Dominant Deception [Black Ops Brotherhood 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

“Master Chief McGuire here,” Mac said quietly into the phone.

Colonel Spivey, understanding defeat, picked up the phone and dialed five numbers.

“Redirect and cancel the rest of the missions on the east runway. It’ll be exclusively used by the Navy tenant unit until further notice,” Spivey ordered.

The colonel hung up still staring at Captain O’Malley. His look conveyed his hatred and resentment.

“Now get the fuck out of my office and never come back!” Spivey snarled.

“Don’t make me come back, because next time I do, I’ll really fuck up your planet.” O’Malley turned to leave.

* * * *

After Master Chief McGuire and Captain O’Malley left, Anna felt physically drained. She could not believe what she’d just witnessed. She wished she could crawl inside the computer because she hated confrontation. By the way Captain O’Malley had said “
fine
” right before he stormed into Spivey’s office, it was obvious that the captain wasn’t
fine
with this situation and had no problem with confronting anyone. When Chief McGuire looked at her and winked, Anna was stunned momentarily.
Was he kidding?

Keeping focused on the screen, Anna heard Colonel Spivey tell Kelly that he would be out the rest of the day. He left and there was an easy lightness that came into the room as the door shut behind him.

“Can you believe that?” Kelly asked Anna in disbelief. “Who is that guy?” She looked out the window.

Anna shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know, but apparently he has connections. He’s got me scared. I feel like I just survived an explosion.”

“So that’s what SEALs are like!”

“Nice, huh?”

Anna continued with the virus cleanup process that she’d mastered over at the Manpower office earlier. Manpower had had five machines to cleanup, which had taken most of the morning. Since she’d perfected the cleaning process in Manpower, the virus on Kelly’s machine had taken her forty-five minutes. When she was done, she stepped away from Kelly’s desk.

“Okay, I’m all done here. Why don’t you make sure all your applications work before I leave?” Anna said.

Anna sat in a chair, creating a new trouble ticket on her BlackBerry. She was midway through when Kelly looked up.

“You’re a miracle worker! Everything seems to be working just fine,” Kelly said.

“Excuse me,” a voice from the door called.

It was Master Chief McGuire. Anna looked up briefly and quickly back down at her work.

“Yes, sir?” asked Kelly politely

“Is the colonel in?” he asked.

“No, sir. I’m afraid he’s gone for the day. Can I help you with something?” Kelly asked.

“I’m still having a problem with base ops, something about an order. Is there a second-in-command?”

“Come in, sir, and have a seat,” Kelly said as she picked up the phone.

Anna looked up at Kelly, deciding she’d had enough of the Navy for one day.

“If everything is working, I’m out of here,” Anna said.

“Thanks again, Anna,” Kelly said before she spoke into the phone.

Anna walked into the overcast day and felt much better about getting out of the battle zone. She drove back to the office and parked. As she passed the Navy commander’s office on her way in, she glanced inside the glass doors and saw the admin was at his desk, working diligently. The office seemed quiet and in perfect order. She quickly walked down the hallway to her own branch office. She checked in with Beth and started working on a message about the virus she’d discovered. This sort of information needed to be reported up the chain of command. Anna felt hungry, found a break point in her work, and informed Beth that she would be taking her lunch hour.

Anna decided to take lunch at the Officer’s Club. She was in deep thought about the events of the morning. She was very concerned about this computer virus because it was unusual, and when something like this normally happened, it was all over the base in a matter of hours. This one however had been selective. It was odd.

Better check some logs when I get back to the office
.

Entering the O Club woke Anna from her thoughts. Today was Friday, the one day she made herself leave lunch at home and get out into the world. She walked down the stairs into the open mess area and grabbed a tray as she walked through the cafeteria-style line. She scanned the dining room for an open table and found a small table in the corner and sat down.

Anna brought a magazine with her to read as she ate. She was reading an article about a new cooking technique and eating her lunch when uproarious laughter called her attention to the middle of the dining area. She glanced over toward the noise to one of the larger tables. It was a group of officers from the Navy detachment and in the middle was their leader, Captain O’Malley. He must’ve shared some private joke and the laughter started over again.

Anna looked down at the article, disgusted.
No doubt he’s detailing his humiliation of Colonel Spivey to his men!
When she looked up again, Captain O’Malley was staring straight at her. She shuddered at the way he stared as if he were appraising her, evaluating her worth. She looked away and picked at her salad. She read a few more pages and decided to leave. She stepped outside just as small, steamy raindrops starting to fall.

Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

US Naval Special Warfare Group Five

Office of the Commander

July 26, 2008/1545 Zulu

Mac, Rafe, and Jack sat around the table in Jack’s office, looking over checklists and manifests that had just arrived. They were discussing timetables as Rafe informed them they had pulled three days ahead of schedule after yesterday’s shipment. The XO had been working crews day and night to have the group operational ahead of schedule.

“When’s the admiral coming?” Mac asked.

“In three weeks. The MAJCOM general is planning a reception. I got the invite yesterday,” Jack said, nodding his head toward his desk.

“Yeah, I got one, too,” Mac said.

“Ditto. I think all the officers and senior NCOs got one and it looks like he’s going all out,” Rafe said.

“Yeah, he’s kissing ass. What do you expect? Gunter is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the AETC general here wants to look good,” Jack said.

“We jump through hoops and they have a party,” Rafe said, throwing a pen on the table.

“Think we’ll be operational by then, Rafe?” Jack asked with a yawn.

Jack hadn’t fallen asleep until two in the morning. He’d been consumed with what was going on and what he needed to do in such a short time to become operational. He didn’t need any distractions or delays right now.

