“Good.” She reached out and placed a gentle hand on the woman’s arm. “It’s all right, Marie. I know why the good lieutenant is here.”
“Ma’am.” For a moment, Leclerc said nothing. “The Colonel is at the pool taking her afternoon swim.”
“Then we will join her there.” She glanced to where Liu stood slightly apart from them, as if giving them a moment of privacy. “Lieutenant, you know the way. Go ahead. I’ll join you shortly.”
He nodded and moved past them. As he did, Elizabeth turned her attention back to the housekeeper. First things first.
“Marie, I promise this is not going to upset Ash,” she said as Liu disappeared from sight.
“I hope not, Ma’am. She’s had a hard time the last few days.”
Elizabeth nodded. “A hard time” was putting it mildly. The closer they got to the beginning of the courts martial, the more strain she saw in her daughter’s face. She understood why Ash had been working herself into exhaustion. It wasn’t simply because Ortega and two Devil Dog companies had left the system. It wasn’t even because she still grieved for the loss of Paul Pawlak. Even the so-called terrorist attack the week before did not account for it. Elizabeth understood because she had been there. Ashlyn’s nightmares were too close to the surface and they returned every night. The only way to defeat them was to be so exhausted she fell asleep instantly.
But that only delayed the demons. They still came in the dark of night, disturbing her rest. Not that Ash had said anything. She didn’t need to when she spent every free moment she could with Jake, as if afraid they would once again be forcibly separated. Not when she was the last to retire for the night and the first up come morning. Marie had reported that Ashlyn had been up before her the last couple of days and no one in the household got up before the woman if they didn’t have to.
“Thank you for loving her as much as I do, Marie.” She gave the woman’s hand a quick squeeze. “I’d appreciate it if you’d pull a tray together for us. We might be a while.” And she had missed lunch, something her stomach reminded them both of by rumbling loudly.
With that, she followed Liu through the house. As she did, she reached for her comm. She had a feeling Kevin Talbot would be nearby but she wanted to be sure. The master gunnery sergeant had been left specific orders by Ortega to be Ashlyn’s shadow and right hand while she was out of the system with Delta and Gamma Companies. That meant he had taken to bunking in one of the spare rooms at the house most nights. Those nights he wasn’t there, he made sure another of the Devil Dogs was. No matter how much Ash protested, he remained firm, backed by Elizabeth’s own orders that her daughter was to be constantly guarded until the courts martial had been concluded.
A slight smile touched Elizabeth’s lips as she stepped outside. Liu stood to the right of the door, Talbot at his side. Seemingly oblivious to their presence, Ashlyn swam the length of the pool at the far in the deck with strong, smooth strokes. Her skin almost glowed with a healthy tan. Muscles rippled with each stroke. With the exception of the band of white in her dark hair, this was the Ashlyn of old. At least physically. Mentally and emotionally, she would never be the same. No one could be after all she had been through.
But, as Elizabeth was beginning to suspect, Ashlyn would be a stronger, more determined woman and officer as a result. While that boded well for those who served with her, it meant her enemies would find themselves facing a foe who would not give up until one of them was dead.
Elizabeth picked up the towel Ash had tossed over the back of one of the deckchairs and walked to the edge of the pool. “Good swim?” she asked as her daughter levered herself out of the pool.
“Mom!” Surprised, Ash almost slipped back into the water. Then she climbed to her feet and accepted the soft towel her mother extended to her. “I didn't know you were home.”
When she stiffened, Elizabeth knew she had seen Liu waiting behind them with Talbot. “Easy, Ash.” She spoke softly so no one could overhear. “It’s good news. I promise.”
Ash lifted the towel to dry her hair, not that it fooled her mother. Elizabeth knew she was giving herself a moment to think.
Ashlyn lowered the towel and studied her mother, her expression serious. Then she motioned for them to have a seat at one of the tables. Almost immediately, Mrs. Leclerc appeared with beer for both of them. Then she disappeared inside the house once more.
“What is it?” Ash asked softly, eyes dark with concern.
Before answering, Elizabeth motioned for the men to join them. “Ash, Lieutenant Liu came to see me this afternoon. He came directly from a meeting with Major Quintana and General Okafor. He had been briefing them on information he just learned about the events leading up to the false charges being filed against you and your people, not to mention the mission that preceded those charges.”
They waited as the housekeeper once again appeared. She placed a tray on the table and promised to bring drinks for the men. Then, just before turning to go inside, she rested her hand on Ashlyn’s shoulder, a reassuring gesture that had the young woman reaching up and grasping her hand in response.
“I thought that had already been covered.” Ashlyn looked at Liu and Elizabeth frowned to see her pale slightly.
“So did we, Ma’am.” He gave a slight shrug. “But, as your mother alluded to, some new information came into my possession earlier today and it will impact the courts martial of all involved.”
* * *
“And?”
Ashlyn swallowed hard against the gorge rising in her throat. What new information could the JAG officer have that required an unscheduled meeting? The last time something similar happened, she had found herself on the wrong end of a conspiracy. Surely history wasn’t about to repeat itself.
