Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset - Military Thrillers

by C. G. Cooper

  He’d learned from experience not to take a lead for granted and pushed his campaign staff hard. Zimmer was in the middle of perusing the college football matchups for the coming weekend when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and smiled.

  “Hey, Trav!”

  “Good morning, Congressman…or should I be calling you Senator now?”

  “Not yet, and you know you can always call me Brandon.”

  “I know.” Travis paused.

  Brandon caught the hesitation. “What’s going on?”

  “Are you on the cell phone we gave you?”

  “Yeah. Why?” Zimmer perked up at the question. Travis typically got right to the point.

  Travis quickly outlined the details of Neil’s kidnapping and Cal’s operation to get him back.

  “God, I’m sorry. Do you think he’s still alive?”

  “To be honest with you, I’m not sure. Then again, I don’t know why this guy would go through all the trouble to take Neil just to kill him.”

  “Do you have a motive?”

  “Not yet, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

  “How can I help?” Zimmer asked.

  “Actually, I called to ask for your help with something else,” Travis answered cryptically.

  Now Brandon was really confused. “Something else?”

  “Yeah. It just so happens that as soon as we got Cal to Wyoming, the FBI says it’s time for an audit. They just got here.”

  Travis didn’t have to tell Zimmer that the timing was more than a little coincidental. “So you think it has something to do with what’s going on with Neil?”

  “I do. If my hands weren’t tied with our guests, I’d make some phone calls. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind making some discrete inquiries within your little club.”

  Brandon knew he was talking about the Council of Patriots. The combined Rolodex of the two former Presidents and the seven former senators and congressmen in the group made for a powerful information-gathering asset. It was, however, important not to drink from the well too often. The Council’s secrecy was paramount.

  “Let me call our friends and see how they can help.”

  “I really appreciate it, Brandon. Please call me if you find out anything.”

  “I will. And, Trav…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Call me for help any time.”

  “Roger.”

  Zimmer ended the call and sat for a moment. He had a lot of pressing matters to attend to this afternoon, but this would take priority. He owed Cal and Neil a huge debt. If it weren’t for them, he’d probably be in jail and the President would be dead. Brandon would do anything to help his new friends.

  He picked up his cell phone again and scrolled through his contact list. After pressing the right record, he held the phone to his ear. The call connected and Zimmer spoke. “Mr. President, I need a moment of your time.”

  Chapter 23

  Grand Teton Mountain Range

  7:05am, September 28th

  “Rise and shine!” Ponder’s bellow was followed by a kick to Neil’s wobbly cot. Neil just barely caught himself before he fell off and onto the floor.

  He looked up at his captor through bleary eyes. He’d just managed to fall asleep and suspected Ponder had waited for his slumber just to torment him.

  “What time is it?” Neil dared to ask.

  “I said it’s time to rise and shine! Now get cleaned up. We’re taking you back to the server room.” Ponder stormed out of the cell.

  It was the same journey they’d repeatedly forced him to make. He’d resisted their requests but knew his time was running short. Neil had to deliver something or else they’d kill him.

  He sat up painfully. Shivering uncontrollably, Neil wrapped the thin blanket around his shrinking body. Although his time in captivity hadn’t been long, Neil knew he’d already lost weight. The constant stress led to a complete lack of appetite in the normally fit Indian-American. Somehow he managed to force down several bites of food every time the jailer brought it. He knew it wasn’t enough.

  Just as he’d fallen asleep, the tech genius was trying to think of a way to alert his friends at SSI. If he had more time with a computer it would’ve been easy, but every time they set him as the workstation there was someone watching.

  The guard arrived and unceremoniously picked Neil up like a baby and carried him out of the cell. A minute later they arrived at the now familiar server room. It wasn’t much compared to what Neil was used to, but still impressive for a mountain top retreat.

  Ponder stood over his shoulder just as he had done before. “Let’s try this again. Are you going to do it or not?”

  Neil didn’t have the will to say no. What reserves he’d had now lay scattered on the frozen ground outside the complex. “I’ll do it.”

  Ponder was secretly relieved. “Now remember what I told you,” Ponder growled as he extracted a large knife from its leg holster, “you try anything funny and I’ll take off your other foot personally.”

  Neil didn’t doubt the man’s threat. In the short time he’d been a guest at Chateau Winter Wonderland, as Neil now thought of the compound, he’d come to realize that the man in charge was not only ruthless, but probably had a few screws loose upstairs. His ability to pivot from anger to mirth spoke volumes of the grizzled man’s mental faculties.

  Shifting uncomfortably, Neil moved closer to the computer’s keypad. He tried to place his hand on the mouse but his hands kept shaking.

  Ponder turned to his sentry and barked, “Get a couple space heaters over here and bring some more blankets too. Have the cook bring down some hot soup and cider.”

  He looked down at Neil. “Well what are you waiting for? Get back to work!”

  Neil whipped his head back around and did his best to grip the mouse and click through the screens.

