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

by C. G. Cooper

  Dunn interrupted, “So that’s where we’ll start the video for you.”

  Bowser took the cue and started the video. It showed Agent Malone walking to the blue porta-potty. He paused just as someone would do if their phone rang in their pocket. Malone extracted his cell phone, pressed a button, then held it to his ear.

  “Hey, I’m in.” The recording was scratchy, but Haines could make out every word.

  Malone listened to the person on the other end of the call.

  “Yeah. After I take this little tour and let them soften up a bit I’ll ask for your little buddy Zheng. Once I get my hands on him, I’ll order him to start opening up all the locked doors in this place.”

  He listened again and nodded.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get him out of here, but it’s gonna cost you extra.”

  Malone paused to listen and then chuckled. “Sure, I’m ready for a little vacation too. Let’s wrap this up and then I’ll use some of my accrued leave. At least the Bureau gives me that much. I’ll call you in a couple hours.”

  Haines’s normally calm face raged red. “Do we know who he talked to?”

  “Bowser tracked it to a tower in the Jackson Hole area,” Dunn answered, dead serious. “You want me to take care of this?”

  Haines thought for a moment. What they should do is turn the piece-of-shit-Malone in to his superiors. But Haines came from a warrior background. Her father was a former Special Forces soldier who’d fought in Vietnam. She probably would have tried to become an infantry officer if the military allowed it.

  “I’ll take care of Agent Malone. Bowser, can you email that video to me?” Bowser nodded. “Todd, would you mind setting up one of your interrogation rooms?”

  The two techs looked at Haines in awe. They’d heard rumors of her physical prowess, and she was undoubtedly beautiful, but seeing the lioness come out right before their eyes was astonishing.

  Dunn and Haines went to leave, but Bowser had one more question.

  “Hey, Ms. Haines, what’s Z…uh, I mean what’s Terrence Zheng got to do with all this?”

  Haines stopped and turned around. “Loose lips sink ships, gentlemen. You won’t be seeing Mr. Zheng any time soon.”

  Without another word, she turned away and left the room, Dunn in tow.

  Bowser looked at his companion in wide-eyed wonder. “I call dibs on Zheng’s Xbox profile!”

  +++

  Dunn split off as Haines walked swiftly to the security desk. “Can you please ask Agent Malone to join me in the lower level observation deck?” she asked the large sentry.

  “Yes, Ms. Haines. I’ll escort him down personally.”

  “Thank you.”

  Haines headed back toward the Batcave. As an afterthought, she pulled out her phone as she walked.

  “Travis, I think we’ve found the connection.”

  +++

  Fifteen minutes later, Malone, escorted by the guard, entered the gallery overlooking the interrogation rooms. With a nod from Dunn, the guard left and Malone joined him and Haines.

  “So what’s up?” Malone asked conspiratorially. “Is this where you do your secret interrogations?”

  Haines answered with a dry laugh. “I just thought you might like to see this and get a quick tour. It’s state of the art and where we do all our training for new SSI personnel going into the field.”

  “Nice,” Malone admired as he gazed down at the brightly lit rooms. “Lead on, Ms. Haines!”

  Dunn made no move to follow. “You’re not coming with us, Dunn?” Agent Malone asked.

  “I’ve got some things to take care of upstairs. We’ll have lunch waiting for you when you’re finished here.” Dunn headed to the stairwell and disappeared.

  Haines led Malone to the control room first. He gave it a cursory examination and, once satisfied, indicated they should move on to the lower rooms.

  They stepped down the side staircase and entered the first room they encountered.

  “As you can see, we have cameras installed there and there,” Haines pointed to the locations of the observation equipment. “And anyone in the gallery can watch through the one-way window.”

  Agent Malone traced his hand along the edge of the metal table in the center of the room. He stared at Haines lasciviously. “You want to tell me why you really wanted to get me down here…alone?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jack,” Haines answered in feigned surprise.

