by angeldaybreak
angeldaybreak[at]yahoo.com
Copyright © by angeldaybreak, November 2005
In pondering her current predicament, Ava realized that she never got a straightforward response to her question
regarding Kyung Soon and Sergeant Lopez. Since it appeared that the entire operation was anything but straightforward,
she wondered whom she could trust. Working in the company of spies, where people deal in lies and manipulate
situations to fit their own agendas, was proving to offer very little to bank on in the trust department.
She started to send another message to Henderson, asking her question again, reiterating her reasons for suspicion…but
she remembered something about Director Carpenter’s message that stopped her and made her rethink her next move.
It was clear that Carpenter suspected that something had gone awry, and that Ava might be in harm’s way…a fact
he didn’t have to make her aware of. Ultimately, though, it was that very fact that acted as the deciding
factor, and Ava prepared a message to Carpenter’s office detailing what she had seen and heard regarding Kyung
Soon and Lopez. She decided to add a further inquiry into how she should handle messages from Henderson’s
office. If she were to ignore his messages, Henderson may begin to question her loyalty, putting her in an
even more perilous situation.
She sat down and worked out her message to Carpenter, making it clear that she would need to know how to respond
to Henderson, as he was sure to be contacting her soon. Ava was startled a bit when she heard an abrupt knock
at her door. Opening the door, Ava was face to face with Kyung Soon. It was probably her imagination
working overtime, but Ava was suddenly very nervous…part of her wondered if any of the other staff had been able
to figure out who she really was. She managed to mumble, “Can I help you?”
Kyung Soon replied, “Cho Min wants to see you…something about going over tomorrow’s schedule with you.”
Ava thanked her and made her way to Cho Min’s room…over-thinking the situation as she walked. On the one
hand, she was excited that she was going to be with Cho Min…even if it were for just a few minutes. On the
other hand, her ‘Secret Agent’ mentality was shouting for her to be extremely careful…there was no telling who
was involved in whatever was going on. Just before she reached Cho Min’s door, she said to herself, “Maybe
if I’d enrolled in a convent the day I decided to be an agent…Ugh, this assignment has seriously clouded my thinking.”
She shook her head and mustered a slight laugh at herself as she knocked on the door, waiting for Cho Min to answer.
------------
Back in the secluded meeting room within the Langley headquarters, Henderson met with his cohorts Simmons and
Cooper. While it was obvious that they had a problem, Henderson felt confident that the mission’s objective
had not yet been compromised.
“Have we heard anything else from Agent Sinclair?” Simmons asked.
Henderson seemed to be searching for the words that would convey the confidence that he wished he felt, if only
to mitigate the palpable fear that hung heavily in the room.
Cooper grew very impatient, “Henderson! We have to know what Sinclair knows and if she’s been in contact
with anyone else…if we don’t…” Simmons cut him off.
“It’s only a matter of time before Carpenter’s office will find out that something is going on…if they haven’t
already,” Simmons added.
“I understand what both of you are saying, but what we need right now are cool heads and some focus,” Henderson
stated, “Do we have anyone in Carpenter’s office who we can trust?”
The three men thought for a few moments, but came up empty. Cooper became more and more agitated as the reality
of what was happening began to sink in. Finally, he spoke up, “I think the time has come to abort this mission.
I don’t see how we can safely continue under the circumstances.”
Simmons became livid, “Abort?! We can’t possibly abort now…we have way too much invested in this little project
and a huge paper trail to boot.”
Henderson jumped in, “Besides that, if we don’t follow through on this and get Carlisle and Dean the results they
want, we won’t get that promotion they promised.”
“A promotion?” Cooper started, “You’re worried about your precious promotion? At this point, we’ll
all be lucky if we’re not publicly executed for this!” He shouted.
“You’re being melodramatic, Cooper,” Simmons interjected, “Henderson has a good point…if we can’t handle this,
Carlisle and Dean will never trust us with anything else.”
“So we go back to being the ordinary agents that we were before we agreed to this…what’s so bad about that?”
Cooper asked.
