CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Who is Zacharov?” asked Dan.
“He’s the man who attempted to steal equipment and secrets from G.R.I.P. during a hurricane. He attempted to do it by kidnapping Lucy, and he was going to take me as well. I ended up killing him. I had no idea he had children.”
“They may not know who you are, Georgie,” said Moose. “But I think we need to get back to Belle Fleur as soon as possible.” Georgie nodded.
“No offense to your husband, Aunt Georgie, but I’m sleeping in your room tonight.”
“Me too,” said Brix. She nodded again.
“They couldn’t know how this is all connected. The daughters would have been little children, babies. They would have only received word that their father died if they even knew he was their father. He was a Chechen rebel leader and a crazy man.”
“We’ll figure it all out,” said Moose. “Tonight, we’ll take watch shifts, make sure everyone is safe until we can get to the plane in the morning.”
Georgie was quiet for a very long moment, then tapped her comms device again.
“Hiro? Dad? I need you to see if any of Alana’s husbands were connected in any way to G.R.I.P. equipment. Were they receiving equipment, using it, signing for it, anything? He wanted our equipment once before. Maybe his daughters are trying to get it now.”
“We’ll follow up on that,” said Angel. “Just come home, honey. Carl is being restrained by his father.”
That made Georgie smile, and the others nodded, chuckling at the visual it brought to mind. Carl was a big man with strength to spare. If he thought his wife was in trouble, then he’d find a way to get to her.
“I think you’re right, Georgie. If this happened when the girls were babies, they could have never known that you’re connected to any of this. He and all his men were killed. There was no one left to tell the story of where he went or how he died. Besides, they’re killing their husbands, not coming after any of you. They would have no way of knowing who CJ is and that we’re connected.”
“I agree,” said Brix. “I think it’s all a terrible, horrible coincidence. But. And I do mean but. They’re still killing military men.”
“If they’re sisters,” said Jill, “why is one of them dead? Are they fighting about something, or are they working for someone who isn’t happy with their results?”
“Now, that’s the million-dollar question,” frowned Dan. “You’re right. We’ve seen siblings kill one another before, but why do that if their little plan was working out for them? We know that it was Alana who was killed based on DNA evidence and what little was left of the fingerprints. That leaves Irena and Mikella. Maybe one of the sisters isn’t happy with what Alana was doing.”
“This has so many possibilities and working parts it’s terrifying,” said Georgie. “Zacharov was connected to Vashkov, the man who took Ryan’s arm. We killed both of those men years ago.”
“Hiro? Did Vashkov have any known living relatives?” asked Dan.
“None. Anton Vashkov was an only child, never married, according to the records, and has no legal children recorded. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have illegitimate children, but there is no record of it.”
“That makes me feel a little better,” said Georgie. “I think this is a sick, twisted coincidence, but we still have to stop it and find out why.”
While they finished their meal, waiting for their decadent dessert choices to arrive, two men walked into the restaurant that they recognized.
“We’re sorry to interrupt your meal,” said Kip Gordon.
“It’s alright. Take a seat,” said Brix. “What brings you guys out in the cold?”
“You mentioned you were staying here, and we didn’t want to talk about this over the phone,” said Ross. “We had to inventory all of Tim’s equipment. You guys know how that is. You have to account for everything personal and everything that belongs to Uncle Sam.”
The team nodded, knowing full well what had to happen. They’d had to do it more than a few times themselves.
“Tim is missing some items. His comms device and the thermal imaging equipment,” said Ross. “We can’t find it anywhere.”
“Fuck,” muttered Moose. “It’s G.R.I.P. equipment, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. Not only that, but we went back and reviewed the list of items from Adam’s death.”
“Was he missing things?” asked Georgie.
“No. Nothing. That’s because when we checked the serial numbers it all belonged to Tim. He had obviously taken the equipment that was Adam’s and replaced it with his own temporarily.”
“Why would he do that?” asked Jill.
“The thermal imaging equipment is fitted with a camera for daytime use on the streets. I think Adam’s camera caught something that Tim didn’t want anyone to see. He was able to verify the equipment was there then somehow get it back. Except, now someone has taken his equipment as well.”
