Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (47 page)

Hopefully, Gaucho would understand his
text.

+++

Daniel took a steadying breath and said a
quick prayer. He’d been in similar situations before. It almost
always came down to decisiveness, daring, and a little bit of luck.
Briggs counted down the seconds as he watched the assassin move
closer.

+++

Matsura now had two suppressed pistols, one
in each hand. He was an expert with both hands. Keeping his weapons
pointed at their respective targets, he stalked forward. Two kills
in a day was a walk in the park for the warrior.

+++

Gaucho and Neil looked down at their phones
at the same time. “Shit!” The room full of operators looked up. “I
need four of you right now. Weapons concealed. We’re going down to
the pool.”

The five men sprinted out of the suite, past
their surprised sentries, and into the stairwell. Gaucho hoped
they’d make it in time.

+++

Briggs made his move, diving out from cover,
low to the ground, facing his attacker. There was maybe fifteen
feet between the two men. Matsura was faster, his two rounds on a
perfect collision course with Daniel’s chest as the Marine’s
double-tap went off a split second too late.

+++

Matsura smiled as the bullets hit their
target. He felt two stings on his shirt. Had he been shot? Looking
down quickly, his eyes squinted in confusion. Instead of seeping
blood, he saw two yellow paint splatters.

Just as he turned to find his second target,
he realized his folly. The blonde man’s dive had been a diversion.
He’d sacrificed himself so that Stokes could flank the assassin.
The Japanese killer had walked too close. He should have stayed
back. During the quick exchange, Cal had taken advantage of
Daniel’s diversion and crept forward behind the tall privacy
bushes.

He sprang up from his squatting position,
knife leading the way. The blade went into the assassins left ear
to the hilt. The Marine twisted the blade as the man struggled for
a moment, and then folded to the ground.

After quickly making sure the man was dead
and taking his two suppressed weapons, Cal ran to his fallen
friend.

+++

Gaucho’s men rushed out onto the pool deck
just as the muffled shots went off. The guests looked at them in
confusion, most too absorbed in their drinks and the loud music to
notice the commotion. The SSI team rushed to the source of the
shots.

+++

Cal bent down to his new friend. Daniel had
signaled what he’d wanted to do, but Cal had shaken his head. This
wasn’t the sniper’s fight. He’d seen the rounds hit. He could only
hope that his injuries weren’t fatal.

Cal rolled Daniel over and noticed that the
wounded man was clutching his stomach. He looked up at Cal. “Did
you get him?”

“Yeah. Don’t move. We need to get you to the
hospital.”

“For what?” It was obvious the sniper was
trying to catch his breath. They had to get him out of there
soon.

“You got shot, man. Don’t move. My guys
should be here in a second.”

As if on cue, the five team members spotted
them and hopped over the fence. Gaucho reached the pair first. “He
shot?”

Cal nodded. He then pointed to the Asian
assassin. “We need to get that body out of here. Can your boys take
care of it?”

Gaucho nodded and barked quick orders over
the booming music.

Cal started peeling off Daniel’s shirt so he
could find the entry wounds. When he did one of the bullets rolled
off of the sniper’s Kevlar covered chest. Cal looked down in
confusion.

Daniel gasped as he explained. “I was
trying...to…tell you. It just hurts…like a…sonofabitch.”

“You lucky fucker,” laughed the short
Hispanic, shaking his head.

“Wait,” Cal stopped, “I didn’t hear your
pistol shots go off.”

Daniel smiled. “These are…paintball…guns.”
He handed one to his friend.

“You crazy fucker,” muttered Cal in
admiration. This guy had real balls. “Come on. We’ve gotta get out
of here.”

Between the two of them, Cal and Gaucho
helped Daniel up. He was still in pain but regaining his breath
quickly. They all stowed their weapons under their shirts and
headed back into the hotel as the disposal team went to work taking
the body to a inconspicuous drop-off location.

What else could go wrong today?

