The Soul of a SEAL

by Anne Elizabeth

The only sound in the room was Kimberly’s rhythmic breathing, and it lulled him, called him to join her in sleep. As he drifted off, he could hear someone in the bathroom.

  Light flooded the room seconds later.

  Melo burst into Kimberly’s bedroom through the door to the connecting bathroom. “I did it. Get up. The phones—they’re active.”

  Sitting up in bed, Kimberly pulled the covers over her breasts. “Melo? What are you doing in here? Why are you standing there?”

  Bennett was already swinging his feet over the side of the bed, wrapping something in tissue, and getting to his feet. Wide-awake and ready for action, he was raring to go. “I’ll explain when I get back. Get some rest.” The moment would have been perfect if they hadn’t been interrupted, but he would never turn down an opportunity to nail the bastard who took out his brethren.

  He pulled on his pants and shoes and grabbed his shirt. Securing the weapons he had hidden under Kimberly’s bed, he and Melo headed out of the room, made sure the door slid shut and locked securely behind them, and hurried down the hallway.

  Glancing over at his Teammate, he looked at his phone and saw the dot moving on the map. “Where is that?” They wound their way through the building.

  Melo shook his head. “I don’t know. I asked Sally, and she said it was near the pump room.”

  Several robotic sweepers squeaked by them, diligently cleaning the floor.

  “I wonder if they have cameras. Maybe they recorded something.” It was a long shot, but Bennett asked Sally.

  “Yes, they are equipped.” She stammered. “Un-un-unable to access playback.”

  Melo led the way down endless staircases as they moved deeper into the bowels of the Lester Facility. Neither of them had even known this area existed. And it was doubtful any bad guy would be down there by the time they reached the place they sought. Significant time had ticked by, according to their watches, hours they couldn’t use to their advantage now.

  Just as they were about to backtrack, a streak of dried blood on the wall had Bennett drawing his gun. The sweepers couldn’t reach up the walls—good to know.

  He scratched the streak. It flaked off and its hue was distinct. Every SEAL knew the difference between blood and paint and this was the real deal.

  Both men moved silently now, sticking to the shadows as much as they could. When they reached the spot where the map told them the phones were generally located, Bennett’s eyes had already sighted a knife, tucked behind a drain. He crouched down, examining the floor beside it. “One of our SEAL brethren bled out down here. There were streaks of blood on the side of the pump. This is where the murder happened. Perfect place. No one would hear the incident. All the murderer had to do was wait until he lured him into the empty hall, kill him, and then move him to someplace else. Bastard!”

  Melo took pictures of the scene for the NCIS folks who were going to be pissed that they were the last ones in on this Op. What could they do? The mission was imperative, sure, but so was identifying the killer. He wore gloves as he collected the knife and wrapped it in a plastic bag. He’d brought them for just this purpose: evidence collection. “Do you think one man did this to a SEAL? It doesn’t seem possible that a guy from here could bring down a highly trained operative.”

  Bennett spoke through gritted teeth. “We don’t know what kind of training any of these folks really have, and there might have been some kind of trap involved.” He pursed his lips and blew out a slow breath. “One SEAL was killed in the CarP crash, and the other was killed by his own knife. Fucking assholes!”

  “Well, that lets Kess out. Have you seen his limp?” Melo stood.

  “It’s an act. He feigns being weak and fragile, but the man is all lean muscle. Take another look at him. We can’t rule anyone out.” Bennett searched behind the next pump for the phones and found them. The screens were smashed and had blood on them, but the SIM cards were intact. “Let’s hope there’s some good Intel on these things. We need answers, starting with why two phones are down here. What was the last SEAL up to—what was his lead—that brought him down here?”

  “Let’s search the entire area and see what we can find.”

  “Agreed,” said Bennett. “I don’t like the looks of any of this. There are too many questions.”

