Stormy Seas

by Ali Vali

  “Beautiful, you know I’d never go anywhere away from you voluntarily.” She held onto Aidan tighter and kissed the top of her head.

  “Thank you for letting me freak out on you,” Aidan said after a long silence.

  “That’s my job, along with a long list your father keeps adding to,” she said, glad to see the smile back on Aidan’s face.

  “The first night I spent with you, I knew deep down my dad was going to love you. You two don’t look anything alike, but in here…” Aidan placed her hand on Berkley’s chest before kissing the same spot. “In here, you’re both the same, and you love me as fiercely as he has my mom from the day they met.”

  “We’re also going to be like them in all the happy years they’ve shared and all the ones yet to come.” They kissed one more time before she slapped Aidan’s butt to get her up. “How about we tend to our cluster, and then we can head back here, and you can take your time worshipping me?”

  “So cocky,” Aidan said, pressing her lips to her chin.

  “Believe me, I’m in pain here, but I don’t want anyone coming to look for us if we’re too long.”

  They showered quickly before they moved to Aidan’s office and called for Devin and Wiley. The Arlington’s brig was full, but as with all the others they captured, none of them were talking. Captain Washington had gladly left the consultants with his prisoners, so his crew would be free to perform their duties.

  “They’ve been photographed and fingerprinted, and all that information has been forwarded to Command,” Devin said. “None of them had anything that would’ve identified them, and Greenwald said it might take some time to sort out.”

  “How close are we to our go point?” Wiley asked.

  “Two days, and one day from the two subs being close enough to us to make a difference if we see our friends again,” Aidan said. “We’re almost there, and I’m hoping they’ve got more for us than this speculation they’ve provided so far.”

  “Captain?” A man’s voice came over Aidan’s intercom.

  “Go ahead,” Aidan answered.

  “Command is requesting a conversation with you, Captain Levine, Major Gremillion, and Major Sterling.”

  “Let them know we’ll need about thirty minutes to get Major Sterling on board from the Arlington,” Aidan said, and everyone with her appeared more alert. The Arlington was not only housing the regular crew and their prisoners, but also a SEAL team that would accompany their people when they went in. The team’s commanding officer was Major Baylor Sterling, an old Academy buddy of Berkley whom she had fond memories of. They’d gone in different directions, but she still spoke to him occasionally, and she was glad to have him guarding her back.

  “Will do, ma’am.”

  “Gary,” Aidan said, patching through to the Arlington. “Can you send Major Sterling over, please?”

  “Only if you say red rover first,” Gary said, and Aidan snorted. “He’s on his way. We got the same call, and it sounded like we’re getting ready to send some of our crew inland.”

  “Thanks, and I think you’re right.”

  Baylor arrived ten minutes later, wearing a hoodie, shorts, and flip-flops, making Berkley a little envious of his casual attire. He shook hands with Aidan and bumped fists with her and Wiley. “Remind me never to piss you off, BD,” he said to Wiley, shortening her code name to initials. “That was a wicked shot earlier.”

  “Thanks, and we appreciate the backup. Ready for a hike?” Wiley asked.

  “The big dogs were born ready,” Baylor said, and Berkley laughed. “You ready, Cletus? We’re not going to have to carry you in and out on a litter, are we?” Baylor joked. “All that sitting you do hasn’t made you soft, I hope.”

  “Hey, if you’re offering.” She joked back. “My backseat wants to join the party—will that be a problem?”

  “Not to be harsh, but is the limp going to slow him down?” Baylor asked, all business now. “I understand why he’s asking, I do, but the faster we get in and out, the less likely we’ll get an up-close view of the million-man army.”

  “I totally agree with you, and while Harvey appears to be a big nerd, the guy’s a beast.”

  “I hear ya, since I know what you two went through to get out. Let Junior know to wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen. We’ll make it work.”

  “Thanks, Baylor,” she said, and the big guy nodded. “Once we’re done with this call, we’ll have your guys join us so they can meet Jin Umeko. If we run into any problems, she’ll be our translator.”

