To say the director of the FBI, the administrator of the DEA, and the attorney general caused a commotion as they strode into Lancy’s was an understatement. Even Lizzy was shocked by the show of authority. She’d expected Kirby, but Janet Salinger, the head of the DEA, and William Knoll, Attorney General of the United States, were enough to have the recruits practically falling out of their chairs.

“It’s like the holy trinity of federal law enforcement,” Valeria whispered as she watched them in full buddy-buddy mode, shaking hands with recruits and smiling as if a war hadn’t just been declared.

Knoll chuckled to a group surrounding them. “No, we were just here for a meeting about the DEA and FBI training facilities. Nothing exciting, but making sure you all are getting everything you need during training before sending you out to fight for justice.”

“He’s good,” Valeria said as her lips turned up in an amused smile.

Janet Salinger was something of a hero to Valeria. She’d just been appointed the administrator of the DEA and had fought tooth and nail up the ranks. She wasn’t a politician. She was an experienced agent.

“Are you Valeria McGregor?” Janet asked, taking a seat at the bar, letting Knoll and Kirby handle the trainees.

“Yes, ma’am,” Valeria said, showing her the respect she’d earned. Janet’s dark brown skin glowed with the excitement of the upcoming fight. Her black hair was slicked back around her face into a bun. Instead of wearing a suit like Kirby and Knoll, she was in jeans, a black T-shirt, and a pair of combat boots. Valeria had feared Janet would never live up to her reputation, but so far she exceeded it.

“I have something for you.” Janet set a badge and gun onto the polished bar top along with a piece of paper and pushed it toward Val. “That’s an order signed by Mexico, granting the DEA and FBI joint task force on drugs access into the country with the objective of taking Manuel Hernandez and Roland Westwood into custody.”

“How did you get this?” Valeria asked, amazed. She’d tried to work with local Mexican officials many times with no success.

“There’s a rumor that Manuel wants to run for president.” Janet smiled in such a way Valeria knew how that rumor started. “The current president is happy to cooperate. Do you know where they are in Mexico?”

“No, but we have a plan to find out.”

“Welcome back, Valeria. You never should have been fired in the first place. Know your old office has been cleaned. The job to run it is open if you’re interested.” Janet set her elbows on the bar top and looked at Val as if she were measuring her up.

“I’ll think about it. Right now I have another job to do first.”

Janet smiled approvingly. “Good. Then let’s get this party started.”

“You’re coming along?”

“Sure am. So is Kirby and Knoll. There’s no way any of this will fall apart in the judicial system. Not with us as witnesses. I’m with your team. Kirby and Knoll will be with Delta team.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

---

The bar must have thought they were crazy. There was no other explanation for the attorney general, the director of the FBI, the administrator of the DEA, Lizzy, Dalton, Valeria, Grant, Alex, and Roxie to be crammed into the small storage room.

Everyone was shoulder to shoulder around the edge of the room as Lizzy, Dalton, Valeria, and Grant stood in the center of the room.

“Okay, here’s the game plan,” Lizzy said, holding up a cell phone she’d retrieved from a vodka case. “This phone belonged to Dan March. I’m sure there’s a tracking app on it. There’s never been a body found. Mollia Domini will come if we turn this on. And that’s what I’m hoping.”

“You want them to come to us, so we have home field advantage?” Kirby asked.

“Yes and no,” Lizzy began. “I have a good idea where Roland Westwood and Manuel Hernandez are, based on previous tracking. There’s a compound via tunnels from the US into Mexico. I want the phone to be turned on and Alex and Roxie to track the GPS signal being sent from the phone. I want to know who’s retrieving it. I’m betting it’s someone in Mexico. Then I want that phone mined for all intelligence while we go into Mexico via the same tunnels I think Manuel’s men will come out.”

“It’s a diversion,” Janet said, smiling. She was in her late forties but hadn’t developed the politician softness that Kirby had. She still looked as if she could handle herself in a shootout, especially with the three guns Lizzy had been able to spot on her so far.

“Yes,” Lizzy answered. “I need the bees to leave the hive.”

“Where do you want us?” Kirby asked.

“San Diego.”

---

Tate rested her head on Birch’s shoulder. They sat on the couch in the Treaty Room in the middle of the night as Lizzy and her team flew to California. The White House was quiet at this time of early morning, especially in the residence. Crew was sleeping in a nearby chair. He’d been asked to keep an eye on her and Birch while the group of agents and Lizzy’s team took a military plane. They’d be arriving in an hour.

