Puppeteer

by Schultz, Tamsen

  “So what now?” Roddy asked.

  “Now we rest. We wait. Cotter, I have a few things I'd like you to look into with respects to Frey's time in the army?” And, just like that, the meeting ended. Everyone but Cotter filed out and within minutes, Drew and the Cotter were alone.

  When the door closed behind the last person, Drew turned and spoke. “Find out what the hell happened to him in Vietnam. He was a kid from nowhere when he went in and the minute he comes out he disappears and then shows up like this? Something happened, find out what.”

  It wasn't a request and, though he didn't often give Cotter orders, even though he had a right to, he did so now—without hesitation. Cotter studied him for a long period and then, giving a curt nod, he left, leaving Drew to contemplate what Frey was involved in and how he was going to keep Dani out of it.

  * * *

  By unspoken consensus, everyone but Drew and Cotter moved from the library to the kitchen. Drew had dumped a lot of information on the team and they needed some time to process it. Ty smiled, watching the team's personalities surface as they did so. Marmie went straight for the pastries Fawkes had brought in earlier that day. Spanky proceeded to make some god-awful thing that Ty supposed could, on a stretch, be called a sandwich.

  Fawkes, Roddy, and Jay, as the relative outsiders, observed the subtle actions from various places around the kitchen. Dani touched Ty's arm and asked if he would like some coffee. He smiled at her gesture, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and shook his head. He was tired and he knew Dani must be exhausted.

  He accepted a glass of water instead and leaned against the counter, Dani at his side. The silence stretched and, though it wasn't uncomfortable, there was a definite undercurrent. Then Spanky tossed his sandwich down and swore.

  “Christ, Mack,” he said. “I had no idea. I'm so sorry,” he added. And then, taking everyone by surprise, he walked over and gave Dani a hug—a hug she returned.

  Marmie walked up and moved Spanky to the side. She gave Dani a look communicating that she seconded his statement. “I'm so sorry about your parents, dear,” she said before enveloping Dani in yet another hug.

  Ty watched the team rally around Dani and he felt himself relax. He hadn't even realized he was tense, but he had been, on Dani's behalf. She'd been through enough today that he didn't want her teammates to question her father's motives or actions or give her a hard time about keeping something from them. When they showed nothing but support, he allowed himself to let down his guard a little bit. Not much, but a little bit. Still, he was ready to step in and run interference which, judging by Dani's body language, he would need to do soon. She appreciated the support, and even let herself be comforted, but he could see all the attention was beginning to make her uncomfortable.

  Fawkes must have noticed, too. “Fawkes, don't even think of coping a feel,” Ty all but barked as Fawkes stepped forward to offer his condolences with a big hug.

  Fawkes shot him and Dani an unrepentant grin. “A guy's gotta keep trying. Didn't you teach us that lieutenant? Failure is not an option?”

  Ty rolled his eyes and Dani laughed. If nothing else, Fawkeshad accomplished his goal. Within minutes, sensing Dani's need to be alone, her team had disappeared into their own little worlds scattered about the house. Jay and Roddy headed out and Fawkes dragged his feet up the stairs with one last offer to let Dani share his room.

  When the kitchen was empty but for Dani and Ty, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. He massaged her neck. Her head fell back in appreciation and she closed her eyes.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  For a long moment she remained silent.

  “I'm tired, Ty. Just…really tired.”

  “You've been through a lot today.”

  “It's strange,” she said. “I haven't told anyone about what happened in almost twenty years, and then to tell it twice in one day…” her voice trailed off.

  “How did it feel?”

  “Tough,” she said. “It was tough. But it was also the right thing to do. It was time. Probably way past time, if you asked a shrink,” she added with a small smile.

  Ty pulled her against his chest and ran a hand down her back. They stood that way for a long time before either of them moved.

  “I'm so tired, Ty,” she said again, this time the sadness was thick in her voice.

  “Go on up to bed,” he replied, his voice quiet.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I have to run home and get a change of clothes. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Good,” she said, burrowing gently against him. “I don't want you to leave me.”

