Dominant Deception [Black Ops Brotherhood 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

The Air Force doesn’t wear khaki
.
But the Navy does
!
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid
! In a humiliating split second, Anna realized she’d run into the commanding officer of the Navy unit who shared her building. The man walking next to him looked up suddenly.

“Oh! My goodness, Captain, I–I–I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I–I–I was going,” Anna stammered.

The captain said nothing and they stood staring at each other for a moment. His surprise gave way to what seemed like annoyance as he backed away and handed his cup to the man beside him. The captain bent to pick up the BlackBerry pieces on the floor. Anna knelt immediately as well and reached for the pieces of her phone nearest to her. He was quicker and had picked them up before she could. He handed her the phone, its pieces, and her battery.

“It’s okay, he saved the coffee.” The man holding the cup winked at her as he handed the cup back to the captain.

“Are you okay, sir? I–I–I mean, you didn’t get burned or anything…” Anna started.

“I’m fine,” the captain said.

“Are you hurt?” the other man asked, nodding at Anna.

“Nothing hurt but my pride,” Anna said with an awkward smile as she tried to clumsily assemble her phone.

The captain handed the other man his cup again and took the pieces from Anna’s hands. He quickly assembled the phone and handed it back to her. Her hands slightly shook as she took the phone and almost dropped it again. He was staring at her and it was making Anna very uncomfortable.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” the captain asked as he took his coffee cup.

“Yes, sir,” Anna said, looking down at her phone as it powered back on.

“Where do you work, ma’am?” the other man asked.

“I’m in the IT section down the hallway,” Anna answered.

“Master Chief Will McGuire, ma’am, and this brick wall is Captain J.T. O’Malley,” Master Chief said, nodding toward the captain.

“Nice to meet you, Master Chief McGuire, Captain O’Malley, sir,” Anna said.

“And you are?” the captain asked.

“Anna Santiago,” Anna replied awkwardly.

“Well, Anna, it was nice running into you. They call me Mac and they call him Rock.”

“Let’s go Mac, we’ve got a lot to do,” Captain O’Malley said.

“Excuse us. Nice to finally meet some of the neighbors, Anna,” Mac said.

Anna smiled and gladly made her exit. She continued to walk down the long, empty hallway toward her IT shop. She got to her desk and looked at her buzzing BlackBerry. Another call from Manpower. With the shock the phone had just taken, it was a miracle it even worked. She briefly thought about her encounter with the captain and master chief as she grabbed a trouble ticket sheet from the basket and returned the call that she’d received earlier.

“Hello, this is the IT trouble desk, we’re returning your call. How can I help you?” Anna asked.

The lady on the other end of the phone went on about her computer not starting up and when it finally did, she just had her antivirus program on the screen and it would not let her do anything else. It was impossible to work and some mission critical reports simply had to be out, blah, blah, blah…Anna rolled her eyes as she listened to the chronic complaining.
Yeah, yeah
,
everyone is mission critical and
everyone
works for the most important organization on this base, and
everyone
wants their stuff working yesterday.

Anna busied herself writing up the trouble ticket and gathering other messages and assigning trouble tickets so everyone had something to do when they came in for the day. Her silence was broken when the administrative assistant came in singing.

“Hi, Ann,” the young girl said cheerily.

Anna was instantly annoyed.
Anna not Ann
,
you dingbat!
“Good morning, Beth, whatta you know?” Anna asked, making small talk.

Anna regretted the question right after it was out of her mouth. It was just the entrance the nosy little gossip needed.

“Well, do you know who has moved into the command offices in the front of the building?” Beth asked excitedly

“I know it’s a Navy outfit. But other than that I don’t know much else,” Anna replied, intentionally avoiding this morning’s encounter.

“Do you know what they do? I heard they’re, you know, they’re not here—if you know what I mean,” Beth said with a knowing smile.

Anna rolled her eyes away from Beth
. Everyone knows they’re here. They have a sign and a guy who checks them all in next to the front door!

“Well, if it’s a secret, I’m sure we shouldn’t be talking about it,” Anna said as she studied the trouble ticket she was working on.
Avoid eye contact because she’ll never stop if you look at her.

Anna got up from her desk and walked to the trouble board at the back of the room and started posting and assigning calls to different personnel. Beth got up from her chair and followed Anna around the room like an annoying fly that could not be shooed away.

“They’re special ops. And you know what Navy Special Ops is right? SEALs! The rumor is that they’re a new antiterror group being established here and these guys are the teams setting stuff up,” Beth said.

Anna briefly wished she’d never agreed to take this job and said nothing as she ignored Beth, hoping she would take the hint and go away.

“The name of the group is Special Warfare Group 5. I researched it on the Internet…Did you know as of yet there is no such group? At least on the Internet there is no Special Warfare Group Five, that is. Anyway, have you seen some of those guys coming out of that office
? Wow
!” Beth said and then switched subjects like an ADHD puppy.

No shit? Did the big sign over the door with their group logo on it saying Special Warfare Group Five give it away?
Got time for guy watching and research on the Internet,
but not work?
“Beth, I really haven’t noticed because I’ve been busy,
doing my work
.” Anna gathered her trouble ticket for the Manpower office.

“That captain coming in and out of the hangar is hot.”

Beth continued babbling so Anna tuned her out but finally interrupted the annoying noise as she started to leave.

“Beth, I’ve logged all the trouble calls and assigned the tickets, I’ve also updated the job board. Let Matt know there’s an outage at the Directorate of Maintenance’s PA office. I’m on my way to Manpower,” Anna said.

