“Go,” Talbot said softly. Instantly, everyone but Tank and Hound peeled off. They would make sure Sorensen went to his apartment did not slip out of the building before Liu could arrest him.
“The lift went straight to his floor. There are two other apartments on the floor. One is empty, undergoing reno for new owners and the owners of the third are enjoying a night at the theater,” Liu’s man reported. He paused, his head cocked to one side. Then he gave a nod. “The lift has been locked down. He’s not leaving the floor unless he tries to take the stairs and alarms will sound if he does.”
“Did he seem worried about anything?”
“Negative, Master Guns.”
“Good. Make sure no one tries to go up after us.”
The man nodded and watched as the small group made its way to the lift. At Talbot’s signal, he released the lift. A few moments later, the doors slid open. Talbot motioned everyone inside. As he did, he frowned slightly. This part of the op was going almost too smoothly. Not that he would complain. That had been part of the beauty of the plan. Even if Sorensen thought there might be trouble, they were doing the one thing he most likely would not expect. They were coming to him in the one place he would feel the most secure. Whether he let them in or not didn’t matter. Liu had secured a master passcode that would get them inside. Talbot planned to use it and make sure the attorney did not have a chance to get away – or worse.
“We’re in position, Loco,” Connery reported as the lift came to a halt.
“Hold. I’ll leave comms open. Monitor and react accordingly.”
As they stepped off the lift, Liu appeared from what Talbot assumed was the vacant apartment. A moment later, the JAG officer handed him the passcode. Together, they walked down the corridor in the direction of Sorensen’s apartment. Thick carpet muffled their steps. Soon, very soon, they would have the man in custody and, hopefully, more answers to the questions that had haunted the Devil Dogs for three years.
At least Talbot hoped so.
“Brigit, kill the pickups. Let’s not give him any more warning than we have to,” he ordered.
“Done. He will be deaf and blind, technologically speaking at least.”
“LT.” He held the passcode ready and looked at Liu for his cue.
Liu nodded. Talbot used the passcode and dove through the door the moment it slid open far enough. One hand held his weapon and the other his credentials. Behind him, Liu entered the room, followed closely by Tank and Hound. Sorensen stood rooted in place, his expression frozen in shock, as Talbot motioned for Tank and Hound to secure him. Once they had, they began checking the apartment, making sure no one else was present.
“What the hell is this, Liu?” the attorney demanded. “I’ll have your commission and your head for this.”
“I don’t think so,” the JAG officer said. “Kurt Sorensen, you are under arrest for conspiracy, interference with an investigation, bribery, accessory to murder, and treason.” Liu went on to read Sorensen his rights, ignoring the man’s protests.
“You can’t do this!”
“I can and I have,” Liu countered. “However, if you would prefer I leave you with these gentlemen, I will.”
Sorensen looked from Liu to Talbot and then to Tank and Hound as they reappeared from the rear of the apartment. “Who the hell are they? If you think you can coerce me into saying anything, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Instead of answering, Liu looked at Talbot and nodded once. Talbot stepped forward until Sorensen took a step back and fell onto the chair behind him.
“Master Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Talbot, First Division, Second Battalion Fuerconese Marine Corps and company. You might know us better as members of the Devil Dogs.”
“Ooh-Rah!” Tank and Hound said.
Sorensen paled. His opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. When he cleared his throat and tried again, Liu stepped forward. At his signal, Tank and Hound lifted Sorensen to his feet.
“Let me put this in terms you can understand. Your former client has told us everything about your so-called representation of him. I have talked with the other defense attorneys and I know how you coerced them into letting you speak for them at our earlier meeting. My office has evidence, and has confirmed it, to prove you have been in a conspiracy with one Evan Moreau to keep all those, and especially Sorkowski and O’Brien, charged in relation to what happened to Colonel Shaw and her people, from telling what they know. We know that you were not representing the best interests of your client but of your real employer, Moreau.
“Now, before you think you can hand her over to us, we have enough evidence already to arrest and convict her. Unlike you, however, she anticipated trouble and has disappeared. I promise it is only a temporary reprieve for her. For you, your only hope to avoid the executioner is to cooperate fully. Or, if you prefer, I will leave now and let these Devil Dogs have a conversation with you. It is your call.”
“You can’t!” Panic filled Sorensen’s eyes.
“I can and will.” Liu stepped forward, his expression hard. “You betrayed your oaths as an attorney. Worse, you betrayed your home and government. You sold your soul to the enemy and for what? Money, influence? As far as I’m concerned, you are an enemy combatant. That means and I can will do as I said.”
“Please, give me a chance. I know things, things you can’t have discovered without me.”
Liu stood there, staring at Sorensen. Talbot had to give it to him. The JAG officer looked as if he were actually considering what the them said. What Sorensen apparently hadn’t figured out was that this had all been a carefully planned encounter. Liu would never, no matter how tempting it might be, give the attorney over to the Devil Dogs. But he wasn’t above making the threat, not if it led them to more conspirators. As for Talbot, he didn’t care if it meant they would finally be able to punish everyone involved in betraying Ashlyn and the others under her command three years earlier.
