He couldn't worry about Chief until he knew the score. He glanced at the red dot that represented the bus. It was traveling through the Bronx. The duress had not been activated, so the twins were taking care of business. He turned his attention to the side screens. "Report. The Operation in Helsinki is over. Three in custody." Jacob glanced over at Jason as he spoke. "One of ours is down. A bullet wound to the abdomen. It doesn't look good."
Fuck. Jason moved to the next screen, Jared briefed him on the status. "Miami op is winding down. Twenty-seven being held in locked rooms. The teams are reporting most are drugged, a few are in bad shape. Locals have ambulances on standby, but they need more. The teams are working with Miami-Dade and the FBI. The fucking Bravata lost a big operation tonight."
Jason nodded and carried on to the third operation.
"The team is reporting both members of the Bravata committed suicide after the initial breach. It's all on the helmet cams." Jason's eyes narrowed at Joseph's words. "Why? What is so important about operations in Chicago that they would die rather than surrender to us?"
Joseph rubbed his five o'clock shadow and glanced over at Jason. "Maybe they'd been programed to do that? I mean if they worked close to the bosses or with sensitive information we can assume they would have a mandate. I've seen situations where an operative is caught, and their families are summarily executed."
Jason lifted his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Jewell, we will need everything on those two. Ram a microscope up their digital asses and give me everything since their mom and dad conceived them."
"On it." Jewell never turned away from the keyboards in front of her.
"Tori, let me know the second that bus makes it to the compound."
"I will, and we have three teams tracking it looking for tails or anything that is out of place or suspicious." She glanced over her shoulder, "Jewell I need access to Brooklyn's traffic cams and the traffic signal grid."
"Yeah… coming your way."
Jason heard Jewell's response as he gazed at the pictures coming out of the brothel. He watched as the team leader reached down to open a trapdoor found under one of the beds. "Oh fuck. No way." Jason leaned forward as if that would help him see down the hole.
"What is that?" Jasmine asked.
"Coke or H," Jared replied. "Whatever it is, the amount is insane." They watched as brick after brick of the substance was hauled out of the hidden compartment.
His watch buzzed reminding Jason of a meeting. He silenced his notification and took one last glance at the screens. "I want status updates on all four situations every thirty minutes. Jacob, get me a medical update on the downed man in Helsinki. I need to pull his folder and contact family if he has any."
"Roger that, it will be in your inbox before you get to your office."
Jason took a deep breath and turned away from the events on the screen. While these missions were important to him personally, there was so much more coming down the pike. The evil of the world never rested.
"Mr. Xavier, we have security from the apartment on the comms. There is a doctor requesting access."
Chief opened eyes that he honestly didn't remember closing and found Casey's concerned mug looking at him over the front seat.On comms… shit.
"Any names given?"
"No sir, the doctor declined to provide any information other than you have a standing appointment."
Good, so no damage would have to be mitigated by the telephone call if it were monitored. Chief nodded and swallowed hard clearing his throat. "Let him in."
The semi-permanent furrow in Casey's brow deepened, but the man relayed his instructions. The truck struck a huge pothole and Taty gasped sharply. Hell, he did too.
"Sorry, sir, ma'am. I'm trying to take the fastest route. It isn't the smoothest." Thomas, the driver and a member of his primary security team, spoke for the first time today.
Chief let out the breath he'd sucked in and nodded. The trip had already lasted almost an hour and a half. The wound on his hip had stopped bleeding, but Chief knew it would rip open as soon as he moved. Tatyana had to be in excruciating pain, but the woman didn't complain. Not once. A dislocated or separated shoulder was one painful bitch to deal with. A fact he knew from an experience involving a helicopter, Dixon and Drake, and no seatbelt. Damn, he missed those two buffoons.
"Sir, we're here." Casey's voice nudged into his thoughts.
