Chapter 20
Talon leaned against the small table in his quarters, phone pressed to his ear. “Ethan. Hey, been a long time.”
There was a pause. “Why are you calling me from … Burundu? Damn, man. What is wrong, and why aren’t you calling Guardian instead of me?”
Talon sat down hard and rubbed his face. “Ethan, I need something off the books. I could go to Guardian, but this is for a personal friend. A very close personal friend. And it isn’t necessarily in line with my current operation.”
Talk about a pregnant pause. Talon looked at his phone to see if he was still connected. Finally, he heard Ethan typing. “Sorry, had to get into my computer room. You got a woman? Well, hell, that is fucking shocking as hell. What about the I am an island stance you’ve had going since the Siege?”
Talon rolled his eyes. “Screw you, man.”
“Nah, my wife would be upset.” Ethan threw the quip back without missing a beat.
“I didn’t say congratulations, did I? Man, I suck.”
“Yeah, you do, but family is family, and I forgive you.”
They weren’t related by blood, but by choice. Ethan was the half-brother of his Grandfather Frank’s adopted sons, Dixon and Drake.
There was a pause on the other end, followed by the low, almost amused rumble of Ethan Wolf’s voice. “So, you have a woman. Good. Now, give me some information. Off-the-books requests usually mean there’s trouble.”
“It does,” Talon replied. “I need everything you can dig up on Harlan Shoemaker and every company tied to him. All shells, subsidiaries, offshore fronts, whatever. You know what to look for better than I do. He’s got leases all over the world for rare element mining and processing.
Riley, his daughter, was targeted by an accident and almost died. Something’s not right there.”
“Define not right,” Ethan said, fingers already clicking over a keyboard. “So, you don’t think Shoemaker is complicit?”
“Oh, I think he’s dirty as hell. The man is a complete fuckwad.”
Ethan stopped typing. “Wait, I’m confused. Riley was almost killed by an accident you don’t think was an accident, and you think her dad is involved.”
“Yes.”
“Is Riley your woman?”
“She is.” Talon nodded even though Ethan couldn’t see him.
“And she’s okay with you digging dirt on her dad?”
“She will be when I have proof. The relationship is all on her side. Like I said, he’s a fucker of the highest order. I know it’s hard to understand a father that’s a total bastard—”
“Ah, no, not really.” Ethan cleared his throat. “Okay, so you want to find out if someone is complicit in an ‘accident’ at the mining site in the Sahel.”
“I want proof that the person we suspect is working with Harlan,” Talon told him everything he had on Mauro Delgado and Vincent Harrow. "Any way to connect them to Harlan? Riley needs something solid she can drop on the board. Facts, actionable facts.”
Ethan murmured his understanding as he typed. “Hey, there’s a shareholder meeting at Shoemaker in twenty-four hours. She’d blow him out of the water if she presented evidence there.”
“I couldn’t get her back to the States in time.”
“Who said anything about that? I can get her wired into the meeting, and no amount of interference would stop that stream. She could nuke him. Burn him to the ground.”
“I’d need irrefutable proof.” He rubbed his forehead. He wanted her father to be burned to ashes. Anyone who treated their daughter like a burden and expendable was well deserving of being nuked.
“You want solid?” Ethan’s tone sharpened. “Give me sixty seconds.”
In Talon’s ear, there was the faint background hum of servers and the occasional electronic chirp behind the rapid tapping of Ethan’s keyboard. “I hate that you left Guardian,” Talon said. “Money shouldn’t have been an issue. I wish you’d stayed with us.”
There was the briefest hitch in Ethan’s typing before he answered.
“Dude, I have enough money. I wanted a quieter life. Not everyone is cut out for the high-speed life of a Guardian.” Another pause.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t still help my friends, though.
God knows Guardian taught me how to get in and out without being seen. ”
Data began pouring in. Ethan narrated the information as if he were reading a classified file.
“First, your chief of logistics. His name’s Conrad Bains. He’s a former Royal Navy supply officer. Fired for misappropriation of materials, but the record’s sealed in the UK. Harlan hired him six months later.”
“Figures,” Talon muttered.
Ethan continued, “Bank transfers. Ah, dude, look at that. Small, frequent, and deliberately routed through mining equipment suppliers in Namibia. The invoices are for industrial drills, loaders, and transport containers. Cross referencing the serials? Those items were never delivered. The payments end up in an account in Belize controlled by Shoemaker Mineral Holdings.”
“That’s good,” Talon said. “That’s damn good.”
“Always follow the money. I’m sure with more than a casual glance I can find more.
” Ethan clicked away for a moment. “Oh, look at that. It gets better,” Ethan said, and Talon could hear him grinning.
“Satellite imagery from two nights ago shows unmarked cargo being loaded into flatbeds at the Burundu mining site. Infrared scans indicate heavy shielding.”
“Shielding? Why? And how do you know that?”
“Ah, are you sure you really want to know what system I’m in now?”
Talon shook his head. “Nope, disregard the question.”
“Disregarded. The why is that the shielding is likely to block radiation detection. The barrels are sitting at the loading bay at the logistics building. I can tell you I know that because I’m on a friendly nation’s satellite now.
None of ours are in a good position to take a look-see at the moment. ”
“Damn, how did Guardian let you slip through their fingers? What’s the destination for those barrels?” Talon asked.
“Hold, please.” Ethan’s fingers tapped in a rapid staccato. “Unknown, right now, but, dude, you won’t believe what I found. Seems some IT hot jock decided encrypted emails were the way to stop a hacker. What an idiot. Fucking child’s play.”
