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  Calculated Reaction

  The Calculated Series: Book 4

  K.T. Lee

  Vertical Line Publishing

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Note from the Author

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by Vertical Line Publishing, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, sold or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission, except for statuary uses, the use of brief quotations in a book review, and other quotations with appropriate reference.

  K.T. Lee

  www.ktleeauthor.com

  Publisher’s Note: This work of fiction is a product of the writer’s overactive imagination. It is not intended to be a factual representation of events, people, locales, businesses, government agencies, or nuclear engineering. Names are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Calculated Reaction/ K.T. Lee - 1st ed.

  ISBN: 978-1-947870-08-6

  The Calculated Series

  * * *

  Calculated Extortion (Prequel Novella)

  Calculated Deception (Book 1)

  Calculated Contagion (Book 2)

  Calculated Sabotage (Book 3)

  Calculated Reaction (Book 4)

  Calculated Entrapment (Book 5)

  For my family

  1

  Special Agent Alexis Thompson scanned her surroundings for threats, but saw none. To find the explosives hidden in the deserted industrial park, she needed a specialist. Alexis leaned down and whispered, “You ready to go?” Her partner replied by thumping his tail on the ground. Alexis checked behind her to make sure they were still alone, then straightened. “Okay, Waffle, let’s get to work!”

  Waffle lowered his nose, snuffling along the ground. Alexis kept the leash loose, giving her canine partner the space he needed to do his job. The click of his claws against the concrete broke through their otherwise silent surroundings. Alexis kept one hand near her weapon, a habit developed after years of working for the FBI. Despite walking through an area potentially riddled with explosives, Waffle’s tail wagged as he tried to locate the dangerous objects. When they approached an empty oil drum, he sat and looked at the large container, then glanced up at Alexis. Alexis took a careful step closer and spotted the offending item inside. She gave Waffle a red rubber toy and told him what a good boy he was, even as her heart began to pound. Technically, she should flag it and call in the bomb disposal team. But it clearly didn’t have a detonator. What was the harm in just getting the job done? Alexis leaned into the oil drum to retrieve the small package.

  The door behind her opened and Alexis whirled around, reaching for her weapon. She relaxed when she spotted the K-9 unit supervisor coming through the doorway with an approving smile. He reached out a hand to shake hers. “Great job, you two.” Alexis accepted the praise and gave Waffle the command to lie down. He settled on the ground and gnawed on his toy, looking up at their instructor. “Waffle will be back to work in no time. And you handled him like an old pro.” He pointed at the package in her hand. “Glad you trust me enough to assume that isn’t really going to blow up, but why don’t you leave it where you find it next time? Don’t want you to get in the habit of grabbing bombs with your bare hands. Even in practice.”

  Alexis acknowledged the praise and gentle correction with a small nod. “That’s fair. Old habit of jumping right in to get the job done.” She leaned down to scratch her dog behind the ear. “Waffle did well, though. I didn’t even see him limp today.” While it wasn’t obvious from the day’s performance, Waffle was healing from ACL surgery. He had ruptured the ligament playing with an overly-exuberant fellow trainee. Waffle let his toy fall out of his mouth. He watched it roll along the ground for a moment, then snatched it back up again.

  “He’s not the only one on the mend. Your arm is looking better too.” He nodded at her right arm. Alexis had been protecting a witness when she’d been hit by a sniper bought and paid for by Russian politician Dmitri Yeninov. Instead of wallowing while she was benched, she’d been training Waffle and researching the man who shot her. Alexis had missed out on the CIA’s latest attempt to stop Dmitri and his hit man while she was recovering. She didn’t intend to let that happen again.

  Alexis rolled her shoulder. “It feels better, too. I’m ready to get back out there.”

  “I bet. You two are working great together, Alex. If you ever want a job in my department, just give me a call.”

  Alexis smiled. “Thank you. I’ll definitely consider it. And Waffle is still assigned to me, at least for a little longer, right?”

  He nodded. “His training isn’t complete yet. I’d like to have you take him all the way through his final tests. If today is any indication, I think Waffle will pass with flying colors.”

  Alexis beamed like a proud parent. “Awesome. I’d like that.” Alexis’s watch buzzed. “Sorry, but we need to get going. I have a meeting I can’t miss.”

  The trainer raised his hand in a wave and Alexis left with Waffle trotting faithfully behind her. When they reached the car, he jumped into his spot in the back seat. Waffle’s huge head was visible in the rearview mirror and his happy doggy tongue lolled out one side of his mouth. Waffle was a giant red Labrador who apparently didn’t read the pamphlet that said Labrador Retrievers didn’t usually get much bigger than eighty pounds. He tipped the scales at one hundred pounds of good nature, wagging tail and expert nose. He was affectionately known around the office as Alexis’s bomb-sniffing elephant.

