“Toss out some options then, Luke. What else do you have?” Dace fired back.
“Liam?” Luke desperately hoped his brother read between the lines, and his own past didn’t come back to haunt him.
Liam looked around the small cabin of the limo, processing his brother’s unspoken request. He knew what was being asked of him, and he knew why he was getting such sullen looks. When City’s life had been on the line not long ago, he’d had to ground a plane and nearly lost his shit instead. Luke saved his brother from his own fury and conscience and subdued the man behind it, permanently, for his brother. Now, he was being asked to face that day, that fury, all over again, and save his brother’s fiancé, which, in turn, would be saving his brother.
“I can do it. I-I can do it. I can get control of that plane.” Liam went to work on his laptop. “I can get into the jet’s computer…upload a virus…uh...I can shut it all down on their end, but…”
“But?”
“But I’ll have to land the plane. They’ll be completely blind up there.”
“From the ground?” Luke questioned. “You have to fly and land the plane…from the—”
“From…the ground. I can do it, though. This is different technology. It’s a government plane, advanced tech. He’s third in line for the presidency. He’s nearly as secure as Airforce One or Airforce Two…just smaller. It’s like…a giant…drone. If the military can fly a drone halfway around the world and drop a bomb, I can land a plane I’m watching…from the ground.”
After a long quiet spell, Luke finally spoke. “Bring her back, Liam.”
24
Luke sat on the tarmac watching the sky for any evidence that Liam had been successful. With the new program they hand delivered to virtually every branch of government, it was highly likely they were using it on the House Speaker Kelly’s jet. What that meant was Liam might have been seeing hard facts and be one hundred percent in control of that jet, from a damn laptop, no less, or he just thought he was in control of the plane because the program he designed was working against him again, showing him an illusion of such. If that plane came into view, they would know it was Liam’s plane.
“You should have a visual in T-minus three,” Liam said over his radio, so everyone could prepare to get into position.
Luke turned to him. “You’re sure you have the plane – the right plane?”
“One hundred percent sure, bro,” Liam answered, keeping his focus on his laptop.
“Liam…the software, what if they…”
“Use it? They are using it – but I’m manipulating what they see.” Liam looked up just long enough to wink at his brother. “It’s taking a few extra minutes to bring them back because I took a wide berth, so they didn’t know they were headed right back here. Their instrument panel is showing them exactly what they expect to see.”
“They don’t know you have the plane,” Luke stated.
“Not at all. Too risky. If they’re desperate up there because they figure out they don’t have control, it just puts Daisy in more danger.”
Luke slapped his twin brother on the back, feeling more hopeful than he had in hours. “Genius.”
“I know.” Liam shrugged, focus back on the computer screen.
“So, how the hell do you land that thing?” Wylie asked through the radio. The brothers had been able to hear everything Liam just said.
“Very carefully,” Liam chuckled, fingers dancing on the keyboard. “It’s mostly auto-pilot right now. Landing gets a tad tricky because I had to quickly calculate descent, speed, etcetera, so I don’t overshoot the runway. While I’m waiting for them to come in, I’ve been reprogramming a few things, trying to automate more of the landing procedure, just to take the pressure off. I think we’re all good – technically, a plane can land itself with the right tech. I only have time to semi-automate the process, though. The rest…well, it’s no different than a video game at that point.”
“I’m not finding comfort in that in the least. It can’t be that easy…a video game?”
“As you shouldn’t, and it’s not easy. I just know what I’m doing. I also put a kill switch on the program – I can kill it at any time, no matter who’s using it. I should have done that in the beginning.”
“You’re babysitting the government,” Luke said.
“Ehhh, someone has to. I already coded an automation that will watch it for me using keywords, keystroke patterns, and stuff like that. I’ll get an alarm if they do something they shouldn’t.”
Carter shook his head. “That brain of yours scares me.”
“I know, right? It’s beautiful,” City said, followed by a quick kiss.