Chief nodded and lifted up. He felt the denim of his jeans rip the dried, clotted blood away from his wound as he shifted. He grabbed his hip and waited for Casey to open his door. Four guards in suits and wearing comms equipment sprinted out of the building and joined with Thomas, Casey and the rest of his primary security team. The men built a human wall around them as they limped across the sidewalk and through the lobby. More of his security were posted at the lobby entrances and elevators, which ensured they would not be seen by any other residents. Chief made it into the private lift and leaned against the elevator wall. Tatyana looked a hell of a lot worse than he felt. From the pallor of her skin and the black circles under her eyes, he feared she would pass out any second. He glanced at Thomas and nodded toward her. The man's eyes followed his, and the guard reacted immediately. Chief watched as Thomas moved over and carefully wrapped an arm around his woman. What the fuck? My woman? Mike forced his gaze down to the blood stain on his jeans to ensure any emotion in his eyes was shielded. How in the hell could he consider a criminal, a Russian mobster, as his woman? No. She belonged in prison. Full stop. Although, she'd done one hell of a job handling every piece of crap that flew her way today. The woman was a quick study. She'd improvised and swung at each curveball she'd been thrown. As soon as he could, he'd get Casey to give him a rundown of the Russian portions of the conversation. Even with the advanced tutelage he'd received, his ability to follow the language at the speed Tatyana and Evgeniy spoke was tested. One of the primary reasons Chief had chosen Casey's team to be his security for the mission was the man's fluency in several dialects of Russian.
Chief limped out of the elevator when it opened. He got three steps before Malakai Blue grabbed his arm, swung it around his neck and took the majority of Chief's weight as he assisted him to the bedroom.
"Damn it, dude. It never ends, does it?" Malakai commented as they hobbled along.
"Take a look at Tatyana." Chief directed the doctor toward where Thomas was helping Tatyana.
"Is she bleeding like you?" The doctor snapped the question at him.
"No," Chief admitted. He didn't see what the issue was. He'd been injured worse than this before. Malakai damn near drug him to the bed and wasn't too gentle about it either.
"So you suspect she has internal injuries?"
Malakai had him lie down on the bed. Chief groaned at the wave of nausea that accompanied the sudden movement from lateral to horizontal. "No. She has a dislocated or separated shoulder."
"I'm fine. Treat him." Taty's voice behind him was shaky but determined.
Malakai left the side of the bed and grabbed his bag. "How about both of you shut the hell up. Let me use the medical degree I earned to determine who to treat first."
Mike did a double take at the doctor's verbal volley. He'd met Malakai several times and spent a couple of weeks at the training facility with his team. He was Foxtrot team's doctor or rather had been their doctor before Jacob dissolved the team. Chief unbuttoned and unzipped his pants at the doctor's command. Malakai instructed Thomas to escort Tatyana to a large chair. The man did a quick assessment on her before he returned and carefully pulled Mike's jeans and boxers down over his injured hip.
A low whistle sounded, and Chief lifted his head to see the damage. The knife wound looked jagged and ran about five inches before it went deep and stopped. Oh fuck, that's going to leave a mark.
"When was the last time you had a tetanus?" Malakai gl
oved up, pulled out a drape, rubbing alcohol, betadine, gauze and other things Chief was all too familiar with but would rather forget.
"I'm up to date." Mike reached down in front of Malakai shielding his hands from Taty's view. He used American Sign Language to spell out:
Undercover. My name is David.
Malakai nodded and grabbed a syringe. "Sorry, David. This isn't going to feel good, but I need to clean that wound out and see what I'm working with." He glanced over his shoulder and snapped at Casey. "I need towels and a couple of big plastic trash bags." Chief watched Casey head out of the room. Malakai busied himself with the prep of his equipment until Casey returned. Mike was unceremoniously rolled to maneuver the plastic under him. He grunted as he righted himself again.
Malakai chuckled and bent over before he signed:
Quit being a baby. You've stubbed your toe and hurt yourself worse.
Chief huffed a laugh and responded:
Your bedside manner sucks.
