Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (50 page)

No, Sen. Zimmer would respect the office,
but he could not serve directly under the man. Their ideological
differences were too extreme.

“So why do you want me to come with you
tomorrow?” Brandon asked.

“I think I’m gonna need a little moral
support, Son. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for you to mingle with him
a little bit. He is the President.”

Brandon wasn’t sure. He’d have to check with
the SSI guys. Then again, what could it hurt?

“Will it be okay to bring Trent with
me?”

“Is that your bodyguard?”

“Yeah. It’s kinda one of the requirements
you signed me up for.”

The Senator thought about it for a second.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll call the President’s office and have
them add him to the list. What’s his full name again?”

Brandon relayed Trent’s full name and former
military rank. What would Trent say about meeting the
President?

“I’ll have my driver come pick you two up at
six thirty.”

They ended their conversation with a quick
goodbye. Brandon walked into the adjoining living room and found
Trent flipping through the TV channels. “Anything good?” Zimmer
asked.

Trent answered without looking up. “Nope.
It’s all commentary on the Convention. This damn TV can’t even get
me the Falcons game replay.”

“Hey, something’s just come up.”

Trent muted the television and looked at
Zimmer. “What’s up?”

“My dad got invited to meet with the
President tomorrow morning. He wants you and me to come with
him.”

“What? Cal’s not gonna like that.”

“I know his attitude isn’t your fault, Top,
but Cal’s being an ass. I don’t really care what he thinks right
now.”

Trent had spent enough time with the
Congressman to know that the man had truly experienced a wake-up
call. More than anything, the comment was a reaction to his most
recent conversation with Cal.

“Congressman, I know you two got into it,
but Cal’s trying to do the right thing. Put yourself in his shoes.
He has to protect you PLUS all the rest of us. All I’m saying is
that it’s a lot of pressure and you might want to give the guy a
break.”

Zimmer exhaled. He knew Trent was right.
Brandon had grown to respect the SSI men immensely. He trusted
their judgment and promised himself that, if allowed to stay in
office, he’d never lose that perspective. There were secret men and
women, true patriots, that laid their lives on the line so that men
like him could do their jobs and America could remain free. It was
something he couldn’t forget.

“I know,” Zimmer replied. “But, this is
really important. Have you ever met the President?”

“Nope. They don’t let many big dudes like me
around the White House, unless you just won the Super Bowl.”

“Well, this is your chance. I’m sure Cal
will be good with it as long as you’re with me. Do you mind asking
him? I don’t think he’s ready to talk to me yet,” Zimmer almost
pleaded.

The Marine thought about it. On one hand, he
was sure Cal would be pissed. It really wasn’t smart to let the
Congressman out until everything blew over. On the other hand,
they’d be surrounded by Secret Service agents AND he’d get to watch
the Silent Drill Team. What could go wrong?

“I’ll talk to Cal.”

“Thanks, Top. You won’t regret it,” Zimmer
smiled.

+++

11:47pm

Cal put his phone down and closed his eyes
in frustration. Another wrinkle.

“Okay, guys, one more change. That was Top
on the phone. Seems as though the Congressman got himself invited
to the party. He’ll be at the convention center during the
rehearsal tomorrow morning, too. I told Top to stick to his ass
like glue.”

Brian and Daniel looked up from their card
game. “So who’s going with you tomorrow?”

“Andy called back and said he could only get
two passes from the Secret Service. No offense, Doc, but I think
I’m gonna take Daniel with me.”

Ramirez waived off the apology. “No biggy.
That means at least one of us can sleep in tomorrow.”

“You cool to come with me?” Cal asked
Briggs.

“No problem. I guess we won’t be taking any
weapons.” It was posed as a question.

“Yeah. We can leave them out in the car.
I’ll bet they’ll have that place pretty buttoned up before the big
show. I’m more worried about tomorrow night. Why don’t you guys hit
the sack? I’m just gonna go over that new list Neil gave us. I want
to memorize as many faces as I can.”

