Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (68 page)

Malone kept screaming obscenities until Dr.
Higgins inserted the IV needle into his arm. Higgins waited five
minutes for the drug to fully take hold. He could see that Malone
was completely relaxed.

“There, now that’s better. How are you
feeling, Mr. Malone?”

“I’m…nice.” Malone’s face was calm. It
looked like the drug had performed as planned.

“Is it okay if I ask you some questions now,
Mr. Malone?”

“Sure,” answered the suspect dreamily.

Like Zheng before, Agent Malone was more
than happy to answer any and all questions. Malone described his
relationship with Nick Ponder. They’d met while serving in the Army
and reconnected six years earlier when Agent Malone had been part
of the team that audited The Ponder Group. They shared a love of
fast women and money. Over the years, Malone had come to Ponder’s
rescue, for a price. Files were misplaced and agents were
reassigned from ongoing investigations. Malone knew how to
manipulate people and the system. They’d both become wealthy
through the mutually beneficial relationship.

“How is it that you came to investigate
SSI?” Higgins asked, knowing that Dunn and Haines were digesting
every word in the control room.

“I got a call from Nick. He said he needed
SSI out of his hair for a while. Told me it would be helpful if we
could run a little investigation. Nick said he had a guy on the
inside that was feeding him intel and that there might just be some
juicy stuff in it for me.”

“So you were tasked with keeping us
busy?”

“Yeah, but the silver lining for me was
finding something that could shut down your whole operation.”

“Did Mr. Ponder give you any specifics on
what you might find?”

“Not really, but this Zheng kid was supposed
to start the digging. Hey, where is Zheng anyway?”

“Mr. Zheng is no longer your concern, Mr.
Malone.”

Malone shrugged nonchalantly.

Higgins had all the information they would
need. A condensed version of the recording would be delivered to
one of their contacts in the Hoover Building. Jack Malone would be
quietly put away in a maximum-security federal prison. The FBI
didn’t like traitors and dealt with them swiftly.

“It was a pleasure speaking with you, Mr.
Malone. Best of luck in the future.”

Higgins gathered his gear and headed for the
door.

+++

Dr. Higgins joined Marge Haines and Todd
Dunn in the gallery.

“I’ve gotta say, Doc, you are an artist when
it comes to making people talk,” Dunn offered, impressed yet again
by the doctor’s skill.

“Lots and lots of practice, Todd. Although I
must say that with a man like Mr. Malone, sometimes I wish I could
deliver some damage like Marjorie.”

It was hard to get Haines to blush and yet
she did. She held Dr. Higgins in high esteem and sought his insight
often. “I’ll start giving you classes in the gym whenever you’re
ready, Doctor.”

Higgins chuckled warmly. “That’s quite all
right. I’ll leave the tough stuff to you and the boys.”

“On to a more serious topic,” Dunn
interrupted, “I’ve already emailed the edited transcript to a buddy
of mine at the Bureau. I’m thinking this audit will be over before
we know it.”

Haines and Higgins nodded. Once the FBI
found out that one of their investigative teams had been tasked
under false pretences, they would likely do everything they could
to extract their people as soon as possible.

“Is there anything else you’d like me to
do?” Dr. Higgins asked his colleagues.

Dunn shook his head. “As long as we don’t
have any other traitors in our midst, I think we’re good.”

“Any word from Cal?”

“The last we heard they were a couple hours
into their insertion.” Dunn looked at his watch. “They should be
getting a good dose of the storm right about now.”

Chapter 26

Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

10:36am, September 28th

As soon as the storm hit, they couldn’t see
five feet in front of them. Although it definitely slowed their
forward progress, it also gave them cover should anyone be tracking
from a higher elevation.

Cal’s team had donned all white coveralls as
the snow started to fall. The white camouflage would further
conceal them from enemy eyes.

They were still walking through the middle
of Death Canyon, but wouldn’t for much longer. It had been a gamble
to take the well used path in order to speed their progress. Cal
glanced at his GPS. They were nearing their scheduled checkpoint.
After a short rest, the group would break into two teams. They’d
approach the objective from two directions.

