Line of Fire
Page 17
“Great work, everyone,” Blunt said as he stood at the head of the table. “If we hadn’t stopped that plan, complete chaos would’ve befallen our drug agents, not to mention many of them in deep cover would’ve likely lost their lives.”
Black nodded. “Shields saved the day this time. If she and Alex hadn’t responded so quickly, Parsons would’ve spoiled everything else we did.”
“Stop praising me or else I’ll put some titanium and carbon fiber up your ass,” Shields said. “You know I hate attention like this.”
“Of course,” Black said. “Why else would I do it?”
She glared at him from across the table and mouthed, I’m gonna kill you.
“If you two are finished,” Blunt said, “I think we have some other loose ends to tie up, like the hard drive that was delivered to us from Wellington’s home in Sperryville. Agent Shields?”
“Yes, I was able to analyze some of the data pulled off a hard drive recovered in the fire,” she said.
“And what did you find?” Blunt asked.
“I found out the truth about Wellington’s oversight of the MH-Allectus program,” she said as she passed out stapled documents to Black, Blunt, and Alex. “There was a secret control group of four people.”
“Four?” Black asked. “I thought there were only three.”
“There were only three in Kabul,” Shields said. “But there was a fourth that he experimented on when he was stateside.”
“Miriam Parsons,” Alex said.
Shields nodded. “Apparently, Wellington had an affair with her as well. And during that time, she allowed him to conduct more of these experiments on her.”
“What was he doing exactly to them?” Blunt asked.
“From what I can tell, the MH-Allectus program was about creating sleeper agents who could perform like the well-trained assets that they were but do it only when necessary. However, Wellington wanted to create super agents who didn’t fear anything. He found out about Vogle’s derealization disorder and sought out other agents who had it as well. That’s why they exhibited virtually no fear of us when we were trying to stop them. They were only concerned with completing the mission.”
“Except Vogle,” Black said.
“Yeah, he was a different animal all together,” Shields said. “I located some of his personal medical records, and his condition was off the charts. When his part of the mission failed, the only way for him to succeed was to die, which he happily did by jumping out of the plane.”
“There’s still one thing that’s bugging me,” Black said.
“What’s that?” Blunt asked.
“What did President Michaels do in Islamabad?”
Blunt sighed and glanced at his watch. “In about five minutes, the American people are all going to hear what happened there. Whether it’s true or not, I’m not sure. All I can do is tell you what he told me.”
“Fair enough,” Black said.
“When Michaels and Quinn were in Islamabad, they were following a suspected terrorist through a drug den. That’s when they stumbled upon a young man assaulting a teenage girl. Michaels told him to knock it off, but the guy persisted. So, Michaels and Quinn intervened. The man pulled out a knife and attempted to fight them both. But he wasn’t any match for them and they stabbed him to death and left his body in the alleyway. There was one guy who pulled out a camera and captured it on film, but he never did anything with it. Apparently, the man who took the pictures just wanted get justice for the man who’d been stabbed to death, who, as it turns out, was Prince Alsheri’s youngest brother. And Wellington found out about it.”
“This is all starting to make more sense now,” Shields said.
“Rumors about Michaels involvement in a murder in Pakistan have been circulating on Middle Eastern websites for several months now, but no media here took the story seriously.”
A knock at the door interrupted their meeting. Blunt’s assistant poked her head inside.
“Sir, the press conference is on,” she said.
Blunt turned on the television, and the team watched as President Michaels delivered a statement about what happened.
“I’m here to set the record straight about what happened years ago while in Pakistan. Just know, I’m not here to ask for forgiveness or say I’m sorry because I’m not. What I learned a long time ago is that leadership sometimes requires unsavory acts. This one was of those but a necessary one.”
Michaels recounted the incident just as Blunt had.
“Wow,” Black said. “Just stunning.”
Before the team continued to discuss the revelation, the anchor at the news desk announced that they had more breaking news.
“Turn it up,” Shields said.
Blunt obliged as the anchor looked directly at the camera and spoke.
“Consider it the presidential campaign that never really was,” the newscaster said. “In a stunning turn of events in just one day after Chicago business mogul John Kingman announced his intention to run for president, he has ended his campaign after new allegations of fraud surfaced against him. According to a report in The Chicago Tribune, Kingman was connected to a fraudulent real estate deal under an alias, absconding with more than five million dollars from elderly investors in a planned retirement community twenty years ago. District Attorney Martha Gallagher said her office is investigating the claims. During Kingman’s announcement that he was withdrawing from the race, he also promised to repay in full those who invested with reparations.”
Blunt shook his head and turned off the television. “That might be a record for shortest campaign ever.”
“How did that information stay buried for so long and just now come to light?” Black asked before he winked at Shields.
She shrugged and broke into a wry smile. “You got me.”
Blunt slid a package to Black. “This came in the mail for you this morning.”
“What is it?” Black asked with a furrowed brow.
“Open it up and find out,” Shields said.
Black ripped open the padded envelope and dug his hand inside. He pulled out a DVD and held it up.
“Natalie Newton: Buff and Tough,” Shields read before breaking into a laugh.
“She signed it,” Black said. “And here’s a thank you note from her.”
“Gary also sent his thanks,” Blunt said. “He sent a bottle of scotch for you.”
“How about a glass now?” Black asked.
Blunt shook his head and collected all the documents in front of him. “You know that I prefer bourbon every day of the week over that nasty stuff. Now, I do have one more order of business, which I think you’ll find particularly interesting, Agent Black.”
“I’m all ears,” Black said.
“I got a letter from President Michaels about you specifically. He said he wants to bury the hatchet with you once and for all.”
Shields nodded. “The president finally came to his senses.”
“And,” Blunt continued, “he also says that he has a special assignment for us in light of recent events.”
“Pertaining to what?” Black asked.
“He didn’t say. Just told us to be ready.”
Black smiled. “I’m always ready.”
THE END
To continue reading in the Titus Black series, order Blow Back now. Or to read more novels from the Firestorm world, check out the Brady Hawk series also available on Kindle Unlimited.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to so many people who have helped with the creation of this project and the entire Titus Black series.
Krystal Wade was a big help in editing this book as always.
I would also like to thank my advance reader team for all their input in improving this book along with all the other readers who have enthusiastically embraced the story of Titus Black. Stay tuned ... there's more Titus Black coming soon.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.J. PATTERSON is an award-winning writer living in southeastern Idaho. He first began his illustrious writing career as a sports journalist, recording his exploits on the soccer fields in England as a young boy. Then when his father told him that people would pay him to watch sports if he would write about what he saw, he went all in. He landed his first writing job at age 15 as a sports writer for a daily newspaper in Orangeburg, S.C. He later attended earned a degree in newspaper journalism from the University of Georgia, where he took a job covering high school sports for the award-winning Athens Banner-Herald and Daily News.
He later became the sports editor of The Valdosta Daily Times before working in the magazine world as an editor and freelance journalist. He has won numerous writing awards, including a national award for his investigative reporting on a sordid tale surrounding an NCAA investigation over the University of Georgia football program.
R.J. enjoys the great outdoors of the Northwest while living there with his wife and four children. He still follows sports closely.
He also loves connecting with readers and would love to hear from you. To stay updated about future projects, connect with him over Facebook or on the interwebs at www.RJPbooks.com and sign up here for his newsletter to get deals and updates.
Line of Fire
© Copyright 2020 R.J. Patterson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First eBook Edition 2020
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