Shock and panic struck Kimberly in stages, and when she had finally digested the scene of the murder, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Sally’s voice came over her phone. “Do you need to call security, medical, or something else, Kimberly?”
“B-B-Bennett and Melo,” stuttered Kimberly. “Tell them I f-f-found a body.” She stepped away from the body, careful not to upset anything. She swallowed nearly twenty times, trying to keep the bile from rising into her throat.
Seeing a dead body was enough to make anyone swoon. She made it all the way to the far wall and collapsed into the chair nearest the table. “Oh, God, this is where I sat earlier.”
“Kimberly?” Melo was the first to arrive. “Good. I’m glad it’s not you. Sally needs to be more specific when she pages us.” He squeezed her shoulder and slipped past her. Bending down, he looked over the body.
Bennett came next, out of breath. His shirt was on backward and his pants were only half-zipped, but Kimberly didn’t care. He was already pulling her into his arms and hugging her.
The tears she’d kept at bay burst out. She knew part of it was nerves, and she reined it in as soon as she could, but the other part was a real sadness. Hubbard had been kind to her, for the most part, since she had been here. It was only recently that he started leaning more toward Kess, and perhaps that was his way of balancing the scale, since she had the government in her corner.
She looked up at Bennett. “I’m okay. Go do what you need to.”
He kissed her forehead and moved to where Melo still knelt. “What have you got?”
“Looks clean. His throat was slit. I’m not in forensics, but given the angle, I’d guess it was left to right, so the killer is a righty or is posing the scene to look that way.” Melo pointed to the raised edge that was slightly wider. “I’d posit that Hubbard knew the assailant and was comfortable around him, enough so that his back was to him, and the person surprised him. Slit his throat and eased him onto the floor to delay discovery.”
Bennett stood. “Kimberly, does Hubbard have a secretary?”
“Nothing regular since Gretal, who is on maternity leave for another month. Hubbard has had different assistants substitute when he needs help. I hear he’s pretty self-sufficient. He likes the protocol of having his own assistant, though.” Kimberly mopped her face with a tissue she took out of the box that sat on the far end of the bookcase shelf. As she reached for another one, she dropped the used tissue into the trash and missed. Leaning over to pick it up, she saw a small thumb drive on the floor, hidden in the shadows under the edge of Hubbard’s desk.
She picked it up and took it over to Bennett. “I found this on the floor. Seems like an odd place for it.”
Bennett traced the path from the drive to Hubbard’s body. “I bet this was in his hand when he fell or close enough by that he knocked it away.”
“Perhaps the murderer was looking for it.” Melo inserted it into Hubbard’s desktop and accessed the files. Bennett and Kimberly huddled around him. There were at least a dozen files.
“Do you recognize any of the names?” asked Bennett.
Kimberly shook her head and then stopped. “Wait. That one. It’s from the test flight, the one Kess and Yuri did together. Open it.”
Melo clicked on the folder. Only one Microsoft Word document was inside. He opened it, and it showed two different sets of data for the same flight. “Is that significant to you?” he asked.
Two sets of male eyes turned toward Kimberly. “Maybe,” she said. “But I’d like to get the answer from both of those horses’ mouths.”
Bennett touched his phone. “Sally, can you locate Kess and Yuri?”
“Searching…” The computer worked for several seconds, and then said, “Yuri Pelsin is in his quarters, and Kess is off premises. There is no message as to when he will return to the Lester Facility.”
“Sally, seal the door for NCIS,” Bennett ordered. “Also, please alert Melo, Dr. Warren, and me when Kess returns. In the meantime, guide us to Yuri’s location. I have a few questions to ask him.”
* * *
Throughout the long walk to Yuri’s quarters, which were on the other side of the Lester Facility, Kimberly argued her need to confront Yuri. Neither Bennett nor Melo would agree to her terms, nor could they dissuade her from her desire. Regardless of her wishes, the good doctor was staying in the hallway, at least until the situation was handled, and that was final.
