Undercover Twin

“Not the first one?” He frowned and looked up to the ceiling as if trying to decipher the meaning.

She tried to slip her hand into the front of her bag without Lee noticing. Her fingers reached a smooth metal object the size of a tube of lipstick. A thumb drive perhaps?

“Was there anything else?”

Audrey hesitated. How was she to know whether she should trust Lee? Granted, he had saved her life and wasn’t the one who shot at her. “Why was Kendra using my name at the conference?”

His forehead wrinkled in thought, but his lips formed a tight line.

Audrey knew it. If she didn’t play hardball, Lee wouldn’t answer any of her questions. She narrowed her eyes. “My memory is coming into focus, but I’m sure it would be a lot clearer if I had some answers.”

He reared back and raised an eyebrow. A second later a smile crossed his lips. “Every time I start to doubt you could really be her twin, you surprise me.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and faced forward. “Fine. You already know that Kendra and I are undercover federal agents.”

“That’s so vague.” She still hadn’t seen so much as a badge. He had identification for both of them—obviously fake—that he provided for hospital registration, but he didn’t have any insurance cards for the attendant. Instead, Lee had rattled off Kendra’s insurance member number and said it was a Federal Blue Cross account.

“We’re FBI special agents. But before I say more, I need to know why the Bureau didn’t know you existed.”

“I didn’t know Kendra existed, either.”

“But we do a comprehensive background search on agents.”

“Obviously, the fact we had a twin wasn’t disclosed at our adoption. I’m positive my papers said I was an only child.” Her voice rose as she processed her statement. Perhaps they weren’t twins after all, but that didn’t explain their shared birthdays.

He narrowed his eyes. “Where do your adopted parents live?”

“Michigan.” She leaned into his gaze. “Do you know where Kendra’s are?”

“Montana.”

The fact they both started with M struck her as funny. Why would their birth parents adopt them separately? A wave of sorrow took her breath away. She could’ve had a sister growing up.

“But why didn’t the Bureau find you?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “What social media are you on?”

“None. My parents have always thought those sites were untrustworthy. They were passionate about parental controls until I graduated high school. By then, I knew I was going into academia, and didn’t have any interest in risking my career over a tagged photo or rumor being spread about me.” Though it did seem odd how passionate her parents were about avoiding social media. Was it possible they knew something? “Okay, I answered your question so back to mine. Why was my sister using my name?”

He shrugged. “The best I can figure is it was a mistake.”

“That seems highly unlikely. I’m going to need more.”

He blew out a forceful breath. “I can’t give you an easy answer. What you want to know is classified.” He studied her for a moment. “We’re allowed a bit of wiggle room to gain informants or assets. In fact, we often recruit from college campuses, and since you are in academia...” He shook his head as if belittling himself for what he was about to do. “If, in the future, the FBI should need your expertise or services in any way, Dr. Clark, do I have your word that you will help us to the best of your abilities?”

She didn’t even have to think twice. There was no way the FBI would ever need her help, and if saying she would was what it would take to learn more about her sister, so be it. “You have my word.”

He placed an elbow on the back of his chair and leaned sideways. “Well then, as my asset, I can tell you the man that approached you is—was an FBI agent. While undercover within a drug trafficking enterprise—the less you know, the better—he was able to move up the ranks to a lieutenant. At that time he gained access to something much bigger. Have you ever heard of The Masked Network?”

She shook her head.

“It’s essentially a cellular network for criminals. They use smartphones that are wiped of all normal capability and equipped with encrypted software. Members within their organized crime sect can only talk to each other.”

“So it’s like a private cell phone group?”

He shrugged. “For lack of a better explanation. It’s impervious to any attempts at tracking, hacking or eavesdropping. Criminal enterprises use the service to plan murders, drug and human trafficking, weapons deals... You name it, the network helps facilitate the crime. Only, no one can join the network without personally meeting the so-called CEO, and he only agrees to meet through a referral of a high-ranking current subscriber.”