Cal and Daniel would accompany Gaucho. Lance
Upshaw, the helpful prisoner, would also be with Cal’s group.

MSgt Trent and Brian Ramirez would go with
the other team.

The halt signal was passed back through the
dispersed formation. Cal made his way to the front. Gaucho was
rooting through a pack of cold weather rations as Cal moved up next
to him.

“How are you liking the weather,
Gaucho?”

The Hispanic warrior made a
comical face. With the snow already starting to stick to his
braided bearded, Cal thought his team leader was starting to look
more and more like a mountain dwarf from the
Lord of the Rings
.

“I’m gonna freeze my nuts off tonight!”

Cal laughed. “That’s only if we stop moving.
How much longer do you think we have?”

Gaucho pulled out his map and pointed to
their current location. “As long as we keep making good time I
think we’ll get there just after midnight.”

Cal looked up at the obscured sky. The
snowfall was picking up and already starting to accumulate. He
guessed that there was already a good three inches on the
ground.

“I’ll tell you that I’m not looking forward
to putting these damn skis on, Boss.” Gaucho looked back at the
cross-country skis strapped to his pack.

Cal could only image what the short Mexican
would look like on skis.

“At least we’ll have skins for when we’re
going uphill. You ever tried to go up a slope without them?”

Gaucho nodded sadly. “I think the Army
played a trick on me when they sent me to your Marine Mountain
Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport.”

Cal snorted at the thought. He’d spent six
weeks at the remote training center with his battalion as a young
corporal. Fully half of the Marines in his unit ended up not
finishing the training mostly from injury or illness. Some just
couldn’t take the altitude and the cold. He remembered being in
shock when some of the toughest Marines in his company had refused
to go back up the mountain. Cold weather separated the men from the
boys even amongst Marines.

“That big kid giving Snake Eyes any
trouble?” Gaucho asked.

“He’s kept pretty quiet. Hasn’t complained
once. Daniel even said he offered to carry more gear before we
stepped off.”

“No shit?”

Cal nodded. “I think he’s getting it through
his head that we’re not the bad guys. He might even come in handy
when we get close to Ponder’s place.”

+++

Lance Upshaw had come to the realization
that he’d probably been playing for the wrong team since joining
The Ponder Group. There’d been warning signs, like when a couple of
new guys had disappeared on an overseas op. Ponder had merely
shrugged and noted that it was the price of doing business in a
dangerous world. There were no memorials and no letters of
condolence.

Then there were the actual men that Ponder
hired. Most had washed out of the military for one reason or
another. At first Lance thought it was a blessing that a man like
Nick Ponder would lend a helping hand to men who needed a second
chance. It didn’t take Lance long to see that most of Ponder’s
contractors didn’t deserve a second chance. They were bullies and
criminals. In his third month of employment, Lance had to fight off
three separate challengers until the rest had realized that he was
more than a match for them. Now they mostly left him alone.

And that’s how he’d felt for most of the
past year. Luckily Trapper had recognized Lance’s work ethic and
took him along when he needed some muscle. It wasn’t bad work but
Lance still felt unsatisfied. There had to be more to life.

Since being captured by the SSI guys, he’d
quietly observed their interactions. It was obvious they all
respected one another. Also, despite the fact that he was the
enemy, they still treated him with respect. Not once had any of the
men degraded him, and it all started with Daniel Briggs. In Briggs,
Lance saw the Marine he wished he himself had become. Silent in his
approach, the man the others called Snake Eyes was obviously a
highly valued part of the team. And he did it all without yelling
or cussing. In fact, Lance could have sworn that he’d once seen
Briggs say a prayer and then finish with the sign of the cross.

It all gave the disgraced
Marine a lot to think about. These men were walking into almost
certain danger, all for the love of a friend.
Would Nick Ponder do the same thing?
Lance didn’t think so.