“What did you find?”
“Oh, man, the internal chatter is hot once you crack the sixteen-digit encryption. Shoemaker’s executive VP of operations, Maxwell Grayson, and regional security head, Idris M’Baye, are both in the loop.
They’re discussing ‘expedited transfer of high-value units before the quarterly audit.’ That’s corporate-speak for skimming the good stuff before anyone notices.
Oh, hey, they mention Riley. Fuckers are laughing at her accident.
Wishing it had done more than scare her. Aww. Son of a bitch …”
“What?”
“Her father agreed with that memo. What a bastard.”
Talon’s gut dropped. He knew the fucker was evil, but this solidified it. “How sure are you about these people being involved with the acquisition of raw materials?”
“I’m reading the memos. There’s no doubt. This isn’t a rumor. It’s hard data. You could take this to the World Bank, and they’d salivate.”
“Names. I need them all.”
Ethan rattled them off. “Harlan Shoemaker, Conrad Bains—chief of logistics, Maxwell Grayson—VP operations, Idris M’Baye—regional security head, plus two lower-level compliance officers: Amara Diallo, and Stefan Kruger.
Everyone is signing off on nonexistent inventory.
I’ll send it to you. Do you have a way to print this off? ”
“Yeah.” Talon let out a slow breath. “Riley’s going to love this.” She would love catching the bastards, but taking down her father would hurt. She loved the bastard.
“One more thing,” Ethan added. “That convoy? There’s one message that was deleted. It says it’s heading toward an unregistered airstrip north of Agadez. If that’s true, whatever they’re moving will be in the wind as soon as that convoy leaves the mining site.”
Talon’s jaw tightened. “Send me everything. All the memos, the bank records, the satellite images. Secure channel.”
“You’ll have it in ten minutes,” Ethan said. “And, Talon?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll keep digging. This goes deeper. A lot deeper. Watch your back. This isn’t petty theft. This is the kind of thing people kill to keep quiet. I’ll also work on that link to the shareholders’ meeting. Just let me know when you want her to be beamed into the meeting.”
“I got it. Thank you.”
Later, at a table in the communications building with Jug, Talon pulled Ethan’s bulleted brief out and glanced at it.
Executive Summary
Independent investigation uncovered a coordinated scheme to divert high-value rare elements from SMH’s Sahel mining site.
The conspiracy involves senior management, logistics, and regional security personnel.
Financial, satellite, and internal communications data confirm illegal exportation to unregistered sites prior to quarterly audits.
Key Individuals Implicated
Harlan Shoemaker – CEO, Shoemaker Mineral Holdings
Oversight responsibility; direct communication with implicated executives.
Conrad Bains – Chief of Logistics (Former Royal Navy Supply Officer)
Oversees material movement; previously dismissed from military service for misappropriation of assets (sealed records, confirmed through international security database).
Maxwell Grayson – VP of Operations
Signed internal memos approving expedited transfers of “high-value units.”
Idris M’Baye – Regional Security Head
Coordinated secure convoy movements without standard documentation or customs clearance.
Amara Diallo – Compliance Officer
Approved falsified inventory sheets matching missing materials.
Stefan Kruger – Compliance Officer
Logged shipments with serial numbers linked to undelivered equipment invoices.
Financial Evidence
Pattern of Payments:
Multiple small-value payments routed through Namibian mining equipment suppliers for goods never delivered.
Funds end in Belize account under Shoemaker Mineral Holdings’ shell corporation. Good shading but easily accessed with protocol included in supporting documentation.
Invoice Fraud:
Equipment serials cross-checked with global delivery databases. No corresponding shipments exist.
Currency Conversion & Laundering:
Transactions converted through a cryptocurrency exchange in Estonia before the final deposit.
Operational Evidence
Satellite Imagery (Legally utilized with permission):
Nighttime activity at Burundu site, loading shielded cargo containers (radiation-blocking signatures suggested but not verified).
Exit Route:
Suspected unregistered airstrip north of Agadez, Niger.
Logistics Memos (Encrypted, not very well):
Internal communications explicitly discussing avoiding upcoming quarterly audit by “advancing product extraction schedule.”
Internal memos indicating knowledge of arranged accident targeting Riley Shoemaker.
Compliance & Legal Impact
Regulatory Violations:
Breach of International Trade in Strategic Materials regulations.
Violation of Burundu export control laws.
Shareholder Risk:
Potential seizure of all assets by host government.
Criminal prosecution in multiple jurisdictions.
Severe reputational damage, potential loss of foreign mining leases.
Recommended Actions
Immediate suspension of all implicated personnel pending legal review.
Independent audit of all SMH global logistics and financial transactions for the past 24 months. Strongly suggest a forensic computer specialist to recreate deleted evidence.
Voluntary disclosure to relevant international regulatory bodies to mitigate penalties.
Engage external legal counsel specializing in international trade violations.
Jug swore as he read the executive summary. “This is damning.”
“It is.”
“But it isn’t enough, is it?”
“Nope.”
“The convoy?”
“The SRF team needs a training mission, don’t they?” Talon handed the summary to Jug and gathered all the supporting documentation. First, he’d talk to Riley, and then they’d intercept that convoy.
“Skipper?”
He stopped stacking the paper. “Yeah?”
“You didn’t get this from Guardian, did you?”
“Nope.” He wouldn’t lie.
Jug looked down at the papers he was gathering. “How do you know you can trust this information?”
“It came from family. I trust the source with my life.”
Jug handed him the summary. “That’s good enough for me.”