Stark Resolution (Stark Trilogy Book 3)

by C. D. Bradley

  “That’s the last thing you saw wasn’t it?” he asked deadly quiet. The color had drained out of his lips.

  “How do you know that?” Kira finally put all the pieces together. Her stomach lurched.

  “I saw you … through the scope of my rifle …” He closed his eyes. “Just before I pulled the trigger.”

  KIRA THREW UP all over the floor and the row of blue chairs. So much for a four-thousand-dollar bottle of wine. She began to hyperventilate.

  “Kira, please calm down. Breathe. Please.” Stark held her hair until she finished retching.

  “You shot me? I don’t understand. If you wanted me dead, why did you come in after me? Why risk all that? Why not just leave me there to die?” She struggled to get a breath. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

  “I didn’t know it was you until after I shot you. When you fell, I saw your relentless bracelet and I almost died. I couldn’t leave you there. We were told you were the fifth target. God, Kira, I’m so fucking sorry.” He held her to him, puke and all.

  “Who confirmed me a target?” she asked suddenly and sat up.

  “SOCOM,” he answered slowly. The wheels starting to turn.

  “But aren’t they the same ones who controlled our asset trackers?” Kira asked her eyes wide. “So, they knew it was me? Who tells them what to do? Top of the food chain?”

  “Fuck. That depends on who was calling the shots for this one. Guzman looked pretty cozy with the Secretary of State tonight.” He shook his head and squeezed her tight.

  “I’m fucked,” she said quietly. If they think for one minute I remember, they will just make me disappear. Ha ha … or now that I am on record as being suicidal they have the perfect way to do it … I’m fucked.” Kira put her head in her hands.

  Stark looked at Miller. “We need to get her out of here. She won’t be safe until we get this in the right hands. We have to figure out how high this goes, and who’s involved.”

  Miller checked the hall and came back in. “Let’s move.” He pushed Stark’s wheelchair and Kira followed close behind. They went down a service elevator to the basement. They followed the hall out to a loading dock. Miller helped Kira down and then helped Stark set on the concrete dock. He handed Kira Stark’s chair.

  Code Adam alarms started going off in the hospital.

  “Fuck!” Stark cursed. “They are already here.”

  Finally, Miller lowered Stark down to Kira and the waiting chair. They could hear someone yelling inside the facility as they took off into the dark.

  They made their way quietly around the ER parking lot where Miller had left the car. “We need to get the rest of our crew,” Stark commanded as they climbed in. He called Reed and Taylor as Miller drove away.

  Kira sat tucked against his side. Who can we trust? Where are, we going to go? He would give anything to keep her safe.

  “We need to go to Virginia,” Stark said to Miller. “Tom Davis at the CIA should be able to help. We need to get the girls someplace safe.”

  “Oh, no!” Kira spouted. “You aren’t sticking me in some hotel or a safe house. I’m staying with you. Have you not seen how these things go in the movies? The one who is tucked away for protection usually gets kidnapped or dies. No thank you!”

  “She has a point,” Miller said laughing from the front seat.

  “Ok, you can stay with us. Let’s go see Tom. I have to find out if Simone was involved, and if so, how deeply.” He knew she was involved, but he hated the thought. Did she really use his company to do this and then to try cover it up by getting rid of Kira? He looked down at the woman in his arms. He would give up anything to keep her safe.

  Was I the one to put her in danger in the first place? If Simone was somehow involved, how much was greed and how much was jealousy?

  They arrived at the rendezvous. Stark gave money and instructions to Reed and Taylor to take Paige and Zoe to a safe place. He tried again to get Kira to go. Absolutely, no dice.

  Stark had already made two copies of the information on the USB. He had to ensure that if it was taken that the entire mission wouldn't be compromised.

  The new CIA headquarters was located in Mclean, Virginia. They would be there in less than twenty minutes. Stark had to get word to Tom. He didn’t know who else in the chain of command he could trust. He thought of the major. Major Stephens had classified knowledge of the situation but Stark felt like he was in the same boat they were.

  He had to take a chance. He dialed the number and silently said a prayer. “Major Stephens, this is Sergeant Owen Stark. We have a situation.” He briefly explained the need to meet him and Tom at CIA headquarters ASAP without divulging too much information. The major agreed to get Tom and meet them in twenty minutes.

  They arrived at the CIA headquarters in sixteen minutes. Paige had brought clothes for Kira since hers were covered in vomit. Miller and Reed assisted him into his chair. He hated the damn thing but since he was still a toddler on the prosthetic this was much faster. Right now, time was not on their side.

  They entered the building. Stark said a silent prayer that they were making the right decision. If Tom was in on it, then they were walking into the lion’s den. Even if he was right, he stood to lose his whole company. Depending how deeply Simone had involved the company, it could be seized and broken apart. He could end the day penniless.

  Thankfully, Tom and the major came in right behind them.

  “It’s good to see you Stark. Let’s go upstairs.” Tom took them through the security checkpoints and to a conference room on the second floor.

