Page 9 of Code Name: Tank (K19 Sentinel Cyber #4)

DRAGON

M y phone’s alarm jolted me awake at zero five hundred, the sound cutting through restless dreams. I blinked at the ceiling for a moment before reality crashed back—CIA briefing, Washington, returning to a world I’d hoped never to see again.

I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, hoping the hot water would wash away my anxiety. By the time I’d dressed and was headed out the door, at least my hands had stopped shaking.

Alice was waiting at the helipad when I arrived. While her typical wardrobe could be best described as “chic hippie,” she’d toned it down for today’s meeting.

“Been a while since I’ve done this,” she commented as we climbed into the helicopter.

God, what a friend I was. I hadn’t even asked if she felt well enough to travel. “Should we postpone? Or I could go alone.”

“I’m better than yesterday, actually.” Alice settled into her seat. “The helicopter motion doesn’t seem to bother me as much as car rides.”

“Good to know for future trips,” I said.

The flight to Griffiss International Airport took twenty minutes, during which we reviewed our key points. About halfway through the flight, Alice’s phone buzzed.

She looked at a message on her cell. “I just received word from Tex about those trends he recognized.”

I buckled into my seat as the pilot began his preflight procedures. “Yeah?”

“He’s been thinking about it more, and he says this sequence reminds him of something he’s seen before,” Alice said.

“He thinks we’re only seeing the beginning.

And he’s getting more suspicious that the authorization patterns don’t match typical external hacking. Says it feels like insider knowledge.”

The jet lifted off smoothly, carrying us toward DC. Below us, the Adirondack wilderness gave way to farmland and small towns, looking deceptively peaceful from thirty thousand feet.

“Alice, do you know if he had help from other agencies?”

She was quiet for a moment. “I don’t. Why do you ask?”

“Because someone from my past has been reaching out. Someone who claims to know about this specific threat.”

“Someone you trust?”

“Someone I used to trust. Before he chose his own safety over our mission and left me to face the fallout alone. It was before I, you know, came to work for you.” I sighed. “Sorry, not really something I want to talk about. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Alice reached across the aisle and squeezed my hand. “I understand.”

The simple gesture caught me off guard.

“Thank you,” I said.

“You know,” Alice said, “I had a hard time trusting anyone when I first started working with Admiral. I was definitely the lone-wolf type.”

I looked at her, surprised by the personal revelation. “What changed?”

“Time. And realizing that some people are worth the risk.” She smiled softly. “Tank strikes me as one of those people.”

I nodded once but didn’t respond. My feelings were too conflicted to know where to begin.

As we started our descent into Reagan National, I checked my phone one more time. No new messages from Flint, but the quiet felt ominous.

The SUV that met us at the airport was government issue, complete with a driver who checked our credentials twice. The drive to Langley took forty minutes through DC traffic, giving me time to mentally prepare.

“Nervous?” Alice asked as we passed through the first security checkpoint.

“Focused,” I replied, though my hands were damp as I handed over my visitor badge.

CIA headquarters looked exactly as I remembered—imposing concrete and glass designed to project power and secrecy. As we moved through the main entrance, past the memorial wall and agency seal, I felt the weight of my former life pressing down on me.

The wall held names I recognized, colleagues who’d died in operations I’d been part of. For a moment, I could almost see Flint standing beside me during our first visit here as partners, both of us young and convinced we could change the world.

Director McTiernan met us in the lobby, which told me how much attention this threat was getting.

“Dragon. Alice.” His handshake was firm, his expression as serious as usual. I wasn’t sure I remembered ever seeing the guy smile. “Let’s talk.”

He led us through corridors to a secure conference room deep in the building’s interior. No windows, reinforced walls, and the hum of electronic countermeasures. This was where major threats were discussed.

“Tell me what’s happening,” McTiernan said as soon as the door shut behind us.

I connected my laptop to the room’s display and pulled up the latest reports. “Sir, coordinated financial thefts at three defense contractors—Titan Defense, Apex Aerospace, and Potomac Strategic Industries. Initially, we thought we were dealing with foreign hackers.”