  “I'm not going anywhere. Not tonight.” Not ever hung in the air between them, but he didn't say it because he didn't need to.

  * * *

  The house was quiet when Ty returned—showered, dressed in clean clothes, and carrying a small bag. It was quiet but he wasn't fooled. He had no doubt the house was buzzing with activity—well, silently buzzing anyway. If he poked his head downstairs, he'd see Marmie's team sifting and sorting through information. Cotter's men would be out watching the compound, and Spanky's team would be plugged into their electronics.

  As he headed for the stairs, the door to his right opened and Drew stuck his head out.

  “Ty,” he said.

  “Drew.”

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Ty turned and walked into the study. He set his bag down and waited for the team director to speak. Drew's eyes went from Ty to the bag at his feet and back again.

  “How's Dani?” he asked.

  “Tired. I hope asleep by now,” Ty answered, wondering why Drew hadn't asked her himself.

  Drew's eyes flicked to the bag again.

  “I'm staying, Drew,” Ty said in response to Drew's unspoken concern. Drew studied his face for a long moment before sighing and turning back to his desk.

  “The day's been hard on her,” he said, pulling out a file. It was a massive understatement and Ty didn't bother responding.

  “Here,” Drew said, handing Ty the file. “That's the picture of Frey Dani recognized on top, and a few more that Adam sent today from Miami.”

  Ty flipped through the pictures, not needing much time to burn the image into his memory. He flipped the file closed and handed it back to Drew, waiting for whatever Drew needed to say next.

  “He's on his way up here,” Drew said. Ty raised an eyebrow. “Booked himself a flight. He arrives tomorrow in Portland.”

  “And it's legit?”

  “The ticket's booked. Whether or not he gets on the flight, we'll have to see.”

  “And if he does?”

  “We've got a plane on standby. Kapitany will take it and make it here ahead of Frey so he can pick him back up at the airport.” Ty mulled this over, knowing now why Drew called him into the office. He wanted Ty to break the news to Dani.

  “And Sonny?” Ty asked.

  “He's headed back to Eagle's Wing tonight. And they're all booked on a flight to Toronto tomorrow.”

  “So it's happening,” Ty commented.

  “In the next few days is my guess,” Drew concurred.

  Ty nodded and reached for his bag.

  “When are you going to tell her?” Drew asked, the sadness and memories of all those years still heavy in his voice.

  Ty sighed, “Tomorrow. She's tired, she needs a good night's sleep, and nothing can be done about it now.”

  Drew managed a half smile. “She's not going to like being the last person to know.”

  Ty chuckled, “I know. That's why you gave me the dirty job.”

  Chapter 19

  DANI WAS RELENTLESS. But then, after knowing her for her entire life, this didn't come as a shock to Drew. But still, even he was surprised at the extent she interrogated Adam about his trip to Miami and every little detail he could remember about Nicholas Frey.

  Dani was hovering over Adam's desk and, though Drew c
ouldn't hear everything they were saying, he did catch the occasional ‘save me’ glances Adam was throwing in Ty's direction.

  Drew turned his attention to Ty and saw he was deep in conversation with Roddy, Fawkes, and Jay. All of Adam's pleas where going nowhere. Even when Ty did glance in the direction of Adam and Dani, all of his attention was focused on her.

  As he approached Ty, Drew could hear the men talking about currents, drop times, swim times, and other SEAL-related topics. As he came closer, the men stopped talking and looked up at him expectantly.

  “You need to call off the dogs,” Drew said to Ty with a jerk of his head in Dani's direction. Ty smiled.

  “No way. I did your dirty deed this morning and kept her from coming after you for withholding the information last night and the information about her father's files being in your possession. Don't think she's forgotten about that,” Ty offered in warning.

  Drew grimaced. She'd get over his little omission, he knew she would, but she wouldn't be graceful or gracious about it.

  “Drew?” Marmie said, walking toward the group carrying a stack of files. “Ready?”

  He nodded and moved to the center of the room. “Guys,” he called. The room went silent. When Drew was sure everyone was listening, he continued.