Henderson stood up and slammed his fist against the table, breaking up the argument between Simmons and Cooper.
“This isn’t up for discussion!” he shouted. “We’re seeing this mission through and we’re going to make sure
that no one in Carpenter’s office interferes with…” Cooper interrupted him.
“And how do you propose to do that?” he asked. “We’ve already established that we don’t have any allies in
that office.”
Henderson’s anger was clear as he said with a clenched jaw, “Then we’ll make an ally…but we will not abort this
mission!”
Exasperated, Cooper stormed out of the room leaving Simmons and Henderson both fuming and anxious about Cooper’s
loyalty. Henderson called for his assistant.
“I want Cooper followed. I want every phone he uses tapped and I want updates on his every move,” he ordered.
His assistant nodded as he noted everything Henderson wanted and left the two men.
“Should I be concerned, Henderson?” Simmons asked.
“Not yet,” Henderson answered, “We’ll get an ally and we’ll keep a close eye on Cooper for now. If Carpenter
has gotten any information, he won’t know what to do with it. All of our communications with Agent Sinclair
have been cryptic enough to keep him guessing for a while.”
------------
Cho Min opened the door and stepped back, allowing Ava to enter. There was a mountain of unopened mail
on her desk and she was obviously working on tackling it.
“You wanted to see me?” Ava asked.
Cho Min motioned for her to take a seat as she continued to open her mail, “Yes, Ava, I told Kyung Soon that I
wanted to discuss tomorrow’s schedule with you, but the truth is that I just wanted to see you,” she said, glancing
up to gauge Ava’s response.
Ava sat almost motionless in her chair, searching for something to say. Cho Min had an undeniable hold over
her, and hearing those words seemed to render her speechless. She was temporarily rescued when Cho Min continued
her thought.
“I’m very interested in being with you,” she stated, and Ava again felt the gravity of Cho Min’s simple words.
Her mind was still trying to come to grips with the situation, but she was finally able to put together a thought.
“I’m not sure that it would be a good idea for us to be involved, my being one of your employees,” Ava explained,
betraying all the signals her body was sending.
Cho Min went on attending to her mail, pausing to meet Ava’s eyes. Not mere words, but paragraphs could be
read in those eyes, and Ava felt tormented. She so wanted to explore a relationship with Cho Min, but found
herself fighting a losing battle with her more rational side.
Cho Min came to a large manila envelope, and mumbled something about it’s having no return address. She noted
several stamps on the package and surmised that it must have come from North Korea. She opened the package,
emptying its contents onto her desktop.
Both women gasped in horror as their eyes were drawn to a single human finger lying on the desk. The finger
was accompanied by a note which Cho Min snatched up immediately. Ava watched as she read the note and sank into
her chair. Cho Min began crying and babbling, but Ava was able to make out what she was saying. She
was repeating herself, saying, “They promised to leave my family out of this.”
Ava stood up and took the note from Cho Min’s hand. A single sentence in block lettering read, “Your mother
suggests you speed up the operation.”
Cho Min acknowledged that the finger bore a treasured family heirloom…a ring which had been in the family for at
least two centuries.
------------
Cooper sat in his office contemplating his options. He could go along with Henderson and Simmons, but
he believed that would only end up in disaster. His only other option was to get to Carpenter and somehow
tip him off about the operation. He was suddenly filled with guilt over having involved Agent Sinclair, and
instantly knew what choice he would have to make.
He reached for his phone and talked with his assistant, “I need you to get Carpenter’s office on the phone for
me,” he said.
“Yes, sir.” Replied his assistant, and he made the call…but not before calling Henderson’s office and informing
him of Cooper’s move.
After receiving Agent Sinclair’s reply, Carpenter knew that he and his staff were going to be battling against
Henderson’s staff in the race for information. He called in his assistant for an update.
“Tell me that we know something new,” Carpenter said.
“I’m afraid not, sir,” his assistant replied, “But we’re still working on it. We have a tap on Henderson’s
phone and the intelligence headquarters has been alerted, so we’ll be advised of any communication immediately.”
