Her hand fell to his thigh and moved up slowly. Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed. “As long as our team can attend, I’m good. Dad and I talked before we left. He’s happy as long as I come back and have a reception. He said mom always wanted a big wedding and never got one. Me? I don’t give two cents about a large event. I’d like Keelee to be there, but she won’t come to D.C. It would take the second coming of Christ to get her off that ranch.”
“The judge who is going to marry us tomorrow is a friend. He worked with my older brother, Joseph, when they were both in the Corps. Judge Mathias got out and put himself through law school. His appointment to the federal bench several years ago didn’t surprise anyone. He’s one of the good guys.”
“You work with him? The judge, I mean. I thought you only worked international issues.” Her curiosity was natural. Having told her the infrastructure of the business, he mapped out how each sibling fit into the overall company. “No, I know him from social events. The international laws that pertain to the ops Joseph and I work are…I guess tenuous is the best way to classify them.” Jacob checked the rearview before signaling his turn into the airport access road from the interstate.
“You said Joseph worked alone. I take it he works in the dark.” Her comment shocked him, but it shouldn’t have. She was smart.
“Joseph works black door ops. So yeah, he works in the shadows.” Jacob merged into traffic to get to the backside of the airport. “He’s probably the strongest man I’ve ever known. After our dad was killed, he took over as the head of the family. Joseph was sixteen. I think you’ll like him. He’s gruff, takes shit from absolutely no one, and has a laser focus, almost to a fault. But unlike the rest of the family who will definitely flock to meet you, I don’t know if you will ever meet Joseph. He rarely surfaces and when he does, it is usually for a particular reason known only to him. He’s a loner.”
The team unloaded the equipment onto the tarmac and assisted the ground crew loading it into the luggage compartment of the jet Gabriel had sent to bring them home. The glistening Bombardier 5000 was his boss’s private bird. The plane was one of the fleet of seventy-three aircraft used to transport, deploy, and stage people and equipment around the world. The massive golden Guardian International Logo left no doubt who paid the team’s wages. The luxury David Xavier commanded belied the ruthlessness of the man. Five people within the multi-billion dollar company knew David Xavier and Gabriel was the same person. By necessity, Jacob was one.
The team settled into the deep leather seats as the plane taxied down the runway. Once the jet was at cruising altitude, the flight attendant came forward and asked Jacob to access the com bank for an incoming message.
Jacob motioned to Chief, who initiated the secure link. When Chief established communication, he nodded to Jacob and moved out of the way. Jacob donned the headset, signed in, and listened. The news could not have been worse. Cold devastation gripped him as he listened to Jared’s words. Instinctively Jacob shut down, blocking the pain, moving away from the emotions. Survival demanded the cold detachment he had honed with years of practice. Jacob asked the question he dreaded hearing the answer to. “Survivors?” He felt the eyes of the entire team on him but closed his eyes refusing to meet any stare until he gained composure. He felt the color drain from his face. He shook his head slowly from side to side silently rejecting the reality of the words he had just heard. Taking the headset off, he lowered his head in his hands. When he finally lifted his eyes he found his team’s attention focused on him with a grim intensity.
*
Nobody moved. Tori realized the team already understood. She stood and walked to Jacob. Kneeling beside him, she touched his leg. The haunted look in his eyes scared her. “What is it? What’s happened?”
“Jason’s team. They flew into a barrage of shoulder-launched, air-to-ground missiles. The aircraft crashed. Fury, Joseph, confirmed all aircrew are dead. Six parachutes deployed—low level. He counted the parachutes from about five clicks away so we know the team made it out of the bird. When he made it to the crash site, he reconned the area. Carlos Rivera, one of the best weapon’s specialists we have, was buried in a hasty scrape and marked by Bravo team. There were tire tracks, signs of fighting—blood and shell casings. Jason and the four remaining members of Bravo team are MIA.”
“Was the operation compromised? Was it leaked somehow?” Her question vocalized the entire team’s concern.
“Gabriel and Jewel believe coordination with outside agencies may have been assimilated. Somehow elements of the mission may have been gathered and filtered to hostile hands. Even Guardian may have been compromised. Right now the organization is on lockdown. If anyone can find a leak, Jewel can. My sister’s is on it.” He pulled Tori up and into his lap. She wrapped around him, trying to ease the weight the phone call had placed on him until he pulled away.
Looking across the cabin, he made eye contact with his men. “We’re hot. Flying into hostile territory tomorrow night as soon as intel and logistics are solidified.” He looked at Doc and Chief. “Are you two in?”
