Honorable Lies (A Titus Black Thriller Book 6)

by R. J. Patterson

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  DEAD IN THE WATER

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  Other titles by R.J. Patterson

  Titus Black series

  Behind Enemy Lines

  Game of Shadows

  Rogue Commander

  Line of Fire

  Brady Hawk series

  First Strike

  Deep Cover

  Point of Impact

  Full Blast

  Target Zero

  Fury

  State of Play

  Seige

  Seek and Destroy

  Into the Shadows

  Hard Target

  No Way Out

  Two Minutes to Midnight

  Against All Odds

  Any Means Necessary

  Vengeance

  Code Red

  A Deadly Force

  Divide and Conquer

  Extreme Measures

  Final Strike

  Cal Murphy Thriller series

  Dead Shot

  Dead Line

  Better off Dead

  Dead in the Water

  Dead Man's Curve

  Dead and Gone

  Dead Wrong

  Dead Man's Land

  Dead Drop

  Dead to Rights

  Dead End

  James Flynn Thriller series

  The Warren Omissions

  Imminent Threat

  The Cooper Affair

  Seeds of War

  HONORABLE LIES

  A Titus Black Thriller

  R.J. PATTERSON

  For Paul Hitchcock, a great friend

  and a man with a heart of gold

  Chapter 1

  Hindu Kush Mountains

  Afghanistan

  TITUS BLACK SCANNED the horizon for any movement just beyond the craggy ridge in front of him. He spied a man with a rifle slung over his shoulder patrolling the ancient ruins of a Buddhist monastery. After a few paces back and forth, he stopped and warmed his hands by a fire dancing out of a rusty oil barrel. The freshly fallen snow made it easy to follow him along with the other two guards standing watch near the gate.

  Black eased back behind a rock and looked at Christina Shields, his partner who had become adept at bridling him in situations like this.

  “Want me to take a look?” she asked, prying the binoculars away from him.

  “It’s not gonna change how I think we should handle this mission,” he said.

  She leaned around the boulder for a few moments, examining the scene. When she retreated back behind the rock, she sighed and shook her head.

  “You agree with me, don't you?” he asked.

  “You haven’t even told me your plan.”

  “I think you know what it is,” Black said with a wry grin.

  “Go in guns blazing?”

  “Something like that.”

  She sighed and shrugged. “What other choice do we have, other than wait for them to move her?”

  Black grunted. “I hate chasing targets. Besides, do you want to sit out here in the cold much longer? It’s not like this is a matter of national security. If we leave a few frozen corpses up here, I doubt anyone will care.”

  “If they even see them,” she added.

  “Exactly. So, are you ready to crash this party?”

  Shields gestured toward the path. “Lead the way.”

  Black, dressed in white combat fatigues to provide better camouflage amidst the storm that had just blanketed the Hindu Kush mountains, crouched low as he treaded through the half-foot of snow. A gentle breeze blew across his face, stealing every bit of warmth clinging to his exposed skin. His toes had become numb hours earlier, and his ears were so frozen they felt as if they might break off. After traveling along the path for a few minutes, they stopped to take a break.

  “I would never call this a simple extraction mission,” Black said.

  Shields shook her head. “No way. Not in this terrain.”

  “And this weather,” he added. “This woman must be pretty important.”

  “Doubt it. She’s just a trust-fund kid with well-connected parents. Since barely graduating from Georgetown University, she’s bounced around from internship to internship, subsisting on the healthy amount of money her father gave her.”

  “So, she can be exchanged for a lot of money?”

  “I’m assuming that was the idea when her kidnappers abducted her in Paris,” Shields said. “Otherwise, I don’t know why anyone would want to kidnap a 24-year-old who perpetually excels at buying her way out of trouble.”

  “Maybe she’s a thrill-seeker,” Black suggested. “Could explain a lot.”

  “Or she could just be stupid.”

