CHAPTER SEVEN
“Touchdown in ten, y’all.” Mason Croft’s slight Texas drawl crackled through their headsets as the sleek black helo banked to the right, then straightened out. He was going to set her down about three klicks from the target’s location, and then they’d head out on foot.
Jonathan was lead on this op and gave Mason a thumbs-up from the seat next to him. Instead of heading back to their home base of Whidbey Cove up near the San Juan Islands, he and Beck had diverted their plane to meet the team in eastern Washington.
Mason was best friends with their brother, Caleb, and was engaged to their baby sister, Emily. Though she’d skin him alive for referring to her that way. It was ironic how she always lamented having such overprotective older brothers, then she married a guy like Mason who was just like them.
At first glance, he might seem like a laid-back, cowboy-hat-wearin’ good old boy, and most of the time that description suited him. But Mason could fly anything with wings or rotors, and he was also one of the deadliest men Jonathan had ever met. Which was saying a lot, since he’d spent the bulk of his adult life as a Navy SEAL. Mason also loved and cherished their sister with every fiber of his being.
Jonathan looked in the small rearview mirror overhead at the three other people who were part of this op.
Andi sat directly behind him, looking out the window, her game face firmly in place. Because they had two small children, they rarely went on ops together anymore. But Jeffrey was like a father to her, so it was only right that she be there. Not like he could’ve stopped her had he tried.
Sitting across from Andi was special operator Patrick “Hawk” Nakai from the Dark Ops division in Virginia. He just happened to be at the Pac NW facility with his new K9 partner, Remington, aka Remy, who was crashed on the floor next to him snoring his brains out. The three-year-old black lab was an Electronic Storage Detection K9 who could, obviously, fall asleep anywhere.
With so many crimes now having a cyber component, special dogs like Remy were trained to detect all types of digital media storage devices. You could take him into the worst hoarder’s house and he would be able to find things like hard drives, jump drives, thumb drives, even microSD cards hidden in a shoebox at the back of a closet stuffed with smelly socks and sausages. Those devices often contained invaluable evidence used to convict criminals .
Sherborne lived in a small house in the middle of an unassuming middle-class neighborhood, so the team wasn’t wearing their usual tactical gear. Instead, they had on street clothes with jackets to conceal the pistols they wore on their hips. His wife looked sexy as hell in her usual black, long-sleeved Henley with black skinny jeans tucked into work boots. Jonathan, Mason, and Hawk all wore old blue jeans with either a flannel shirt or a long-sleeved T-shirt.
Mason began his descent to the parking lot at the back of an abandoned strip mall.
“Weapons check.” Jonathan drew his semiautomatic pistol from the holster at his hip.
The distinctive sound of slides being locked back followed by loud clacks when they were released filled the chopper. They all carried extra, full magazines on them.
The second the helo softly touched down, Remy lifted his head, then popped up onto all fours—wide awake and ready to get at it. Everyone unbuckled their seat belts, and when Hawk clipped on Remy’s vest and leash, he knew it was time to go to work.
Hawk rolled back the side door, and they all hopped out, then Andi turned and rolled the door shut.
Mason clicked buttons and flipped gauges, and the long blades slowly came to a stop. He swung the door open, hopped down, and made sure to close it behind him. After a quick walk around the bird, securing doors and putting the chocks in place, he joined them.
“Mic check.” Jonathan tapped his small earpiece.
One at a time, they each confirmed they could hear and be heard.
“We all good, Sammy?” Jonathan asked OSI’s lead tech wizard.
Sammy Joslin was back in Whidbey Cove at the main ops center. She had over-watch on every one of OSI’s active missions. While in the field, every operator wore Luna’s bio-patch. The tiny sensor tracked things like heart rate, body temp and hydration levels, and that information was constantly being transmitted back to the Ops Center.
“Give me a sec.” Keys clicked in the background. “Yep, I’ve got eyes on you. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Sammy.” Jonathan shifted his focus back to the team. “You know the plan. Andi and Mason, you take the back of the house. Hawk, Remy and I will approach from the front.”
Andi handed Hawk a bright orange safety vest and a clipboard with a bunch of forms attached.
