Brothers in Arms (9 page)

Jonah kicked viciously at the dirt under his boot. He was glad Kellan was here. Seeing him again, sharing space and silence with him, was comforting. He just couldn’t get the image out of his head of Kellan’s SUV going up in flames like Grizzly’s Humvee had. Jonah had done nothing to cause Grizzly’s death, but he hadn’t been able to prevent it either. He didn’t want anything like that happening to Kellan.

As if Jonah’s thoughts conjured him, Kellan appeared in the doorway. Jonah watched him expectantly for several long moments. He had no idea what to say. He had no idea what Kellan wanted to hear.

Slowly, Kellan walked down the steps of the manor house and crossed the yard until he stood in front of Jonah. “I had a hundred reasons ready to give for why I didn’t need to be in Iraq to be a part of this investigation. Then they handed me the investigation summary that
didn’t
have your name redacted and suddenly, I couldn’t think of a reason not to come to Iraq.”

“A platoon reunion could have waited until we were all stateside again.”

“But I didn’t want to wait.”

Jonah was glad he hadn’t waited and drew breath to say so, when there was a commotion at the firm base gate. He wondered if he might have been fortuitously saved from a humiliating admission.

Three large, black SUVs rolled in, coming to an abrupt halt in front of where Jonah and Kellan stood. He stared in amazement as the driver’s door of each vehicle opened and someone he recognized exited.

“Fuck, dawg,” Javier Lucena said as he sauntered up to Jonah, followed by Eric Deshazo and Christian Tisch. “I know you’re a living legend and all, but ain’t you at least gotta ‘hello’ for your long-lost friends?”

“Well, if you three aren’t the sorriest fuckers,” Jonah said as he stepped down off of the porch. “I’m here ’cause I’m still in the Corps. You ladies
chose
to come back.”

He took the sting from his words by grinning at his old friends and comrades. Whatever annoyance he might have felt at having contractor staff under his command melted away.

“The money is a fuck-ton better, and the bullshit quotient is a hell of a lot lower,” Eric Deshazo said with a wide smile.

“Better equipment and shorter rotations,” Christian Tisch added.

These men he could trust to watch his back and look after Kellan. Then again, Jonah would wager Kellan would do a damn fine job of looking after himself. They had all learned lessons from Grizzly’s death.

Still, if Kellan’s suspicions were proven true, the fallout could lead to a shit storm, and Jonah felt a hell of a lot better facing it with these three men at his back.

“Thank you, gents, for getting here so fast,” Kellan said, coming up behind Jonah.

“Honored to be asked, Captain,” Eric replied, shaking Kellan’s hand vigorously.

“Good to see you again, Captain,” Lucena said.

“Captain.” Tisch inclined his head respectfully.

“Please, gentlemen, I’m a civilian now.” Kellan held up both hands, palms out pleadingly.

“Due respect, sir,” Jonah said, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. “You pulled the strings to get just who you wanted assigned to this mission. Your expert analysis got us to this point, and you’re already taking charge of your personal team of Feds. Just be glad we aren’t calling you colonel.”

Kellan’s smiled, huffed out a breath, and glanced down at his boots. “Fine. Just… try to stick with ‘sir’ and keep the ‘captains’ to a minimum. Please.”

“Yeah, we’ll work on that.” Lucena rolled his eyes at Jonah.

“All right.” Kellan chuckled and surrendered. “Jonah, is there someplace private we can gather everyone for a briefing?”

Jonah considered his options. “There’s not much in the way of privacy around here. Our best bet right now is Captain Hoegerl’s office since he’s out on patrol.” Kellan gestured for Jonah to lead the way back into the firm base.

Jonah rounded up the rest of his men and the Feds, and then patiently waited for the Marines to conclude their mini-reunion with the contractors. The agents clustered together, as if taking refuge from the unfamiliar jargon and physicality of the Marines.

It was Keef who resumed the briefing. He quickly outlined the investigation into Defense Contractors that had begun in the States and the events surrounding Grizzly’s assassination. He explained the nature of their mission in Iraq now and the chain of evidence they were trying to establish.

