by C. G. Cooper
“Fine. Let’s adjourn until he gets here.”
+++
Bethesda, Maryland
Steve Stricklin could hardly contain himself as he walked back to his car. The meeting with Senator Southgate had gone better than expected. Not only had the senator taken notes during their conversation, he’d also promised to do everything he could to either see him reinstated at the Bureau or placed somewhere in one of the many companies Southgate had relationships with. The icing on the cake for Stricklin was when his host had suggested the possibility of having to testify in front of a senate investigative committee.
“I’ll do whatever you need, Senator,” he’d said, already imagining the clicking cameras and pretty reporters asking for interviews. He couldn’t wait to tell his mother about how he would soon be a celebrity.
+++
Senator Milton Southgate sat in the Congressional Country Club lounge overlooking the famous golf course, now covered in snow. He hadn’t known what to expect from the former FBI agent, but was pleasantly surprised. Put together, good looking, and a former Marine, Steve Stricklin could be the perfect vehicle for what Southgate was planning. He would have to thank Congressman McKnight for the introduction.
The stickier situation was that of the president. President Zimmer had stepped over the line. Calling in CIA assassins to kill a terrorist in a foreign country, while still repugnant to the senator, could be ignored. Associating with a company implicated in the murder of an American, and a congressman no less, was absolutely out of bounds. He wondered what other secrets the president was keeping.
No, he would not stand idle and let the upstart from Massachusetts ruin his party. Southgate already had his hands full from cleaning up the mess left by the last president. Democrats were scrambling to keep their constituents happy. What America needed now was a strong leader, someone with a mind and heart to bring the country further out of its most recent recession and into the new world order. Secretary of State Geoffrey Dryburgh, while not necessarily Southgate’s first choice, was certainly in a position to capitalize on his personality and international relations experience. Dryburgh had been on the presidential campaign trail before, but this time would be different, even though it would mean taking certain actions that would be more than a bit distasteful for Senator Southgate, such as his ultimatum he’d given Zimmer the night before.
Southgate stood and squared his shoulders to the snowy vista. He would do everything in his power to see that the threat to the Democratic Party, and more importantly, to America, was dealt with swiftly and decisively.
Chapter 18
SSI Safehouse, Arlington, Virginia
2:15 p.m., March 5th
Cal hadn’t stopped pacing for the last hour. Without word from Neil, the ticking seconds felt more like a hammer on his chest. In contrast, Daniel sat quietly, seemingly nonplussed by the situation.
“Why don’t you have a seat, Cal? There’s nothing we can do.”
Cal looked at his friend, annoyance clearly etched in his scowl. “How can you just sit there?”
Daniel shrugged. “It’s not that hard. You just bend your knees a bit and sit on your ass.”
Cal stopped his pacing and regarded the sniper, a thin smile finally appearing. “Are you telling me that you’re not worried about going to jail and possibly taking the President with us?”
“I’ve been on the edge of the law more times than I’d like to remember. All I can say is that as long as I’ve done the right…no, the honorable thing, everything has come out okay in the end.”
Cal snorted. “I swear every day you become more and more like some monk sitting on a mountaintop giving wayward travelers sage advice.”
In response, Daniel lifted his legs onto the couch, crossing them yoga-like, with his hands resting on his knees, palms facing up. “What wisdom would you like this day, young traveler?”
Cal shook his head and laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Daniel crack a joke. The Marine sniper preferred to stay in the background, mouth closed, eyes and ears open. “You really are a piece of work, you know that?”
Daniel nodded solemnly. “Such wise words from so ornery a man.”
The jab was answered by a middle finger. “Fuck you, Snake Eyes,” Cal said with a grin.
The secure phone in the kitchen rang. Cal hurried to answer it. “Stokes.”
“It’s Neil.”
“Yeah?”
“Southgate’s phone records are still a no-go. I think I may have something else, though. It’s not much--”
“Spit it out. We don’t have time.”
“Okay. I was able to get into Senator Southgate’s scheduling system. He’s had a couple meetings this morning. His secretary doesn’t put names to everything so I’m not sure who he met. Nothing jumps out as far as location. I thought you might be able to help.”
“Read them off to me.”
Neil did. He was right. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Cal repeated them to Daniel, who was now standing next to him.
“Who was he meeting at the Country Club?” Daniel asked, after pressing the speaker button.
“It doesn’t say.”
“Was it just one meeting?”
“It says meeting and lunch.”
Cal knew they were grasping at possibilities. “Let’s look at it another way. Did the meeting origination have any kind of time stamp? Does it say when it was scheduled?”
“I hadn’t even thought of that. Hold on. Okay, I’m going through them one by one. A week ago, a month ago, three days ago…”
Cal tapped his finger on the table impatiently. Daniel stood waiting. Neil kept reading aloud.
“The meeting at the Congressional Country Club was scheduled…last night!”
“I knew it!” Cal exclaimed. “Are you sure there’s no way we can figure out who he met with?”
