“That sounds like something my team could pull off,” said Rich. “With a little inside help. We don’t have any assets in Russia right now.”
“I might be able to help with that, but it’ll be a long shot,” said Berg. “We have to approach this from as many angles as possible. Your mother got the sense that the sleeper network was building up to something. That it had accelerated its pace. That’s what convinced her to kidnap Wilson. I get the same sense that we’re up against a deadline. Maybe not an endgame, but something pivotal.”
“And we may have accelerated their timeline with our actions over the past few days,” said Devin.
“Correct,” said Berg. “Every time we hit them without delivering a crippling or mortal blow, they make an adjustment, though they may not have much flexibility with a major deadline. It’s something to consider when we’re planning how to proceed.”
“If we’re looking for more angles of attack, I think we should approach MINERVA—whether I’m still employed or not,” said Devin. “Given Jolene Rudd’s connection to the DEVTEK honey-trap ploy, I think it’s fair to assume that MINERVA has not been compromised. Not by anyone involved in the planning or execution of MINERVA’s operation.”
“What would be in it for MINERVA?” asked Rich. “Aside from doing their patriotic duty to the United States.”
Devin couldn’t tell if Rich was being sarcastic.
“I see two ways to draw them in. The first would be to give them the opportunity to best serve their client. MINERVA is all about client satisfaction. With our information, they could inform DEVTEK that the risks to the company extend well beyond industrial espionage—to possible product sabotage and ruin. I could see them setting up another sting and integrating us into that operation. The other approach is to pay them as a client to boost our surveillance and counterespionage capability,” said Devin.
“Or offer them the DEVTEK information as payment for their services,” said Marnie.
“Right. Or both,” said Devin. “Karl. You mentioned some kind of financial backing behind this team? Would it be enough to pay them on top of handing them the DEVTEK lead?”
“That’s another angle altogether,” said Rich.
“One we can’t rule out,” said Berg.
“First we have to vet the hell out of MINERVA,” said Rich. “I’m not even clear how we’d go about that. My guess is that their employee roster is a well-kept secret.”
“That’s why I think paying them makes more sense, if that’s feasible. As clients, we could insist on a custom vetting process. Maybe even dangle the DEVTEK information over their heads. Make the information contingent on vetting,” said Devin.
“That’s going to put you in an uncomfortable position,” said Rich. “Going this route will most likely terminate your employment with them.”
“What choice do I have?” asked Devin. “It’s a long shot, but like Rich said, the more angles we explore, the better.”
“Hard to argue with that,” said Berg, shrugging. “I just wish we had something up our sleeves that wasn’t such a long shot.”
“One of them has to work,” said Rich.
“Not necessarily,” said Berg. “But it is what it is.”
“How long will it take to hear back from your contacts?” asked Devin.
“The bigger question is, How long will it take them to make a difference?” said Berg.
“That’s assuming they agree to help,” said Rich.
“Fair point. This will put them in awkward positions at best. Dangerous at worst,” said Berg. “It could take a few weeks. Until things start shaping up, we’ll need to lie low. A small group of us should head back to Helen’s apartment in Baltimore and keep digging through the files. We’re bound to find an opportunity we missed on the first few passes through the information. We barely scratched the surface, to be honest.”
“I’ll scatter the rest of the team nearby,” said Rich. “We can move fast if we find anything in the files, or one of your contacts comes through.”
“We’ll need to invest in some basic disguises,” said Berg. “Nothing dramatic, but enough to throw off facial-recognition software. There’s no telling what the Russians can access through their sleeper network. The DC area has a lot of public-facing cameras.”
“Noted,” said Rich. “We’ll put together some basics before we set off for Baltimore.”