Wicked Nights

by A. D. Justice

  “Sure.”

  They walked back to the deck and closed the sliding glass door behind them. Silas walked to the edge of the pool and stared down into the water as he spoke. “I don’t know how to be myself anymore. I think I lost myself to the job years ago. How did you make it back?”

  “I never totally lost touch with the people who keep me grounded. Even if they didn’t realize I was watching them, living vicariously through them. With every decision I made, I asked myself how it would look if I had to explain my actions to them one day,” Shadow replied.

  “Who are they? The people who keep you grounded?” Silas asked.

  “Reaper, Bull, and Rebel,” Shadow replied. “Brianna has been like my little sister for years, and I also watched over her when she didn’t know.”

  “How do I turn this around?”

  “Start by telling them the truth about what you know.”

  Silas looked up at Shadow and immediately knew he was right. He also knew that Shadow had an uncanny ability to see through him. He was as transparent as glass to this man. “You know what it means when I do that.”

  “I know what it means if you stay with the CIA any longer.”

  Silas started to deny his involvement with the agency, but the “spare me” expression on Shadow’s face convinced him otherwise. “I’ll be lost forever,” he confirmed.

  “It’s not worth it, man. Trust me,” Shadow counseled him. “It’s much better to work on this side of the fence.”

  “What happens when I leave?”

  “You never really leave the CIA, Silas.”

  “I’ve heard that saying for years, but I finally understand what it means.”

  “Now, don’t you have some news on Turan that you need to share with us?”

  “Why do I get the feeling you already know what news I have?” Silas narrowed his eyes at Shadow.

  “Why do you answer my questions with a question? Why is the ocean salty when fresh water flows into it? Why do women need so many shoes? These are the questions that keep me up at night,” Shadow responded.

  “Fine. Let’s go talk Turan,” Silas agreed as he rubbed his head. “It’s easier to keep up with than your line of thinking.”

  “Both of you boys could take lessons from me,” Liz stated from behind them. “You’re far too gabby to be a spy. I wouldn’t even have to give either of you any sodium pentothal to get you to tell all your secrets. Take me, for example. My mind is a steel trap, an impenetrable fortress. You’d never get me to spill all my secrets.”

  “Liz, for the last time,” Shadow spoke slowly. “I’m not falling for your bait and teaching you the tricks of the trade for you to use on some poor, unsuspecting soul.”

  “Shadow,” Liz barked. “I need to be trained. It’s a matter of national security.”

  “I’m positive that it’s safer for national security if you’re never trained in our methods. Ever,” Silas replied.

  Liz stood from her chair, straightened her clothes out, and looked Silas in the eye. “Young man,” she started. “I can make your life hell in ways that you’ve never imagined. Don’t test me.”

  With that, she walked back into the house and slammed the sliding door shut behind her. Silas and Shadow burst out in laughter and followed in her footsteps. When they reached the door, they realized that Liz had locked them outside.

  “We can either bang loudly on the door and admit that Liz locked us out,” Shadow said. “Or we can go over the fence, around the house, and back in the front door.”

  “Front door,” Silas replied quickly.

  “Agreed,” Shadow said. “Then we never speak of this again.”

  “Never.”

  “So good of you boys to join us,” Liz yelled as Shadow and Silas walked in the front door. “What took you so long?”

  “We just took a walk,” Shadow replied nonchalantly.

  “Over the fence, around the house, and to the front door?” Liz asked. Snickers came from every direction around the room, but no one would make eye contact.

  “I have some information to share with everyone,” Silas announced and changed the subject.

  “We’re listening,” Noah replied.

  “Turan was found dead in his cell today,” he announced. When it was obvious that he had the undivided attention of the room, he continued. “The medical examiner is doing an autopsy, but there were no obvious signs of injury reported. With his age, it’s highly unlikely that it was from natural causes.”

  “Do you think someone took their questioning techniques too far?” Brianna asked.

