Strike Force

by Mary Alford

  Kaiden stared at the photo of the men and blew out a breath. “That one guy was part of the attack in Alaska. He’s dead now.” He pointed to the man. “This guy on the end wasn’t in Alaska, and he’s changed his appearance quite a bit, but I’m positive he’s one of the men we took into custody last night.”

  “You’re right,” Garrett said. “That’s Nolan Emerson.”

  “We need to talk to Emerson right away,” a voice behind him said. Sidney. Kaiden hadn’t realized she’d joined them. She came to where they’d gathered. “He may know what Evans has in the works for Ben.”

  “She’s right.” Kaiden held her gaze. “If Ben’s compromised, we can’t let him get on that plane.”

  “I’ll have Emerson brought up for questioning,” James told them. “In the meantime, I’m printing out his dossier for you to review. This guy is an anomaly. He sure doesn’t fit the category of a mercenary.”

  Once the information finished printing, Kaiden gathered the pages and scanned through them while Sidney peered over his shoulder.

  “You’re right. Emerson was a decorated SEAL, part of the first wave of troops into Afghanistan after 9/11. He was recruited to be part of the elite CIA Jawbreaker team. He had a wife and family.” Kaiden shot James a questioning look. “How did he get mixed up with Evans and Hassanzai?”

  “Good question. Hopefully, he’s ready to talk, but I wouldn’t count on it. This guy’s seen some pretty ugly stuff.”

  Sidney studied Emerson’s photo. “I can’t help but believe there’s a good person inside of him still. We just have to find a way to connect to him.”

  Kaiden smiled over at her. “If anyone can get through to Emerson, it’s you.”

  “I agree,” James said. “He’ll be ready for you when you arrive.”

  “Let’s see if we can break Nolan Emerson,” Sidney said as they headed to the kitchen.

  “How’s Emily doing?” he asked once they were alone.

  “Still in shock. I left her to get some sleep, but I don’t think she has any idea how much her life has changed.” Sidney shook her head and gazed at the floor.

  He wondered if she were remembering how her own life had changed. Emily would have plenty of support from the Strike Force members. Each in their own way had been through a life-changing event by coming in contact with Legion.

  Together, they left the house. The building that served as a prison was located in a two-story structure at the edge of the property surrounded by a ten-foot fence and men stationed onsite.

  They climbed into one of the side-by-sides and he drove across the pasture to the prison hidden from view by trees.

  The prison was protected by James’s people. Brookes Zachary saw their approach and came over. “He’s ready for you up front. Abby will show you the way.”

  Brookes’s dad had been killed by Legion. He was part of the SEAL team that James led. After the team returned stateside, most of the members ended up dead by a series of unrelated accidents that James was convinced were tied to Legion. Brookes himself became a SEAL to try and find out what really happened to his dad. James believed it was Brookes’s inquiry into what happened that almost resulted in his death. James heard about what had happened and reached out to Brookes to join the Strike Force.

  “Thanks, Brookes,” Kaiden said, and pulled up in front of the prison. Each member of the team had been given special key cards which allowed them access to the prison and was required to enter or exit the compound.

  Kaiden keyed them into the building and found Abby Temple waiting for them up front. Abby was a former Army nurse who worked many a mission with Brookes. She and Brookes became good friends and because of her connection to him, she’d almost been killed. She’d spent months in a hospital recovering from a car accident when Brookes learned about it. Fearing for her safety, he snuck her out of the hospital and brought her to Wyoming.

  Kaiden always suspected there was more than friendship simmering between the two, but with everything they’d gone through, they’d chosen to remain just friends.

  “He’s this way,” Abby said and started down the corridor past holding rooms for interrogating prisoners. The cells themselves were further down through another secured door. Each prisoner was kept separate from the others with no communication allowed between them. The men they’d taken into custody in Alaska were all Afghani citizens. After they’d been interrogated for months without talking, Director Hernandez arranged to have them flown to a prison in Afghanistan. If there were no outstanding crimes against them in that country, they’d eventually be released.

