Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2)

by J. M. Brister

  Orson had stupidly taken it too. Perhaps it had been greed? Perhaps he had wanted in with the right people? Regardless, the Conglomerate had offered him an incredible amount of money for the combat armor prototype. He had taken it.

  Of course, he knew Miles wouldn’t go along with it. However, if Orson had pulled out of the deal with his software, Miles would have found someone else to work that angle. The armor was too good of an idea.

  Orson hadn’t realized what the Conglomerate would do to get Miles to stop the armor all together. They wanted to be the only ones with it. Period.

  So, they had planted a bomb on a jet that Miles was supposed to be on. Except Miles wasn’t the one who had ended up on the plane. It had been his daughter, Jasmine. Orson was sure that the Conglomerate would have continued to go after Miles, except the death of his daughter had an unexpected result.

  Miles had spiraled into a depression, and all major projects had been halted. He eventually sold off his company, which the Conglomerate gobbled up. The problem had been dealt with, so they left Miles alone.

  Sure, Orson felt bad about the whole thing, but the Conglomerate had opened the world to him. He had bought this island from all the money he had raked in from selling them the software part to the armor prototype. Plus, his company had provided more product for the Conglomerate. That should have solidified himself with them.

  It hadn’t, though.

  Their requests had begun to get more demanding. Orson hadn’t been able to keep his end of their deals on certain orders. It had been getting progressively worse to the point that he had decided to beef up his security. Miles happened to own a private mercenary group. It felt like a way to make it up to Miles in a small way and get his island secured at the same time.

  Apparently, Orson hadn’t been fast enough. Now, he was dead and probably his wife and everyone else on this island too.

  He cringed as he listened to more gunfire. The sounds were closer this time.

  All that work, all his sacrifices had been for nothing. Perhaps it was karma from Jasmine’s death? In that case, he probably deserved it.

  Orson waited until the doors of his office were kicked in and two soldiers in that damned armor came in, guns pointed.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Keira, Alex, and a few top field agents, including Ryan Hale and Mercer Cade were sitting around the table in the War Room. Miles had called an emergency meeting after Jack’s call. They had a boat that could get Jack and Kat, but that was way too long of a wait. Gray Tower was going to have to do better. If Jack said he needed an extraction, then he really needed one.

  “What do we have available right now?” Miles demanded.

  “I’m trying to get ahold of Mercado right now,” Alex said. “I know he’s in the area. He might be able to help.”

  Miles nodded.

  Lucas Mercado had done a few different drops in the area and was trustworthy as far as Miles was concerned.

  “What else do we have?” Miles asked.

  “We have a plane on standby if we need to send a team in,” Keira said.

  “Let’s assume that we do need that kind of man power,” Miles told her. “How about we get a team prepped and ready to go? I’d rather have them ready and not need them than need them and not have anyone available.”

  “Alright,” Keira replied. “Who are we sending?”

  “I’ll go,” Mercer volunteered.

  Mercer Cade had scarring down one side of his face due to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan years ago, giving him a sinister look. He certainly was a formidable opponent in battle, but in reality, he was a terrific guy.

  “I’m going too,” Ryan Hale said.

  Ryan was one of Gray Tower’s rising stars. He had quickly climbed the ranks and was now one of the best agents they had.

  “Well, with Hale and Cade leading, we should be fine,” Miles noted.

  “Me too,” Logan said quietly.

  Miles could almost feel Keira tense from next to him. Logan had gone from being a field agent to heading Gray Tower’s employee training. It was a much more predictable job with little travel. Miles knew that Keira preferred him in that position as there was no danger. He was not sure how she would react if Logan was sent back out.

  “Logan,” Keira began. “That’s not your job anymore.”

  “I know,” he said softly. “But Jack came for me when I was in trouble. I need to be there for him.”

  Keira fidgeted in her seat slightly and looked to be pondering her fiancé’s decision. Then, she shook her head and heaved a heavy breath.

  “Go,” she said. “Help Jack.”

  “Thank you,” Logan said, giving Keira a meaningful nod.

  “Alright,” Miles said. “We’ll get the team all settled. Be prepared to move out.”

  There was nodding in agreement around the table. Hopefully, this was nothing, but Miles trusted Jack’s intuition. If he thought there was an issue, then there was a big issue.

  Chapter 15

  Nathan couldn’t quite believe that Jack Hunter was on this damned island—not only that, but he had what looked to be a civilian with him. How the hell had this happened? Only Carr’s security and staff were supposed to be here, not a fucking Gray Tower agent.

  When Nate’s brother had decided to join Gray Tower, Nate had made sure to keep an eye on him. It was mainly to make sure Logan was okay, but it was also to prevent situations just like this. Nate never wanted to end up killing another Gray Tower agent, especially a friend of Logan’s. And unfortunately, Nate knew that Jack Hunter and Logan were best friends.

  Yeah. He had just shot Logan’s best friend. Not only that, but Gray Tower shouldn’t be anywhere near here. Even if they were going after Carr, the intel said that Carr was here with a few employees. How could his team lead had been so wrong? This was turning out to be a real fun mission.