Chapter 31

Las Vegas,
Nevada

3:05pm, September 18th

“What the hell happened down there?” Neil
blurted as the trio walked back into the suite.

“Someone just tried to take us out,” Cal
explained. “Please tell me you found out something that’ll help us
nail these assholes.”

Daniel peeled off his Kevlar vest and
grabbed some ice as Neil and Cal went over to the bank of
computers.

“So, I think we’ve hit the motherload. These
guys are into a whole lot of dirty business. You’re not gonna
believe how deep this goes.”

“Start at the beginning while I grab a
drink, Neil. You want one?”

Neil raised a Red Bull and shook his
head.

“Okay. Brief overview: Ichiban Gaming is
neck-deep into blackmail. It looks like they’ve got at least twenty
Congressman and five Senators in their pockets. Pretty even between
Democrats and Republicans. While that may not seem like a lot, they
also have over one hundred political staffers under their thumbs.
Not to mention lower level government employees. They’ve got these
people on everything from alleged murder to heavy drug use. And
that’s just the government stuff! I haven’t even started pulling
out the database of civilians that are on their extortion
list.”

“So what are they trying to do with all
these people?”

“I haven’t gotten to that quite yet. My
system has to translate everything from Japanese into English. I’ve
probably only uncovered about a quarter of it so far. It’ll take
some time to unravel.”

“Neil, I know I don’t need to tell you this,
but the shit’s about to hit the fan. I’d really like to know more
as soon as we can,” Cal requested, not unkindly.

“I know, Cal. I’m working as fast as I can.
Even my technology has its limits.” Neil exhaled in
frustration.

“I understand. We just need something we can
act on right now. How about you print me off a list of those top
politicians so I can take a look. Maybe we can give somebody a
heads-up. I mean, I’m not sure how we should handle this
information yet. As much as I’d like to make a bunch of
Washington-types look like idiots, I’m not so sure America needs
that right now.”

“Why don’t you talk to the Council about
it?”

“Our friends are a little busy right now. I
think I’ll wait until we know a little more about what the exact
threat is. Where are Zimmer and Top at?”

Neil pointed up. “I got them a room right
above us. Trent’s got him cooped up in there for now.”

Cal looked over at Briggs. “You good to
walk?”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

“Neil, we’re headed up to have a little chat
with the Congressman. Can I take those names with me?”

Patel handed him the two sheets of paper and
the former Marines headed for the door. Cal had no idea what to do
next. There was a large piece of intel they were still missing.

As they reached the stairwell, Cal’s cell
phone buzzed. It was Captain Andrews.

“Hey, man. Are you here?” Cal could hear
slot machines on the other end.

“Yeah. We just landed. You have time to grab
a drink?”

Cal glanced at Briggs. “I’m not sure, Andy.
I think I’ll know more in a few minutes.”

“Everything okay?” Andy asked in
concern.

“You know me. Never a dull moment.”

Andy laughed. “Yeah, don’t remind me. All
right, give me a call when you know. I have a meeting with the
planners at nine, but I’m free until then.”

“You got it. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Cal put the phone back in his pocket and
opened the stairwell door.

“Who was that?” Briggs asked.

“Just another Marine buddy. He’s a Captain
with the Silent Drill Team. Can you believe they’re out here to do
a show for the Convention?”

“You’re kidding me! I thought they only did
shows at football games and stuff.”

“That’s what I said! I guess someone pulled
some strings to get them out here. Maybe it’ll be…”

Cal stopped when Daniel grabbed his arm.
“What if they’re part of this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean it seems more than a little odd that
the Silent Drill Team is performing at a political rally, doesn’t
it?”

Maybe Daniel’s right. But how could they be
involved?

“I guess, if nothing else, I can give Andy a
heads-up that there could be a threat.”

Briggs agreed. “I don’t think any of us can
be too careful right now.”

Cal climbed the last few steps to the next
landing and turned to his new friend. “You sure you want to be a
part of this mess?”

Daniel grinned. “Are you kidding? I haven’t
had this much fun since Ramadi.”