  “From what I’ve been told, that doesn’t appear to be the reason. There were no marks on his body.”

  “Waterboarding doesn’t leave marks, and people can die from it,” she retorted.

  Silas looked at her with a newfound respect for her boldness. “That’s true,” he said. “But waterboarding is illegal now.”

  “I’m sure those little technicalities stop you from using that form of questioning,” Brianna replied sardonically.

  “You have a point,” he admitted. “He could’ve died from that, but I have no reason to think that. My gut tells me it’s something far worse.”

  “Like what?” Noah asked.

  “I think his cell turned on him and killed him.”

  “His cell turned on him?” Liz asked incredulously. “Are you one of those agents who the government did all those crazy tests on? His cell couldn’t come to life and kill him.”

  “What? No. I meant his terrorist group, the other members of his terrorist cell,” Silas replied. “Not his holding cell.”

  Liz gave him her evil smile to remind him of her cleverly veiled threat.

  “How would they get to him in there?” Rebel asked.

  “Their arm is very long. I know they have agents on their payroll, but I haven’t been able to find out who they are yet.”

  “Why do you think it was his cell?” Rebel asked.

  “Because the man I worked for in my undercover role was named Rashad. He spoke of Turan frequently, usually to curse the day he was born because Turan kept pursuing his own goals instead of the group’s goal,” Silas replied. “The group is geared more to causing anarchy and terror in the masses. They want to bring America to her knees.”

  “What did Turan want?” Noah asked.

  “To bring one man to his knees.”

  “Me,” Rebel replied.

  “I believe that’s correct,” Silas replied. “For killing his father.”

  “So that was his father.” Rebel nodded. “He looked a lot like his dad. They didn’t have the same name, though.”

  “His distant uncle took him to Turkey and raised him. Hid his Iranian descent as much as he could. He taught Turan everything he knew—kid was like a sponge when it came to computers. The cell loved that because most everything in this country is managed by some kind of computer now,” Silas explained. “He used ‘Ali’ because it means exalted. Babek and Turan are areas of Turkey and Iran that he associated his heritage with; the names meant something to him.”

  “Do you know who and where the other members of the cell are?” Bull asked.

  “No. I’m obviously American, so there’s a lot of information that Rashad wouldn’t trust me with. I was supposed to come here and get close to all of you and then report back to Rashad with your weaknesses, where he could hit you hardest,” Silas admitted.

  “So, I hopped on a plane and showed up at Chaise’s wedding, with the approval of the CIA. I’ve since realized that they must have known Shadow was part of this group, he’d see straight through me with his training, and that he’d set me straight. That’s the story I choose to believe anyway.

  “Telling you all of this means I now have to leave the CIA and this undercover life. And that actually puts all of you in even more danger. When Rashad figures out who I really am, he’ll come after all of us.”

  22

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “When he comes aft
er us, he’ll have one hell of a fight on his hands. We don’t go down easily,” Brianna said as she stood. “You have our back, we’ll have yours, Silas. We’re a family, and there’s always room for one more.”

  “I’m relearning what it means to be a family, Brianna,” Silas replied. “Hell, I’m relearning what it means to be myself.”

  “I don’t remember you having a hard time assimilating into real life, Shadow,” Rebel replied.

  Silas and Shadow chuckled. “Yeah, I asked him about that,” Silas admitted. “Seems he had some pretty damn good reasons to keep his head on right.”

  “What reasons, Shadow?” Brianna asked.

  “You,” Shadow replied. “And Reaper, Bull, and Rebel. You didn’t know it, but I had my ways to stay close to all of you while I was undercover.”

  “Even while I was in Boulder?” Brianna asked.

  “No, not then. But I was at your funeral,” Shadow replied and cut his eyes to Reaper. “I was always there.”

  “Since you were able to help Shadow so much, I have every reason to believe you’ll have no problem putting me in my rightful place.” Silas smiled.

