The Mole Read online

  THE MOLE

  A SPECIAL AGENT DYLAN KANE THRILLER

  J. ROBERT KENNEDY

  About the Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers

  "Dylan Kane leaves James bond in his dust!"

  Though this book is part of the Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers series, it is written as a standalone novel and can be enjoyed without reading the other installments.

  What readers are saying about the Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers Series:

  “The action sequences are particularly well-written and exciting, without being overblown.”

  “I love how the author explains what's needed but doesn't just ramble on in narrative.”

  “Don’t mess with Kane, he takes no prisoners, especially when you target his friends.”

  “Fast paced international spy thriller with good old American values among its main characters. I'd like to think we really do have agents like Kane.”

  BOOKS BY J. ROBERT KENNEDY

  Please click here for the intended reading order.

  * Also available in audio

  The Templar Detective Thrillers

  The Templar Detective

  The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress

  The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret

  The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist

  The Templar Detective and the Code Breaker

  The Templar Detective and the Black Scourge

  The Templar Detective and the Lost Children

  The Templar Detective and the Satanic Whisper

  The James Acton Thrillers

  The Protocol *

  Brass Monkey *

  Broken Dove

  The Templar’s Relic

  Flags of Sin

  The Arab Fall

  The Circle of Eight

  The Venice Code

  Pompeii’s Ghosts

  Amazon Burning

  The Riddle

  Blood Relics

  Sins of the Titanic

  Saint Peter’s Soldiers

  The Thirteenth Legion

  Raging Sun

  Wages of Sin

  Wrath of the Gods

  The Templar’s Revenge

  The Nazi’s Engineer

  Atlantis Lost

  The Cylon Curse

  The Viking Deception

  Keepers of the Lost Ark

  The Tomb of Genghis Khan

  The Manila Deception

  The Fourth Bible

  Embassy of the Empire

  Armageddon

  No Good Deed

  The Last Soviet

  Lake of Bones

  Fatal Reunion

  The Resurrection Tablet

  The Antarctica Incident

  The Ghosts of Paris

  No More Secrets

  The Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers

  Rogue Operator *

  Containment Failure *

  Cold Warriors *

  Death to America

  Black Widow

  The Agenda

  Retribution

  State Sanctioned

  Extraordinary Rendition

  Red Eagle

  The Messenger

  The Defector

  The Mole

  The Arsenal

  The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers

  Payback

  Infidels

  The Lazarus Moment

  Kill Chain

  Forgotten

  The Cuban Incident

  Rampage

  Inside the Wire

  Charlie Foxtrot

  The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries

  Depraved Difference

  Tick Tock

  The Redeemer

  The Kriminalinspektor Wolfgang Vogel Mysteries

  The Colonel’s Wife

  Sins of the Child

  Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series

  The Turned

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Table of Contents

  The Novel

  Preface

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Acknowledgments

  Don't Miss Out!

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Also by the Author

  For Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

  May your death inspire those in pain to seek the help they so desperately need.

  “The East is rising and the West is declining.”

  Chinese President Xi Jinping

  “The biggest source of chaos in the present-day world is the United States…The United States is the biggest threat to our country’s development and security.”

  Chinese President Xi Jinping February 2021

  PREFACE

  On October 22, 2022, during the Chinese Communist Party Congress, something unprecedented happened. Caught on camera, Hu Jintao, the 79-year-old former president of the communist regime, was physically escorted from the meeting by men who lifted him out of his chair.

  What was telling was the reaction of the current president, Xi Jinping, who essentially ignored his predecessor, even though the man was clearly confused as to what was going on.

  The Party provided no explanation. Was this a preemptive move by the Chinese president to prevent Hu from speaking against the unprecedented third term Xi was about to be granted by a coopted party?

  And if the Chinese president were willing to make such a public move against an opponent, what else might he be willing to do to cement his permanent grip on power?

  1 |

  Tong Residence Falls Church, Virginia

  “You have got to be kidding me!”

  CIA Senior Analyst Sonya Tong slammed her fist into the steering wheel. She pressed the button to start the engine once again. It turned over but failed to catch. “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” she repeated as both fists beat the steering wheel, punctuating each enraged outburst. It was cold out, but it was by no means Antarctic cold. A two-year-old ca
r should have no problem starting.

