“You know, Doc, BD can find his way out of the Arabian peninsula with a toothpick and a candy bar wrapper, but throw some street signs up and he gets all confused.”
“I have a tendency to want to go as the crow flies.”
“It’s true. You don’t know how many times he says ‘through there!’ and points at some office complex. If he were a GPS they’d be banned.”
“Look who’s—”
Acton’s jaw dropped again.
“Hiya, Doc!”
Ten guys were standing in the back yard, beers already in hand, all Delta operators they had come to know over the years.
“What the hell—”
“Sorry, hon, it’s my fault. BD called to give us an update and I invited him over.”
“Then one thing led to another, and this little surprise was born,” said Dawson.
“I hope you don’t mind,” said Niner, stepping forward and shaking Acton’s hand.
“He would be the one thing that led to another,” said Dawson, taking a beer offered up by Atlas. “Once Niner hears there’s meat involved, he’s unstoppable.”
“Hey, I’ve got family back in Korea to feed. If I can save on groceries, then I can send more to them.”
Eleven men groaned, Acton laughing, his head still shaking. He put an arm around Laura.
“This is great, guys, absolutely great. A few years ago if you had arrived here, I’d be returning fire”—laughter erupted—“but now, after all we’ve been through together”—he squeezed Laura against his side—“our home is your home. You’re always welcome here.”
Beers were raised amid shouts of “Hear! Hear!”
Dawson looked at the small barbecue. “You call that a barbecue?”
Acton looked at it, suddenly feeling a little less masculine. “It does the job.”
“Ha!” cried Atlas, slamming his hand on a large oil drum barbecue Acton hadn’t noticed until now. “This is a barbecue.”
“Yeah, for one if Atlas is manning it.” Niner pointed at the massive man. “He eats half of what he cooks.”
“Taste testing, my man, taste testing. I want to make sure you guys get only the best.”
Spock guffawed. “If we’re to believe you, half the meat in the country is bad.”
“I’ll man the grill,” said Dawson, stepping over to the large barrel and flipping open the top.
“Grill Master Dawson to the rescue!” laughed Jimmy as a bag of charcoal was brought forward.
That was when Acton noticed half a dozen coolers filled with beer, lawn chairs already being opened.
They go into battles and barbecues fully equipped.
Acton took over from Laura on his puny barbecue, Dawson soaking his charcoal in lighter fluid beside him. He struck a match.
“Fire in the hole!”
Acton ducked to the side as a fireball launched itself half a dozen feet into the air, Bravo Team roaring in approval. Laura handed Acton his beer, taking up station beside him.
“So, anything we need to know about?” asked Acton, dying to know what was going on, Dawson only having told him several days ago that something was in the works and to not worry, they were being watched. He had tried to spot the protective detail, but hadn’t caught anyone.
Satellite?
He had no idea, but these guys were all in the neighborhood for some reason. It made him wonder if they had been their guardians over the past couple of days.
“The painting has been taken into custody by the Feds,” said Dawson, taking a swig of his beer.
“Yeah, they’ve got a nice spot for it, right beside the Ark of the Covenant,” said Niner, laughing. “Did you see in that opening scene of Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls where you can see the Ark in one of the shattered crates?”
“Are we back on the movie trivia again?” groaned Atlas. “Give it a rest.”
“Hey, pop culture is the only culture some of us have.”
“I’ll pop you some culture.” Atlas made a fist. Niner darted behind Acton.
“Save me, Doc.”
“You’re on your own, kid.”
The others roared.
“I’m hurt, Doc, genuinely hurt. After everything I’ve done for you.” Niner sniffled. “I’m going to go over here. Atlas, get me a tissue.”
Acton shook his head, grinning. He turned back to Dawson. “So the painting is gone. That will be a bit embarrassing on the academic circuit for a few years but I’ll get over it.”
“Nothing we can do about that. There’s no official record of Captain Wainwright’s ship being in the area, but the Navy isn’t willing to risk the story getting out so it’s been buried.”
“And the Wainwrights? They’ve agreed to keep quiet?”
“Yes. They’re terrified of losing any more family so they won’t be saying anything, and without the painting, they have no proof.”
“But are they safe? Are we safe?”
“You will be shortly.”
“I don’t understand. Who was behind all this?”
Dawson shook his head. “The less you know, the better. Let’s just say they shouldn’t be bothering you anymore.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Dawson leaned toward Acton and Laura, lowering his voice slightly. “Because our friends at Langley are sending them a message.”
Acton’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of message?”