Malakai lifted his eyes and winked before he filled the syringe with sterile water. "Alright, David, be a good patient and hold still."
Chief dropped his head and let the doctor clean and stitch his wound. The fucking Russian hadn't done too much damage, and Malakai had been correct, he'd been hurt far worse. Having nothing better to do while he lay there being sewn back together, he reviewed everything that happened in the warehouse.
He arched his back and looked past Malakai. "Evgeniy was trying to screw over your bosses?"
Taty's face was as pale as a country snow bank. She cast an eye at the men in the room. Chief took a deep breath. "My security team won't talk, and the doctor is a trusted employee."
Malakai lifted his head and arched an eyebrow before he went back to work. Taty drew a shaky breath. "It is the only thing I can think of that makes sense."
Mike batted that around for a moment. "Will the escorts know what to do with the routing number?"
"Doubtful. They are not the sharpest tools. I think maybe they saw a way to escape. They will be found and… taken care of."
Chief palmed his phone and made a call. He watched Malakai place a bandage over the wound.
"Mr. Xavier's office, Joel speaking."
"Joel, the account I had you activate this morning, has there been any activity?"
"One moment, sir." Mike heard the tell-tale tapping of keys and mouse clicks before a few moments of silence. "No, sir."
"Good. Transfer all assets from the account to one of the other offshore folders. I'll call later with further instructions."
"Very well, sir. Will there be anything else?"
Chief looked down at his wound and over at Tatyana. He trusted his staff, but only to a point. Shit was about to get real on this mission, and he needed to contain the people who had information—any information about today's events. The security team that he'd taken to the warehouse had been hand-picked and given enough information to believe they were assisting the women, not buying them for sex slaves. Casey and his team were solid. He'd talk to Jacob and Jared about recruiting them when this op finished. They'd flourish in Guardian's organization.
"Sir? Will there be anything else?"
"Yes, give Higgins and Hannah three weeks paid vacation somewhere nice. It started ten minutes ago."
"As you wish, sir. I'll have them rejoin you in San Diego?"
"That is fine. I'll meet you there, too."
"Excuse me, sir?"
Chief drew a deep breath. This was it. He needed to pare down to the bare minimum so there would be no collateral damage if things went south. Joel knew if he was told to take a vacation that Chief's operation was getting close to an end.
"Joel, when was the last time you were on vacation?"
"Well… ahh… I can't actually say, sir."
Chief chuckled. "After we get the offshore accounting rectified, cancel all but the most essential meetings, then you are on an all-expense paid vacation starting tomorrow. If I need you, I'll call you on your personal cell."
"But sir… are you sure?"
"I am."
"Very well, sir."
"Goodbye, Joel."
"Goodbye… and sir? Thank you."
"No, thank you. For everything." Chief pushed end on the conversation as the doctor lifted his shredded boxers back over his hip. He groaned as he stood. Damn, he felt like Danny Glover in that old Lethal Weapon movie… he was getting too old for this shit.
Malakai headed over to Tatyana. "So, beautiful, can you tell me exactly what happened?"
Chief stifled a growl of irritation at the doctor's flirtatious conversation,
"Someone grabbed my leg. I fell. I landed on my hip and my elbow."
Malakai looked at the two security guards. "Gentlemen, I think we can handle it from here."
Casey and Thomas immediately searched out Chief for confirmation. "We're good."
Thomas headed out, but Casey stood his ground. He left Malakai's side, allowing him to examine Taty, and crossed the room toward Chief. He leaned in and whispered, "Mr. Xavier, you aren't just a businessman. I can recognize one of my own. What the fuck happened today?"
Chief leaned away and stared dead into Casey's eyes. "I'll need a translation of the conversation. I couldn't keep up."
Casey stared back. Chief could see the questions in his eyes, but the man simply nodded before he turned toward the door. He said over his shoulder, "Yes sir, I'll get on that right away."