She leaned back, processing. “You said Adam moved up the ranks in an organization. Was he one of those high-ranking subscribers willing to give you guys a referral?”

He regarded her with surprise and admiration. “You catch on fast. What was your doctorate in?”

“Electrical engineering.”

He nodded but seemed disappointed. Her stomach suddenly felt hollow, a weird sensation she couldn’t shake. There was no reason to care what he thought. She loved her field, excelled in it.

“We certainly hoped that’s what Adam wanted to meet about. Kendra and I have been undercover for years working toward that very goal. Adam arranged a meet with Kendra. He chose the location. It was last-minute because there was a raid scheduled to take down his organization today. Today was the earliest we could meet.”

The flash drive grew hot in her hand. If she’d known that its contents had the potential to hit most of the criminal organizations in the country at its knees she would’ve handed it over the moment she’d remembered. But she still didn’t know why Kendra had used her name, so she nodded for him to continue.

“Like other federal agencies, the FBI has arrangements with many colleges. They’re usually perfect public places to meet. Our university liaison—who isn’t an FBI agent—assigned Kendra your name as a cover. If I were to make an educated guess, I imagine the liaison thought Kendra already had a cover because her photo was already in the system—except it was really you—so all she had to do was add me as her husband.”

A lightbulb went off. “Yes, my photo was already on file with conference attendees. They required one when I signed up for the conference, along with my bio.”

He shrugged. “If we want more answers on how the mix-up happened, we’ll have to wait until Kendra is awake.” He smiled as his eyes searched hers. The extra scrutiny increased her pulse. “For your safety, Kendra is registered with the last name Catmull at the hospital. No one should be able to connect the dots between you two.”

The speakers crackled and invaded the silent room. “Lee Catmull, please report to the surgery waiting room.”

Lee’s face turned white. If Audrey hadn’t known better, she would’ve believed that Kendra was his wife in that moment. Maybe their covers had become so ingrained that he loved her like one. She tried to imagine him as a future brother-in-law, but her brain refused. Too much to wrap her head around in one day, especially since her newfound sister might not live through the night. She reached over and grabbed Lee’s hand, squeezing to keep her fingers from shaking. She bowed her head before either of them could object. “Lord, please help.”

It was probably the lamest prayer in the history of prayers, but it was all she could vocalize. An unbidden thought surfaced. If her sister died, would a target suddenly be on her back instead?

* * *

Lee didn’t let go of Audrey’s hand, but instead helped her to standing and walked back out of the chapel. He’d just made her an FBI asset—he didn’t even want to think about the paperwork that awaited him in the future—but after what he’d just told her, he needed to make sure she wasn’t a flight risk. They still had so much to talk about.

They strode together to the open doorway of the surgery waiting area. He continued to hold her hand because it seemed to help her remain calm. Besides, she was the one who’d reached for his hand in the chapel, and if it kept her from breaking down like she did at the hospital entrance, it would be rude to let go before she was ready. Rows of chairs faced monitors displaying lines of patient numbers and surgery status updates.

“Look at your bracelet.” Audrey pulled her hand from his and reached for his wrist.

He’d forgotten the registration attendant had placed the plastic-coated identification on him. He looked down at the number and found its match on the screen. “Surgery in progress.”

A man in scrubs approached, holding a blue bag. “Can I see your wrist?”

Lee held it up and the man handed him the bag. “Thanks for answering the page. Here are her things. The doctor will be out shortly, after surgery, to update you.”

Lee opened the bag enough to see Kendra’s clothes, folded, and the white gold wedding band she wore. He took the nearest chair, far enough away from listening ears.

“I think it’s time you have this.” Audrey pressed a flash drive into his hand.

Lee looked between the silver object and Audrey. His blood burned hot. “Is this from—”

“Yes. Don’t be mad. I had no idea if I should trust you or not. I’m still not sure exactly what mess I’ve landed in. And to be fair, I didn’t realize Adam had put something in my purse until a few minutes ago. I thought he was trying to steal from me.”