Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (59 page)

He wracked his brain thinking of possible
ways he could escape, or at least figure out what they wanted from
him. Neil knew they would tell him soon. His sixth sense told him
it wouldn’t be pleasant.

+++

Upstairs Nick Ponder went over the latest
email from his buyers. They’d accepted his counteroffer with some
conditions. The mercenary was ecstatic. Pretty soon he’d be rich
and never have to worry about petty little jobs again. But first he
had to have a little talk with his prisoner. It looked like the
buyers wanted to run a test to see that they were getting what they
paid for.

Ponder cracked his knuckles as he thought
about the coming session. It would be good to be rich again.

+++

Neil’s cell door opened and a huge man with
a shaggy black beard and shaved head walked in. Patel knew the boss
had arrived.

“You and I need to have a little chat, Mr.
Patel,” Nick Ponder growled in baritone.

“Is this where you tell me I get to go home
now?”

Instead of answering, Ponder walked across
the small space, grabbed a handful of Neil’s hair with his left
hand and clamped his right hand around Patel’s neck and started to
squeeze. With barely any effort, he lifted the smaller man off the
cot and up against the wall.

“Now you listen here, you little shit. I’m
someone you don’t want to fuck with. If you’re looking for God, I’m
him. I could squeeze the life out of your pathetic little raghead
body right now.”

Patel didn’t doubt the man. No longer able
to breathe, he fought to maintain his consciousness. This guy was
incredibly strong.

Without warning, Ponder dropped Neil back on
the small cot. Patel screamed as his stump hit the floor. His
captor laughed.

“Like I was saying, I am God to you now.
Whatever I say, you do. Understand?”

Through gritted teeth and watery eyes Neil
nodded. He didn’t have much of a choice. Even at full strength he
was no match against the large man.

“I’ll be back in a couple hours with some
things for you to do. Get your mind right, and you might leave here
in one piece.”

Without another word Ponder left the room.
Neil was left to wonder what the sadistic man had in mind.

Chapter 9

Teton Village, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

5:15pm, September 27th

“Everybody ready to go?” Cal asked the
sixteen men. Needing to blend in, they were all attired in varied
hiking and casual clothing. Each man carried a small arsenal under
his coat. Cal had his trusted double-edged blade strapped to his
left wrist along with a pistol in his waistband.

They’d agreed that Cal and Trent would be
the bait. The Mangy Moose restaurant had an outdoor seating area
where the two Marines would grab a table and have a leisurely
dinner. Briggs was certain that the enemy would find them soon in
the small ski village.

The small teams set off at staggered
intervals. Some left in groups of four, others left in groups of
two or three. Briggs was the only man to go out alone. The sniper
they called Snake Eyes was already making himself comfortable
across the quad on the pool deck at Hotel Terra. It afforded a full
view of the common area. All the other teams would take up
positions at various points in and around the Mangy Moose. The only
thing left to do now was wait.

+++

Trapper and his partner sat at the outdoor
restaurant attached to the large ski lift. They’d searched Cal’s
hotel room earlier in the day and found it completely empty. Ponder
had already recalled the other contractors because of the storm.
That left Trapper to coordinate the search in Teton Village.

The wiry man kicked himself for not taking
out the two Marines when he’d had the chance. It would’ve been so
easy that first night. Now it seemed that his quarry was on to
them. To make matters worse, the rest of the sixteen man team
Ponder’s guys had already confirmed landing at the Jackson Hole
airport had also disappeared. Trapper wished someone had listened
to him when he’d suggested putting a couple tails on the arrivals
after they left the airport. Ponder was so confident that the SSI
men would start the search in Teton Village that he’d ignored the
suggestion.

Trapper was a veteran of the Army’s military
police. He’d gained his nickname by being able to track and trap
anyone. There wasn’t a man or woman that he couldn’t find. The only
reason he hadn’t stayed in the Army was the ‘questionable’ methods
in which Trapper had used to detain his captives. In the end, there
had been allegations of abuse and torture. While Trapper knew they
could never prove anything (he was also a master at manipulating
evidence and witnesses) he felt the writing was on the wall.
Certain senior officers had made it their patriotic duty to see him
drummed out of the service.