Doc’s head snapped up. “What the fuck kind of question is that? Try benching me, Skipper, and I’ll shoot your ass.”
Chief turned his head and looked at Doc. The big man’s eyes narrowed as he turned back to Jacob. “Ditto.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sleet blasted against the window as the plane taxied to a stop on a far corner of the tarmac at Dulles International Airport. Tori peered out the window. The man waiting by the SUV would be Jacob’s brother, Jared. From where she sat, his resemblance to his brother was eerie. The team disregarded the cabin and flight attendant’s warnings and pushed the door open as soon as the plane halted. The twins disembarked first, followed by Chief and then Doc. Jacob stooped through the door and straightened, looking for his brother, before he turned and offered Tori his hand. Doc and Chief’s attitude could be felt from where she now stood. Jacob’s questioning their abilities had pissed them off. I wonder if he did it on purpose. She wouldn’t put it past him. His words forced a focus they didn’t have before.
Jared nodded to the members of the team as they filed by and loaded in a waiting black Suburban. When she and Jacob approached, he extended a hand to his brother. Jacob grasped his hand and jerked him forward for a massive bear hug. The two men held each other. The emotion that radiated from the brothers stood as a testimony to the pain the brothers shared over Jason’s situation. Clearing his throat, Jared finally drew away and turned to her. “Your clearance pictures don’t do you justice, Victoria. No wonder my little brother fell hard. I’m sorry you aren’t going to get a honeymoon.”
“Jared, I’ve heard a lot about you. Jacob and I’ll take a rain check on the honeymoon if it gets our guys back safe and sound.” Tori leaned into Jacob as he pulled her to him blocking her from the most of the force of the arctic-cold wind.
“I’m a little late on the introductions, but Jared, this is Victoria, the woman you are going to watch me marry tomorrow morning.”
He nodded to her. “Victoria, I wish we could meet under different circumstances.”
She nodded. “We’ll get them back.”
Jacob nodded and kissed her forehead. He murmured, “From your lips to God’s ears” before he turned his attention once again toward his brother.
Jacob started them towards the SUV. “I need a sit-rep.”
“There was nothing in the intel reports to indicate we were flying into a hot landing zone. The deployment followed all established protocols. Gabriel approved the op. Bravo team asked for Jason. They felt comfortable with him stepping in. He’d been training with them to stay fresh on the new tactics coming out. He never would’ve gone if the team hadn’t approached him first.”
Jacob nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I got the brief on the plane. Any word on the team?”
Jared looked at Tori and shook his head. “Not yet. Jewel is working her staff like a woman possessed. She blames hersel
f. She’s devastated.”
Tori watched the men as they spoke. Jacob could be a clone of Jared. His features were nearly identical. The only exception was Jared’s lighter hair color and a thin, smooth scar that ran from the corner of Jared’s eye to his chin, silver against his tanned skin. His eyes were harder and deeper blue, but the men could easily have been twins.
She pulled her wind-whipped hair away from her face and turned to Jacob. “Is my work center ready? If it is up and running, I can try to find your brother’s team. I know Guardian had my clearance vetted and updated; I’m one of a handful of people in the world that can run the known and cloaked expanses of the black-door compartmentalized parameters and access the secure surveillance intelligence and reconnaissance network.”
Jacob and Jared exchanged glances. Jared nodded his head. “We’ll need to transfer her permissions and activate them along with granting her accesses to our systems. We can be ready by tomorrow morning.”
“Make it happen, Jared. Would you please take Victoria to the house in Georgetown? I have a meeting with Gabriel, and it isn’t going to be pretty. I may be fired… again”
Both men said ‘again’ at the same time and laughed at the inside joke. “We’ll drive you to the office. I need to pull Jewel away. She hasn’t slept more than a couple hours in almost three days. Maybe Victoria can help me get her to stand down until morning.”
Guardian Security’s facade was not what she expected. The office building was a nondescript modern chrome, glass and cement office building. There was nothing to draw any attention to the building. It blended into the city landscape. The security check-point appeared to be the only thing that suggested something other than normal. Jared apologized to her as they waited for her visitor’s badge to be issued. “We should have had your badges done, but as you know, things got busy. We’ll have them ready for you in the morning.”
The trio entered a small room and the door slid shut behind them. A security camera whined and turned, focusing on them.
“Identify access code.” A disembodied voice resonated within the enclosed room when Jared stood in front of the camera. After he punched a sequence of numbers into the system, the voice requested the same of Jacob.
“Confirmed status. Please authenticate sign, Island.”
