by Pinki Parks
“I hope you didn’t bring us here to eliminate the problem. I still have my gun and I know how to use it.” I was staying vigilant and showing very little restraint.
Xavier touched the console and the windows immediately became black as night.
Chapter 21
Bentley
The air was ripe with confusion and suspicion. I could see that Pride had an itchy trigger finger. His hand had disappeared inside his jacket no doubt with his hand on the handle ready to act with the compunction to hurt him.
“The both of you are high strung. No listening device can penetrate the noise canceling shield of this vehicle. We can talk freely without having the Washington bigwigs listening in. I want you to take a look at this file. I did my best, but the possibility still exists what I have found is only going to remain a secret for a short time.” I perused the file he had proffered and found a non-disclosed piece of property Commander Riker’s grandfather owned.
It was on the edge of Lake Forest Park. There was a cabin that Commander Riker’s grandfather had built by his own hand. It was an expansive piece of property at over 300 acres. There were many places to hide. Catching Commander Riker with his guard down wasn’t going to be easy.
“I’m going to do you the favor of dialing back my suspicion. We can never be friends. Too much water is under the bridge for us to be anything but adversaries. I would love to get past this, but you narrowly killed us two times. You sent Victor to his death. That was Pride’s big brother.” I didn’t like working with him, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t useful.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I have always admired you, but I have the displeasure of following orders without question or delay. As for Victor, I was just doing my job. He woke up a walked off. The place was surrounded. Otherwise, he would have been on the plane with the two of you. Maybe you wouldn’t have survived at all had he been on the plane.” He made it sound like it was never personal, but I couldn’t make the distinction.
“Who hired you to come after me in the first place?”
“It was a private contract. Sent through an encrypted email.”
“Would you mind sharing that address?”
“Pitbull. Don’t know how that’s going to help you any.”
“Maybe not. But I sure as hell going to try and find out who Pitbull is.”
“I hate to interrupt, but I made a phone call to our friend Grayson when we were on the transport coming here to Washington. The package I have requested has arrived. We need to make a pit stop before we go and find Commander Riker. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to know what this is all about. I’m the only one in this vehicle that is still playing by a different set of rules.” I could see how that could be irksome and it was only fair that he knew what he was fighting for.
“Don’t look at me. This one is on you, but I can assure you nobody will know outside of the three of us. We’ve all paid our dues time and again. We’ve done our sentence with years of dutiful service, but we committed no crime that can be traced back to us.” Xavier wasn’t going to be the one to tell him leaving that honor on me to perform.
“The numbers, when they are put in numerical order will reveal a database of undercover operatives in the military that had to do with Benghazi. It goes beyond that. It’s also a detailed account all communications involving these operatives.” His face showed no discernible crack in his armor.
His lip did twitch for a moment, but that was merely an accidental slip of his stone-cold façade. Pride nodded his head and I think he understood why it was necessary to go to these lengths.
“Pride, Xavier just told me the person who hired him to kill me. Someone by the name of Pitbull.”
“I’ll try and find out more.” Pride didn’t say anything about contacting the Viper in front of Xavier. We still didn’t know if we could trust Xavier. He could be a double agent.
“I feel it’s necessary to remind the both of you this information about Commander Riker’s grandfather is in the public records. No matter how much I want to there’s no way that I can prevent that record search from being discovered. There are too many redundancies in place to keep it strictly private.” It was a matter of how fast we could utilize our resources and keep them from getting to Commander Riker before we did.
“I hope this pit stop we’re making is not too far out of the way.” I was directing my comment to Pride who was still trying to absorb the enormous weight of responsibility I was carrying by committing those numbers to memory.
We drove out of the parking garage and we were soon on the interstate leading out of the city. Pride directed us to a storage unit. The owner of the place gave us a key and there was one crate in the center of the room. A crowbar was on top waiting for somebody to reveal the contents. A metal case was inside. Pride carried it back to the car and opened it in his lap. There was a multitude of different weapons that could be used in close combat and far away.
“Man, I would love to get an introduction to Grayson. He has the best stuff at wholesale prices. I pay through the nose, but most of my expenses are reimbursed. It’s the nature of the business when you have funding from high profile members that would like to remain anonymous.” Xavier was drooling over the contents. I didn’t feel right about giving him the inside track.
“Your weapon funding, they wouldn’t happen to come from Pitman, would they?”
“Nah! It’s from the State Department.”
“Xavier, you idiot!” He may be the best killer but does not follow politics enough for his own good.
“What?”
“Why would you be supplied weapons from anywhere outside the military if the missions were legit? Think about it. Who in the State department do you deal with for weapons?”
“Cooper. Oh shit!” Xavier had just realized the State Department has been hiring him to do their own dirty deeds. “Where would they get the money to fund all those missions? And how would they hide their expenses?”