  Black was inclined to agree with Shields. An incredulous look had spread across Black’s face when Firestorm Director J.D. Blunt had first issued the assignment to rescue Campbell Morgan in Afghanistan. But now knowing just what a mess the young woman had gotten herself into, Black could only shake his head. He wondered if she was even alive considering how treacherous the ascent to the terrorist hideout had been. But Campbell’s parents were desperate to bring her back to safety, despite not possessing the one hundred million dollars demanded as a ransom.
According to Blunt, the family’s wealth only ran so deep and the terrorists wouldn’t settle for anything but the full amount. Fortunately for the Morgans, they were friends with Colorado senator Ted Neil, who begged Blunt to use his team to intervene.

  As Black continued to lead Shields along the path, he wondered how such a ragtag group of terrorists had succeeded in capturing such a prized American. Maybe they simply hunted unattached young women in Monaco and got lucky, Black surmised. However, he was certain if that had been a popular scheme he would’ve probably heard of it before now.

  When they reached a position less than fifty meters from the gate, Black huddled behind a boulder to discuss the plan of attack with Shields.

  “Time to activate the drone,” Black said.

  Shields smiled. “The moment of truth has arrived.”

  She pulled a small box out of her rucksack. Just before they left, Jana Shadid, the whiz engineer who’d recently joined the Firestorm team, handed out gadgets like they were Christmas presents, complete with smiles on the faces of all those who received them. She’d given Shields a pair of drones that could enable them to send ahead what amounted to an advance team to take out combatants and expose what was in store for the human agents.

  Once Shields activated the two drones, they whirred for a moment before rising off the ground. She navigated them straight toward the gate. Within seconds, she fired on the guard patrolling the outside of the hideout. Once his body hit the ground, the other two guards scrambled outside to see what had happened. One of the men met a similar fate, while the other dove to the ground back behind the wall.

  Then a strong gust of wind blasted the two drones, battering them against the ground. Black watched as the two machines tumbled into the canyon below.

  “So much for the element of surprise,” Shields said.

  “Surprise is so overrated.”

  The two agents waited to see if the other guard might venture beyond the walls again. However, when he did, he brought reinforcements. A half dozen terrorists staggered out into the cold, blindly firing their weapons in every direction. Black stared in awe at the ragtag crew comprised of a group of boys without a single one appearing to be older than sixteen years of age. Turning toward Shields, he placed his hand on the barrel of her weapon, lowering it toward the ground.

  “We can’t shoot these guys,” Black said. “They’re kids.”

  “And they’ll happily kill both of us if we let them,” she said, resisting the pressure he’d applied to her gun.

  He stood firm. “I’ve got a better way.”

  “And what exactly is that?”

  “Give me your bag,” he said.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, refusing to comply.

  “I’m going to offer them money.”

  She shook her head subtly. “We don’t have any money.”

  “They don’t know that.”

  Shields sighed. “Are you insane? They’ll kill you.”

  Black grinned wryly. “They won’t even have a chance. Here, put these in your ear.”

  He handed her two little ear buds and then scooped up a few rocks before stuffing them into a bag.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “This better work.”

  “I’ll go first, just in case things go south.”

  Black emerged into the open with his hands up.

  “I come in peace,” Black said in Farsi. “And I have money.”

  The boys paused, staring at him as if he’d just arrived from another planet.

  He smiled before activating a device Jana had given him before they left. A shrill-pitched sound emanated from a small box in his hand, sending the soldiers to their knees as they attempted to cover their ears. Shields joined him and they quickly secured all but one of the boys together with a rope as they writhed in anguish. Once they were tied up, Black turned off the box. The boys moaned and exhaled, a few of them hurling expletives at him. The lone boy who remained free kept his hands in the air as Shields trained her gun on him.

  “We’re here for the girl,” Black said. “Take us to her.”

  Black pocketed the device and pulled out his gun as the boy gestured for them to follow him. They ducked into the opening of the dilapidated monastery, though some of its ornate carvings had survived the region’s harsh weather since the building had been last occupied by Buddhist monks. Torches lit the entryway before giving way to a more modernized interior. Dirt floors transitioned into hardwoods, while jagged rock walls became smooth with sheetrock and paint.

  “You plan on using that thing again?” Shields asked.

  “It’s got a limited range,” Black said. “As big as this room is, I don’t think it will be as effective. I knew it’d be enough to easily take out those kids, but hardened terrorists? It’s not worth the risk.”

  “They have money,” the boy shouted in Farsi. “And magic.”