If they also happened to get a little payback in the process, all the better.
* * *
Captain Andrew Hendricks surveyed the room, eyes dark and intense. He missed nothing, not the smallest detail about those nearest his charge. Even so, his expression remained neutral, almost relaxed. Years of experience had taught him the importance of at least appearing unconcerned. His life, not to mention the President’s and the lives of the rest of the security detail, depended on what he observed. So, if an enemy happened to underestimate him, all the better. Such underestimation would lead the enemy to make mistakes and those mistakes gave him the edge.
And that edge very often meant the difference between life and death, something he knew all too well.
Not that Hendricks expected any trouble. He simply didn’t believe in taking unnecessary risks. That was especially true where the President was concerned.
As his eyes once more swept the room, a soft, almost inaudible beep interrupted his thoughts. He listened closely to the report coming through his earbud. As he did, he reminded himself not to react. It simply wouldn’t do to throw his head back and give a battle cry no matter how much he wanted to. Too many people would wonder why the head of the President’s security detail suddenly acted as if the battle had been won. While that might not exactly be the case, things were finally falling into place and soon, very soon, some heads would roll figuratively if not literally.
Lifting a hand to cover his mouth, Hendricks quickly acknowledged the report. His eyes danced and his pulse pounded as he glanced in the President’s direction. Their eyes met and locked for one brief moment before the President arched one dark brow in question. Speculation filled the man’s eyes. Recognizing it and anticipating Harper’s unasked question, Hendricks nodded once. Then he stepped away from the door, making his way purposefully across the room in the President’s direction.
As he neared the head table, the two Marines stationed behind and to either side of the President almost imperceptibly braced to attention. Hendricks quickly signaled f
or them to stand easy. Too many eyes had already been drawn to the table by his approach. He almost laughed at how those closest to the President strained to hear what might be said, even as they tried not to look like they were eavesdropping.
“Captain,” the President said simply as Hendricks stopped at his side. Nothing about him showed anything but polite interest in what his security head might have to say.
“Mister President,” Hendricks acknowledged before bending to whisper in Harper’s ear.
“Thank you, Captain,” Harper said softly a moment later. He dabbed at his mouth with a linen napkin before continuing. “Please give my regards to the Major and ask her to keep me informed.”
“Of course, Mister President. Do you have any other instructions?”
For a moment. Harper remained silent. Hendricks recognized the thoughtful expression that crossed the President’s face and understood. Part of the man wanted to leave the dinner and return to his office so he could monitor what was happening. Another part knew he needed to stay. It would not do to start people wondering why he had left a state dinner early. Unfortunately, Hendricks saw no way around that. The information Major Quintana had sent and the implications of what it meant required both she and Colonel Santiago, and who knew how many others, brief the President before news leaked about what had been happening that evening.
“Have the ‘car brought around, Captain,” the President said softly, hiding his mouth behind his napkin. “Then send word to the appropriate parties, asking them to join me at the Residence. Full media blackout until we know what we are dealing with.”
“At once, Mr. President.”
“Andrew, don’t worry. This is good news, or it will be in the long run,” Harper said softly. “You know that.”
“I do, Sir.” Hendricks turned to the Marine guard and, using the hand signals that were as much a part of their communication protocols as the spoken word, instructed them to send for the President’s car. As they carried out his orders, he turned back to the dining hall, his eyes alert for anything out of the ordinary. Now was not the time to get careless.
“I apologize for the interruption, Ladies and Gentlemen, but the duties of my office rarely allow me an evening off.” Harper spoke easily, almost casually.
As the President spoke, Hendricks let his eyes rest briefly on each of the man’s tablemates. Of the seven, only Admiral Collins failed to smile and laugh lightly in response. Instead, First Fleet’s commanding officer sat back, for all appearances relaxed and almost a little bored. But Hendricks knew better. He recognized the tautness in the man’s posture. Collins might be Navy but he was a warrior and he recognized on some instinctual level that trouble was afoot.
“Is everything all right, Mister President?” the small, too thin woman sporting the garish makeup and unnaturally yellow hair currently favored by the younger members of Fuerconese society asked from down the table.
“It is.” Harper smiled, that easy smile he used in public to assure everyone there was nothing to worry about. “Captain Hendricks was simply letting me know that a diplomatic pouch I’ve been expecting has arrived.” Now he turned his attention to Collins and smiled a little regretfully.
“Admiral, as much as I hate to say it, I’m afraid we must cut the evening short and get back to work.”
“Of course, Mister President.”
“Ambassador Zakarian, please accept my most profound apologies. Unfortunately, duty calls.”
“Of course, Mister President,” the olive skinned man seated opposite her replied easily, understanding reflected in his hazel eyes.
“The rest of my party shall remain to represent the Admiral and myself,” Harper continued as he stood. “Thank you for a wonderful evening and I look forward to the opportunity to repay your hospitality.”
