Chapter Whiskey
Whiskey
Mac descended the stairs with the four members of Bravo Team, his team.
Team leader Tommy ‘Louisa’ Flores, team medic Eddie ‘Needles’ Winston, Kenny ‘Ducky’ Gallup, and Elijah ‘Kegger’ Robinson.
They were a competent group, and they had welcomed him as well as been very transparent about their intentions to retire in one piece within the next five years.
Several also indicated they desired a lot less travel and would like a permanent gig at HQ in Ops.
But all of them praised Shepherd and the agency and also said they understood the work and would deploy when the job called for it.
They were all loyal and committed to the mission.
They filed into Shepherd’s office. Shepherd and Cooper already sat at the conference table.
“Thank you for being prompt, gentlemen,” Shepherd said.
“Cam Woods on the Digital Team is doing one last deep dive into the recent financial activity of John Williamson, who, as you know from the pre-mission packet, owns the campground where the missing men stayed. He’ll push through what he finds to your email once his report is finalized.
He expects it will look similar to what he’s already recorded that you reviewed in the initial packet. ”
Cooper had the keyboard in front of him.
He clicked several keys and brought the wall monitor to life.
“As you are aware, four men did not return home from a fishing trip after checking out of the Lakeside Campground, owned by Williamson, on Big Escambia Creek Lake in Conecuh County, Alabama, two weeks ago.”
Pictures of four men, Michael Moody, Ricky Fees, Tom DeSilva, and Jeff Thomas, from their Alabama driver’s licenses displayed.
They were the same photos that had been in the mission briefing packet with all the other information that had been sent to Mac and the five other members of the team to study.
He had received the email two days ago with the mission assignment, and eager to perform well on this first mission with Shepherd Security, he’d memorized everything in the packet.
“Michael Moody is the brother-in-law of an aide to SecDef. That’s how we got the case.
When they did not return home or check in with their families after their last text messages stating they’d checked out of the cabin and were heading home, Michael Moody’s wife called the Alabama State Police and reported them missing.
Over the last two weeks, a search has taken place by several law enforcement agencies in Alabama and has turned up nothing.
At the end of last week, the brother-in-law asked SecDef if he knew of any other avenues available to investigate this.
That’s how we got the case,” Shepherd said.
“They spent a week at the campground, checked into one of the cabins, boating and fishing. They’d driven two pickup trucks and towed one fishing boat.
They would have returned home to Birmingham, a three-hour drive, via I-65.
Neither of their vehicles showed up on any traffic cameras along their route, or any other possible route they could have taken.
We’re going to start our investigation at the campground and the immediate vicinity as everything is pointing to them not leaving the area,” Cooper said.
“Four men, two pickup trucks, and a boat don’t just disappear,” Tommy Flores said. “Have there been drone or satellite passes looking for signs of the vehicles?”
“The problem is that the whole area is ripe with pickup trucks and fishing boats. We’ll have better luck on the ground looking at license plates and comparing boats to the pictures we have of theirs, a Stinger 195B Fishing Boat,” Cooper said.
“As I’m sure the police did,” Robinson said. “The entire area is heavily wooded around the lake. The vehicles could be parked anywhere, with or without tarps or camouflage on them, and not be seen from the air. We’re talking about a lot of territory to cover.”
“The report said all four of these guys are married with regular jobs, and two have kids. They’re stable and reliable members of society.
Not the kind of people to just take an extended vacation and go silent.
It’s been two weeks. I hate to state the obvious, but we’re probably on a recovery mission.
It’s very unlikely we’re going to find these guys alive,” Winston said.
Even though Mac had thought the same thing, he was surprised to hear Winston voice it.
“Your mission is to find out what happened to the four men, and find them, be it alive or to recover their remains,” Shepherd said. “If there were any illegal circumstances at play, you will also determine who and why and refer it to the local LEOs.”
“Got it, Shep,” Flores said.
“As you know, your cover will be six fisherman friends renting a cabin at the same campground. They stayed in cabin number seven, per Moody’s wife.
See if you can get the same cabin when you check in; if not, you’ll need to get in there and look around.
I know it was searched by the State Police, but they may have missed something,” Shepherd said.