Daniel and Brian finished their game,
cleaned up, and went to their rooms. Cal watched them go, wishing
he could do the same. It was already midnight. He’d be up for at
least two more hours, poring over the files Neil kept digging out
of the Ichiban network.

+++

1:25am

Cal had just dozed off when a natty-looking
Neil Patel tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, what’s up?” Cal asked groggily.

“I just found something I think you need to
see.” The earnestness on Neil’s face shook the fuzziness from Cal.
He followed Neil to the computer station.

He watched as Neil pulled up a file. “So,
earlier I found the original video file of the murder scene.
Remember that in the one posted to YouTube, no one else was shown
and the girl’s face was blurred? Well, this one I’m about to play
was put together not only with clips of the Congressman, but also
with a full view of the woman’s face. You ready to watch it?”

Cal knew they’d find some video like this,
so he wasn’t sure why Neil was being so damn serious. “Is there
something you’re not telling me?”

“I need you to watch the video first. Then
I’ll tell you what it all means.”

Cal knew Neil wouldn’t waste his time, so
Cal nodded to his friend. Patel pressed the Play button.

Cal watched as the cameraman
walked around the body. It was similar to the shots he’d already
seen online, but this time it showed a full view of the woman’s
face. She was undoubtedly beautiful. She actually looked peaceful,
despite not having any of her limbs attached.
She must’ve been drugged
, Cal
thought.

Next, the camera panned over to Congressman
Zimmer. He was lying unconscious, naked, and covered in the woman’s
blood. The sharp knife had obviously fallen out of his bloody hand
and sat inches from his gory appendage.

Holy
shit!
, Cal thought. He couldn’t imagine
waking up to that. It reminded him of the iconic horse head scene
from
The Godfather
. But this was different. This was a dismembered
person.
Maybe I need to cut Zimmer some
slack.

The video finished and Neil looked up at his
friend. “So what was your takeaway from that?”

After pausing for a moment to gather his
jumbled thoughts, Cal replied. “First thing is maybe we can find
out who that girl is. I also just realized Zimmer really went
through some crazy stuff there. I’m surprised he’s not in the nut
house after that.”

Neil agreed. Working with SSI, he’d seen
some gory crime scenes. This was something different though. You
could almost feel the detached brutality and evil of whoever had
killed, then cut the poor girl up. It reeked of someone who had
absolutely no regard for human life.

“You’re right about finding out who the girl
was. I ran her through the FBI’s facial recognition system...” Neil
had a way of hacking into any government agency he needed at the
moment, “…and I got a match.”

“Just tell me the punch line, Neil,” ordered
Cal impatiently.

Neil hesitated, “Her name was Patricia.”

“I thought Zimmer said her name was
Beth.”

“Apparently, she wasn’t telling him the
whole truth.”

“What’s her last name?” Cal asked, totally
intrigued.

“Waller.”

“Waller? Is she related to President
Waller?”

Neil nodded. “She’s his daughter.”

“Oh shit!”

Chapter 36

Las Vegas,
Nevada

1:30am, September 19th

Cal hesitated before grabbing his phone. Who
to call first? He was in completely uncharted territory here.
Should he call President Waller first? Should he call Travis and
get his opinion? His sluggish mind struggled to come to grips with
the latest information.

How in the world had she just happened to
run into Congressman Zimmer? And, more importantly, why did she
call herself Beth? Was she part of a larger Japanese plot?

It was too much for his tired mind to
unravel alone. He needed help.

Reluctantly, he grabbed the secure phone and
placed a call to SSI headquarters. He asked the man on duty to
patch him through to Travis’s encrypted line.

Ten seconds later, Travis was on the
telephone, voice heavy with sleep. “What’s going on, cuz?”

“We just got some news that I don’t know
what to do with. I need your help.”

Travis was suddenly awake. It was rare that
his cousin called to ask for anything. This must be big. “What’s
up?”

Cal told him about Waller’s daughter.

“You’ve got to be shitting me! Have you told
him yet?”

“No. That’s why I’m calling you! What am I
supposed to tell him?”