  “You could’ve gotten anyone to show me this place. Why did you want to bring me down here?”

  Haines looked back at Malone with an embarrassed shrug. “Am I that obvious?” she asked innocently.

  Agent Malone’s eyes lit up as he moved closer to the attractive attorney. “Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

  “Oh?”

  “You’re surrounded by these meatheads all day long. I’m not surprised you’re more attracted to the polished type.”

  “And you’re saying you’re the polished type?” Haines purred.

  “I am.”

  “So what should we do now?”

  Malone glanced up to the invisible cameras. “What about witnesses?” he asked.

  “I turned those off when we were in the control room.”

  “And what about someone seeing us from the gallery?”

  Haines smiled mischievously. “I told Dunn to give us some time alone. We should have plenty of time.” She slinked up to Malone and placed a hand on his chest. Suddenly, he seemed nervous and uncertain.

  “Would you feel more comfortable if I turned off the lights?” Haines asked.

  Malone could only nod through parched lips and slowed brain function. Is this really happening?

  Haines walked to the door and turned off the lights. The room was thrust into darkness except for the small amount of light seeping in through the one-way mirror.

  “Where are you, Jack?”

  “Over here,” Malone responded hoarsely. He started to loosen his tie so he could breathe.

  Seconds later, Haines’s hands were back on his chest and he could feel her hot breath on his neck.

  “So how do you want to do this?” he asked.

  “I thought we’d get to know each other a little bit first,” she teased, yanking down playfully on his tie.

  “Uh, sure. What would you like to know?”

  “Oh, I just have one question for you, Jack.” She grazed her nose along his jaw line, and he shuddered in anticipation.

  “Okay. What’s your question, Ms. Haines?”

  She took his head in her hands and brought his ear down to her mouth. “I just want to know one thing. How long did it take before you turned traitor?”

  Before Malone had time to respond, Haines blasted her knee into his groin. As he doubled over in pain, she bent down and whispered in his ear one last time. “Now you know why they call me The Hammer, you piece of shit.”

  Grabbing his head again, she slammed her knee into his temple and let him drop unconscious onto the floor. Marge checked to see that he had a pulse, then grabbed the handcuffs from Malone’s belt and strapped his two hands behind his back. After relieving the crooked agent of his sidearm, Haines left the room to fetch Dr. Higgins.

  +++

  Agent Jack Malone kicked and screamed as Dr. Higgins wheeled in his tools. The guards had strapped him to a gurney as he lay unconscious.

  “I don’t know what that bitch told you, but you guys are in some deep shit. I am an FBI agent!”

  Higgins ignored the man and continued to set up his supplies.

  “Talk to me!” yelled Malone.

  The expert interrogator continued to pay him no heed. Higgins liked to get a first impression of his subjects. It allowed him to assess the person’s demeanor in order to administer the correct dosage of his truth serum. Agent Malone might be a challenge, but the wizened doctor relished the test.

  Higgins finally turned to face Malone. “Mr. Malone, I am here to ask you some very speci
fic questions. I will tell you that it’s pointless trying to resist. Either tell me the truth or we’ll extract it in other ways.”

  Malone’s eyes bulged in anger. “You fucking quack! I’m gonna have your ass for this! You know how illegal…!”

  Instead of listening further, Dr. Higgins adjusted the mechanical gurney to give him better access to the apparatus. Malone silenced as soon as he saw the needles. “What…what’s that for?”

  “I told you, Mr. Malone, if you don’t want to cooperate, we’ll coax you into cooperating.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m here to investigate YOU!”

  “I guess you could say the shoe is on the other foot now, wouldn’t you?” Higgins asked.

  Malone kept screaming obscenities until Dr. Higgins inserted the IV needle into his arm. Higgins waited five minutes for the drug to fully take hold. He could see that Malone was completely relaxed.

  “There, now that’s better. How are you feeling, Mr. Malone?”