Instead of going out their way, Trapper
decided to take early retirement at sixteen years and head to the
civilian world. Not long after he’d contacted his old friend Nick
Ponder. They’d partied over booze and drugs, all the while
lamenting the Army’s decline as a military force. The next morning
over Bloody Maries, Ponder offered him a job with what he’d
affectionately dubbed ‘Ponder’s Misfits.’ It didn’t take Trapper
long to find out that the majority of contractors hired by the
Ponder Group were indeed misfits. Released from active duty for an
assortment of reasons, Ponder snatched them up willingly knowing
that they had nowhere else to go. As a result, they were only too
happy to do his dirty work.

Trapper glanced at his watch. “Five more
minutes, and let’s take a walk around.”

His partner nodded silently and finished his
coffee. Trapper paid the waitress and minutes later the two men
were strolling downhill doing a surveillance sweep toward The Mangy
Moose.

+++

Briggs spotted the two men right away. It
was hard to forget their mismatched faces. They looked completely
nonchalant as they walked down towards Cal and Trent.

Daniel pulled out his cell
phone and texted the rest of the team:
2
TARGETS HEADED TO THE MOOSE
.

Once he got confirmation from the team
leaders, he slipped the phone back in his pocket and stood up. It
was time to see who these guys were. He slipped out of the pool
deck quietly and headed to the stairwell.

+++

Trapper spotted Stokes and Trent as soon as
The Mangy Moose came into view. He nudged his partner. The man
looked up and nodded. At least they’d found them again. Now it was
time to take up a position and watch.

The two contractors veered to the right and
found a spot on one of the outdoor tables maybe a hundred yards
away. Trapper casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes and sat
down. While he wished there were more people around, at least the
darkness would give them some cover. Stokes, on the other hand, was
sitting in a well-lit area that afforded Trapper a perfect
view.

He and his partner were so intent on their
targets that they never noticed Briggs watching them from
behind.

+++

Daniel extracted the two pistols from his
voluminous coat pockets. He’d have to make his shots count. It was
something the sniper was used to. Briggs never missed.

+++

As Trapper took another drag off his
cigarette, he sensed movement to his left. He turned to look and
felt a stabbing pain in his neck. He reached up, grabbed the dart
and yanked it out while staggering to his feet. His partner was
doing the same. Trapper had just enough time to register that it
was Briggs approaching when he fell to the ground. The powerful
tranquilizer quickly rendered both men unconscious.

Daniel rushed to check on them and waived
for the other team members to come help. Four SSI men materialized
out of the darkness and swiftly picked up the two men and carried
them to a waiting vehicle.

Briggs was scanning the area to make sure
nothing was left behind when an older couple walked up
concerned.

“Excuse me, son, but is everything okay with
your friends over there?” the old woman asked.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Daniel answered politely. “My
buddies just had a little too much to drink over at the Moose.”

The husband smiled knowingly. “You tell them
to take it easy on the booze at this altitude. Had a bad go of it
myself a few years ago.”

“Yes, sir, I will. You have a nice
night.”

Briggs walked away and breathed a sigh of
relief. His silly little plan had worked. Now it was time to find
out what these guys knew.

Chapter 10

Teton Village, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

7:02pm, September 27th

They’d put the two men in separate rooms.
Briggs had recommended they start with the big guy first.

Cal had disagreed. “I really think we should
start with the guy with the beak nose, Daniel.”

“Don’t ask me why, but I get the feeling
that he’s gonna be a hard nut to crack. It’s something in the guy’s
eyes.”

Cal knew better than to question the
sniper’s judgment. In the short time he’d known Briggs, the Marine
had never been wrong. “Okay, let’s do it your way. What did you
have in mind?”

