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“Two years. My mission was two-fold: identify the leader of the Iron Fist and obtain enough evidence to bring down the entire network. It took time, but I climbed into the upper ranks of the group and discovered that Gideon Voss was the leader.”
Daniel stared at her. “Gideon Voss? The businessman?” His mind whirled. Gideon had risen to fame by building a tech company and was well-connected to several powerful politicians. “Are you sure?”
Ellie gave a sharp nod, her voice like ice. “Gideon owns legitimate businesses and uses them to mask his illegal ones. Money and power are his drugs of choice. He also deeply believes in the white supremacy ideology, which is obvious once you dig into his social media posts. Problem is, he’s also incredibly suspicious. He controls the Iron Fist through a hand-selected network of lieutenants who are extremely loyal. It's nearly impossible to breach their inner circle.”
Daniel leveled a glance her way. “Something tells me you still found a way in.”
A ghost of a smile touched her lips before fading. “I befriended Gideon’s mistress, Lena Grainger.” Ellie crossed to the bench under the tree and sat. “Lena was eighteen when she met Gideon. He groomed her, abused her. By the time we met, Lena was twenty-five and desperate to escape. I flipped her. Convinced Lena that if she turned over evidence that led to Gideon’s arrest, the FBI would give her immunity for her crimes and a ticket to a new life.”
She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “She was smart, Daniel. An experienced hacker and a mathematical genius. Slowly, Lena started feeding me information. Good information. The FBI was able to take down several big fish in the Iron Fist. But she was terrified of turning on Gideon. She was convinced that even with a new identity he’d find her.”
Daniel heard the emotion in her voice. “You cared about her.”
Ellie nodded. “I did. When she called out of the blue and said she had the final piece—the thing that would bring Gideon down—I knew she’d finally had enough. She texted me a location.”
“You went alone?”
“We’d done it before. There wasn’t time to loop in my handler, and I trusted her.” She shook her head. “I should have been more careful.”
Daniel braced himself. “What happened?”
“The meeting point was an abandoned warehouse. When I arrived, I discovered Lena. Murdered. Before I could get out of there, an unknown assailant shot me.” Ellie removed her hands from the pockets of her hoodie and shifted the fabric, along with the shirt underneath, until a stretch of mottled skin on her abdomen was visible.
Gunshot wounds. The scars had faded to a dull white, but the starkness of the injury against her otherwise flawless skin ignited a wave of fury in him.
“I nearly died.” Ellie dropped her shirt and hoodie back into place. “A couple of homeless people found me bleeding out and called 911. By the time I woke up in the hospital, the Iron Fist had a hit out on me. Whatever evidence Lena had collected was lost. There was no way to take Gideon down. It was decided the best course of action was to make everyone—including the Iron Fist—believe I’d died that day. So Elizabeth Conway died, and Ellie Brooks was born.”
Daniel joined her on the bench. Dragonflies skirted along the edge of the creek before flitting off into the trees. It was a lot to process, and he had so many questions. “When the attack at the church happened, did you suspect the Iron Fist was involved?”
“No. I genuinely believed Owen was the target. It was only after we discovered my house had been broken into and searched that I realized they’d found me.”
“Do you know what they’re looking for?”
She shook her head emphatically. “Not a clue. I was being honest about that.”
“Could it be the evidence Lena collected?”
“I suppose it’s possible, but it doesn’t make much sense. If I had it, I would’ve handed it over to the FBI a long time ago. Plus, the Iron Fist wouldn’t want the evidence found. They’d be more likely to kill me than to ask me to find it.”
All good points. Daniel put a pin in that for the moment. He turned to face her. “The burner phone. You used it to call the FBI, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I was given an emergency number to call in case my identity was ever compromised. No one answered. No one called back. I left several messages.” Her hands knotted together in her lap. “The Iron Fist is rumored to have moles inside of severalfederal agencies. Based on the fact that we were attacked at the hospital, coupled with the lack of response to my emergency calls, I think it’s safe to say someone in the FBI ratted me out.”
He agreed with that assessment. “And the phone call at the police station?”
“I was trying to reach my old boss, James Callahan, but he’s retired now. He’s one of the few people I trusted.” Her gaze grew distant. “I was betrayed. Twice. Somehow Gideon found out about my meeting with Lena, and I doubt it was from her.”
“Someone on your team leaked it.”
She jerked her head in agreement. “It’s the only logical conclusion.”
Daniel frowned. “Wouldn’t the mole have leaked your new identity earlier?”
“Probably. But only a handful of people knew I survived. My FBI file was sealed. Everyone else—my team, the Bureau, even my handler—believes I’m dead. That my cover lasted this long means the Iron Fist must’ve found me some other way.”
“But you don’t know how.”
“No.” Ellie hesitated and then reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I wanted to tell you everything earlier, but I was ordered to maintain my cover at all costs. There are protocols when things go wrong… Following them put you in danger.” She pressed her lips together as if to contain some runaway emotion. “I screwed up.”