Chapter 17
Carson had an extra bounce in his step as he came into the office. A permanent grin on his face; he’d had it all morning. Even through his morning run. Carson felt invigorated. He felt like nothing could go wrong today. “Morning,” he called out as he sat down at his desk.
The guys looked at him like he’d grown a second head. Whatever, he wasn’t letting them ruin his morning glow.
“What?” Carson asked, looking around at all the curious faces.
“You look different. You’re even acting different,” one accused.
“My God. You got laid,” Jack announced proudly.
“No,” Carson quickly denied though he shouldn’t have bothered. His teammates were trained to sniff out a lie.
“Don’t bother denying it,” Jack countered, crossing his arms over his chest and looking him over with a critical eye. “You’re way too chipper this morning for it to be anything other than you got some. Sex always puts an extra sway in my step too.”
“Way too much info. Why does me being in a good mood mean I had sex?” Carson inquired.
“Because you’re always serious and grumpy. In the three years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you smile.”
“No,” Carson denied but then thought about it. He didn’t smile a lot. He’d always been a serious child. Even more so when he’d joined the service. “Alright, I’ll admit, I don’t smile often.”
Barry snorted. “Try ever.”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s because of sex.” Even though it totally was.
He felt more relaxed. He’d even had a night of pleasant dreams instead of reliving nightmares.
Allie left a few hours after they’d had sex, but he still felt her presence the rest of the night.
He could smell her scent on his pillow. He woke to a raging boner he’d had to take in hand to relieve the pressure.
“Oh, he’s daydreaming now.” Rob laughed, elbowing Greg in the side.
“Shut up.”
“Alright, enough about Carson’s night; let’s focus on more important things,” Luke said, taking command of the room. “Everyone, meet at the war table.” Luke turned and walked away, not waiting to see if anyone followed. As team lead, it was expected to follow his orders.
“So how was she?” Jack leaned over and whispered as they headed for the table.
“Ah, Jack. No, I am not discussing Allie and what we did.” What they had done was a private matter. Some guys—namely Jack—liked to discuss their sexual conquests, but Carson liked to keep them to himself. Though he would say, he’d never look at chocolate cake the same again.
“Hey, if you had trouble performing, I’d be more than happy to step in for you. Show her how it’s done.” Jack ribbed him and gave him a wink.
“How generous,” Carson replied dryly. He really wanted to punch him, but he knew Jack was just giving him a hard time and didn’t mean anything by it. For once, he wasn’t going to let Jack’s words taunt him into a fight. Nothing could put a damper on his morning.
“I’m a giving guy like that.” Jack shrugged.
“Are you two finished?” Luke snapped. Everyone else was already standing at the war table, waiting.
Jack straightened up and took his place. “Sorry, Luke. I’m done.”
“Gentlemen,” a voice came over the speaker box in the middle of the table. A voice they all knew well.
“Morning, Colonel,” they all responded in unison.
“What the fuck happened in Moscow?” the Colonel demanded, not in the mood for idle chitchat. “You left a shit show in your wake. Three dead police officers. Two dead Russian informants. How?”
“The police barged in before we could intercept,” Luke explained.
“Jurgen was killed while escaping, and Yurgio is at large,” Jack added.
“This was supposed to be a quiet in-and-out mission. I hired you all because you are damn good at your jobs, and you don’t exist. You’re ghosts and the best at what you do.
” Colonel Weber stopped his tirade for a moment to let his words to sink in.
“Luckily for you all, no one knows of your involvement, or we’d be having a very different conversation now.
” The Colonel took a deep breath. “Tell me where we stand. Any news on Yurgio?” The Colonel sounded calmer but no less unhappy.
Not that Carson blamed him. He was just as upset about what had happened.
“Not yet. I was following a lead from a contact, but it turned out to be a dead end,” Carson told him. No one else said anything.
“So, you have nothing? No leads? No other contacts? Nothing.”
“Yes, sir,” Luke replied quietly. They all felt shame about Yurgio escaping.