“Should be, as long as the base commander doesn’t hijack our airstrip again,” Rafe said with a smile.

By now all of Randolph Air Force Base had heard of the little shit fit Jack had thrown yesterday.

“Not if he wants to live,” Jack grunted.

Jack yawned again. He wanted to go home and take a nap. Mac started to yawn, as did Rafe.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Didn’t you sleep last night?” Mac snapped at Jack.

Jack sat back in his chair and crossed his arms in back of his head in a semi-reclining position. A smile crossed his face.

“For a little while…”

“Oh shit, you went out and got laid, didn’t you?” Rafe asked, shaking his head.

“How do you sniff them out so fast?” Mac asked.

“I never kiss and tell. I’ve got a meeting in Coronado on Tuesday. I’ll be back on Friday. I’ve got to brief Dixie about what’s happening here before Admiral Gunter gets here,” Jack said, redirecting back to the subject at hand.

Rafe sat up in his chair. “Speaking of, your laptop is ready. The comm guys finally got it back to me on Wednesday. We’ve got a new base e-mail for you, too.”

“I don’t need a base e-mail. I get enough spam from Dixie. Shit! I think that’s all he does all damn day, fuck around with e-mail,” Jack said.

“It’s ready. I had to chew Sanchez’s ass over that thing because he took forever with it. Lieutenant Gamez needs to get his shit together in that department, and when he gets back I’m fucking him up for that kind of horseshit from his guys,” Rafe said.

“Don’t chew ass over something like that, Whiskey. It’s minor and they’ve had their hands full with trying to stand us up,” Jack said.

“Loading that laptop shouldn’t have taken that long.”

“Let it go, Rafe,” Jack said.

“Let me go get it from my office,” Rafe said as he left the office.

Mac turned to Jack with a concerned look on his face.

“Rock, I’m still not sure about Rafe being the XO—”

“He’s my XO, Mac. Deal with it,” Jack said, cutting him off.

Mac changed the subject. “Is part of this trip about Teams Alpha and Victor and what they found? The intel that Badass grabbed during that raid in Victoria?”

“Yes it is, Mac. I got a message from Lieutenant Gamez yesterday and passed it on to Chief Walsh.”

“I helped Gamez plan that mission. I got a copy of the message, too.”

There was an uneasy silence between the two men.

“Rock, I’ve got bad feeling about this and I don’t think this is over,” Mac said

“Yeah, Mac, I know. Something’s not right here. That’s why I’m going to Coronado. I want to review the intel we gave our guys before they left. Chief Walsh and I’ll be hooking up. We’re having a word with our buddies down in Beaumont.”

Mac looked at the papers in front of him.

“How’s Gavin doing, Rock? I haven’t talked to him in some time. Is he back at work already?” Mac asked.

“He just got back a few months ago. He just got off desk duty,” Jack answered.

“Rock, most of those guys we sent are fresh tadpoles. Gamez is the only one with any real field experience and it’s the first mission he’s led. I almost wish Badass could’ve gone with them. I hope we didn’t set them up for something else because they’re still digging down there.” Mac picked up a manifest.

“Don’t worry, Daddy. We’ve all got to start somewhere.” Jack smiled.

“I don’t like it, Rock,” Mac said soberly.

“The intel panned out but not like we expected. It didn’t make sense,” Jack said with a frown.

“I wish I could’ve gone with them.”

“Me, too.” Jack smiled as his expression turned more serious. “I’ll keep you up to date. Let’s get back to this stuff here. Don’t worry, Master Chief, I don’t want anything happening to those kids either.” Jack picked up one of Rafe’s timetables.

The captain and master chief reviewed timetables again. Rafe had given everyone liberty for the weekend. Since their arrival six months prior, they had been working every day, twenty-four hours a day. The XO figured that they’d be way ahead of schedule before the end of the week. If Rafe said they’d be ahead of schedule, Jack didn’t second-guess him.

“When’s Liz coming?” Jack asked as he and Mac headed for the common break room.

“My baby will be here in two weeks. The house in San Diego finally sold.”

“Got your Viagra refill?” Jack teased.

“I don’t need that shit. After twenty-two years, I can still get it up just fine. Thank you very much.”

“Damn, Mac, I don’t know how you did it. I don’t know anyone in our circle who’s been married as long as you and Liz. Hell, even Dixie’s had three wives,” Jack said with a sense of admiration.

Being a sailor was a demanding life but being a SEAL was like selling your soul. A SEAL was rarely home and you could never discuss what you did or where you went. You could be called in the middle of the night and be gone for months on end. Not to mention how the dirty job they did could mess with their heads. Divorce rates were high because it was a very special and rare woman who tolerated this life. Knowing all of this and seeing the heartbreak it caused, Jack had never even considered marriage. Who could understand his life? Who would want to?

“How did you and Liz stick this out for so long?” Jack asked.

“I love her,” Mac said simply.

“It can’t be that easy,” Jack said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, it is. The only things in this world I love more than my job are Lizzy and my kids. Every decision we make, we make together. No matter how far away I am.”

They were quiet. Mac glanced at Jack and they both smiled because they knew each other so well. So much could go unspoken because they knew how to read each other so well. It was a bond very few people understood.

“Jack, are you under the impression that Liz and I have never had problems?” Mac asked.

Jack always marveled at how Mac could hone in on exactly what he was thinking.

“I know it hasn’t been that easy. I guess you have but nothing you couldn’t handle,” Jack answered.

“We’ve had big problems. We’ve almost been divorced a couple of times.” Mac swallowed hard. “But both of us are pretty stubborn and don’t give up that easy. Best job I’ve ever had is being a husband and daddy. I ain’t letting that go without a fight.”