“You’re tougher than she is, Maggie,” he’d say as he touched the top of her head. His warm purring voice had been so consoling she could do nothing else but agree. But after he had driven off down the street, and she watched him every time she had a chance to, she was left with an unspeakable void. But it was nothing compared to the emptiness she felt when he had been permanently taken from them.
Being honest with herself, she acknowledged that Garrett had that same tender voice, that reassuring confidence.
Careful.
Warning signs and dark clouds were beginning to form at the corners of her mind, but she needed to indulge herself just a little longer. She’d gone years without having her dad. She’d risk the danger that perhaps her attraction to Garrett had something to do with that. It was confusing. But she pushed all those thoughts away, telling herself she needed to be mindful of the mission to find Georgette. It was what her dad would have recommended.
“Focus on the goal, Maggie. Just keep your head focused on what’s most important, and everything else will slip into place. Trust yourself but work to concentrate so you aren’t blindsided. You can do it. You’re just like me.”
The sunshine raining in through the large dining room window was the best feature of the house, she thought. Mist was still swirled through the tall trees. The ground was becoming carpeted with the orange and gold tones of fall. The more she stared into the woods, the more she felt that something was out there, ready to come towards her. Something in her future was about to be revealed between these trees.
“Coffee?” Garrett’s voice shook he to reality.
“Love some.”
He handed her a mug, already filled with cream and no sugar. “Just guessing on the condiments.”
“Yup,” she said as she supped. “Just like my dad. That means you must have gotten half and half.”
“Hell no. Heavy cream. I think he must have kept that a secret from you.”
The coffee was soothing. She sat where they’d had their conversation last night. “What’s happening today? Any news?”
“We’re getting a White House staff briefing this morning. The guy should be here any minute now. I’ve also got some new potential candidates for the team.” He was smiling down on her.
After he sat and set his coffee down, he leaned back on the leather couch and crossed his legs.
“I’m letting you ask questions, if you want to, Mimi.”
She nearly spit out her coffee. “Really?” She wrinkled her nose and pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. “Wow. I didn’t know you thought much of what I said last night.”
“I think you can pick up some things I’ll miss. And you don’t have to speak up, if you don’t want to. Just offering you the chance, if you think it’s important.”
“Okay, I will. These are people you know? You’ve worked with them before?”
“The potential members? Yes, all but one. And the White House staffer I’ve never met before, either.”
“Our boys will be back?”
“Oh yes, got them running errands this morning. I’m warming to them.” He smiled to his mug.
She knew he was about to ask her a question he wasn’t sure about. She waited, watching him rub the knuckles of his left hand.
“Can I ask you a question about your husband?”
“Sure.”
“What Team?”
“Three or five. He was working up to be on either of them, depending on the rotation, and who they needed.”
“Kyle Lansdowne is one of the LPOs of Team 3, good friend of mine.”
“I met him and his wife. Also met several from Team 5. All good guys.”
“Surprised they let you get out of San Diego without bringing a SEAL with you to D.C.?”
It was the truth and Jason had warned her about that. When one member doesn’t make it home, someone else steps in to fill the spot. “I wasn’t up to dating. I needed my space and a fresh start. Everything in Coronado reminded me of too many happier times. It was a quick decision to get married, and it was over before I could get into a routine.”
“And yet you married him.”
“I was going through some things with my mom at the time and was thinking about leaving. Then I met him. We dated a few times and I liked him. He asked me, and I said yes without thinking.”
She’d wrestled with the guilt of knowing deep inside perhaps she didn’t love him as she wanted to. Surely Garrett knew all about quick decisions and weddings before deployment.
“Just so you don’t think I’m a terrible person, I know I would have grown to love him. I think I was just lonely, and wanted some stability. We should have waited until he got back, but he insisted, and I wanted to get settled too, so I thought it would work. And it probably would have.”
The weight of Garrett’s eyes on her was heavy. Well, at least, she was being honest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered softly.
She could finally bring herself to look back at him. “We were very happy in that brief time. It was just a freak accident right after we got married. These things always happen to other people. We never expect them to in our lives, do we?”
Garrett nodded, and waited for her to continue.
“After, I knew I had to get out of San Diego, or I’d go insane. So, I applied around, and got this job.”
She was grateful for the knock at the door.
Garrett’s body traversed the living room in three long strides, welcoming a small crowd of several men standing on the porch outside.
“Fuzzy! Look at you!” he said as he hugged a bald man about his own age, built like a wrestler, with tatted forearms. Mimi thought he resembled a modern-day Popeye, without the pipe.
The man brushed the top of his head with his palm. “Well, I finally gave up. I don’t believe all that manhood shit.”
His quick glance in Mimi’s direction put a palm to his mouth.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
“Get in here,” Garrett said as he yanked his arm inside, and then greeted the others, one by one. All of them were lean but muscled. Two were clean-cut like Fuzzy, but one had long hair pulled into a ponytail. “Joshua, welcome aboard. Look at you, Luke. Glad to have you on the team, Tanner.” The last man extended his hand.