  * * *

  As the clock rounded midnight, Bennett stood up and stretched. Caffeine had lost its hold on his senses, and he could feel the weight of too many nights without enough rest. He and Melo had spent hours searching the hallways under the Lester Facility. It reminded him of the subway system below Paris, the Metro was a warren of paths and rooms.

  Afterward, they’d grabbed sandwiches, salads, and juices and headed back to their rooms to decipher the phones. That had taken up time, yet those devices had turned up very little data, other than lists of everyone in the Lester Facility with stars next to some names and a few photos. He and Melo had already identified the same souls. At least they were somewhat on the right track—unless there was someone they hadn’t considered yet. “What do you think?” Bennett asked.

  Pulling the second SIM card from the computer, Melo placed both cards into a small Ziploc bag and hid them in his wallet. He dropped the phones in another Ziploc for NCIS.

  They had tried dusting the phones with talc, but there were no fingerprints. They’d worn gloves when they did. Maybe the NCIS lab would have better luck—not that they could wait that long.

  “I’m at a loss. I was sure we’d find something useful. Those men died for a reason. What are we missing?”

  Kimberly stood in the doorway, watching them. “My input. When were you going to tell me you found the phones?”

  “Wow, you are a quiet one. You have a unique way of sneaking up on people,” said Melo in a rather harsh voice. He refilled his mug with coffee and drank it down, despite how cold the pot had become. Shuddering as he set the mug down, he said, “Sorry, I’m tired.”

  “I’ll bet. Listen, I’ve thought it over. The only way we’re going to solve this mystery is by putting our heads together. Okay?” She stepped into the room and sat down on the end of Bennett’s bed.

  He stared at her. He hated the idea of endangering her, but they didn’t have a lot of time. The launch was only a few days away, and he didn’t want to blast off without tagging the hostiles. Identifying them had to be a priority before the launch.

  Melo walked around the room. “I don’t like it. We’re used to getting shot at. You’re not.”

  “I have better hearing, and I’m quiet. You didn’t even know I was here. Of course, Sally helped me a little by forcing the air vent close to the bathroom door to shift to higher output. It hid the sound.” Kimberly crossed her legs, tucking her hands together. “I’ve used the technique before to avoid Kess or sneak around him.”

  “Low blow on the hearing thing, Warren, but I’ll give you credit on the sneaking around.” Melo looked at Bennett, waiting for his acknowledgment.

  How could he avoid it? They needed her to get to the bottom of this quickly. “Fine. But you’re getting us on that shuttle tonight. However you need to do it.” Bennett walked over to her and held out his hand. When she placed hers in his, he helped her gently to her feet. “And you’re not to endanger yourself on purpose. Understood?”

  The fact that she crossed her fingers before she nodded was not lost on him. Boy, she was a stubborn one. Hopefully, that streak didn’t get her—or them—into hot water.

  Chapter 7

  Getting to the Shuttle without someone watching their every move was easier said than done, but by sneaking in, they would have the place to themselves to investigate whatever they wanted.

  Kimberly mapped out a plan with Bennett and Melo and then set out to implement it. Since she was smaller than both men, she was presently crawling through the air ducts. Being blasted by the chilly stuff didn’t ease her nerves. Instead it ramped
them higher, sending shivers racing down her spine every few seconds.

  Her teeth chattered by the time she reached the center of the Lester Facility’s ductwork. Working her way through to the next set of ducts, she pulled herself through as fast as she could.

  She heard voices now and then and paused to allow them to pass before she resumed her path. Unfortunately the hangar was on the far side of the building, and the plan didn’t take into account how long it would take her to crawl there on her hands, elbows, and knees.

  As she reached her destination, she again heard voices. Pulling herself slowly closer, she realized they were familiar: Yuri and Wang. She couldn’t make out their words, but neither of them had been approved for shuttle tours, due to the safety precautions, nor was anyone allowed to be alone with the vehicle.

  Withdrawing her phone from her pocket, she keyed in her request. Sally, page Yuri and Wang to meet Kess in the conference room. Acknowledge my request with a text.

