Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (58 page)

Everyone nodded. Briggs knew what he was
doing. Besides, the plan only entailed finding and possibly
capturing two guys. It was a stroll in the park for these
operators.

+++

Gaucho and the last three team members
pulled into the long driveway twenty minutes later. It didn’t take
Cal long to brief the newcomers and get them something to eat.

“Thanks for saving me some jalapeños, Boss,”
Gaucho said through a mouthful of greasy pizza.

“You’re just lucky I didn’t put Top in
charge of the pizza,” Cal quipped.

“You messin’ with my pizza, Willy?”

Trent waived his hands in mock fright. “No
way, hombre! You know I wouldn’t get in between a Mexican and his
hot peppers.”

“Very funny, Top. I could say the same thing
about you and some fried chicken,” the small Hispanic smiled.

“Now don’t be talkin’ about Mama’s fried
chicken. Besides, I don’t just eat fried chicken, I eat HOT
chicken,” Trent added, rubbing his six pack abs.

“That’s right I forgot about that. Some
spicy shit, right? You sure you don’t have some Mexican in you,
Top?”

“Not that I know of, brother. But who knows,
maybe you’re a brother from another mother.” Trent smiled wide,
walked over to Gaucho and gave him a big bear hug.

The tough little Hispanic wiggled out of the
giant’s arms and just managed to save his slice of pizza from
falling on the ground. “Okay, Willy. I know how you boys in the
Marine Corps like to hug but save that for Doc over there.”

Looking up from his bag, Brian Ramirez gave
Gaucho the finger.

“Whoa, whoa, watch where you stick that
thing, Doc. I’m here for business not a medical exam.” Gaucho was
now snickering along with some of the other men.

“All right, ladies,” Cal raised his hands in
surrender. “As much as I’d love to see where this thing ends up,
let’s get all the gear staged. I just got a weather update from HQ
and it looks like we’ve got a big snowstorm moving in. The cold
weather gear we brought along might be coming in handy sooner than
we thought.”

Gaucho groaned. “You’re kidding me right,
Boss? You know how much us Mexicans hate the cold.”

“Really? Why don’t you just hitch a ride on
Top’s back? I’m sure he can keep you warm,” Cal offered
innocently.

The remark elicited a middle-fingered salute
from the former Delta man and MSgt Trent.

+++

“What have you got for me?” Nick Ponder
asked Trapper.

“They haven’t left the hotel. I’m thinking
they gave us the slip.”

Ponder’s temper flared. The last thing he
needed right now was an enemy force snooping around in his
territory.

“So what are you doing to find them?”

“We got their room number from our contact
at the hotel. We’re about to go take a look inside.”

“Call me as soon as you know.”

Ponder slammed the phone down. He was losing
precious time. The snowstorm was really constricting his timeline.
Pretty soon he’d have to recall his men. He only had a handful of
contractors working security at his home base. He’d need the full
contingent for the buyer’s arrival and to deal with any possible
incursion from the SSI team. Maybe it was time to trigger his
back-up plan.

After consulting his small journal, he
picked up the secure phone again and dialed a number. It connected
after one ring.

“Yeah?”

“Jack, I need a favor.”

Chapter 7

Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN

3:46pm CST, September 27th

Travis Haden was on the phone when Marjorie
“The Hammer” Haines, SSI’s lead attorney, walked into his office.
Wearing her usual form-fitting office attire, Haines was always
impeccably dressed in clothing that enhanced her already attractive
form. Most people underestimated the beautiful brunette. Not only
was she a lion in the courtroom, The Hammer was also an
accomplished martial artist. She’d bested many of the toughest of
SSI’s operators in practice sessions or wager-inspired
sparring.

She motioned for him to end the call. After
apologizing to the caller, he hung up the phone.

“What’s up?” Haden asked with concern. It
wasn’t often that Haines came into his office unannounced.

“We’ve got a
little…situation. I just got a call from my source at the FBI. It
looks like they’re about to conduct a little
unofficial
investigation on
us.”

