Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (63 page)

“I appreciate your help, Terrence. Now, as
you know, we’ve lost one of our most important assets, Neil Patel.
We’d like to ask you some questions to see if we’ve possibly missed
something. Sometimes in these investigations it’s the smallest,
most mundane detail that solves the case.”

Zheng nodded gravely.

“How long have you known Neil?”

“Uhh, I’d say a little over two years.”

“You were one of the recipients of our
start-up funding, were you not?” Higgins asked.

“Yes. I started a company called PlanBot. It
was essentially cloud-based planning software.”

Higgins glanced down at the file. “Ah yes,
and it says here that you later sold the company.”

“That’s right. With SSI’s help we found a
larger company that wanted our technology.”

“Fantastic! You must have been very
excited.” Higgins smiled.

“It was a lot of fun. I couldn’t have done
it without you guys, and Neil, of course.”

Higgins paused again and pretended to go
through the file. He had already memorized the key points and
merely used the time to form his next line of questioning.

“So after you sold your company, you decided
to come work at SSI. Was there a reason you didn’t go into, what do
they call it nowadays…early retirement?”

“Honestly, I considered it. I made enough
money that it would’ve been easy to find a place and settle
down.”

“So what made you come to work here?”

“I really enjoyed working with the guys when
I was in the start-up pipeline. There was always the opportunity to
start something new again but this seemed like a good challenge.
After a couple conversations with Neil, he offered me a job.”

Higgins knew he was being told the truth.
Not only did he sense it, he’d taken a similar path after working
with SSI on a particularly challenging assignment during his tenure
with the CIA. The caliber of individual and the high degree of
integrity impressed Higgins immensely and ultimately led to his
retirement from government service. He’d never looked back. It was
a common story amongst SSI employees. Here they were valued.

“How do you like it now that you’ve been
here for a bit?”

Zheng hesitated. He knew this was where he
had to be careful. “It’s been good.”

Higgins caught the hesitation. Was it simply
a matter of an employee being unsatisfied with his work or was
there more?

“Let me rephrase the question. Do you feel
like you’ve been challenged professionally since you’ve been
here?”

After a brief pause, Zheng answered. “At
first I don’t think Neil knew where to put me. To be honest, some
of the stuff he had me working on was pretty basic. Once he had a
better idea of my capabilities he started giving me more and
more.”

It sounded reasonable. After all, Zheng was
used to running his own company. Former business owners didn’t
always turn out to be the best employees. Going from a world where
you make all the decisions to having someone else telling you what
to do wasn’t always easy.

“And how is your relationship with
Neil?”

“I think it’s pretty good. He doesn’t really
micromanage so I mainly just see him in staff meetings.”

“Did you know about the conference Neil was
attending in Wyoming?”

Zheng hesitated for the
briefest of moments.
Here it
comes
, he thought. It didn’t matter. They
couldn’t trace a thing to him unless Ponder gave him up. He knew
that would never happen. Plus, he’d covered his tracks like a true
professional.

“Sure. We all knew he was going out there. I
think someone even bought him a cowboy hat as a joke.”

Higgins chuckled. “I think I heard about
that. Did you know what the conference was for?”

“I’m not sure. Neil mentioned it was some
VIP thing. I did hear that he was giving a class or maybe a
lecture.”

Zheng began to relax. Maybe they really were
just ironing out the details. Deep down he enjoyed this game of cat
and mouse. He’d played it for years online. There’d been a few
close calls in his early days of hacking, but he hadn’t come close
to being caught in a while. This was the first time he’d
experienced the adrenaline rush of a face-to-face confrontation.
The excitement played through his body as he secretly savored the
moment. He was better than them.

“Did he mention where he was staying in
Wyoming?” Higgins asked.

“I’m not sure. I know he was in Jackson
Hole, but I didn’t have the details.” In truth, Terrence Zheng knew
all the details. Neil was never very careful about hiding anything
from his staff. Zheng had Neil’s entire itinerary memorized. He’d
even pulled up the Google Earth image of Hotel Terra during the
time he knew Neil was being kidnapped. What he wouldn’t have paid
to see the look on the cocky bastard’s face.