“The kind they won’t like.”
Assembly Covert Communications Facility, Moscow, Russia
Nadja Katz waited for the last of the members’ monitors to activate. She was now facing a grid of eleven silhouettes, the twelfth blank.
Thanks to her.
She hadn’t been certain Mashkov was one of the twelve, though she had a strong suspicion. It didn’t matter to her, though it did seem to cement her position in the organization. She was their go to person, clearly trusted to carry out the most sensitive of missions, even if she had failed in Maryland. The professors were alive, the infection hadn’t been stopped, though there had been no further evidence it was spreading. Her sources told her the painting had been confiscated and the feds were burying it.
Leaving no real evidence of whatever it was these people were hiding.
“Welcome everyone,” said Number One, his digitally modified voice always giving her a curious sensation in her spine, almost an instinctual reaction to a distant memory. “There’s been a development that you must all be made aware of.”
“I assume by Number Twelve’s absence he has been taken care of?” asked Number Six.
“Yes. Number Twelve unfortunately died earlier when his private plane lost power.”
“Clever.”
That had been Katz’s idea, Dimitri taking care of the details.
“Number Twelve is no longer our concern,” said Number One. “However his legacy is. We have received a message.”
“A message?” It was a question echoed by several.
Katz leaned forward, curious herself.
“Yes. It was received through an old server used to monitor our security taps of the US Navy’s personnel records.”
“Who sent the message?”
“The CIA.”
There was a pause, nobody saying anything.
Finally Number Six broke the silence. “Was it to us?”
“Yes.”
“What did they want?”
Katz was completely absorbed now, it somehow interesting to hear the discomfort in the voices of people so powerful.
A door opened behind her.
She looked to see Dimitri enter the room, closing the door behind him. She nodded, returning her attention to the screens.
“The message was quite clear. Quite specific. I’ll read the pertinent details. It says, ‘We know who you are. If you harm any of our operatives, specifically Chris Leroux, Sherrie White or Dylan Kane, you will be exposed. If you harm Christopher Jones or his family, you will be exposed. If you harm Professor James Acton or any of those affi
liated with him, or Steve Wainwright or any of his family, you will be exposed.’”
“A fairly specific list,” said Number Four. “Why is this of any concern to us? We will continue our work. The Assembly is eternal.”
“Normally I would agree,” said Number One. “However, the email also lists several names.”
Again silence. Katz sensed Dimitri behind her, standing against the wall.
“Whose names?”
“Some of yours.”
Several people audibly gasped.
“How many?”
“Three including our late associate. All accurate.”
“But how? Even in our communications with that idiot we never used names.”
“We’re not sure yet, but the fact is, they are aware of two more of you so far.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Number Six.
“Contain the infection.”
“But how?”
A gunshot sounded, a flash on the monitor labelled #2 actually startling Katz. Another gunshot, another flash, the silhouette of #6 gone.
“The infection has been contained. For now.”
No one said anything, even Katz slightly stunned.
They’re more ruthless than I realized.
Which meant she had to be even more careful when dealing with them.
Dimitri was closer now.
She shifted her feet.
“What do we do now?” asked Number Three.
“Nothing for now. But in time this infection will be contained, and when it is, we will eliminate all involved.” There was a pause, no one saying anything. “Meeting adjourned.”
Dimitri’s jacket rustled behind her. She knew instantly it wasn’t going to be a gunshot, he would have stood back and done it. It was going to be something silent.
Not a knife.
The back of the chair was in the way, and reaching around to slice her throat would be awkward.
She shoved her arm high, lowering her chin as she used her already prepared feet to push away from the chair.
She felt the wire of the garrote slice into the leather, but he had failed to get it around her neck.
Which meant he was already dead, he just didn’t know it yet.
Her free hand pulled her weapon as she felt the thin wire slice into her arm.
The pain was a mere sensation, not to be ignored, but not to be distracted by. She spun, raising her weapon, firing two rounds into Dimitri’s shocked face.
Pulling the wire free, she realized the monitors were still live, all remaining nine silhouettes still watching her. She aimed her weapon at the screens.
“You shouldn’t have made an enemy of me.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
This one took a little longer than usual, stupid life getting in the way of what I love to do. This was fun, the Titanic always an interesting subject to me. Though the motivations of the characters on the Titanic are entirely my own invention, some of the lines delivered on the bridge and when Astor said goodbye to his wife are taken from witness accounts. Heroism was in full display that night. As was dignity.