Travis had no clue. In the military, trained
teams were sent to the homes of troops killed in action. Luckily,
during his time with the SEALs he’d never had to pull that duty.
How in the world do you tell an ex-President that his daughter was
murdered and now being displayed all over the Internet?

“This is a big fucking mess, Cal.”

“Tell me about it. So what do I do?”

“I think you need to call him and request a
meeting right now.”

Cal couldn’t think of anything better. If it
had been his daughter, he’d want to know right away as well.

“Okay, I’ll make the call.”

“Let me know if you need my help.”

Cal killed the connection and dialed
Waller’s number. He picked up after one ring. Apparently, he was
used to calls in the middle of the night because he sounded wide
awake.

“Hey, Cal.”

“Hello, sir. I’ve, uh, got some news that I
need to share with you,” Cal started hesitantly.

“Can you tell me over the phone?”

“No, sir. I think I better head over to your
place, if that’s okay.”

“You think that’s safe?”

“I’ll bring a couple of my guys with me. If
you can just make sure your detail knows we’re coming.”

“No problem. I’ll see you in a few.”

The call ended and Cal gazed out the window.
He could clearly see the happy crowds enjoying the warm night air,
hopping from casino to casino. Cal wished he were with them.
Instead, he had to deliver the worst news possible to a President
of the United States.

+++

2:13am

He’d woken up Daniel and the two met up with
three guys Gaucho sent over. They hurried down to the parking
garage and loaded into the rental car. Fifteen minutes later, they
arrived outside Waller’s hotel. Cal and Daniel hopped out and
headed in.

Waller met them at his door and let the two
Marines in. The three men were alone, the security detail stayed
right outside the suite. Waller’s wife was asleep in the adjoining
bedroom.

“So what’s going on, Cal?” President Waller
was in an expensive blue robe. Even past one in the morning, the
man looked put together.

“I think we better sit down, sir,” Cal
requested.

“I take it by your tone and the fact that
you’ve forgotten to call me Hank that this is pretty serious.”

Cal merely nodded and took a seat on the
large sectional. Waller had weathered more crises than most men
will ever have to endure, but the look on Cal’s face sent prickles
up his spine.

“Sir, we found out who the girl is in
Congressman Zimmer’s video.”

By the look on his face, Waller was starting
to put the pieces together. “Just tell me, Cal,” Waller asked
quietly.

“It’s your daughter Patricia, sir.”

Waller stared at Cal blankly. He hadn’t seen
his daughter in almost a year. She’d left for Los Angeles almost
three years ago to pursue a career in acting. He and his wife had
scattered contact with their only child. In fact, it’d been almost
eight months since they’d last talked.

Shortly after arriving in L.A., Patricia had
sent her security detail home and refused any more money from her
parents. She was going to make it on her own. A part of Hank Waller
was proud of his daughter for stepping out and being independent.
It was often hard for the children of well-known politicians to
have real lives. Waller was happy she’d chosen her own life.

He allowed her to live without the
bodyguards, but still secretly kept tabs on her with a private
security company. A few months after her independence, he’d
received word from the owner of the company that his daughter had
fallen in with a disreputable crowd of young actors. All played
wholesome characters on TV and film, but in their private lives
gorged on heavy drugs and explicit sex. Waller was crushed. He’d
thought his daughter would have better sense.

Upon receiving the news, Waller and his wife
hopped on a flight to California. They’d tracked down Patricia,
who’d by then taken up with a local movie producer twice her age.
It was obvious that she’d taken to the drug lifestyle, her skin
hanging loosely from her pretty figure. Hank Waller almost cried
when she’d first come to the door. He was losing his baby.

Her parents confronted the issue and
threatened to have her committed. The intervention hadn’t gone
well. Patricia stormed out of the house and disappeared. For weeks,
the security company couldn’t track her down. Then three months
later, Patricia had shown up on their doorstep completely out of
the blue. She looked clean and healthy. He almost didn’t recognize
her at first. She’d grown into a beautiful woman. Hank and his wife
cried as they hugged and welcomed her home.