  Once in the private area, he took time to shake Stark’s hand. “What’s going on, son?” Tom was a slightly overweight man in his late fifties. He had been with the CIA for twenty years. Stark had worked with him on several Omega missions. Omega teams were joint operations of JSOC and the CIA.

  Stark began to explain the situation and their suspicions to Tom and the major.

  “You see, pesticides actually caused the microcephaly in Brazil, not the Zika virus. But with growing concern and a world interest in helping to prevent the spread, it was easy to secure funding and global approval to counter with GMO mosquitos. They used the resulting hysteria to test their vector.”

  “A vector for what?” Tom asked, already looking worried.

  “For whatever they want to infect them with. The Zika scare provided the perfect excuse to dump millions of them into the environment … to conduct clinical trials for biological weapons on a mass scale. Gerson Galvez and Brunello Guzman kidnapped Kira because they wanted to get their hands on the technology.”

  “Shit,” Tom said quietly and sat down.

  “We were sent in to take out Galvez and Guzman but Kira was there too. Galvez made her dress in a burqa so she wouldn’t offend Guzman. Amibel Guzman was the leader of the Shining Path, a terrorist group that has ties to ISIS. When we got there and saw Kira with them, we called in to JSOC to see if she was a target or not. They made the call that she was. So, when we took out the group, I shot her,” Stark noted.

  “So, wait, you shot her?” Tom asked him with a chuckle, then turned to Kira. “And you are still with him?’

  “That’s what you took away from everything I just told you?” Stark asked, perplexed.

  “I’m just giving you shit. You realize she will probably never let you live that down, right?” He chuckled. “Ok, where is this USB? Do you have it with you?”

  “Yes.” Stark started to reach for it.

  “Do you have a backup in case something happens to it?” Tom asked.

  “Of course, backups for the backups,” Stark replied, eyeing him.

  “Good. We need to do forensic analysis of the drive you brought. We need to know who made it and where the information came from. Anything else?”

  “Sadly, yes,” Stark responded. “The company that made the mosquitos is Biotech which is owned by Anderson Stark Technologies. Which I own, though I haven’t been involved with the company in a
ny meaningful way. When my father died, Simone Preston took over as acting CEO. If I had just manned up to my responsibilities, we might not be in this mess. I may have been able to keep the company on the right track. Tonight, we saw two lawyers from my company meeting with the CEO of Biotech, Brunello Guzman, who is the brother of Amibel Guzman that we killed in Peru, and The Secretary of State Trevor Paulson. That’s why we are here. We don’t know who to trust. We don’t know how high this goes. We need your help. This technology can’t fall into the wrong hands.”

  Stark finished and Tom sat back in his seat soaking it all in. After a moment, the major spoke up. “So, that’s why Miss Preston was so eager to find you incompetent.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Stark said with a sigh.

  Tom took them to a computer lab down the hall and asked a technician to start working on the files. He then got another technician working on tracing the money.

  “Always follow the money,” he told them, and motioned for them to follow him to another area. We need to pull up Kira’s tracking data from the chip she was wearing in Peru. If we can see who had access to that information we may have a clue as to who issued the order.”

  KIRA WOKE UP curled in an oversized office chair. Stark, Mr. Davis, and the major were still going at it strong, though it was nearly three in the morning.

  One of the techs spoke up, “There are email tags on some of the documents on the drive.”

  “Can you infiltrate the servers of those individuals?” Tom asked.

  “Yes, on it now.”

  According to financial records, Anderson Stark Technologies purchased Biotech when it was just a small company in the early ’90s. The advancements over the years had shown great promise in solving some of the world’s major problems. So where had it gone wrong? On the surface this sounded like a great company.

  Stark saw that Kira was awake and brought her a cup of coffee. “Sorry, hon. I know you are worn out.”

  “I’m not a little girl Owen, I can stay up past my bedtime when the fate of the world hangs in the balance.” She only half laughed. She was tired and this was fucking serious.

  “Mr. Stark,” another tech called out, “I think you need to see this.” They all huddled around the computer. Oh, holy hell.

  They uncovered emails and signed documents between the two companies authorizing the research and confirming the global testing. All the incriminating documents had one thing in common. They were signed by Owen Stark.

  Everyone turned and looked at Stark. “I have no fucking idea how my name got on those papers, but I’m going to find out,” he said, his eyes dark like a stormy sea. “I need to go to California.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, son. You would be safer to stay here and let us sort this out,” the major warned.

  “If I stay here, I’m going to end up in Leavenworth.” Stark’s voice was cold. Kira could see he was going, one way or the other.

  “I’ll go with you,” Kira said, standing up.

  “Sir!” One of the techs called out. The panic in his voice caused them all to stop in their tracks. “Ma..mam is this you?” He stammered eyes wide as saucers looking from Kira to Stark.

  Kira felt as if a bucket of ice water poured over her as she approached the screen. Her knees buckled and Owen grabbed onto her arm.

  “Where in the mortal fuck did that come from?” Starks face was taking on the color of lava but his voice was so low and cold he could breathe frost. “Where did that come from?” he repeated.