Travis frowned. It’s wasn’t that he’d never
expected the request. Hell, after the Black Knight affair a few
years ago most of the security contracting companies had been
investigated in some form or fashion. SSI had thus far avoided the
FBI’s scrutiny by maintaining the proper transparency and
cultivating the relationships needed to keep the company out of hot
water.

What concerned Travis was
SSI’s covert wing. They’d operated outside the laws for years,
protecting a country that still seemed unaware of their presence.
Living and breathing their founder’s concept of
Corps Justice
, SSI quietly
intercepted threats that normal law enforcement couldn’t handle.
Each operation could only be sanctioned by Travis or Cal. Secrecy
was key.

Had someone tipped-off the FBI? Cal had only
recently saved the President’s life in an operation in Las Vegas.
They’d worked directly with the President and the Secret Service to
keep the entire affair quiet but that didn’t mean anything. Somehow
secrets always got out. It was directly proportional to how many
people actually knew the secret. The Vegas incident was still
fresh. Did the President have a turn of conscience?

“Do you have any details?”

Haines shook her head. “Nothing yet. My
contact says we should be getting the subpoena within the
hour.”

“Shit. This couldn’t have happened at a
worse time. Where will they start?”

“From what I heard from some friends,
they’ll start digging into finances and operations. They want to
make sure income and expenses match.”

“Is there any way they can trace us back to
any of our clandestine ops?”

“I don’t think so…at least not on paper.”
The look on Haines’ face told Travis she was holding something
back. He gave her a ‘give it to me’ hand gesture.

“I didn’t want to say anything until I had a
chance to think about it more, but I’m concerned that we’ve got a
mole.” She let the comment sink in. Marge could see by the look on
Haden’s face that he found the idea pretty far-fetched.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Think about, Travis. Neil gets kidnapped
then not days later we have the FBI breathing down our necks. That
can’t just be coincidence.”

Travis didn’t know what to think. Ninety
plus percent of the employees at SSI were former Military
personnel. They’d each been exhaustively vetted mentally,
physically, financially and through intense background checks.

“Okay. Let’s assume you’re right. What do we
do now?”

“While I deal with the FBI, have Higgins and
Dunn start doing an internal search.”

Dr. Alvin Higgins was a former CIA employee
and psychologist. Despite his chubby appearance and jolly charisma,
the good doctor was a master interrogator. He’d revolutionized the
techniques used by American personnel (both physical and chemical)
that now produced tomes of vital intelligence for the American
government. Although he abhorred most physical violence, Higgins
marveled at the capacity and the inner workings of the human mind.
If there was a man that could extract information without laying a
finger on a captive, it was Dr. Higgins.

Todd Dunn was SSI’s head of security. Where
Higgins was outgoing and genial, Dunn was introspective and
serious. A former Army Ranger, Dunn was all about business and
always vigilant.

Travis nodded. If anyone knew how to be
discrete it was Higgins. Tag teaming with the burly Dunn, the two
would find the mole soon. “What are you gonna tell the FBI about
where Neil, Cal and the rest of his team are?”

Haines shrugged and smiled. “I’ll let you
know as soon as I know.”

+++

Within twenty minutes Dr. Higgins was
executing his plan. They’d talked about the possibility of having a
traitor in their midst before. Luckily, thanks to Higgins’s
experience in the federal government where mole hunts seemed all
too common, SSI had a plan in place for just such a scenario.

“I’ll take care of it, Travis,” Higgins said
in his fatherly tone.

“You’ll let me know what you find out right,
Doc?”

“Certainly, my boy. Just give me little bit
of time. These things have a way of working themselves out.”

Travis wasn’t too sure. Since his time with
the SEALs he’d become accustomed to working in an elite
environment. Amongst warriors it was absolutely unspeakable to
betray your brother’s trust. That gave Haden an idea.

“Hey, Doc, how about you start with the
support staff. Most of our operators don’t even have a clue about
what’s going on outside their current mission. Might save us some
time and heartache.”

Even though he’d already come to the same
conclusion, Dr. Higgins was never one to take credit or condescend.
“Good idea, Travis. I’ll start there.”

