Trapping Zero

“Of course it is,” Maria murmured. While not the only reason she had agreed to work with the Ukrainians, stopping the war and unnecessary slaughter before it began, and to keep the wrong people from gaining the type of power that historically led to much bigger conflicts was paramount. Still, she shook her head. “Regardless of what I want, you only want to use him.”

“Having the CIA’s top agent turn against his government would indeed be useful,” the man admitted. “But that is not our goal.” He dared to turn slightly in her direction, just enough to murmur, “We are not your enemy here.”

She wanted to believe that. But continuing to work with them when she had promised Kent she would cut ties made it feel like she was, as he had once accused, a double-agent—but against him, not the CIA.

“I’ll deal with Zero,” she said, “but I want those emails, and any other information you have on my father.”

“And you’ll get it, as soon as you bring something new and useful to the table.” The man made a show of looking down at his watch. “Speaking of which, I believe you’re soon due back at CIA regional headquarters? That is in Zurich, right? You may want to inquire as to the whereabouts of Agent Zero. If I’m not mistaken, he won’t be far.”

“He’s in Europe?” Maria was so taken aback that she twisted halfway in her seat. “Are you spying on him?”

He shrugged. “His recent credit card activity showed three plane tickets to Switzerland.”

Three? Maria thought. It wasn’t fieldwork; it was a trip. Kent and his two girls, most likely. But why Switzerland? she wondered. A notion came to her… Would he try to do that? Is he ready?

The Ukrainian man stood, buttoned his overcoat, and stuck his magazine under one arm. “Go to him. Get us something useful. Time is running out; if you don’t do it, we will.”

“Don’t you dare send anyone near him or his girls,” Maria threatened.

He smirked. “Then don’t force our hand. Goodbye, Calendula.” He nodded once and strode away across the terminal.

Maria sank into the chair and sighed defeatedly. She knew all too well that a single renewed memory could trigger Kent’s obsessive nature, and he’d plunge back down the rabbit hole of conspiracy and deception in search of answers. She had seen firsthand how Kent had gone through hell to get his family back… but she also knew that the knowledge he once had would tear them apart again.

There in the terminal of Istanbul Atatürk Airport, she made a resolution to herself: she was personally responsible for bringing him into this, so she would make sure to be there if, or when, he remembered. And to stop him if she needed to.

CHAPTER SIX

“Maya, look.” Sara poked her older sister in the arm and gestured out the window as the airplane drifted through a cloud on its descent into Zurich Airport. The sky opened up and the white-capped crests of the Swiss Alps were visible in the distance.

“It’s cool, right?” Maya said with a smile. Reid, in the aisle seat, could hardly believe his eyes—a thin smile lit on Sara’s face too.

In the three days since he had first announced the trip, Sara had agreed but hardly seemed excited to go. She had slept for most of the eight-hour flight and barely spoke in the brief interims she was awake. But as they descended to land and Sara could see the jagged peaks of the Alps and the sprawling city of Zurich below them, some life seemed to seep into her. There was a smile on her face and color in her cheeks for the first time in a while, and Reid couldn’t have been more pleased.

After they disembarked and got through customs, they waited beside the baggage carousel for their luggage. Reid felt Sara’s hand slip into his. He was astonished, but tried not to show it.

“Can we ski today?” she asked.

“Yeah. Of course,” he told her. “We can do whatever you want to do, sweetheart.”

She nodded somberly, as if the thought had been weighing heavily on her mind. Her fingers squeezed his as their bags made a lazy rotation towards them.

From Zurich they took a train south, less than two hours’ ride to the alpine town of Engelberg. There were no fewer than twenty-six hotels and ski lodges on the nearby mountain of Titlis, the largest peak of the Uri Alps at more than three thousand feet above sea level.

Naturally, Reid shared all of this with the girls.