“I’ll split off and cover Hawk and Remy when they approach the house.” As Jonathan spoke, Hawk tugged on a hard hat and clipped a plastic gas company ID to the front.
Rather than cause a huge dramatic scene, Hawk would simply knock on the front door and tell Sherborne that a potentially deadly gas leak had been reported and that Remy was specially trained to locate it. All of the information they had on Sherborne indicated he was a pussy with no tactical skills whatsoever. So they fully expected him to let Hawk and Remy in without much pushback. If he didn’t, they were prepared to make entry in other, more aggressive ways. Taking down a piece of shit like Sherborne would give him great pleasure.
“Remember, when Hawk finds the girl, he’ll use the code word lost . We’ll make entry, take down Sherborne, get the girl, and get out. Clear?” He looked around, and they all replied in the affirmative.
Remy barked, and his excitement was animated by the wild wagging of his tail.
Hawk was an excellent tracker. If the girl was in that house, he would find her.
“Let’s go,” Jonathan said.
They split up and made their way the few blocks to Sherborne’s house. The neighborhood was nice and quiet because most folks were at work.
“We’re in position and covering the target’s back door,” Andi whispered.
“Approaching the target’s driveway.” Hawk had his hand to his mouth as if covering a cough.
He had to be careful not to give himself away. They had zero intel on where Sherborne might be inside the residence, and for all they knew, he could be staring out the front window.
Jonathan jogged across the street and took up position behind a row of bushes separating Sherborne’s yard from the neighbor’s yard. “In position.”
“Headed to the door.” Hawk lowered his hand, walked up the short path, and gave three solid knocks to the wooden door.
Knowing Sherborne was probably watching him, Hawk glanced down at his clipboard, flipped through some papers, then looked back up at the door.
“What do you want?” Sherborne’s voice was muffled behind the closed door.
Hawk’s mic was hot, and the team could hear what was happening.
“Uh, yeah, I’m with the gas company.” Hawk held his badge up in front of the peephole. “We got a few reports of a gas leak in this area and have narrowed it down to this street.”
“What’s with the dog?” Sherborne asked.
“He’s specially trained to sniff ’em out.” Hawk gave a dramatic sigh. “Look, buddy, I got a lot of people to see yet. If you ain’t worried about your house being blown to smithereens, then I’ll just be on my way.” He turned, got two feet from the door and it swung open.
“Wait!” Sherborne looked up and down the street. “Fine, you can come in, but don’t touch anything.” He stepped back, and Hawk and Remy disappeared inside before the door shut.
Jonathan heard the deadbolt lock.
“We’ll just do a quick walk-through of the rooms, then be on our way,” Hawk said before giving the command to Remy. “Seek.”
They could hear the dog panting and sniffing and the sound of his tags jingling. Doors creaked open, then were shut. Something rustled. This continued for several minutes, and Hawk still hadn’t said the code word.
“Wow.” Hawk gave a low whistle. “Look at all them screens. You must really be into computers. And look at this fancy cell phone.”
“Give me that.” Sherborne sounded apoplectic. “I said not to touch anything!”
“Sorry, man. Geez, relax,” Hawk said.
Remy could be heard whining in the background. That room was probably filled with the type of electronic storage devices he would normally be looking for.
“You going to be much longer?” Sherborne’s impatience was obvious as he ignored Hawk’s statement.
“Nah. This is the last room, then we’ll be outta yer hair,” Hawk said. “Oh, sorry man.”
Sherborne was bald as a cueball, and Jonathan smirked at his teammate’s not-so-subtle dig.
“Well, looks like you’re all clear,” Hawk said. “Sorry for the intrusion. ”
There were footsteps, then the door swung inward. Hawk stepped out, and the door slammed shut behind him. He headed to the sidewalk and started down the street.
Jonathan waited until Hawk put some distance between himself and the house, then jogged up next to him. “Nothing?”
“She wasn’t there.” Hawk’s frustration was evidenced by the crease between his brows. “But Remy hit on something in almost every damn room. And I got a good look at his cell phone.”
“Shit.” Jonathan scrubbed his hand down his face. “Andi and Mason, meet us back at the helo. I’ve got to tell Jeffrey we didn’t find his daughter.”