  “As long as she doesn’t tell anyone we come across, ‘Hey, kill all these damn American infidels,’ we’ll be cool.” He slapped her on the back.

  “Captain,” the communications guy said. “We’re ready to go in the conference room.”

  “Thank you.” Aidan moved everyone next door and locked them in while Devin stood guard outside. “We’re all present, Command.”

  “Good evening, everyone, especially you, Cletus,” Carl said, and Berkley raised her hand more for Preston’s benefit. “In two nights’ time, we’ll bring our team in with the Apache helicopters on board. After all the interrogations our guys have completed, we’re confident of a few things.”

  The national security adviser, Neil Perry, went first. “After some very pointed questions, the Russians admitted to the sale of four Akula-class subs in exchange for not only money, but some highly sensitive information. They wouldn’t admit from whom, but the important thing here is there are potentially three more besides the one that fired on Cletus.”

  “Have you narrowed the source and content of the breach?” Aidan asked.

  “The information had to do with troop movements in Iraq, and some have been linked to attacks that resulted in heavy casualties for us. Unfortunately, the likely source was Jerry Teague and Adam Morris. There’s no recourse there, but it makes you want to dig them up and kill them all over again,” Neil said. “The stolen money from the Pentagon budget financed the monetary portion of the sale.”

  “What else?” Captain Kevin Greer asked from the Anchorage.

  “You’ll probably find a trove of information at your target location,” Carl said. “There’s a chance the scumbag who last occupied it wasn’t truthful when he gave up the combination to the wall safe and the passwords to his computer, but don’t leave anything behind. It sounds like Chandler cut some deal with the Kim family for his own reasons, and asylum was his part of the deal. After we found out about the sub deal, he could be there or somewhere in Russia.”

  “Anything else? Not that everything you’ve shared wasn’t plenty,” Aidan said.

  “We may have found one of the sources of recruitment, and they’re under surveillance. The FBI is casting a wide net while still keeping the person contained. Once they move to pick them up, we can compare the information they’ll get with warrants to the information you extract.” Carl looked directly into the video camera and stayed quiet for a moment. “We need this, ladies and gentlemen. All this chaos Chandler’s after has a potential to fracture our nation, and the president wants to avoid that at all costs.”

  “We’ll be quick but thorough, sir, and we’ll have the Black Dragon keeping an eye on us,” Baylor said. “It’ll take death to keep us from completing our mission, and I don’t know about these yahoos, but I plan on going out at ninety with a pretty girl and a bottle of Jack.”

  “Good to know you have goals, Major,” Carl said, and everyone laughed. “Pack your guys up, and enjoy Captain Sullivan’s hospitality until you’re back from your hike. We’ll talk again before you go. Each of you has a trusted security officer manning the computers until we’re a go. We’ll be sending any updates as they come in.”

  “Yes, sir,” Aidan said, tapping her fingers lightly on the table.

  “For each captain, the protocol for any necessary action until otherwise noted will be echo, Charlie, whiskey,” Neil said.

  “Understood,” Aidan, Gary, and Kevin replied.

  “We�
��ll have some space for you guys by the time you make it back, Major,” Aidan said. “Sounds like the fun isn’t far off, so everyone get some sleep, and we’ll notify you of any new developments.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. We’ll do our best to stay out of your way.”

  “We’ll be honored to have you aboard,” Aidan said, and Baylor saluted.

  “We’re big fans of your dad, so we’ll look forward to working with you. We’re also looking forward to showing Cletus and her group what real running looks like in the morning.”

  “In your dreams, Jughead,” Berkley said, and Baylor lunged at her, stopping short.

  “I miss you, Cletus. You were the only one at the Academy and beyond not intimidated by my greatness.”

  “As you can see, Captain,” Berkley said to Aidan, “he’s still a big wallflower with self-esteem issues.”

