Page 13 of Code Name: Tank (K19 Sentinel Cyber #4)
TANK
T he briefing at zero eight hundred hours carried an urgency that hadn’t existed in our previous morning sessions.
I’d barely slept after witnessing Dragon’s reaction to Flint’s arrival—the way all the color had drained from her face before rushing back to heat her cheeks.
Whatever history existed between them ran deeper than mere workplace disagreements, and every protective instinct I’d been suppressing for months was now demanding action.
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Admiral stood at the head of the conference table, his expression grim as the team assembled.
Alice settled into her chair with the slow movements of someone managing early pregnancy fatigue, while Atticus took his usual position across from me.
Dragon entered on time, her expression unreadable, but there was tension in her shoulders that hadn’t been there two days ago.
She chose a seat that maximized the distance between herself and Flint, who was too comfortable for someone joining a team who’d worked several missions together and earned the camaraderie we shared.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Admiral began. “We’re facing an escalation. Potomac Strategic Industries has had resources diverted—not just from accounts funding their main facility in McLean, Virginia, but from contracts supporting two additional sites nationwide.”
“Agent Pierce,” Admiral continued. “Please share what you’ve briefed me about what we’re up against.”
Flint leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table.
“I’ve been tracking a network that targets defense contractors through inside access.
This connects to intelligence work I did previously—specifically in Prague.
They appear to compromise people within contractor organizations, then execute thefts using internal systems.”
Dragon raised her head, still not looking at Pierce, but responding to what he’d said. “That would explain the authorization patterns we’ve been seeing. These aren’t hacked credentials—they’re legitimate access codes.”
Alice looked up from her tablet. “I need to reach out to Tex. If we’re looking at embedded operatives, he’ll need to analyze the personnel records from these contractors.”
“Tank, shift your financial analysis to focus on identifying which personnel at these contractors would have the authorization levels we’re seeing,” Admiral directed.
“Already working on it.”
“Flint,” Admiral continued, “I want to see those Prague files. If we’re dealing with inside access, we need to understand how they operate.”
“Of course,” Flint replied. “I’ll compile the relevant intelligence.”
The briefing ended with a clear new direction. As the few of us in the room dispersed, I approached Dragon.
“If there’s anything you need to discuss, I’m available.”
She looked up, and for a moment, I saw past the facade to the woman who’d been grappling with Flint’s unexpected appearance. She raised her chin, and her eyes bored into mine. “I appreciate that, Tank. But I can handle it.”
The response was pure Piper Drago—independent, competent, and determined to manage challenges on her own terms.
“I’m here if you need me.” It was more than I should’ve said, phrased in a way that left little room for misunderstanding. I was here for her.
Her expression shifted—a brief softening that suggested my offer meant more than she was comfortable acknowledging. “Thank you.”
Over the next several hours, I found myself paying too much attention to the interactions between Dragon and Flint instead of my own work. What I had to do required intense focus, but I couldn’t ignore the undercurrents affecting our newly formed team dynamic.
I noticed the subtle ways he attempted to position himself as Dragon’s primary source of guidance, making “helpful” suggestions about how she should approach her work or which avenues deserved priority attention.
“Piper’s communications expertise is what we need to understand how they’re operating,” said Flint. “She has a gift for seeing things others miss.” The compliment seemed genuine, but the proprietary tone bothered me.
If I weren’t sitting between the two of them, I might’ve missed the scoff she tried to mask by coughing.
When my cell vibrated, I was surprised to see the call was from Secretary Hartwell’s office. I excused myself, stepped a few feet away, and answered.
“Tank, glad I reached you. I’ve received intel that might be relevant to your investigation.”
I stepped out into the hallway and listened as he relayed the specific details.
“How is your investigation going?” he asked when I thanked him and was about to end the call.
“We’re making good progress and have additional support from someone who seems to know a lot about these attackers.”
“Interesting,” he said after what felt like a too-long hesitation. “You said someone. What’s this person’s name?”
Given the case came from Treasury, along with the DOJ, coupled with the fact that I was interested in the man’s reaction. I gave it to him. “Cory Pierce, code name Flint.”
“Never heard of him. Who’s he with?”
“Former CIA, but recently under federal protection. I’m surprised the DOJ didn’t mention him to you.”
“As am I,” Hartwell muttered, ending the call after telling me he’d be in touch.
When I returned to our work area, Flint and Dragon were reviewing something on her monitor while Atticus observed from his position near the windows.
“What was that about?” he asked, motioning in the direction of the door I’d walked out of.
“Hartwell.”
He raised a brow. “And?”
“He called with intel about financial transfers.”
“What aren’t you saying?”
I turned so my back was to Dragon and Flint. “He seemed surprised by the news that someone had joined the team.”
“Odd,” Atticus muttered.