  +++

  Trapper was making good time on the mule he’d saddled. Something told him that the SSI operators would take the Death Canyon entrance. It was well traveled and easy to access from Teton Village. Trapper had already confirmed with the few helicopter companies in the area that no one had booked a flight. That left his enemy with only one option: trek in on foot.

  He pushed his mule hard hoping he’d make his destination before the storm hit. If he did, the slaughter would be easy. He’d have a perfect view. The former soldier grinned as he imagined the coming battle.

  +++

  The men were silent as they moved swiftly down the trail. They’d made good time so far and hadn’t encountered many hikers. The few people they had seen were going the opposite way, eager to avoid the blizzard. Everyone could feel the weather shift as the storm crept closer. Cal was hiking in the middle of pack, allowing his mind to drift back to his days in the Marine Corps, hiking countless miles with fellow Marines.

  Brian Ramirez pulled up beside him.

  “What’s going on, Doc? Not enough action in the rear?”

  Brian had elected to stay in the back of the group just as he’d done during his time with Marines. It was customary for the Corpsman to tend to the stragglers and injured with the company gunny.

  “Was wondering if you’d heard anything else from Camp Spartan.”

  Cal shook his head. “They’re busy handling the FBI guys that someone shoved down their throats. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather be here than dealing with that right now.”

  Brian agreed. “So we’re really going in as is? No more support from home?”

  “It’s just us, Doc.”

  Brian wasn’t the only one that couldn’t shake the feeling that they were walking into a shitstorm.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Doc, but our options are limited. We know where they’re keeping Neil so we’ve gotta go get him.”

  “But how do we know for sure that he’s up there?”

  Cal was getting tired of the conversation. Brian was one of his best friends, but the last thing he needed right
now was to have his judgment questioned.

  “It’s all we’ve got to go on. Look, I gave everyone the chance to stay back. If you think it’s such a bad idea feel free to turn around now,” Cal noticed a couple of the men around them glance back in concern.

  “You know I wouldn’t do that, Cal. I just want to make sure you’ve thought this whole thing through. I’m not trying to make waves. I just want to help.”

  Cal calmed in response to Brian’s conciliatory tone. The stress was getting to him. He knew he had to be careful and keep his temper in check. Nothing good came of barking at his team.

  “Sorry, Doc. Just forget what I said. I couldn’t do this without you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Just make sure you catch Top when he falls out back there,” Cal said loudly enough for the huge Marine Master Sergeant to hear.

  “I heard that!” Trent boomed as loudly as he dared.

  The men around them chuckled quietly.

  “Seriously though, Doc, we just need to get up there as soon as we can. I’m afraid of what they’re planning for Neil.”

  “Yeah,” Brian said absently.

  It was good that they had the winding path to worry about because it was impossible to imagine the fate of their friend. By now they’d all heard the stories about Nick Ponder’s exploits. There wasn’t a man in the group that didn’t want to see the man in jail or dead.

  Brian dropped back to the rear of the formation and left Cal to his thoughts.

  Chapter 24

  Grand Teton Mountain Range

  8:17am, September 28th

  “Okay, I’m in,” announced Neil.

  Ponder strained to make sense of the code on the monitor. A second later the screen changed and displayed the control panel of the Shiloh Wind Power Plant in Bird’s Landing, California.

  “Shut it down,” Ponder ordered.

  He’d told Neil on their first attempt that the test was to shut down the plant’s power for a full minute. Neil knew it would be an easy feat with his computer prowess. Hell, with his own equipment he’d have done it in less than five minutes. In Ponder’s lair he’d had to build a hacking system from scratch. Although labor intensive, it had allowed Patel to imbed some extra code into the program. He hoped it would be enough to alert his friends of his location.

  “I said shut it down!”

  Neil did as he was told.

  +++

  Miles away at the Shiloh Wind Power Plant, Bernice Ormand was monitoring the plant’s computer systems. She’d been in the control room since 6:00am and casually swept her gaze across the assorted meters. Bernice still marveled at the newly computerized system. She’d been at the power plant since it opened in 2006. Back then they’d installed a very rudimentary monitoring system just to get the plant built under budget. It wasn’t until the new President was elected in 2008, and his green energy funding went into effect, that the Shiloh Wind Power Plant installed a completely computer driven monitoring system.

  Bernice sipped her second green tea of the morning as she jotted down some notes in the plant’s logbook. As she went to complete her entry, all the screens on the panel went dark.

  “What in the world?” Bernice said.

  She grabbed the phone and dialed the station manager.

  “Stan, it’s Bernice. The monitoring system just went down.”

  “I’m checking one of the turbines right now. I’ll be up in five minutes.”

  Stan seemed unconcerned and his attitude served to calm Bernice’s nerves. She’d never seen this happen before. They’d had intermittent issues with malfunctioning turbines in the past, but the monitoring systems had always performed flawlessly. By the time she’d collected her thoughts enough to grab the logbook the computer screens flickered back to life.

  Huh. I better call Stan back, she thought. Bernice picked up the phone and dialed the manager’s number again.

  “The computers are back online, Stan.”

