Page 30 of Iron Shield
Dante stared at the camera. “I found some files in the FBI database.”
No one spoke.
“Ones that were never shared,” he continued.
Silence stretched as the implication settled over the room.
Cannon’s voice hardened. “They buried the intel?”
The women on Charlie team exchanged a glance that suggested they’d already processed what Dante had found and were waiting for the rest of them to catch up.
Dante nodded once. “Looks like it. We also dug into the agent assigned to Stina Velez. From what we can tell, he didn’t even know why he was guarding her.”
Rome’s jaw tightened. The agent hadn’t known, but someone higher up had. Someone had intentionally withheld information.
His hands curled into fists. “You’re saying he believed he was assigned towatchher—not protect her?”
“Looks that way,” Dante confirmed.
Con issued a grating noise like crushing rock. “That’s not all. The FBI didn’t disclose to their own agents that they are hunting a new terrorist with possible ties to Cipher’s network.”
Elin and Sophie’s faces said a lot—both of them had close brushes with Cipher. If anyone wanted the cell brought down, it was them.
Sierra team remained silent, processing what all of this meant.
It meant that Blackout wasn’t receiving intel necessary to make good decisions about their ops. The government agency that was supposed to back them up was concealing things from them, leaving them operating in the dark.
Cannon braced a hand on the table, as if he came to a decision that cost him. “I fucking knew it.”
Con’s gaze burned through the screen. “You knew they were withholding intel?”
“My gut kept telling me the picture was bigger than the one they handed us. They fed us just enough to do the job, but not enough to understand why we were doing it.”
Con dragged his hand across his jaw. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“No. But it can be the last.”
Everyone on Sierra recognized that tone. Cannon respected the chain of command and the boundaries put in place. But if the rules put his people at risk, he found the edges and pushed until they bent.
Cannon swung his head toward O. “You up for this?”
O knew exactly what he was asking. “Put me in, coach.”
“What do you have in mind?” Con asked.
Cannon met his gaze through the camera. “We make a Blackout network. A secure channel between Blackout teams.”
Con nodded. “Copy. My specialists will work with yours to create it.”
Nobody questioned the fact that they were stepping outside Blackout protocol. If the agencies couldn’t be trusted to share information, then Blackout needed their own secure channel. Their own intelligence network. Their own way of keeping operators alive.
Cannon gave a hard nod. “Done.”
“There’s more.” Dante reached toward his keyboard. “Listen to this.”
Audio crackled through the speakers, then a distorted, mechanical voice filled the room.
The entire room jolted at the sound.