+++

Far above, Trapper rubbed his hands to ward
off the cold. Although he couldn’t see the troops moving into his
territory, he had laid small pressure plates along the trail to
alert him of their passing. He silently congratulated himself for
choosing the right route. Now all he needed to do was track and
take them out once the time was right.

Chapter 27

Battleship Mountain, Grand Teton Mountain Range,
Wyoming

11:19am, September 28th

Ponder paced back and forth on the hardwood
floor. The pieces were coming together, but he still had some
concerns. Most importantly, he hadn’t heard from either Terrence
Zheng or Jack Malone. His greedy mind hoped they were too busy to
call because they were torpedoing SSI.

Ponder figured that it was impossible for a
security contractor not to be into some kind of illegal activity.
Hell, he’d skirted the law for years. Jack Malone knew how to find
things and would be even more effective with the Zheng’s help.

Still, he couldn’t shake the thought that
something was wrong. He moved to his laptop and checked the email
account he shared with Zheng. Nothing. Next he scrolled through his
other email accounts for word from Jack. Nothing again.

Ponder allowed himself to think about the
worst case scenario. If the assholes at SSI had figured out not
only his involvement, but also the actions of Zheng and Malone, his
path was less certain. The thing he had to focus on was the money
that would soon be in his bank accounts. He’d scatter the funds to
the four corners of the globe through transfers he’d already
arranged with his international brokers. Ponder would be paying
some hefty fees, but it would be worth it. With his money safely
stashed he could make a new home anywhere.

Cracking his knuckles, he imagined Trapper
silently stalking his quarry. If he survived, fine. If not, there
would be one less person to pay from his treasure chest. Ponder
smiled despite his nerves. Maybe a new house in Costa Rica was just
what he needed.

Chapter 28

Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN

12:35pm CST, September 28th

“Are they all gone?” Travis asked Dunn,
who’d just stepped into his office.

“Yeah. The last SUV just rolled out with
Agent Jack Malone hog-tied in the back.”

“Did you get everything squared away with
the Bureau?”

Dunn nodded. “We shouldn’t have another
audit for a while. They even apologized and thanked me for helping
with Malone.”

“Good. Let’s get some more personnel out to
Cal.”

“Isn’t the weather turning to shit out
there, Skipper?”

Travis’s eyes went cold. “I don’t care. If
they can’t fly onto that fucking mountain, get them as close as we
can.”

“I’ll go with them and make sure it’s
done.”

“I can’t spare you right now, Todd. We’ve
got to…”

“I’m going, Skipper,” Dunn interrupted
curtly.

Travis looked at his friend in surprise. He
couldn’t remember the last time Dunn had put his foot down. The
fact was he’d gotten used to having Dunn around. With his own time
in the field effectively at an end, he’d kept his head of security
with him. Although barely in their forties, but still fit enough to
be in any Special Forces unit, they’d both become consumed with the
day-to-day running of SSI. There were times Travis longed to be on
the battlefield again. His position as CEO pretty much negated that
option.

“I guess it would be wasted breath trying to
persuade you to stay?”

“It would.”

“Why now?”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly,” Travis answered.

“Two reasons. First, it’s been a while since
I’ve been out with the boys. No disrespect, Skipper, but sticking
close to the office can wear on a guy.”

Travis smiled and motioned for Dunn to go
on.

“Second, I’ve got a really bad feeling on
this one. I think Cal’s gonna need every man he can get.”

“Then let’s get our things packed,”
suggested Travis, already heading to the locker room.

“Wait…but you can’t go!”

Travis swiveled around and flashed Dunn a
sly grin. “Why not? I’m the boss. I think you’re right. Cal needs
every man we can spare.”

Dunn’s mouth was hanging open. He couldn’t
order his boss to stay behind.

“But what about…?”

Travis stopped the question with a raised
hand. “Come on, Todd. If things blow up in our face it’s not gonna
be because I jumped on a plane to rescue my cousin.”

Dunn knew he was right. They were both
warriors and felt compelled to run to the sound of battle.