  “Of course,” Liz replied. “Especially now that I’m here. I’ll be glad to put you in your place every damn day.”

  “I have no doubt about that, Liz,” Silas laughed. “I want to be the best brother, uncle, and friend I can be.”

  Chaise had been silent through the entire discussion and that worried Silas. He was concerned that she wouldn’t forgive him, regardless of what he did. He’d betrayed her trust and used her love to help his case. He couldn’t blame her for being upset with him because he was furious with himself over it.

  “Chaise?” His voice held the sadness his heart felt. He’d never considered how much his actions would hurt her.

  She stood and rushed into his arms. She hugged him tightly and her tears flowed down her face. “I love you, Silas. I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you, baby girl. I didn’t even realize how much until I saw you. It’s been way too long. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” he pleaded.

  She nodded and squeezed him tighter. “You’re forgiven.”

  “So what’s the plan to draw Rashad out?” Rebel asked.

  Silas released Chaise and looked at Rebel. “I don’t think it’ll take much once he realizes I’m not coming back.”

  “What makes you think he hasn’t already followed you here?” Bull asked.

  “He may have; that’s a very real possibility. He obviously already knows who you guys are because of Turan, but he doesn’t know about my relation to Noah and Chaise. If he had known about that when I worked for him, I’d already be dead,” Silas replied.

  Chaise’s cell phone started ringing and she glanced at the display. “It’s Mom,” she announced. “Hey, Mom… Yeah, we’re all here… Sure. Just a second.

  “I’m putting Mom on speaker so she can give us all the news at once,” Chaise told the room. “Okay, go ahead, Mom.”

  “Hello, everyone. Sorry to interrupt your team meeting, but I thought you’d want the latest update on Steve,” Sara said.

  “Yes, we do,” Noah replied. “Tell us what’s going on.”

  Sara explained that Steve had been in the hospital for the past couple of weeks and why. The group wasn’t happy with them for not sharing that information earlier, but they had to agree that they understood why.

  “So that brings me to what’s happened now,” Sara said. “Dr. Stanton just came in with the lab results and…”

  She paused deliberately for dramatic effect.

  “Mom!” Chaise yelled. “Tell us.”

  “The new treatment is working,” she shrieked. “His blood work looked good, so they took him down and did an X-ray. The tumors are shrinking!”

  “That’s amazing,” Noah replied. “Mom, that’s incredible news.”

  “It really is,” Sara sniffled. “We still have a long way to go to finish the treatment, but we’ll take every piece of good news we can get.”

  Sara put Steve on the phone and they talked for a while longer. The good news was very welcome, especially in light of the topic they’d been discussing. When they hung up, Noah and Silas faced each other.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better brother,” Silas began. “Our family has been torn to hell, but now we’re coming back together.”

  “Don’t think you’re alone in that,” Noah replied. “I have my own failures as a brother to answer for. But one thing I know for sure—our family is definitely worth fighting for.”

  “I’m afraid we’ll have quite the fight on our hands,” Silas replied. “Rashad is vehement about seeing this through to the end.”

  “So are we,” Rebel replied. “What do you need from us?”

  Silas looked around the room, and each of the men signaled that he was in with a single nod of his head. “Okay. Let’s take them down, then. First, we need to identify the agents and how they’ve been compromised.”

  Noah typed out a message to Brad, instructing him to track down Joe and Bill, the CIA agents, and check their bank account records. “I’ve had a bad feeling about them since the start of this case.”

  “Do you have Rashad’s last name?” Rebel asked. “The one he uses now.”

  “Samir,” Silas replied.

  “On it,” Shadow replied. “Looking for known accomplices and any frequently dialed numbers.”

  “Burner phones can’t be traced, though,” Liz replied.

  “Sure, they can’t,” Shadow replied with a smile.

  “Shadow, you have to teach me these tricks you know!” Liz pouted.