Carpenter rubbed his temples and continued, “Send a message to Agent Sinclair, telling her what we know about Kyung
Soon and Lopez.”
His assistant stopped writing and asked, “Are you sure that’s wise, sir?”
“I have no choice. If we’re going to find out what this operation is all about, we’ll have to provide her
with every bit of information we have,” Carpenter replied.
“And how should she handle any further communication from Henderson?” the assistant asked.
“Advise her to play along with Henderson for now. I don’t want to put anyone in danger, but I have to know
what role Henderson is playing in all this as well as who else is involved,” Carpenter answered.
His assistant took down his instructions and then remembered Cooper’s call to the office earlier.
“Sir, we received a call from Agent Cooper requesting an off-campus meeting with you,” he explained.
“Cooper? Did he give any clue as to what he wants to meet about or why he wants to meet off-campus?” Carpenter
asked.
His assistant shook his head, but then added, “The only thing he said was that he had information that he thought
you might be looking for.”
Carpenter never liked these covert meetings, but felt he had no choice…especially if Cooper had information about
Henderson’s activities. He told his assistant to set the meeting up for later that afternoon, and to schedule
a briefing with the President.
------------
It suddenly became clear to Ava that Cho Min was an unwilling participant in this mission. She knew that
she would have to reveal the fact that she was a CIA agent; if only to give her some hope that her family would
be rescued.
She walked over to Cho Min and embraced her as she continued to sob almost uncontrollably. Fearing that the
room might have ‘ears,’ Ava whispered in Cho Min’s ear, “I’m an agent with the CIA, assigned to investigate your
operation.”
Cho Min froze and fear began to fill her teary eyes. Ava scrambled for some paper and a pen, and she wrote
a note begging Cho Min not to be afraid…that she knew she was being forced to participate. She saw Cho Min
begin to relax and wrote another note asking for all the information she had and promising to do everything she
could to rescue her family. Cho Min took the pen and a fresh sheet of paper and, with a shaky hand, outlined
the details of Henderson’s plot for Ava.
The sudden realization that she was in the middle of such a devious and destructive plot filled Ava with horror,
and she felt as if she might vomit. She caught a glimpse of the concern that flashed across Cho Min’s face
and forced herself to pull together. She took the pen back and wrote, “I will stop this, and I will get your
family back.”
She offered the reassuring note to Cho Min with a smile that she hoped would provide the comfort that her so-called
adversary needed so desperately. Still shocked by the circumstances in which she found herself so completely
engulfed, Cho Min managed a slight nod, and began scribbling another note. Ava read that Cho Min and her
family used to be involved with the North Korean militants, but had recently defected safely to South Korea.
Cho Min was abducted by a group of disenchanted South Korean soldiers who were in cahoots with certain congressional
leaders and, by extension, Henderson and his cohorts. She met Henderson and the others as well as Kyung Soon
and Lopez at a hastily thrown together meeting where they were told of the plot. Cho Min was told that if
she declined, she would be sent back to North Korea…a certain death sentence for her. Kyung Soon and Lopez
were told that their double-agent status would be revealed to the North Koreans…another certain death sentence…if
they refused to cooperate.
Cho Min reiterated in her note that her family had never been mentioned by any of the conspirators. Ava suddenly
felt the pain that Cho Min must have been feeling. It was strange, the connection she seemed to have with
this woman, but she was able to see the thought process so clearly. Cho Min had been careful not to mention
her family to anyone, hoping that if she just went through with the plan (the end result of which would be favorable
for South Korea), she’d be reunited with them and they’d all be just a little safer. In her wildest dreams,
she never imagined that her family would ever become involved…especially not to the point of being kidnapped and
tortured. Ava knew and instantly understood the panic and terror that she saw in Cho Min’s eyes.
