Where the Ghosts Lie

Chapter Five

He picked up his ball cap from the table and put it on. "I'm taking a break for lunch."

Soon he was sitting in the break room, stirring a bowl of soup around with his spoon. This is going to be impossible. He thought. He heaved a tired sigh. Howard had allowed him to stay at Hotel CIA, also known as a storage closet located in the basement with a cot shoved in between a mop bucket and a shelf. Needless to say, he hadn't slept great.

"Getting any work done?"

Nolan looked up to see Maddie walking in, her greyish blonde hair in a messy ponytail and her Bob Marley T-shirt stained with ink.

"Trying." He replied, spooning the creamy soup into his mouth.

Maddie grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and began making her own lunch. "How's it going with Toby?"

"Oh, just fine." Nolan said sarcastically.

Maddie sat down across from him, wrapping her fingers around a steamy bowl. "I know he's a hard case, believe me."

"Really? Because I could use a few pointers before I toss him out the window." Or punch him harder next time.

Maddie laughed. "Well, maybe I can help you before that happens. He's my nephew, after all."

Nolan squinted at her. "Wait, really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't important, really." She blew the steam away from her spoon. "You know, Toby's had a tough life. His mom died when he was ten or eleven so Garth, his dad, ran the household from then on like a boot camp. That's hard on a kid."

"I'm sure."

"His father contacted James and I when Toby got rejected from the military a year ago. Toby was in a bad way; he'd worked almost his whole life to go into the army. To be like his dad." A sad smile touched her lips. "Oh, he says he doesn't like being told what to do, but that's only because that's all he's ever known. He has a lot to prove, or rather a lot he thinks he has to prove."

Nolan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Anyway, I should probably get back to work. We booked two flights to Kavala, Greece in three days."

Nolan gave a nod. "Sounds good. Oh, one more thing." He added, a little nervously. "I didn't know he was your nephew before, so I guess I should tell you that I sort of punched him in the face."

Maddie looked surprised for a second, and then grinned. "Honey, sometimes that's the best thing for him."

~~~~~~~

Nolan entered the mapping room where Toby was scribbling something down in a notebook.

"Got it figured out yet?' He asked, trying to sound upbeat, but his tone was obviously strained.

Toby didn't look up. "We're leaving in three days." He mumbled.

"So I heard."

"James has a contact waiting in Kavala to give us weapons since we can't take any on the plane. Is that okay with you or would you suggest going in completely unarmed?" He asked cynically.

"I wouldn't even think to go in there without a weapon." Nolan explained. "But I just don't think we need to kill anyone at this point in the mission; not to say that we won't further down the road." He sighed. "How about we just deal with that once we get there?"

Toby glanced up. "Fine."

"So how do we know where to go?" Nolan asked, trying to change the subject.

"A week ago Maddie was running background checks on everyone in Russia, two million at a time, for whoever had a background in computers or computer hacking. She kept narrowing it down to a small group and traced the connections to the Project Coercion files. James did a little hacking himself into their personal computers and managed to find where two of them logged into Facebook. He got most of the info from there."

"And it worked?" Nolan was a little more than impressed.

Toby shrugged. "Facebook tells all. If you can get a hold of someone's social media account, it's as good as talking with them face-to-face. So anyway, James created a homemade targeting system based in Russia that tracked the hackers to Greece. Kavala is pretty much just a guess."

Nolan was blown away. "Tell me again why they don't work for the CIA? Because I'm sure they could do a better job than anyone in this building."

"They are good."

A knock on the door made them both turn around.

James entered, his features set. "Sorry to barge in, but we have a problem."

"What?' Toby and Nolan asked in unison.

"There's been a bombing. In Kavala, Greece."

"Can we still make it there or will the borders be closed?" Nolan asked.

James sighed and shrugged. "You're leaving in three days, so we should be in the clear. However, that means that there are fully equipped terrorists on the premise."

"Have you talked to Howard?"

James shook his head. "I tried, but he's busy with another case. He said there was a hostage situation with some overseas special operations agents. I think we'll still be clear, though. It just makes it more dangerous, especially if you have some hostiles on your tail, Nolan. Once you leave the CIA, it's free game to anyone who wants to kill you."

Nolan inwardly groaned. "Well, Toby, it looks like you might get to bag a few Russians after all."

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Hello everyone! Thank you again for reading ^_^

Don't forget my new posting schedule is going to be Tuesdays and Thursdays!

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