Byte had been correct, watching the unsub struggle but eventually toss Chaos over the handrail was heart-wrenching.
“Oh my God,” Voodoo whispered and squeezed the hand she was holding.
“Yes, but she survived,” Ivy recalled.
“Right, of course. Do we know anything more than what the news said?”
“Not yet, which is why it’s important that we don’t rush in.”
Again, Voodoo knew Ghost was right, but patience hadn’t been a virtue she possessed.
“First, we need to get ahold of the hospital and get her status.”
“I’m already on it,” Byte said. “I sent a message to Ranger at ECP. He’s getting in touch with the local police department for more information. He’s on it.”
“Good thinking. He’ll have back channels we don’t have,” Ghost tried to reassure.
“What are you hoping to find out?” Carter asked. He’d remained quiet, but was just as invested, if not more, in finding out who this person was. Someone had tried to kill Chaos, believing she was Gwen, just a few minutes after their meeting. That was too close for comfort.
“Hey, I have Ranger on the line,” Byte interrupted. After she had everyone’s attention, she placed the phone on speaker mode. “Go on. What did you find out?”
“The police have turned the case over to the CIA, as she was a former employee and had faked her death.”
“Do you know who at the CIA is handling the case?” Carter asked after introducing himself.
“Ironically, it’s someone you know. Vanessa Fulbright.”
“How did you know she was my former partner?”
“Because she told the police so. She also said she had been searching for Gwen since her untimely disappearance.”
“I guess that is sort of true, since she’d been working on it with me.”
“How did she get here so quickly?” Voodoo asked.
“She had an assignment in the area either here or in Austin, I didn’t ask. Either way, she was the closest operative and had interest in the case. It only made sense that she’d work it.”
Carter agreed with the former Texas Ranger.
“As it’s now a federal investigation, I’m out of luck getting you more intel. Cruz would be my first guess, although he’s FBI, not CIA.”
“Yeah, and they don’t work well together,” Ivy mumbled.
“Thanks for helping out,” Ghost told Ranger and disconnected the call after the group said their goodbyes.
“I don’t get it,” Carter finally said.
“What? Why she’s on the case?” Ivy asked.
“No... that she hadn’t told me she was in the area when I spoke to her earlier today.”
“Maybe at the time, she’d not been sent to Texas,” Ghost offered as an option.
“Perhaps.” But Carter didn’t think so. There were two scenarios that were playing in his head, and he prayed to God it wasn’t either of them.
“Now what?” Voodoo asked.
“Now, we get answers,” Carter replied. “I think it would be best if I spoke to Nessa alone. If she discovers the woman lying in that bed isn’t Gwen, I’m honestly not sure how she’d react.”