David rubbed his chin. “I don’t remember any Gerlach involved in anything in Alabama.”

“That’s because there isn’t. He changed his named when he left Idaho. In 1994 he officially became Derek White. And if you’re wondering, yes, he was recently named Director of Whites for America, in Birmingham.”

Again, it seemed no one had anything to say. Steve finally got his mouth to close, and Rudy, who had been leaning against a back wall, leaned forward to slap David on the back.

“I’ll never laugh at your hunches again, Agent Wu.”

*******************************************************

It was just a couple of minutes after six when Alex approached Cliff Jackson’s office. The outer office had been empty, Cliff’s secretary having left at five. The inner office door was closed, and Alex hesitated for just a moment before rapping gently.

She had to admit she felt just a touch of trepidation. There wasn’t much that scared Alex, but being involved with the CIA was one thing that did. Her college study of the agency had been thorough, and she had found things that she couldn’t, or didn’t want to, believe.There had been rumors that the CIA had paid assassins on their staff, but Alex had held the proof of that in her hands. She knew a few secrets that the general public wasn’t privy to. It was just enough to make her breath come a little faster as she waited for an answer to her knock.

The door opened and Cliff looked down at his agent. “You’re late.”

“Sorry. I was rereading the report on Brogan. I think David and I should go interview him.”

“Agreed, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow.” He stood aside and motioned her into the office. “Right now, I want to introduce you to Agent Ron Graves, and Teren Mylos.”

Alex reached to shake hands with Graves. His hand was firm, squeezing hers a bit more than necessary, and it was slightly damp. She looked him at him squarely, and noticed that his eyes didn’t rest on hers for longer than a moment. Then she turned to meet the other person in the office, and nearly bit her tongue in half.

Teren Mylos was sitting comfortably in the chair closest to the wall. While the office was well-lit, Teren seemed to have found the one corner that held any shadows. Her black jacket blended in with her obsidian hair, which fell just past her collar. Teren remained seated, almost sprawling in her chair, but Alex could still tell by the long legs that this woman was tall, probably half a foot taller than she was. She could also tell that the air of ease that Teren projected was just that: a projection. Behind the comfortable sprawl was coiled viper .

As Teren leaned over to shake Alex’s hand, her bright blue eyes met Alex’s green ones, and Alex had in instant of recognition. She put it aside and took the chair Cliff pointed her to.

“This is Special Agent Alexia Reis. She’s a member of the task force, and was the Agent in Charge in Phladelphia. She’s the one that discovered Perry Watson’s I.D. and the fact that it didn’t match the shooter who had used it. Agent Reis, Mr. Graves here says there’s no way that Mr. Watson is involved.”

“Really? And how is that, Mr. Graves?”

“Because, Agent Reis, Perry Watson is dead. Has been for six months.” Graves voice had a higher pitch than she’d expected, with an irritating nasal whine.

“Are you sure?”

“Quite. But I will tell you that his body was not recovered. That means his I.D. was not recovered either. It’s possible someone took his badge, and used it.”

“No, they used parts of his badge.” Cliff said. “It was altered to appear as FBI identification.”

“But, Mr. Graves,” Alex interrupted, “if you didn’t recover the body, how do you know he’s really dead?”

“Because I killed him.”

The statement was made quietly, spoken in low tones by the woman in shadows.

Alex met her eyes. “May I ask why?”

“Because he asked me to.”

“I see.”

There was a tense pause. Cliff coughed gently.

“Could we ask about the situation, Ms. Mylos? It might help clarify how his badge ended up in our killer’s hands.”

Teren fixed her eyes on the desk. “Perry was my partner. We were on an assignment to infiltrate a terrorist organization. They were dealing drugs for weapons, and the weapons were coming from somewhere in eastern Europe. We were to infiltrate, and take out the head of the organization, along with the head of the Asian cartel who was supplying the drugs. We had almost completed our objective when our cover was blown. Instead of two quick kills, it turned into a blood bath. Perry took a bullet in his spine, I got one in the shoulder and another in the abdomen. I barely made it to the extraction point. Perry, knowing he wouldn’t make it out, asked me to shoot him.” She raised her head to meet Alex’s eyes. “I did.”

Alex listened carefully as Teren spoke. She took note of the even tone, and the lack of inflection in the voice. It matched the emotionless features on Teren’s face. She suddenly realized Teren was one of those fabled CIA assassins.

“I would gather, Ms. Mylos, that you are not currently working for the Agency?”

It was Graves that answered. “That is correct, Agent Jackson. Due to injuries sustained in her last assignment, Teren has been placed on inactive status. Currently she teaches Karate and self-defense to both CIA and FBI agents, making sure they keep up their certifications. I brought her along this evening because I thought she would be useful in explaining why Perry Watson was definitely not your suspect.”

Cliff nodded. Alex was still examining Teren. “Is there anything else you can tell us, Ms. Mylos?”

Teren returned the look. She nodded. “I believe there is, Agent Reis.”

Alex noticed Graves become tense. “Please, continue.”

“I’ve been aware of what happened in Philadelphia. I’ve also seen the sketches of your shooter and his driver. While I’m not positive of the driver, I’m fairly certain I know the shooter.”

“Can you give me a name?”

“His name was George Mather. I can’t prove it was him, but the sketches match him almost perfectly.”

“What can you tell us about Mr. Mather?”

“Well, he used to live here in Washington, but he packed up his apartment about eight months ago. I’m not sure where he moved to, but I know he was in New York for a short while, possibly when Mr. Fletcher was killed.”

“You think he could have been the shooter there?”

“Anybody could have been the shooter, Agent Reis. But George was known to dislike gays, he was definitely a killer, and his skill with a rifle was well-known. He also owned a Romanian Dremov semi-automatic rifle with a sniper’s scope. It takes the same kind of ammunition as your shooter used in New York.”

“Sounds like you knew him pretty well.”

Teren shrugged. “I thought I knew him.”

Alex leaned forward. “You thought? What does that mean? Was he a fellow agent?”

Graves was visibly tense, and he reached out. Teren knocked his hand away.

“Yeah, George was an agent. He was the one that blew my and Perry’s cover.”

Graves interrupted. “Uh, Agent Reis, George Mather is not currently a CIA agent. He disappeared in eastern Europe shortly after the death of Mr. Watson. According to the Agency he is listed as missing while undercover. His current whereabouts are unknown.”

“Well, Mr. Graves, it looks like we might have found him for you.” Agent Graves frown deepened at Cliff’s statement.

Alex and Teren were still staring at each other. No one spoke.

Cliff was the first one to break the silence. “Is there anyway we can prove that this man in Philadelphia was or was not George Mather?”

The CIA man scratched his head. “Well, I suppose we can give you access to his dental records. But I’m not positive about that. It’ll be up to my superior, of course.”

“Of course.” Cliff noticed Alex and Teren hadn’t blinked in their staring contest. “Any other questions you’d like to ask Ms. Mylos, Agent Reis?”