With that, the President stepped away from the table, his Marine escort immediately assuming their places around him. As Collins joined them, the escort spread out, ready to protect both men. At the same time, a quick thrill of excitement ran through the Hendricks. Like a prize racehorse sensing the finish line ahead, he knew they were finally nearing the end of their search for the truth about what happened to Shaw and her people. Soon they would learn exactly who was at the heart of the conspiracy. When they did, they might also learn just how deep the betrayal by the Midlothians ran.
Then and only then would they be able to effectively fight back.
CHAPTER TEN
ASHLYN SIGHED HEAVILY and leaned back, stretching her arms high above her head. Beyond the large window behind her, the night sky was broken by occasional flashes of lightning that danced across the horizon. The violence of the approaching storm resonated with the pounding deep inside her skull, a pounding caused not by the weather or even by the number of reports she had reviewed over the course of the evening.
No, it was caused by something much more primal than that.
Turning her chair away from the desk, Ashlyn stared outside. A bright flash of lightning, followed almost instantly by a deep roll of thunder, filled the air. Rain beat against the windows. Below, security ‘droids patrolled the grounds, undisturbed by the rain or wind.
She had put Jake to bed several hours earlier. Not long after that, her parents had retired to their suite on the other side of the house. Since then, Ash had done her best to focus on the reports she would be expected to present at the meeting of FirstDiv’s battalion COs the next morning. Try as she might, her attention wandered. So much rested on what Talbot and the others discovered that evening. She might finally have the answer to why she and the others had been betrayed. As important as that was, it paled in contrast to the realization that they might finally learn how deep the betrayal by Midlothian ran.
The potential harm of such a betrayal was more than she cared to think about just then. Midlothian had been one of Fuercon’s most trusted allies for more than a century. It had been privy to much of the Administration’s – current and past – plans to defeat the Callusians. If it had truly turned against Fuercon, things were going to get much worse before they got better. The possibility of having to go to war with Midlothian turned Ash’s stomach. The casualties would be so much greater because they would have to make an example of their former ally. Not only would the military lose more good men and women but the civilian loss would be high.
That was war, but she never liked the idea of non-combatants being killed simply because they had the misfortune of being used as shields by their government.
But that was a worry for the future. Now her concern was for her people, for Talbot and those he had tapped to go along with him as he helped Lieutenant Liu execute the warrants he had secured based on the information from Sorkowski. Even though she knew Talbot would take care, she could not help wondering if the former admiral, one of those she held most responsible for what happened to her and her squad, might not be leading them into a trap. It would be just like the man, especially if he thought it might save him. Still, Liu had been convinced his information was good. She had to trust the JAG officer.
Not that putting her worry aside was easy. It was far from it, in fact.
Talbot’s continued absence and the lack of an update were the real reasons Ashlyn’s head felt as if it might explode at any moment. It was also the reason she had thrown herself into the stack of reports. She had hoped concentrating on them would not only prepare her for the morning meeting but would keep her distracted until Talbot returned. Unfortunately, it had not.
Damn it, why hadn’t she heard anything? Had something gone wrong?
If it had, she would be as much to blame for it as she had been for what happened on the mission that led to her and the others being court martialed. She had known something was wrong, not only with her orders but with how Sorkowski and O’Brien were operating. She had even sent her concerns up the chain of command. But she hadn’t pressed the issue. She had not been able to imagine the two men actually turning a blind eye to the smugglers operating in the secto
r, much less think they might be betraying Fuercon and its allies. That failure to recognize what was happening had led to the loss of some of those under her command as well as the courts martial of the surviving members of the team and herself. She would not be able to live with herself if something happened to Talbot or any of the others this time.
Damn it, why hadn’t she told Liu to use his own people?
Stop it! You know Loco won’t do anything to put himself or the others in danger.
But did she really? She had seen the almost pathological need to avenge what had happened to her and the others reflected in his eyes. She had seen it and recognized it. So, against her better judgment, she had all but given him her blessings before he left the house with Liu.
Now, as her doubts and fears rushed over her, she gritted her teeth in frustration. Would she never be allowed to return to a life where she didn’t have to worry about those she cared for falling on their swords for her? More important in a way, would those very same friend and family members ever get past the need to avenge what had been done to her and the others? Didn’t they realize what it would do to her if anyone else suffered because of her?
Turning away from the window, Ashlyn glanced at the clock. A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth to see it was almost midnight. Too much time had passed. Something must have gone wrong. Otherwise Talbot would be back.
Before Ashlyn could convince herself she needed to go in search for Talbot and the others, she heard the sounds of a vehicle approaching the house. A few moments later, the soft chirrup from the security panel downstairs broke the silence enveloping the house. Ashlyn turned away from the window. As she left the study, anticipation and something else – fear or worry, she wasn’t sure which – filled her. If they had managed to accomplish what they set out to do . . . .
Honor from Ashes (Honor and Duty Book 3) Page 10