  The computer responded instantly, and an announcement went out over the loudspeaker. The two men left the room quickly.

  She pushed the grate open and lowered herself to the floor. Closing the grate, she texted Bennett and Melo and then keyed in an access code to open the door.

  Ten minutes passed before the men arrived. She was getting worried when they rounded the corner.

  “Did you see Yuri and Wang?” she asked.

  “No,” said Bennett. “Were they in here?”

  “Yes. It pisses me off too. They don’t have approval. There seem to be a lot of people coming and going without my knowledge, and that’s not part of my agreement with Kess and Hubbard.” She closed the door and crossed her hands over her chest. “Have at it.”

  Melo leaned down and said, “Good job. Even though you look like a dust collector.”

  She frowned. “Right! You’d think it would be cleaner in there, given how paranoid they are about particles.”

  “How often do they clean vents?” asked Bennett. “Not very, from the look of it.”

  “And since I’ve gotten covered in grime, then I’m the only one who has accessed the shuttle in this manner. That’s a helpful fact to know,” she added.

  “I agree.”

  Uncrossing her arms, she brushed off as much of the “filth” as she could reach. Then she shadowed the men as they walked around the shuttle, examining the outside. “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Anything out of the ordinary. Of course, you’re the perfect person to ask. Does anything stick out?” Bennett swept his arm wide, inviting her to take the lead.

  She bit her lip as she examined the outside. “Everything seems fine here…” She turned her head to the side. “Wait, you remember how the door lock was an issue? That’s why we visited BIST. Well, I placed my initials under the handle of a solid one, and this isn’t the right side.” Pulling out the door, she examined it. “It’s been put on backward. Someone took it apart to get inside and messed up the reinstallation.” Looking up at Bennett, she said. “I wonder why.”

  “A better question might be, what did they do inside?” Melo added.

  They walked around the inside of the shuttle.

  “It matches my design,” Kimberly said. She sat down in the pilot’s seat. “Of course, the laser array isn’t loaded yet. That goes in tomorrow. Things might change.”

  “Did you notice a box in your crash test, one that took out a pilot?”

  “No, but I only watched the video once. Was there a box? I didn’t put one in.” Kimberly stood. “I’m going to go back to the room and access the video.”

  He grabbed her arm and gently tugged her to a halt. “Wait. Before you do, I think we should watch this room and find out what’s going on. If we can access it after the array goes in, we might find the answer we need.”

  Melo’s mouth changed from a thin line into a wide grin. “So you think whoever is responsible for the box might be sabotaging the project as well as causing the deaths? Let’s set a trap and see what we catch.”

  “Agreed,” said Bennett as he escorted Kimberly off the shuttle. “Time for a new game—one of our creation.”

  * * *

  Melo sat in an R & D cubicle and pulled apart the laptop. As he opened it up, he found several interesting items, including a tracking chip and a second chip that mirrored all information and sent it wirelessly to another device. Without dislodging those, he laid out all the tools he needed for his ruse.

  “Sally, call Rigley. Tell him Melo needs him in the R & D Center,” Bennett commanded. He added one last order. “Can you covertly share any communication—outgoing or incoming—from his phone and direct that info to my phone and Melo’s via text message?”

  “Affirmative.” Sally created new icons on Bennett and Melo’s phones. To keep the good doctor safe, they’d all agreed that Kimberly should stay in her room and return the many messages that had piled up while they were gone. None of them wanted to see her pulled from the decision-making role for the pilot position due to negligence.

  Messages scrolled across the screen…

  Rigley: Being called to R & D by Melo.

  Yuri: Why?

  Rigley: Don’t know. Will update you.

  Yuri: Watch yourself. More at stake than you. Remember that.

  Bennett whispered into his phone. “Print this conversation and send copies to Kimberly’s room and mine. No one else is to view this.”

  “Affirmative,” replied Sally.