His expression darkened. “The level of sophistication suggests foreign involvement, but tell me about the execution.”

“That’s what we thought too,” Alice said. “But now, we have reason to believe that might be misdirection.”

I pulled up the financial patterns. “We need your assessment—does this look like genuine foreign hacker activity, or is someone trying to make it appear that way?”

Money leaned forward, examining the screen intently. “Show me the specifics.”

I walked him through our key findings—the coordinated timing, the systematic patterns, the irregularities our consultant had flagged. “The authorization codes used were legitimate, not bypassed or hacked. Someone with proper access executed these transfers.”

After several minutes of silence, Money straightened. “The technical sophistication is there, but something feels off about the execution. It’s almost like someone wants it to look foreign.”

My eyes met Alice’s. Our instincts had been right.

“So we’re looking at a deliberate misdirection?” I asked.

“That’s my assessment.” He stood, his expression grim. “Someone’s planting evidence to frame foreign actors. I’ll need to investigate who has the capability and access to pull this off—that requires resources only we can provide.”

“I’ll start tracing the digital breadcrumbs immediately,” Money continued. “But I need you two to keep working on your end—follow up with your consultant, dig deeper into the financial patterns. If someone’s this sophisticated at misdirection, they’re not done yet.”

“What’s our timeline?” Alice asked.

“Fast. If they’re willing to frame foreign actors, they’re playing a much bigger game than simple theft.” His expression was grim. “I’ll have preliminary findings within forty-eight hours, but don’t wait for me. Keep pushing.”

As we gathered our materials, the director caught my eye. “Dragon, solid work. This gives us something concrete to work with.”

The praise felt hollow somehow. Something about the meeting had left me unsettled, though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

“Dragon,” Alice said once we were on the plane returning to Griffiss. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Of course.”

“This person from your past who’s been reaching out—do you think they’re trying to help, or do they have their own agenda?”

I stared out the window at the landscape below. “I honestly don’t know. That’s what worries me.”

“And Tank? Have you told him about these messages?”

“No.” The admission felt heavier than it should have. “I haven’t told anyone except you.”

“Why not Tank?”

I thought about that for a long moment. “Because if I’m wrong about Flint’s motivations, if this is some kind of manipulation, I don’t want to drag Tank into it. He’s the most genuinely good person I’ve ever worked with. I don’t want to compromise that.”

Alice was quiet for a moment. “You know, keeping him in the dark might be more dangerous than trusting him with the truth.”

“What do you mean?”

“If this person from your past really is trying to do as you say, Tank might be able to help you see it clearly. Fresh perspective.”

Her words made sense. I’d been so focused on protecting Tank that I hadn’t considered he might actually be an asset in understanding it.

By the time our helicopter touched down at Kane Mountain, the late-afternoon sun was filtering through the trees around Canada Lake.

As Alice and I headed toward the main compound, she broke the quiet that had stretched between us since leaving Langley.

“Dragon, you know you don’t have to handle everything alone, right?”

I nodded. “I appreciate you saying that.”

“I mean it. Whatever’s weighing on you—the case, your past, that stubborn partner of yours—you’ve got people here who care about what happens to you.”

“Thank you,” I managed.

“Tank especially,” Alice added with a knowing look. “That man’s been watching you like you might disappear for weeks now.”

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. “Alice?—”

“Just saying. Sometimes we get so busy protecting ourselves that we miss what’s right in front of us.”

“Like you said on the plane—about Admiral being patient while you figured things out?”

“Exactly like that. Tank strikes me as the patient type, but even patient people have limits. Don’t wait too long to let him know you’re worth waiting for.”

As we reached the fork in the path where Alice headed toward the main camp and I turned toward Whisper Point, I found myself looking back toward the command center, where Tank was most likely still working.

Maybe Alice was right about him. Maybe it was time to stop pushing him away and trust that he could handle whatever complications my past might bring.