Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (33 page)

“Find out who’s doing this to my son.”

Cal looked to Travis for guidance. He was in
completely uncharted territory on this one. A murdered woman. A
seemingly guilty Congressman. A famous Senator. What the hell was
HE supposed to do? Never one to take the easy approach, Cal pressed
on.

“It seems to me that if Congressman Zimmer
would resign and turn himself in, all this would be a moot
point.”

Brandon Zimmer jumped out his chair and
pointed at Cal. “Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you! I don’t have to
sit here and listen…”

“Shut up and sit down, Brandon! I’m sorry,
Mr. Stokes. Apparently my son still doesn’t appreciate the gravity
of the situation.”

Cal nodded skeptically. If they wanted the
truth, he’d give it to them. It looked like Junior was about to
have a nervous breakdown.

Cal continued, “Senator, let’s say we do end
up helping you, what do you want us to do once we’ve determined who
the guilty party is?”

“I’m not asking you to do anything you’re
not comfortable with. What if we just start with finding out who
they are. Once we have that, we can make a decision on which way to
turn.”

Cal thought for a minute. It didn’t sound
like anything too overt. Maybe it’d end up being a little
surveillance. The one thing Cal wasn’t looking forward to was
dealing with Congressman Zimmer.

“I’ll do it on one condition, Senator.”

Sen. Zimmer’s eyebrow rose. “And what would
that be, Mr. Stokes?”

“Your son has to do EXACTLY what I say.”

Over the strong objections of his son, Sen.
Richard Zimmer answered with a wry smile, “Done.”

Chapter 7

Camp
Cavalier, Charlottesville, VA

8:39am, September 14th

“You could’ve given me a heads-up, Trav.”
Cal frowned at his cousin. The last thing he wanted to do was
babysit a spoiled politician.

Travis smiled. “If I’d told you who it was
and what they wanted, you would’ve figured out some way not to make
it back. This way we both win.”

“How do I win?”

“You get your first action with the Council.
It’s great that I’ve vouched for you, but until you prove yourself,
they won’t know what to do with us.”

“But I thought we were in tight with these
guys.”

Travis walked over to his desk as he
explained. “We’ve had contact with the Council off and on for last
few years. The problem is that we never had anyone dedicated to
utilizing their intel. I was their contact, but I also had to run
SSI. It pulled me thin. Now that we’ve got you, we can put some
muscle behind it.”

“So what’s my guidance going forward?”

“I’m not gonna hold your hand or look over
your shoulder, Cal. In this case, I want to push you. Take a look
at the file we’ve started compiling. I think you’ll find some
interesting tidbits about the Vegas underground. Plus, I completely
agree with the Senator. Despite Congressman Zimmer’s past, the
whole bloody murder scenario isn’t his M.O. He’s being set up for
something.”

Cal realized he’d allowed his emotions to
cloud his objectivity. Maybe Travis was right. Maybe there was
something to the story.

“Okay. I’ll handle it.”

“
Alright. Why don’t you head
down to Intel and see if you can’t dig up anything else. In the
meantime, come up with a team and a plan. Let me know if you need
something special.”

Cal walked out of Travis’s office and headed
to his personal cubicle. They’d offered him his father’s office but
he’d declined. The old man’s office was more of a shrine now.
Besides, Cal enjoyed the thought of working his way up the ladder
and being with his troops.

The first thing he needed to do was pick his
A-team. Then it was off to Sin City.

Chapter 8

Las Vegas,
Nevada

2:48am, September 16th

The workmen loaded the large packages into
the nearly full semis. They were all getting paid hefty overtime
for working through the night. It was almost three in the morning
but the boxes weren’t particularly heavy. There were just a lot of
them. The only pain for the crew was dealing with the quiet little
Japanese guy and his big Russian friend.

The smaller Asian man was obviously in
charge. He gave clipped orders and maintained an intense vigil over
the loading process. The large Russian looked bored as he gazed
lazily around the small truck terminal. He hadn’t made a sound
except for the occasionally spit of phlegm over the metal
railing.

“Hey boss, how much longer we got?”