With all being clear now, Ava met Cho Min’s eyes and offered a look of empathy. Cho Min held her gaze with
Ava, trying to remain her usual strong self even as her eyes filled yet again with tears, and her lips began to
quiver. Ava wrapped her arms around Cho Min again; whispering calming words in her ear as she gently stroked
her hair, and encouraged her to let everything out. When she sensed that Cho Min was calmer, Ava whispered,
“My word is solid…I will get your family back. For the time being, we both have to play along and act as
if none of this has happened…just until Langley decides how we should proceed.”
Still in Ava’s arms with tears rolling down her face and onto Ava’s shoulder, Cho Min nodded in understanding.
Ava stayed and held her tenderly as wave after wave of fear, anger and grief seemed to wash over her. While
she continued holding her and whispering sweet, calming words to Cho Min, Ava felt an anger…no rage…building up
from the pit of her stomach. She wanted to have a part in making the conspirators suffer.
------------
Henderson’s assistant came flying into his office waving about a piece of paper and shouted, almost breathlessly,
“We’ve got a tip, sir!”
Henderson, somewhat taken aback at the abrupt entrance of his assistant, motioned for him to sit. “What have
you got for me, son?” he asked.
“We just got a call from George, uh…I mean Agent Cooper’s assistant…and it seems that he placed a call to Carpenter’s
office and asked for an off-campus meeting on Cooper’s behalf,” the assistant explained.
Henderson sat up sharply in his big leather desk chair before asking, “Do we know where and when this meeting will
take place?”
His assistant gestured toward the piece of paper he’d been flailing about earlier and said, “I got a printout of
Cooper’s schedule for the next two days. I thought…” Henderson interrupted him.
“Let me see that please,” Henderson said as he leaned forward to snatch the paper from his assistant’s hand.
He surveyed the schedule before him and then slammed it down on his desktop in frustration, “This doesn’t tell
me anything about a meeting with Cooper…You were supposed to bring me information I could actually use.”
As Henderson rested his head in his hands, his assistant tentatively began speaking again, “If you’ll look again,
Cooper has a one hour block scheduled for something off-campus. We’re not sure yet where he’s going, but
we do know when.”
“Have we secured an ally in Carpenter’s office yet?” Henderson asked.
His assistant nodded in the affirmative and added, “We’re waiting for confirmation from our link in Carpenter’s
office. It’s possible we’ll have the location identified soon.”
Henderson nodded and motioned for his assistant to leave. He reached for his phone and called Simmons.
When Simmons answered, Henderson began, “I think we have a problem with Cooper.”
Simmons stammered for a second but was finally able to speak, “H-H-How do you mean?” he asked.
“He’s set up a meeting with Carpenter…we don’t have all the details yet, but I’m working on it,” Henderson replied.
After a long pause, Simmons began shouting, “You’re working on it? What the hell does that mean? For
all you know, he’s already spilled his guts to Carpenter and some glorified desk jockey is already preparing the
warrants for our arrests!”
Henderson tried to calm Simmons, but he found himself getting another earful, “Clean this up now, Henderson…or
we’ll all hang!” Simmons shouted and slammed the phone back on its receiver.
Henderson sat back in his chair, attempting to hatch some foolproof way of getting out of the obvious mess that
he and his associates were in. This wasn’t the way he’d planned for the operation to proceed…in fact; it
had seemed so simple, so perfect. Still, he was in a jam and needed to find some way out…and soon.
------------
After spending several minutes calming Cho Min, Ava whispered that she needed to make a report immediately so
Carpenter would know the full extent of the plot. Cho Min pulled away and nodded in understanding as she
watched Ava jot down another note. She read Ava’s instructions to continue with the day’s plans and looked
back up at Ava with a tentative nod.
That incredible empathetic feeling Ava experienced moments earlier flooded over her again, and she reached up a
hand to caress Cho Min’s cheek. She moved in closer and kissed Cho Min…initiating the contact for the first
time. It was a gentle kiss that she hoped conveyed at least a modicum of the feelings she had for Cho Min.
She broke the kiss and wiped the tears from Cho Min’s eyes before going to her room to make her report.
