CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Who took her?” asked the man seated behind the desk. He was wearing a generic dark blue suit with a white shirt and blue tie. He had a small pin in his lapel identifying who he was, which was stupid, considering he was seated in the office with his name on it.
“Sir, we don’t know, but they damn sure weren’t amateurs.”
“Not amateurs,” he muttered. “So, they could be Russians, Germans, Chinese, anyone.”
“They didn’t have accents,” said one of the other men. “No one we heard spoke with an accent. They looked like former Teams guys. Maybe current.”
“It could have been just random SEALs in the area,” said the first man. “They were about the right age, maybe early to mid-thirties.”
“Well, that gives me so much to go on. It was dark, so none of you were able to give me a good description. You’d cut off every damn camera, including doorbells in the area, so I can’t look at video. And, you tell me there were no cars. So. I ask again. Who the fuck has Katelyn Smith?”
Wisely, none of the men said anything. He’d already proclaimed her to be an enemy of the state, possible traitor and terrorist. If she were out there, she’d be found and turned in for the reward money.
“Isn’t there someone else that can do this work?” asked the first man.
“Yes and no. The company that hired her is highly secretive. No one knows exactly where they are located or how to find them.”
“If they have a government contract, someone must know,” said the second man.
“You would think so, but not this group,” he frowned. The third man, leaning against the door jamb, shook his head, laughing. “You find that funny?”
“You’re talking about Voodoo Guardians and G.R.I.P.,” he grinned.
“How do you know about them?” he asked suspiciously.
“Because anyone on the Teams knows about them. We all know we want to be part of them when our retirement rolls around.”
“Maybe we plant someone in there,” said the first man.
“That’s not the way it works,” said the third man, shaking his head. “If, and it’s a big if, you’re actually good enough to be considered, you have to pass so many tests you’d be lucky to get past the first two. You’re interviewed by the legends of Teams. SEALs, Delta, MARSOC, Green Berets, Paratroopers, Coast Guard, FBI, DEA, even former CIA.”
The older man stared at him, chewing on the inside of his mouth. How the fuck did he know so much about them?
“Do you know someone on their team?” he asked the man.
“I wish. If I did, I’d be on that team,” he said, standing straight. “I’m going to ask for transfer to another assignment. Ding my record, fight it, I don’t give a shit. But I’m not going to fuck with these guys. I value my life.”
He opened the door and turned to leave.
“You leave this mission your career is over,” said the man behind the desk. He chuckled, shaking his head.
“What you mean to say is if we don’t finish this mission, your career is over. You need us to find them, to find her and the others because you can’t. I’d like to know why. Yeah, she’s brilliant and hot as fuck. So are a million other girls. And all those kids on the list. Why them? Why do you want a bunch of children? Everything about this fucking sucks, and I don’t like it. I may not be a genius, but I’m not an idiot.
“I’ll stand in front of a bullet for my team. I’ll detonate a bomb. I’ll go into enemy territory. But I won’t fight an entire team of the best spec ops men on the planet and a whole damn slew of women who are brilliant and capable in their own right.”
“Again, you know a lot about them,” he frowned.
“Again, you underestimate the spec ops community. We listen. We know. We hear,” he said. Turning to the other two men, he shook his head. “If you want to die for this bastard, be my guest. I’m not going to do it.”
He left, and the other two men swayed from one foot to the other. Number two looked at him and shook his head.
“I’m out.” Number one followed.
“He’s right. Whatever you’ve got going on, you’ll lose with them. I won’t die chasing after smart kids.”
In utter shock, he stared at the backs of the men as they wove through the desks toward the elevator. He couldn’t order them to return. He’d gotten them on this project under false pretense. When their commander called he’d have to explain why he lied about the assignment.
“I can do it myself,” he muttered. Looking down at the information in front of him, he bit his bottom lip and shook his head.
“I am truly fucked.”