Page 113 of The Elias Conspiracy

For the last several months, Mia had been training, sometimes day and night. Her instructors—men and women who didn’t ask questions and who didn’t care about her past—taught her everything she needed to know to succeed in her new position. At first, she’d believed it would be a repeat of the training she’d been through with Unit 777 in Egypt, but that thought didn’t last long. The training regimen she’d just gone through ended up being exponentially more difficult than anything she’d ever done.

Still, she’d aced everything. When the instructors told her it was finally over, she didn’t smile. She didn’t feel triumphant. She wasn’t trying to prove anything. She just wanted purpose.

And now, it seemed it had arrived.

The door to the room opened, and Samantha Ranger stepped in. She held a small folder in her hand. She didn’t sit. “I heard you passed. Congratulations.”

Mia said nothing.

Ranger placed the folder on the table and slid it across. “Details of your first mission.”

Mia opened the file. Her eyes moved across the photo clipped at the top of the dossier. It was an older picture, but she recognized the man.

Charles Mpassi.

“He’s in Kinshasa,” Ranger said. “He’s under protection, but he’s not unreachable.”

Mia nodded once. “Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t thank me,” Ranger replied. “I told you that if you made it through my program, I’d give you your shot at redemption. So, I’m only fulfilling my end of the deal.”

Ranger started to turn, then stopped and looked back. “One more thing.”

Mia met her eyes.

“Your new call sign,” Ranger said. “From this moment on ... you’re Elias.”