  “How the hell,” Jack began in a strained voice, “do you know my name? Who are you?”

  “Currently, I’m the best shot you have right now at getting off this island unscathed,” Nate replied.

  He couldn’t tell Jack who he really was. It was for Jack’s protection. If someone found out the identity of a Conglomerate soldier like Nate, it would be bad. Very bad. It was one of the many reasons why he had never contacted Logan.

  “Well, this isn’t a very good start, since you shot me, you bastard,” Jack grumbled.

  “My apologies,” Nate said.

  He would have normally shot to kill, but he had been perplexed when he saw someone who wasn’t on the list of people who should have been on the island.

  “Look,” he continued. “We don’t have much time, and I need to figure out what to do with you. I doubt my team would be as willing to help you as I am.”

  “You mean the group in there who are shooting up innocents as we speak?” Jack muttered.

  “Innocents?” Nate asked cautiously.

  Could there be more people on the island like Jack and this woman? Could the Conglomerate intel be wrong?

  “Who?” He continued.

  “Excuse me if I don’t want to talk anymore,” Hunter retorted.

  Nate couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t have given any intel freely either if their positions had been switched.

  “Listen,” Nate told him. “I don’t know why Gray Tower is here, but my people aren’t going to like it if they find out you’re here. You need to leave and now.”

  If Jack had been surprised, he didn’t show it. The woman next to him—a tall platinum blonde who was visibly shaking—looked over at Hunter.

  “You’re just going to let us go?” Jack asked suspiciously. “That seems rather contrary to what’s going on around us.”

  “Pick up your weapon and leave,” Nate confirmed. “Stay away from the house. Get off the island if you can. If you come back to this house, these men will kill you.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Jack said, bringing his left hand down from his head.

  His fema
le companion slowly did the same, her hands shaking as they came down. She looked over to Jack for direction.

  “Get up,” Jack told her. “It’s alright. Oddly enough, I think he’s telling the truth.”

  They both stood, Jack grunting and picking up his handgun.

  “You still haven’t told me who you are,” Jack said as he grabbed the woman by the arm.

  “Right now, I’m the only friend you have on this island,” Nate said. “Now go before one of my team members comes by.”

  He watched as Jack and his companion went off into the night. Jack looked as if he were struggling a bit, and Nate felt bad for shooting him. Hopefully, he could figure out what the hell was going on with his team and this Conglomerate intel. Something was wrong, and Nate was going to find out what was happening.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Kat held onto Jack’s left arm tightly as they trudged down a hill on the far northeast side if the island. She could tell he was struggling. His shoulder was bleeding like crazy. He needed medical attention, but what could they do? They were just trying to get to somewhere safe.

  She was still reeling from Jack getting shot. At that moment, she thought that they both were dead. That man—whoever he was—had spared them. Not only that, but he had called himself a “friend.” Kat doubted that very much, but at least they were away from the mansion. That was a good start, right?

  “Over this way,” Jack grunted as they came to the end of a hilly area and to an unmanaged beach. “See that outcropping right there?”

  Despite being dark, Kat could see a tall hill and ledge that overlooked the ocean and stopped the progression of the beach which was littered with branches. A person would either have to swim around the rocks or climb back up and around the hill to continue along it.

  “I see it,” she said.

  “There’s a little bit of a shelter along the rocks,” he told her. “I have a stash buried over there.”

  As they approached, Kat noted a bit of a cut-out in the rocks from water erosion that made a shallow cave. There was sand along the ground, so at least it would be somewhat soft to sit on. It wasn’t much, but it would keep them dry if it rained. It also would keep them out of sight from any wandering eyes unless someone was right up on them.

  Jack stumbled forward to the natural shelter and pushed a bunch of palm leaf fronds and sand away from a large lump on the ground. There was a large rectangular container sitting there. He sat down heavily next to it and leaned his back against the rocky area.

  “There should be some medical supplies in here,” he grunted, shutting his eyes. “We’ve got to do something about my shoulder.”

  Kat nodded, finding a latch on the container. She popped it open. There looked to be some items already missing as the rest of the contents was tightly packed. She started pulling out items.

  “There,” Jack told her. “That’s it.”

  Kat grabbed a small container and opened it, revealing bandages, a suture kit, adhesive tape, antibiotic ointment, and pain medication. Then, she watched as Jack took his uninjured arm and ripped off his black t-shirt where the gunshot wound was located until he only had half a shirt on.

  She had not realized how much he had been bleeding until she saw the bullet wound and the blood-soaked rag that used to be part of his shirt.

  “Check the back,” Jack grunted as he leaned forward. “See if the wound is perforated.”

  “Is what?” She said, trying to keep her stomach in check.

  “See if there’s an exit wound. I’d be a lot happier if the bullet is out of my shoulder, all things considered.”

  “There’s…a wound in the back,” Kat managed to say.

  The sight of all that blood was starting to get to her.

  Keep it together, she told herself. Jack needs you right now.

  Kat was still reeling from seeing him getting shot. If anything happened to him, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.

  “Good,” he said hoarsely. “Then let’s get this thing closed up before I lose too much blood and pass out.”