“I’m going to ask you something that might be really hard for you to answer,” said CJ. “I’m a SEAL. I trust my team more than anyone on this earth. Did you trust your team? Did you guys trust Adam and Tim? Do you trust one another?”
Ross and Gordon stared at one another for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
“We trust one another,” said Ross, moving his finger back and forth between himself and Gordon. “I’d say, for the most part, we trust Thompson and Stratafos.”
“For the most part?” questioned Moose.
“They’re newer to the team. They came to us from another unit because two of our guys retired. They’re young but seem solid. I think they’re scared as fuck over what happened. Two guys killed, seemingly without any explanation. It doesn’t feel right for anyone.”
“Then you trust each other,” said Brix.
“Yes, sir. We do. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t trust Adam or Tim. Adam was losing focus. We thought it was maybe him getting older, but he wasn’t much older than any of us. He just always seemed to be thinking about something or someone else.”
“Do you suspect drug use?” asked Georgie. They both stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, then realized it was a great question.
“If it was, he was able to hide it. You know that we have drug tests routinely and randomly, especially after a shooting like that. I don’t know,” said Gordin, shaking his head. “Then we heard that Tim was killed, and how he was killed. It all just feels like too much of a coincidence.”
“And Alana,” said Jill.
“You’ll forgive me, Jill, but I could give a shit that Alana is dead. My gut tells me she’s at the bottom of all of this, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how. Now she’s dead, and we’re back to zero.”
“Maybe not,” said Dan. The two men frowned, staring at him.
“What do you mean, maybe not?” asked Ross.
“Alana has two sisters, not triplets, but they were made to look identical. We think they were scamming multiple men at the same time, all with the same look.”
“Jesus, what a fucking mess,” said Ross. “What do we do about the missing equipment? We had to report it to our superiors, but do you want us to look for it?”
“No,” said Fitch, shaking his head. “Do you have the serial numbers on the equipment?”
“Yeah. We wrote everything down,” said Ross. He handed him the information sheet that had been submitted to the Army, and Fitch grinned. “How is that going to help?”
“This equipment can be traced by us,” said Sor. “All of it.”
“Wait. What? You mean to tell us that if we’d gone missing, you would have been able to trace this equipment and find our location?”
“Theoretically, yes,” said Fitch. “Unless someone turned the equipment off permanently or damaged it to the point of destruction. Everything we make has coding that doesn’t allow for tampering. Basically, if someone touches something they shouldn’t, there is a security feature that locks the equipment down.”
“Fucking cool,” smirked Ross.
Fitch nodded, sending the serial numbers to the team back home. If someone were tampering with them, they would know. If they were still active, they would have their location. They spoke casually for a few moments, and then the sound everyone heard sent a chill up their spine.
“We’ve got a hit.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Why are we at my condo again?” asked Jill.
“Because the hit on our equipment is coming from here,” said Fitch.
Jill stared at him as he approached the door. Running his fingers along the edge, he made sure there were no trip wires while Sor took a cloth and wiped down the handle and lock.
“Clear,” he said to the other men.
Opening the door, Jill was shocked to find her condo torn apart. She’d got all of her personal belongings out but the furniture that was there was completely destroyed, lamps broken, and holes punched in walls.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered.
“Someone was definitely looking for something,” said Ross. “I’m sorry, Jill.”
“It’s okay. I moved out a few days ago. This was all going to be sold with the condo. I just have no clue what they thought was here.”
“The equipment is here,” said CJ.
“No. We looked through everything. There was nothing here.”
“Honey, there is something here. Hiro? Can you give me a sense of direction?” asked CJ.
“ About fifteen paces south. A few more.”
“I can’t go a few more. It’s a glass patio door and then a concrete patio,” said CJ.
“ The signal is coming from two steps more on that patio.”
Fitch opened the door and stepped into the snowy, dark patio space. There were two empty pots. He picked up the first one and tossed it aside, then attempted to pick up the second one.
“Jill? Are you hiding concrete in this one?”
“N-No. I didn’t even know those were out here,” she said, shaking her head.
Fitch toppled the planter and immediately saw that the base was thick and wide. He carefully took his pocketknife, sliding it beneath the bottom lip of the rim, and popped it off.
“I’ll be damned,” muttered Moose.
Carefully wrapped in plastic, the thermal imaging camera was secured in the space beneath the pot, along with the comms device.