  “As you all know, Nicholas Frey arrived in Portland about an hour ago and made his way to Getz's compound. Sonny's schedule changed and he is expected to land in Toronto within the hour and several of his Eagle's Wing cohorts are already there.

  “Martin Cassidy, the cousin in New Brunswick,” Drew reminded everyone, “procured a couple of boats this week. Long range sport cruisers. The kind of boat that, if it launches tonight, will be down here by the day after tomorrow.”

  “Which means we go in tomorrow night,” Fawkes interjected.

  “Which means you go in tomorrow night. Early morning to be exact,” he added, confirming the plan they'd already set. Fawkes and Roddy would lead the water assault by taking in a team in the dark hours of the early morning so they had a higher chance of emerging from the water onto the land without being seen. Once on land, the team would get in place and stay that way until the action started.

  “What about the drugs?” Dani asked. “Do we know if the Eagle's Wing has them, or is getting them somewhere on the way? And if they're getting them on the way, where?”

  “They idn't have them when they arrived in Toronto,” Drew answered. “Canada agreed to let us handle customs and we ran a couple of extra-high tech searches. Nothing came up, so we know they're clean for now. It's looking like Cassidy might have acted as the intermediary, receiving the goods and storing them until they are shipped down to Getz.”

  “Or?' Ty prompted. Drew didn't even bother to hide the fact that he hadn't wanted to share his own opinion on what he thought might take place. He didn't have any evidence to support his new belief, but his instincts told him it might not be drugs Getz was going to be receiving from the militia.

  “Or,” he started, taking a deep breath. “Or, it's not drugs they'll be exchanging at all. It's possible Sonny has something else, maybe information, they will be handing over instead. Something passed to him from Frey.”

  “What kind of ‘something’ and why wouldn't Frey pass it on himself? He's there already,” Spanky pointed out.

  “Manipulation,” Ty replied. Drew nodded.

  “For some reason, Frey wants Sonny involved with both Getz and the Eagle's Wing. Again, we don't know why, but he seems to be setting Sonny up for something. As for what that ‘something’ is, I'm not sure. But, a couple of months ago, Frey was in South America when the oldest son of a prominent drug lord, one of Getz's suppliers was killed. My guess is, he has information about this. Information Getz could use to secure access to more drugs and expand his growing empire.”

  “So Frey gives Sonny the name of the man who killed the kid and Sonny hands the information over to Getz and gets the weapons in exchange. In the meantime, Getz gets to take the information to the drug lord and use it as a bargaining chip to get cheap drugs.”

  Drew shrugged, knowing he didn't have any evidence to back up his claim, but also knowing chances were good he was right.

  “Okay,” Fawkes jumped in, weighing this new information. “So, if it's true, the boats that come in, probably won't have anything on them so there will be no drug seizure. They'll be light and fast until they're loaded with the weapons and then they'll slow down and burn through fuel like nobody's business.” It didn't change the equation all that much but it needed to be taken into account.

  “That's assuming the weapons are heavy,” Spanky interjected.

  Fawkes acknowledged the point but added, “We know they're big though or they wouldn't be bringing down two boats. So it could be light, it could be heavy, but either way, it's probably big.”

  “And either way, you drop as planned,” Drew responded. “Once we confirm the boats are headed down the coast, we'll move forward. The current won't be good for swimming down the coast so Jay found us a fishing boat. It won't raise any flags with anyone watching if it's seen out in the early hours of the morning. You'll drop about a mile off shore at around three in the morning, swim in, and set up.” Drew pulled a map out of one of the files Marmie had handed him and tacked it to the wall.

  “You'll have a team of five with you, so that gives us seven on the ground, including yourself,” he said to Fawkes. “And you,” he added with a nod to Roddy. “Now why don't you take the rest of the team through your plan.” Drew stepped away as Fawkes moved toward the map.

  “We'll drop here,” he pointed to a spot off the coast. “And swim in this way,” he marked the path with his finger. “Roddy and I have already been in a couple of times to scope the area and this is our best bet. It's not great for staying deep but it puts us out here,” he pointed to a spot on the shoreline that was about four hundred yards from the house. “There are a series of boulders here that will provide cover for our exit. We'll be able to strip and set up out of sight from the house, but still be close enough.