  “What do I do?” She asked.

  “See if there’s something you can wash and disinfect the wound with. Then, we’ll work on closing it up.”

  Kat found a small bottle of iodine and poured it over the front and back of the wound, watching as Jack hissed through his teeth as the liquid hit the affected area. Then, she took out the suture kit and looked at him pointedly.

  “What do I do?” She asked nervously.

  “With those, you don’t have to actually stick anything. They just clamp on the wound until something more can be done. It won’t be as bad as you think.”

  Jack walked her through how to do it, and then once she successfully did it, he showed her how to bandage his shoulder area. Once she was done, he took a few sips of water from a bottle in the container and laid his head back against the rocks and shut his eyes.

  “Jack?” Kat asked cautiously.

  “I’m still here,” he said softly. “Just give me a moment, and then we’ll call in to Gray Tower. They need to know what’s going on here, and we need to get the hell out.”

  Kat nodded, grabbing the sat phone, and handed it to him. She watched him silently as he dialed out.

  After a few moments, he said, “Hey. We’ve got big problems here.”

  Kat knew that was true, and it scared the crap out of her. She listened while Jack filled Gray Tower in on what was going on. Once he got off the call, he leaned his head back again and chuckled.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked, perplexed.

  “This wasn’t how I expected our night to go,” he said. “Although I’ll settle for you ripping off my shirt.”

  He nodded toward his half-torn shirt. She tried to smile as she helped him tear the rest of it off.

  “Are you doing okay?” He asked her softly.

  “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

  “I do this shit all of the time, and this isn’t the first time I’ve been shot either.”

  He tapped at a couple of scars along the side of his torso. She nodded, still not feeling much better. Of course, she had noticed the scars when they had had sex, but she had been too chicken to ask about them.

  “What do we do now?” She asked hesitantly.

  “Wait. One of us should try and get some sleep, if possible.”

  “It should be you,” Kat offered. “You’re hurt.”

  Jack grunted and said, “Give me an hour and wake me then. If anything seems wrong, wake me too. Keep quiet. No lights. Got it?”

  She nodded.

  “Alright then,” he mumbled and immediately zonked out.

  Kat was obviously scared, but there was some relief that Jack was doing better. They were also away from the mansion, which was a plus. Jack had said help was on the way. She just hoped that they could hang on long enough.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Logan packed up the rest of his Gray Tower gear into a nondescript black van. After the contact they had just gotten from Jack, they were about to head out. It wasn’t just an extraction anymore. They were going to have to come in on that island and engage the enemy—whoever the hell that was.

  Mercer, Ryan, and Logan would each head a squad of four. Mercer and Ryan’s team would tackle the main house. Logan, meanwhile, would complete a rescue mission for Jack and Kat. It was the least he could do for Jack after what had happened last year at Amherst Manor. He owed Jack his life.

  The three squads and their gear were piling into vans going to a cargo plane headed to Florida. Then, Lucas Mercado had offered to take them to Faraway Cay on a borrowed boat. Luke mainly flew cargo, but he did know some people. That’s why he was so good at what he did. Gray Tower was just lucky that he had answered the call so quickly and was able to get them transportation.

  They still had a long way to go. It would still be a couple of hours before they would even be able to get on the boat, plus time to get to the island. They were looking at an early morning assaul
t if they were lucky. Logan just hoped that they could make it there in time.

  On the non-tactical side, Keira, Alex, and Miles would work with the Gray Tower analysts to go through everything Kat had sent them. Obviously, the analysts had been going through the data when it had been initially sent, but now it was priority number one. All hands were on deck. Orson Carr’s data would be reviewed at lightning speed. It may not have been a normal analysis, but they needed anything they could get to help the teams being sent in.

  Logan heaved out a sigh as he climbed in one of the vans. His goodbye to Keira had been brief and painful. She knew he had to go, but it didn’t make it any easier. Jack had saved her too. The man might be a bit prickly on the outside, but he would give anyone the shirt off his back if necessary.

  Not only that, but Kat was a civilian. Sure, she had known the dangers. He had taught her a lot in the short time that he had trained her. But that didn’t mean that she was ready for battle. In some instances, she knew enough. However, if what Jack said was true, she’d be useless.

  These enemies with the crazy combat suits sounded unreal. Yet, he knew that they were real and that Gray Tower needed to move in on it.

  Logan blew out a long breath as the van pulled out and moved down the road to the gates of the Gray Tower complex. He prayed that Gray Tower could rescue them quickly. If not, it would get ugly quickly.

  Interlude

  11 Years Ago

  Kat smiled as she looked at the results. It was a long shot, but she was sure that something would come of it. Heck, she had spent the last couple of weeks trying to break into this program. If she got in, there would be a huge pay day.

  Then, she looked at the log file. She blinked, not quite realizing what had just happened. It hit her like a ton of bricks: she had done it!

  Immediately, she minimized the window and pulled up her instant messenger.

  Typing frantically to her best friend she said:

  Kat: I did it! I got into the program! The money is mine!

  It took a moment, but her friend responded: