Chapter 53
Cole
Cole grunted at his buzzing phone. Jake and Mickey had each taken a bed and fallen asleep, leaving Cole’s very large body sitting uncomfortably in a ratted loveseat.
“Lydia.” He saved her number after her last call.
“Hey Cole. I’m with Daniel.”
“You both ok?” It was four in the morning.
“Yeah. Kernel contacted me. I have information about the stolen device. I’m guessing you know who to pass it on to.”
Cole straightened in his seat. “Shoot.”
Daniel’s voice replaced Lydia’s. “Client is Colton Grant, former defense contractor. He’s on several watch lists.”
“I know who he is.”
“He’s planning on selling the device to three different buyers. Not sure if it’s a double or triple cross, a bidding war, or what. The buy is being set up in Singapore in less than two weeks. Lydia’s forwarding you a text with the information Kernel sent her.”
“And Kernel?”
Daniel sighed. “For now, still breathing.”
“Thanks, brother. I’ll make sure they know your tech was used to solve this if it ever comes up.”
“No, let’s keep it quiet for now. You going to be on retrieval?”
“Maybe.”
“Stay alive.”
“Always do.”
“Cole.” Lydia’s voice sounded softer than usual.
“Don’t worry, little one. I’m not that easy to take down.”
“Like me.”
Cole grinned. “Pound for pound, you got me beat. We’ll talk tomorrow when Jake’s guy gets what we need from Langford.”
He hung up and walked out of the room into Jake’s car for a more private call.
“Cole, you fucker, it’s late.”
“Mike. You alone?”
“I’m in my office with Shade.”
“You and Shade sleeping together now?”
Shade’s laughter was loud in the background.
Mike scoffed. “We’re working. I can still complain about you calling me in the middle of the night even if I’m not sleeping. It’s the principle of the thing.”
“I got intel on the device.”
“Spit it.”
“Colton Grant.”
Cole waited for the string of curses from Mike and Shade to die down. “He’s selling it in Singapore at a place called Tan’s Diner in ten days, at ten hundred hours. Intercepted communication indicates three buyers—Russian, Chinese, and Saudi.”
“Fuck. Bidding war?” Mike’s voice boomed.
“Don’t know. They were all communicated to meet, so it’s either a bid or a cross. Either way, we have a time and place on the device.”
“It’ll get ugly.”
“Yep, probably.”
“You want in?” Shade’s voice was further away from the speaker than Mike’s.
“I’m in. Tell me where to be and when. I got your back, Shade.”
“This intel reliable?” Mike asked.
“As reliable as it gets. I can’t tell you more than that but I’ll send you what I got.”
“Fine. I’ll get things moving and let you know when and where to report.”
The line went dead, and Cole leaned back in the seat. He’ll help Daniel take care of Langford, and then he’ll help Shade bring Colton Grant down.
That last op to retrieve the device ended with two soldiers being shot down right in front of him. Fucking kids. He might not be able to kill Kernel yet, but Grant was going down.
Mike would likely run the op, since he commanded the unit. Shade would be the one to secure the device, hopefully without taking too much fire. Cole and the others on the team would be there to watch his six.
Whatever face Shade was hiding under that mask of his was none of his business—he saved Cole’s ass on multiple ops, and a debt was owed.
Cole smiled and shook his head at the thought of Lydia meeting Shade. She’d probably figure him out the second she saw him.