Since Carpenter had already sent some information to Ava, she found her Blackberry device blinking wildly at her
as she entered her room. She logged in and read what she already knew about Kyung Soon and Lopez, and she
was relieved that her reflex advice to Cho Min about going along with the plan was exactly what Carpenter had in
mind. She settled at her desk with the notes she’d exchanged with Cho Min and put together an elaborate map
of the plot and most of the players involved.
As she reflected on the gravity of the message she’d just constructed, Ava felt consumed with anger and fury.
She only hoped that the information she provided was going to be good enough to help Carpenter and the others diffuse
the situation.
Henderson was still reeling from his explosive conversation with Simmons when his assistant buzzed him, saying
that Congressman Dean was on the line. Panic immediately filled his mind as he tried to compose himself.
He reached for the phone and answered, saying, “Yes, sir…uh, what can I do for you?”
No amount of effort could cover the obvious trepidation in Henderson’s voice, and Dean was quick to notice it,
“What’s the problem, Henderson? You sound as though you’re about to jump out of your skin over there,” he
commented.
Henderson cleared his throat and began, “A problem? Oh, no sir…uh, well we have sort of run into…” Dean interrupted
him.
“Glad to hear it, because you will be meeting with us in an hour for a status update,” he explained, “The usual
meeting place…see you there.”
With that, the conversation ended…leaving Henderson in an even bigger panic. He frantically called for his
assistant and instructed him to employ the use of a ‘sweeper’…in his mind, the only thing he could do to save the
operation was to wipe out Cooper. Sweepers were agents trained for one reason…to take out any threats and
‘clean up’ any messes.
Henderson’s assistant was dumbfounded, “A sweeper, but sir…they’re only used in the most dire of situations,” he
explained.
Henderson sat wordlessly for a moment, seemingly digesting what his assistant had just said…but then responded
in an almost nonsensical manner, “Cooper has to be stopped or the operation will fail. Then, what would I
tell Dean and Carlisle?”
“Sir, with all due respect, I really don’t think that Dean and Carlisle are who we need to be worrying about right
now,” his assistant replied, still completely befuddled by the train of thought (or lack thereof) of his boss.
Almost sarcastically, Henderson replied, “You’re not paid to think unless I tell you to…Just get a sweeper assigned
now!”
“But sir…Carpenter’s office will…” his assistant tried to warn him, but was cut off by a wave of Henderson’s hand.
He walked out of the office and completed his thought under his breath, “Carpenter’s office will be the first to
be alerted when a sweeper is activated.”
He shook his head and made his way back to his desk to carry out Henderson’s order.
------------
Carpenter’s office was hectic with activity as Ava’s report, including all the details she had gleaned from
Cho Min, was being thoroughly evaluated. Ava had provided them with enough information, including a diagram
of the facility she was in and a weapon’s breakdown, that a counter-offensive mission was rapidly being pieced
together.
It was while Carpenter was assembling the personnel and protocol for this mission that he received the ‘sweeper
alert.’ Given the information he had, Carpenter knew that Cooper had to be the target. Their meeting
wasn’t for another hour, so Carpenter immediately dispatched agents to collect Cooper and place him in protective
custody. If Cooper was going to die, Carpenter wanted the honor of killing him…after he got the information
he needed, that is.
Carpenter’s assistant was rapidly composing a message to Ava, warning her of the impending attack and assuring
her that an extraction team was being deployed to rescue Cho Min’s family.
------------
Minutes after she made her report to Carpenter, Ava began receiving a frantic verbal alert coming through her
earpiece. She had decided to stay connected to her communication device…for good reason.
She responded to the page she received, “Sinclair…go ahead.”
The words she heard next both thrilled her and terrified her, “Be advised…counter-offensive to be conducted momentarily…units
in route now.”
“How many units?” she asked.
“Twenty-five fully armed agents…Cho Min is your first protection priority…Langley out,” the message concluded.
Ava scrambled for her weapons and double-checked her ammunition stock as she headed out the door to Cho Min’s room.
She had barely gotten halfway down the hall when she heard the offensive beginning…gunfire could be heard riddling
the main meeting room.