  * * *

  Half an hour later, Alexis and Waffle arrived at the FBI Chicago office. It was Alexis’s home away from home, whenever she wasn’t working undercover. She made it to her desk with a few minutes to spare for her meeting. After Waffle had greeted all of his friends at the office, he settled onto the floor next to her. While the FBI didn’t allow pets at the office, Waffle was more of an employee than a pet, and he went everywhere with Alexis.

  Alexis petted Waffle absently with the side of her foot and printed off a single copy of the report she would need for her next meeting. She rubbed her now-healed arm. Dmitri and his hit man, Andrei, had been busy. Thanks to a combination of intelligence the FBI had gathered and some information provided by the CIA, she actually had an idea of where they were going to strike next. The only problem was that she didn’t know what they were planning to do. Unfortunately, she was merely detail-oriented, not omniscient.

  The door to the office space opened, and Alexis and Waffle looked up in tandem. Her team lead, Special Agent Parker Mitchell, walked in, closely followed by his brother, Cam Mitchell, their ally in the CIA. After discovering the capabilities of Parker’s team, Cam had begun engaging them in the CIA’s operations whenever their skills were needed. The FBI was happy they were demonstrating successful cross-agency collaboration, and Alexis was always willing to help out. Cam’s projects were virtually guaranteed to be more interesting than the investigations that usually landed on her desk.

  Now, all she had to do was convince Cam t
o let her chase down the lead she’d discovered. Alexis rose from her desk to greet him, report in hand. She fought the temptation to shake out her shoulders and bounce on the balls of her feet as she often did before sparring in the company gym or warming up for one of her half marathons. There was no way she was going to let the Mitchells pull her off her case because she only just got released from desk duty. She could probably even make Cam think it was his idea to bring her further in.

  Waffle trotted over to the two men, beating Alexis by just a few seconds. “Hey, Cam. Nice to see you in person.” Alexis reached out a hand, and he shook it.

  “Hey, Alex. Good to see you too.” Cam reached down to pet Waffle. Waffle was a working dog, but he was relaxed in the FBI office unless Alexis told him it was time to work. Even though Cam wasn’t part of the normal crew at the office, he’d been by a few times. Waffle had quickly learned that the intimidating Mitchell brothers weren’t too tough to resist a dog who had perfected the art of getting petted.

  Waffle pushed his head up into Cam’s palm. Alexis eyed the dog, who responded to her judgmental side-eye with a goofy doggy grin. Alexis looked at Cam. “Sorry about Waffle. He’s shameless.”

  Cam gave Waffle a good scratch behind the ears. Waffle thumped his backside right on top of Cam’s shoe and leaned into the scratch. “It’s no problem. How’s the arm?”

  “The arm is great. Doc says I’m all healed up now.”

  Parker raised an eyebrow. “Alex is shooting better than she was before she got hit. I think someone is trying to make a point that she’s well enough to go outside the office again.”

  Alexis crossed her arms. “Letting me lead the security team at your wedding this weekend doesn’t count. I’d do that with or without your permission.”

  Parker laughed. “See what I mean? I think there is going to be more security there than at a state dinner.”

  Alexis waved a hand. “I may have gone a little overboard, but you all deserve to relax on your big day. You and Ree are going to focus on getting married without wondering if someone from an active investigation will use a public gathering as an opportunity.” Ree Ryland wasn’t just Parker’s fiancé. Ree consulted for their team on occasion, including the most recent occasion that brought Dmitri’s hit man as close as her front porch.

  Parker looked at her with concern in his eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe you should let someone else take the lead. Give yourself a little more time to rest and relax. Just to make sure you’re truly okay. I wouldn’t want you to overextend yourself.” His mouth twitched, just a little.

  Alexis slugged Parker in the arm. “I’ll sic my dog on you.”

  Parker chuckled. “He’s a lot less scary than you.” Waffle thumped his tail.

  Cam tipped his head towards the conference room. “We’ve got some things we need to talk about. Better get to it since we all have a full schedule this afternoon. Is your bomb-sniffing elephant coming?”

  Alexis whistled at Waffle, who took his place at her right heel. “Sure. He can sit in the corner. It’ll be good practice for him. Let me grab my laptop. Want me to bring in anyone else?”

  Cam shook his head. “Let’s not, for now. I’d like to compartmentalize our next steps, if we can.”

  Alexis raised her eyebrows at her team lead. “You heard him, P.”

  Parker rolled his eyes. They’d worked together for years and had developed a good-natured, older brother/little sister dynamic. “Very funny. Go get your stuff and let’s tell Cam what you found.”

  Alexis settled in at the conference room table and her heart started to race, as it often did at the start of an investigation. There was also a small undertone of nerves, unusual for her. However, this operation was personal. Alexis took a breath. “Okay, I’d like to start by saying that, while I’ve done a lot of research, I’m coming to you with less than the full story.”

  Cam shrugged. “Welcome to my world.”