They had planned for everything for that mission except for the police raiding the place at the last second.
They had run in guns blazing. Everything had gone from zero to sixty in seconds.
Carson had spotted Jurgen and Yurgio escaping, and the team had split up.
Carson had chased down Jurgen. They’d rolled across the forest floor when Jurgen came at him with a knife.
They’d grappled with it for control. The fight had ended when they’d rolled across the ground and Carson had sat up with the knife plunged into Jurgen’s heart.
The man had held such a death grip on Carson’s hair, that he’d almost had a bald spot from ripping it out to get away before the police arrived.
“We are using all of our resources to track him down.”
“You and every other agency in the world are doing the same thing, so forgive me if I don’t share your optimism,” Colonel Weber remarked dryly. “What about the shipping container?”
The Colonel hadn’t been thrilled when the subject of capturing Yurgio had been brought up.
Several agencies had tried and failed over the years.
Somehow Luke had convinced him to give their team a chance.
What had happened in Moscow was not sitting well with Weber, and they would have to make progress quickly to make it up to him for going out on a limb for them.
“It was empty by the time we got there. Either the intel was bad, or he switched it at some point. But we’ll find him, sir,” Luke assured him.
“You’d better. Keep me informed of your progress.” These were his final words before hanging up. He’d stretched the word progress. The Colonel didn’t seem to have much faith in them at the moment. They had a lot to make up for from Moscow.
“You heard the Colonel. We have to find Yurgio quick.” Luke planted his hands on the table. “Progress report, Barry, go.”
“I have log-in access with Russian intelligence. I have a list of Yurgio’s known contacts. I’m going to go through them and their phone records to see if he’s had recent contact with any of them.”
Luke nodded as he listened. “Yurgio will be on the run. We need eyes and ears on all ways to get out of Russia. Planes, trains, vehicles, and boats. Even look for bicycles if you have to. Any way to get out of Russia.”
“Why wouldn’t he lay low?” Jack asked.
“Heat is too high. Friends will be the first place where police will look. Yurgio will only go to them to help him get out.”
“I’m going to reach out to a contact who might be able to help,” Carson offered.
“The same person that gave us bad intel?” Jack asked dryly.
“Hey,” Luke snapped. “Not all leads pan out. That’s not Carson’s fault.”
“Sorry,” Jack replied, sounding chagrined.
“Barry, stay with Russian intel. Jack, report.”
“I’m looking into who tipped off the police. I’m also working on background checks on the informants. Records aren’t the most efficient, but I’m working on it.”
“Alright, keep at it. We need all hands on deck for this one, so I want Jack to check in with Interpol. Carson, reach out to your contact. Drew and I will go through security with the airports. Greg, you have trains and boats. Rob, help Barry. Alright, you all have your assignments.”
“So who’s your contact?” Jack asked as they walked back to their desks.
“I’m not going to tell you that.” Carson was shocked that he was even asking.
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was only curious about how reliable this source was.”
“Who’s your source at Interpol?” Carson countered.
“Her name is Glenda. She and I had a little thing back in the day. She still adores me, naturally, so when I ask for a favor, she gives it happily.”
“I’m sure.” Carson rolled his eyes. Was there a woman besides Sandy who wasn’t pulled in by Jack’s charm?
What would Allie think of his teammates?
Would Jack charm her away from him? Would she hate him?
Jenny had hated hanging with his teammates.
She’d wanted to be out dancing or going to dinner, not hanging around a bonfire shooting the shit.
Another sign he should have left her before things got to where they were.
Carson called his contact, grumbling when it went to voicemail. “Hey, it’s Carson. I need a favor. Call me as soon as you can.”
“Let’s get some lunch,” Jack suggested, sitting on the edge of Carson’s desk. “I need a break from these four walls. Unless you have a lunch date already.”
Carson checked his phone. Not only had the morning flown by, but he had a text from Allie. He had been so absorbed in his work; he had completely missed it. He’d text her back later. “No plans. Let’s go.” He could use a break from staring at his screen himself.