Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2)

by J. M. Brister

  After Gray Tower’s big victory last year with a huge shipping company called Amherst Global, they received a boost of intel. Some of that intel pointed to the Black Mark as a subsidiary to some of their nefarious activities.

  The only problem was that unlike Amherst Global—which was a privately-owned company—the Black Mark was a shifty word-of-mouth criminal organization, making it hard to pin down or infiltrate. Gabe had been eying them for years, especially during his days as a detective. Now that he had his chance, he was going to take it.

  They were parked a few houses down from where Gabe was located in a rougher neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte was a particular hot spot for Black Mark activity, so that was where Gabe was going to make his start.

  Jack and Hale would monitor as Gabe contacted a lower level Black Mark thug. They were there for Gabe as back-up, just in case shit went south, though Jack knew that his friend could handle himself in most cases. Charlotte was Gabe’s old stomping grounds when he was a cop.

  “I know,” Hale continued. “This is just an odd mission for us. Marshall could be gone for months if not longer, completely on his own.”

  “Yep,” Jack agreed. “And we’re here to see him off. Now, shut up. Here comes our guy.”

  Jack watched as Gabe greeted another man, the Black Mark contact. They were in a shabby house with ragged furniture from what Jack could see through the screen. A TV was on in the background, showing amateur porn. Drug paraphernalia littered the tables, while empty cans of beer were scattered across the floor.

  The Black Mark goon was a young guy with ratty hair. His face was scabby, possibly from methamphetamine use. He was low level on the Black Mark hierarchy. However, Gabe was going to play the long game and work his way up from there.

  “You wanna make some money?” The kid asked, rubbing at his face.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Gabe said, his voice low.

  “Well, if you do this job right. We might have more for ya. We’ll see.”

  The Black Mark goon danced back and forth, a bit agitated. This guy had to be on drugs.

  “Okay. I’m listening,” Gabe replied.

  “I got a package I need delivered to the other side of town. Here’s the address. Get it there fast, and we’ll see about another job.”

  “Sure,” Gabe said, nonchalantly.

  Jack watched while Gabe and the Black Mark guy grabbed the “package,” which was a small wooden crate, and carried it out to Gabe’s vehicle—a loaner from Gray Tower. Meanwhile, Jack dialed into Gray Tower’s tech support so that they could get some eyes in the sky.

  “Yes?” Came the voice of Katherina Langley.

  Kat was Gray Tower’s IT security head, but she also got the honor of overseeing any high-level field operative’s tech needs as she was smart as hell and could think quickly in a pinch. She had replaced Gray Tower’s previous IT security guy last year when it had been discovered that he had been selling company intel that had nearly compromised an entire mission and almost gotten Jack’s best friend killed.

  It had been Kat who had figured out the mole and had been put in danger when she had discovered that it was their IT security head. He had smuggled a gun into a secure area at Gray Tower Headquarters and tried to take Kat hostage. It had been Jack who had rescued her, making the call to shoot her attacker before he could shoot her.

  Ever since that time, Jack felt a bit protective of Kat. Of course, it didn’t help that she was a cute blonde, though a bit nerdy for his taste.

  “It’s Hunter. I hope your guy is ready with the drone because Marshall’s about to move out.”

  “Yeah. He’s ready to go. I’ll get him connected to this call too.”

  A few moments went by, and Jack watched as Gabe put the package in the back of the Gray Tower car, a dark blue late-model mid-sized sedan.

  “Hey, it would be really cool if you learned how to pilot a drone,” Jack said, cutting the silence. “Then we wouldn’t have to wait on someone else.”

  “That is way outside of my job description, Jack,” Kat said, sounding annoyed. “In fact, what we’re doing right here is pushing it. I got hired on to keep your network and infrastructure secure, not baby-sit field agents with IT-related issues.”

  “Brenden did it,” he countered, referring to the last guy.

  “And he was a shady bastard,” she snapped.