As Travis left the doctor to his craft and
went to find Dunn, he could only hope that the internal
investigation wouldn’t tear his company apart.

Chapter 8

Teton Village, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

3:15pm, September 27th

Cal walked into the garage where his men
were busy staging their equipment. Some checked weapons as others
ensured their cold weather gear fit properly.

“Top, you got a minute?”

MSgt Trent looked up from his conversation.
By the look on Cal’s face he knew another wrinkle had just been
added. Trent nodded and followed Stokes upstairs.

Ramirez, Briggs and Gaucho were already
seated around the dining room table. Trent took a seat while Cal
remained standing.

“I just got a call from Travis. It looks
like they’re having their own little party back at headquarters.
The FBI’s about to investigate SSI.”

To their credit, the men seated around the
table remained silent. They knew it wasn’t time for questions.

“Travis and The Hammer aren’t sure what
they’re looking for but I agree with them that it’s mighty
convenient considering Neil’s disappearance. What makes things
worse is it also looks like there might be a mole at SSI.”

Now the gathered warriors looked shocked.
Could it be? Could one of their own actually be conspiring to
destroy a company they’d all fought hard to build?

Trent was the first to interject. “How sure
are we about this, Cal? I mean, this could be bad for all of
us.”

“I know. Trav has Higgins and Dunn on it. If
anyone can ferret this guy out it’s them.”

They all nodded solemly. Each man was well
aware of Higgins’s expertise.

“So how does this affect what we’re doing
out here?” Gaucho asked, seeming almost nonplussed about the
situation back home.

“As usual we’ll have to make sure we stay
under the radar. I’ve also recommended to Travis that he keep all
updates I send him to his immediate leadership team. No one else
really needs to know about what we’re doing,” Cal explained.

“What if we need more firepower, Cal?” asked
Ramirez.

“I think we need to try and get this done
without asking for more people. Besides, if what they’re saying
about this snowstorm is true, we wouldn’t be able to fly anything
in anyway.”

These men were all used to working on their
own. They knew the risks involved. Not having the ability to call
in support would not hinder them from seeing the mission through.
They would make do.

“Cal, I know we shouldn’t be thinking this,”
Trent started, “but have you considered that maybe Neil isn’t even
here? I mean, what if they flew him out of here the second they
picked him up?”

“I’ve discussed that with Travis and we’re
both in agreement that it’s the risk we have to take. We don’t have
anything else to go off of. Besides, if Daniel’s right and some
unknown group is out there watching us, that probably means it’s
worth it for them to keep tabs on us. I don’t think they’d do that
if he was already shipped overseas.”

Trent wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t
disagree. They all had to hope that they could reach their friend
in time.

+++

Neil rubbed his sore leg for maybe the
thousandth time. The pain was getting worse, which meant his
captors would be bringing him his pain meds soon. He’d kept a
mental time clock since waking in the small cell. At regular
intervals a large man with a black mask would silently open the
door, place a plate of food along with two pills on the floor just
inside the room. There was no need to worry about the prisoner
attacking the guard. Without the use of his foot he was effectively
immobilized.

After the first delivery, Patel had refused
to eat the food or take the medicine. An hour later his jailer had
returned as Neil lay shivering and pain-wracked on his small cot.
The large man forced Neil’s mouth open with one hand and shoved the
two pills down his throat with the other. It was impossible for
Patel to resist.

Within minutes the pain had receded. Neil
had learned his lesson. Take the pills or live in excruciating
pain.

As he counted down to his next meal, Neil
thought about his friends. He knew they’d be out looking for him.
Would there be any clues left to find?

Deep down he knew it was his fault. For
years Travis and Todd Dunn had hounded him about taking along
security when he went into public. They’d said he was too valuable
an asset to lose. Cal had one day said he was, in fact, a prime
asset. He’d always shrugged off the worry. As fate would have it,
his father had once been kidnapped and murdered while travelling on
business overseas. Would he endure the same fate? Something told
Neil that wasn’t the case. They had something in mind for him. Why
else would they go through all the trouble of taking care of
him?