  “Good. Let me know if it happens again. Thanks, Bernice.”

  She hung up the phone, entered the incident into the logbook, then grabbed her Soduku puzzle book and dove into her unfinished brainteaser.

  +++

  “The system is back online,” Neil declared somberly.

  “Well I’ll be damned!” Ponder exulted. “Get him back to his cell so I can make a phone call,” he told his employee.

  As the jailer took Patel back to his room, Ponder pulled out his cell phone and dialed his contact’s number.

  “Yeah, it’s me. Are you happy now?” Ponder asked.

  “We have received confirmation of the test results. One half of the purchase price will be deposited into escrow. I will email you the deposit receipt momentarily.” The line went dead.

  Ponder almost drooled at the thought. He was so close to wrapping up the deal. Now he could focus on tying up some loose ends. With barely concealed glee he placed another call.

  “Are you there yet?” he asked his right hand man.

  “Almost,” Trapper said breathlessly. Ponder could hear the man being jostled as he rode.

  “Good. We just passed our test so the buy is a go.”

  “Congrats, Boss. How about I take care of our friends and then you buy the first round in Bora Bora?”

  “You got it,” Ponder responded, almost cheerfully.

  He replaced the phone in his pocket and allowed himself a second to take in the moment. In a matter of hours he would be a very rich man.

  +++

  The buyer’s agent answered the silent ringing.

  “Yes?”

  “You have authorization to proceed.”

  “Understood.” The man ended the call and scanned the surrounding area. His men were ready for a fight. They moved silently through the mountainous terrain, ever vigilant through years of hard training. He wondered if the seller even suspected what would soon happen. Doubtful. The arrogant Americans never suspected treachery when a payday was close at hand. They were greedy and short-sighted. It was all the more reason to crush them. The foreign emissary relished the thought and plodded along with his assassins.

  Chapter 25

  Camp Spartan, Arrington, TN

  11:20am CST, September 28th

  True to Jack Malone’s word, the investigation progressed swiftly. SSI employees were accommodating and the FBI agents were courteous in their questioning. Marjorie Haines was hopeful that it would all end soon. She had more important things to do than monitor their visitors.

  Her phone rang and she answered. “Haines.”

  “Marge, it’s Dunn. I’ve got something you need to see right now.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the Batcave.”

  Haines looked at her watch then over at the FBI teams going through paperwork. Jack Malone had left earlier to take a tour of the campus.

  “Give me a minute to excuse myself and I’ll be right down, Todd.”

  Marge checked to make sure that the investigators didn’t need her for a few minutes, and then headed to meet up with SSI security chief.

  +++

  Dunn was staring at a computer screen when Marge entered the Batcave. He had two of Neil’s computer techs assisting. They were watching a video. As she got closer, she realized the recording was of Agent Malone.

  “What’s going on, Todd?”

  Dunn turned around, surprised by the interruption. “Oh hey, that was fast.”

  “It sounded important so I got over here as quickly as I could.”

  “It is. Come take a look.”

  The two techs made room as Haines squeezed in to get a better view.

  “Tell me what I’m looking at.”

  The tech with a head full of unruly red hair spoke up first. “Well, Ms. Haines, Mr. Dunn told us to keep tabs on all the FBI guys. It was pretty easy until this guy…”

  “Agent Malone,” Haines furnished.

  “Yeah, until Agent Malone went on a tour o
f the campus with Kendall from operations.”

  Haines was confused. “What do you mean until?”

  The tech scratched his scraggly beard, unfazed by Marge’s tone. “Well, as long as he was in one of our buildings it was easy to jump from one camera to the next and follow him. It was when he went outside that we had a problem.”

  “How so?” Haines asked impatiently.

  “We have a limited number of cameras in the outdoor areas. They’re mostly at the front gate and around the perimeter. There’s usually no need to have them. So that posed a slight problem. How could we watch and listen in on what he was doing?”

  “I’m sorry…”

  “Bowser.”

  “Your name is Bowser?”

  “Actually my name’s Patrick but everybody calls me Bowser.”

  “Okay, Bowser, tell me what you did to fix the problem.”

  “You know that Neil built his Baby Birds a while back…”

  Baby Bird was the nickname the SSI operators had given to Neil’s tiny surveillance drone. The thing looked like a helicopter, fit in the palm of your hand and could be controlled hands-free with a special pair of sunglasses similar to the eye control systems used by Apache pilots.

  “…and we’ve outfitted a couple of them with long range microphones. We launched two of them to follow Agent Malone while he was outside.”

  “Bowser, this is all very fascinating, but would you please mind getting to the point?” Haines requested as politely as she could muster.

  “Sorry, Ms. Haines. Anyway, long story short, once they got near the chow hall Agent Malone asks if he can use one of the Porta-Johns the construction crews are using. He said he had too much coffee and really had to take a leak.”

  Haines rolled her eyes and motioned for the young tech to hurry up with his explanation.

  “So he walks over to the Porta-John and, once he’s out of earshot from Kendall, he pulls out his cell phone.”