Page 11 of Beyond Redemption

“And if they ever figure out their first retaliation didn’t hit the mark…”

I shut the file, annoyed. “Then Fairchild’s press conference just handed them the justification to go scorched earth.”

She nodded once. “Which means Deacon’s about to have his hands full. And you”—her gaze sharpened—“are about to be pulled directly into this.”

My pulse stayed even, but my stomach sank. “Liis will be pulled into the Yakuza angle.”

“She’s the best linguist and analyst they have,” Constance said. “And the Bureau doesn’t care that this is a political nightmare wrapped in a grieving grandfather’s hubris. And your household… your family…” She waited for me to say something, and when I didn’t, she continued, keeping her voice low. “Our plan could blow up in our faces.”

I nodded once. “Red Ridge should have stayed buried.”

The phone on my desk rang, and Constance stayed in place as I picked up the receiver.

“Maddox… I’m aware, put Denver through.” As Moore spoke, I rubbed my forehead, trying to absorb the intel while my mind raced. Once I hung up, I strained to retain all the information I’d been given.

“Are they moving?” Constance asked.

“Not yet.”

“Fairchild challenged the Carlisis, Thomas. In front of the world.”

“Just the Carlisis who are left.”

“You’re in denial. You know they’re worse than Benny ever was, and they’ve had two and a half years to rebuild. They may not be as organized or as disciplined, and yes, that makes them prone to mistakes, but they’ve also shown indifference to consequence, which makes them more dangerous. They’ve sunk almost everything into pushing to expand, to grow beyond smuggling and juice lending, and their work with the Yakuza gives us every reason to suspect they’ll begin mirroring their brutal tactics.”

I rolled my favorite pen between my thumb and index finger. “Noted.”

“Don’t brush me off, and don’t let Denver fool you. I don’t want to overstep—”

“Since when?” I said, a bit harsher than I’d meant to.

She hesitated, which was a rare occurrence. “You’re in a reactive posture, and I know why. You don’t want a domino effect. But doesn’t this require a more proactive approach?”

“What more would you have me do, Constance? We have to keep this quiet for as long as we can.”

“You might want to check in with Liis.”

“Why?”

“Because if there’s movement in Colorado, if it’s headed our way, someone in Counterintelligence will feel the tremor before we do.”

“She’d tell me.”

“Not if she’s sitting on it for the same reason you are.” Constance was being careful, her tone borderline pleading.

I stood, keeping one hand braced on my desk. “I’ll keep an eye on it.”

She held her tongue. “Copy that.”

After a beat, I forced myself to add a question to appease her. “Do we still have eyes on their one remaining target?”

As predicted, her shoulders relaxed. “On Falyn like glue from what I understand. You know when Deacon’s assigned…”

“It’s handled,” I finished for her. “He’s more special ops than agent from what I hear.”

“He…” she began, but there was a knock at the door. She rushed over, taking a peek before fully opening it.

Agent Evans, one of my unit leads, stood in the doorway, his expression too carefully neutral.