certainly seem to believe that."
"Bing was in perfect health and you know it," Cullen snapped.
"Look, whether you're right or wrong, Cullen, the point is that we're dealing with a delicate situation here. Bingham's death, whatever the reason, is going to cause problems in negotiations. He had connections that we can't just reproduce at the snap of a finger." Jeremy ran a nervous hand across his graying hair, smoothing it into place. "And I, for one, can't help but worry that even the rumor of it being something other than a tragic accident has the power to squelch the negotiations altogether."
"That's why I called in Gabriel Roarke. The man's a spook. If anyone can stay under the radar, he can." Cullen waited as the other two men digested the information.
"What about Madison? She's FBI. That's certain to raise some eyebrows." Jeremy gulped the juice, almost choking, a sure sign he was worried.
"She's also Cullen's goddaughter, which means her presence here is already accepted." Kingston surprised Cullen with the defense, but he'd take his allies any way he could get them. "That's part of the reason I wanted her on the team."
"You were in on this?" Jeremy's anger made his face blotchy.
"I discussed it with Cullen, yes." Kingston shrugged.
"But you just asked him if it was necessary." Jeremy's expression grew skeptical.
"I'm still not convinced it is. But Cullen was going t o take action with or without us, and so I figured I might as well have some say in the matter."
"I see." Jeremy sat down across from the desk, still clutching his cup. "So it's two against one."
"I wouldn't put it like that." Kingston's tone turned defensive, and he fingered his eyeglasses again.
"Look, gentlemen, we're all in this together. We've invested time, money and a hell of a lot of sweat into making this agreement a reality. And I'm not about to let anyone or anything get in our way. This task force is insurance. A way to appease the Chinese and at the same time hopefully get to the bottom of what may very well turn out to be nothing." Cullen didn't believe the last bit, but that didn't stop him from trying to reassure them.
He needed their cooperation, and he needed their continued financial backing. But he also needed the task force. The truth was he had a hell of a lot more than they realized riding on the accord. And Bing's death had been a major setback.
Hopefully, with everyone's attention focused on the idea of terrorist intervention, other more pressing things would be overlooked. There was simply too much at stake to risk an ill-advised confidence.
Jeremy Bosner and Kingston Sinclair were barracudas. And if they smelled blood, he wanted to be absolutely certain it wasn't his.
CHAPTER FIVE
"I THINK THE FIRST THING to do is pull together what we know." Madison stood in front of a white board, her cool facade apparently running straight to the core. Gabe wondered what it would be like to pull her hair from its ponytail and loosen the buttons on her white blouse. Madison Harper could use a little rumpling.
He discarded the thought almost before it was finished. The last thing he needed was to involve himself in anything that even resembled a relationship. If he needed release, there were other ways. Right now he needed to concentrate on the task at hand.
"Of the six deaths, how many were from medical causes?" Nigel was studying the names written on the board—dead men who had to be coaxed into telling tales.
"Only two." Madison answered without checking her notes. "Aston and Smith. Both heart attacks."
"Which statistically isn't out of the norm." This from Harrison who was, as usual, typing on his computer. "What's more interesting is the positioning. Aston was the first to die, and Smith the last."
"With four accidents in between." Payton had retreated to a corner, protecting his space.
"An electrocution, smoke inhalation, a car wreck and an apparent drowning." Harrison stopped typing to look up at the
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