OUTLIER: Blood, Brotherhood, And Beauty (Beauty 0f Lifee Book 4)

by Laura Acton

  “Yes, I know and so does William. Amazingly, Will is actually taking someone’s advice. One of Danny’s teammates has a connection with Danny, and he told Will to let Danny set the pace and go on his terms. Smart advice to follow. I’m going to get the boys’ leaves moved forward. I’ve got a lot of work to do so we can be there in a couple of days.”

  Kimberly kissed Mark again the stepped back. “I’ll leave you to your work. Oh my, this is such good news. While you’re busy with the guys, I’m going to call Ann and Connie. All the girls will want to know, even if we have to wait to see Danny. Once Yvonne and Becca are free to leave the safe house, we’ll plan to bring everyone together.”

  Mark chuckled. “You got a full-scale Broderick invasion to plan.”

  “Yes, I do.” Kimberly kissed Mark once more and headed for the kitchen to get her phone. Ann would be her first call, second Connie, then all the girls. She had so much to plan—Danny is coming home.

  Home of David and Genevieve Plouffe – 11:50 a.m.

  Major Nigel Plouffe sat in the corner of the living room scrutinizing the family as he finished his rum and coke. Everyone thinks this is only coke, but I can’t stand to be here sober. How the hell was I born into a family of such losers? Not a damned one has any ambition or balls.

  He scoffed as his uncle Lucius Plouffe spoke with David. My brother is only a wimpy high school English teacher. The only thing David ever risks is a paper cut from the books he always has his nose in.

  My uncle is also a wimp. Lucius might be a Superintendent in the RCMP but never puts himself out there. Lucius is an administrative weasel with a reputation for digging into useless details. Lucius lives by the credo of ‘devils are in the details.’ Stupid.

  David bowed his head as his uncle Lucius expressed his grief over Aaron’s death. His eyes welled with unshed tears. Losing his son hurt so much.

  Lucius placed his arm around David’s shoulders and pulled him close offering solace. “David, I know it hurts. You need to keep your head up. We are all so proud of Aaron. I recall him as a delightful boy, and a first-rate man. He fulfilled God’s purpose for him and died doing what he loved.”

  David peered up at his uncle. “Do you know something about how he died? No one has told us anything yet.”

  Nigel overheard on his way to refill his rum and coke and stopped. Tammy was out of the room, so he snarled, “It’s all Broderick’s fault.”

  Lucius turned to his nephew. “Don’t start, Nigel. Not here and not today. We don’t have the facts yet. It’s wrong to speculate and make accusations without details.”

  Allowing his venom to be seen, Nigel growled, “I know Broderick. He was under my command. Broderick’s dangerous. A death sentence to be around. He was the only one to survive when a unit got ambushed. He was their sniper and left five guys high and dry to get riddled with bullets.

  “Another time, he got all but one of a different unit killed in a cornfield. Then another when he did nothing and watched as three men who were supposedly his friends got their heads hacked off and blown to bits. He got a rookie killed. Drowned in the pit Broderick told him to hide in.

  “He murdered members of his unit. The first one was Sergeant Timide. Instead of killing the terrorists who captured his sergeant, he shot him between the eyes then high-tailed it out. Broderick’s last murder in Special Forces was another member of his unit. Blew him away after they had a lover’s spat.

  “I could go on and on. Broderick’s responsible for so many deaths. But Daddy Badass covered it all up. I tell you … Broderick is a death sentence. Aaron’s death is on his head. How Broderick ever got into the TRF—”

  David glared at his jerk brother. “Shut up! I don’t want to listen to your maliciousness today. You’ve hated William Broderick ever since he got promoted above you. I’m sick of hearing you bash the Broderick family. Can’t we have one day without your twisted, supercilious ego spilling vitriol? Today is a day to honor my son. My Aaron.”

  Lucius glared at Nigel. How could two brothers be so different? Nigel is narrow-minded, egotistical, and cruel. David is open-minded, altruistic, and kind. “Nigel, I suggest that you stop drinking. I can smell the rum on your breath. If you can’t control yourself, I’ll be forced to ensure you are barred from the funeral. I will not subject Genevieve and Tammy to your garbage today.”