+++

Lance Upshaw wasn’t a bad
man. He just wasn’t the brightest guy that ever walked the Earth.
What he lacked in mental ability he more than made up for in
strength and skill. Since his first day in the Marine Corps even
his drill instructors had taken to calling him ‘The Swede’ after
the character in Clint Eastwood classic
Heartbreak Ridge
. Upshaw had excelled
in all physical aspects of boot camp. He’d continued his growth
training in the fleet. His large athletic frame, honed from years
on the football and baseball field was perfect for the Marine
Corps. It was his ability to be manipulated that became his final
downfall.

They’d given him an Other Than Honorable
discharge from the Marine Corps because of a certain hazing
incident he’d been convinced to participate in. Upshaw’s fire team
leader, a skinny sadist named Cpl. Kliner, had taken offense to the
‘tone’ of one of his new PFCs. The kid was a college drop-out who’d
instantly incurred Kliner’s wrath. After a few drinks at the
Enlisted Club on Camp Pendleton, and under Kliner’s direction,
Upshaw methodically beat the young ‘college boy’ within an inch of
his life.

Something in Upshaw knew that what he’d done
was wrong, but it had been an order from his fire team leader.
Wasn’t he supposed to follow orders? That’s what his DIs had said
at Parris Island.

Upshaw remembered sitting in the courtroom
in complete shock as the officer read his sentence. How could the
Marine Corps send him away for following orders? He loved the
Corps.

Sitting in his cell months later, he’d
welcomed the visit from Nick Ponder. The man understood his
situation and even admitted going through a similar episode years
ago. Once Lance served his year in the brig, he happily took a
position with The Ponder Group. After all, they knew what it was
like to be misunderstood.

Lance Upshaw shook his head
as he regained consciousness. He didn’t remember how he’d ended up
in the room.
Where the hell am I?
His arms and legs were hogtied behind the wooden
chair someone had strapped him to. He couldn’t feel his hands and
feet.

As his vision cleared, he finally made out a
figure standing in front of him. The man was around six feet in
height with a blonde ponytail. Lance thought that he had kind eyes.
Despite his lack of brainpower, Lance knew the difference. He’d
seen evil in many of the men he’d met in jail.

Daniel pulled up a chair and sat down in
front of the large captive. “What’s your name?”

Upshaw wasn’t sure he should respond. He
remembered something from boot camp about only giving out your
name, rank and serial number. “Upshaw, Lance. Seven, three, three,
two, nine, eight, one, two, one.”

“So you were in the Army?” Briggs asked
kindly.

Upshaw made an almost disgusted face.
“Marine Corps.”

Briggs smiled. “Me too.”

Upshaw didn’t say anything. He’d learned to
keep his mouth shut. Daniel let the silence linger. This guy looked
liked a perfect candidate to handle a medium machine gun but would
never be found planning a raid. He had the hard look of an abused
animal.

“Look, I’m a little short on time so I’m
just gonna get to it. That cool?” Daniel asked.

Upshaw still didn’t know what to say. The
last thing he remembered was sitting next to Trapper and watching
the guys Ponder had sent them after. He was just the muscle sent
along to help his partner with any heavy lifting. He’d always been
told to not saying anything in the event he was captured or
questioned.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, Lance, but I need
to know what you and your pal were doing following us.”

Options swirled in Lance’s head. He knew
Trapper and Ponder would kill him if he said anything.

“I’m not supposed to say.”

Daniel wasn’t surprised by the response but
happy that he’d at least validated his initial impression. These
guys were on SSI’s tail. Without saying another word, he got up
from his chair and went to find Cal.

+++

Nick Ponder was starting to think it’d been
a bad idea to send his guys to watch the crew from SSI. He’d known
there was always the chance they might be spotted. That’s why he’d
sent Trapper. The guy was a one-man surveillance machine and mean
as a snake. He was Ponder’s kind of guy.

He tried calling Trapper’s cell phone for a
fourth time. Sometimes the signal was crappy up in the mountains.
He figured the gathering storm wouldn’t help much either.