Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (57 page)

Ponder terminated the call and sighed. He
wanted to make sure his team kept tabs on all the guys SSI sent to
his backyard. If he knew where they all were it would be easier to
take care of them when the time came.

He’d be paying his boys overtime for
around-the-clock surveillance, but it didn’t matter. That would be
chump change soon enough.

Ponder dreamt of his coming riches as he
watched the live video of his prisoner. Patel was even now trying
to hop to the small toilet in the corner of his cell. Ponder
chuckled at Neil’s discomfort. That leg sure had to hurt. He hoped
his buyer wouldn’t be too pissed that he’d had to lop the guy’s
foot off. It just wouldn’t do to have a tracking implant around
once his buyers showed up, and cutting it off had been easier than
trying to dig it out.

Negotiations were still underway for the
final payment amount. A small escrow of one million dollars had
already been deposited into Ponder’s Cayman bank account. That
wouldn’t even pay his mortgage on his multiple homes. No, he was in
it for the big payday. Once he delivered Patel to his buyer, life
would be a whole lot sweeter. Maybe it was time to ask for more
money.

Nick Ponder grinned as he thought about not
only the cash, but also the sweet revenge he was about to drop on
Col. Stokes’s company. The old man would probably roll over in his
grave.

Chapter 4

Hotel Terra, Teton Village, Jackson Hole,
Wyoming

7:17am, September 27th

Cal and Briggs had both been up since five
am, ready to start the search for their friend. After a quick
workout in the hotel gym, they walked over to one of the small
cafes lining the village square. Cal paid for the chocolate
croissants and coffee as Briggs scanned the area for prying eyes.
There were none that he could see.

“Let’s eat while we walk and then get ready
for the rest of the boys to get here,” Cal said through a huge bite
of pastry.

Returning to their room without incident,
they took turns showering, and Cal checked his email. No updates
from Travis.

Marine Master Sergeant Willy Trent would be
arriving via private jet in the next twenty minutes. Another three
SSI employees were accompanying him, including former Navy
Corpsman, Brian Ramirez. Along with the four SSI operators, the
Learjet was also carrying most of the gear they would need if they
had to go exploring in the wild. This time of year you never really
knew what kind of weather you might get. It could be bright and
sunny with a high of seventy, or cold and blustery with heavy snow.
Better to be prepared.

Cal had hand selected sixteen men to come
along for the search. He based the selection on their prior
experience with him (Trent, Briggs and Ramirez were all veterans of
at least one of Cal’s covert ops), and their training in mountain
warfare. Cal wasn’t taking any chances this time around. He also
had two more teams of sixteen standing by at SSI’s Tennessee
headquarters if the need arose for more firepower.

Briggs walked out of the bathroom, drying
his hair with a towel. “Any word from Mr. Haden?”

“Dude, I told you four times already, his
name is Travis,” scolded Cal.

“I know, I know. Old habits die hard, Cal.
He is the CEO of our company.”

“So how come you don’t call me Mr.
Stokes?”

“‘
Cause you’re just a dumb
grunt like me.” Daniel smirked.

“Whatever,” Cal returned mockingly. “No
update from Trav. We’re kinda dealing with a needle in the
proverbial haystack.”

Briggs didn’t say anything as he threw the
towel back in the bathroom and got dressed. “I’ve got an idea I
wanted to run by you.”

Cal looked up from his laptop. “What’s
that?”

“Call me crazy, but I still think those two
guys from the bar last night were keeping tabs on us. I was
thinking about finding them first and seeing if we couldn’t…extract
some information out of them.”

Stokes thought about it for a minute. While
he didn’t doubt the sniper’s abilities in the least (they called
him Snake Eyes for a reason), the tiny cautious part of Cal’s
subconscious still wasn’t sure about making a scene. “So you’re
sure those guys were following us? I know I don’t have to tell you
this, but the last thing we need is a mess right in the middle of
Poshtown.”

Briggs shrugged his shoulders. “You have any
better ideas?”

