CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fitch and Forrest walked into Luke’s office, frowning. He stared at the two younger men, then leaned back in his chair.
“What now?”
“We got a call from a Ranger, someone we knew but didn’t serve with. He said he had information that could be helpful to us about a lost girl,” said Fitch.
“Did you call him back?”
“We were waiting to do it in front of you,” said Forrest. Luke nodded.
“Call him.”
He redialed the number, waiting for someone to answer.
“Hold.” They could hear shuffling and then a door closing. “Hey, Robicheaux, what’s up, asshole.”
“You tell me, Hugo. You called us. Fitch is here with me,” said Forrest.
“I had an interesting assignment recently. Deputy Director of the CIA asked my commander to assign me and two other Rangers to him for a covert mission. The mission was to kidnap and retrieve a young woman, Katelyn Smith. We were given her address. We were told to scope the place, ensure she was alone, and take her. Except when we tried to do that, four of the biggest asshole SEALs I know stopped us.”
“Interesting story,” said Forrest.
“It is. And it gets more interesting. I didn’t want to fuck with those guys, and neither did my teammates. We confronted the deputy director and told him to fuck off. Luckily, my commander is supporting us in this. The problem is, he’s not done. He wants that girl and a bunch of other kids. Apparently, they’re all really smart, and he has a plan for them.
“Now, I’m not a genius. I’m just a regular Ranger who was dumb enough to follow orders. Once. I won’t follow them again. He’s going to use whatever means necessary to find that woman and those kids. Since he knows she’s connected to G.R.I.P., he may come to some other conclusions.”
“Why are you calling us?” asked Forrest. The man laughed at them.
“Don’t be obtuse, Robicheaux. See, I know big words too. He’s a fucking spook of the highest variety, and I suspect he’s got some red friends. There were three plane tickets sitting on his desk. Return tickets from Moscow just two weeks ago. Now, I might be slow, but the last I checked, American military, especially CIA members, were not welcome in Russia.”
“We definitely are not,” said Luke. The man was silent, and Luke stood over the phone. “Hugo, what’s your last name?”
“Phillips, sir. Master Sergeant Hugo Phillips .”
“Hugo, you’re speaking to Luke Robicheaux.”
“I know who you are, sir. I recognize your voice. I heard you speak a year ago at a conference about finding your passion after life as a special operative.”
“Is your career in danger, Phillips?”
“Well, let’s just say I won’t win soldier of the year,” he chuckled. “But I’m okay. My commander is a good dude, and he’s making sure we’re not slaughtered. Listen, sir, I just wanted to warn you. We wanted to warn you. He’s not happy and is insisting this woman is a traitor and enemy of America. I don’t buy it a bit, and neither did the others. It’s why we left when your men, allegedly, showed up.”
“Allegedly,” smirked Forrest. “What made you call us?”
“Well,” he chuckled, “one big reason is I know when I’m about to get my ass kicked. I was not about to go up against you guys. But the bigger reason is I don’t believe for a minute that girl and those kids are enemies of anyone. Whatever this asshole has planned, he’s playing with our enemies.” Luke signed to Forrest and Fitch, and both men nodded at him.
“Hugo, how much longer do you have in service?” asked Luke.
“One hundred and twenty-seven days. Sir.”
“Counting down are you?” smirked Luke.
“I am definitely counting down. My body has been beaten and battered to the point of destruction. I’m thirty-seven and feel sixty-seven. No wife, no kids, nothing to show for the abuse I’ve put my body through. But I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”
“Do me a favor, Hugo. If you hear anything else, let us know. When you’re done there, give us a call again. I’d like to speak to you face-to-face.”
“Is he fucking with me, Forrest?”
“No,” laughed Forrest. “You were always a good Ranger, Hugo. You calling and risking your neck only proves what kind of man you really are. Let us know when you’re ready.”
“I damn sure will.”
“One more thing,” said Fitch. “Did he ever mention anything about a school in Maine?”
“He mentioned a school in Maine and one that got burned down in Colorado but never asked us to do anything with them. Believe me, all I was doing the entire time was trying to figure out what the fuck was really on his agenda.”
“And did you?” asked Forrest.
“Nope. Not a clue.”
The call ended, and Forrest and Fitch stared at Luke. He was frowning, the way his father does when he’s thinking about something unsettling.
“You think he’s legit?” asked Luke.
“He was always a good Ranger. Quiet, always watching and listening, learning from those around him. I’ve never had a reason to doubt him. I believe him, but I also believe his career is about over. The deputy director of the CIA isn’t going to stand for him and the other two walking away.” Luke nodded.
“Maybe you see what you can find out from his command. If they’re in trouble, we’ll try to pull them out early and get them here, at least until it’s safe. I don’t want to see him die because he did what was right.”
“Roger that,” said Fitch.
“What about the deputy director?” asked Forrest.
“I’m going to make a call to the POTUS. He owes us a few favors. This guy has been a loose cannon for a while now, so maybe there’s something we don’t know. Yet.”