“Cornell Bigelow. Pleased to meet you Commander.” His handsome dark face lit up with a warm smile.
“Just Garrett. Derek gave you high marks. I’m still working on getting him, but thanks for showing up.”
“Thanks. I’m real honored to be here.”
“Okay, go upstairs and pick your rooms,” Garrett barked the instructions. “All of them are upstairs. Leave the one downstairs vacant. I’m asking you to pair up, but nobody shares with me, or Mimi, here.”
The group faced her. She could see the questions rising through crusty grins. She walked toward them extending her hand.
“I’m Mimi Wagner. I was Georgette’s teacher at the Academy. I understand I’ve been asked to be part of this at the request of Georgette’s mother—”
“—And father, don’t forget POTUS,” corrected Garrett.
Someone whistled. Fuzzy asked her, “You tight with the First Lady?”
“Not at all. I’ve only met her twice at school functions and only once have we been introduced.”
“I’ll bet those would be interesting parent-teacher conferences,” Fuzzy answered to the group, who chuckled.
Of course, Mimi wasn’t going to reveal anything about the lack of conferences, or the fact that all the updates went to staffers. But that’s the way it was, and as a First Family, they knew there were sacrifices, even if Georgette didn’t.
That was the problem.
“Hey, Fuzzy, you’re a bit out of line,” Garrett barked. “No politics here. No opinions, either. Especially yours!”
“She might be the First Lady, but she’s a mother, just like all our mothers were,” said the one identified as Joshua. “And I know she worries about her
daughter no more, no less.”
“Exactly,” added Garrett. “What their lifestyle is has no bearing on what we’re doing here, nor should it. Everyone clear on that?”
Fuzzy shrugged his agreement, and the others nodded.
A black Suburban pulled up outside as the group began to disperse.
Garrett went out to the stoop to introduce himself to their new visitor.
A skinny mid-thirties nerd extricated himself from the vehicle, hauling a briefcase. Behind him, his military driver brought two other pieces of equipment in thick grey hard case boxes. He stopped to shake Garrett’s hand at the doorway.
“Mike Bintner, White House Security, sir. I’m here to be your White House liaison.”
“No need for any formalities. I’m Garrett Tierney, and glad to have you here.”
Once inside, he introduced her. Mimi thought the briefcase-toting special agent didn’t fit in with the rest of the group.
The boxes were set by the doorway and the driver left.
“So where do you want to get set up?” Garrett asked.
“I better explain what’s going on first. Those,” he pointed to the cases, “Are from Branson. I have nothing to do with that, so they stay there. I—I think you’ve been issued some weaponry.”
“Okay, cool.”
“But I do have some videos and images I need to share with you. You all should take a look at these, I think.”
Garrett whistled for the others to join them downstairs.
“I normally have a big screen to use, so you’ll have to crowd in to see, but I got some footage you’ll find interesting.”
He opened his laptop and clicked through to a stilled video, making it full screen.
“We looked over everything Sorrell did for the past two weeks, and then we expanded it to include the president and the First Lady. Sorrell had her normal routine, going to school, without any field trips, or side trips. As far as we know, she didn’t even take her team shopping, which is one of the things she likes to do. She appeared to be studying, in her room most the time. We don’t surveil her inside the family quarters, of course. But no one had access to her other than staff, and her parents, at least not that we know of.”
“Okay, so where does this leave us?” Garrett asked.
“Let me show you in a minute. Aside from previously-approved tour groups always cycling through the White House, and some foreign dignitaries, which were well-supervised, nothing appeared to involve the First Daughter. Until we came to this.”
He clicked the video and Mimi could see a large ballroom filled with tables and people filing in to occupy seats at these tables.
“This was the White House Prayer Breakfast, which was held two weeks ago.”
Mimi remembered that day since several of her students were not in class, including Georgette.
“And that table right there,” he pointed to one in the upper right corner, “has a number of college-aged kids. If you look carefully, you can see Georgette there.”
Unlike the elusive starry-eyed dreamer Mimi usually had in class, Georgette was throwing her head back, laughing, and leading in the conversations. The whole table was animated and appeared to be having a good deal of fun.
“Is it customary for Sorrell to attend such events?” Asked Garrett.
“Sometimes. It just depends. She wasn’t on the original roster and seating chart. I remember having to juggle a bit. Rather than move someone to an adult table—sorry, that’s just how we see it—we kept all the youths together.”
Mimi also noticed that the table was clear across the room from the president and First Lady’s table. She tried to identify the kids and couldn’t recognize any of them as being Georgette’s friends from school.
“What do you see, Mimi?” Garrett asked.
“Well, I was just thinking that none of her school friends are there. Usually, if she has to go to one of these functions, she’s got someone or maybe two others with her. There two others in my class that were excused for a White House event that day, but I don’t see them here. In fact, I’ve not seen any of these kids here,” she touched the screen at several of the attendees, “anywhere around our campus, either. They’re all strangers to me.”
“So, let’s find out who they are, Mike,” Garrett asked.