Cal didn’t, and he hated it. They were
really just waiting for word from Travis before they could do
anything. Apart from doing the street cop thing and knocking
door-to-door, Stokes didn’t really have anything better.

“Okay, tell me what you had in mind.”

+++

Trent ducked his near seven foot frame under
the Learjet’s exit door. He stretched to his full height as he
stepped out onto the top platform of the portable steps. MSgt Trent
was a black man with the muscular build of an NFL linebacker. Not
only was he a professionally trained chef, Trent was also lead
instructor for SSI’s hand-to-hand combat training course.

“Enjoying the view, Top?” The question came
from behind him.

Trent turned around to face Brian Ramirez.
“Sure thing, Doc. That, and I’m trying to get the kinks out. My big
ass gets a little cramped even in the nicest jets Cal puts me
in.”

Ramirez laughed as he and the two other SSI
operators followed Trent down the stairs. In comparison, his five
foot nine body fit comfortably in the luxury jet they’d just spent
close to four hours on.

“I’ll bet you loved spending time in AAVs,”
ribbed Ramirez.

“Hell no! I prefer humping to wherever I
need to go, Doc.”

The four SSI men gathered the gear that the
airport staff was now unloading off the back of the plane. As
requested, there were also four pushcarts already standing by for
them to pile everything on. Within minutes, the bags and boxes were
stacked neatly on their respective carts and the small team headed
for the terminal.

They passed under an arch of antlers and
Trent pointed up. “What the hell animal do those come from?”

“They’re elk antlers. I hear they’ve got a
big elk preserve just down the road. The Boy Scouts and some other
groups go out there and pick up the antlers and give them to local
craftsman. In that book I was reading about Jackson Hole they had
some pictures of downtown Jackson where they’ve got four huge
arches made out of the damn things. Pretty cool.”

Trent whistled in admiration. “Can’t imagine
how much the things weigh.” He shook his head as they continued on
into the single story terminal building.

Fifteen minutes later they’d loaded all the
gear into the two rented SUVs. It was a tight fit, but they’d
manage to cram it all in. Trent picked up his phone and dialed
Cal.

“You guys on the ground?” Cal asked.

“Yeah. We’re loaded into the vehicles and
headed your way. Any updates on Neil?”

“None. Travis still has the tech boys doing
background checks on the people at the conference. We’re trying not
to alert anyone that he’s missing yet.”

“Good idea. I’d rather catch whoever’s
behind this by surprise,” Trent growled. He and Neil had become
close over the years. Although their backgrounds were completely
different (Neil came from a rich Indian family and Willy came from
the streets of Atlanta), they both respected the other’s talents
and often spent their time off together. Trent couldn’t wait to get
his big hands on whoever was behind Neil’s disappearance.

“
Slight change of plans.
Briggs caught a couple locals tailing us. Just to be safe, we
rented a house next to Teton Village to stage everything. It’ll be
a little cramped with all our boys, but at least we can secure
it.”

It sounded like a good plan to Trent. “I
call dibs on one of the real beds.”

Cal was always glad to have the crusty
Master Sergeant around on ops like this. He had a way of keeping
things light even in the face of imminent danger.

“You got it. The new place has six bedrooms,
so you can take your pick when you get here.”

Cal gave him the new address, and Trent
relayed the information to Ramirez to plug into the vehicle’s
GPS.

“See you in thirty, Cal.”

+++

Just under thirty minutes later the two SUVs
pulled into the driveway of the vacation home.

“Cal sure likes to travel in style,” Brian
commented as he looked up at the huge single-family home.

“I think he finally realized that not
spending his money wasn’t an option. Besides, you know he likes to
take care of his troops.”

The former Corpsman nodded. It was one of
the main reasons he’d accepted the invitation to join SSI. The
place was like home. SSI was a group of warriors that took care of
each other no matter what. That philosophy came from the very top
starting with Travis Haden and Cal Stokes. They would die before
seeing one of their men suffer. Their approach ensured absolute
loyalty amongst SSI employees. Staff and operators were taken care
of and expected to perform at the highest levels. They were an
elite team dedicated to making America safer while at the same time
taking care of their brothers on their left and right.

