The Asset (Asset Series #1) - SAMPLE

Chapter One: We'll Always Have Prague

Song: Shearwater - "Natural One"

Prague, Czech Republic

July 2014

God bless the interns of the CIA.

Jamie Sayers was a junior at a nearby community college who spent her winter term in the IT department. During that time, she developed several apps that improved efficiencies for officers in the field. During a team lunch, I realized her sense of humor was nearly as twisted as mine and joked about the app that was now helping me solve the curious question that stood before me. Well, it technically sat in the front seat two rows away from me. Sitting in the back of the cargo van, I swiped my finger back and forth between the two screens as I continued to struggle with my choice.

At the sound of Vasil Lesky, the lead officer for our mission, my jaw tensed and I studied my phone with greater scrutiny. Judging by the looks on the faces of those seated around him, I'd guessed that everyone had stopped listening to his incessant droning as well. After he summarized everyone's assignments for the third time, I slid my finger to the right and decided on the size of the bullet I'd love to fire into the middle of his forehead.

A .38. Definitely.

"I cannot stress this enough," he emphasized for what felt like the fiftieth time. "It is imperative that Becek comes to no harm during this operation."

I pursed my lips and closed my eyes to block his voice out of my head. Two minutes. That was how long I was able to get some peace before his voice crashed through my mental barriers and I heard the name "Becek" spoken at least three more damn times.

I bolted upright from my seat in the back. "Can you please turn the radio on?"

He and the other five team members looked at me as if I'd asked to light them on fire. Hell, I'd do it if that would shut the pompous pain in the ass the hell up for a few minutes so I could clear my head. After a few seconds of scrutiny from the group, I leveled my gaze directly at Lesky.

His eyes narrowed. "Officer Fallon, I'm sorry if we're cutting into your leisure time, but we really need to focus on this mission."

"With all due respect I'm here to keep the professor, as well as your team members, safe. I don't know if you've noticed, but it's pitch black outside with a light breeze. Those conditions will need to be handled when I get up there. If I'm off by so much as a millisecond, it could be the difference between this mission being a success or having to explain to the State Department why we're bringing their missing scholar home in a box."

He muttered under his breath and I held up my hand. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing Mr. Lynch didn't tell you that I have certain requirements on all my jobs. One of those requirements is fifteen minutes of quiet time in order to mentally prepare. Being a sniper might seem easy to you. Just point the gun and shoot, right? I assure you that's not the case. I could bore you with all the details, but I'd rather spend my time focusing on the mission you've spent all this time talking about."

"He mentioned something about certain requirements, yes." With an annoyed sigh, he nodded to the team. The doors to the van opened and everyone filed out. As I grabbed the handle, his enraged face turned back to mine. "You better be worth all these little...eccentricities of yours," he glowered. "Or I'll see to it you never work another mission again."

With one last glare he stomped off behind the van, most likely to one of the other cars parked along the street. I laid across the seat and closed my eyes. Sweet, sweet silence at last. My mind drifted to the view from the roof that would be my worksite for the night. Prague wasn't known for many flat rooftops, but we'd lucked out and the target was in a newer building in the financial district. That didn't mean it would be easy, however. Nine guards were stationed on several different floors, and that was plenty to keep me and the other two snipers busy.