  Abby stopped in front of one of the doors and looked through the small window. She nodded, unlocked the door, and stepped aside to let them enter.

  If he hadn’t read the facts on Nolan Emerson, nothing about the clean-shaven dark-haired man handcuffed to the table would have sent up any warning signs.

  Emerson looked at each of them with a raised eyebrow. “So you both faked your deaths, which means, Parker is a traitor.”

  He’d figured out about Ben. Not that it mattered. None of the prisoners would be allowed to leave the compound anytime soon. “That’s right. Ben Parker is working with us.”

  “And who are you?” Emerson asked while keeping his expression blank.

  Kaiden didn’t respond. Instead, he handed Sidney the information they had on Emerson. Interrogation was what she did best.

  Sidney pulled out a chair across from the prisoner. “You’re supposed to be dead, too, Nolan. We’ve read all about you. Your family. You were a hero at one time. A patriot. How’d you get mixed up with cold-blooded killers who are intent on destroying everything you spent most of your career trying to protect?”

  Chapter Six

  A crack appeared in Emerson’s resolve. Sidney shuffled through the information and found the photo of Emerson’s wife and daughter. “What do you think they would say if they knew you’d faked your death? Deserted them? If they knew what you were really up to?”

  Emerson stared at the photo while Sidney watched remorse, an emotion not normally associated with a mercenary, cross his face.

  He swallowed visibly. “How are they?”

  Against her will, compassion took life inside Sidney. She understood what it meant to be separated from the people you love. “I can find out for you.”

  Emerson shook his head. “No, I don’t want to hurt them any more than I have. They’re better off without me.”

  Sidney looked up at Kaiden. Saw him nod. “It’s not too late for you,” she said. “We can help. Maybe even give you some semblance of a future, but you need to cooperate with us.”

  Emerson scoffed. “If I talk to you, I’ll be a dead man for real this time.”

  Sidney reached for his hand. The man froze at the contact. His gaze latched onto hers.

  “It doesn’t have to be that way. Tell us your story. How did your unit get connected with someone like Hassanzai? Did your CIA handler, Jake Evans, arrange it?”

  Emerson’s laugh was charged with bitterness. Sidney studied him closely. She believed she was right about him. He still possessed something good inside. “You’re in a lot of trouble, Nolan. There’s nothing funny about this.”

  Emerson shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong.”

  Kaiden slid out the remaining chair. “Then tell us the real story.”

  Emerson shook his head. “You think I’ve stayed alive for so long by opening my mouth?”

  “You don’t seem to be a hardcore killer like Martin Collins or Ahmad Hassanzai,” Kaiden told him.

  Emerson stared at the photo of his wife and daughter. “If I help you, can you keep me alive in a federal prison because that’s where I’m going, and Collins’s reach is wide. And he could hurt them.” He motioned to the photo of his family.

  “We can help, I promise. Tell us what you know. Let us see what we can do for you, Nolan,” Sidney pleaded.

  The battle that raged inside Emerson was visible. He swallowed deep breaths
and then looked at her. Tears filled his eyes. “If I help you, can you find out how Bev and Molly are doing?”

  Surprised, she smiled. “Yes, I can find out for you. No one will know you’ve cooperated, I promise. They’ll be safe.”

  Emerson held onto her gaze, then slowly nodded. “I’ll help you because I’m sick to death of following his orders. This isn’t the life I signed on for.”

  Beside her, Sidney could feel Kaiden’s excitement matching hers. Emerson talking represented their first big break.

  “Where do you want me to start?” he said with a weary sigh.

  Sidney clasped his hand once more. “From the beginning. How did you get connected with Hassanzai and why did your team decide to fake their deaths?”

  “You’ve got it all wrong,” he muttered with a look of disgust on his face.

  Sidney’s thoughts scrambled. “It wasn’t Hassanzai who had you fake your deaths; it was Evans.”

  Emerson’s head shot up. “No, Evans isn’t the one in charge. It’s Collins. He was the one calling the shots back then. Still is.”

  Sidney sat back in her chair shocked. “Martin Collins is in charge of Legion?” She couldn’t disguise her doubts. “Impossible. Collins is a thug. A hired killer.”

  Emerson offered a humorless laugh. “Collins enjoys killing for sure, but have no doubt, he’s the one calling the shots. He formed the alliance with Hassanzai. Got Evans involved. He orchestrated the mission that was supposed to be responsible for our deaths. I’m telling you, Collins is your guy.”

  Kaiden shot her a look before he scraped back his chair and went to the door. He knocked twice and the door opened, then closed behind him.

  Sidney didn’t have to ask where Kaiden was going. There’d been a sighting of Collins earlier that same day at Emily’s apartment. If James and his team could track Collins’s movements since then, they might be able to apprehend him before he left the country again.

  She said a prayer in her head they’d be successful before she laid her phone on the table between herself and Emerson. “I’m going to record our conversation from here on out. Is that alright with you?”

  Emerson shrugged.

  “I’ll need a verbal consent,” she said.

  “You have my permission to record the conversation.” His tone was flat. A man without anything to hold on to.

  “Thank you, Nolan.” She tapped the record button. “This is Sidney Garner. I’m here with Nolan Emerson, former CIA Agent.” She gave the date and paused. Her fingers shook. Getting Emerson’s cooperation was huge. “Nolan, start with what happened on that final mission in Iran where you and your unit were supposed to be ambushed and killed.”

  Emerson stared at the phone for the longest time before beginning his deadly tale. “It was October of 2009. Our CIA unit under the leadership of Martin Collins was dispatched to Iran. We were to meet with an asset who had information about Iran’s nuclear program.” He stopped for a breath. “Only it wasn’t the real plan at all. I found out when we arrived Collins had invented the entire story. He had bigger plans for us.”

  A chill made its way up Sidney’s spine. “What happened when you arrived?”

  “Collins informed us we weren’t there to turn an asset; we were all going to die.” Emerson shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. “For a while, I believed him. We’d been holed up in a fleabag hotel. Collins came in one day and told us we were going to be part of his bigger plan.” He stopped for a moment. “To fully understand, I need to go back a ways. You see, Collins was always complaining about the way the government was being run. But during the year before we disappeared, he’d become increasingly more radical in his thinking. Talking about how we needed to do something before the world disappeared forever. It was getting scary.”

  “Did you report him?” Sidney frowned.

  “Oh yes. I spoke with Evans directly. He acted like he was concerned and told me he’d handle it, but to tell you the truth, I think he was afraid of Collins too.”

  Sidney couldn’t believe they’d been so wrong. “So, what happened after you reported Collins?”

  “Nothing, only I could see Collins watched me more closely. He scared the daylights out of me most of the time. That’s when I realized Evans had reported our conversation to Collins.” Emerson’s attention fell on the photo of his family. “So, when Collins had us all in Iran, he told us if we wanted to stay alive, we’d go along with his plan.”

  “And everyone did as he said?” She couldn’t understand how so many dedicated agents could easily let Collins lead them to turn on their country.

  “Most of the team thought Collins hung the moon. He could be charismatic when he wanted to be. They’d followed him into some situations where we weren’t supposed to survive, but he got us through them, so they trusted him.”

  “Did he threaten you?” She could see she’d hit the target.

  “Yeah, he did,” Emerson said in a barely audible voice. “He pulled me aside and told me if I wanted to make sure my family stayed alive, I’d keep my mouth shut and do as he said.”

  Kaiden’s voice came from the door. “Then help us stop whatever he has planned.”

  Emerson’s gaze shot to him. “I don’t know what he has planned. He never tells us anything, and no one questions him.”

  “But you know something, Nolan. Where is he now?” Kaiden returned to his seat.

  Emerson shook his head. “Collins moves around a lot, mostly in Afghanistan. He—” Emerson stopped. “Wait, he has a cabin in the woods in Virginia. He stays there when he comes to the US.”