Running all out now, Ava stormed into Cho Min’s room and yelled, “It’s happening…get down!”
Cho Min opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she saw Kyung Soon darken her doorway. Ava saw
the shift in Cho Min’s line of sight and turned to see Kyung Soon entering the room with a gun drawn. Kyung
Soon raised the gun and said, “She has to die or I will.”
The next several seconds seemed to pass in slow motion as Ava instinctively dove…putting her body in between Cho
Min and Kyung Soon’s gun. Intuitively and mechanically, Ava got off a shot as she felt the air suddenly sucked
out of her. She landed awkwardly on the hard warehouse floor as she watched Kyung Soon’s now lifeless body
collapse.
Agents flooded the office within seconds, and Ava managed to announce, “Agent Sinclair with noncombatant Cho Min,”
before the entire scene became nothing but a dark, black blur.
-----------------------------------------------------
Ava could sense a flurry of activity heard several frantic voices…especially that of Cho Min…but the haze she
found herself in wouldn’t allow her to respond. She couldn’t comprehend much of what she heard or felt, except
that she was surrounded by many concerned people.
She managed to swim through the fog and open her eyes long enough to see Cho Min’s face looking at her with fear
in her eyes…a different fear, though. Though she only looked into those eyes for a second or two, Ava knew
that Cho Min’s worry was for her rather than her family. She took comfort in that, though…something told
her that Cho Min’s family had, in fact been safely extracted.
One week after the offensive, Ava woke to find herself in a hospital room. Cho Min, who’d been by Ava’s side
as long as the staff would allow, immediately went to Ava. She told her of her family’s rescue and noticed
a slight smile starting to appear on Ava’s face. She gave Ava a quizzical look, to which Ava replied, “My
eyes were right.”
Cho Min, obviously unaware of Ava’s assessment of her eyes, smiled and suggested that Ava explain it to her later…there
was something on the television that she thought Ava might want to see. She reached to adjust the volume
as CIA director Carpenter stepped before a large podium and read a statement regarding what was now being called
‘Korea-gate.’
“At this time, and with substantiated testimony from our own Agents Sinclair and Cooper, Congressmen Dean and Carlisle
and, regretfully, our own Agent Simmons have been indicted on a myriad of charges…including, conspiracy and treason.
Agent Sinclair is recovering from her injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. I’ll take your questions
now,” he said, and called on a Washington Post reporter.
“Director Carpenter, we understand that yet another agent was involved. Can you confirm that?” the reporter
asked.
Carpenter dropped his head for a moment, then answered, “Agents Cooper and Henderson were both involved.
Agent Cooper has been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony, and Agent Henderson committed suicide.
Next question?”
Carpenter gestured toward a CNN reporter, “Yes, your question?”
“What, if any, role did Sergeant Ron Lopez and Korean intelligence officer Kyung Soon play in this conspiracy?”
he asked.
“Both the individuals you mentioned were coerced into participating. Lopez will be court-martialed, and Kyung
Soon died at the scene,” Carpenter explained.
Carpenter’s assistant stepped forward and announced that the news conference was over and that any new information
would be disseminated in a similar fashion as it became available.
------------
Ava looked up at Cho Min and started to speak. Cho Min placed her finger over Ava’s lips to silence her.
“You’re safe, my family’s safe…and we’re together. That’s all that matters now, my love,” she said.
Ava nodded slightly and drifted off to sleep with the feel of Cho Min on her face and the taste of her on her lips.
------------
As he walked with Carpenter, the assistant asked of Henderson, “Suicide, sir?”
Carpenter smiled and said, “He pulled the trigger, son…I was just there to make sure.”
His assistant said smartly, “I understand, sir…I’ll be preparing the wall in your office shortly.”
THE END
If you have enjoyed angeldaybreak's "Cloak And Dagger - Parts Eight - Conclusion", then please be certain to e-mail her at angeldaybreak[at]yahoo.com and thank her for posting this Story.
Click here for a list of all of angeldaybreak's Stories and Poetry at Sapphic Voices Authoresses.
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