by Jay Klages
“Well, three months gone, and Speaker Bostwick is still throwing blame-bombs at the president on the attack,” Lerner said.
“And at the intel community,” Kade said. “But they’re always the convenient punching bag. It never matters who’s in office.”
“The investigation sounds like a mess. That Marshall Owens really muddied the waters with those videos he left behind, huh?”
Kade nodded with a mouthful of peanuts.
“It’s like a PR campaign from the grave, I swear. Hard to believe polls show Americans think the cartels are partially responsible for the prison problems and attack. The cartel money link to AgriteX was exposed. And since we’re not being told everything about the Chapter, disinformation and rumor are ruling the day.”
“Well, that Owens was nuttier than squirrel shit.”
“Maybe he had good intentions a decade ago, but somewhere along the way he lost himself. Then his son died. I think he really believed the right technology, leadership, or policy could have prevented it. He thought he should have prevented it.”
“So how are you feelin’ these days?” Lerner asked.
“Good, thanks. My symptoms from the Chapter protocols have gone away, hopefully for good. And my hypomania’s improved some too. I’m using less medication, maybe because now I have more focus than I’ve had in years.” He smiled big and said, “See, I’m no longer the mess you thought I was.”
“That’s great,” Lerner said and gave Kade a funny look. “I haven’t heard anything emerge in the press about the Chapter’s technology since your debriefing either. Another reason people feel like they’re not gettin’ the full story. How could thousands be radicalized for an attack under the radar?”
“Yeah, I know. A lot of details around the recovery of Sentry bodies by the CDC and the AgriteX technology have been classified. Since some of the Chapter technology came from DARPA, and Owens had that involvement with DARPA years ago, there are some major internal investigations going on.”
“You wonder where they’re puttin’ the Zulu prisoners they’ve found.”
“Not back in private prisons, I bet,” Kade said.
“I hope not. One piece of good news I heard was that one Zachary Poole was found dead in his car on the side of the highway,” Lerner said.
“Yes, Sentry Poole was an FBI employee, and I imagine that caused some huge security reviews.”
Lerner took a large swig to finish his beer.
“Everyone in the administration sounds confident this won’t happen again.”
“Yeah, they’re confident they got Joshua Pierce too. I’ve kept my mouth shut, but I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why’s that?”
“They reviewed some thermal imagery of the RV that was targeted from his voiceprint, and the person in the passenger seat looks about twenty degrees cooler than the other one.”
Lerner paused to take this in, and then said, “You mean, already buzzard bait.”
“Yeah, and I doubt Pierce was in the driver’s seat either. Plus, there were fresh tire tracks from another vehicle visible next to the RV before missile impact.”
“Interesting,” Lerner said. “I imagine they’re still tryin’ to track people down.”
“All of the AgriteX contacts were erased from the cloud,” Kade said. “And the employee electronic and paper records couldn’t be found or went up in smoke. I guess they’ll have to work backward from W-2 forms to try and locate more suspects that way.”
“And what about the other people you mentioned—Guardians and whatnot?”
“Who knows if they’ll regroup? They said they had two other facilities in Montana and Nevada, but it was hard to know what lies we were told. The FBI only has limited data to work from at the moment.”
“How about your peers who were in there with ya?”
“I haven’t heard anything, but they wouldn’t know how to contact me anyway. I hope they got out, at least the three who had a chance.”
“Well, you made it out of there. I heard there was some talk of recognition for you. An intelligence award or something?”
Kade shrugged. “It was nice talk, but we contractors aren’t employees of the government and aren’t eligible for anything. Hey, I got some nice thank-yous from Directors Conroy and Hassett. A nice bonus and some follow-up medical care. They’ve taken care of me. I can’t complain.”
“You should be very proud of what you did, and I have to give kudos to Rob for finding you.”
“Thanks for your guidance and standing behind me. We all did the best we could, ramping up in such a short time. Would it be okay if I called you for some advice here and there?”
“Ha, I’ll take a call from Kyle Smith any time. Or just show up at my doorstep again. It was an honor to work with ya.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, that reminds me, I have something for ya. Hold on.” Lerner got up and walked inside for a moment like he was excited.
