Puppeteer

by Schultz, Tamsen

  “So, what was Frey's solution?”

  “Sonny wasn't very clear on this. He said that Frey suggested talking to Bradley Taylor, the guy who runs Eagle's Wing and maybe Taylor could help him 'work through it.' Taylor's not talking, but when we raided the Eagle's Wing compound, we found detailed maps of the IRS headquarters, along with security information and potential weak points.”

  “Put it together with what we know they were collecting from Getz and we can assume they were going to target the tax man. Somehow that seems appropriate for an anti-government militia. But why Sonny? Why wouldn't Frey facilitate the transaction through both Getz and Taylor?” Ty asked.

  Drew took a deep breath and let it out. “This is Adam's theory and, though he's the newbie, I think it has some merit.” Drew paused and looked at both of them. Ty had slid down onto the sofa and was sitting next to Dani. “We know Frey and Robertson know each other. We know Frey helped Robertson get elected and we know Frey has worked with a lot of companies Robertson and his cronies own or control. We also know Robertson's polls are low, some of the lowest in history, and there is an election coming up in a few months—”

  “Drew,” Dani sat back and warned as if she could stop Drew from saying what he was going to say next. Drew cast her a sympathetic look, like he'd give anything not to have to say it as well.

  “We also know Sonny holds a Saudi Arabian passport. He's not a dual citizen, since it's not allowed. He was born in the United States but applied for a Saudi Arabian passport based on his mother's nationality. He isn't a dual citizen, but he has possession of both.”

  “Shit,” Ty breathed. Drew looked like he concurred.

  “You think Frey was orchestrating an attack on the IRS headquarters as a favor to bolster Robertson's polls and he needed Sonny, or someone like him, because he wanted to be able to lay the blame at the feet of foreign terrorists. Even though Sonny isn't foreign,” Dani added.

  “It's what Adam has suggested,” Drew replied.

  “And you agree?” Ty asked.

  “And what would happen when Eagle's Wing claimed the attack? How would they get around that?” Dani interjected.

  “I'm not sure whether or not the attack would take place, but the effect is still the same. If it had been successful, Robertson reinvigorates the war on terrorism, calls on the country to come together, and, low and behold, we have a second-term president. But, even if the attack was foiled, it would still bode well for Robertson. He'd be able to sell his success to the press, point out that we're still at risk and that we need leaders like him to keep us safe, and, bang, we have the same result, he gets re-elected,” Drew replied with a mix of cynicism and anger. “As for Eagle's Wing, I hate to say it, but who do you think the people will believe capable of such an act? A militia no one has ever heard of before, or a young man with ties to the Middle East?”

  “And, of course, the fact that Sonny has a foreign passport provides the added fodder and saves the president from the embarrassment of having to admit that some terrorists are home grown,” Dani finished in disgust. “But why Sonny? It seems like any number of people could have performed the same function.”

  “We're working on that,” Drew responded. “There might be a reason, or it might be chance. Either way, we'll find out.”

  “So, where does that leave us?” Ty asked, after a long silence in which they all digested the information.

  “We've got some feelers out to try and figure out how involved Robertson is. We still want to go after Frey, we still will go after Frey, especially now, knowing he's involved in arms dealing as well as a planned attack against a US target. The question is whether or not we'll have Robertson's support or if we'll have to wheel and deal.”

  “You think we'll get his support?” Dani asked, curious.

  Drew shrugged. “I don't know. I don't know how involved Robertson is in this. We know Frey is a master manipulator. If he's been manipulating Robertson all these years, Robertson might be glad to have a chance to get rid of him. On the other hand, if Robertson and Frey are in it together, we'll have to use another route.”

  “Such as?” Ty prompted.

  “Extortion,” Dani supplied. Drew looked at her and cracked a smile.

  “Such an ugly word don't you think?” he responded. “And it wouldn't be extortion, it would be blackmail.”

  “You let us go after Frey and we won't tell the public you're an accomplice to murder and attempted terrorism,” Ty interjected, disbelief palpable in his voice. “If he's involved, I'd say that's a pretty small price to pay.”