“I have some intel popping up, boys. Here’s what you’re facing. I finally got into the security cameras and rolled back until I found them.” Liam flipped City’s computer around on the hood of the Limo where everyone could see the video, namely, Luke.
Luke’s blood began to boil when he saw those assholes toss Daisy to the ground like a ragdoll and kick her while she was there. There was a special place in hell for men like that, and he was going to send them there. It only took minutes to assess the enemy and prepare.
“The only thing we don’t know is if there’s anyone on the plane other than the pilot and co-pilot. We have three men and Daisy – that’s it.”
“We also won’t know whose side they’re on. Are they just doing a job, or are they on the his payroll? Treat everyone as a hostile until we know otherwise,” Luke instructed.
“I’ll watch them from my position over there.” Dace pointed to the hangar with his rifle. “I’ll make sure they see the red laser on them while I watch your back.”
“Hey, there was a glare on the camera,” City said, leaning in for a closer look. “That didn’t look like Speaker Kelly. He was too big – brawny.”
“That’s because it wasn’t,” Luke informed, crossing his arms and widening his stance while he summed up his target.
“Excuse me?” City asked, looking between the screen and Luke.
“It wasn’t the House Speaker. It’s just his jet.” Luke had a sneaking suspicion this was an under-the-radar job under the guise of a government conspiracy. “When I compared the valet list to the senator’s guest list, I found a few discrepancies. There were two cars checked in as House Speaker Kelly, but only the Speaker was at the party, no plus one.”
“Well, who else could it be – who has clearance to borrow a government plane like that?” Liam asked, looking up the two vehicles on the valet registry.
“His staff.” Luke shrugged. “One staffer in particular who not only has the Speaker’s ear, but nearly as much authority.”
“Well, son of a bitch,” Liam said, standing back from his laptop with his hands locked behind his neck. “We helped him. We literally helped this happen – all of it. It’s Terrence Blachley, the Speaker’s assistant. Son of a bitch. But why?”
“I think we’re about to find out,” Luke added. “He got off active duty around the time we did, started working with special units, even planned to come work for us.”
“Then something happened,” Liam finished. “He was released from duty and nearly brought up on charges for something. I was ordered to seal his file and later destroy it. There is no record anywhere for Terrence Blachley. He didn’t come to Brother’s Keeper, but rather went into politics, ran the Speaker’s campaigns. They’ve been side by side for years.”
“This is bad. Really bad,” Dace added. “So, what’s the motive, and what’s the Speaker’s role in this?”
“No clue,” Liam said. “It wasn’t long after that I started burying files they wanted destroyed. I keep everything in a virtual vault now. You never know when it will come in handy. I’d love to know what was in his file and what he did.”
“You and me both. I think he’s our smoking gun, though. That’s going to be the assassin we’ve been looking for.” Luke was furious. Part of their past had come back to haunt them. They may not have
provoked the attack, but somehow, they landed smack dab in the middle of it.
“Here we go,” Liam announced, excitement in his voice. “Get locked and loaded. Visual on the aircraft in five…four…three…two – boom! There she is.”
The men all took strategic positions and prepared for anything to walk off that plane. Luke feared what would come first, but he held his breath and said a prayer that Daisy was okay. A shaky landing ensued, beginning with an abrupt, nose-heavy hit with the front wheel landing first, nearly sending the plane into trouble. With Liam chanting various affirmations, as if talking the plane through every step, nerves ran on edge, until the jet finally came to a screeching halt with hardly a handful of feet left of runway.
“It’s on you now, brother. I just unlocked the hatch door,” Liam said, trading his laptop for his weapon. “I’ve got your from back here.”
Luke nodded and moved forward slowly, weapon up and aimed as he scanned the plane front to back, repeatedly looking for signs of activity. He was exposed and vulnerable without a flack jacket or protective gear of any kind. They hadn’t anticipated any of this, so they hadn’t prepared for it.