Kade watched a handsome cardinal land on a nearby pine tree, look around for a few seconds, and fly away. It had been Lerner’s job to train Kade for the operation, but Lerner had done more than that—he’d helped restore Kade’s confidence and bring his self-awareness to a new level. He wished he had trusted Lerner and the team more from the beginning, but at that time he hadn’t been ready.
Alex had been a casualty of that mistrust, that weakness. When Kade had visited him last week in Worcester, he was surprised how a fully recovered Alex had followed the news and pieced together his involvement in helping stop the attacks. When Kade apologized again for getting him involved and the near-fatal result, Alex said he would’ve done it all over again.
The thought made him damp-eyed and he took a deep breath.
He again imagined what the toll of the Chapter’s attack could’ve been if CLEARCUT hadn’t provided some warning. He’d never say anything in public, but it could have been so much worse.
Lerner reappeared, holding a piece of paper and two more beers.
“Someone you know was reassigned to FBI headquarters, and asked me to give this to ya.”
Kade hesitated. “Jerry, the last time someone handed me a note it was really bad news.”
Lerner laughed. “No, this won’t make ya sick. These digits were to be delivered if I ran into you again and you wanted to catch up, that’s all.”
Kade opened the note and smiled. It was Carla Singleton’s phone number.
“Good deal, thanks. I’ll give her a call later.”
“She’s smarter than shit,” Lerner said.
“And I know that’s a very high standard for you.”
“So what’s next?”
“I’m not completely sure,” Kade said. “While I’d like to move near my aunt and sister to make sure they’re never threatened again, that may not be practical now. I may still have to come back and testify more. And it may be a good idea for me to stay somewhere in reach of the Beltway.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’ve gotten more inquiries from different agencies. I’m hearing the Bureau might need some more help in strategy—they want to make sure these guys don’t try to reorganize. They’ve asked if I can be available for questions or discussion.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told them it was an honor to work on CLEARCUT, but my contract was done. If they needed more help, I might be willing to start another one.”
Lerner laughed and raised his beer in salutation.
“What?” Kade asked.
“Congratulations, you’re now a consultant.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A small group of fantastic people provided reviews and suggestions through many drafts, helping to make this project a fun and memorable adventure. Some may not want recognition by name, so I used initials for everyone.
My sincerest thanks to: WG, BK, SR, ES, NK, ND, SK, DH, JB, MP, and TM.
Many thanks to the Thomas & Mercer team! Kjersti Egerdahl, for discovering my story, a
nd Jacque Ben-Zekry, Tiffany Pokorny, and Dan Byrne for their support. I would also like to thank Nancy Brandwein, Dara Kaye, Monique Vescia, and Amy Eye for their editing expertise.
My choice of Chinook heritage for the villain of the novel only reflects my respect for the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest. The Chinook words I included were pulled from the Dictionary of Chinook Jargon by George Gibbs (2005). Any misuse of the language is entirely my own doing. While working on this novel, I learned that Ambassador John Christopher Stevens, who died in the line of duty on September 12, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, was of Chinook ancestry. As the United States continues to defend itself against the global terror threat, there couldn’t be a better example of bravery and service than Chris Stevens. May we never forget his sacrifice.
I would also like to apologize if my characterization of any military branch or government agency was perceived in a negative light while creating this story. I had the honor of serving with wonderful people in the military, and many of my friends continue to serve. I’m proud of you all.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, I’d greatly appreciate an Amazon review (you have to log in to Amazon to write one) and a Goodreads review if you use that service. These reviews are treasured for helping readers find new authors like me.
My author website is www.jklages.com. I also have a Facebook author page and would welcome a “Like” and any feedback comments you’re willing to share on a post, message, or e-mail. If you give me a shout, I promise to write back!
Thank you for spreading the word, and I look forward to sharing the next Kade Sims adventure with you all as soon as I can.
—JK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo ©2013 Kristen Hansen
Jay Klages is a former military intelligence officer and West Point graduate. He attended the MBA program at Arizona State University, where he successfully deprogrammed himself for service in corporate America. He currently lives in Gilbert, Arizona.