The SS Californian was not a work of fiction. It existed, saw the Titanic as it floundered, and did nothing. I think it is safe to say their captain honestly did not believe the Titanic was in any danger, though many felt he should have hung for his inaction. The Californian’s captain spent much of the rest of his life a pariah, the Californian itself sunk by a U-boat in World War I.
And the other ship? That too may have existed, some witness accounts reporting rowing toward what they thought was a ship that seemed to never get closer.
No proof was ever found that she existed.
Hmmm.
Here’s a fun fact: the story Leroux tells of his mother calling to tell him his father is in the hospital is true. It happened to me! And yes, my mother has learned her lesson.
Lots of people again to thank. My Dad of course for the research, Jennifer Dunn for some naval terminology, the real Chris Leroux for some French help and tech info, Fred Newton for some poker help, Ian Kennedy for some EOD stuff, Greg “Chief” Michael for some US Navy help, Marc Quesnel for the “mayday fun fact”, Brent Richards for some weapons info, and Chris Holder for some tech info. And as usual my wife, daughter, mother and the rest of my family and friends for their continued support.
To those who have not already done so, please visit my website at www.jrobertkennedy.com then sign up for the Insider’s Club to be notified of new book releases. Your email address will never be shared or sold and you’ll only receive an occasional email from me as I don’t have time to spam you!
Thank you once again for reading.
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James Acton returns in the international bestseller Saint Peter's Soldiers, now available everywhere!
To sample or purchase, please visit Amazon: US, UK, Canada, Australia, or click here for additional purchase options.
Check out the new Delta Force Unleashed series and get to know Bravo Team some more. Get started with Payback (Delta Force Unleashed #1) today!
Why not try the Special Agent Dylan Kane spin-off series? Dylan Kane is a former student of James Acton and before being recruited into the CIA, served and trained under Burt "Big Dog" Dawson with Delta Team Bravo. Acton has a cameo in Rogue Operator, and Dawson and the boys appear in Containment Failure, Cold Warriors and Death to America. Get started with Rogue Operator (Dylan Kane #1) today!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure novelist based upon combined sales. He is the author of over twenty international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers series of which the first installment, The Protocol, has been on the bestseller list in the US and UK since its release, including occupying the number one spot for three months. He lives with his wife and daughter and writes full-time.
Visit Robert's website at www.jrobertkennedy.com and sign-up for the Insider's Club to be notified of new book releases.
Books by J. Robert Kennedy
The James Acton Thrillers
The Protocol
Brass Monkey
Broken Dove
The Templar's Relic
Flags of Sin
The Arab Fall
The Circle of Eight
The Venice Code
Pompeii's Ghosts
Amazon Burning
The Riddle
Blood Relics
Sins of the Titanic
Saint Peter's Soldiers
The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers
Payback
Infidels
The Lazarus Moment
The Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers
Rogue Operator
Containment Failure
Cold Warriors
Death to America
The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries
Depraved Difference
Tick Tock
The Redeemer
Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series
&
nbsp; The Turned
The Protocol
A James Acton Thriller - Book #1
For two thousand years the Triarii have protected us, influencing history from the crusades to the discovery of America. Descendent from the Roman Empire, they pervade every level of society, and are now in a race with our own government to retrieve an ancient artifact thought to have been lost forever.
To sample or purchase, please visit Amazon: US, UK, Canada, Australia, or click here for additional purchase options.
Return to book list
Brass Monkey
A James Acton Thriller - Book #2
A nuclear missile, lost during the Cold War, is now in play--the most public spy swap in history, with a gorgeous agent the center of international attention, triggers the end-game of a corrupt Soviet Colonel's twenty five year plan. Pursued across the globe by the Russian authorities, including a brutal Spetsnaz unit, those involved will stop at nothing to deliver their weapon, and ensure their pay day, regardless of the terrifying consequences.
To sample or purchase, please visit Amazon: US, UK, Canada, Australia, or click here for additional purchase options.
Return to book list
Broken Dove
A James Acton Thriller - Book #3
With the Triarii in control of the Roman Catholic Church, an organization founded by Saint Peter himself takes action, murdering one of the new Pope's operatives. Detective Chaney, called in by the Pope to investigate, disappears, and, to the horror of the Papal staff sent to inform His Holiness, they find him missing too, the only clue a secret chest, presented to each new pope on the eve of their election, since the beginning of the Church.
To sample or purchase, please visit Amazon: US, UK, Canada, Australia, or click here for additional purchase options.
Sins of the Titanic (A James Acton Thriller, #13) Page 26