  Jack grunted but said nothing. He felt partially responsible for what had gone down with Brenden and her.

  “I’m online,” said another voice on the call.

  This one was a male’s voice, most likely their drone operator.

  “Okay,” Kat said. “Make sure the drone is ready to go. Josh will pilot it, and I guess I’ll sit on the line and baby-sit you guys instead of getting actual work done.”

  “Aw. Thanks so much, Miss Langely,” Jack said. “It means so much to us grunts.”

  Jack swore he could hear her cursing from the other end of the line, but it was muffled. He smiled as he loved to pull her chain a bit.

  “Drone’s up,” the drone operator who was apparently named Josh said. “What am I following?”

  “There’s a sedan backing out of a driveway two houses to the north of your location,” Jack stated. “That’s Marshall’s car. Follow it.”

  Jack watched the drone’s video feed as it hovered over the street and found Gabe’s car.

  He tapped the front seat of the van and told their driver, “Let’s head out slowly. Don’t get too close just in case. Hey, Marshall. Can you hear me?”

  “Yeah,” Gabe said. “Still here. I’ll let you know if I run into any problems. Thanks for hanging in there with me.”

  “No problem,” Jack replied.

  Gabe’s car moved out, followed by the drone, and then the van. They had to drive from the west side to the east side of town, which could get interesting with Charlotte traffic as it was late evening rush hour.

  The first half hour went okay. Some of the traffic was stop and go in a few spots, but there was no trouble noted, which was just fine with Jack. It was when Gabe got close to his destination that the situation started to get a bit hairy.

  They were in another residential area, though this one wasn’t quite as run-down as the one on the west side. That didn’t mean anything to Jack. Looks can be quite deceiving.

  “I’m coming up to the house now,” Gabe said. “There’s two guys sitting in a car next to the house. I’m going to have to go radio silent.”

  “Okay,” Jack confirmed. “Josh, can you get the drone into position over the house?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’m almost there.”

  Jack studied the video footage from all angles, looking at Gabe’s camera to the drone’s footage. He watched as Gabe got out of the car, and the men in the car parked left their vehicle as well.

  “You’ve got company, Marshall,” Jack told him.

  They watched Gabe’s body cam as he waved casually to the two men walking up to him. Both were much bigger and stronger than the Black Mark kid who Gabe had initially met with.

  “Who are you?” One guy asked gruffly.

  “I’ve got a delivery for you,” Gabe said calmly.

  “You’re a little old for a courier,” the guy continued.

  Jack huffed and shook his head. Gabe was only a year older than Jack at thirty-eight. He did understand what the guy was alluding to, though. That type of work was given to young guys or people who couldn’t quite cut anything more complicated.

  Gabe appeared to be neither of these, and it was true. He was an experienced former detective who could handle himself just fine.

  “I’m new to the area and am starting from the bottom,” Gabe replied. “Have a problem with that?”

  The talkative guy looked him up and down.

  “As long as you aren’t no narc, I’ve got no problem. Let’s go.”

  Jack and Hale watched as Gabe helped the guys move the crate into the other car. The Black Hand guy who
hadn’t said much got in the car and drove off. Meanwhile, the other guy pointed to the house.

  “Dust wants to see you.”

  Hale snorted and said, “Dust? Seriously?”

  “Hush,” Jack replied, watching the video feed closely.

  Gabe and the Black Mark goon walked up the driveway and into the front door. This house was cleaner than the first, though the furniture and décor looked dated. They walked into a small kitchen where a man was sitting at a chair, reading a newspaper and drinking a mug of something.

  “Leave us,” the guy said, waving the other goon away.

  This Dust guy was a middle-aged, large guy, one of those men who had just as much fat on his body as muscle. He looked to be much higher on the food chain than the initial guy that Gabe had met.

  “So, you’re the new guy,” Dust said, glancing at Gabe from his newspaper. “You don’t look like the typical recruit. You look like you know how to handle yourself.”