No, it wasn’t. It couldn’t. Her mother would not be a party to it. She had to remember that. Not that it helped – much – when she remembered the past.
She forced herself to breathe deeply and remain calm. She had to let Liu explain. Then she could decide what, if anything, to do.
“Tell her,” Elizabeth said firmly as she looked across the table to where the JAG officer sat.
He nodded once. As he did, Ashlyn felt a glimmer of hope. He did not look worried. Instead, there was something close to triumph on his face.
“Yesterday, I received word from Kurt Sorensen asking for a meeting. With Sorkowski’s court martial about to begin, I figured it was Sorensen’s standard posturing, trying to figure out exactly what evidence we have against his client. What I wasn’t prepared for was him asking if I would entertain the possibility of a plea bargain.”
Ash felt her eyes widen in surprise. If Liu had been surprised by the question, she was stunned. Never had she expected Sorkowski to admit he had done anything wrong.
Liu sipped his beer before continuing. “It gets better – or stranger. I’m still not sure which.”
Ashlyn frowned.
“Sorry.” He shook his head and took another sip before continuing. “Ma’am, he wasn’t there to ask about a deal for Sorkowski. According to him, he was there representing the attorneys for all the accused. They wanted to know if I would offer and one-time deal for the first of the accused to speak up. He would go with me to meet with the defendants and I would explain what I wanted and what I was willing to give as a plea bargain. Then I would leave him to discuss it with them.”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Exactly.” Liu went on to explain how he had spoken with the other attorneys and they confirmed what Sorensen said. “I thought maybe they were doing this because they are civilian attorneys and most of them aren’t familiar with military proceedings. Still, what they wanted was so far out of the norm for even civilian trials that it didn’t feel right.”
“And?”
“I met with them. I offered a very short term deal. The first to agree to tell me everything, and back it up with proof, would have the death penalty taken off the table. That was all. Then I left t
hem to discuss it with Sorensen.
“I didn’t expect anything to come of it. Everything about it seemed off. All I knew for sure was Sorensen spoke with them for a few minutes. During that time, he showed each of them something on datapads he had brought with him. Then he left and the guards prepared to take the prisoners back to their cells.”
“I take it something happened. You wouldn’t be here just to tell me that.”
“You’re right, Colonel.” Now he smiled, a predatory smile she recognized. It was the same one she had seen when he realized the cases against Sorkowski and O’Brien were coming together. “The moment he was away from his fellow defendants, Sorkowski demanded he be allowed to see me. He was the only one to do so and, looking at the vid of all of them as they were returned to their cells, they were all terrified. Whatever Sorensen told them scared the hell out of them.”
“Do I want to know?” She looked at her mother.
“You do.”
She drew a deep breath, held it, exhaled. “Lieutenant?”
“Colonel, Sorkowski admitted everything. He even told us where we could find more evidence tying him to what happened to you and your people as well as to taking bribes, looking the other way so smuggling operations would continue in the sector, and setting up training exercises and patrols to avoid certain areas of the sector when shall we say less than friendly ships were scheduled to move through.
“The data and his confession make it clear O’Brien was in on it all. The junior officers and non-coms involved mainly took part in the smuggling and bribery operations. Although, a few of them were also involved in what happened to you and yours. He also led us to evidence that directly links some of the former Administration to what happened.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Her stomach churned and she pushed her beer away. How deep did the conspiracy against her and her people go?
“There is.”
Now Liu looked to Elizabeth. Seeing it, Ashlyn frowned. What could be so bad the JAG officer did not want to be the one to tell her?
More to the point, did she really want to know?
“Ash, you will be getting the full report later, after it is presented to SecDef and the President. From what Sorkowski told Lieutenant Liu and Major Quintana, combined with the data he has led them to, proves what some of us have suspected. What happened to you and your people is tied to the war.”
“Callusian or Midlothian?”
“When it happened?” Liu asked and she nodded. “Callusian.”
“But?”
“We now believe that the attack on the Capital, as well as the accidents O’Brien, Sorkowski and the others suffered, were arranged by a Midlothian operative here on Fuercon.”
For several long moments, Ashlyn sat as silent and unmoving as a statue. She had expected Callusian involvement. It was the only thing that made sense. If Sorkowski and O’Brien had been worried only about hiding their ties with smugglers, they would have found some way to either keep Ash and her people away from any activity that could have revealed what was going on or they would have managed to convince Pawlak to recall them. She and her fellow Devil Dogs had been with the taskforce as a temporary assignment. Hell, the two could have suspended their activities until the Devil Dogs had returned to base.
Even knowing there was a Midlothian hand in the current war had not prepared her for this. It also led to the same questions she had asked when that bit of intelligence had been shared: how long had the Midlothians been working against Fuercon and its other allies and was the Midlothian government involved or was someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes?
“Colonel, we have reason to believe that the Midlothian operative has personally targeted you,” Liu continued.
