by Lee Taylor
“Gentlemen—and I even include Cleon in that designation—welcome to my humble domain.” Allowing the roars of laughter and good-natured ribbing to continue for several minutes, Logan nodded to the bottles and said with a grin, “Not that I have to tell you to help yourself to the booze. Do know that I will be insulted if there is anything left after we finish our discussion. In addition, note there is enough food on the buffet to feed even this group. Please don’t hold back.”
Cleon Ray reached for one of the bottles in the middle of the table and tugged it possessively up next to him. “Bless your pea-pickin’ little heart, Commander. But I gotta warn you. I’m so thirsty I could finish off this bottle by my lonesome faster than green grass through a goose. And hell, I’m so hungry my belly thinks my throat’s been cut!”
At the resounding laughter, Logan shrugged. “Which is why, Sergeant Ray, I have two more cases of Macallan in my storeroom and a refrigerator full of food. The last thing I will do is shortchange any of you on food, booze, or accommodations.” Allowing a more serious expression to overtake his face, he frowned slightly, then said carefully, “I hope I don’t have to tell you how happy I am to see all of you. Or how grateful I am, given the shit we are facing, that you all are as accomplished as you are.” Seeing Elliott’s questioning frown, Logan picked up a remote and brought the monitors in front to the room to life. Pointing to a group of uniformed officers sitting around a conference table, he began to explain.
“While the rest of you have been engaged in some iteration of this operation, our good buddy Major Elliott Lockhart is learning of this mission for the first time tonight. For that reason, I’m going to start in the beginning.” Focusing on the two uniformed men pictured in the center of the screen, he explicated. “At least for me, it was five years ago when Colonel Pete Jensen, whom all of you know, contacted me on behalf of the always-forbidding General Franklin Richards. It seems that my tech guru reputation hadn’t gone unremarked by our former Delta Force bigwigs. At Jensen’s and General Richard’s requests, I began consulting with them, reluctantly at first. Let’s face it, I was growing my company, and extracurricular activities other than women, booze, and making money weren’t on my agenda. Based in Seattle and close to Silicon Valley, my partners and I were on the cutting edge of some very interesting technology related to the burgeoning social media arena. It turned out that DOD had their eye on the kinds of technology we were developing, particularly those regarding privacy challenges. Perhaps because of my special operative background, I soon admitted that the work I did for them was not only interesting, but damned important.
“Along the way, it was serendipitous that I happened to get involved in the Pritchard campaign for Congress. At that point, Pete Jensen asked me if I would look into an area that was of increasing concern. That of technology-driven political espionage—particularly from international players. At first, I participated because I happen to like our democratic form of government and don’t want a bunch of nefarious countries to cripple our democracy. I’m one of those naïve guys who likes to think that when I cast a ballot, some asshole in China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia shouldn’t be able to keep it from counting. We all know political campaigns, regardless of orientation, have spied on each other from day one. Face it. It’s the accepted way of doing business for both parties. Hell, Gia’s father was the mastermind of political espionage. Dirty tricks were the bywords of any campaign he ran until the law took him down. Like I said, I could care less. But the fact that some political operatives in our country were willing to sell their souls to international criminals was a bridge several eons too far for me.
“Compounding the issue, it wasn’t long before the truly bad actors, the cartels and the like, entered the game. Always looking for ways to diversify their ill-gotten income streams, the cartels recognized the opportunity to grow their wealth exponentially in a field that was wide open for abuse. In the last six months alone, our team infiltrated five human trafficking enterprises that had discovered political espionage was ripe for exploitation. Like the accomplished charlatans they are, the cartels hopped right on it! Specifically by exacting coercive bribes that the guilty politicos were more than willing to pay through the ass to keep from being revealed. By planting bugs in their technology, my operatives were able to identify key American players who were willing to sell our country down the drain and do it on behalf of major international cartels.”