  A man emerged from behind a pair of double doors, a gun pointed in front of him. Several other guards joined him, all armed. Black gestured for the leader to lower his weapon. He didn’t comply.

  “Who are you?” the man asked.

  “We’re here to talk about the woman,” Black said, his gun still pointed at the man.

  The man looked at Shields. “Her?”

  Black shook his head. “The one you are holding ransom. We need her now.”

  A faint smile spread across the man’s lips. “And what makes you think that I’m just going to give her to you?”

  “They have money,” the boy repeated.

  “Is this true?” the leader asked.

  “No, it’s not,” Black said before dropping the sack on the ground. Rocks tumbled out onto the floor exposing the ruse. “I’m not about to give you anything. I’m just here to take your captive and be on our way.”

  “And you expect me to let her leave with you?” the man said before laughing.

  Black glanced at the boys. “Want to tell him what’s outside your compound or should I do it?”

  The boy shook his head, remaining silent.

  “Fine,” Black said, turning back toward the leader. “There is a drone honed in on this position circling overhead. If I don’t make contact with them in two minutes, that plane will obliterate your little hideout here.”

  “And what’s to stop it from doing so once you leave?” the man asked.

  Black shrugged. “I’m feeling a little generous today, even though I’m not happy about the fact that you are using children to fight your battles. But what difference does it make? This place is burned now. We know where it is.”

  The man looked at the boy and asked them if he’d seen a drone outside. He nodded, eyes widening as he swallowed hard.

  “Abdul and Amir are dead, killed by a drone,” the boy said.

  The man took a deep breath and studied Black. “This is not how the deal was supposed to go.”

  “Look, if you kill the girl, I don’t care,” Black said. “This is just a mission to me, as it is to you. And if I die, it’ll be satisfying to know that I took a whole den of terrorists with me.”

  The man held up a finger and turned to consult with two others in hushed tones.

  “You think it worked?” Shields asked.

  “We’re about to find out,” Black said.

  The man turned back around and held Black’s gaze. “What do you Americans say? Live to fight another day?”

  Black nodded. “That’s some sage advice.”

  “Then I’ll be taking it today,” the man said before glancing at a security camera in the corner of the room. “You may have the girl, but I have your picture in my database now. If anything happens to this hideout, I will hold you personally responsible and have you hunted by legions of warriors who will leave no stone unturned before you are dead. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Black?”

  Black nodded, resisting the urge to show his surprise. “Understood.”

  Two guards led Black and Shields down a corridor to a room where Campbell Mo
rgan sat at the foot of a small cot. She brushed away her matted hair to reveal her freshly-bruised face.

  “Time to go,” Black said, offering his hand.

  Campbell took it, and he eased her to her feet. Shields came around on the other side, offering her shoulder to help Campbell walk.

  “Who are you?” she asked. “Who sent you?”

  “We’ll tell you all about it later,” Black said. “Let’s just get out of here first.”

  “Thank you,” Campbell said, tears streaming down her face. “I thought I was going to die here.”

  “Not today,” Shields said.

  The trio headed toward the exit and returned in the same direction they came before she stopped them.

  “There’s a faster way out of here,” she said, nodding toward another hallway.

  “To the outside?” Black asked.

  She shook her head. “No, to civilization.”

  When the group changed course, the two escorts questioned them. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re leaving the quick way,” Campbell said.

  The men scowled and shook their heads. “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, we are,” Campbell said, glaring at the men.

  In a flash, one of the men grabbed Shields and put his gun to her head. “You come this way or she dies.”

  “And you with her,” Black said. “I have one more minute before I have to make contact with our drone just outside. I suggest you take your hands off her.”

  The man chuckled. “If I die, I am a martyr. What do I care? That is what I live for.”

  Before he could say another word, the leader appeared at the front of the hallway. “Let them go, Mohammed. We must honor our word.”

  The man shoved Shields forward. She stumbled into Black, grabbing onto him to maintain her balance.

  “Until we meet again, Mr. Black,” the leader said before offering a half-hearted wave.

  Campbell led them into a room where they found a tunnel with a rail system and a small transportation car next to a platform.

  “Apparently, the monks dug this tunnel as a means of escape,” she said. “And these bastards built a system to get you in and out. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”