  “Oh sweet Jesus what is that?” Miller stepped around them and instinctively put a calming hand on Stark.

  “It was in a file folder we collected from one of the servers tagged on the email chain belonging to Mrs Simone Preston. The sender is encrypted but we are working on it.”

  They stood frozen in horror as the tech flipped through the pictures. The first was Kira on her morning run in her black capri running pants and blue wind jacket. She remembered that morning and the cool Colorado air. Had someone been following her all this time? The next was Kira and Stark in the driveway outside his home in Colorado Springs. Then Kira walking down the road alone in the dark.

  She could barely breathe. She remembered the car following her that night. She had been scared to death but chalked it up to her own paranoia.

  There were several of Kira at work with patients and eating lunch with Abby. How did she not see this person? Kira shook her head. She had felt him all along. Did Simone have someone following her?

  The next string of photos made her flush with embarrassment. They were all of Kira at the Apex club with Paige and Zoe.

  The tech cleared his throat and looked down. “I can stop ma'am,” he said, blushing.

  “Oh, hell no.” Kira was spitting mad. “Keep going.”

  Kira took a deep breath. She had to see this for herself. She had to know.

  “If you are sure ma'am. OK.” Slowly he clicked the mouse and Kira's heart sunk. There for all the world to see was a naked and bloody Kira lying on the bathroom floor. Her body contorted in such a way that you would assume her dead.

  “Fuck,” Miller breathed. “Oh shit”

  “That was the night…” Kira started and then looked away. She refused to cry though tears burned like fire in the back of her eyes. She had never felt so exposed or violated. All that time she wondered if she was crazy. All that doubt. All that fear. Her hands trembled and she clenched her teeth so tight she was afraid they would break.

  “Turn that shit off!” Stark growled. “Fuck, Simone is going to pay for this. We are leaving for California. Now!”

  “I’m in. I’ll get the car.” Miller was already heading out the door.

  “Tom, give me twenty-four hours. If you haven't heard from me by then, take everything to the FBI. Simone must be stopped, even if it costs me everything,” Stark implored his longtime friend. “I had nothing to do with this but I am going to end it right now.”

  Tom thought for millennia, and finally said, “Ok, I'm going to pay the secretary a little visit. It's our job to collect information, and he's been on our radar for a while. Let's just say he has a thing for My Little Pony.” Tom grinned, then said, “Oh and Stark, take care of yourself.”

  “Will do.” Stark rolled into the hall and didn't look back.

  He was going so fast Kira was having to jog to keep up with him. “How are we going to get to California? If we use one of the company planes, won’t she know? And if they are looking for us we could get stopped flying commercial.”

  He grinned up at her when they reached the car. “I’ve got a friend. How do you feel about choppers?

  The little birds moved like lightning over the sleeping country. Stark was done playing games. They had taken a private charter to Miramar Air Base then boarded the choppers and sat on the skids. They had to find Simone and make her talk. If she made it out of the country before they got there he was screwed. He was about to bring the fucking thunder down on her parade. Simone had no idea who she was dealing with, but she was going to find out.

  He looked over at Kira, who held on for dear life. Miller shot him a grin but they didn’t dare tease her right now. She looked like a cat cornered on a ledge over a lake. Despite her obvious fear of heights, she hadn’t even peeped a complaint. It’s going to be ok, baby. No one will hurt you ever again. I’m going to make fucking sure of it.

  Stark had reached out to Jayce and Cyrus. They should be riding across the desert now. A fucking army was closing in like a hungry beast on the plastic bitch. She could hide in the corner but he would still come and destroy her and anyone who had a part in this.

  Oh, Jesus fucking Christ, why are men such babies? Simone tapped her foot impatiently while the chauffeur stuffed the last Gucci bag in her Rolls. Twenty minutes prior, she had gotten a frantic text from the Secretary of State. What a fucking baby. Why did little dicked men always get caught up in some fucking sex scandal. Jesus, how cliché is that? He should know better. E
ither be out and open with what you like, or don’t do it. He should just join a club like I did. Poor little thing, his image mattered to him. She could care less. That was the beauty of having more money than the Catholic Church. She didn’t give a shit about image or absolution.

  “Ok, any day now. Choppity chop, let’s move,” she snarled, and the chauffeur opened the door. Simone gracefully slid into the white leather seat. “To the airport, and let’s make it quick, ok? I don’t have all day.”

  She wasn’t terribly worried, but if they had the secretary she was pretty sure the fat little fucker would talk. Good thing I had planned for that. She looked at her nails. Shit she had scuffed one. As soon as she got to Morocco she would have to have them done.

  She could really use a vacation. Thankfully, she had squared away enough money in her Swiss banks to keep her comfortable into eternity. Her pending bug sale wouldn’t hurt either. She couldn’t help but smile at how perfectly he played into her hands. She planned to retire and watch Starkey gloriously self-destruct. TV was a beautiful thing. Oh, and he is already taking his little guttersnipe down with him. That is just icing on the “fuck you” cake.