Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (43 page)

“The Sphere?”

“That’s what we call it. Neil came up with
some crazy name like Techno-Gyro-Camo-Something. We’re all dumb
grunts. The Sphere works better for us.” Daniel knew they were
anything but dumb.

“So this thing can camouflage itself?”

“Yeah. It blends with its background. You
can be looking right at it and barely see it. Kinda looks like a
mirage. We can also flatten it out with the push of a button. Then
it’s almost totally invisible. It’s not foolproof yet, but it’s
worked pretty well so far. Saves Bam Bam over there…” he pointed to
a large man with bowling ball biceps, “…from having to bash in so
many doors.”

“So what else can it do?” Daniel was
fascinated by the advanced gear. What he would’ve given to have
some of those over in the desert.

“It’s got a built-in camera so we can steer
it and we can record to the cloud. Neil programmed a couple more
features, but we’ll save those for later.”

“Cool. So where do you want me?”

“I’ve got you paired with Bam Bam.” He
turned to the rest of the team. “Let’s get a quick comm check
before we step off. I don’t want my calls to go to voicemail.”

The men chuckled and started checking their
communication gear. They kept it simple and used cell phones. Most
of their communication would be done via text. Only emergencies
would be relayed via actual phone calls. They’d picked up the
pay-as-you-go phones from a couple local pharmacies earlier.

Daniel checked his new phone and smiled. It
felt good to be among warriors again.

+++

“Cal, Gaucho just checked in. They’re
starting to head out,” Neil updated the small command group.

Cal looked over at Brian, Willy, and Zimmer.
“So to recap, Top, you stay here with Neil and the Congressman.
Brian and I will head to the café across the street from the
target.”

“Why do I have to wear the chick disguise?”
complained Brian.

“Neil thought you had the better hips,” Cal
answered with a grin. “It’s better than having to wear this fat
suit.” Cal patted the belly of his twenty-pound fat suit. There was
a prosthetic nose and pair of glasses to go along with the trucker
hat he had perched on his head.

“Let’s get ready and head that way.”

Brian nodded and went into the bathroom to
change into his drag outfit. He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew
that even his mother would never recognize him AND it was much
easier to hide weapons under the many layers of his outfit. At
least he wouldn’t have to wear lipstick.

They walked out of the hotel room five
minutes later. Brian walked uncomfortably in his patent leather
combat boots. “I swear, if you ever make me do this again, Cal,
I’ll…”

“Relax, Doc. Next time, we’ll get Top to
wear the chick getup.”

Brian laughed at the absurdity of the mental
image. At seven feet tall, there was no way MSgt Trent could pass
for a woman.

“If I’m dressing up as the woman, you’re
paying for dinner.”

Cal laughed despite the severity of the
situation. They were going into the heart of Indian country.
Hopefully, all they’d be doing was observing. The last thing he
wanted to do was chase the enemy around Las Vegas in a fat
suit.

Chapter 27

Tampa,
Florida

11:02am, September 18th

The young intern met the mailman at the
door.

“Got a couple packages for your office.
Here, I’ll just put ‘em in a box for you. Leave the empty container
outside tomorrow.”

The staffer took the box and looked down at
all the labels. She’d planned on leaving early. She was jumping on
a plane tomorrow with the rest of Congressman Unger’s staff. The
past week seemed a blur of planning and scheduling. Her boss was a
second-term member of the House looking to get re-elected. Despite
the President’s waning popularity, Unger still wanted to get to Las
Vegas early and be in as many photos with the incumbent as
possible.

Her daddy, a rich Florida businessman,
secured her a position through a couple of well-placed donations.
When she’d first started working at the Congressman’s office, she’d
started a casual relationship with the twice-married
Representative. His second wife was on the way out, and the staffer
was on the way up.