Cal smiled and clapped the sniper on the
back. He’d be a good man to have around. Hell, in the span of less
than a week, he’d already saved Cal’s life twice. Too bad the man
didn’t drink or he’d be getting a lot of free booze.

+++

They stepped into the suite. Trent and
Zimmer were playing cards at the dining room table.

“You want in, Cal?” Trent asked over his
shoulder.

“We need to talk.” The seriousness of his
tone made both men turn.

Cal sat down at the table next to Zimmer.
The Congressman glanced down at the sheets of paper. “What’s
that?”

“Neil hacked into their system. We don’t
know everything yet, but hopefully we will soon. I need your help,
Congressman.”

Brandon looked at Cal. It was the first time
the Marine had asked him for anything.

“How can I help?”

Spreading the list on the table, Cal
explained. “These are the names of other politicians and government
employees that the guys behind Ichiban have been blackmailing. Some
of them are long-standing. Some are new to the list. The problem
is, we don’t know what they’re being used for.”

“I’m still confused. How again do you want
me to help?”

“I need you to remember whether this
Nakamura guy ever asked you for anything. Did he try to get any
information out of you? Did they try to get access to secure files
or facilities? Anything out of the ordinary?”

Zimmer sat back and thought about the last
six months. At first glance, nothing stood out. He’d thought at the
time that Ishi was just working up to asking him something. It
always felt like there was a request right around the corner. After
all, why else blackmail a Congressman unless you want something in
return?

“Not that I can remember. They kept it
pretty professional.”

Cal knew there had to be a goal. “Did they
ever give you anything?”

Zimmer shook his head in frustration. “No.
Honestly, I don’t remember them trying to manipulate me other than
that morning with Beth.”

Cal pointed to the list. “Do you recognize
any of these names?”

“Of course. Some of them are very powerful
men.”

“What about a connection. Do you serve with
them on any committees? Do they run in the same social
circles?”

Zimmer thought for a second. He really
wanted to help, but he was the new guy in Washington. He wasn’t
useful to the old stalwarts yet. “No. I’ve met the Senators before
because of Dad, but I really only know two or three of the
Representatives on that list.”

It felt like it was just beyond reach.

Daniel interrupted Cal’s reverie. “You mind
if I take a look at the list, Cal?”

“Have at it.”

Cal slid the list across the table. Briggs
looked down at the list with Trent. Cal was right. Nothing jumped
out. Then an idea popped into the sniper’s head: what if it wasn’t
WHO they were but WHERE they were? Each name had a two-letter
abbreviation for the state they served. Daniel scanned the list
again, simply focusing on the geographical locations.

The others noticed his increased
concentration.

“What do you see, Daniel?” Cal asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think there’s a
connection with the states these guys represent.”

He read the states out loud. “Ohio, Florida,
Virginia, Nevada, Iowa, Colorado…”

“Wait a minute,” Zimmer interrupted, “those
are all swing states!”

Cal looked over at the Congressman in
confusion. “Like for the election?”

“I’m not sure about Colorado, but I’m pretty
sure the rest of those states are a toss-up right now. But, how
could they have known that before the election?”

Cal didn’t have a clue, but at least they’d
latched on to something. “So you’re saying that the Presidential
candidates are fighting over these states?”

“Do you ever know what’s going on in
politics, Cal? Even I know this stuff,” Trent teased.

“What can I say? I vote, but in general,
politics make me want to throw up. No offense, Congressman.”

A week earlier, Zimmer might have fought for
his profession. Now, he understood the Marine’s point of view.
Looking at the blackmail list proved how dirty politics could
be.

“Don’t worry about it. Right about now it
makes me want to puke, too.”

The response surprised Cal. Maybe the
Congressman really was coming around. He turned back to the list.
“Okay, so are we in agreement that these guys might be trying to
rig the election?” Nods around the table. “If that’s the case, why
go to all the trouble? If they want the President to get
re-elected, why not just dump a bunch of money into the
campaign?”