  “I’m just looking for work,” Gabe told him.

  “I doubt it would be difficult for you to find some. So, why go down this road?”

  “Most places won’t take someone with my record, so I find work where I can.”

  Dust shrugged and returned to his paper.

  Then he nonchalantly said, “You do realize that if I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you right here.”

  Jack tensed.

  He did not like how this was going, but he wouldn’t move in unless Gabe requested it.

  On the plus side, Gray Tower’s surveillance equipment was top notch, and it would be almost impossible for Dust—or anyone else in the Black Hand organization for that matter—to tell that Gabe was wearing a camera, microphone, and earpiece. That was one of the perks of working for Miles Bryant—the man spared no expense when it came to an op.

  “I’m just trying to earn a living,” Gabe replied calmly.

  “In this organization, I’m going to need a bit more than that,” Dust said, sitting his mug and paper down.

  He stood up slowly, looking Gabe up and down. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out what looked like a Glock and aimed it right at Gabe.

  Shit, Jack thought.

  This was just what they needed.

  “Marshall, you let us know if you need help,” Jack said, keeping his voice calm.

  Gabe remained quiet and calm, not moving.

  “I could just shoot you right now,” Dust continued. “That way I don’t have to worry about whether your bullshitting me or not. How about that?”

  “It’d be a hell of a mess if you did,” Gabe replied simply.

  “True,” Dust said, cocking his head.

  If they had to go in, the whole operation was blown. However, if Gabe could hold his ground, and Dust decided not to shoot, then it could earn him some points with the Black Mark. There was a distinct possibility that Dust was antagonizing Gabe in order to see if he was working with law enforcement.

  Dust moved his finger to the trigger, and said, “But I have people who clean up my messes.”

  He aimed.

  It was a silent face-off.

  “Gabe, say the word, and we’re there.”

  “I see two entrances. One in the front and one in the back,” said Josh. “There are at least two guys out front right now.”

  “I see them,” Jack replied, getting up and reaching for his gun.

  Then, Gabe spoke up, saying, “I could be one of those guys. If you’d calm the fuck down and let me do my thing, we can both benefit from this.”

  Dust stared at him, face emotionless.

  Then, he smiled.

  Lowering his gun, he said, “I see you’re a pretty tough hombre. I like that. You can start working for me if you can keep that attitude.”

  “Stand down,” Jack said, hissing out a sigh of relief.

  Whatever test Dust had given Gabe, he had apparently passed. Hopefully, this meant that Gabe was officially “in.”

  “So, what do I call you?” Dust asked as he pulled his weapon back in his jacket and sat back down.

  “Since we’re apparently giving single names here, you can call me ‘Angel.’ If that’s alright with you?” Gabe asked casually.

  Jack had to keep it together not to laugh out loud. He wasn’t sure if Gabe had been thinking about that stupid-ass nickname for a while or if it had just come to him. Regardless, he’d have to poke some fun at Gabe whenever his mission was complete.

  “Alright then,” Dust said. “Come back here tomorrow morning. I’ll have more work then.”

  “Sure,” Gabe said.

  Jack waited a few more moments until Gabe had made his way back out of the house before signaling for everyone to pull out. That was the end of the line for Jack and his team. Gabe was on his own from now on.

  “Jack?” Came Kat’s voice from his ear piece.

  Fuck, he thought.

  She had been on the line the entire time and had overheard everything. He grimaced. As much as he needed the best IT support person available, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to expose Kat to the shit that could sometimes go down during a mission. Brenden had shrugged it off like it was nothing.

  That wouldn’t happen with Kat. He knew that she’d internalize it, and he worried how that would affect her in the long-run. Jack was already concerned with what had happened to her last year. Perhaps he needed to find someone else to help on the high-priority ops? Hadn’t she just been complaining about being taken away from her normal duties?

  “I’m here,” he told her. “It’s alright. Everyone’s fine. You can disconnect on your end once your drone guy is down.”