“Oh? What’s wrong?”

“I won’t know until I get there.”

Anna walked out the door and down the hall to the front entrance. She glanced through the glass doors of the new special warfare group commander’s office. The captain she’d bumped into earlier was standing next to the front desk, reading something from a folder.

* * * *

Captain O’Malley saw Anna walk out the door through the corner of his eye.
She’s such a klutzy geek!

He smiled to himself as he recalled what happened this morning. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her but it was the first time they’d spoken. He noticed her coming and going since her group had been relocated here. She was one of the few women in this hangar. There were some younger and prettier, but he always noticed
her
. He could’ve been a part of the wall for all she’d known because she always seemed as if she were on a mission.

O’Malley focused, putting the whole incident aside as he shut the folder and spoke to the yeoman at the desk.

“Steve, I’m sending a classified message to Coronado, responding to that,” Captain O’Malley said.

“I could give it to JG Harman, sir.”

“Shaq is gone until Monday. I’ll answer it myself.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll get back to you. I’ve got to think about this one a minute. I’ll get you a draft, and you get it ready to send off. I want to approve it before it goes, understood?”

“Aye, Captain.” The yeoman took the folder and locked it in a special drawer in his desk.

Jack O’Malley walked into his office and sat behind his massive desk. As he looked at the computer screen, he saw ten new e-mails. Jack picked up his recently refreshed cup of coffee and looked at the small stain on his shirt. He chuckled lowly as he thought about how he got the stain. Anna Santiago. He could still smell her perfume.

Anna…

It was funny that he would remember that name. Anna was short, with brown hair that she pulled up, and large brown eyes hiding behind glasses. She was purely average and dressed to cover herself, not to be noticed. He wondered briefly if she were married. He quickly decided she wasn’t his type even though she was probably closer to him in age. Jack collected young blondes. Putting Anna out of his mind, he turned to his computer keyboard and started to bang out the message he wanted his admin to send out.

Mac and the group’s executive officer, Commander Rafe “Whiskey” Wilson, walked in and took seats. At this point it was up to Rafe to ensure the new special warfare group moved into their new home seamlessly. Rafe had a talent for logistics. Jack had worked with him on several missions and appreciated the way Rafe could organize what seemed like total chaos in just a matter of minutes.

“Have a seat, Mac, Whiskey,” Jack remarked sarcastically.

“Thank you, Captain, I think I will,” Mac replied.

“We’ve got a problem, Rock. You know that shipment we’re expecting today?” Commander Wilson asked,

Jack sat back in his chair and took a sip from his coffee cup. “Yes?”

“I’ve been told we’ll have to reroute to San Antonio International. We don’t have time for this, Rock. I got a shitload of stuff to do before the admiral gets here for inspection. So far, I’m ahead of schedule and I can’t afford to slip that schedule,
Captain
,” Rafe said, clearly annoyed at the potential interruption in his time table.

“I don’t understand the problem. We have an airstrip right here—right outside the door. And, I know it’s certified for C-130s because we’ve been landing them since we got here. What happened?” Jack asked.

“Now that’s exactly what I asked Colonel Spivey,” Mac said, crossing his legs getting more comfortable.

“Who?” Jack asked.

Mac and Rafe burst out laughing. Jack took a patient sip of his cooling coffee. He was tired and hated working behind a desk. Unfortunately, this was his life now. He watched as Rafe and Mac laughed themselves silly and finally let out an exasperated sigh.

“What’s the deal?” Jack snapped.

“You’ve never met the base commander, Rock?” Commander Wilson asked.

“The base commander? Is that supposed to mean something?” Jack asked.

Mac and Rafe burst out into gales of laughter once more. Jack was growing impatient with their private joke and finally snapped.

“I’m busy here! Get to the point and tell me what in the hell is going on,” Jack barked.

“The base commander has control of the airstrip here. He said his groups are flying training missions today. He also said we didn’t clear our flight arrivals with him or base-ops. The flight schedule did not include us today, so, we can’t land here. Would you also like the message he asked me to give you?” Mac asked with a smile.

“Will it get you out of my office any quicker?”

“Well, sir, he said he was in charge here, not you. This was
his
airstrip, not
yours
. And he didn’t give a shit who put you here.
He
was the base commander, not
you
. And if you had a problem with that you could come and see him,” Mac said.

Jack sighed and shook his head. “He really wants me to do that, huh?”

Mac and Rafe exchanged knowing smiles.

“That’s what the man said,” Mac confirmed.

“Fine.”

* * * *

They arrived at the base commander’s office in a few minutes. For ten in the morning, it was hotter than hell and humid as hell, too. It was supposed to rain again today. Jack wished briefly he was in San Diego with its mild climate. It could get hot, but at least there was a constant breeze. In this weather, Jack’s eight-mile morning run seemed to last forever and get longer every day. The temperature only added to Jack’s annoyance.

“This is a bunch of crap, Mac, I’ve better things to do than screw around with this guy.” Jack stalked up the sidewalk.

* * * *

Mac smiled. He knew his boss better than his boss knew himself. He and Jack went back a long way. He recalled the first time he’d seen Jack. They had attended BUD/S, initial training for all SEALs. Time had passed quickly after their first meeting fifteen years ago. Even then, Mac could tell this boy would be going places. He would never forget all the hell the instructors had put Jack through being the highest-ranking officer in the class. Worse yet for Jack, he was a crossover from the Marine Corps.