Calculated Sabotage – Excerpt #2

Morgan Grady stepped into the Director’s office and closed the door behind her. Dan Floyd’s office was bigger and more formal than hers, but it wasn’t so stuffy it made him seem unapproachable. Well, he scared the new recruits a little, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the Director of Special Operations. He had a reputation to uphold. Dan had been nothing but dependable since they’d met at the Farm a lifetime ago. While Dan was in his mid-forties and single, Morgan was married and had twin sons, now in college. It had been some time since either of them had worked undercover in the field but it wasn’t easy to shake the veil of secrecy and the burden of distrust in others’ motivations.

Dan gestured for her to sit. “I heard Falcon met your man last night.”

Morgan sat in the chair across from Dan and crossed her arms. “Yeah. It sounds like she misled him about the op. Cam was under the impression she would arrive next week. We’re on the same team, Dan.” Morgan didn’t like games and wasn’t going to let Dan off the hook that easily.

Dan crossed his arms. “Look, Falcon is still recovering from the loss of her partner. She said he came early and they bumped into each other in a bar. After some initial confusion, they figured it out.” Morgan raised a skeptical eyebrow and Dan cringed. “Uh oh. How close to the truth was that explanation?”

“It sounds similar to Cam’s version, although I expect there was more to it than that, since he was pretty amped up about catching her until he found out she was CIA. I don’t have all the details yet – he just sent me a short note saying she’d shown up unannounced and they’d had a near miss. I plan on asking him for the full story on our regular update call tomorrow. Is Falcon a liability?”

“She’s trustworthy, just a little careful.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Falcon is used to operating independently. She threatened to go rogue unless we let her in on this. Trust me, she’s the type you want working with you, not against you.” Dan looked down at his notebook and tapped his pen against it.

“So, she strong-armed you. That’s a first. And a concern.”

“Mo, I trust her.” Morgan narrowed her eyes at him. It’d been a long time since anyone besides her brother had called her that. Dan was either spooked or trying to charm her. Or both. “More than almost anyone. Her sense of right and wrong is absolute. Like someone else I know.” He nodded at her.

“Flattery doesn’t work on me, Dan.”

“Regardless, I stand by my opinion.”

Morgan crossed her arms. “My assessment of Cam is the same.”

“Good. We’ve done what we can. Thanks for the update and let me know if you have any other problems. Let’s continue to keep it compartmentalized, please. Only you, me, and the two operations officers, unless I say the word.”

Morgan leaned forward. “This is the second time you’ve asked me to treat this like it was an inside job.”

“I don’t have any hard evidence to conclude it was an inside job.”

“You can’t charm me and bullshit me in the same meeting, Dan. You’ve already used up your quota.”

Dan sighed. “I can’t prove that it wasn’t an inside job. I’m proceeding as if someone in the Agency was involved unless we hear otherwise. It’s prudent and in line with our protocols. Nothing more, nothing less.” Dan chose his words carefully. He was nervous.

“Let’s meet on this. Regularly. So there aren’t any more misunderstandings.”

Blurb

CIA operations officer
Quinn King will do whatever it takes to find the person who killed her partner.
She follows the evidence to Innovative Rocket Technologies, a start-up company
and current darling of the rocket world. Their most recent launch, however, ended
in an explosion that Quinn believes is connected to her partner’s death.

The CIA sends Cam Mitchell to provide backup for Quinn — and to make sure she
isn’t too emotionally invested. With Cam watching her back, Quinn embeds
herself at IRT. She soon discovers there is more to the failed launch than IRT
has shared with the public. And someone has a vested interest in keeping that
information under wraps.

When the CIA finds new evidence that someone is actively sabotaging the next
launch, they call in Parker, Ree and Mike from the FBI to help manage a growing
number of loose ends. However, once Cam and Quinn realize why the rocket is
being sabotaged, it puts them right in the crosshairs of a killer.

(Calculated Sabotage is Book 3 in The Calculated Series. All books in The
Calculated Series may be enjoyed as standalone novels or as a series.)