Cal lived frugally by habit. His father had
done the same. Both Marines spent their time and money ensuring the
well-being of their troops. One of the perks of having a highly
profitable company was that Cal could fly his people first-class
when appropriate and put them up in the nicest accommodations. He
figured it was a very small price to pay for men who’d put their
lives on the line for years and continued to do so. He could
finally give back to the men who meant so much to him.

As they piled out of the vehicles, Stokes
and Briggs walked out onto the second story patio.

“You guys need a hand?” Cal asked.

“You kidding? Did you not see all the shit
you requested?” Trent answered in mock indignation.

Stokes grinned and headed down to the first
floor to help their second group of guests unload the cold weather,
hiking and mountaineering gear he’d ordered from SSI’s logistics
division. There wasn’t much a grunt liked more than a new piece of
gear.

Chapter 5

Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

11:55am, September 27th

Nick Ponder had yet to visit his prized
guest. There was too much else to do. Coordinating his buyer’s
arrival had been a real pain. His contact was starting to get a
little attitude about the pending acquisition. They were starting
to balk at the rising purchase price. During their last
conversation he’d stretched the truth by telling the guy that he
had two more buyers waiting with offers. It wasn’t true, but after
thinking about it for a while Ponder was starting to realize the
possibilities. What communist country or terror organization didn’t
want the brilliant mind of a resource like Neil Patel?

As he continued to mull over his options, he
pulled up the latest weather report on his desktop. Shit. The
updated report was calling for a huge snowstorm. He’d only been in
the area for one other early winter, and it’d made the normally
unflappable mercenary more than a bit uncomfortable. The remoteness
of his property had its advantages, but a heavy snowfall could
easily hinder his plans. If he didn’t get the buyer in and out in
the next day or two, they might have to wait another week. He
needed to buy some time. Luckily, he had a couple contingency
plans.

He logged into one of his many email
accounts and composed a message that would remain waiting in the
drafts folder for the only other person who knew of the account’s
existence.

+++

Terrence Zheng took another gulp from his
Diet Red Bull. The higher ups at SSI had him doing triple work
since Neil’s disappearance. He had barely stopped for the last two
days.

Taking a quick break from the background
check he knew would be fruitless, Zheng got up from his chair and
walked to the restroom. He stepped into the large handicap stall,
sat down on the toilet and pulled out his smart phone. Tapping on
the appropriate application, he opened the browser and clicked on a
bookmark labeled ‘Vacation.’ The email provider’s website popped up
a second later and he logged in.

There was a message waiting for him in the
Draft folder.

Chapter 6

Teton Village, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

12:17pm, September 27th

They now had three quarters of their
sixteen-man team sitting around the large dining room table. Cal
had ordered pizza and everyone was eating their fill. Briggs had
just run them through the plan he’d devised to flush out the bad
guys.

The last team arriving was led by one of
Cal’s new go-to guys. He was a short Hispanic who everyone called
Gaucho. Eccentric in his own way, the small Mexican-American wore a
braided goatee and commanded his men with flair and daring. As a
former Delta commando, Gaucho was no novice to covert operations.
He was the first man to volunteer to accompany the expedition
despite his dislike of the cold environment.

Gaucho’s group of four was even now pulling
into the quiet ski village. They’d be at the rental house any
minute.

“Hey, Cal, make sure we save a couple pieces
of that jalapeño pizza for Gaucho. You know what’ll happen if you
don’t,” MSgt Trent joked to the room. The men laughed because they
knew it was true. Gaucho was the first one to make fun of himself
and his ancestry, but beware to the person that got in the way of
him and spicy food. Despite the gravity of the situation, Stokes
always enjoyed being with these men. There wasn’t a guy present
that wouldn’t give his life for another. It was a hard thing to
find outside of the military.

“So, is everyone good with Daniel’s plan?”
Cal asked.