  “That’s what Parker said you’d say. I spent some time mapping out the first two attacks Dmitri masterminded. I started with the assumption that our Russian politician must be following some sort of pattern or method, beyond just causing chaos. Subject matter expertise doesn’t seem to be an issue for Dmitri – he picks people who know a lot about the weapon or tool he is using and convinces them to take the lead, and therefore, the fall. His last two attacks have been related to newsworthy technologies. Blowing up a rocket hit the headlines, and if he’d been successful with his bioweapon, that would have, too. Killing people doesn’t seem to be his primary objective, but he also doesn’t mind if people get hurt or killed when they’re standing in his way. Obviously.” Alexis gestured to her own shoulder.

  Cam nodded. “We have the spy Andrei tried to kill on Ree’s front porch in custody. That checks out with what she’s told us.”

  Alexis frowned. “We’ve been chasing Dmitri, but every time we get close, we find Andrei doing all of his dirty work. Since Andrei left the country without us catching him again, Dmitri has to know we’re getting close.”

  Cam folded his hands on the table. “I think that’s a good assumption. I also think Dmitri will want to up the ante to prove himself if he thinks he’ll be discovered. But Andrei doesn’t leave much evidence behind for us to work with.”

  Alexis straightened the report on the conference room table. “Along that line of reasoning, after you asked me to get involved, I started going through the old reports to see if we missed anything. Remember the employee who was fired from Innovative Rocket Technologies, the one the CIA concluded was an innocent bystander?” Alexis carefully sidestepped that Cam and his partner were “the CIA” on the operation.

  Cam winced. “Yes, I remember her well. Lindsay Campbell.”

  Alexis exchanged a look with Parker. “Lindsay is now working at the Future Energy Laboratory, a government-sponsored research lab out in Colorado. She’s received some calls we haven’t been able to fully trace back to their source. They happen at the same time, once a month, but it’s a new phone number every time, and the phone numbers used on past calls are no longer active. The FEL is working on solar, biofuels, nuclear energy, you name it. Dmitri could be using Lindsay to gather materials, or simply steal government information on new technology. Regardless, I think it’d be prudent to send someone to check it out. I mean, it could be nothing. Unless it’s not.”

  Cam let out a low whistle. “She’s probably reporting to someone.” He gestured to the report. “Okay, I’ll definitely take a closer look at this and consult with the operations officer I was working with on the last op. If Lindsay wasn’t an innocent bystander, she’ll want to know.” He took a moment to choose his words. “She is every bit as invested in this as I am. This is really great work, Alex. We appreciate it.”

  Alexis slid the report across the desk to Cam. “So you know we should send someone in person to investigate, right? And, if it’s a dead end, I’d hate to waste your time.”

  Cam laughed. “First of all, you don’t think it’s a dead end, or you wouldn’t be tapping your foot while you talk to me. Second, if there is an opportunity and I’m convinced we can do it safely, you’re first on my list. If the FBI lets me, that is. They may be more hung up on you getting shot last time you tried to help me catch Dmitri than you seem to be. Let me run this by a few people and I’ll let you know what our next steps are.” Cam reached out a hand to shake hers. “I’ll see you both again soon.”

  Once Cam left, Alexis turned to face Parker. “Alright, what did he leave out? His jaw clenched a little when he was talking about the other officer. I mean, I could tell from the reports she was injured on the operation. But what else?” Parker’s mouth twitched and Alexis swatted his arm when he remained silent. “You know what he didn’t tell me, don’t you?”

  “I wish I could tell you. You’d love it. But you know how those guys are. They’re worse than us. I think they issue them a cloak and dagger when they start at the Agency.”

  “Did the CIA figure out how to mak
e super humans or something?”

  Parker laughed. “It’s a good story, but it’s not quite that interesting. Don’t worry, you might still find out. Cam knows you’re available if he needs you. And he’s thinking about bringing you in. Good job, Alex.” Parker opened the conference room door and held it while Alexis led Waffle out. “Don’t you need to get going?”

  Alexis nodded. “I do. It’s bad form to miss a bachelorette party you helped plan.” Alexis studied her nails. “Hey, before I go, I need to talk to you about something else.”

  Parker narrowed his eyes. “What did you do?”

  “I may have performed a very small background check on the guests coming to your wedding.” Parker lifted an eyebrow and Alexis raised her hands in the air. “A tiny search, really. Public records only. All above board.”

  “Well, did you find anything?”

  Alexis bit her lip. “Nothing to worry about. Well, nearly nothing. You have an uncle that got a DUI.”

  “Yeah, already know about that one. He’s spent some time in meetings and seems to be making some progress. Anything else?”

  Alexis sighed. “Dr. Matt Brown is invited. While he passed the public records screening, anything I would actually want to know about him is still under lock and key, per our boss, who remains immovable on the topic. If he’s no longer a suspect in an investigation, I’m not sure why it matters anymore.” Matt had worked with Ree since Alexis and Parker met her while investigating a weapons smuggler on campus. While Matt had initially been on their list of potential suspects, their boss had very quickly taken him off the list and told them to stop investigating him immediately. And she’d still never been given any further information about Matt.