Max Unger looked back at his worker. “Until
we get all these trailers loaded, shithead. Now shut up and go back
to work.”

The worker grumbled and
headed back to the smallest stack of packages. Max stole a look at
the man who’d offered a tidy sum if the shipment could be processed
in one night. Unger had almost refused, but the enticement of so
much cash won him over. Even as he was anticipating his payday, Max
Unger couldn’t shake the feeling of unease as he loaded yet another
stamped cardboard box.
What the hell is in
these boxes?

Chapter 9

Camp Spartan,
Arrington, Tennessee

7:37am, September 16th

It took Cal two days to piece together an
initial plan of attack and gather his team. He’d recalled Neil
Patel and MSgt Trent from Turks. The other members of the advance
team included his good friend and former Navy Corpsman Brian
Ramirez. Brian was currently heading-up the battle-med research
team inside Patel’s R&D department. SSI focused heavily on new
development not only to make money, but also to better support
American troops serving around the globe.

Cal figured that the first thing to do was
take a look around Vegas and see what cropped up. Dumb luck just
might expose Zimmer’s enemies without much effort.

The small team chatted quietly as Cal
gathered his notes. He finally looked up. “You guys have a good
trip back?”

“First Class is always nice when I’m not the
one paying for it,” Willy joked in his booming voice.

“Top told me all about your little
competition at the tiki bar, Cal,” Brian interrupted grinning. “I
knew you were a dumb grunt, but waking the sleeping giant…”

Cal raised his hands in defeat. “I know, I
know. I’ll never live that one down. Let me run you through what
we’ve got.”

Cal recounted the Congressman’s story. He
also outlined Zimmer’s past and what he’d been able to dig up about
Ishi Nakamura, which wasn’t much. Eyebrows were raised, but they
waited for Cal to finish before asking questions.

“So the first thing we need to do is link
Top up with Congressman Zimmer. You’ll be tapped as his new
bodyguard. We’ve already floated the story of some weirdo sending
Zimmer some threatening letters. Now, Top, this guy might end up
being a royal pain in the ass, but I need you to stick close to
him,” Cal instructed. “Neil, I’ll need you to be around for
technical support. Bring anything you think you might need. Brian
and I will be posing as tourists. We’ll take in the sights and do a
little gambling. I want to see if we can weed out anyone following
Zimmer. Any questions?”

Brian spoke up first. “Why only four of us?
Don’t you think we might need some more manpower?”

Cal shook his head. “This is just our
initial reconnaissance. I don’t want whoever’s framing Zimmer to
know we’re there. The smaller the team, the less likely it’ll be
that we get spotted.”

“You want me to do some more background on
this Ishi guy?” Neil asked.

“Yeah. I couldn’t find much. Seemed pretty
normal on paper. His parents came over from Japan when he was a
kid. Grew up in San Francisco. Did well in school. Met Zimmer at
Harvard. A few jobs and internships here and there. Typical
post-college stuff. I really want to know more about this company
he works for.”

“I’ll get on it,” Neil answered as he turned
his attention to the mini-laptop perched on his knees.

Cal knew that if anybody could penetrate an
organization with technology, it was Neil Patel. The certified
genius wasn’t just a whiz with gadgets, he was also a world-class
hacker.

“Top, we’ll fly you out to D.C. tomorrow.
You can link up with the Congressman and then fly out to Vegas with
him. Anything else?”

No one had anything to add. Everyone was
already mentally coming up with their own game plan for the
operation. Cal knew better than to get in their way. They were all
proven operators. Even Neil was a warrior in his own way. All they
needed was a quick snapshot. The rest would evolve once they got to
Las Vegas.

Chapter 10

Las Vegas,
Nevada

7:52am, September 16th

“What is the status of the shipment?”

“The packages are ready and each truck is
awaiting my order to depart.”

“Do you expect the packages to be delivered
by the time we requested?”

“Yes. We have allowed extra time in case of
weather or some other unforeseen circumstance.”

“Good. Then you may proceed with the
delivery.”