“Did you know that Neil refused to take any
personal security on the trip?”

Zheng did. “I think he mentioned something
about that. Neil doesn’t seem like a big fan of being escorted
around.”

As the suspect finished his
answer, one of the guards walked in and handed something to Dunn.
Trying to looking nonchalant, Zheng glanced their way.
That’s my phone!
For a
split second Zheng panicked. He quickly calmed, though, knowing
there was no way they could get past the encryption he’d installed.
If they tried, the phone would effectively cease to work. He knew
how to cover his tracks.

After a few whispered words, the guard left
and Dunn turned his attention back to the questioning. Higgins
twisted around in his chair and looked at Dunn. “Any updates?”

Dunn nodded, walked to the table and raised
Zheng’s phone. “You wanna tell me what you were doing with your
phone in the bathroom?”

“I was just checking my email.”

“Anything interesting?” Dunn asked with a
raised eyebrow.

“Not really.”

“Let’s cut the crap, Terrence. Tell me what
you were doing with your phone,” Dunn ordered.

Zheng stood his ground. “I told you, I had
to take a leak and out of habit I checked my email. I might’ve gone
on Facebook too, I don’t know.”

Dunn looked his suspect right in the eye.
“Tell me how you know Nick Ponder.”

Zheng’s eyes dilated rapidly, but he caught
himself before panicking. “I don’t know…”

There wasn’t time to finish. Faster than
Zheng thought possible, Dunn came around the table, grabbed him by
the neck and pinned him against the wall.

The smaller man struggled. He didn’t know
how to respond. Unaccustomed to physical violence, Zheng pissed his
pants as Dunn squeezed harder.

“I’ll ask you again, how do you know Nick
Ponder?” he loosened his grasp just enough for Zheng to croak
back.

“I…don’t…”

“Wrong answer, asshole.” Without warning,
Dunn smacked him across the face. “Now tell me how you know Nick
Ponder!”

Zheng looked to Dr. Higgins for help. To his
surprise, the jolly doctor sat placidly. He actually looked like he
was enjoying the exchange.

“You…can’t…do…”

Dunn answered with another slap that brought
tears to Zheng’s eyes. “I can do whatever I want, you little
traitor. Now you listen to me. What I’m doing right now is child’s
play compared to what the Doc over there can do to you. You either
answer me now or I let him have you.”

Zheng’s mind couldn’t comprehend what was
happening. There were laws. He had rights. They couldn’t torture
him, could they? His mind was clouding and he didn’t know how to
respond. He wasn’t prepared for this.

“But…I don’t…”

Dunn answered the unfinished statement by
slamming his forehead into Zheng’s nose. Bone and cartilage cracked
as the small man crumpled to the ground and fell into
unconsciousness.

+++

Ponder was still awake monitoring the
deteriorating weather and hoping he wouldn’t get another message
from his buyer. He’d have to get more creative with Patel. There
was just too much riding on the transaction.

He opened up another tab on his internet
browser and logged in to the email account he shared with Terrence
Zheng. The last he’d heard from Zheng was that SSI was preparing
for the FBI audit by working them overtime. Ponder didn’t care
about how much the little Asian worked. He wanted to make sure they
weren’t on his trail yet. After selling Neil, he didn’t give a shit
who knew. Ponder would be long gone by then. Until that happened he
might have to tie up some loose ends, like Terrence Zheng. The kid
had been useful in getting Patel’s travel itinerary and giving him
a heads-up about the teams that followed, but ultimately he was a
liability. Ponder figured he’d probably have Zheng killed as a
precaution. He’d done it before. The thought of killing another
human was more a necessity for Ponder than a crime.

His internet connection was slow, so he
waiting impatiently for the email server to load. Finally coming up
on his screen, Ponder clicked on the Drafts folder. There was a
message from Zheng.