Neil took a minute to reply, going through his mental list of hacking opportunities. “I’ve got it. If I can get into the country club’s CCTV surveillance system, then maybe we can see whoever was coming and going.”
“This is all we’ve got, Neil. Call me back.”
Cal felt reinvigorated. They finally had a lead. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Hopefully Neil could use his magic to lead them farther down the trail. The minutes were still ticking down until the President’s timeline. The Marine in Cal knew they could not fail in this task.
+++
The White House
President Zimmer nodded his head as if he was listening, but everything his Secretary of the Interior was saying went right past the distracted leader. Zimmer could feel his blood pressure rising and sipped water to calm his nerves. Maybe he should finally give in and ask The White House physician for medication. He was young and healthy, but the stresses of the job had been exacerbated by Senator Southgate’s accusation. Zimmer knew that he technically was associated with a company that conducted black operations on American soil, but he also believed that such actions were needed to defend the country from those threatening the United States. If only he could make Southgate see.
+++
SSI Safehouse, Arlington, Virginia
Neil called back ten minutes later.
“Do you have your laptop?” he asked.
“Yeah, let me grab it.” Cal snagged the computer from the kitchen counter and brought it over to the phone. “I’ve got it.”
“I’m sending you an email with a link. Click on the link when you get it.”
A moment later, the email appeared on Cal’s screen and he clicked on the hyperlink. The highly secure internet browser Neil had developed, and was now being used by a select group of private corporations, opened in a new window. Cal and Daniel watched as a screenshot of Neil’s computer popped up.
“Can you see my screen?” Neil asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, it took me longer than expected, but I finally got into the country club’s security system. I figured that instead o
f me trying to go through the feed myself, having you two look with me might be helpful.”
“Couldn’t you just use your facial recognition software?”
“I’ll be running it congruently. I just figured that you might want to do something rather than just waiting. I’ll run the playback at about double speed, starting with the thirty minutes before and then after Southgate’s scheduled meeting.”
Cal looked at his watch. They didn’t have much time. “Play it.”
Neil did, and the three SSI men settled in to watch.
Chapter 19
The White House
3:45 p.m., March 5th
President Zimmer said goodbye to his last appointment of the day. Normally he would’ve been working until eight, but he’d had Ellen reschedule the rest of his meetings. Senator Southgate would be arriving in a little over an hour and Cal still hadn’t called. Travis had disappeared, telling the President he’d be right back. That had been thirty minutes ago.
Zimmer’s mind raced. He would not take Southgate’s accusations lying down. Even if Cal and his team couldn’t produce the source, he would go down fighting. If he’d learned anything from his father, it was that Zimmers never gave up, always holding out until the end.
The swooshing of the reinforced door made the President turn.
“I’m sorry it took me so long, Mr. President.” Travis looked worried, a fact that did not help Zimmer’s disposition.
“Find out anything?”
“No, sir.”
“How about we order up a couple drinks. Might help to settle our nerves a bit.”
“I hate to say it, but I think you’re right. Scotch or bourbon?”
“Bourbon, please.”
Travis nodded and went to call the butler. Zimmer took a seat by the fire, remembering the days when his family had spent winter vacations in Aspen. His father had never spared any expense, always procuring a monstrous house with a roaring fireplace. Young Brandon Zimmer had often fallen asleep gazing into the glowing embers, his father and mother looking on.
He wondered why the memory suddenly appeared, quickly realizing that despite his father’s nefarious end, he would’ve paid a king’s ransom to have his father’s advice at the moment.
Travis sat down across from the President, wanting to say something, anything that would help soothe the distressed leader. But there was nothing to say. It looked like their secret was out. Cal’s father, Col. Calvin Stokes, had instituted the mantra of Corps Justice years earlier. It was a secret code known only to a few outside the confines of Stokes Security International. Zimmer was one of the few.
The code read:
Corps Justice
1. We will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
2. We will protect the weak and punish the wicked.
3. When the laws of this nation hinder the completion of these duties, our moral compass will guide us to see the mission through.
Now the code would be lost. Travis had always feared the day would come that an outsider would twist what the brave warriors of SSI had done. It was a noble cause, defending America against its invisible enemies. Americans took for granted the layer of security provided by the visible efforts of the brave men and women in the armed forces and in law enforcement.
Most people didn’t know about the behind the scenes actions of CIA spies, black ops troops, and organizations like SSI. It wasn’t something you ran to the papers with. Citizens wouldn’t understand. The warriors who conducted silent war on battlefields at home and abroad didn’t want publicity. They knew it was better to sneak up on the enemy in the dead of night, and slither out with the task complete. As long as the mission was accomplished and the country was made safer, that’s all that mattered.
