The Bennet Identity

Prologue

January 9th 1999

Johanna Beckett realized just a few moments too late that she was being followed. She had detoured from her destination to meet Jim and Katie, because a potential witness to the murder of Robert Armen had called her office and asked to meet her in the alley behind the old Sons of Palermo club in Washington Heights. A woman named Sophia Turner, who used to be a waitress at the club had seen everything, but had kept quiet out of fear of reprisals. She felt a shooting pain in her lower back, and the voice of a man she had never met before whispered in her ear just before the whole world began to fade to black.

"You should have left well enough alone, Mrs. Beckett, I kill people for a living, you'll wish I had before this is all over."

The last word to slip from her lips before the shadows claimed her was "Katie..."

Sophia Turner nodded at Dick Coonan, who had played his part flawlessly. Johanna Beckett's wounds were entirely superficial. Sophia was being paid an obscene amount of money to help Senator Bracken clean up the little mess that had been made when he blackmailed three dirty cops nine years ago. He had a plan to get "Nemesis" off her back so she could finally go home. All she had to do was take care of this one small problem.

Until the operation was concluded, she was vulnerable, so she couldn't risk doing the job herself. But using Johanna Beckett to clean up the very can of worms she herself had opened had an elegance to it that only a former KGB operative, or someone as self deluded and egotistical as William Bracken could truly appreciate. Use one loose end to tie up another.

She nodded toward her people and they moved forward with a body bag and a duffel. That they had found a woman who's resemblance to Johanna Beckett was so striking on such short notice had been a matter of blind, dumb luck. Coonan had dispatched her not half an hour ago, and when her man in the ME's office was done with her, even her husband wouldn't recognize the difference.

"Get her clothes, jewelry and her purse, leave no traces." Sophia ordered, "As far as the world is concerned, Johanna Beckett dies tonight. Call Mr. Lockwood, let him know the operation is under way."

One Month Later
Walter Reed Army Medical Center

She woke, unsettled by dreams involving a slender, kind looking man and a dark haired, green eyed girl who's names she could not remember and who's faces were unfamiliar enough to be disconcerting. She found herself in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm. When she moved to sit up, which she accomplished only with great difficulty, she felt something jangle around her neck. She pulled the simple metal chain from under her hospital gown to find a set of metal tags at the end with the name "Bennet, Jessica A." Stamped on them along with a serial number, her blood type and the word "Catholic" at the bottom.

"Good Morning, Captain Bennet. It's nice to see you among the living." The army nurse said cheerfully. "How is your memory doing today?"

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, you were in a really bad helicopter crash, you weren't seriously injured, but you had a really bad concussion. You were in a coma until about a week ago."

"My name is Jessica Bennet?" she asked, trying the name on for size.

"Why yes, Captain, it is." The young pretty nurse replied with a warm smile. "Don't worry too badly, after the head trauma you received, a certain amount of amnesia was anticipated. Your CO, Major Lockwood will be in shortly to help you pick up the pieces."