  It wasn’t, after all, a notorious British sports car with a famously faulty electrical system.

  She didn’t have time for this shit. She was already running behind as it was, and this would make her uncharacteristically late. She was scheduled to work an op in an hour. One of their top operatives, CIA Operations Officer Dylan Kane, was inserting into China, and she had to be there. She gave the engine one more try, slammed her fist one more time, then called the toll-free number on the roadside assistance sticker in the upper left-hand corner of her windshield. She arranged for a tow, then grabbed her purse and bag, rushing down the driveway of her still new-to-her home and toward the bus stop.

  She rarely took the bus. She could count on one hand how many times she had in this neighborhood, and wasn’t familiar with the schedule, though she was certain the buses were at least half an hour apart. The chirp of airbrakes then the roar of an engine had her cursing and picking up speed as the bus she couldn’t see approached from around the corner. The last 200 yards were on a slight incline and her shins burned. She did forty minutes on the treadmill every day, but that was in comfortable clothes with running shoes and at an incline far less than this.

  She spotted the bus stop, three people at it already edging to the curb. “Hold the bus!” she shouted.

  A man in a business suit turned, the other two ignoring her. He smiled and gave her a wave. “I’ve got you!”

  She flashed him a smile but kept up her pace as the bus came into sight. Several people disembarked from the rear door as those waiting boarded at the front, the man standing in the door, one foot still on the curb, saying something to the driver.

  She rounded the corner and eased up. “Thank you so much,” she gasped, and he smiled at her.

  “No problem. Maybe one day you’ll return the favor.”

  She stepped onto the bus. “Absolutely, though hopefully my car doesn’t break down again anytime soon.” She stepped to the fare box then tossed her head back, groaning. “I don’t think I have any change. Who uses cash anymore?”

  The man chuckled and tapped his SmarTrip pass twice. “I’ll take care of her,” he told the driver.

  “It’s your four-twenty-five.”

  Tong’s shoulders slumped as she turned to the man. “Oh, thank you so much.” The bus started up and she shuffled down the aisle, taking an empty seat. She smiled up at the man. “Please, join me.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  It was then that she finally noticed how strikingly handsome the man was, his smile so genuine, so inviting, that she caught herself staring. She snapped out of it with a flinch and retrieved her wallet from her bag. “You have to let me pay you,” she said as she flipped open her wallet, finding only large bills. “I don’t suppose you can break a twenty?”

  He laughed. “Forget the money. How about you give me your number? Maybe we can go for coffee sometime?”

  Her cheeks flushed and a tingle raced through her body. She was certain this was the first time a man had ever asked her out in her life. Well, that couldn’t be true. She had been on dates before, though most of those were blind, arranged through family or friends. She had certainly never been asked out by a stranger. There had always been some previous connection.

  “Should I take your silence as a no?”

  She flinched again, giggling, immediately horrified at the sound.

  Did you just giggle? What are you? Twelve?

  “No. I mean, no, you shouldn’t interpret it as a no.”

  “So then, it’s a yes?” The smile broadened, revealing a perfect set of teeth, the twinkle in his hazel eyes declaring he was genuinely pleased.

  “Yes. I mean, yes, it’s a yes.”

  He laughed. It was a good laugh, a laugh she could enjoy without cringing. The bus came to a halt as he pulled out his phone. “Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll text you?”

  She opened her mouth to give her number when there was a shout from the front of the bus. Two gunshots rang out and passengers screamed as a crazed man burst up the steps, a handgun extended in front of him. He fired two more rounds into the driver then swung his weapon toward the commuters.

  Tong stared ahead, her eyes fixated on the barrel of the weapon, unable to see anything else. The gunman shouted something, what, she couldn’t hear above the roar in her ears.

  Breathe.

  She sucked in a breath, inhaling deeply, her world snapping back into focus, and she raised her eyes to see the gunman staring directly at her.

  “Stop following me!” he screamed, then the muzzle flashed. Agony slammed into her shoulder and she slumped in her seat as the pain overwhelmed her. Her seatmate shouted something, and as she drifted into unconsciousness, she added yet another regret to a long list.

  I never even got his name.