  “True,” Drew conceded. “I think we'd make sure he never ran for public office again. And once he was out of office, we probably wouldn't let things lie, but we wouldn't go public.”

  “What? You'd sick the IRS on him or something?” Ty said.

  Drew chuckled, “You'd be surprised how effective the IRS is at destroying a man's life.”

  “What's the timeline?” Dani asked.

  Again, Drew shrugged. “Hard to say, a couple of weeks maybe? Hopefully sooner rather than later, given that the election is coming up in less than five months.”

  “You'll let us know?” Dani asked.

  Drew nodded and stood. Dani and Ty followed suit. “Dani,” Ty said, looking at Dani. “Can you go heat up some of that pasta Sam brought?”

  Dani shot him a look and let her gaze travel to Drew. She shook her head and laughed. “Yes,” she said, going up on her toes as he ducked his head down to kiss her. “But if you wanted a chance to talk to Drew without me in the room, all you had to do was ask.”

  “And you would have listened?” He asked in earned disbelief.

  “Probably not,” she said over her shoulder. “You just got lucky this time that I happen to be hungry, too.”

  The men watched her leave and then Ty gestured Drew toward the door. When they were out in the hallway, he spoke. “I want to know everything, whenever you have it,” he said.

  “Revenge is a nasty beast, Ty,” Drew said.

  Ty stared back.

  Drew nodded. “Right, of course,” he said with a sigh.

  “I'm serious, Drew,” Ty cut in. “This man killed Dani's parents and god knows how many others and, more importantly to me, at least, he almost killed her. He knows who she is now, he knows where she works. He's a man who knows a lot of nasty people and I'm not willing to take the chance that he might know someone who would take care of her for him. And we both know she won't be able to go.”

  There was a long silence during which Drew studied Ty.

  “How deep do you want to go?” Drew asked, finally.

  Ty knew Drew was remembering the conversation they'd had earlier that summer—remembering Ty's own internal conflicts and why he left the SEALs. If Ty joined forces with Drew on this mission, he'd be going straight back into the lion's den.

  “As deep as it takes to get him out of her life permanently,” came his fast reply.

  “It's been a while since you've been active,” Drew pointed out. And they both knew what he meant. Active in the military, active on foreign missions. Active with the kind of skills and training he'd had when he was a SEAL.

  “I'll take care of it,” was all he said, already planning a training regimen.

  Drew studied him for another long span of silence before giving him a curt nod and turning away.

  “Make sure you do, because Dani will kill me if anything happens to you,” he added over his shoulder as he disappeared into the stairwell.

  Ty stood for a moment in the silence of the hall, contemplating what he'd just promised. He hated the idea of leaving Dani to go after Frey, though he knew he would have to. He would hate being away from her and he would hate knowing she would, at some level, begrudge him his involvement. She would want to go herself, but there was no way he or Drew would let her. She would be pissed, but she would understand it wouldn't be safe to take her, wherever they ended up going. He wasn't worried that Frey would get her—though there w
as that. But it wasn't likely, given the extent of her injury, that she would ever be the field operative she was a month ago. He knew it, Drew knew it, but Ty didn't think Dani had even thought about this yet. When Drew refused to let her go after Frey—and Ty knew he would—it would be like slapping her in the face with this fact. Not only would she have to deal with her involvement with Frey and her belief, as misplaced as it was, that she let him get away, she'd have to start coping with the fact that her career as she knew it, was over.

  Ty sighed and turned back toward the apartment. The time would come soon enough when Dani would have to confront her uncertain career future. In the meantime, he would spend his time working on their future.

  Chapter 24

  “WHERE'S DANI?” DREW ASKED as he stepped through the door Ty held open.

  “Shopping with Sam. Picking up some clothes for the kids, or so I'm told,” Ty answered, closing the door behind Drew and moving toward the kitchen. It was hard to miss how bad Drew looked, including the look of relief that crossed his face after finding out Dani wasn't home. His eyes were red with fatigue, his usually immaculate clothes were rumpled—his shirt was even untucked—and his facial hair was growing in, making him look almost scruffy.