“You’ll fly into Atmore Airport, the local municipal airport.
From there, it’s a half-hour drive to the campground.
Atmore Airport happens to be about an hour and a half due north of NAS Pensacola.
SecDef will have two pickup trucks and a bass boat waiting for you at Atmore when you arrive, plus the fishing gear and meal supplies in coolers to make you look legit to any scrutiny. ”
“Will he have six packs of beer in those coolers?” Robinson asked. “Gotta have beer on the lake to look legit.”
Many of the men at the table chuckled.
The corner of Shepherd’s lip ticked up. “I’ll put in that request.”
There was more laughter. “And Doc is a fisherman. He is at HQ this week and is available to give you any info needed regarding fishing if you’re not familiar with the sport, so you blend in,” Shepherd added.
“Doc should have been the medic assigned to this case,” Winston said. “All I know about fish is what kind of wine to pair with it.”
The laughter continued until Shepherd held a hand up. “Any mission questions?”
“What weapons are we authorized to use on this mission?” Flores asked.
“Sidearms and rifles. And try not to divulge your federal law enforcement status to anyone, including the local LEOs if you can help it, before you get answers. There are several local militias who don’t like or trust the federal government in Alabama, one close enough to be of concern.
Woods is including information on them in the last push of intel you’ll get shortly,” Shepherd said.
“But we have no reason to believe the four men came in contact with them at the campground and on the lake. That’s not where they train or live.
The FBI and ATF keep a close eye on them. ”
“An anti-government militia?” Mac asked with a grin. “This mission just keeps getting better.”
Laughter erupted again at the table.
“Just as long as they aren’t the Klan, I’m cool with them,” Robinson said. “From what we’ve all seen over the years, I have to agree with many of their concerns about the federal government.”
“Grant’s pulling your ammo. You have a plane to catch,” Shepherd said. “Good hunting, gentlemen. Get some answers for these families.”
The six of them came to their feet and left his office.
Mac and the other Bravo Team members went up the stairs to get their backpacks and bags from their offices.
Cooper went down the hall to his office to retrieve his.
They all met up in the garage where ‘Requisition Ryan’ Grant was just finishing loading the ammo cases into the back of one of the two Shepherd Security SUVs parked in front of the elevator.
After placing their bags in the vehicles, they went into the Team Room and brought out their rifle cases.
Cooper slid behind the wheel of one of the SUVs. Mac stepped towards the passenger door, but Flores cut in front of him. “Why don’t you ride with the rest of the team? I need Cooper’s ear.”
Mac nodded and went instead to the second SUV where he took the seat behind the driver, Winston, and fastened his seatbelt.
As they pulled forward, between the two garage doors that were one of several security barriers protecting the garage, he glanced at his car parked beside Yvette’s Acura, just as it was in the garage of the townhouse.
He’d chosen a black Porsche Cayenne. He really wanted a red 718 Boxter, but it was just too flashy.
And he’d probably get in trouble with the speed.
“That’s a nice ride you have,” Robinson said, nodding towards his car.
“Yeah,” Mac agreed. “I have an old Mercedes parked at my place in London. I need to get back there and sell both it and my flat. The Cayenne rides so much better than the Mercedes. I’m glad I didn’t buy another, almost did.”
“I heard you were once chief of London Station,” Robinson said.
“No, not station chief. Just posted to the office. It was an okay gig, and London is a fun city to live in, better than most of the other places that job brought me.”
Robinson chuckled. “Yeah, I hear you on that. In our careers, we’ve all been to some dangerous shitholes.”
“And some great places that were just as dangerous,” Mac added.
“I’m thinking bumble-fuck nowhere, Alabama, may fit into the former rather than the latter category,” Robinson said.
Everyone in the car laughed with him.
“What was that about?” Cooper asked Flores, inside the other vehicle.
“Just trying to force interaction and bonding of Mac with the team. Did you notice the team went to one car as a group, and you and Mac peeled off to this one? I know he’s been busy with getting through the training, but he hasn’t had enough time with us for the guys to get to know him or trust him. ”
“Just the guys? Not you?”
Flores snickered. “I trust you, and if you slated him for this mission, then you think he’s ready.”