Bennett stood at the corner of the hallway that led to Yuri’s quarters. “We’re not moving one more step until you promise to stay here.”
Her lips thinned. She was angry, and her cheeks were flame red. “Fine.”
Luckily, the hallway was clear. He and Melo made their way down. It was easy to tell from the phone app that Yuri was in the bathroom. “Sally, open the door. Divert noise for us, so he doesn’t hear us entering.” He liked that trick, the one they’d learned from Kimberly when Sally blew the air loudly to cover any noise.
Soundlessly, the door slid open. The lights were on. They were dim, but there was enough light to see that Yuri was still in the bathroom.
The only way they could catch Yuri in the act was to barge in. If they saw something untoward, well, they were all men. There was too much at stake here to be polite.
Melo counted off on his fingers: three, two, one.
They opened the bathroom door and entered.
By the shower, Yuri lay dead on the floor. His eyeballs were plucked out, and his throat was ripped open.
A strange device sat in Yuri’s hand, and its razor-sharp talons were covered in blood. It moved toward them, and Melo crushed it with the sheer force of his boot before it could strike. So this machine had killed Yuri—but who was controlling it?
“Deadly toy. I wouldn’t want to feel that thing scratching my back,” said Melo as he scraped off the bottom of his shoe with a towel from the rack by the door. Tiny fragments of metal rained on the floor, including a small camera lens. “Too bad we couldn’t have followed that thing home. The owner would need to be fairly close to control it.”
“Yeah. We can have Sally run the monitoring feed and see what we find.” Bennett backed out of the bathroom. He dislodged a board on the wall by bumping it accidentally.
“What the hell…” Bennett’s words trailed off as he took in a collection of items. There were photos and small trinkets taped all over the board: chunks of hair, glasses, pieces of fabric, jewelry, and…skin. “God, this guy was sick! He kept trophies.”
“I bet if we traced all the deaths associated with the project, we’d find pieces of them here.” Melo checked Yuri’s pulse just to be sure. “He’s still warm, but he’s definitely dead. He could have done it. Killed Hubbard and then come here.”
“It’s too tidy. I don’t like it. We’re missing something.” Bennett stepped back, pulling Melo with him. He snapped pictures of the entire bathroom, leaving nothing out, and then the two of them withdrew to the bedroom. “Lock the bathroom, Sally, and don’t let anyone in until NCIS arrives.”
“Affirmative,” the computer replied as the bathroom door locked with a loud click.
Melo walked to the bookcase. “Damn, he appeared ordinary on the outside, and on the inside he was a psychopath.”
“Probably a sociopath. They can get by in society fairly undetected for a time. If he was this crazy up front, Yuri would never have passed all the psych evals.” Bennett took pictures of the Yuri’s bedroom, and the two SEALs stepped into the hall.
“Sally, lock Yuri Pelsin’s quarters until NCIS arrives. Double-locking the place should keep it extra secure, right?” Melo scratched his neck.
“One would think,” Bennett said.
Again, Sally did as requested, except this time, the loud click echoed down the hall.
“I’m glad Kimberly didn’t have to see this,” said Bennett
.
“Me too.” Melo shook his head. “I think I just saw something out of the corner of my eye. Was it…did I just see…Kess?”
The two men took off at a run. When they rounded the corner, Kimberly wasn’t there.
“Help!” Kimberly’s voice echoed down the hallway.
They ran toward it and reached a place where four corridors met.
“Crap! Which way?” asked Melo.
“I don’t know.” Bennett pulled out his phone. “Show me Kess.”
“He’s not in the building,” said Sally.
“Where’s Kimberly?” Bennett redirected the computer.
A mini version of her showed up on his phone. “This way,” he said. They headed down the second hallway on the left, turning and winding their way through the building.
Running through the Lester Facility at full speed felt more like a thriller movie than it did real life. Unfortunately, they’d performed more than their share of athletics in chasing down targets, and Kess was not going to get the better of them.
Bennett leaped over a sweeper mop, glad that he was keeping his eyes open.