  “I'd offer you a beer,” Ty said, opening the fridge. “You look like you could use it, but you also look like it might put you to sleep.”

  Drew eyed him as he pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and didn't answer. Ty pulled out a bottle for himself, popped the top, and leaned against the counter, knowing Drew would talk when he was good and ready.

  A half a beer later, in which time they'd done nothing but sit in the quiet, Drew rubbed his hands over his face, swore, and asked for one himself. Ty handed him a bottle and then sat opposite him as Drew took a long pull.

  “Robertson's done,” he said.

  Ty blinked. “Excuse, me?”

  “He's out.”

  “Out, as in out of reach? Out of the dealings? Out of what?” Ty prompted, leaning forward, listening.

  “Out of the election,” Drew said under his breath. Then, taking another deep breath, he spoke louder. “He's not going to run. He's withdrawing from the election.”

  “It's four months away,” disbelief and shock clear in Ty's voice.

  “I know. It's the only compromise we could come to,” Drew closed his eyes and let his head fall back. They remained quiet for a long time until Drew lifted his head and met Ty's gaze.

  “This is the story and you're not hearing it from me,” he said with a pointed look. Ty nodded and Drew continued. “Robertson admitted to knowing Frey, admitted to helping him by giving him contacts in the extraction and industrial construction industries in the seventies. He told us everything he knew about what happened in Vietnam and it's about what we thought.”

  “Frey set him up and then called in favors?”

  Drew nodded. “Robertson says Frey had a video of that day. A video showing him cowering behind a tree as Frey took on the Vietcong. Robertson was hit and did get knocked out which is why he didn't remember any of it until Frey showed him the video—after he won his first election.”

  “Hold on,” Ty held up a hand. “Frey had the whole ambush recorded? Who would do that—and for what purpose?”

  “From what Robertson remembered, Peterson, one of the other officers involved, was the cameraman.”

  “Only Peterson didn't make it out.”

  “Robertson doesn't remember what happened, but he said he wouldn't put it past Frey to have killed Peterson too.”

  “So we've got Robertson not remembering the ambush and Frey feeding him lies about how courageous he was. So, Robertson goes home, campaigns, wins, and then Frey presents him with the video and starts calling in favors?”

  “That's about how it started, according to Robertson,” Drew added.

  “Okay,” Ty nodded, soaking in the information, the confirmation that the sitting president was involved with a man like Frey. “So then what?”

  “Robertson didn't hear from him for years, and then one day George Collier, a friend and major contributor to Robertson's campaign, mentions Frey in a conversation. Robertson says he was surprised to hear Frey's name after all the time that had passed, but not surprised to hear it in conjunction with some shady arms dealing that was going on in South America at the time. He claims it was Collier who suggested they use Frey to orchestrate the arming of a guerilla group interested in overthrowing a certain dictator that wasn't very friendly to the current US administration.”

  “And thus started the slippery slope.” Ty sat back in his chair in disgust.

  “Pretty much,” Drew admitted. “Frey kept his regular business going, but from then on out, he would do favors for Robertson and vice versa. Collier was always the intermediary, which is why we have no record of Robertson and Frey being in the same area since the seventies.”

  “And Sonny? And Dani's parents?”

  “Collier had a meeting with Frey a few days after Sonny's dad was killed. Robertson claims all he knew was that Collier was going to talk to Frey about doing something to increase his, Robertson's, approval ratings.”

  “Like orchestrate a terrorist attack and blame the kid,” Ty provided, his voice flat.

  Drew wagged his head. “Robertson claims he had no idea what Collier or Frey had in mind.”

  “You believe him?”

  Drew was silent for a minute. “Yeah, I do. I don't think he knew what Frey was planning. He all but got sick when we told him about the weapons Eagle's Wing was going to collect from Getz and that we'd found plans to the IRS headquarters in their compound.”

  “He could be faking it,” Ty countered.

  “He could be, but I don't think so. He didn't tell us anything until we fed him that piece of information. After he realized what Frey was capable of, he started talking.” Drew pressed his lips.

  “And offered his resignation.”

