Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (30 page)

TRAVIS
: How
you doing, Cal?

CAL
: Still
a little bruised up, but I’m OK.

TRAVIS
:
It’s only been a week, but you’ll have plenty of time to heal
now.

CAL
(absently): Yeah.

TRAVIS
:
Hey, I know this might not be the best timing, but I’ve got some
people I’d like to introduce you to.

CAL
:
Here?

TRAVIS
:
Actually down at The Lodge.

CAL
(eyebrow raised): Mind giving me a hint?

TRAVIS
:
It’s a little hard to explain. Why don’t you tell the guys we’ll
meet them at the bar in about an hour. The Sergeant Major’s
bringing out the good stuff.

+ + +

Travis led the way down the
second floor corridor of The Lodge. Cal could see two burly men in
suits standing outside one of the large suite doors.
What the hell?
He decided
to keep his mouth shut and follow Travis’s lead.
I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Travis nodded to the two guards as one
mumbled into his lapel mic. Following his cousin into the suite, he
noticed the backs of nine men as they entered. Each man was dressed
in casual attire but even their clothing couldn’t dampen their air
of dignity and power. They came in varying shapes and sizes but all
seemed familiar to Cal and apparently with each other.

The tallest guest turned as did the other
eight at hearing the sound of the door closing. Cal almost tripped
as he recognized each and every man, not from personal
acquaintance, but because in the suite stood nine of the most
powerful American political leaders of the last two decades,
including three former U.S. Presidents.

TRAVIS
:
Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my cousin, Cal Stokes. Cal, say
hello to the Council of Patriots.

+++++

“Council of Patriots”

Book 2 of the
Corps Justice
Series

Copyright © 2012 Corps Justice. All Rights
Reserved

Author: C. G. Cooper

Book Cover: Sherwin Soy

(
http://www.CorpsJustice.com
)

Chapter 1

Washington,
D.C.

10:35am, September 11th

Congressman Zimmer knew he was in deep shit.
The last six months replayed in his mind as he swirled the remnants
of his fifth drink in his glass. Ever since that episode in Las
Vegas, his life had drastically changed. He remembered the incident
like it was yesterday. Hell, he’d relived it every night in his
dreams. He hadn’t had one decent night’s rest.

+++

Six months earlier, Brandon Zimmer, a
promising first-term United States representative from
Massachusetts, was on the rise. Barely thirty years old, Zimmer was
no novice in the political world. He’d first accompanied his
parents on the campaign trail as a newborn. His father, U.S.
Senator Richard Zimmer of Massachusetts, employed young Brandon
over the years in positions ranging from runner to assistant
campaign manager.

After graduating from an elite private
school, Brandon matriculated to the Ivy League. His father, a
Harvard alum, pushed for his son to follow his lead. Brandon
decided to rebel and go to Yale instead. He did attend Harvard for
his MBA, however.

During his years in school Brandon excelled
in academics and always elected to be part of the student council.
Yes, politics was in his blood.

A year prior, Congressman Brandon Zimmer won
the vacated congressional seat in his home district in
Massachusetts. Despite being a staunch Democrat in a very blue
state, he narrowly won. The early campaign looked promising and his
staff expected a landslide victory. Zimmer had the good looks the
media loved. He was also the son of a long-standing and extremely
popular Senator.

Despite his status and the endorsement of
his six-term father in the Senate, Brandon’s playboy ways were soon
splashed throughout social media. Pictures of Zimmer dancing with
naked coeds at a Mardi Gras bash in New Orleans the year before
almost sealed his fate. Soon other reports, photos and videos
surfaced. It was only through the damage control of his staff and
his father’s wealthy backers that he was able to win the
election.

After the fiasco, his father put his foot
down.

“Son, this is your last shot. I will not
come to your rescue again. You’ve got to learn to control your
urges. Do you really want to give up everything we’ve worked
for?”

Although he’d promised to leave his partying
days behind, halfway into his first year as Congressman, Zimmer
accepted the invitation of a small Japanese lobbyist who
represented the gaming industry. Brandon first met Ishi Nakamura at
Harvard Business School. They’d worked hard and played even harder.
After graduation Zimmer entered politics and Nakamura entered the
family gaming business in Las Vegas. They’d kept in touch over the
years and always promised to visit.

Not long after Zimmer was sworn in he
received a call from his friend. Ishi wanted to offer his
congratulations and let Brandon know that he was now heading up his
father’s small lobbying firm, Ichiban Gaming. Brandon was honestly
excited for his friend and mentioned that they should link up
sometime soon.

Six months later, he received another call
from Ishi.

“Hey, brother. Just wanted to let you know
that we’re having a couple of your peers out here in a week to show
them around. Didn’t know if you might like to join them. You could
make some new friends and I can give you a tour of Sin City,” Ishi
invited.

Brandon moaned before answering. “I don’t
know. I’m on a pretty short leash around here.”

“Come on. What happened to the Brandon that
used to sneak weed into Professor Flannigan’s lectures?”

The freshman Congressman chuckled, “I’m a
member of the House now, Ishi. Being in the wrong place at the
wrong time already bit me once.”

“I know, I know. I’m just giving you a hard
time. Look, consider it payback for all those times you hooked me
up with your rejects. I promise to wine you and dine you and
nothing else.”

Brandon took a second to respond. What could
it hurt? “Well, as long as we stick to food, shows and a little
gambling…I guess I can go.”

+++

Congressman Zimmer wished he’d said no. The
trip started out like any other fact-finding junket. Lectures and
meetings followed by expensive dinners and more meetings. It all
fell apart for Zimmer on the third night.

