Free The Backup Asset by Leslie Wolfe Page A

came to the surface, but it would all be speculation even if it did. There was no visible connection between any recent Russian military activity and the terrorist plot The Agency had just folded. None whatsoever . . . she was just reaching.
    Her cell phone rang, almost startling her. She smiled, seeing the caller ID, then accepted the phone’s prompt to encrypt the call. Ever since she’d started working on her last case, she’d been using cell-phone encryption software on every call, ensuring that her private conversations remained private.
    “Sam!” she answered cheerfully, glad to hear from him.
    “How are you, kiddo?”
    “Great, just great,” she answered excitedly. “I was just thinking of you. Were your ears burning?”
    “Nah . . . just wanted to check on you, see how you are.”
    She paused for half a minute, not sure what to say.
    “Well, I’ve been thinking,” she started, “maybe there’s a correlation between our case and these Russian military incidents?”
    “Ah . . . Your mind still goes there, huh?”
    “Yup,” she confessed in a sheepish voice.
    “Crazy wall and all that?”
    “Yup.”
    He let out a long sigh.
    “We might never catch him, kiddo, you know that, right? We discussed it.”
    “Yeah, but—”
    “The yeah buts are not gonna cut it, you know. We talked about this. I’ve spent my entire life chasing spies and terrorists, and I haven’t caught all of them, only some. The vast majority,” he clarified further with pride, “yet not all of them.”
    “But you know what I mean, right? You’ve felt this; you’ve done this too, right?”
    “What? Obsessing about some anonymous face that eluded me for years? Yes, and I almost lost my mind because of that. That’s why I want you to be smarter than I was.” He grinned, and she heard the smile in his voice.
    “So, if you’ve done it too, how come you expect me to not wanna do the same? How can I let go? Who’s gonna catch this guy?”
    “Listen, kiddo, if anyone’s gonna catch this guy, it’s gonna be you, I promise you that much. But if you wanna have a real shot to catch this son of a bitch you have to let your mind be free of obsession, of bias and frustration. You have to be cold and factual, and see facts and data only where facts and data exist, not where you want them to exist.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “There’s no visible real, logical correlation between the Election Day plot and the Russian military incidents we’ve been reading about lately, yet you thought there might be one. Is that your gut talking? Or is that wishful thinking? Only you can answer this question. Only after you have become completely level headed and rational about this case. You need to stop caring about it from an emotional perspective, and only care about the intel—the facts, whatever the facts might tell you.”
    “Yeah, but that data might tell me we’re never gonna find out who he is,” she protested angrily.
    “That might be true. But imagining correlations where there aren’t any is not gonna help either.”
    She swallowed hard. “Right . . . What should I do then?”
    “Just keep in mind that it’s not over yet, but don’t let it ruin your life. Be ready; get ready. Watch your back. Be aware of your surroundings. See if anyone is following you. Spend time at the firing range with Louie until you’re better than he is.”
    “Ha! That’s never gonna happen!”
    “Are you sure? ’Cause I’m not!”
    She fell silent for a minute, taking in his advice.
    “I miss you, Sam. I miss your training, your friendship, your advice. I miss the life, the buzz of the action. I can totally see how someone can become addicted to this life.”
    “Of course you do,” he laughed. “You’re a natural born spy; it’s in your DNA. Are you working on a case now?”
    “Yeah, I’m support on Brian’s new case,” she said, letting a tad of disappointment color the inflexions in her voice.
    “Is it an interesting