She and Birch had thought about going to bed, but they couldn’t. Not when their friends were walking into the lion’s den. Instead, they found themselves sitting in the Treaty Room with the televisions on silent, waiting to see if there was a leak in the handpicked team sent to collect Manuel Hernandez and Roland Westwood.

Birch rubbed his hand over her shoulder as he kept her pressed tight against him. “How are you feeling?”

“Anxious. What happens if—?”

“Shhh. We don’t talk about what-ifs. We’re prepared, and they will handle anything that comes their way.”

“I don’t think I could stand another flag being handed to us.” Tate looked to where Jason’s flag had been placed in a shadow frame and hung on the wall.

“I know. Right now we must simply have faith that good people doing hard work will win. It’s never easy to stand up against the hate and the division that a group like Mollia Domini thrives on achieving. They want to pit us against each other to tear our country and democracy apart so we don’t see what they’re doing in the shadows. We’ll be doing their job for them. Chaos creates opportunity for the ambitious. It’s exactly what they want to happen to us. It’s easier to overtake half the people than a united country demanding their leaders check their power and do what’s right for their citizens. No, Mollia Domini wants that division so they can tell their oblivious victims what they want to hear. Give me your freedoms and I’ll make the others pay. That was their plan. To kill the strong leaders, to tear the country apart by having them pitted against each other, and then swoop in as the savior. It’s the dictatorship playbook.” Birch kissed the top of her head reassuringly.

“But they’ve already lost. They lost the second your speech was given. The second people started questioning the bias. They lost the second people took a hard look at who was screaming hate, and instead looked past it to all to the quiet goodness of the people trying to do what was right. That was when Mollia Domini lost. They saw our field team even though they never laid eyes on them. Good will always win. Because I have faith that, at our core, we all want to not only be good, but do good.”

Tate lifted her face to his. “I hope so. I almost lost you to the hate once. I won’t be able to stand it if they come after you again.”

“Even if they don’t, they’ll never succeed. Will you come with me?” Birch asked as he sat up straighter.

Tate nodded and took hold of her crutches to stand.

“Where are you two going?” Crew asked sleepily when Birch grunted as he stood. His ribs were still tender, but improving each day.

“We’ll be right back. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving the residence.”

Crew nodded before lying back against the cushion of the chair. His feet were propped on the matching ottoman as he drifted back to sleep.

Tate used her crutches to maneuver out of the room, Birch held the door, and then walked side by side with her down the hall. They made their way to the solarium and then out the door onto the promenade. She breathed in the heaviness of the night air. The dew that came about before the sun made everything seem fresh and clean as they walked to the baluster and looked out over the fountain on the South Lawn and at the Washington Monument, lit up against the dark sky.

“Soon we’re going to be caught up in the whirlwind of the mission. Once again, Mollia Domini will be all we’re talking about, either in victory or defeat. Right now, right here, I have you beside me.” Birch stepped up behind Tate and set aside her crutches.

Tate leaned against the baluster and smiled. “I’m glad we have a moment together alone. I love you, Birch. I’ve missed not being at your side more, but with all this craziness—” Tate took a deep breath and let some of the tension go. She felt powerless as her friends headed straight into danger.

Birch leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers before taking them fully in his. Tate sighed. She was home in Birch’s embrace. “Thank you for loving me despite me being president. We’ll never have a normal relationship.”

“You’re worth it, Birch. It’s not the amount of time we have together but what we do with it. And I know one thing I can’t wait to get back to doing,” Tate leaned up and kissed the man she loved.

---

Grant smiled down at Valeria. She was asleep in the plane but had slumped over in her seat and curled into his side. She was snoring softly and drooling on him, but it was the best feeling in the world.

This woman who had shot her way into his life was suddenly at the center of it. He pulled her closer to him and shut his eyes. They were almost to their destination, but his mind was on Valeria instead of the jump they would have to make. The thought of Valeria being injured caused his heart to seize. How could he tell her he loved her? How could he explain it when he didn’t understand it himself? It had hit hard and fast, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. It motivated every move he made. Tonight he could end Mollia Domini and tomorrow he could ask Valeria to marry him. But until Mollia Domini was caught, there was no point saying things that might distract them from the mission at hand.

“Ten minutes to jump,” the pilot called over the speaker.

Valeria shot up and wiped her mouth. Then she looked at his black shirt and squinted. “Sorry about that,” she said, wiping at the wet spot. She looked at all the agents Kirby had brought with them to Quantico. They’d taken off from the Quantico MCAF, a small airstrip on the base, in a small cargo plane. There was a wall cutting the plane in half. The front half was crammed with seats and through the airtight door was the cargo area.