Chief headed toward the closet to put on clothes that a switchblade hadn't shredded. Malakai called to Casey and asked him to stay for a moment. Mike heard the word dislocated on the way out of the room. He didn't want to look at Taty as he left. He didn't want to go to her and comfort her. Shit, he couldn't show her any weakness. They fucked. That was all there was to the relationship. He used her to get to her bosses, and she used him for… fuck, who the hell knew what her end game was? The woman was a tangle of lies and deception.
Chief made an awkward and protracted affair out of changing his boxers and sliding into some athletic pants. Taty's startled, pain-filled scream had him clenching his hands into fists. That would be Malakai relocating the shoulder. He counted to three hundred before he walked back into the bedroom. Taty was on the bed, and Malakai was holding a sling with Velcro tabs.
He carefully put the contraption on her and handed her a small vial of pain pills. "Take one now and then one when you want to go to sleep. There are four in here. If you need more have David call me. Your hip and elbow are bruised and will be stiff and sore. If the pain doesn't decrease, we can take you in for an x-ray, but I'm confident nothing is broken. Keep your shoulder iced." Malakai pointed toward him and smiled. "He's got it down to a science, so if you have any questions he can't answer, have him give me a call."
Taty swallowed the pill with the water he gave her and then reclined against the stack of pillows. Chief walked out of the bedroom toward the front door with Malakai. He looked around to make sure they were alone before he signed:
What are you doing in New York?
Malakai responded:
I'm freelancing. After all that has happened…
Mike nodded and asked:
How were you notified to come here?
Malakai's hands flew in a flurry of words:
I was on standby and notified by personal courier this morning to wait at the coffee shop around the corner. There was a pre-arranged signal if I was needed. Why all the old school methods on this? Are the comms compromised? I've been out of the loop for a couple of months.
Shaking his head Chief signed:
This op only.
Malakai nodded and looked around appearing to see the grandeur of the apartment. "Nice digs."
Chief laughed quietly and shook his head. "Understatement of the year, my friend."
Malakai's smile slid off his face, and the haunted look Chi
ef had seen one too many times in one too many faces appeared, prompting him to give the guy some encouragement. "Don't give up, Mal. It gets better."
The man's eyes snapped toward him. "Does it?"
"Yeah, I can guarantee it. You'll never be able to forget what happened, but you will learn to live with the ghosts." Chief clasped him on the shoulder. "If you need to find me, you know how. I'll always be around to listen… when you're ready to talk."
Malakai's eyes averted, and he drew a shaky breath. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. Keep that clean. You know the drill."
"Yep."
"Stitches come out in ten days."
"Yep."
"You're not going to have a medical professional do it for you are you?"
"Nope."
"Typical."
"Yep."
"Take care Ch… David."
"You too, Mal."
Chapter Twenty-One
Taty knew she was waking up. She was at that stage when the pain was creeping into her consciousness and pulling her away from sleep. She turned her head and groaned. Her body ached. She blinked open her eyes and looked over to the other side of the bed. It was empty, and David didn't appear to have been to bed. It was completely dark except for the twinkle of lights from the cityscape visible outside the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Taty held her breath as she lifted up into a sitting position. Her hip barked a sharp reminder of its injury, but the shoulder and elbow weren't too bad. Of course, she hadn't tried to move them either.
She slid from the mattress and landed on the soft carpet on her good leg. The trip to the bathroom was an awakening of aches and pains, but she'd suffered through worse. The initiation into the Bravata hurt a hell of a lot more than her current bumps and bruises. She flexed her fingers in the sling as she walked out into the living area of the apartment. The gas fireplace was lit and cast a glow around the room. She searched for David and almost missed his silhouette against the far bank of dark windows.
"Can't sleep?" She headed toward him, carefully navigating around the furniture. He glanced over his shoulder at her before he returned to whatever vigil he was holding. "No."
Chief (Kings of Guardian Book 7) (The Kings of Guardian) Page 16