“He must have known. Tim must have known that something was wrong and hid the equipment. He didn’t want them to have it,” said Ross.
“It looks that way. He obviously knew what he was doing when he swapped out his own with Adam’s, but whoever asked him to do it obviously wasn’t a friend,” said Moose.
“Come on. We need to get this equipment back home.”
“What should we do?” asked Gordon.
“Do your jobs. Watch your backs and the backs of the other men. If you see anyone who looks even remotely like Alana, call us, and we’ll find her. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to investigate this yourselves. You’ve done your jobs. You’ve reported the missing equipment. Leave it at that,” said Dan.
“Yes, sir.”
“Hey,” said CJ, “you did the right thing, and we’re going to figure this out. Just be safe out there and make sure you watch your back.” They both nodded, then turned to Jill.
“We wish you all the best, Jill. I hope you’ll be happy,” smiled Gordon, bending to kiss her cheek.
“Thank you. You guys, too. Tell the girls I said goodbye. Maybe we’ll see one another again someday.”
“You never know,” smiled Ross. Ross and Gordon got into the truck and drove back toward their base. By the time the team returned to the hotel, Georgie and Brix were waiting in her room.
“Well?” she asked.
“We found it,” said Jill. “It was hidden in a pot outside on the patio. We need to get this back to your team so that they can figure out what is on this.”
“Our team,” smirked CJ. “Remember, you’re a part of our team now.”
“Right,” she smiled. “I’ll remember that from now on.”
Dan nodded at the group, kicking off his boots in Georgie’s room, raising his feet on the ottoman. He closed his eyes as he spoke to the team.
“Everyone get some rest. Autumn and Chipper will be here early to get us. We’ve got some work to do.”
“Is it damaged at all from the weather or cold?” asked Jill, staring over their shoulders.
“Nope. These beauties are made to withstand temperatures in excess of a hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit, water temperatures minus freezing, air temperatures at minus forty degrees Fahrenheit, and water depth of up to a mile.”
“That’s insane!” said Jill. The men chuckled, nodding their heads as Ryan and Sophia Ann smiled at her.
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
“We worked on this together,” said Ryan. “Sophia Ann is brilliant and was able to make the materials work in extreme weather conditions. Tim did the right thing, though, placing it in a plastic bag. It helped it to stay in good condition.”
“I’m just not sure what could be so important on there. Obviously, Adam caught something that he wasn’t supposed to. But why did Tim hide it? Why didn’t he show it to everyone unless it made him look guilty.”
“Maybe it did, babe,” said CJ. “You need to be prepared for that.”
“I know,” she nodded. “I mean, I am prepared for that.”
“I’m in,” said AJ, turning to look at everyone with a smile. Luke, Cam, Hex, and Eric folded their arms across their chests and growled. “Forgive them, Jill. They fail to understand how difficult this shit is.”
“We understand, but when you say, ‘I’m in,’ it should be followed with, here’s what I have,” said Luke.
“You’re not fun anymore,” said AJ. “Fine. Here’s what we have.” He connected the camera to the laptop which projected everything to the large screen.
“Okay, we see good formation to start,” said Hex. “They’re leading the contingent out. Tim is pointing to the road.”
“He is, and Adam is nodding, walking to check out something. Looking both ways, up and around, good formation,” said Cam. “He turns and starts to speak to Tim. Stop. Back it up, slowly.”
AJ backed the video up and reduced the speed over and over again until Cam caught a glimpse of what he’d seen the first time. As Adam turned back to speak with Tim, his camera caught someone moving toward him to his left. They’d been behind the concrete lions.
“That’s her,” whispered Jill. “I mean, it’s one of them. I can’t tell which one from that angle. She killed Adam.”
“Yes, she did,” nodded Eric. “But if Tim knew that and had the evidence, why was he hiding it.”
“He didn’t know it,” said AJ. Eric stared at the man, frowning. “No one tampered with the camera. He didn’t know it, but he must have suspected it. Why else would he have hidden this unless he knew that it captured her image and didn’t want anyone to see that.”
“Review each frame, AJ. Every damn frame, and capture as many facial images as you can. Something was going on there, and Adam and Tim knew it. We just need to know whose side they were on,” said Luke.