“…And home to the world’s first cable car, too,” he told them as they trekked from the train station to their lodge. “Oh, and in town there’s a twelfth-century monastery called Kloster Engelberg, one of the oldest Swiss monasteries still standing…”

“Wow,” Maya interrupted. “Is this the place?”

Reid had chosen one of the more rustic lodges for their accommodations; a bit dated, to be sure, but charming and cozy, unlike some of the larger American-style hotels that had cropped up in recent years. They checked in and settled into their room, which had two beds, a fireplace with two armchairs facing it, and a breathtaking view of Titlis’ southern face.

“Hey, uh, there’s one thing I want to say before we go out there,” Reid said as they unpacked and prepared for the slopes. “I don’t want you two wandering off on your own.”

“Dad…” Maya rolled her eyes.

“It’s not about that,” he said quickly. “This trip is supposed to be about us spending some quality time and enjoying ourselves, and that means staying together. Okay?”

Sara nodded.

“Yeah, alright,” Maya agreed.

“Good. Then let’s get changed.” It wasn’t a lie, not really; he did want them to have a good time together, and he didn’t want them wandering around by themselves for safety reasons that had nothing to do with the incident. At least that’s what he told himself.

He still had no idea how he was going to accomplish his other task, the ulterior reason for coming to Switzerland and staying at a place so close to Zurich. But he had time to figure that part out.

Thirty minutes later the three of them were on a ski lift, heading up one of the dozens of crisscrossing trails of Titlis. Reid had chosen a green beginners’ slope for them to get started on; none of them had been skiing in years, ever since the family trip to Vermont.

Guilt stabbed at Reid’s chest at the thought of that vacation. Kate had been alive then. That trip had felt perfect, like nothing bad could ever happen between them. He wished he could go back to that time, enjoy it all over again, maybe even warn his past self about what was coming—or change the outcome so that it never happened at all.

He shook the thought from his head. There was no point in dwelling on it. It had happened, and now he needed to be there for his daughters to make sure that the past didn’t repeat itself.

At the top of the gentle slope, a bearded ski instructor gave them some refresher tips about how to slow down, how to stop, and how to turn. The girls took their time, unsteady on the ski boots locked in at the heels.

But as soon as Reid pushed off with the poles and began sliding over the powder, his body reacted as if he had done it a thousand times. The only time in memory that he had ever been skiing was the family trip five years earlier, but the way he simply knew how to move without thinking, his legs and torso subtly adjusting to weave left and right, told him that he had done this many more times than once. After the first run he had little doubt that he could handle a black diamond trail without much difficulty.

Even so, he did his best to hide it and kept pace with the girls. They seemed to be having a great time, Maya laughing at every wobble and near-fall, and Sara with an omnipresent smile on her face.

On their third run down the beginner’s slope, Reid started in between the two of them. Then he bent his legs slightly, leaning into the descent, and tucked the poles under his armpits. “Race you to the bottom!” he called out as he picked up speed.

“You’re on, old man!” Maya laughed behind him.

“Old man? We’ll see who’s laughing when I kick your butt…” Reid glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Sara’s left ski hit a small berm of packed snow. It slipped out from under her and both arms flailed out as she flopped face-first into the slope.

“Sara!” Reid skidded to a halt. He unclasped his boots in seconds and ran over the powder to her. “Sara, are you okay?” She had just gotten her cast off; the last thing she needed was another injury to ruin her vacation.

He knelt and turned her over. Her face was red and there were tears in her eyes—but she was laughing.

“Are you okay?” he asked again.

“Yeah,” she said between giggling fits. “I’m fine.”

He helped her to her feet and she wiped tears from her eyes. He was more than just relieved that she was okay—the sound of her laughter was like music to his soul.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked a third time.

“Yes, Dad.” She sighed happily and steadied herself on her skis. “I promise I’m okay. Nothing broken. By the way…” She pushed off with both poles and sent herself careening quickly down the slope. “We’re still racing, right?”

From nearby, Maya laughed too and set off after her sister.