“Damn it!” A thud sounded from behind him and Bennett, without turning, knew that Melo hadn’t been so lucky. His swim buddy had just been taken out by a sweeper maid. He couldn’t wait to rib him about that one.
“Move,” yelled Bennett over his shoulder as he dodged past two medical personnel deep in conversation. How can people walk and talk and not get into accidents? Those two were so thickly in it that they barely even saw him burst through their tête-à-tête.
“You’re getting slow, old man,” said Melo mockingly as he sprinted up beside him.
“Gee, thanks,” said Bennett.
They rounded the corner, and shots zipped past them. Finally they caught sight of Kess, who had his arm around Kimberly’s throat. He aimed a gun at them.
Bennett pulled Melo back around the corner, but one round had already caught his buddy in the shoulder. “Hell’s bells, Melo, did you have to collect more metal for your collection?” Bennett asked.
“What can I say? The scars make me prettier.” Pulling a gun from the back of his waistband, Melo held it in front of him. At a glance, the bullet hadn’t gone through, and the bleeding was minimal, which was good. It meant nothing vital had been hit.
“I’ll shoot her,” yelled Kess.
“No, he won’t,” said Kimberly. “He’s in love with me.”
“Now you admit it. Why didn’t you say it before, you—you damnable woman!” shouted Kess. “For as long as I’ve known you, I’ve wanted to be your lover. We could make magic together.”
Bennett had his gun in hand. He pointed to the far column. Holding up one hand, he counted down. Then he launched himself to the other side as Melo held himself at the ready to lay down suppression fire.
Kimberly kept Kess talking. “Why not tell me that, instead of trying to control me?”
“You need controlling. Why can’t you see that?” Kess shook with rage and emotion as he confessed his feelings. “You’re mine, and you’re going to be mine…and everything you have is mine too, including the shuttle—the Kess Shuttle. Isn’t that beautiful? We can launch together and circle the planet, ruling from the stars… That’s the reason I did this, killed those men and hid the truth from you. I need you to accept what has to happen. I’m going to rule everything.”
Aiming his weapon as he moved, Bennett fired in midair, hitting both of Kess’s legs and his firing hand. Blessedly, he missed Kimberly. Kess landed against the far wall with the force of a linebacker. The impact forced the breath out of his lungs, but Bennett was still moving. He was up and hurtling himself toward Kess, who managed to push Kimberly away and grab his gun with his unwounded hand. Kess fired at Melo, who was also charging, and close.
Bennett’s buddy went down. Damn it!
Bennett never took his eyes from Kess. He knew he should capture and question him, but this guy was too unpredictable, a loose cannon. Before he knew it, his instincts had commandeered his brain, and he fired one more time—a headshot. The finality was true.
This time the man was gone. Bennett had wanted to question him, to wring a few truths out of the son of a bitch who masterminded a ton of crap around here, but that possibility was gone now. What had he done? Damn it!
He grabbed Kess’s gun and pocketed it. A small controller was sticking out of Kess’s pocket, and he grabbed that, too.
Bennett knew he’d have to live with the consequences of his actions. But there was a large part of him that felt better launching into space knowing that Kimberly would be safe on the ground. Kess had been a bad man, and there was no doubt about his guilt or his actions.
As Bennett pulled Kimberly to her feet, his eyes momentarily scanned her for damage, which she was blessedly free of, and then he quickly went to Melo. Fuck, his swim buddy did not look good. He’d gladly have given his own life to save Melo or take away his brother’s pain.
“Sally, we need a med team.” Bennett was already on the ground assessing the damage to Melo as he said, “Melo’s been shot in the thigh, and he’s bleeding fast and furiously.” Bennett pulled his shirt over his head and tied it around the wound, pulling it tight and putting the weight of his entire body onto the bullet hole.
Melo groaned. “Damn, you need to go on a diet. I had to get…the SEAL…who weighed a thousand pounds.”
“You’re going to be happy I’m fat and fast,” Bennett said as he kept the pressure on, stanching the bleeding.