But others didn’t see it that way. Travis bet Southgate was one of those men. He didn’t know the senator personally, but he guessed that the senate veteran had been part of his fair share of efforts to curtail the missions of American intelligence and military forces. In the minds of men like Southgate, it was unconscionable to pay a murderer for information, or to threaten a man with his life in exchange for intelligence. Travis had been on countless operations where the outcome, typically the saving of countless American lives, would have been prevented had he and his troops not applied the necessary force and coercion to get the job done.
Now, Travis wasn’t naive enough to think that there were not others who used codes like Stokes’ Corps Justice as an excuse to hurt others, and that too many times such criminals did it for their own gain. That’s why it was so important to Col. Stokes and Travis that the only leaders allowed to green-light such missions be of sound mind, with a high moral sense, selfless and honor-bound. Travis had spent his entire time at SSI weighing the pros and cons of working outside law. If there was any possibility that federal or local law enforcement could take care of the situation, the buck was passed to them.
Barring a sign from God, Travis bet that Southgate would most undoubtedly label SSI as a criminal enterprise, unworthy of praise or adulation, only fit for condemnation.
+++
Cal and Daniel watched the figures speed past the country club video camera. Neil started with the main entrance, figuring it was their best shot at identifying Southgate’s guest. It was still a long shot, but they were all hoping to recognize one of the many faces flashing across the computer screen.
They’d seen Senator Southgate dropped off, seeming slow in his gait despite the sped up feed. The recording wasn’t as clear as Cal would’ve liked. Again, the seconds and minutes were ticking by. He’d had another text from Travis asking for an update. The Marine answered the same way he had the five times before: No news yet.
“Hold on,” said Daniel suddenly.
Neil paused the playback. “What did you see?”
“I’m not sure. Go back a bit, to when that group of four went in.”
The video reversed, Cal and Daniel moving closer to the screen. “Right there, the guy in the back with his face down.”
Cal squinted. “Holy shit.”
“Who is it?” asked Neil.
Cal’s blood boiled. “It’s Steve Stricklin.”
Chapter 20
The White House
4:35 p.m., March 5th
Senator Milton Southgate strolled in through the back entrance, escorted by a member of the White House security. He was early, but that was okay. Let the President sweat a bit when he found out he had arrived and was waiting.
As they walked along the vaunted corridors of the symbol of the most powerful country in the world, Southgate admired every detail, from the molding to the paintings, the carpets and the valences. In his mind, the home of the leader of the free world had seen better days. He had a duty to protect the office of the president and the country. The last thing he wanted was word of the president’s actions to get out to the public. Hopefully Zimmer would take the noble path and resign. If he didn’t, the leader of the senate was prepared to do what he must.
+++
4:54 p.m.
They’d finally caught a break. While Cal and Daniel hurried to the White House, Neil tracked down the infamous Steve Stricklin. Cal and Stricklin’s relationship went back to their time in the Marine Corps. Stricklin had been then Sergeant Stokes’s platoon commander. To say the former Second Lieutenant was an ineffective leader was a major understatement. Stricklin’s career as an infantry officer quickly derailed as a result of his own ego and inability to lead Marines. The only thing he’d been good at was deflecting blame and taking credit from others.
The thought that Stricklin had once again stuck his nose in Cal’s business made the Marine tremble with rage. Not months before, Stricklin, who turned out to be the nephew of the now departed crooked congressman from Louisiana, Peter Quailen, had tried to link Cal and SSI to terrorist bombings, merely to advance his own career. Cal had thought that Stricklin’s dismissal from the FBI would’ve taught the man a lesson, but somehow the egot
istical prick had weaseled his way back into Cal’s life. It would be the last time.
Agent Brett Stayer was waiting for them. “You guys sure like to cut it close. Southgate’s already here.”
“Is he with the President?”
“No. We have him waiting down the hall.”
“Good. I need at least five minutes with the President. Can you stall Southgate?”
“I’ll take care of it,” said Stayer.
Cal and Daniel entered the Oval Office in a rush. President Zimmer and Travis looked up from their conversation. “I don’t know if you should be here, Cal,” said Zimmer.
“You want me here, Mr. President. Wait until I tell you what we found.”
Zimmer and Travis listened as Cal told them about Stricklin. The President shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would this Stricklin guy want to take me down? I don’t even know him.”
“If I had to guess, it’s all about him. This guy’s been an asshole since the minute I met him, and he’s only gotten worse. I think I was the initial target. He hates me, thinks I ruined both his Marine Corps and FBI careers. You’re just an added bonus. I’ll bet he’s having wet dreams about going down in history as the guy who torpedoed an American president.”
President Zimmer shook his head sadly. “So it’s all a game? This guy wants to get his fifteen minutes of fame?”
“I’d say so.” Cal noticed that his cousin seemed lost in thought. “What are you thinking, Trav?”
“I’m still not sure if Southgate will care. Stricklin probably produced some kind of documentation, real or fake, linking the President to us. It’s his word against ours, and from what I’ve heard about Southgate, he’s not a big fan of the CIA or security companies like SSI. What did you say he calls them, Brandon?”