Logan allowed the now stern-faced men studying him to absorb what he was saying, then turned to Elliott. “I’ve been working with these asshole buddies of ours for a couple of years now. When I moved part of my business operation here, I didn’t realize that it was about to become a hotspot of activity involving international political espionage and fraud. I admit that I used you to introduce me to the political structure here, my friend. Little did I know that I was about to become involved in a political campaign that, shall we say, piqued my interest.”
Elliott’s frown deepened. He asked in a disbelieving tone, “Damn, Logan, is that why you went after Gia?”
“Fuck no. In fact, when I first met her, the last thing I intended to do was to be involved in a political campaign. To be clear, I was interested in Gia the woman, not in some damn campaign. Unfortunately, as we all know, the stars sometimes align in the most unexpected ways. When the Maxwell campaign exploded and I decided that Gia needed to replace him on the ticket, our friends at DOD were jubilant. To my chagrin, the government spooks I’d been working with were thrilled that I was now personally in the middle of a potentially involved campaign. They begged me to use my propitious locus to further infiltrate the coterie of bad actors we were tracking. Some of whom we’re convinced are hanging out in this neck of the woods.”
Not able to contain his agitation, Logan rose to his feet and tried to explain what had become an untenable conflict. “As you all know, I’m a security freak, always certain that the apocalypse is just around the corner, about to kick me in the ass. When I first met Gia, my only concern was that I not let my offline activities touch her in any way. Clint and Jamal have helped me with security issues in the past. I asked them to come here and hook up with the local PD to keep an eye on her. Little did I know what a magnet for trouble Ms. Tremaine was and is.” He snorted. “Particularly for the guy who has fallen hopelessly in love with her.”
Glancing over at Cleon Ray and Dennis Webb, he said to Elliott, “Ray and Webb are working full-time with the DOD. At my request, Colonel Jensen assigned them to me when it became clear that we are in the middle of an escalating situation.” Blowing out a hard sigh, he shot Elliott a troubled frown. “After what happened today, buddy, it was clear to me that we need you on the team. I know this is an imposition and far from anything you ever expected or wanted to do—”
Elliott interrupted him, his voice harsh with emotion. “Dammit, Logan. Please. Know my only concern is why the fuck didn’t you come to me sooner? Jesus God, Logan, you are my hero. I would walk through hell and back, buck naked, if you were leading the expedition.”
“I know you would, Elliott. Don’t misunderstand. These other yahoos are still active duty. In contrast, man, you and I left the force years ago to make as much money as we possibly could. And yeah, we both have done a fine job of raking in the dough. Unfortunately for me, old habits die hard. I’m a security hard-ass as well as being convinced that when it comes to leading missions, I’m the most skilled operator you’ll ever meet. Leave it to that intrepid old goat General Richards to exploit my hubris and hook me back in.” When Elliott started to interrupt, Logan put up his hand, stopping him. “Look, man. I agree. Today made it clear to me that we need you on this team. You know this district, hell, this state, inside and out. If anyone can help us figure out if reprehensible players are at work here, it is you.”
Elliott was clearly flabbergasted. “Jesus, Logan, do you really think that some of the cartel-courting assholes you’re chasing are here? In this state?”
Logan shared a glanc
e with the others and shrugged. “Yeah, we do. One qualification. Not only in this state, but likely in this very congressional race.”
****
As he opened the fifth bottle of Macallan, Logan glanced at his watch and said with a snort, “Well, men, it’s only taken us five bottles of expensive booze and six hours to come up with our plan. Does that mean we’re getting rusty?”
Jamal laughed. “No, Commander Fowler. The only thing it confirms is that our taste for fine liquor has improved as we’ve aged. And in addition, if you don’t mind, sir, I’ll state the obvious. The fact that the most beautiful and enticing woman any of us has ever laid eyes on is thick in the middle of this morass ups the ante. In addition, that said woman is your woman, Logan, makes this mission the most loaded one we’ve ever undertaken.”
Logan frowned, then allowed a smile to curve his lips. Raising his glass to the team, he shrugged. “To the understatement of all times, Agent Toure. And to the only team certain to pull it off!”
The cheers following his declaration were deafening.