Three months earlier, Unger off handedly
mentioned that she should consider dating other people. He threw
out some excuse about the re-election and trying to reconcile with
his wife. She’d been offended but took it in stride. If she ever
wanted a political career, she needed to have a level head.
Besides, the Congressman wasn’t fun anymore. He’d almost become a
recluse in recent months. In fact, she thought, it all started with
that trip out to Las Vegas in May. Strange.

She lugged in the mail and
sorted through the junk. Picking up a small package, she inspected
the label.
Opel. I’ll bet this is that new
phone he wanted me to order for him.
The
pretty intern walked into the Congressman’s vacant office and set
the package on his large desk. On second thought, she grabbed a
sticky note and wrote
“Let me know if you
need help using this”
with a smiley face.
It was better to keep all of her options open. Maybe Las Vegas
would be a chance to climb back into his bed.

She left the office, already planning on
which skimpy lingerie to pack.

Chapter 28

Las Vegas,
Nevada

11:11am, September 18th

Minutes after Cal left to monitor the raid,
there was a knock at Neil’s door. He was so engrossed with his work
that he didn’t hear the knock or see the manila envelope slide
under the door.

+++

Gaucho’s teams had already entered Zeitaku
at staggered intervals. Some were in pairs of two, others as
threesomes. It would be up to him to penetrate the casino’s
labyrinth with their little toy. They would only have one chance.
It couldn’t be wasted.

The team leader found the access door right
where Neil had described. He glanced around casually and picked out
a couple of his men. They were doing what they did best: blending
in. Moving to the door, he rolled his suitcase behind. If anyone
asked, he was looking for his room. His luggage was actually full
of clothes. Tucked in the side pocket was their little surveillance
tool.

Once next to the access point, he stopped
and parked his bag. Luckily, there weren’t any security guards
nearby. There were, however, plenty of cameras. The drop would need
to be smooth. Gaucho had just the thing. He’d tucked a map in front
of the folded surveillance piece. Unzipping the side pocket of his
suitcase, he extracted the map, keeping The Sphere covered right
behind.

Staring at the travel guide, he used his
peripheral vision to detect any wandering eyes. Nothing. Without
taking his eyes off the map, he depressed the small power switch on
the covert surveillance unit. He could just barely feel it vibrate
as it powered on.

Gaucho waited five seconds more, mumbled a
few curses for the sake of the cameras, turned quickly, and
“accidentally” dropped the map. It fell perfectly flat, The Sphere
safely on the ground. He bent over, still cursing to himself, and
picked up the map. As he stood, he placed a perfect kick behind the
barely visible disc and it slid under the door.

Taking his time with the
map, he finally folded it up and slid it into his pocket. Next, he
pulled out his phone and texted
GO
to Cal, Neil, and the rest of the team. He headed
to the only place on the main level without cameras: the
bathroom.

+++

“He’s in,” Cal whispered to Brian. They’d
been at the little café long enough to have half their coffee.

“So how come we can’t control that thing
from our hotel?”

Cal took another sip of his coffee, then
answered. “The signal won’t go that far. We’ve gotta be pretty
close to direct it.”

“How long do you think it’ll take?”

“As long as Gaucho can keep the thing
moving, it’ll probably be around twenty minutes. Thirty tops.”

“So tell me again how that thing is gonna
help us?” Brian asked between glances across the street.

“Neil thinks that if we can get close to
their internal servers, he’ll be able to tap into them. I think
he’s using The Sphere to send a signal at close range. Once he does
that, Neil says we’ll have unlimited access to their entire
network.”

“I guess we better pray that the batteries
don’t run out.”

Cal snorted and went back to pretending to
read something on his cell phone. Soon he should be able to see the
feed from the surveillance unit. This thing had to work. He had a
feeling the Japanese contingent was planning something big.

+++

Gaucho settled into the handicap stall at
the end of the bathroom. He propped his suitcase against the door
and pulled out his phone. Switching on the display, he brought up
the appropriate app. While he waited for it to load, he plugged in
a pair of headphones.