“I’m glad you are finally thinking like a spy and not just a soldier.”
“I resent that. But touché.”
I only had to look in the rearview mirror to see Pride grinning from ear to ear. I think we finally have Xavier on our side. It wasn’t easy to play nice with the man who tried unsuccessfully to kill us. Xavier became quiet and reserved.
We were both in the back seat leaving him to navigate the highway with the signs to the park quite visible. I held Pride’s hand and made him look at me. I didn’t want there to be anything between us. The secret whispered in my ear had far-reaching implications.
“I hope you can forgive me. I probably shouldn’t have told you, but I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer. It helped that our common enemy already had forewarned knowledge of an issue that should’ve been kept under wraps. It didn’t feel right that he should know and you shouldn’t. You have been very patient and didn’t try to get the information out of me by using our marriage against me.” It felt more than good that he trusted my judgment and didn’t try to do the masculine thing by taking over.
“The idea didn’t even occur to me. You held strong even when I did pressure you a little bit. I have done some harrowing things in the name of love. Maybe we should make a habit of sharing those classified tidbits of information. An impartial point of view would help the both of us to sleep soundly. There’s no reason that the two of us can’t work on these problems together. We’ve given the military our lives, but we share something stronger.” I did want to tell him everything, but it was going to depend on the circumstance.
“The chain of command is there for a reason, but rules are made to be broken. I don’t think we can make those promises with the many threats to our freedoms lurking around every corner.” Each sign indicated that we were getting closer to our final destination and we had a handwritten map to the unknown location of his grandfather’s cabin.
“How sure are we that we can trust Xavier? We don’t rea
lly know what his orders are. This is the case of having one eye open.” His statement gave me pause for concern.
I looked at Xavier in the mirror and I couldn’t read him. He had confessed his lack of emotions had given him an unfair advantage over his prey. There was no telling what he was hiding until it was too late. It was better to stay alert and not be caught with our pants down.
“Women have intuition and it’s built into our DNA. I wish that I could trust that part of me to know if he’s on the level. It looks like we’re going to have to keep him at a distance and close at the same time. It’s true what they say about keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer.” There was no way that we could turn him loose without having one of us close at hand to rein him in.
“I have natural instincts that have never failed me. It was honed into a razor’s edge during basic training. It was always there dormant in the background. It took discipline and strict adherence to the rule of the military to bring it out of me. I think what I’m trying to say is that not even my instincts are going to be any good. We keep our head on a swivel and alert each other to anything that might be out of the ordinary.” It was hard for Pride to admit that Xavier was beyond his understanding.
Xavier’s loyalty could be bought and paid for with the right price. It was dangerous to give him any ammunition. I didn’t like that he knew what was hiding inside my skull. They should have kept him from the truth. He should have been given strict orders to keep us safe without knowing the reason why.
The information inside my head along with what Commander Riker was keeping to himself would make those in the criminal underbelly of society see dollar signs. I had to believe this affliction of greed was something Xavier had in common with them.
Pride had made contact with the Viper. We needed several things from her and we had no way of paying her back. Only the death of Victor fueled her anger. She got back to us within 20 minutes. Xavier’s phone rings.
“Yah.” Only those with privileged access knew his number. It was either for a hit or for a detailed mission. But he wasn’t ready to hear the Viper on the other line.
“Hand me over to Pride. I know he’s in the car with you.”
Xavier paused as he suddenly felt exposed. “Who is this?”
“Just tell him I’ve got what he wants. I’m a friend.”
Xavier handed the phone over to Pride. “This is Pride.”
“So nice to hear your voice, Pride. I would say my condolences for your brother’s death but I refuse to believe that man is dead. He’s too good. I know that he is out there somewhere and I am going to find him.” Coming from the Viper that was a strong statement. Pride let me listen on the call. It gave us both a glimpse of hope that we would see Victor again.
“I appreciate that. Be sure to let me know when you have a location. I will go get him.” Pride would come with full force and I would be right by his side. Victor only got involved in this because of me. He didn’t have to go the distance with us. He could have walked away after the wedding. But he stuck by Pride with the interrogation, he helped us get a lead on the plane through the Viper, and he saved us from a deadly car crash. He is a hero in my eyes.
“I am working on it. About the info you wanted. The email address Pitbull comes from the laptop of a Mr. James C. Knowles.”
“Knowles.” Pride said it out loud so Xavier could hear.
“He’s Pitman’s right-hand man at the State Department.” Xavier had been given contracts to kill our own without knowing the source.
“Are you certain about this?”
“Honey, that was the easy part. These guys at the State Department don’t have a clue about secured lines. Of course, he didn’t use his work phone to text Xavier because his phone would be secured by the government and subject to being a subpoena. He wasn’t going to do his dirty deeds on his work phone. He used an encrypted email and phone but not a very good one. I crack that baby open like a bottle of champagne. Don’t tell Xavier but I crack his phone too.” If anyone that could put all of this together, it would be Xavier. But we still couldn’t be sure if he would tell us everything. All we would have to do is connect the dots between all his missions. That information was gold.