“Then, when I mentioned his name, Hartwell said he’d never heard of him.”
Atticus was stunned. “You gave him his name?”
“It’s his investigation.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“You might want to give Admiral a heads-up.”
Rather than disregard advice given by someone I trusted with my life, I looked around the room until I spotted Admiral on the opposite side of it, looking at something on his phone. He glanced up when I approached.
“Listen, I?—”
“I already know. Conference room. Now.”
He was about to close the door behind us when Alice stepped across the threshold. She looked from me to her husband, then back at me.
“You heard too?” he asked.
“Heard what?” Alice’s head cocked.
“Tank took it upon himself to inform Secretary Hartwell about Pierce joining the investigation.”
Alice looked between us again. “So?”
“I just received a call from him asking why I hadn’t informed him.”
“And?”
If Admiral’s anger wasn’t already dialed up, I might’ve grinned at Alice’s responses. Preferring to continue to live—and have a job—when this meeting ended, I refrained.
Alice motioned to a chair, which her husband pulled out for her. “I don’t recall anything that said we were to give day-to-day updates to him or Brenna Austen.”
“That isn’t the point,” Admiral snapped, then looked in my direction when my brow furrowed. “What?” he barked.
“Brenna Austen,” I said. “Who is she?”
Admiral glared at me. “Our contact at the DOJ.”
I cocked my head. “Is her identity classified?”
“Why? You wanna broadcast that to the world too?”
I watched Alice rest her hand on her husband’s arm.
“Pershing, Tank did nothing wrong by relaying something I think Secretary Hartwell should’ve been briefed about either by you, Doc, or Merrigan.
I mean, the man came all the way to Canada Lake and made a specific request about who led the investigation. ”
That took the wind out of Admiral’s momentum. “He’s not happy.”
Alice glanced over at me. “Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“Depends. Is he pissed he wasn’t informed or pissed about Pierce’s participation?”
“Not being informed,” said Admiral. “Apparently, he vetted everyone on the list Merrigan gave him of those who’d be assigned to the case prior to our getting it.”
“See? Then, Merrigan should’ve known to inform him.” Alice looked over at me. “This isn’t on you, Tank.”
I shook my head. “No, Admiral’s right. I overstepped.”
“Damn straight, you did,” he said under his breath. “I have a feeling she also received a call from him and that you’ll be hearing from her soon.”
“I’ll take full responsibility.”
“See that you do.”
Alice remained seated when her husband left the room. “Before you go,” she began when I started to push my chair back.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know what the deal is between Dragon and Flint?”
“No clue. I thought maybe you did.” And unlike her, I wouldn’t have asked. I was confident that, when Dragon was ready to talk about it, she’d tell me herself.
“I’m worried about her,” Alice admitted.
“Don’t be. She was blindsided, but she’s okay now.”
“Make sure she stays that way, okay, Tank?”
“You know it, boss.” I stood when Alice did and was about to follow her out when she stopped and looked over her shoulder.
“Brenna Austen was listed in the original brief, my friend.”
I grimaced. “I guess I was too interested in the details of the case to notice the names of the suits.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with your preoccupation with your co-leader.”
When she walked away, Atticus approached. “How much trouble are you in?”
“I’m waiting to find out.”
He looked at the floor and shook his head. “I feel for you. I haven’t seen Admiral that pissed very often.”
“It’s Fatale I’m more worried about.” The use of Merrigan’s code name when she was with MI6 seemed fitting now, considering that was the side of her I was likely about to see. “Hey, by the way, do you know who our point person is from the DOJ on this?”
He shook his head. “No, why?”
“No reason.” At least I wasn’t the only one who’d skipped over that detail.
“Well, who is it?” he asked.
“Brenna Austen.”
Atticus paled, then recovered and walked away.
“Hey, wait. What was that all about?” I called after him.
“Nothing,” he muttered and left the command center.
That was twice in less than twenty-four hours that someone had had a similar reaction.
Granted, Dragon’s was due to coming face-to-face with a man she clearly had a past with.
The look on Atticus’ face at the mention of the woman’s name seemed almost worse.
When I walked over to the table where Dragon and Flint sat, she looked up at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Hartwell had some financial intel to share.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw what I swore was a sneer on Flint’s face. While I might care what his presence meant for Dragon, and about Atticus’ weird reaction to the name of our DOJ contact, I didn’t give a shit if Flint had beef with Hartwell.
“Is there anything you need from me right now?” I asked Dragon.
“Nothing specific. Why?”
“I’m gonna take a quick break. Go down to the lake for a minute.”
I was stunned when she stood. “Mind if I join you?”
“We need to discuss Prague recruitment patterns,” said Flint as we were walking away. “The files I have show the specific methodologies they use to identify and compromise targets.”
“No, we don’t,” Dragon replied, not even stopping to look over her shoulder at him.