Moving in slowly, strategically, he called out, “Blachley, come out with your hands up. Bring those piece of shit traders with you.”
Rage filled him as he screamed again, “Blachley. I’m coming for you one way or another, and I don’t mind doing it the hard way.”
Wylie came from behind, driving a set of moving stairs right up the jet, below the door. Odd, Luke thought, but necessary. Wylie then took position under the plane, guarded by the base of the motorized stair section.
The door to the plane flew open, causing everyone to narrow their aim and hold their weapons higher. They were ready, almost, for what was walking out of there.
Terrence Blachley was a retired special ops guy. He’d worked with the O’Reillys back in their day and was well known in the small community of soldiers like them. But also like them, his missions were off record, as was the branch of government security he belonged to, until his abrupt dismissal.
Upon retiring, he pursued politics, and quickly climbed to the top with fabricated war stories of him being a hero, time and time again. He was undocumented. He could be whoever he wanted to be, and who didn’t love a hero more than a politician who needed a face for his campaign? When former congressman Rick Kelly was named Speaker, Terrence was promoted from the campaign manager to assisting the majority leader.
When Terrence walked out on the landing of the mobile stairs, he had a human shield like the coward that he was: Daisy.
The fury racing through Luke was unbearable. She was hurt. It was evident by her heavy limp and battered face, and there were bloodstains on her torn dress.
“Daisy,” Luke called out. “You okay, honey?”
“Luke…” her voice shook with fear, “I didn’t know who they were, they just took me. I—”
"It’s okay, baby. He’s going to let you go. Just hang tight while I take care of this.”
“Luke, he killed the senator. He’s the one I saw kill the senator. I know it was him. I recognize his voice.”
“I believe you. Just hang in there for me.”
Terrence Blachley acted out an exaggerated gesture of annoyance, which included slumping and flailing arms. “Jesus. Honey? Baby? You went soft, man.”
“Let her go, Blachley,” Luke demanded.
“Okay,” Blachley said sarcastically. “You’re terrible at this. Do you really think let her go is going to work? You’ve been out of the game too long,” he said, coming down the stairs.
Luke kept him talking, needing to distract him, because out of his peripheral, he saw Liam moving on the north side, toward the plane, taking cover as he went. Wylie, from below the plane and out of Blachley’s sight, moved north as well, and met Liam under the rear wheel where he quickly climbed into the plane from the landing gear shaft. Liam added a long silver barrel to the end of his weapon – a silencer – and climbed through the same shaft.
“This doesn’t end well for you, Terrence.”
“Oh, but it does, because you’re going to let me go.”
“Not on my life,” Luke fired back.
Terrence laughed. “You’re right, maybe not on your life, but definitely on hers.”
“What is this all about?” Luke asked, patiently waiting for his moment to react. “Why – why the senator, why the general?”
“Power, of course. I’ve been planning this for years.”
“How does a campaign manager and glorified secretary equate to power?”
“God, you’re an idiot,” Terrence laughed. “What is one of the first things we learn in training? Patience and self-control, right? I’ve mastered that. I’ve also mastered how to take you down from years of watching.”
“Why us? We’re just a little security firm in Oregon, bro.”
“Right,” Terrence laughed. “Your hands are in everything. You’re my greatest match, my greatest enemy. If anyone was going to give me shit on my rise to the top, I knew it would be you assholes.”
“It will always be us. We specialize in being assholes who take down enemies of the state – home-grown terrorists.”
“That’s why when your name came up for this special project, I saw my chance. I’ve put up with that bastard Rick Kelly long enough. The guy’s a fucking pussy. He’s like my personal fucking puppet – does everything I tell him to.”
“But that wasn’t enough for you. You wanted more. What was it, a special appointment? Securing your own bid and an endorsement for Congress?” Luke paused, reading Blachley’s smarmy expression. “Christ, you were going for the Oval Office.”