Kimberly tore off her shirt and held it against Melo’s shoulder. Her voice shook as she said, “I waited. I did as you asked.”
“I know, Kimberly. I know. You did fine, honey. Just what I asked you to, and the way you kept him talking was smart. Very wise,” Bennett murmured to her as he watched Melo. His swim buddy was hanging in there.
Stretchers arrived with doctors and paramedics quickly. Bennett felt that Melo was going to get good treatment here. That boded well.
“I’m benched,” Melo said. He attempted to lift his head, and his body spasmed with pain. “What about the launch? You can’t stay here alone.”
“I’ve got Kimberly. No worries. Okay?” Bennett signaled the paramedics to take the stretcher. “Just don’t rat me out to Alisha. You know how wives are about their husbands getting hurt.”
“Fine, but you’ll owe me one,” said Melo, his voice hoarse.
“I’ll owe you two,” said Bennett, gently butting his fist against his friend’s and then holding up two fingers. “Heal swiftly, my brother.”
They hoisted Melo onto the stretcher. They’d do the surgery there, where they had some of the best doctors around, and then he’d be transported to Balboa. Alisha was going to have his hide, and there was nothing Bennett could do about it. Shit hit the fan, and it went where it did sometimes. There was no rewind function, and overthinking it didn’t change the outcome. Hopefully, the woman wouldn’t take too much skin. He was partial to everything below his waist.
Bennett watched his friend disappear down the hall, then turned to Kimberly. “Can you make it to your room?” he asked. He wanted to escort her, but he had to finish necessary tasks. The rooms were close; he knew they were.
“Yes, it’s just down that hall and to the right.” Some color returned to her cheeks as she replied, “I can do it.”
“Good.” He hugged her close. “I’ll be there shortly, okay?”
His eyes followed her to the corner. His heart went with that beautiful woman. He could hear her scan the badge and go inside. There were no threats to Kimberly in this place anymore. The only one who could have hurt her was dead. Bennett had made sure of that. He felt a lot safer about her being in the Lester Facility, but there was still work to do.
Looking back at the scumbag who was responsible for the death of his brethren made Bennett’s blood ru
n cold. At least the bastard was dead. He’d have some good news to tell Ouster, and though it would bring little comfort to the families of the victims, the overburdened judicial system wouldn’t waste its time handling this jerk.
The security guards walked up and stood beside him. “What do we do with him?” one asked.
“Put him on a stretcher and lock him in a room. I might need access to him later. And revoke any badges, passwords, or pass codes,” ordered Bennett. He bent down to close the man’s eyes and swiped Kess’s ID. He pocketed it and headed for the man’s quarters. There was no telling what he’d find there.
* * *
Bennett scanned Kess’s ID to get in and then stood there for a few seconds. Searching a dead man’s room was never as thrilling as one might think. The place had a finality to it that made it sort of eerie.
There was a method to the search. Take in the entire room visually before touching anything. If possible, take pictures or record a video, and then choose the top three to five places you would consider hiding something, starting with the obvious. On the second attempt, Bennett found a SIM card. Turning on the computer, he said, “Sally, access the SIM.”
Kess’s face filled the screen. “If you’re watching this, then I’m either dead or I’ve succeeded in my quest. I planned and executed a rather intricate operation that brought down many lives, and this video describes what will go down in history as the day I bested the United States and all the countries of the world. I’m now the new ruler, the dictator of the Earth, and here is my manifesto…”
Bennett listened to the video rattle on for several minutes. Kess took responsibility for all the lives lost in association with the project, and Bennett concluded that Kess was definitely insane. This guy’s manifesto completely sucked.
Without realizing it at the time, Bennett had followed Ouster’s orders and taken care of the person responsible for the deaths of his brethren. There was some satisfaction there, but it would have felt better if Melo were still by his side. He had no doubt that his swim buddy would survive and thrive, but it would have been good to have him still there, guarding Bennett’s six.
The Soul of a SEAL Page 20
