Out of the Shadows (Falcon) Read Online Free PDF Page B

would pull the whole thing right out from under him.
    “I work late most nights.”
    “I know you do, sir. But it’s past midnight.”
    Reed looked at his watch. Ernie was right. He hadn’t been keeping track of time. Instead he’d busied himself pulling files in the restricted area of the CIA complex.
    “Sorry about that, Ernie. Take tomorrow off. Get Kent to drive me.”
    Ernie glanced back at him as they went through the check point at the Agency’s south exit. “You sure, sir?”
    “I’m sure. Just have him pick me up at the hotel tomorrow morning at eight.”
    “So, you don’t want me to wait and take you home.”
    “That’s the last place I want to be.”
    Ernie nodded , turned east onto George Washington Memorial Parkway, and headed downtown to Tyron’s Boulevard, in Fairfax County.
    Ben had other things on his mind besides who would be behind the wheel tomorrow. He’d arrive to work at his normal time, eight thirty am. Everything had to be timed perfectly if they were to achieve the impossible.
    When first approached with the idea of changing the direction in Washington D.C., Ben had been reluctant. Maybe a little scared. Yes, he wanted the power promised, but he knew how things worked around D.C..
    Politicians could be assholes, but at the same time they could be relentless. Just ask Clinton. That poor bastard almost got run out of town. And for what? Screwing an intern.
    Ben chuckled.
    Improprieties like that happened all the time in this town. And poor Nixon was another victim, but this time, of the media. He hadn’t done anything new at Watergate.
    Ben considered himself a dreamer...an idealist. What people thought of him mattered. Enough that he didn’t want to go down in history as someone involved in a scandal...any scandal.
    Ben’s hands shook at the thought of his wife and two daughters . The chance all this could bring shame and destruction to their lives made him pause and reconsider his actions.
    Then power and greed marched into his thoughts and took over any rationality he may have had. If this worked the way he planned, he’d be at the top of the food chain and as rich as Bill Gates.
    Aw, the things a man could accomplish when prosperity knocked and supremacy called. He could have it all for the mere cost of his integrity, honor, and soul.

     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Brody clasp ed her forearms. “What’s wrong?”
    She brushed her blond hair back and stood taller. 
    “You’re a jackass.”
    He pulled her away from the plane, and she stiffened at his touch.
    T he Cessna’s engine revved as it taxied down the dirt road before climbing for altitude. The roar of the small plane deafened him and stirred enough dust to completely camouflage them.
    Not taking any chances, Brody tugged her into the nearby shrubs and took a quick look around. Thankfully she didn’t resist.
    Only a barren moonscape filled his night-vision goggles. Mexico’s heavy, dry air slammed into him with the force of flamethrower. The heat sucked moisture from his body, and sweat already trickled down his back. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand.
    In normal light he’d have had no problem seeing into the distance. Tonight, even with the full moon, nothing but shadows.
    During August the temperature rarely cooled down at night in this area of the world, which made Brody wish he’d waited until D ecember. But A.J. didn’t have that much time.  
    He turned to Stone , who sat hugging her knees to her chest. His gut twisted like a wrung-out towel when he noticed the sad look on her face. She chewed on her full bottom lip. “I asked you what’s wrong.”
    “Nothing.”
    “Don’t give me that bullshit. I mentioned his name and you practically fainted. I didn’t think CIA agents could do that.”
    Narrowed blue eyes cut into his conscience, and that eerie feeling he’d had since kidnapping her grew.
    “I’m not his girlfriend. Okay?”
    “Maybe not now, but you two were an item a few years