“Ding, ding, ding!” Blachley yelled. “We’re coming into an election year and the current administration is on its way out after eight years. The senator was a party favorite, caught on to what I was doing, had to go.”
“You murdered him for a party bid?” Luke was out of patience and ready to end this thing. When Wylie dropped out of the plane from where he’d climbed in and crept over the moving stairs for cover, he was ready to push for whatever ending gave him Daisy.
“You can say that. It was easier than handing over hush money. The general rallied the rest of the team, if you will. When Rick Kelly ran and won the White House, they were all promised Cabinet positions.”
“Kelly in the White House. How does that benefit you?”
“You’re looking at his Vice President. I’ll be running that fucking house because Rick Kelly is a spineless bastard. He’s just a political face, I’m the brains.”
Luke laughed out loud. “Isn’t that all a little…Hollywood? Let the girl go, Blachley. This is old, and my brother’s going to miss the plane for his honeymoon.”
Terrence laughed. “We wouldn’t want that. I should thank him. I know he’s here somewhere. That program of his will ensure we win the election – just brilliant. The technology is state of the art. I should have known he’d turn that around on me, though. Landing my plane was a brilliant move. Talk about Hollywood.”
“How is this going to end, Blachley? You’re outnumbered, and you just confessed to all of us.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about you talking. You won’t. You’ll be dead.”
Luke stood frozen. What hadn’t they anticipated?
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering what cards I have left to play. I can tell you if you want to know.”
“Let her go, Blachley!” Luke yelled with a profusion of rage. If Daisy didn’t have a gun to her head, he would have taken this asshole out already. The only thing keeping him from attempting a sniper-like shot was Wylie creeping up behind Blachley. It took everything in him for Luke to keep his cool for a few more minutes.
Terrence Blachley laughed. “Not fun when you’re not in charge, is it? Tell your brother to stop moving behind me, or I shoot her pretty little brains out. You forget I trained with you. I know you. I know all your moves. I know how you think, w
hat you eat, and probably how often you shit. Don’t fuck with me, O’Reilly, or this ends with your pregnant little whore and baby all over this tarmac. Got it?”
“You fucking touch her—”
“Seems I already have – as a gentleman, of course. This is what happens next. We’re going to walk over to the hangar, and you’re all going inside where there will be a terrible explosion. I, the war hero, will seal my fate in the White House when I drag out bodies, trying to save you all…but I’ll be too late. The media will report that I flew in for an old friend’s wedding, and when you all came to see me off – boom! Shit…got…real. I will be so distraught, I’ll set up college funds for all your little fucking O’Reilly orphans, because I’m a nice fucking guy – a hero.”
“Let me take him out, Luke,” Wylie shouted, causing a distraction.
“Stand down, Wy. Stand down!” he yelled back.
“Luke, just do it,” Daisy cried. “Just do it. Just stop him.”
“Daisy, there’s a gun at your head, no fucking way.”
“It’s me – or all of you,” she cried. “Think of your parents, the kids…Luke shoot him. Shoot…him!”
“Daisy, stop…”
“Luke, I love you. I love you more than I’ve loved anything. You are good – remember that. You are always good, and you deserve everything good. You get to be happy too, Luke. Be happy and never forget – never forget how much I love you.”
“Looks like you’re losing control, Luke. What’s it going to be?”
“Shut the fuck up, Blachley!” Luke yelled. “Daisy, no!”
“Shoot him!” Daisy screamed, her cries full of terror. She looked over her shoulder at Wylie. “Wylie…shoot him. Shoot—”
“Wylie, don’t you pull that trigger. Daisy, this isn’t how it ends. You don’t get to end.”
The world paused, and for a brief moment, it was only Luke and Daisy on that tarmac. Only a few yards apart, locked in each other’s gaze, she mouthed the words, “I love you.” A terror filled voice screamed, “No!” It was Luke’s voice as he lunged toward Daisy, attempting to stop her from what she was about to do. What was first slow, became quick motion, that came and went in a flash.
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 90