  2 |

  Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  CIA Analyst Supervisor Chris Leroux entered the operations center and his eyebrows rose at Sonya Tong’s empty chair. He rarely beat her in. “Morning, everyone,” he said as he took his position at his station in the heart of the state-of-the-art room. The half-dozen of his team already there replied, pleasantries exchanged. His cellphone rang and he picked it up off the desk, his eyes narrowing at the call display.

  Langley Memorial Hospital.

  His chest tightened for a moment before he remembered that his girlfriend was on an op in Europe and his best friend Kane was why they were all here today. He took the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello. This is Nurse Cummings from Langley Memorial. Am I speaking to Chris Leroux?”

  “You are.” His eyes drifted to the empty chair of Tong.

  “You’re listed as the emergency contact for Sonya Tong.”

  He shot to his feet. “Is she all right?”

  The entire room stopped what they were doing at the panic in his voice.

  “She’s in surgery right now. I don’t have a prognosis yet.”

  “What happened?” asked Leroux as he began packing up his gear.

  “I only know a few of the details. Apparently, there was an incident on a bus this morning and she was shot. I don’t know anything beyond that. Will you be attending?”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “You should notify her family if she has any, just in case.”

  “It’s that bad?”

  There was a pause. “Turn on the news. I’ll let you go now, sir. When you get here, come to the ICU nursing station.”

  “All right. I understand.” He ended the call. “Bring up the local news.”

  Randy Child, their tech wunderkind, leaned toward his keyboard. “Any particular station?”

  “All of them.” His voice cracked at the thought of losing Tong. He had worked with her for years. She was a good friend, and he was well aware she had feelings for him and that she was all alone. He had to be by her side.

  Several stations appeared on the massive displays arcing across the front of the room, and he pointed at one showing a breaking news alert. “Bring that one up.”

  Child complied, the feed expanding to fill the entire display, the audio piping in through the overhead speakers.

  “—just joining us, there’s been a mass shooting on a Fairfax Connector bus in Falls Church, Virginia. Five people are dead and three people are wounded, one critically. Authorities report an unidentified female passenger is in surgery now, clinging to life. Witnesses stated the gunman boarded the bus, shouting about being followed. He shot the bus driver then a female passenger, then several others before finally being taken down by an unnamed passenger. The gunman is dead—”

  Leroux waved his fingers in front of his throat and Child muted the broadcast. Leroux faced his team. “The passenger clinging to life is…” He squeezed his eyes shut, drawing a deep breath. “It’s Sonya.” Gasps filled the room as he wagged his phone. “I just got a call from the hospital. I’m going ther
e now.”

  Marc Therrien, one of the senior analysts, cleared his throat. “Um, what about the op, boss?”

  Leroux cursed, their entire purpose for being here forgotten. “You’re right. Marc, you’re in charge. I’m going to go talk to the Chief, see if we can swap off to another team. I’ll check and see if Avril’s team can take over.” He headed for the door and Child rose.

  “Hey, boss.”

  Leroux turned, to see the young man’s eyes red and glistening. “Keep us posted.”

  Leroux looked at the others, concern on all their faces. They were family, and he was the head of it, and it was his job to bring them comfort. He stopped at the doorway. “As soon as I know something I’ll let you know. But we all know and love…” His voice cracked at the word, triggering tears in some of those seeking strength from him. He sniffed hard. “We all know and love her. She’s a fighter. If anybody can make it through this, it’s her. Let’s just all pray. I’m going to go talk to the Chief and see if we can get the op reassigned, or at least a new Control Actual in here. If any of you feel you can’t work, let Marc know.” He turned to Therrien. “That goes for you too.”

  Marc gave a thankful smile. “I’ll be all right, boss. You go do what you need to do.”

  Leroux gave a curt nod then headed out the door and across the corridor to the standby ops center, a team always assigned to it for situations just like this. He entered and was surprised to see David Epps standing at the Control station instead of Avril Casey. “What are you doing here? I thought Avril was on duty.”

  Epps gave him a look. “Well, good morning to you too.” He stopped, his eyes narrowing. “What’s wrong?” The concern in Epps’ voice was sincere, personal, not just professional.

  Leroux dragged a knuckle across his eyelid, wiping away a tear. “Sonya’s been shot.”