds of acts of treason against the United States, including selling military arms and secrets to known terror organizations, drug cartels, anyone who would pay top dollar. Allegedly, his defining act was the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Liberia almost seventeen years ago.” A still of a charred building with dozens of bodies covered with dark blankets appeared on the screen.
“But you no longer think he’s responsible?” Maxwell, an agent with blond hair and medium build, asked. It was apparent he was rather intrigued by what he was learning.
Glancing at me, Eli hesitated briefly, waiting for my permission to proceed. I nodded.
“We’re not one hundred percent certain but, based on many suspicious events, we’re exploring the possibility that Galloway wasn’t the man behind any of these acts and was simply a scapegoat.”
“But if he was accused of all those acts in the first place, why is this the first we’re hearing about this guy?” Maxwell asked.
“We’re not sure of the details, but we do know Galloway was presumed to have died in the embassy fire he was accused of setting. A subsequent investigation, led by the team at Army Counterintelligence he had previously commanded, found evidence of his misdeeds. Communications with foreign terror organizations and drug cartels. Wire transfers into off-shore accounts, which they were able to link to Galloway. However, someone issued a gag order. With many unanswered questions still lingering, the case was sealed and all agents who had been working on it were ordered not to discuss what they had found with anyone.”
Returning his attention to his laptop, he pressed another button and Mackenzie’s photo appeared on the screen. “This, as you all know, is Mackenzie Delano. She was born Serafina Galloway.” Another image appeared on the monitor beside that of Mackenzie. “This is her mother, Magdalena Galloway. Shortly after the attack on the embassy, they went missing. A two-year search yielded nothing and it was assumed they were killed. Our theory is perhaps someone knew Galloway was being set up and needed to ensure his wife’s and daughter’s safety as a precaution.”
Pausing, he took a sip from his water bottle and surveyed the members of our team, their eyes glued to him. “Fast forward eight years. During her first year of college, Mackenzie began to date this man.” A photo of Charlie in his service uniform appeared on the screen. “This is Charles Patrick Montgomery. At this point, I’m sure you’re all aware of who he is.”
“Yes,” a petite woman with auburn hair I recognized as Gretchen said. “He’s wanted in connection with a string of murders.”
“Correct,” Eli replied. “He was working for Army Cryptology while he was dating Mackenzie and, from what we’ve been able to ascertain from his file and from Miss Delano, he was asked by an acquaintance to look into a missing person’s case – one Serafina Galloway.”
“Who was this acquaintance?” Martin asked.
“We don’t know. There’s certainly more questions than answers in this case and, unfortunately, the two people who could help fill in the blanks are in hiding. Now, it didn’t take Montgomery long to figure out Mackenzie was Serafina Galloway and he approached her to verify this. They dated for most of the year until, one day, he was committed to the psych ward at Walter Reed, where he spent the next eight years being treated for schizophrenia. When he was being taken away, he warned Miss Delano of her mother’s death. The following day, Miss Delano went home to find her mother was killed in a car crash.”
“Have you determined whether there was a connection?” Kevin, an agent who looked more like a playboy than a retired Marine, asked.
“Nothing firm. You’ll soon learn that Montgomery’s involvement here is open to two different interpretations and we’re not entirely sure what to believe about him. So, as far as all things having to do with Charles Montgomery go, exercise an overabundance of caution. Now, back to what we do know. During all of this, keep in mind it was assumed Galloway was dead. It wasn’t until about two years ago that intel surfaced indicating he was alive.”
“And what was that intel?” Martin inquired.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know. The CIA handler who had contacted the company to hire us to investigate all of this has now disappeared.” Eli pressed another button on his laptop and a photo I had never seen before appeared. There was a distinguished-looking older man in all black staring at the camera, a forced smile on his face. “This is Benjamin Collins. We tried to find as much information about him as we could but, given he was working for the CIA, we were met with several dead ends. I couldn’t access any information about his family or whether he has any sort of connection to Galloway. We are unsure of whether his disappearance has anything to do with this case, but we are operating under the theory that it does.”