“Is this for real, Captain?” Eric asked Kellan. “American corporations are arming and funding the enemy? Isn’t that
treason
?” Jonah saw Kellan’s eyes dart to Keef briefly before he answered. It was hopeless to expect the Marines, past and present, to defer to the FBI over Kellan.

“Yes, it is treason, which is why we have to tread carefully and build an airtight case.”

“The man doesn’t think in terms of loyalty and treason. He thinks in terms of dollars and cents.” Lucena began to warm to the topic. “He only cares that he can make enough money to buy off the justice system and have enough left over for his mansion and expensive car collection. If arming the enemy to kill Marines will turn a profit, my boss don’t care about the consequences to a bunch of grunts. At least by workin’ for the man, I’m getting a bigger chunk of his profits than I did gettin’ my ass shot at as a Marine.”

“Be that as it may, Ares is nowhere near connected to this investigation,” Kellan continued. “And even if it were, I am confident the three of you would never be involved in anything remotely suspicious. That’s why you’re here.”

“With help from all of you,” Keef reasserted his authority, “we’re going to overturn every house, hamlet, village, or city we have to in order to locate weapons caches, ordinance, and IED components that will lead us right back to the responsible parties.”

“Are we to assume, Captain,” Jonah asked, “our job here is to keep you safe and aid in your investigation by staying off the grid and utilizing techniques not usually employed by military troops?”

“In a word, yes.” Jonah clearly remembered similar times, standing around the hood of a Humvee being told the details of his next suicide mission.

“Wiping asses and noses; just what you became a Recon Marine to do, Jonah,” Neil piped up, grinning wide.

“Now is not the time, Neil,” Jonah growled.

“With my awesome comm system, you’re gonna be waaaaay off the grid,” Neil continued, as if he hadn’t heard Jonah. “You’re the only motherfuckers lucky enough to even have access to the system,
and
my brilliant frequency encryption is tighter than a drum.”

“Neil, shut the fuck up, or I will sanction Gunnery Sergeant Carver to bury your dead body in this vast and barren desert,” Kellan ordered with quiet menace.

Keef kept speaking, as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “With the Marine Corps’ local knowledge and familiarity with the populace, coupled with the technology and techniques employed by Ares personnel, we hope to have what we need in short order. As soon as we do, we’ll all hop that C-130 back to the States.”

“How do you want me to proceed, sir?” Jonah asked Kellan, sure the FBI wouldn’t know how to use their resources to greatest advantage.

“We’re here to investigate, Jonah.
You
are in charge of operations. The agents will tell you what and who we are looking for; you’ll tell us where to start looking and coordinate resources to help us do that quickly and safely.”

“Roger that, sir,” Jonah said with a nod.

“I’d like to get a look at the crater from the IED detonation,” Milagros said. “And if you can get me a firsthand look at as many devices as possible, both exploded and disarmed, it would be most helpful.”

Carlene spoke next. “I’ll know more about how to continue after we retrace Grizzly’s movements and conduct some interviews, so that’s where we need to start.”

“Also, Sergeant Carver? Can we tap into your Company’s intel on weapons caches and get access to any high value individuals? What do you call them? HVIs?” Keef asked.

“That’s correct, and absolutely. Give me today to coordinate my resources and we’ll step off zero-five-thirty tomorrow.”

§ § §

The planning was done and Jonah knew he should sleep, but his brain wouldn’t slow down. The heat was stifling, as usual, so he stripped out of his uniform blouse and belt, leaving his trousers and T-shirt. He loosened the laces of his boots for comfort but left them on his feet. Jonah lay down on his mat, surrounded by the snoring and snuffling of Marines, and threw an arm over his eyes. He tried not to think about Kellan, so, naturally, Kellan was the only thing he
did
think about.

Kellan had left the Corps, but that hadn’t meant he’d walked away from his men. He’d stayed in touch with Jonah for a time, never hesitating to schedule time to talk. He never went more than a day before responding to an email. Even after Jonah’s contact with Kellan had become infrequent, there was always scuttlebutt about what the Captain was up to. Kellan had stayed in touch and made himself available to his men.

Time, distance, and the minutiae of daily life may have pushed them apart, but Jonah had stopped making the same effort he had in the beginning. Kellan never mentioned their night together. He never asked Jonah to take leave and rendezvous for another night together. Jonah let too much time pass, until he felt awkward being the one to suggest it. Nothing had gone wrong between them; they had simply
stopped
being whatever it was they had been.

