The Doomsday Key (Sigma Force 6)

“Do it.”

Gray realized the futility of resisting. He knew how well this woman could shoot. He flipped the phone over to her. She caught it smoothly, her pistol never wavering, then lobbed the phone underhanded into the lake.

“Time for all of us to drop off the grid,” she said.

Gray could guess what she meant. If he never reported in, Painter would think they’d never made it out of the burning forest. It would take searchers weeks to sift through the ashes.

But what Gray still couldn’t understand was why.

The question must have been plain to read.

Seichan explained. “Our goal is to find the key Father Giovanni was hunting. In the past, you’ve proved quite capable, Pierce.” She lifted an eyebrow toward Gray. “The Guild has full confidence in you.”

Gray shook his head, kicking himself. He had suspected she might use these events to her advantage, to help her return to the good graces of her former masters—whether truly or as a double agent. Either way, he had thought she’d make her move later. He had let his guard down. But in truth, it was more than that. Fury built in him. A part of him had trusted her.

He let some of that anger show. “How are you going to get us to cooperate? You can’t hold a gun against us the whole time.”

“That’s true.” She holstered her pistol.

The move made Gray even more worried. Her next words confirmed his fear.

“That’s why I poisoned Rachel.”

Shock silenced Gray.

Rachel stepped forward. “What?”

“In the tea.” Seichan didn’t even look at her. She kept her focus on Gray. “A designer biotoxin. Kills in three days. Unfortunately, symptoms will progress. Nausea, headaches, eventually the bleeding will start.”

Rachel stammered for a moment, clearly fighting her disbelief. “But you saved my life. Out in the woods.”

Gray understood. “She needed you alive.”

Seichan shrugged. “There is an antidote. An enzyme specifically designed for this toxin. A lock and key, you might say. There is no other cure. And just to be clear, I don’t know what the antidote is, where it might be found, or how to obtain it. You’ll be given the antidote only when you hand over the key.”

“I don’t understand. What key are you even talking about?”

“The item Father Giovanni was truly searching for. The key to the Doomsday Book.”

Wallace jolted with her words. “That’s just a myth.”

“For Rachel’s sake, you’d better hope it’s not. We have three days to find it.”

“And what guarantee do we have that you’ll keep your end of the bargain?” Gray asked.

She rolled her eyes at his question. “Do I really have to answer that?”

Gray scowled back at her. She was right. She didn’t. There was no guarantee, and no need to offer one. With Rachel’s life in the balance, they had no choice.

Kowalski folded his arms and glared over at Gray. “Next time, Pierce, listen to the dog.”

17

October 13, 3:23 A.M.

Oslo, Norway

Krista had not slept.

It had been a long night, with events seeming to go from bad to worse. But in the final hour, perhaps all ended well. She would know in a few minutes.

She stood before a roaring fire, dressed in an Italian cashmere robe. The hearth was tall enough to walk into without stooping. Her bare toes curled into the sable rug on the floor. A bank of gothic windows, framed in iron, looked out into the snowy courtyard of Akershus Castle. Moonlight cast the world in silver, yet mirrored the fire’s flames.

And her reflection stood between them.

Between ice and fire.

A bit of poetry from Robert Frost ran through her head as she waited. She remembered memorizing it at the Catholic girls’ school outside of Boston, back when her father used to visit her at night while her mother was drunk.

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

Krista did not care which it was, as long as she was on the winning side. She returned to studying the flames, but pictured another fire. One that had almost ruined everything. She had received an update shortly after midnight from a spotter in the English fells. He had reported on the success of the implanted incendiary charges. But the fire had quickly raged out of control, threatening all. She was forced to wait another two hours before she got the confirmation that the others had escaped the woods. That the operation continued as planned.

If I had failed there…

A chill swept through her.

It would have been a disaster, especially with the way matters fared at the Grand Hotel. It had taken her too long to discover that it had been Antonio Gravel who contacted the senator, and he ended up being a more cunning target than she had anticipated. After contacting the senator, the man had vanished. He wasn’t at his hotel or at the summit. Only too late did she learn of his predilection for young hookers, those who didn’t mind a bit of rough play. Unable to find him quickly enough, she had been forced to set up an ambush at the hotel. It was more brazen than she would have liked, but she had little time for subtlety. She had also hoped to take out two birds with one shot. She had ordered her men to kill Antonio as soon as he entered the hotel, then to use the chaos and confusion to assassinate the senator.

Senator Gorman’s death had not been specifically ordered. He was only supposed to be killed if Antonio spoke to him, but Krista did not like loose ends. Especially loose ends that could recognize her. Jason Gorman, love-struck over his new girlfriend, had sent pictures to his father.

Such exposure worried her.

And she didn’t like to worry.

In the end, the senator had escaped, and not through any fault of her own. She had been explicitly instructed not to pursue the dark-haired Sigma operative. It was not her fault he had shown up.

Still, anxiety kept her tense and cold. She stayed close to the fire, the belt of her robe snugged tightly.

At last, her phone vibrated. She immediately brought it to her ear.

“I’m here,” she said.

“I understand the operation in England continues as planned.”

“It does.” She let a little pride shine through.

“And Senator Gorman escaped.”

Her vision narrowed, shadowed at the corners. All her earlier confidence evaporated upon hearing the tone of the man’s voice.

“Yes,” she forced out.

Silence stretched. Krista’s heart pounded in her throat.

“Then we can proceed with the second tier of our plan.”