The older man’s assistant bowed respectfully
and exited the palatial suite. The master took another drag from
his cigarette and gazed out at the desert landscape. Soon America
would feel the pain and humiliation he’d long planned.

Chapter 11

Falls
Church, VA

1:46pm, September 16th

MSgt Willy Trent stepped out of the taxi and
paid the driver. It’d been an easy ride over from Reagan National.
It still amazed him how close the nation’s capital looked as you
landed. You could see everything.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be a tourist
stop. His orders were clear: keep eyes-on Congressman Brandon
Zimmer, 24/7.

He strolled up to the modest home and
quickly scanned the finely manicured lawn. Access to the property
looked easy. No obvious security. Strange. He’d have to change
that.

Trent knocked and waited
patiently for the door to open. He was surprised when Congressman
Zimmer opened the door.
No interior
security either?

The good-looking congressman smiled and
reached out his hand. “You must be Master Sergeant Trent.”

“Yes, sir. Although most people call me
Willy or Top.”

“Top’s the nickname you Marines call Master
Sergeants, right?” Zimmer asked still smiling congenially.

“Only the ones they like, sir,” Trent smiled
back.

“Well, come on in. I’ll give you a quick
tour of the place and then you can fill me in on your team’s plan.”
Zimmer ushered Willy in through the door and led the way to the
back of the house, highlighting the layout as they went. The
hallway opened up to a large great room that overlooked Lake
Barcroft. Trent could see a couple families enjoying the early fall
weather on their pontoon boats. He wondered quietly whether there
was any security on the sprawling back lawn either.

“Can I get you anything, Top?”

“No thank you, sir. Maybe we should go over
your itinerary.”

Zimmer’s smile slipped for a
split-second, but was replaced quickly. Trent noticed.
Obviously this guy isn’t used to being on someone
else’s schedule.

“Why not? Tell me what you guys have come up
with.” Zimmer walked over to the closest armchair and took a
seat.

Maybe this guy ain’t as bad
as Cal thinks. We’ll see
.

“First, sir, my orders are pretty clear. I’m
supposed to be with you 24/7. No exceptions.”

To Zimmer’s credit, not even the faintest
hint of anger crossed his face. “I understand, Top. I assume you
already know the whole story?”

Trent nodded.

“Then you know I’m not really in a position
to fight this. You guys are doing me a favor and I really do
appreciate it. Democrat or not, I’m no idiot.”

“No disrespect intended, sir. I’ve just
always found that it’s better to the clear the air and manage
expectations in the beginning.”

Willy looked to Zimmer for questions but
none came. “So to start I wanted to ask you some questions about
your property here.”

Trent grilled Zimmer for close to an hour.
He quickly found that the security in the rented residence was
decent but still lacking, despite the Las Vegas episode. The only
things in place were a monitoring system supplied by a local vendor
and a panic number provided to all incoming members of the House of
Representatives.

It was clearly evident that the freshman
representative was somewhat naïve about personal protection and
surveillance. It wasn’t unusual for unknown Congressmen to drive
their own cars, but Willy got the distinct feeling that prior to
the Vegas incident, Zimmer almost felt untouchable. Zimmer
explained that he’d clearly been instructed by Ishi not to increase
any security after the girl’s murder. Brandon wasn’t stupid. He
knew the lack of security meant easy access for his
blackmailers.

“Have you noticed anyone following you,
anything strange?”

“Are you kidding? I see shadows everywhere
now. I’d started to think I was really losing my grip on reality,”
Zimmer answered in a tone colored with panic.

“That’s why I’m here, Congressman. I’ll need
to do some upgrades to your system here, but we’ll do that through
SSI, so whoever’s watching you won’t know. The next part of the
plan is to take a little trip to Vegas. Cal wants to see if we
can’t get these rats out of their nest.”

Brandon didn’t want to go anywhere near Las
Vegas. “No way! The minute I step into that place they’ll be all
over me. They’ve already had me back for a couple of mandatory
meetings. Every time I feel like I’m the fish in the fishbowl. I’m
surrounded and subtlety reminded of where I stand. I can’t handle
it!”