  “We'll be taking a couple of people from Cotter and Spanky's teams, people we've been training with these past few days,” Fawkes continued. “Based on the reports we've been receiving regarding the activity at the house and the movements of the security guards, we're not expecting any problems.”

  “You've done a trial run?” Dani asked.

  “Trial enough. Trust me, this is a piece of cake compared to some of the things we've done,” he added when she flashed him a skeptical look. Drew had to fight a smile when Dani, as she had the day before, turned to Ty for some sort of guidance. Ty gave her a quick nod.

  “You sure?” she asked, concern etched in her voice.

  “Yes,” Ty responded without hesitation. She accepted this with a nod and turned back to Fawkes.

  “You're hurting my feelings darlin'. You don't trust Fawkes,” he said. Dani rolled her eyes and everyone laughed. No doubt his plan.

  “So, that's the plan for us. We've got our gear, we'll be in place and waiting for your orders,” he concluded, turning the floor back over to Drew.

  “Once the boats have made their way into the bay, we'll move into place,” Drew took up talking as he looked at his assembled team. “Even though drugs might not be the currency of the day, we're still treating it as a raid. Spanky will keep monitoring the situation from the control rooms. Cotter's team will be the first to go in,” he said with a nod to the older man who responded with his own curt nod of understanding. They'd made a deal earlier in the day that no one else knew, or would know, about. Cotter was going after Frey. His team would secure the area and stay focused on Getz and the militia members. But Cotter, with all his experience, was who Drew trusted the most to bring the man in, in whatever way he could.

  “Dani, Ty, Adam, and Cotter's team B,” he said, referring to the secondary team Cotter led, which included agents who had combat experience but who usually sat on Spanky's team, “will come in second, plugging
any holes. Between Fawkes's water team covering the boats and the shoreline, and the two teams coming in by land, we should have the place covered.”

  Everyone in the room nodded. The information they'd gone over wasn't new to anyone, each team had developed their own plan with Drew coordinating efforts, but it was the first time they'd heard the orchestrated results.

  “Folks,” Drew raised his voice a bit to be heard over the growing din of conversation. “I know I don't need to say this, but please keep your eyes on the targets.” He knew Dani would take the comment personally, as a warning to her to stay focused on her job, regardless of Frey's involvement. And, in all honesty, it was. While he wanted Frey as much as everyone else in the room, with the possible exception of Dani, he didn't want to lose their chance at Getz or let the Eagle's Wing slip through their fingers. He'd promised Getz to the DEA in exchange for letting his team take over the investigation. He would lose credibility if he didn't deliver, and the man would still be on the streets pushing his drugs. Drew hoped like hell that if drugs weren't being exchanged, there were at least enough on the premises to deliver on his promise.

  As for Eagle's Wing, he didn't know what their target was, but just knowing they intended to target something was enough. He wanted them taken out of the equation. Now that they knew who Frey was, tracking him would be easier and, with his mobility reduced, his effectiveness would decrease. If they didn't get him now, they'd get him soon.

  He waited for Dani to comment on his parting words. ‘Coward’ wasn't a word he used to describe himself, except for when it came to situations like this, so he kept his head down, focused on collecting papers from the desk rather than on Dani. But curiosity got the better of him when, after a few minutes she said nothing, so he glanced up. To his surprise, she seemed not to have noticed his comments at all—or rather, not to have taken them too personally. She and Ty stood head-to-head, Ty's hand wrapped around her arm as they talked. Dani nodded at something Ty said, his grip on her arm relaxed, and his hand slid down to grasp her fingers. Cradling the tips of her fingers in his, he leaned forward and said something into her ear that made her smile. She whispered back. Drew couldn't hear it but could guess the topic when Ty gave her a single focused look before laughing. Her smile broadened and she moved away. Ty watched her go and then turned to find Fawkes. As he scanned the room, Drew caught his eye and Ty walked over.