My presence requested with four others by
Dunn. I’ll let you know when I’m finished.

Ponder froze. The message was casual only
because the little shit didn’t know who he was dealing with. Ponder
knew Todd Dunn only by reputation. The former Ranger was regarded
throughout the industry as a thorough operator. Dunn never cracked
under pressure. He was as solid as they came.

Maybe there was a chance that they were
still safe. Ponder quickly discarded the thought. He had to plan
for the worst. Just as he was mulling over his options, his cell
phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but only a limited
number of people knew where to reach him.

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

Trapper!

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I’m at our house in the village.”

Ponder knew that meant Trapper was at their
little safe house in Teton Village.

“What are you doing there?”

“We ran into a little distraction,” Trapper
answered cryptically, always cautious about using even secure
phones.

The hairs on the back of Ponder’s neck rose.
“What kind of distraction?”

“Those friends we were looking out for
invited us in for a little talk. I had to leave Lance so I could
let you know.”

“
How bad is it?” he
asked.

“I think you’re about to have company.”

He gripped his cell phone to the point of
breaking it. Nothing was going according to plan. It was time to
salvage the situation.

“Can you get back here?”

“Not quickly.”

“What if I arrange a helo?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back.”

Ponder ended the call and looked at Neil
Patel’s sleeping form in the small video window of his computer
screen. “Your friends aren’t gonna fuck this up for me.”

He picked up another phone and dialed the
afterhours line for a helicopter pilot that owed him a few favors.
Ponder had saved the guy’s helicopter company from creditors. In
exchange, The Ponder Group had free use of the company’s helo.

After four rings the man picked up in a
groggy voice. “Yeah?”

“It’s Ponder. I need you to fly one of my
guys from Teton Village over to my place.”

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

“No, it can’t. Now get your ass out of bed.
My guy will be calling in a few minutes.”

Ponder slammed the phone down, picked up his
cell phone and dialed the number Trapper had called from. He
quickly gave his employee the phone number for the company owner
and told him to get back as soon as possible. He’d need all the
manpower he could get.

“Hey, boss, why don’t we just bug out for a
while? We can take your new friend and get out of town.”

“I’m not running away. We’ll deal with these
guys once and for all.”

Trapper knew better than to try to dissuade
him. Once he made his mind up, that was it.

“Just don’t do anything until I get there,
okay?” Trapper requested.

“Then hurry your ass up!”

Ponder threw his phone across the room where
it crashed into the far wall and smashed into a hundred pieces. He
calmed enough to think about the looming conflict. Part of him
wanted to get the sale over with and leave. The fighter in him
wanted to stick around and deal with the SSI problem. Maybe he
could do both.

Grabbing another thick cigar, Ponder
mentally ran through his options. He’d often dreamt about defending
his castle against invading hordes. It looked like this might be
his chance.

Chapter 16

Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN

2:36am CST, September 28th

When Terrence Zheng finally awoke, he found
himself strapped to a hospital gurney. His arms and legs were
secured with Velcro restraints. He tried to lift his head and
almost screamed in pain. His face throbbed from the vicious head
butt administered by Todd Dunn. Zheng took a couple steadying
breaths and looked up slowly.

They’d moved him into another room. It was
similar to the first but as he looked around, Zheng saw a variety
of medical equipment neatly arranged on two wheeled tables. Next to
the tables were three IV stands.

“I see you’re awake, Terrence,” Dr.
Higgins’s voice came over the speaker system. “I’ll be right
in.”

Part of Zheng hoped it was
all a bad dream. Maybe the FBI or even Nick Ponder would come
running through the door and rescue him. He let his mind wander
until Higgins entered through the room’s only door. He was attired
in black scrubs and almost looked like a contestant on
Top Chef
except for the
face shield he had propped on the top of his head.

“I’m sorry about Mr. Dunn’s little
transgression. I got you cleaned up as best I could.”