  The room was filling up with scientists. Men and women chatted, raising the decibel level in the room.

  Rigley entered and wound his way toward Melo.

  Staying out of sight and keeping an eye on Rigley was optimally effective in his position to the front and right of Melo. If Rigley tried to bolt, Bennett could nail him easily.

  “What do you have for me? Is it a solution to our problem?” Rigley stood with his hands crossed over his chest. He stared at Melo for several seconds.

  Every scientist in the room was working on the same project: a new chip and hardware design to assure that the array could stay in a locked position. Putting all different types of tech heads together to find the answer was why there were so many cubicles shoved into one room.

  Unfortunately, the technology of some countries lagged behind that of others, and no one wanted to share designs at this point. Hopefully, that would change if and when a solution was found. If it wasn’t, Bennett knew he could come up with an option on the fly. He trusted his skills.

  Melo gestured at the table in front of him. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for the computer you lent us.”

  Rigley’s face paled. The guy looked like he was going to wet himself. Whoever chose him as a partner in crime had picked poorly. His mouth opened and closed as he gulped air. “I, uh… That is… I mean…”

  “Who told you to give us this particular computer?” Melo leaned forward. “Or was this your brainchild?”

  “What? Me? I gave it…to you.” Redness climbed the man’s features as he shifted from foot to foot. “I mean…I don’t know what you mean.”

  Melo cleared his throat. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this chip allows all information to be mirrored to another system, and this allows it to be sent wirelessly. Where is it going?”

  A text from Kimberly popped up on Bennett’s phone. Sending reinforcements.

  No! Bennett gritted his teeth. He needed more from Rigley than just a copy of a text. It wasn’t conclusive enough. Hold off, he texted quickly.

  Too late, she replied.

  His eyes caught movement. Bennett saw the action unfolding before anyone else did. The door on the far side of the room opened. Hubbard and several security guards entered, looking angry. They rushed through, making their way to the back of the room where Rigley and Melo were talking.

  Rigley’s eyes dar
ted to the men coming his way. His agitation escalated, and he stumbled backward as he moved away from Melo’s cubicle. When his back hit the wall, he took several short breaths. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he pushed a button and said, “Erase.”

  “Sally, stop Rigley. Whatever he’s erasing, halt it.” Bennett moved, grabbing the phone from Rigley’s hand and pushing him to the ground. He had spotted the bulge next to the phone: a gun. Was this guy going to pull a gun on a SEAL? Damn, bad idea. If the shot didn’t take out the target, a SEAL would pound him into snot.

  The guards took Rigley in hand. They weren’t gentle either.

  Bennett emptied the gun and handed it to the tallest guard. “I’m going to want that back. I recognize it.” This was a 9 mm SIG Sauer, standard issue in the Teams. Leaning down, he held Rigley’s gaze, giving him the icy eyes he’d perfected after years of interrogating the enemy. “Where did you get the gun?”

  “I found it.” Rigley was shaking. “I did. Really. The gun was in the staircase leading to the basement. Thought it was a good idea to keep it, given that there are so many…international types running around.” He swallowed hard, his eyes darting from Bennett to Hubbard. “Believe me, please. I’ve provided years of service to the Lester Facility. I’m a good employee.”

  “One that was passed over for a raise two years in a row,” Hubbard said, shaking his head. “I’m disappointed, Rigley.” He added to the security guards, “Take him to my office and keep him secure. Call the police, and let the front gate know that we’re going to have company.”

  “Wait,” said Kimberly, who had run into the room. She was panting, holding a hand to her chest as she said, “Wait, please. You can’t call the cops.”

  “Dr. Warren, I don’t see how waiting will aid anything.” Hubbard pushed his shirtsleeves farther up his arms and put his hands on his hips. His frustration was evident.

  Bennett scratched his chin and gave a quick nod. “As much as I’d like to disagree, calling the police will delay the launch until an investigation is complete. There’s a time crunch, right?”