  “I can see where you learned it, Cletus,” Aidan said, and the way Baylor laughed guaranteed they’d be friends.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Sir, none of our contacts have heard from her after the failed attack on the holding facility,” Ron Bollinger said as he glanced around the mall he was in. He always chose open public spaces when talking to Dick, on the off chance someone detected that communication. The location would never be anywhere near the capital or his home.

  “There has to be some sign of her,” Dick said, clearly aggravated. “She couldn’t have simply disappeared.”

  “The base north of us recorded the radio contact they picked up when she ordered the pilot to come about and clear the yard. That can only mean some of the potential prisoners the MPs were about to round up were acceptable casualties in order to keep our secrets. But I can’t confirm if she was standing right next to them when the pilot complied.”

  “Can you make contact with Marva Brian? I don’t know who this is, and I can’t chance being compromised. She’s called me more than once to talk about Rachel.”

  “I’ll take care of it, and I’m hoping the call she made was legit. Losing Rachel isn’t good for morale, and for you personally. You must love her a great deal.”

  “Get it done and get back to me,” Dick said, not giving away any feelings, as usual.

  “Certainly, sir.” He took a sip of his now luke-warm latte and watched the guy in the bistro across from him read the paper while drinking some kind of juice. The tingle of fear at the base of his spine made him wonder if the guy was covertly watching him, making him hold his breath when the guy looked directly at him and waved. “Shit,” he muttered, forcing himself to keep his seat.

  A second later a woman walked by him and waved back. When she stopped in front of the man and kissed him, Ron’s heart seemed to start beating again. “I need a fucking drink,” he said softly as he clutched the phone and did his best to relax. He didn’t want to call attention to himself, and to distract himself, he figured it was time for a new burner phone.

  Before he could stand, it rang, and he recognized the personal number of Chase Bonner, Speaker of the House. He considered ignoring it, but Chase could be childish when ignored. “Yes, sir?”

  “Where are you? Our follow-up press conference you insisted on is in twenty minutes.” Chase might’ve wanted the ultimate power of the presidency, but he was at times afraid of his own shadow. “I need you here.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I told you I had to attend to a matter this morning I couldn’t reschedule. Marjorie from my office has everything you need, and if you follow the script, you’ll do fine.”

  “If you’re finished, get over here. I’m not counting on Marjorie. I’m counting on you.”

  Ron hung up before Chase got any whinier and threw the phone away after removing the SIM card and snapping it in half. That he threw into the next trash can and made his way to the electronic store to replace it. The guy behind the counter was kind of old for the location, but he understood the economy was bad. “Thanks, Pops,” he said as he took his bag and change from the hundred dollars he paid with. Cash guaranteed that no paper trail would lead to him.

  “No problem, and thanks for shopping with us.”

  He tossed the box with everything else outside and headed for his car. If he hurried, he could make the press conference, but he was in the mood for something else. “Hey, are you free?” he asked, handing over the money for his parking. “Good. I’m on my way.”

  * * *

  “Did you get that?” the agent in the booth in the parking lot asked.

  “Loud and clear,” Jonas answered from the van outside. “Wrap it up and head to the address we identified last week in Georgetown. Our boy is looking to let off some steam.”

  “We’re on it, Director.”

  The back door of the van opened, and Charles, the agent who’d sold Bollinger his phone, climbed in. “I think the loving couple freaked him out—good call, Boss. If you want, we’ll take it from here.”

  “Thanks, Charles, but don’t lose him. We didn’t get anything on that last call, and it was important enough to change his phone after he was done. Make sure the guys get the old phone and do the analysis here,” Jonas said, thinking he’d like nothing better than to pick this guy up and beat the answers out of him. “If he’s setting a trap to check to see if he’s being watched, I don’t want the location services to give us away.”

  “We’ll take care of it, and we’ll be in touch if there’s anything else,” Charles said, changing his shirt from the polo the electronics store had issued him. “Don’t worry. We want this as bad as you do, and we won’t cut any corners.”