  “Okay,” she said, sounding uneasy. “I’ll get on that.”

  “Thanks, Kat,” he told her.

  Jack decided that he was going to have to visit her in person when he got back. Just to make sure that she was okay with her current job responsibilities.

  At least that was what Jack told himself.

  Chapter 2

  Kat stared at her monitor set-up and sighed. She was working on a company-wide security update that would be pushed out later during off-hours, which meant that she was in for a heck of a long night.

  She sat back in her chair and stretched. The long hours didn’t bother her as much as the stress, most of it mainly from some of the high-priority missions she helped with. They weren’t exactly her favorite thing. She had enough anxiety just from day-to-day tasks, let alone some of the missions she had to sit in and assist with.

  Shaking her head, she decided to take a break since she didn’t have much to do but wait. Her office happened to be Brenden’s old one. He had been the last IT security head. She had wanted it that way. It was a way to face her demons after what had happened to her a year ago.

  She had initially been hired on as a contractor to sift through Gray Tower’s IT infrastructure and determine where and how a mole was shifting information in and out of the company. When she had discovered it had been Brenden, he had gone psychotic, pulling a gun on her. If it hadn’t been for Jack Hunter, she would probably be dead.

  Kat sighed when she thought about Jack. He was literally the hottest man she had ever known. She had a hard time not drooling over him when he was near. Luckily, that only happened when they had meetings together, and he sometimes came to her office to complain about whatever affected his side of the company.

  She hated having a crush on him because his actual personality left a lot to be desired. He was abrasive, insensitive, and generally an asshole. There had been times when she had left Jack’s presence in tears, though she was sure he didn’t intentionally do it. He just was—well—he was Jack. That was just who he was.

  Pushing up her large, black-rimmed glasses, she tried to shove Jack Hunter out of her mind and do something fun.

  Her office was decorated with the geekiest décor possible. Framed pictures from video games, movies, and TV shows lined the walls. There were various figurines sitting along her desk and bookshelves—though t
he books themselves were all IT-related. She had made the place her home, partly because she didn’t want the space to remind her of Brenden and partly because she spent so much time in her office. The space also didn’t have any windows, so she had to do something to cheer the place up a bit.

  Kat popped open her personal laptop and booted up a game of The Ancient Manuscripts: Skyedge. Kat adored single player adventure games, and Skyedge was one of her favorites. It was a high fantasy game set in a fun world, and it allowed her to relax for a little bit.

  She played for a little while, enjoying some down time, even if it was in her office. Kat had taken one of the apartments on the top level of Gray Tower Headquarters, a massive complex located just outside of Blacksburg, Virginia. Her boss, Miles Bryant, had built the place from the ground up to accommodate Gray Tower’s expanding business. The facility was just getting the final touches and would be fully operational soon.

  The first and second floors of the HQ contained dormitories, rec rooms, and more apartments as well as conference rooms, kitchen, dining hall, workout room, and pool. It was a pretty sweet set-up, though she rarely had time to enjoy most of the facilities.

  Then, on the sublevels, there was an armory, shooting range, tactical training rooms, and classrooms as well as offices. Her office happened to be on the bottom-most level, and although she enjoyed the place, it was a little unnerving going hours on end without seeing daylight.

  She liked working at Gray Tower, though. It was certainly a change of pace from her previous contract work, and she got to work alongside her best friend, Alexandria Thorn—or “Alex” for short. They had been friends from high school who had stayed in touch, and now they saw each other every day. They were pretty much BFFs.

  Kat had been so lost in her game and in her random thoughts that it didn’t really register that her office door had opened.

  “Please tell me you’re not sending secret messages back and forth in that game,” said the familiar male voice behind her.

  She immediately tensed and turned slowly around in her swivel chair to see Jack standing there in the doorway.

  He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark-wash blue jeans that fit him way too nicely. A side holster for his handgun sat comfortably at his waist, and his strong arms were folded in what looked to be disapproval.