Now, here Kellan was, unexpectedly front and center in Jonah’s life as if he’d never left. He could see Kellan’s luminous green eyes and bright smile against the backs of his eyelids. Jonah moved his legs restlessly. The muscles in his back, neck, and shoulders refused to relax. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and shifted on his mat, willing his mind to blank.

Typically, when he couldn’t sleep, Jonah would walk the perimeter of the firm base. Tonight, he only made it as far as the brick steps outside. It was like their first deployment together all over again. As if he was answering a silent call.

Kellan sat on the porch steps. He glanced back over his shoulder as Jonah stepped out into the thick night air.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked.

“No,” Jonah sighed, sinking down onto the step beside Kellan in surrender. He thought he could feel the heat of Kellan’s body on the skin of his arm, even though the ambient temperature was near sweltering. “Not unusual, though.”

“Try to get
some
sleep. I need you on your game tomorrow.”

“Just like old times.” Jonah smiled at Kellan, and understanding passed between them.

“Except now, you’re the one in charge,” Kellan said, meeting Jonah’s eyes fully.

Jonah snorted. “Deny it if you must, but you
are
the commanding officer here. Even the FBI-POGs have figured that out.”

“I am here in an advisory capacity only,” Kellan insisted.

“I’ve got news for you, Kellan. If you’re in a room, you’re in charge, regardless of who is wearing the bars, oak leaves, or brightly polished Special Agent in Charge badge.”

Kellan glanced away and dipped his head for a moment. Jonah wondered what it would be like to run his tongue along the tendon in Kellan’s neck. “It’s their case. They have to build it and present it to the Department of Justice. My only job is to keep them pointed in the right direction by interpreting their findings.”

Jonah had always liked the casual, conversational side of Kellan. “Are they going to be okay?” he asked.

“I believe so. Carlene is their weak link, but Milagros is good at keeping her in line. I believe, though, were the shit to hit the fan, they would all acquit themselves well.”

“Are they going to give me any trouble with regards to their own security?”

“Most likely not, but I might be wrong. They know they’re out of their depth here, but on the other hand, they’re cops. We’re not. There might come a time when we need to get out of their way and let them actually investigate.”

Jonah nodded.

“When this is over, Jonah,” Kellan said suddenly. Reality crashed over Jonah like an icy wave, leaving him on unsure ground. “Let’s not lose touch with one another again.”

“No,” Jonah heard himself say while his brain still processed Kellan’s words. “We shouldn’t let that happen again.” He was used to communicating with Kellan by mere glance, but this was something altogether different. The tightness in his gut was different. He battled to keep his face impassive, but Kellan had always been able to read him, nonetheless.

Jonah startled when Kellan gripped his knee. He looked down at Kellan’s elegant hand, lingering on him longer than necessary. His heart slammed against his ribs like he’d just sprinted up Cardiac Hill on the training grounds at Camp Pendleton. The heat didn’t matter. The coarse dust and dirt no longer scratched the back of Jonah’s throat painfully. A mortar could have gone off right next to them and he wouldn’t have known.

“I’m going to try to get some sleep, even though my internal clock is shot to hell,” Kellan said quietly, when he finally released Jonah’s knee.

“You do that, sir. I’ll see you in the morning.” Jonah continued to stare down at his knee long after Kellan had gone inside. His skin felt strangely cool now that Kellan’s hand was no longer there.

The solitude of the night usually brought peace to Jonah. Now it just seemed lonely.

CHAPTER FIVE

They were ready to step off before full light, and the heat was already stifling. The FBI agents all made quiet comments about the stench of dust, manure, and even human waste. Neil ranted about it loudly. Jonah had long ago grown immune. He watched silently as Kellan coached, encouraged, and herded the agents into the SUVs.

Javier Lucena drove the lead SUV, inside which rode Jonah with Yarwood. By his own machinations, Kellan rode with them. Despite Jonah’s protests, so did Neil.

With Yarwood seated on the bench seat right beside Kellan, Jonah realized they looked nothing alike. The resemblance wasn’t physical, anyway. There was something more intangible about it; a gesture, an expression, a vocal tone.