  Jonas nodded and put his finger up when his cell phone rang. “Chapman.”

  “Sir, we found something.” He recognized Erin’s voice. She’d been traveling to Baltimore to oversee Rachel Chandler’s interrogation, but she’d continued working the overall case while she was out of the office. “You want to come here, or should I come in?”

  “I’ll send a plane,” he said, bracing his feet on the ground when the van started moving. “We’ll meet when you get back.”

  “Something important?” Charles asked.

  “Might be,” he said before he leaned over and tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Stop at the corner and let me out.”

  He hailed a cab and had the driver drop him a block from FBI headquarters “Erin called and found something,” he said softly into the phone.

  “Keep us posted unless you want to come here. We’re not far from deploying, so I can’t leave,” Carl Greenwald said.

  “I’ll review whatever it is, but we’re closing in on Speaker Bonner’s assistant. We’ve got him under surveillance. That should warrant me reporting in, if nothing else.”

  “Get here as soon as Erin touches down then, and if whatever she has is enough, I may drive the paddy wagon myself.”

  Jonas changed his mind and retrieved his car, waving off his driver. Hopefully Erin had found the needle in the gigantic haystack of information they had. “If you found the key that lets us through the back door,” he said of Erin as he drove out of the parking lot, “you can have my job.”

  * * *

  “We have one more briefing before we hit our target site,” Aidan said as she sat with Berkley and Jin for breakfast.

  “I am ready to go,” Jin said as she held a cup of tea with two hands.

  “Are you afraid of anything?” Aidan asked, and Berkley glanced between them.

  Jin didn’t answer right away, and she was about to take the question back when Jin shook her head. “As you know, my family is dead, so that part of my life holds no hope or fear, but Yong—that is something unfinished. Whatever I find when it comes to her is the only thing I truly fear. If it is bad, it is my fault, and I will never be able to make it up to her.”

  “Think of it this way,” Berkley said softly, and her soft tone made Jin lean in toward her. “If she’s still alive, there’s hope. All you need to do is accept what happened and help her put the pieces back together. You obviously care about her, and because
you do, Yong will eventually be fine. She’s a lucky woman.”

  The way Jin stared at Berkley made Aidan’s heart ache for this somewhat broken woman. “I think it is you, Aidan, who are a lucky woman,” Jin said, glancing at her before turning back to Berkley. “Thank you, Berkley. Hopefully you are right, and I will find something I can live for.”

  Jin left them alone and Wiley took her place. “You okay, Berk?” Wiley put her plate down and started pouring sugar into her coffee. “You survived that strike, but ejecting out of that thing can’t be pleasant.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s become a habit since these guys painted a bull’s-eye on me, but I’ll be ready to go.”

  Wiley pointed her fork at her and shook her head. “I’m not worried about that, buddy. We can walk at a snail’s pace, and the outcome will still be the same. I only want to know if we need to.”

  “You make me feel better,” Aidan said. “Just make sure she doesn’t wander off.”

  “And miss Cletus getting her wings clipped—no way,” Wiley said and laughed. “She’ll be okay, Captain. Once I saw Baylor and the other SEALs, I felt better myself. Whatever’s in this place you’re giving us a ride to must be the mother lode because of the company we’re keeping.”

  “We didn’t think so until Jin reported seeing Americans when Chil held her captive, or who she thought were Americans making themselves at home,” Berkley said quietly. “When something’s that out of place, it’s memorable.”

  “I’m not an intelligence officer, but for Chandler to succeed, he needs backing from men who love nothing better than to turn our country into a twisted version of their world. Think about it,” Aidan said as she took a bite of Berkley’s toast like she didn’t realize what she was doing. “Turning the US into a more totalitarian government would not only give Chandler power forever, but it’d also change the world.”

  “So he blew up his house and ran into the arms of the Kim family?” Wiley asked.

  “Or the arms of Putin, or a few others like him I can think of,” Aidan said, shrugging. “Of course, I could be wrong.”