After a long day hobnobbing with local
gaming contacts, Brandon needed a break. He slipped away and headed
back to the swanky new hotel-casino, Zeitaku, owned by one of
Ishi’s clients. Ducking into one of the many bars he’d toured
earlier in the week, he soon found a dark corner and made himself
at home.

Halfway into his third
martini, a gorgeous blonde walked into the almost deserted
bar.
Wow. Look at the body on that
one.

She sat down at the bar and ordered a drink
from the Japanese bartender. After a couple sips from her cocktail
her eyes wandered around the nearly empty bar. Almost squinting,
she caught Brandon’s eye. She smiled sheepishly and went back to
her drink.

Five minutes later the young woman walked
towards the restroom but veered over to the Congressman’s
alcove.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bother you, but
are you by any chance Congressman Zimmer?” she asked shyly.

It wasn’t every day that Zimmer was
recognized in public, but his ego always loved it.

He plastered on his best
man-of-the-people-smile. “Yes I am.”

The blonde smiled ecstatically. “I thought
so! Do you mind if I sit down?”

Brandon gestured to the other seat.
“Please.”

Her name was Beth. She was also from the
East Coast, and had gone to the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. They hit it off immediately after ribbing each other
about the strength of their alma maters’ basketball teams. Zimmer
conceded that UNC was a perennial powerhouse on the court. His
concession made Beth beam with pride.

They stayed in the bar until it closed,
drinking countless martinis in the process. One thing led to
another and the pair eventually made it back to Zimmer’s penthouse
suite.

The next thing Zimmer
remembered was waking up with his face cradled in Beth’s perfect
breasts. He felt severely hung-over, but that was nothing
new.
Must have been a really good
night
, he thought.

Something felt strange as he started to
move. He didn’t remember getting into any kinky jello stuff, but
his hands and midsection felt sticky.

His eyes were still blurry and he could just
make out Beth’s peaceful face. Man was she sleeping hard. He pushed
himself off her naked body, looked down, and screamed.

Everything came into stark focus. Beth’s
beautiful body was completely dismembered. Her arms and legs had
been cut off. A huge amount of blood was soaking the king-size
mattress. Still screaming he looked down at himself and saw that he
was covered in blood as well. Even worse, he raised his hands to
his face and realized that his right hand held a long serrated
knife, caked with congealing, sticky blood.

He screamed once more and fainted.

+++

When he came to, hotel security staff was
wandering around the bedroom. All were Japanese. They’d apparently
wrapped him in a robe but neglected to clean off any of Beth’s
blood. He started to panic as he took in the scene. Beth’s body was
barely visible because it was surrounded by camera-wielding
security crew. He even noticed one man casually taking videos of
the room.

The cameraman noticed Zimmer awake and
motioned to one of the other men. The man nodded and headed towards
the fallen congressman.

The security guard walked over to Brandon
and addressed him in heavily accented English. “Congressman Zimmer,
I am head of hotel security. Would it be possible to take your
statement now?”

Brandon didn’t know how to answer. Was he
going to jail? What the hell was happening?

“I’d like to call my attorney first,” he
forced out with as much conviction as he could muster.

The head of security nodded. “I understand,
Congressman. However, this is a highly sensitive issue. I would
recommend cooperating with us. Failure to do so could make the
situation much worse.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let me just say that you would not want
these videos to get leaked to the police or the public.”

Brandon’s head started to clear as did his
bravado. “Are you trying to frame me?”

The security man looked almost contrite and
bowed before answering. “Of course not, Congressman. You do see our
dilemma…”

He was interrupted by Ishi Nakamura bursting
through the door.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

The guard bowed in deference. “Nakamura-san,
I did not know that you were acquainted with the Congressman.”

Ishi looked enraged. “Of course I am, you
idiot. Does Mr. Saito know about this?”

“He does. Saito-san wanted me to take care
of this personally.”

Ishi calmed and replied, “Tell him that I am
here and wish to speak with him.”

The head of security bowed and stepped
outside to make the call.

Ishi turned to his friend. “What the hell
happened, Brandon?”

Brandon’s composure slipped as he answered,
“I…I…I don’t know. Last thing I remember I was having a great time
with this girl, and then I wake up straddling a corpse. What the
fuck, man?!”

Ishi put a sympathetic hand on his friend’s
shoulder. “Calm down. I’ll take care of this.”

“How the hell are you gonna take care of
this?! They’ve got my prints all over and they keep taking
pictures!”

Ishi paused and looked squarely at Brandon.
“Do you trust me?”

Still panicking, Zimmer couldn’t think of
anything else to say. “I...I guess.”

Shaking his head Ishi scolded, “That’s not
good enough. Do you trust me?”

Brandon looked at his old friend
momentarily, then nodded. “Yes I trust you.”

The corner of Ishi’s mouth turned up in sly
grin. “OK. This won’t be easy, but I may be able to call in a few
favors. The owner of this hotel, Mr. Saito, is a client of my firm
and a friend of my father. Let me see what I can do.”

Now in tears, Brandon pleaded, “Do whatever
you have to and get me out of this, Ishi.”

+++

That was six months earlier. At the time all
he wanted was to be out of that bloody room. Congressman Zimmer
never had time to think about the consequences. Little did he know
how much that favor would cost.

Chapter 2

Turks and
Caicos, Providenciales Island

9:00am, September 13th

Cal stretched lazily on the king-size bed
and looked across the huge suite. Neil was still monitoring the
surveillance cameras. They’d been in Turks for just over a week,
and had taken full advantage of the local amenities. That fact was
clearly illustrated by the massive headache threatening to overtake
Cal’s attention.

Cal snapped his fingers at Neil. “Anything
new?”

Not looking up from the monitor, the genius
known as Neil Patel answered, “Nope. Our boy is still sleeping off
his hangover.”