Grant grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “Be safe tonight. I’m depending on you to have my six.”

“I thought you’d have my six,” Valeria teased as they stood up and made their way to the back of the small cargo plane. Lizzy and Valeria had made a stand when Dalton and Grant tried to talk them out of going. Surprisingly, it was Janet Salinger who had been the most difficult. She’d wanted to go in first, but finally they all agreed Dalton and Grant had the most experience breaching buildings. Then Lizzy and Valeria, with Janet covering the back. It has been a hard sell, but finally they’d all agreed.

Dalton closed the door to the cargo area once everyone was in then locked it shut. Each person grabbed a parachute and started pulling it on. Valeria tugged her parachute into position and Grant checked it before she checked his. “How are you doing, Salinger? Feeling rusty after sitting behind a desk for so long?”

“Bite me,” she snapped even though she had a grin on her face.

“You all ready?” Dalton asked as he strapped the helmet onto his head. The helmets were not only bulletproof, but they also had night vision cameras attached to them.

“I’ve been ready since before you were in diapers,” Janet called out. Valeria snorted, Lizzy chuckled, and Dalton and Grant shot worried looks at each other. Janet didn’t become the head of the DEA by riding a desk, and she was reminding them of that.

“Okay,” Lizzy called, bringing them all around. Alex and Roxie joined them even though they weren’t jumping. “We jump and rendezvous here,” she said, pointing to a map. “The mountains, right here, are very rocky. Grant and Dalton will be here, near the door. Janet, I want you across the way with the rifle, and more importantly, the camera. Everything needs to be recorded for the courts.”

“You’ve got it,” Janet said, double-checking her rifle straps and holding the gun tight against her body in preparation for the jump.

“Then Val and I will take these points here to be able to lay cover fire if Dalton or Grant become exposed. Any questions?” Lizzy asked, holding out the map to let everyone get one last look.

“I think we’re good,” Alex said seriously, causing Janet to look confused. “And dude, I got the best idea for the ambush.”

“Alex is so smart.” Roxie looked up at Alex with adoration, and he blushed.

“I thought Kirby had this handled,” Lizzy said, not sounding happy.

“But I came up with an even better plan. A boat.”

“A boat?” Dalton asked.

“Yeah, we’ll turn on the phone once it’s on a boat. It’ll look like Dan’s coming into port. It funnels them into one area to get onto the boat and it’ll keep civilians safe. I can do all I need to do from the boat as long as it has a stable internet connection.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment. “Dude, great plan,” Dalton jested, smacking Alex’s back. Lizzy smacked them both and rolled her eyes.

“But it is a good plan. We’ll see you on the other side.” Lizzy grabbed Alex into a brotherly hug before Kirby came over to open the door. The plane had steadily been decreasing its altitude to near thirteen thousand feet. It was time to jump.

“Come on, kids. Let’s let them get to work. Keep in touch, James,” Kirby yelled over the sound of the engine as he pushed Alex and Roxie back toward the seats. He checked the door, wrapped his arm around a cargo net, and pushed the cargo hold button.

Wind raced in as the back of the plane opened. It might have been a warm summer night, but not at thirteen thousand feet. Here the wind had a bite to it as they stepped forward. No longer alone, Lizzy still was depending only on her team. It didn’t matter five FBI agents handpicked by her and Kirby were up front. They weren’t part of the team that got them this far. They weren’t her family. The people she was jumping out of a plane with were. Except Janet. However, if Janet ever wanted to leave the DEA, Lizzy would make a place for her on the team.

“Now!” Kirby yelled.

Grant jumped. His body was yanked from the plane by the rushing air as he disappeared into the night. Dalton grabbed her before Lizzy could jump. “If we get through this, we’re getting married.” He kissed her then as her mouth hung open in surprise. The kiss was hard, fast, and then nothing but the wind dancing along her still moist lips. Dalton had jumped.

“Holy shit, you’re getting married,” Valeria said as she turned her back to the night air. “I better be your maid of honor.” Valeria opened her arms, laughed, and jumped backward into the night.

“Are you crying?” Lizzy asked Janet as they moved to the edge of the cargo ramp.

“That was the most romantic proposal I’ve ever seen. If only someone had been shooting at you right then. You better say yes,” Janet ordered before jumping.

Lizzy shook her head and jumped. The air fought her body, disrupting it as she pulled her arms to her side to speed up her freefall. The bastard had jumped before she could give him her answer. For that she was going to make him wait.