  Kaiden glanced sideways at Sidney. “He’s traveled to the US before?” he asked incredulously.

  “Yes. Many times. I believe he uses the name Carter Wilson as an alias. The cabin may be under that name as well. He slipped up once and told us about it. Then he smiled this creepy smile. Almost as if it were a joke.” Emerson shook his head. “I’m telling you, the guy is insane. And he has implanted trackers in every single one of his people. Mine’s set to go live in two days if I don’t return. He told us if he didn’t hear from us by then, he’d assume we’re dead or captured. He’s going to start monitoring mine in time.”

  Shocked, Sidney faced Kaiden. She could see he wasn’t convinced either. “Why were you with Hassanzai’s people anyway?” he asked.

  “Because Collins doesn’t trust anyone. He had me there to keep an eye on Hassanzai’s team because he’s afraid they’ll betray him. Everyone’s scared of him. Including Evans and Hassanzai. I hope you do stop him, because if he’s involved, there’s going to be a bad outcome.”

  “We’ll remove the tracker and destroy it. He’ll assume something happened to you,” Kaiden said.

  “Whatever, man, just get it out of me before that creep tracks me here. If he does, he’ll take everyone in this place out.”

  ◆◆◆

  A new day was almost halfway over before Kaiden was finally able to reach Ben.

  “Sorry, I missed your previous calls,” Ben said. “Evans has been all over me lately. What’s happening there?”

  “We’ve had a huge break. We were able to get one of the men we captured in Texas to talk.” Kaiden played the recording of Emerson telling about meeting Hassanzai for the first time. “Hassanzai has connections around the world and so the plan was created. They faked a bombing that was to be responsible for taking all their lives. And Emerson hasn’t been able to speak to his wife or daughter since.”

  “We don’t know if the tracker has been activated yet?” Ben said.

  “According to Emerson it hasn’t,” Kaiden told him.

  “This Collins fellow sounds like a bit of a loose cannon. If it isn’t activated, I’m hesitant to take it out.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Kaiden asked.

  “Let’s get Emerson back to Texas as fast as possible. Have Brookes Zachary fly him in the chopper. He can stay with him until we can figure out the best way to use him.”

  “That’s
a good idea,” Kaiden told him. “If you don’t mind, I’ll send Abby along as added protection.”

  “Do it,” Ben confirmed and blew out a breath. “This is unimaginable. All this time we’ve believed Evans was one of the people in charge, but he was just Collins’s flunky. Have you had any luck locating him?”

  Kaiden turned to James who shook his head. “No, there’s been no sightings of him in hours. We tracked his movements from Emily’s neighborhood, but we lost him after that.”

  Sidney moved from her post against the wall. “In other words, he could be anywhere.”

  “Exactly,” James confirmed.

  “Ben, we need to help Emerson in some way. He’s a victim here, just like the rest of us.” Sidney’s plea didn’t come as a surprise to Kaiden.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Ben promised. “Let me speak with Director Hernandez. I’ve a meeting with him later. I want to update him on what’s been happening, especially now. How’s Emily holding up?”

  “Good with all things considered,” Sidney told him. “She’s resting for now. I think she’ll be a valuable addition to our team once she’s had a chance to acclimate herself to what’s happening.”

  “We’ll need to speak to her further about what she discovered in her assessment of Alaska,” Ben said.

  “Any word from Evans about the Afghanistan trip yet?” Kaiden asked his friend. He had major concerns about Ben flying off to Afghanistan to encounter who knows what danger.

  “Nothing. He’s been unusually silent on the subject, which is strange considering he was so eager to send me to Afghanistan. Still, as I said, he’s been watching me and I’m worried about my wife. Even though Jennifer and I are estranged, I wouldn’t put it past Evans to use her to get to me if he suspects something. I left her a message. Hopefully she’ll call back soon. Although I’m probably the last person she’ll want to speak to right now.”

  Kaiden knew how hard Ben had tried to save his marriage, but the secrets he’d kept from his wife were too much to overcome, and she’d moved to Denver.