  Nigel glared at both his brother and uncle. “Aaron was my nephew. I have a right to be there, no matter what an old paper-pusher has to say.”

  David stepped towards his brother, anger pulsed in him. “As Aaron’s father, I have the right, and if I tell Aaron’s teammates you’re not allowed, they will prevent you from attending. So either shut up or leave.”

  Raising his empty glass to his brother, Nigel said, “For Aaron, I will remain quiet.” He pivoted and stalked away to find the rum—the hell with covering it with coke—he would drink if he damned well pleased. But he would remain quiet because he wanted a front row seat to watch the general fall apart when the toy soldier died.

  High Price Being William’s Son

  8

  July 19

  Grand Citadel Hotel – Main Suite – 12:00 p.m.

  Everyone scrutinized Dan as he walked gingerly into the room. They noted a new confidence and lightness in his body language. Like an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders.

  Dan gave everyone a lopsided grin. “What’s for lunch? I’m starving.”

  Alpha Team all cheerfully thought, Dan’s found his happiness again.

  Never had the light shone so brightly in Blondie’s eyes. It stunned Blaze speechless. He wondered at the cause. Did learning the truth about what happened when he was nine put the light in his eyes? Perhaps … but part of him thought there was more to it. He considered Blondie’s new team—must be a combination of things. Blaze almost teared up at the joy in his heart seeing the light in Blondie’s eyes and the smile on his face.

  William wanted to take a picture of Daniel and send one to Yvonne. Something miraculous happened. Hallelujah! Hope soared to heights he never imagined, and his own smile grew.

  Dan settled into his chair, and he studied his father—stunned again by the smile on the general’s face. Whoa! The general smiled? Earlier the general had laughed, too. A vague memory from when he was six filtered in … it had been so long since he saw him smile and laugh.

  He recalled the first time the general took him to the range after he got his first real rifle. They spent Saturday’s at the range—only the guys—no girls. They laughed a lot while he learned to shoot.

  Remorse pierced through Dan’s heart as he wondered how much misery his screwed-up child’s mind caused his parents. In reality, he had rejected them. He had so much to make up for, but he had time to make it right. Yeah, he had time. He needed to go slow, so he didn’t mess up again.

  Lexa set food in front of him. Dan noticed soft foods he liked filled the plate. He peered up at her as she tucked a piece of her hair back and gave him a small smile. Her smile banished all his negative thoughts. Dan watched as Lexa chewed her lower lip … he wanted to kiss her sweet lips this very minute. To divert his thoughts, he turned and surveyed the others. “What have you found out about Plouffe and Pletcher recently? Are they connected or wholly separate threats? Do we have enough to prove Plouffe is behind this?”

  Boss gave him a recap of where they were. Not much additional information since Bram shared with him. By the time Boss finished, his mind had wandered to thoughts of what Bram had shared with him about Murphy’s and Plouffe’s link to the training accident.

  Murphy hated him. Still conflicted about saving the guy years ago—if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have endured Murphy’s shit, he questioned what drove Murphy’s hatred. He looked across the table and directed his comment to Blaze. “You said the TRF teams were shown pictures of Plouffe and Pletcher.”

  “Yes.” Blaze waited, recognizing Blondie’s mind was working.

  His mind assessed the probability, and it was low, bu
t Dan asked anyway. “What about Blake Murphy? If it is more than coincidence and he is one of Plouffe’s lackeys, he might be a problem at the funeral.”

  “Last I knew he’s still in Kandahar.” Blaze’s gut roiled. How can I be so narrowly focused? One question from the kid and the field blew wide open for possible threats to Blondie. He wanted to talk Blondie out of going, but it would be a lost cause. General Broderick supported him going. The kid would go without him if he tried to stop him. Damn!

  Concern flashed in William’s eyes. “Murphy and his unit arrived on the same flight I took from Kandahar.” William made a quick call and then shared, “Major White reports Murphy’s unit is on base, but Murphy left yesterday after being granted a three-day leave.”

  Loki jumped up and headed to his computer. “On it, getting a picture and sending to everyone’s phones. Dan, anyone else we should consider? Anybody who sticks out as a concern from your time with the other units?”

  Dan thought for a long moment but shook his head. “No. Mostly the others treated me with indifference, not malice. Only a temporary sniper in their units, they didn’t invest any concern in me. The only ones I can think of for sure are already dead.”

  Winds piped in, “What about Murphy’s lap dog Corporal Travis? Travis did everything Murphy told him to do.”

  Patch said, “He transferred out of Special Forces eons ago.”

  Blaze rubbed the back of his neck, easing the tension which crept in. He focused on Loki. “Add Corporal Conan Travis. No idea where he is at, if he’s still in the military, or if he’s involved. I prefer to be safe, not sorry.”

  Lexa’s brain went down another path. “General, we still haven’t definitively determined if anyone on your staff is involved. The two you said handled the paperwork—we should know their whereabouts right now.”

  William agreed and made another call then reported, “Private Jordan is currently in the office and expected to stay until nineteen hundred. Corporal Merrill is off duty at the moment. Staff reported he worked until nearly zero three hundred this morning. They said he is likely home sleeping because he is expected back in the office to relieve Jordan.”

  Not satisfied, Blaze’s and Jon’s guts raged. Merrill could be anywhere—assumptions could be deadly.

  Blaze ordered, “Loki, pull a picture of Merrill and send it out, too.”

  General Broderick pinned Blaze with a questioning look. “It is a four-hour drive to Ottawa. Merrill would be hard pressed to return in time if he planned to do something at the funeral.”

  “Only a one-hour flight though,” Bram interjected.

  Blaze’s body tensed. “Correct. We need to cover any possibility. Blondie’s safety is my number one priority.”

  “Agreed,” William said. His son’s protection took priority.

  As soon as Loki finished sending out the pictures he decided to share the terrible thing he found last night. He pulled up his searches and noted Bransworth had been busy this morning and dug up even more info. Shit, this is worse than last night, but better, too. They linked Plouffe to Pletcher—solid proof. Damn, Bransworth is good.

  Loki swallowed hard and peeked at the general. “Sir, last night me and Bransworth set up some complex searches, and they resulted in something significant—a smoking gun if you will. Bransworth is still following the trail, but what we have so far is really bad, and it links Pletcher and Plouffe. I’m sure it will result in them being charged with treason and attempted murder.”

  Everyone stopped to listen. The group received so many shocks over the past few days they were almost numb. Now they tried hard to deal with each new one in a non-emotional, professional manner. They needed to keep a modicum of objectivity here to do the job. Forewarned the information would be awful, they braced themselves to control their reactions.

  William glanced at his son and then at Loki and steeled himself to hear what Bransworth and Loki had discovered. “Go ahead.”

  Loki brought up the details. His heart ached to tell Dan this. He looked directly at his friend. “Dan, I’m really sorry to tell you this. We uh, um ….” Loki swallowed the lump in his throat, but his eyes showed his concern. “We found evidence … you being taken captive wasn’t accidental. On the darknet, we found old chatter. The terrorist cell paid a significant amount of money to have a Special Forces soldier delivered into their hands.”

  Everyone paled at Loki’s information, most notably Dan and the general, but they all remained quiet waiting for the details.

  Loki swallowed another lump, but his eyes didn’t waver from Dan. “Though no names appeared in the chatter, Bransworth used information regarding the terrorist cell which took Dan, so he included that in our search parameters. They say to follow the money—so we did.

  “We found and traced a transfer of funds to an account in the Cayman Islands. Under an alias of course, but Bransworth used some of his contacts to hack in—I mean—to obtain the name of the real owner. Jorge Pletcher. The terrorists paid him four million. Then our search program found a transfer out of the account to another Cayman Islands account for one million. Also under an alias. Bransworth discovered the real owner is Major Plouffe.”

  Fire raged in Blaze’s eyes and through his soul. “General, we need to arrest Plouffe now! Based on this information he can’t be allowed to be free for any reason.”

  Every muscle in William’s body tensed as rage built. “Those fucking bastards sold my son! Prison is too good for those SOBs! I should grab my Remi and hunt their goddamned asses down.”

  William turned to Daniel, and his voice broke slightly. “My God, son! I am sorry this happened under my watch. They will pay! They won’t get away. By the time I finish with those bastards they will rue the day they harmed a Broderick. No one hurts my son!” His eyes welled with tears, and he turned his back to the group to wipe them away hastily.

  Dan’s brows rose almost to his hairline at the general’s bellow. Now that is the general I expected. The language is more colorful, though. It is weird to hear him rage about protecting me, too. As the general turned away his father’s wrath sparked an old memory.

  The rest in the room reeled from the general’s powerful outburst. Winds thought it matched one of his category five storms of words.

  Patch leaned over to Blaze. “Do you think he would actually snipe them?”

  Blaze sucked in a breath and stared at the general’s back. He whispered back, “He is General Badass.”

  Bram, Jon, and Ray glanced at each other hearing their quiet exchange. General Badass lived up to his moniker.

  Lexa moved over to Loki who appeared shocked by the ferocity of the words and upset because he shared the information. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. The Boss appeared on Loki’s other side and did the same thing.

  William boiled inside but locked down his rage— not helpful now. Part of him wanted to grab his rifle and follow through, but he would follow the law. About to place a call to get an arrest warrant, he halted when Daniel spoke.

  Dan said flatly, “Sir, you need to include Sergeant Murphy and Corporal Travis as potential accessories. Always thought it was sucky timing. Though with the information Loki found, the events take on a potentially different meaning. I’m not sure if they are involved, but it is highly likely.”

  Blondie’s words confused Patch. “Blondie, what do you mean?”

  Dan continued with no discernible emotion, not blank, but only stating cold hard facts. “Three days before they took me, I was with Gleason’s unit. I selected my perch, but Murphy acting as Gleason second in command intervened and convinced Gleason I should be in another position.

  “Pissed off, I couldn’t figure out why Murphy butted in or why Gleason agreed. The perch sucked—out of the way, not secure. Gleason denied me a spotter also on Murphy’s recommendation. I complied because Gleason ordered me. Near the end of the first day, I pull out my food and water kit to find someone sabotaged my supplies—same shit Murphy did before.
I was immobile in my perch for three days without food or water.

  “We maintained radio silence. I had been directed by Gleason to stay put until a unit member came to retrieve me. Late on the third day, Murphy and Travis arrived. I thought the mission was a bust because the targets never showed. I started to rise, stiff from being still for so long, when Murphy said, ‘Shit! Still here asshat? Thought you’d be gone by now.’

  “Then Murphy sucker-punched me, and they beat the crap out of me. I wasn’t in the best shape at the time to defend myself. I got in several good hits, but Murphy landed a blow to my temple which sent me to the ground.

  “No idea how long I laid in the dirt dazed. When the fog lifted, I saw Murphy and Travis running away laughing. As I tried to regain my bearings, the terrorists showed up. They outnumbered me, and I couldn’t evade capture.” Dan stopped and looked at Blaze, his eyes quietly asked ‘why me?’

  The room was dead quiet. Blaze, Winds, and Patch stared at Blondie as so many emotions warred in their heads. If only they had known.

  “Why didn’t you ever tell us that, Blondie,” Blaze asked softly with sadness lacing each word.

  Dan sucked in a breath as he asked himself that same question. He flatly answered, “At the time I didn’t think it mattered. Same shit I dealt with from Murphy since training. They sabotaged my supplies and beat the crap out of me a few times before. I didn’t put any particular meaning to his words at the time. Thought with my sucky luck the terrorists showed up and I couldn’t bug out in time.

  “But the words Murphy said strike me differently now. It was like he expected to find me gone and not because I was out of water and food. Murphy could’ve butted in with Gleason, so I was in a particular location … where the terrorists would know I would be … easy pickings.”

  The room was quiet again. Lexa, Nick, Jon, Ray, Bram, and Loki shocked at yet another revelation—their thoughts chaotic. They remained silent, there was nothing to say. Plouffe and Pletcher sold Dan to the people who tortured him, and others might have helped them. They realized now what the general meant by shaking the foundations of Special Forces.