Chapter 27
Exiting his high-security elevator, Logan entered his rooftop condominium. A quick glance at his watch confirmed it was after two-thirty in the morning. Determined not to wake Gia, he bypassed the bedroom, then slipped into the bathroom. Glancing in the mirror, he wasn’t surprised to see the serious expression tightening his mien. Nothing like bringing an international security issue into the middle of their lives, not to mention the center of Gia’s run for Congress—the run he’d insisted she make. He gave a soft snort. The “issue” that could blow her campaign apart in a hundred different ways.
Kicking off his shoes and socks and shrugging off his shirt, he eased into the bedroom, planning to slide into bed beside her without waking her. God knows the day had been hard enough. The least he could do was to let her sleep. It took him a full ten seconds to acknowledge the hideous truth. The bed was empty. Gia wasn’t there. Fighting the rush of fear that quickly morphed into a wave of anger that threatened to take him down, he acknowledged the bitter truth. Once again, Gia had disobeyed him. He’d made it crystal clear that she was to go to the condominium tonight. He’d thrown down the gauntlet, underscoring that she was through staying at her pitiful house. He’d declared that from now on, they lived together in his sky-high abode. Period. End of discussion.
Sucking in a tense breath, he punched a key on his phone. He wasn’t surprised that he woke Ben. Christ, it was nearly 3:00 a.m. His voice would have scared an accomplished undercover agent, much less a twenty-something campaign manager. “Goddammit, Ben. Where the fuck is she?”
“Huh . . . ah . . . Logan, is that you?”
“Where . . . the . . . fuck . . . is . . . she, Ben?”
He was glad when Ben responded in a wide-awake tone. “What the hell, Logan? She’s at your place. I dropped her off at midnight. Jesus God, man, she was exhausted. I told her to get into bed and not come out for three days if necessary.”
“Ben, she’s not here.”
“But . . . but . . . she has to be.”
Grappling with the fact that Ben wouldn’t lie to him, Logan allowed the hideous truth to overtake him. Somehow, some way, they must have gotten to her though he admitted he still couldn’t put a specific name or face to the evil “they”. He spit out, “I’ll call you back, Ben.”
Punching in his security code, he blew out an angry accusation. “Goddammit, Jamal. Gia’s not here. Call your men. How the hell did they let them get to her?”
Within a blessed thirty seconds, Jamal responded. “She’s there, buddy. I promise you. I confirmed my guys watched Ben drop her off, and she’s been there ever since. Christ man, she’s probably sleeping.”
“No . . . she’s not.”
“Maybe . . . she’s in her office?”
Striding past her empty sitting room and heading to the living room, Logan thought he saw a glimmer of light on the patio. Rounding the corner and taking the first full breath since he’d arrived, he muttered into the phone, “Sorry, man. She . . . she’s here . . . on the patio. Damn, buddy, I . . . my apologies. I guess I’m more on edge than I realized.”
Jamal’s soft sigh underscored his words. “Ya think? Breathe, Commander. I promise you, Logan, no one . . . do you hear me? No one will get to her. We have her wrapped in an inviolable cocoon that even those degenerate villains can’t get through.”
Logan stood in the entrance to the patio, forcing his heart to beat somewhere other than heart-attack range. Taking a deep breath, he reached for as normal a tone as he could muster as he stepped toward her. “Jesus God, Gia, you scared the fuck out of me.”
He studied her frowning gaze in the soft candlelight. When she stared at him, her frown deepening, he tried to explain. “I . . . you weren’t in our bed. I thought that . . . you were gone. That something had happened to you. I told Ben to bring you here, to ensure that you were here.”
Gia shot him a narrowed gaze and responded crisply. “Where did you think I was, Logan? Taking a middle-of-the-night stroll?” When he didn’t answer, just continued to gaze at her, she said, “I couldn’t have gone for a drive because, as you are well aware, you have sequestered my car. God knows where you hid it or when I might get it back. But for now, apparently I need your permission to go anywhere by myself.”