As the news sank in, Ashlyn felt as if she had taken a full stun beam to the body. Her throat closed and she couldn't breathe. Blood pounded almost painfully in her ears, deafening her. What had been a peaceful scene just moments before now swam sickeningly before her as her stomach churned dangerously. She pushed out of her chair and stumbled to the edge of the deck. Once there, she fell to her hands and knees, shoulders heaving and tears streaming down her cheeks as she emptied her stomach onto the grass.
How long she knelt there she didn’t know. Stomach still churning, throat raw, she finally climbed to her feet. Absently, she brushed her hands against her thighs before scrubbing away her tears. As if from a distance, she heard her mother softly telling Liu and Talbot to stay where they were.
Why target her? It simply didn’t make any sense. She could understand General Okafor or even her mother being targets. You impacted your enemy’s fighting force more by taking out senior officers, especially those as well-respected as the Commandant and Elizabeth. But her? She was a Marine, nothing more and nothing less. Kill her and someone else would take her place, just as she had taken Pawlak’s place when he had been transferred.
Had she seen or heard something while part of Sorkowski’s taskforce that could identify the operative here? That was the only thing she could think of to explain why she had been targeted. If so, it could explain why the former administration had not acted to investigate what happened. That was especially true if a member of the administration was the operative. But it was almost too much to take in, much less believe.
If she was wrong and she didn’t possess knowledge of who the operative was, why go to so much trouble just to get her out of the way? What had she done to scare someone that badly? And how deep did the conspiracy run?
And who the hell was behind it all?
“I’m all right, Loco,” she said softly as Talbot hurried to help her to her chair. “Really,” she confirmed when he continued to watch her in concern.
As she reached once more for her beer, Ashlyn saw how badly her hand trembled. Worse, she knew the others saw it as well. Then her mother was kneeling at her side, gently turning Ash’s face so they looked at one another. For a long moment, her mother said nothing. Then she nodded and gave Ash a reassuring smile.
“So what’s next?” she asked as she turned her attention back to Liu.
“Sorkowski is being moved. As Major Quintana said, we don’t want to risk him suffering any sort of fatal accident between now and morning.”
“What happens then?”
“Then, assuming everything goes as planned tonight, there will be a press release from Major Quintana detailing new arrests that have been made as well as detailing the evidence that led to said arrests.” He leaned back in his chair and smiled in satisfaction.
“I think you’d better explain,” Ashlyn said firmly. “And you had better not be here to say you suspect any of my people.”
“No, we don’t suspect any of your people.” He paused and she waited, her expression grim. “Colonel – Ashlyn, I swear to you. You and your people are not under suspicion. In fact, if everything goes as planned, we may finally understand everything that happened to you and others over the last few years.”
“Do you know who the Midlothian operative is?”
“The short answer to your question is not yet. We have the identity of someone, Sorkowski’s contact. What we don’t know is if she is a deep operative or someone working with them. But we will find out. We’re going to move on her tonight.”
“Her?” Ashlyn looked from Liu to her mother and back. “Who?”
“The name we have is Evan Moreau.”
Moreau. Ashlyn closed her eyes, thinking hard, trying to recall if she had ever come across the name. With a shake of her head, she opened her eyes. If she had crossed paths with this Moreau, she didn’t remember. Of course, she knew from her time working with Rico Santiago that operatives never used their own names, not if they planned on living long. That was especially true if they were under deep cover. So her money was on Moreau not being the woman’s name, at least not the one she had been born with.
“I take it you don’t recognize the name,” Elizabeth said softly.
“No.” Another shake of he
r head. “I won’t ask to be included in the take-down, Lieutenant, but I want at least one of my people there.”
For a moment, the JAG officer said nothing. Then, his expression serious, he nodded. One corner of his mouth quirked up oh-so-slightly and Ashlyn chuckled softly. Liu had finally figured her out. Or maybe he finally realized it was better to keep her in the loop than to risk her, or any of the Devil Dogs, from taking matters into their own hands.
“I was hoping you might loan me the Master Gunnery Sergeant and one or two others, Colonel,” Liu said. “Not only will we be moving on this Moreau but also on several others, some who had been under Sorkowski’s or O’Brien’s command at the time you and your team were sent into the ambush and some who were here, making sure their activities weren’t discovered.”
“How many do you need?” As she spoke, she saw Talbot produce his comm-unit. No doubt he would send for not only those she gave the assignment to but also someone to stand in for him as her bodyguard until he returned.
“Major Quintana is sending out four teams once I leave here. We wanted to let you know what was happening before we made our move. The two of us spoke and would appreciate it if you sent three of your Devil Dogs with each team.”
“Master Guns, send word to the squad that they have special duty tonight. With Captain Ortega away, contact Lieutenant Moran that he has the command.”
“Roger that, Ma’am.” Talbot stood and moved away from the table to make the contacts.
“How does Sorkowski’s change of heart impact the upcoming courts martial?” Could luck finally be on her side and she would not have to testify?
“In most cases, I would say the other defendants would have their attorneys begging for plea deals once they learn Sorkowski has broken ranks. But I think we both realize there is more going on here than we know – yet. So, continue to assume we will be going to trial day after tomorrow but don’t be surprised if we don’t.”
Honor from Ashes (Honor and Duty Book 3) Page 8