“Can I get that info from you?” Pride was speaking vague so Xavier wouldn’t catch on that we were trying to get the information from his phone.
“There’s too much there. I would have to send it to you. But the safest way is to send you by regular mail. It will be in the form of a UBS. I will contact you later to tell you where you can pick it up.”
“Great. But there a more urgent matter at hand.”
“Hey. What’s going on back there? Are you guys talking about me?” Xavier was getting curious.
“No.” Both Pride and I answered with authority.
“Now, now…I was just getting to that. Patience my little lion.” Viper was cool and calm knowing she was above the effects of any scandal. She was untouchable. Anything changes to the country, she was above it. “I don’t have to tell you that it was Pitman who hired Xavier to kill your wife.”
“How do you know that?” Pride said in the present tense on purpose, again to deflect off the topic. We had that conversation inside Xavier’s so called protected car. How could the Viper had known?
“He may be clever but I am everywhere, darling. I’ve been listening to you in the car for the past 20 minutes. Don’t get excited. I am not a spy. I was looking for Victor.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry about?” Xavier wondered why Pride would apologize. This conversation drew a huge question mark on Xavier’s head.
“Shh!”
“Like I said, I will do anything to find Victor. That includes those involved in his attempt of murder. Xavier is not on my good side but because he is working with you now, he gets a free past...for now.”
“What about Riker and the code?”
“The code will take me some time to crack. If it is possible to crack at all. Riker is covering up something for Pitman. I don’t have all the details but it looks like a shipment of weapons that Pitman made to Tikah. Tikah is less than an hour from Benghazi.” That’s the area controlled by the militia. “I don’t have to tell you what that means.” The Viper was right. I knew exactly what that meant. Pitman was arming the militia to kill our own troops! But why?
“I am out of time on this line. But beware, Pitman has a team of corrupt politicians he works with. There’s no telling who can or cannot be trusted at this point. Goodbye.”
“Thank you.” Before Pride could say anything else, she hung up.
Chapter 22
Pride
“I know that the two of you don’t trust me and for good reason. We’ve been here for over 8 hours and the place looks like it has been deserted for quite some time. We can’t stay here forever.” Xavier was playing devil’s advocate.
Commander Riker’s grandfather’s cabin had seen better days.
“Is there a reason why you feel it’s necessary to leave before we have a chance to look around? We all have military training. It shouldn’t surprise any of us that Commander Riker would take some precautions. I still feel he might be here watching us. We need to make him believe we are not the threat.” There were too many variables with the possibility Commander Riker had a few surprises up his sleeve for visitors.
“There are a lot of places for him to hide. We could wait until it gets dark and move in for a closer look. I’ve seen no movement, but he could be out fishing or hunting for his food. I would suggest we split up, but I’m not sure either one of you is going to agree with that.” His attempt to separate from the herd fell on deaf ears.
“I have a radical notion. He knows that he can trust me. It’s conceivable that I could walk up and knock on his door without getting a bullet in my back. I need some kind of white flag, but I think seeing my face will do that.” Bentley was taking for granted her friendship with
Commander Riker.
There was no telling what his state of mind was going to be. He had gone off the grid for the reason of keeping people from asking too many questions. He must’ve known that his own life was in danger and decided to stay in one place that he was familiar with.
“I don’t like you going in there alone, but I trust your judgment. You have this strength inside of you that reminds me of a tiger about to attack his prey. I know inside my head that you can take care of yourself. It’s against my better judgment, but I’m inclined to agree with you.” She always did know the rational thing to do and I did trust her, even though as her husband, I vowed to protect her. It killed me to let her do this but it was for the good of our country. She is the best one for the job, otherwise I would have protested and gone in myself.
“It says a lot that you trust me. Keep an eye on our friend and make sure that he doesn’t interfere.” She didn’t have to tell me twice.
“You do know that I’m standing right here listening to every word? I understand your mistrust, but we are going to have to rely on one another. These last few hours waiting for him to appear have given our enemy time to catch up.” I was still worried that Xavier would find that it was necessary to eliminate two targets with one shot. And before this, I didn’t trust myself not to kill the man who sent my brother into an army of bullets.
“Sometimes it’s better to be seen and not heard. We only brought you with us because we had no other choice. It was either that or be detained for an interminable amount of time going over everything ad nauseam.” He was getting on my nerves and that thin thread of our partnership was very close to breaking.
“I’m going to leave the two of you to work this out between you. It won’t do anybody any good if you come to blows. This infighting is only going to cause more problems. I still don’t like you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work together toward a common goal.” Bentley was being far more generous and her compassion was another thing I admired about her.