The screen changed to a large green button.
He pressed it. A few meters away, The Ball ballooned into a sphere.
Gaucho could now see through the tiny camera. It was an
unremarkable hallway that looked huge from the small camera’s
perspective.

He texted to Cal and
Neil:
YOU GETTING THIS?

They both replied:
YES
.

Following the small map Neil had drawn,
Gaucho guided the silent vehicle to its destination.

+++

Neil watched his creation move closer to
Ichiban’s server room. He wished he could be driving the thing, but
Cal had insisted on keeping him at the hotel. He was too valuable
to put in harm’s way. Neil agreed on some level, but he always
ached to be with the guys in the field. Sometimes he went along in
a support capacity, but they never let him near the action.

He stood up and did some quick stretches.
Once they were in the server room, he’d be busy trying to dissect
the network. Might as well get in some exercise.

Ever since arriving at the hotel, he’d
averaged two to three hours of sleep per night. In order to stay
awake, Neil would occasionally do a couple sets of push-ups or
burpees, just to get the blood flowing and jumpstart his brain.

As he lowered himself down to the ground for
the first of fifty fast push-ups, he spied the manila envelope at
the door. Curious, he stood up, walked to the door, and opened up
the envelope.

It contained a simple
message:
WE KNOW ABOUT THE
COUNCIL

Neil cursed and ran to his phone.

+++

Cal watched as Gaucho
carefully guided the remote vehicle through the winding maze. Two
times he’d quickly swerved around walking employees who were
oblivious to the spy camera’s presence. He almost jumped when his
phone buzzed with the incoming call. He looked at the caller
ID.
What does Neil want?

He put the phone to his ear. “What’s
up?”

“We’ve got a problem.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, Neil.”

“I just got a message,” Patel knew the
capabilities of agencies like the NSA. Nothing you said on a cell
phone was safe anymore.

“Can’t this wait?”

“No. I need you back here right now.”

Cal looked at Brian and shrugged. “Okay.
I’ll be there in ten.”

Ramirez looked at his friend. “What’s going
on?”

“No idea. Apparently, we’re in another
shitstorm. Neil won’t tell me until we get back to his suite.”

“You want me to stay here?”

Cal thought about it. On one hand, having an
extra pair of eyes might be useful. On the other, Gaucho’s boys
were more than capable.

“No, come back with me. I might need your
help.”

Brian waved for the waitress to bring the
check while Cal texted Gaucho to let him know he’d be off station.
What else could be added to this little adventure?

+++

Ten minutes later, the
costumed duo entered Patel’s suite. Neil motioned them over to the
scattered papers on his makeshift desk. The first thing Cal noticed
was the note from the envelope:
WE KNOW
ABOUT THE COUNCIL
.

“What the fuck?”

“I told you it was bad. It gets worse
though, Cal.” Neil pointed at the contents of the mysterious
envelope. “I think they’re trying to tell us something.”

“What are you talking about?”

Neil exhaled. He knew he had to keep his
friend calm. “I think they’re trying to say that we better leave or
they’ll expose the Council.”

“But there’s no way they could know about
it, Neil!”

“Well, apparently someone pieced it
together. It doesn’t look like something you could take to court,
but they sure could cause a stink.”

“How the hell did this happen?” Cal wondered
aloud.

+++

The crooked politician started his
investigation into the secret group nearly two years before. It all
started as an accident. The aspiring President wasn’t new to
Washington. Over the years, he’d fought hard to head certain
committees and cement important relationships. Very diligent in his
planning, the long-serving federal servant knew the importance of
building a resumé. He now chaired one of the highly coveted
intelligence oversight committees.

On this particular occasion, a certain
suspected terrorist cell was tracked to the United States by
federal agencies. The problem was that The Patriot Act could only
do so much. The President had already given explicit instructions
that action would only be taken against suspected terrorist cells
at home or abroad if the reviewed intelligence proved that the
party was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Intelligence is rarely
absolute. There isn’t always a smoking gun. To make matters worse,
cells operating in America had become very skilled at evading
authorities and masking their activities.