  “I’m…nice.” Malone’s face was calm. It looked like the drug had performed as planned.

  “Is it okay if I ask you some questions now, Mr. Malone?”

  “Sure,” answered the suspect dreamily.

  Like Zheng before, Agent Malone was more than happy to answer any and all questions. Malone described his relationship with Nick Ponder. They’d met while serving in the Army and reconnected six years earlier when Agent Malone had been part of the team that audited The Ponder Group. They shared a love of fast women and money. Over the years, Malone had come to Ponder’s rescue, for a price. Files were misplaced and agents were reassigned from ongoing investigations. Malone knew how to manipulate people and the system. They’d both become wealthy through the mutually beneficial relationship.

  “How is it that you came to investigate SSI?” Higgins asked, knowing that Dunn and Haines were digesting every word in the control room.

  “I got a call from Nick. He said he needed SSI out of his hair for a while. Told me it would be helpful if we could run a little investigation. Nick said he had a guy on the inside that was feeding him intel and that there might just be some juicy stuff in it for me.”

  “So you were tasked with keeping us busy?”

  “Yeah, but the silver lining for me was finding something that could shut down your whole operation.”

  “Did Mr. Ponder give you any specifics on what you might find?”

  “Not really, but this Zheng kid was supposed to start the digging. Hey, where is Zheng anyway?”

  “Mr. Zheng is no longer your concern, Mr. Malone.”

  Malone shrugged nonchalantly.

  Higgins had all the information they would need. A condensed version of the recording would be delivered to one of their contacts in the Hoover Building. Jack Malone would be quietly put away in a maximum-security federal prison. The FBI didn’t like traitors and dealt with them swiftly.

  “It was a pleasure speaking with you, Mr. Malone. Best of luck in the future.”

  Higgins gathered his gear and headed for the door.

  +++

  Dr. Higgins joined Marge Haines and Todd Dunn in the gallery.

  “I’ve gotta say, Doc, you are an artist when it comes to making people talk,” Dunn offered, impressed yet again by the doctor’s skill.

  “Lots and lots of practice, Todd. Although I must say that with a man like Mr. Malone, sometimes I wish I could deliver some damage like Marjorie.”

  It was hard to get Haines to blush and yet she did. She held Dr. Higgins in high esteem and sought his insight often. “I’ll start giving you classes in the gym whenever you’re ready, Doctor.”

  Higgins chuckled warmly. “That’s quite all right. I’ll leave the tough stuff to you and the boys.”

  “On to a more serious topic,” Dunn interrupted, “I’ve already emailed the edited transcript to a buddy of mine at the Bureau. I’m thinking this audit will be over before we know it.”

  Haines and Higgins nodded. Once the FBI found out that one of their investigative teams had been tasked under false pretences, they would likely do everything they could to extract their people as soon as possible.

  “Is there anything else you’d like me to do?” Dr. Higgins asked his colleagues.

  Dunn shook his head. “As long as we don’t have any other traitors in our midst, I think we’re good.”

  “Any word from Cal?”

  “The last we heard they were a couple hours into their insertion.” Dunn looked at his watch. “They should be getting a good dose of the storm right about now.”

  Chapter 26

  Grand Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming

  10:36am, September 28th

  As soon as the storm hit, they couldn’t see five feet in front of them. Although it definitely slowed their forward progress, it also gave them cover should anyone be tracking from a higher elevation.

  Cal’s team had donned all white coveralls as the snow started to fall. The white camouflage would further conceal them from enemy eyes.

  They were still walking through the middle of Death Canyon, but wouldn’t for much longer. It had been a gamble to take the well used path in order to speed their progress. Cal glanced at his GPS. They were nearing their scheduled checkpoint. After a short rest, the group would break into two teams. They’d approach the objective from two directions.

  Cal and Daniel would accompany Gaucho. Lance Upshaw, the helpful prisoner, would also be with Cal’s group.