  “I’ll start checking airline records to see if Rashad is in Miami now,” Bull said and walked off to the office.

  “I’m going to look through that mission file again. See if anything else about Turan stands out,” Rebel said.

  “I’ll put out some feelers with my CIA buddies,” Silas replied. “See if we can cast a wide enough net to catch a bunch of terrorists.”

  “Sounds like we all have our marching orders,” Noah said.

  * * *

  January

  “I have the names and bank records for both Joe and Bill,” Brad announced. “Finally. They were buried so deep, I didn’t think I’d ever find them.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Noah replied.

  “Joe appears to be clean, but Bill has numerous deposits in various multiples of $10,000 over a very short span. It looks like the payments were split up in differing amounts to avoid calling too much attention to them. But when you add them all up, it comes up to exactly a quarter of a million dollars,” Brad explained.

  “He’s our guy. We need a tail on him at all times,” Noah replied.

  “I’ll take it,” Rebel volunteered. “If he leads us to Rashad, I want to be the first one there.”

  “Find him, tail him, and let’s end this,” Noah replied. “Don’t engage alone if you can avoid it.”

  Rebel nodded. “I hope he leads us to another cell member.”

  “Rashad Samir is traveling as Sam Rash and he’s in Miami,” Bull reported. “Let’s go find him and Bill.”

  “I’m ready,” Rebel replied. “Let’s go.”

  Rebel and Bull left to find Bill and hoped they’d also find Rashad nearby. They staked out the address listed for Bill and waited for him to arrive. When he pulled into his driveway several hours later, he walked inside without a backward glance.

  “Arrogant, isn’t he?” Bull asked.

  “He’s definitely sure that he’s getting away with murder,” Rebel replied. “He doesn’t even check his surroundings to see if anyone’s watching him.”

  Bull pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial. “Brad, you got that tap going?”

  “It’s up and running. As soon as I get a hit, you’ll be the first to know,” Brad replied.

  Bull and Rebel continued to stake out his house, monitor his online activities, and wait for a phone call to come in. After
a week and a half of driving different cars, tailing Bill everywhere he went, and monitoring his online activities, they finally got a break in the case.

  “This guy really leads a boring life to be a terrorist wannabe,” Bull quipped. “He has the treadmill at the gym, checking on his elderly mother at the nursing home, and a daily trip to the grocery store. He’s boring me to death.”

  Bull’s phone chimed and he looked at the text. “Huh. Brad said Bill isn’t employed by the CIA anymore. He recently took a personal leave of absence for family reasons. Wonder if that’s because of the mother in the nursing home or the quarter of a million dollars burning a hole in his pocket.”

  “I’m going to go with the latter,” Rebel replied.

  Thirty minutes later, Bull received another text from Brad with the phone number that Rashad was using, compliments of Shadow.

  “How does he do that?” Rebel chuckled.

  “It’s all in those tricks he won’t teach Liz about,” Bull replied. “So, shall we call Rashad now?”

  “Yes, let’s,” Rebel replied.

  Bull called out the number while Rebel dialed. It rang several times before Rashad picked up. “Hello.” The irritation of being interrupted was clear in his tone.

  “Hello, Rashad Samir, Sam Rash, whoever you are,” Rebel replied.

  “Who is this?” Rashad emphasized each word.

  “I’m the man who’s going to put you away for life. And then I’ll watch from the front row when you get the lethal injection,” Rebel replied. “Ask your CIA friend Bill who I am.”

  “By the time you find me, it’ll be much too late,” Rashad replied with confidence. “But you can have Bill. I’ll even help you out with that.”

  Rashad disconnected, and Rebel told Bull what he’d said. “What the hell does that mean?”

  The explosion was so loud and violent that it blew out the glass in Bull’s truck windows. Rebel jumped out of the truck and called Shadow as he ran across the front yard. “Shadow, tell me you have a list of names and numbers from Rashad’s phone.”