When he didn’t answer, she allowed herself to see the fear colliding with the anger in his gaze. Forcing herself to reach out to him, she said, “This isn’t about me, Logan. I’m exactly where you ensured that I would be. Safe in your beautiful condominium. The question is, where were you? Can I assume from your strained expression and the fact that it is almost three o’clock in the morning that Gus Underwood isn’t enjoying a quiet night of sleep?”
Deciding to grab the lifeline she’d inadvertently thrown him, Logan shrugged. “Suffice it to say, Gus Underwood’s quiet, unruffled nights and days are a thing of the past. And I apologize for my untoward accusation. I confess it threw me when you weren’t in our bed. I overreacted. That said, why aren’t you in bed, Gia? Damn, princess, as you said, it’s almost three o’clock in the morning. You have to be exhausted. You need to sleep, sweetheart. We have a big-ass day of work ahead of us.”
Seeing her frown darken further, Logan conceded he wasn’t going to be able to put her off. Her careful query said it all. “Please, Logan. Tell me what happened. It is the middle of the night, and you looked like the hounds of Hell were after you. Or like you were certain Cerberus himself carted me off to his forsaken lair to have his dastardly way with me.”
When he hesitated, weighing how he would answer her, she cut him off. “Don’t, Logan. Please. Don’t dissemble. I know that you were going after Gus. I want, make that I need, to hear what you did to him.”
Grateful for her specific question, he replied honestly. “Believe it or not, Gia, I . . . we didn’t go after Gus personally. Instead, we laid the groundwork to take him down permanently.”
“You mean . . . take him down permanently politically?”
“Yes, politically. When I . . . we are through with him, he won’t be able to run for dogcatcher, much less for the Congress of the United States.”
Gia studied him for a long moment. “In that you seem to be saying that ‘we’ will take him—Gus—down, am I included in that auspicious group? And if I am, any chance that you will bring me into the discussion? Heck, that you might even tell me who you were with tonight and how they are going to help us get rid of Gus?”
Buying time, Logan walked over to liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of Bowman Brothers. He winked at her as he poured them each a glass and handed one to her. “How about we give our Macallan a rest and imbibe my second-favorite whiskey?” Seeing her eyes flash dangerously, Logan knew he was on a slippery slope. Deciding that the truth was called for, at least some of it, he sank down in the chair next to hers. “Look, Gia, you know that Gus went so far off the reservation today, it’s a miracle we didn’t take his scalp as well as his d
ick off him tonight.” Holding up his hand, stopping her words that were hurtling his way, he said, “Hear me out, sweetheart. Instead of attacking him personally, I met with a group of men who are going to help us take him down permanently.”
Again, holding up his hand, he didn’t let her interrupt. “Let me finish, Gia. To be specific, I met with my security team. In addition to Jamal and Clint, whom you met yesterday, we also included Elliott Lockhart. As you know, Elliott is as connected a politico as exists in these parts. He will be an invaluable member of the team. Along with several others, we designed a failsafe plan to ensure that when we take him down, Gus will stay down.”
Gia regarded him quizzically, then asked, “Did you include Elliott in your coterie because he was also a member of your Delta Force squad?”
Logan shrugged and allowed a smile to curve his lips. “I can’t keep anything from you, can I, Gia?”
She gave a dismissive snort and responded in an aggrieved tone. “Don’t make it any worse than you already have, Logan. You know dammed well that you will tell me as little as possible about what you are really doing. Rather, you will feed me small bits of truth to keep me sheathed while you plan your master campaign.” She sat up straighter in her chair. “Just so you know, it makes me madder than hell that you think you can dismiss me as if I’m a foolish woman, unable to run with the big dogs. You might remind your buddies and yourself that, with the exception of Elliott, I’ve played in the political arena years before you hotshots ever stuck your big dicks in the game.” She glared at him. “And if you think that you know how to draw blood, cut more than a few inches off your enemies’ pitiful pricks, you should meet my father. Ask anyone in this state what happened when you got on the wrong side of Big Bart Tremaine.”