  MSgt Trent and Brian Ramirez would go with the other team.

  The halt signal was passed back through the dispersed formation. Cal made his way to the front. Gaucho was rooting through a pack of cold weather rations as Cal moved up next to him.

  “How are you liking the weather, Gaucho?”

  The Hispanic warrior made a comical face. With the snow already starting to stick to his braided bearded, Cal thought his team leader was starting to look more and more like a mountain dwarf from the Lord of the Rings.

  “I’m gonna freeze my nuts off tonight!”

  Cal laughed. “That’s only if we stop moving. How much longer do you think we have?”

  Gaucho pulled out his map and pointed to their current location. “As long as we keep making good time I think we’ll get there just after midnight.”

  Cal looked up at the obscured sky. The snowfall was picking up and already starting to accumulate. He guessed that there was already a good three inches on the ground.

  “I’ll tell you that I’m not looking forward to putting these damn skis on, Boss.” Gaucho looked back at the cross-country skis strapped to his pack.

  Cal could only image what the short Mexican would look like on skis.

  “At least we’ll have skins for when we’re going uphill. You ever tried to go up a slope without them?”

  Gaucho nodded sadly. “I think the Army played a trick on me when they sent me to your Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport.”

  Cal snorted at the thought. He’d spent six weeks at the remote training center with his battalion as a young corporal. Fully half of the Marines in his unit ended up not finishing the training mostly from injury or illness. Some just couldn’t take the altitude and the cold. He remembered being in shock when some of the toughest Marines in his company had refused to go back up the mountain. Cold weather separated the men from the boys even amongst Marines.

  “That big kid giving Snake Eyes any trouble?” Gaucho asked.

  “He’s kept pretty quiet. Hasn’t complained once. Daniel even said he offered to carry more gear before we stepped off.”

  “No shit?”

  Cal nodded. “I think he’s getting it through his head that we’re not the bad guys. He might even come in handy when we get close to Ponder’s place.”

  +++

  Lance Upshaw had come to the realization that he’d probably been playing for the wrong team since joining The Ponder Group. There’d been warning signs, like when a couple of new guys had disappeared on an overse
as op. Ponder had merely shrugged and noted that it was the price of doing business in a dangerous world. There were no memorials and no letters of condolence.

  Then there were the actual men that Ponder hired. Most had washed out of the military for one reason or another. At first Lance thought it was a blessing that a man like Nick Ponder would lend a helping hand to men who needed a second chance. It didn’t take Lance long to see that most of Ponder’s contractors didn’t deserve a second chance. They were bullies and criminals. In his third month of employment, Lance had to fight off three separate challengers until the rest had realized that he was more than a match for them. Now they mostly left him alone.

  And that’s how he’d felt for most of the past year. Luckily Trapper had recognized Lance’s work ethic and took him along when he needed some muscle. It wasn’t bad work but Lance still felt unsatisfied. There had to be more to life.

  Since being captured by the SSI guys, he’d quietly observed their interactions. It was obvious they all respected one another. Also, despite the fact that he was the enemy, they still treated him with respect. Not once had any of the men degraded him, and it all started with Daniel Briggs. In Briggs, Lance saw the Marine he wished he himself had become. Silent in his approach, the man the others called Snake Eyes was obviously a highly valued part of the team. And he did it all without yelling or cussing. In fact, Lance could have sworn that he’d once seen Briggs say a prayer and then finish with the sign of the cross.

  It all gave the disgraced Marine a lot to think about. These men were walking into almost certain danger, all for the love of a friend. Would Nick Ponder do the same thing? Lance didn’t think so.

  +++

  Far above, Trapper rubbed his hands to ward off the cold. Although he couldn’t see the troops moving into his territory, he had laid small pressure plates along the trail to alert him of their passing. He silently congratulated himself for choosing the right route. Now all he needed to do was track and take them out once the time was right.