  “And offered his resignation,” Drew nodded.

  “So, what else did you get? Anything on Frey?”

  Drew let out a heavy breath. “We think it was just in the timing that he targeted Sonny. Sonny was on Frey's mind when Collier talked to him. Frey needed a scapegoat, and who better to manipulate than the grieving son of a former CIA informant. The man's a damn puppeteer, the way he manipulates people,” Drew swore for emphasis.

  “But what about now? Did Robertson know where Frey might be now?”

  Ty watched a muscle in Drew's jaw tick as he sat forward and began to pick at the label on the bottle. It had been a long couple of days for Drew and Ty felt for him.

  “Africa,” Drew spoke. Ty glanced up and met his eyes. “He owns an island off the coast of Sierra Leone. He also owns islands in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and a few other places, in case you were wondering what he's done with the money he's collected over the years.”

  Ty didn't, not really. What Frey did with his money was irrelevant at the moment. He studied the man across the table and absorbed what he wasn't saying. They were going after him. And by the looks of it, soon.

  “When do we go?” Ty asked.

  “Ty,” Drew warned, but more out of duty than anything else. “You don't need to go. You can stay here with Dani. The rest of the team is going.”

  “I know,” he responded, not moving his gaze from Drew.

  “Dani's not going to like it,” Drew tried again.

  “I know,” he replied again. Drew swore and raked a hand through his hair.

  “We leave in two days,” he said, resigned.

  “We?”

  “Me, a couple of folks from Cotter's team, Roddy, Fawkes, and Jay. Of course Cotter wanted to go, but, like Dani, he's out.”

  “Roddy, Fawkes, and Jay?” Ty asked, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice.

  Drew nodded. “You were right, they took a liking to Dani,” he added with a tired smile.

  Ty let the information sink in. Never in a million years did he think he'd be out on
another mission with his former team. And he'd never been more grateful for their friendship. It was going to be a shitty operation and he was relieved beyond reason to know his friends would have his back when he went for Frey. And they'd all understand that Frey would be his, without question. Aside from wanting to deal with Frey for what he did to Dani, he also knew that Dani, once she accepted she wouldn't be going after Frey herself, wouldn't trust anyone but him to do it. If anyone else told Dani that Frey was taken care of, she wouldn't believe it, she'd always carry a little bit of doubt. But if it came from him, she would be able to close that chapter of her life and move on. And the only way it would truly come from him is if he took care of Frey himself.

  Ty stood and dumped the rest of his beer down the sink. He didn't drink all that much and had only had a few glasses of wine with Dani since she'd come home from the hospital, but now, well, now he wasn't about to put anything that might impair his ability to function into his system until after the mission was complete.

  “Where do I need to be?” he asked. Drew looked up and Ty could see the debate still warring in Drew. “It has to be me and you know it,” Ty said. “It can't be her and she won't trust anyone else.”

  Drew closed his eyes and then gave a slight nod before pushing out of his chair. “Tonight we go to DC. We'll have a debrief there and then head out.”

  Ty nodded.

  “What about Dani?” Drew asked. “She's getting stronger, but I don't want…” he let his voice trail off.

  “She'll have to face it sooner or later,” Ty replied with a regretful sigh. Frey hadn't killed her, but had taken a good agent out of commission.

  “You'll tell her?”

  “You chicken?” Ty offered a smile, trying to lighten the moment. Trying to pretend they weren't talking about the end of Dani's career.

  Drew smiled back. “Hell, yes.”

  Ty sobered as they moved toward the door. He reached for the knob and pulled the door open with a sigh. “Yeah, I'll tell her,” he replied, the weight of the information hanging heavy on his shoulders.

  After Drew left, Ty sat in the armchair and waited for Dani to get home. His bag was packed, his flight was booked, and all that was left to do was talk to Dani. He didn't bother trying to suppress his anxiety about taking part in the mission. He was more in shape than he was a few weeks earlier, but nowhere near where he'd been when he was at the top of his game, when he was an active duty SEAL. Still, it wasn't this that made the thought of deploying so difficult. It was Dani.