“Already anticipated that one, Commander.” He produced a printout. “All the attendees and their affiliations. And I also brought this. It has just the breakfast footage on it. But it’s the entire event, even the president’s speech. I’ve not been given authority to give you anything else.” He held up a thumb drive and handed it to Garrett.
“Cool beans.” Garrett placed the drive in his pocket.
Joshua Lopez, who had been introduced as FBI, asked to see the list. His forefinger scanned the names and affiliations. “You’ve got POG here. A number of others I don’t recognize, but I’m surprised to see the POG folks here. And none of the kids have affiliations.”
Mike bit his lower lip. “My concern exactly. I think we have it somewhere, because everyone there would be vetted. I’m guessing someone else on the staff was responsible for that. I’ll get that for you when we locate it.”
“What’s POG?” asked Fuzzy.
“They’re a fringe evangelical group, small but vocal, I hear,” answered Mike. “But big supporters of the president. That’s how they got in.”
“You remember that encampment in Texas who were causing trouble some years back?” Joshua said to the others. “Turned out to be a tax case, but initially they were into multiple wives and arranged marriages. They were forced out of their compound.”
“That’s right,” remarked Luke. “During the Harris administration. His attorney general was from Texas. But I thought the group disbanded. The Bureau was all over them.”
“That’s what I thought too,” said Joshua.
“Okay, so we focus on them for starters. Anyone else, Josh? Anything that looks funny?” asked Garrett.
“I’ll get to work right away on those, sir. But you definitely want to get that list from Georgette’s table.” He addressed Mike next. “Was she seen with any of these kids afterwards on any of the footage?”
“Nope. No one that I can tell has visited her afterwards either. We monitor and track the calls, and we’ve already been over all those. She’s pretty restricted.”
“And still no ransom demands, strange calls or packages to POTUS or FLOTUS?”
Mimi had to work on herself to stop from giggling.
“Not so far. It’s really creepy. Very unusual. We’ve expanded the group a bit, so we have more eyes on everything, but they don’t know about the Bone Frog Command, trust me on that. I’ve made it clear that’s not to go outside my handful of agents and only a few trusted White House staff I know and have worked with,” answered Mike.
“Good work,” said Garrett. “Wish there were more results, but I think we’re on to something here. Just a hunch.”
The team asked questions about protocol, scheduling, and quiet monitoring of the staff.
He gave them his team’s contact information. “Anything else you need, let me know.”
“I have a request,” asked Mimi. “Can I have access to Georgette’s room for a few minutes? I just want to look around, see if I can pick up on anything?”
“Sure, but let me get okay from the family first. And we’ll have to make up a ruse to get you in there or there will be gossip from the staff. A small handful know she’s missing, but we’re trying to keep that number small to keep it out of the press.”
“I think that’s a great suggestion, and, Mike, the sooner the better,” said Garrett.
After Mike left, the new members of the team introduced themselves to each other.
“Well I’m Luke Sorvay,” he said with his Louisiana drawl. “Been with the Bureau for over twenty, now doing State Department Special Agent temporary assignments. But I started out as a froglet under Tierney’s command. I was one and done, mostly because we star
ted having kids and my wife didn’t take too kindly to me being away when they were born.”
“Luke here is a hell of a medic. We missed him when he left,” added Garrett.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Joshua, your turn,” said Garrett.
“Joshua Lopez. I’ve done just about everything. After the Marines, I worked undercover for the Gang Task Force, with the Bureau. I’ve embedded with some scary dudes in Central America involved in human trafficking and drugs.”
He locked eyes with Mimi, which gave her a fright.
“My wife doesn’t like it that I can still pose as a drug dealer in his twenties and I turned forty this year.”
Everyone laughed.
“I’m Tanner Janssen, and after five tours, decided Homeland Security would pay better than the Army did, so I switched over about ten years ago. I’m working on cyber security, surveillance of certain subjects and groups. Was hoping to retire this year, dammit,” he said as he punched Garrett in the arm.
“What do you mean, this is retirement, right?” Garrett smiled. “And now, we got another jarhead, Fuzzy Kinski.”
“That’s me. I’m a New Jersey cop now, and hell, I had already signed my retirement papers, but I couldn’t turn down old Garrett here. In the Marines, we did a lot of hostage rescue, embassy support in some strange places we shouldn’t even have an embassy. Met Garrett on one of my tours and we’ve been friends ever since. I’m a widower now, which makes me a mean motherfucker!”
Again, the group laughed.
“Excuse me again, ma’am,” he added.
“Mimi, you go next,” asked Garrett.
“Well—”
She turned to Garrett and wondered how much of their past she should reveal. He gave her no encouragement or indication. She was going to have to wing it.
“I grew up in San Diego. My father served on SEAL Team 3 until he was killed in Afghanistan when I was fourteen. I met Garrett as I was growing up.” She squinted at him. “I think I was around 6 when we first met. He was my dad’s best friend.”
SEAL Love's Legacy (Silver SEALs Book 1) Page 6