Jacob smiled and looked over at her as he responded, “Countersign, Breeze.” Victoria knew the sign/countersign was used to ensure the men were safe and not under duress. If he had said the wrong word no doubt the room they were locked in would be surrounded by armed guards within seconds. Throughout the intelligence community, the security precaution was a routine safety measure when an unknown person was present.
The locks on the opposite door disengaged and opened after Jacob gave the proper response. Walking into the brightly lit hallway, he turned and pulled her into his arms. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, baby. I love you. Jared will take care of you.”
She smiled and wrinkled her nose at him. “Go. Get fired. Again. I love you.”
He laughed and gave her a hard quick kiss. He pinned his brother with his glare and ordered, “Get Jewel and pull her ass out of here.” He kissed Tori’s forehead one more time before he spun, casting a “See you soon” over his shoulder.”
Tori watched Jacob walk down the hall and disappear through a set of double doors. Turning to Jared, she caught him staring at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry. Would they have any more at home like you? I have three other brothers who could use a good woman.”
She laughed and walked with him along the hallway in the opposite direction Jacob went. “Not asking for yourself?”
The light tinge of red that colored his cheeks was unexpected. Tori chuckled softly. “Sorry, I only have one sister and I think Doc might have issues with anyone else introduced into the equation. Although I’m not quite sure what the heck is happening there.”
Jared sighed. “It’s okay. Believe me when I tell you I’m definitely not in the market for a girlfriend or wife. Well, at least I asked for them, and remember to say I did ask when my mother brings it up. Because believe me, she will.” Jared nodded to the left and they made their way through another entrapment area and then into an elevator. Stepping out, they were once again in a holding area with a keypad. When Jared entered the proper codes, a door slid open. Victoria took in the facility, immediately impressed with the technology. Several pieces of equipment designated experimental the last time she had worked were displayed inline indicating the technology was no longer considered untested. Jared led her to a massive area with stadium seating that she assumed served as the nerve center of the organization.
A woman sat over the front counsel typing furiously. Her black hair was pulled up in a haphazard bun with strands of long curly hair falling in disarray down her back. Thick framed black glasses slid down her nose. The woman hit a key and straightened, glaring at the monitor. In frustration, she hit the offending key repeatedly. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” A wireless mouse flew through the air and crashed on the only blank wall space in the entire room.
Jared walked over to her and knelt down. Pulling her into his arms, he held her as the woman cried softly. “It’ll be okay. Jacob and Victoria are here. We’re going to go get Jason tomorrow. Victoria will help us find him. You know her qualifications and you know if anyone can find him she can.”
Victoria couldn’t hear the woman’s muffled reply, but Jared lifted her away from him and lightly shook her shoulders. “You had no idea our sources had been compromised. You still don’t.”
“But it’s my job to know, Jared!” Her voice filled with misery.
Tori knew both Jared and Jewel were running on fumes. Tori could see it in him and hear it in her. Damn, this isn’t what the team needs. She took a deep breath and jumped in with both feet. “You’re right. It’s your job to know. Now how about we drop the woe-is-me sob fest? This shit isn’t helping anyone.”
Jared glared at her, his voice lowered to a threatening growl. “Excuse me?”
“What? She is the department chief, right? That means she is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in this section. Personally, I think her analysts should be fired immediately and all missions currently fielded should be recalled.”
The woman’s deep green eyes leveled on Tori and flashed wildly. She stood pointing her finger directly at Tori as if it were a weapon. “Just who in the hell do you think you are? My systems analysts are the best in the business. The integrity and quality of their work are above any reproach or question! There is absolutely no indication there has ever been any breach of this nature! None!” Jewel moved forward, her face reddened with anger. Emotion lifted the volume of her livid reply with each step towards Tori. “The agency’s hardware was upgraded and we followed the possible leak to the CIA’s firewall. The CIA! Not us, not our programs, not my analysts! The existing missions have not been compromised. There was no way anyone could’ve known the information we transmitted through the CIA’s system four days ago was compromised, assuming a leak even occurred at the CIA!” Jewell stood within inches of Tori, her anger radiating off her in waves.
A slow smile spread across Victoria’s face. “Exactly. There was no way anyone, including you, could have known the information was compromised. If it was compromised.”
Jewel’s eyes shot daggers at Victoria. Slowly she shifted her glare back to Jared. “I need a break before I do something I’ll regret.”
“That’s why we are here. Jewel, I would like to introduce you to your future sister-in-law, Victoria Marshall.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as she glared back at Victoria. “Don’t you dare question my department’s abilities ever again.”
“I won’t as long as you stop being pig headed and quit assuming fault where none exists.” Tori’s eyebrow arched. Her reply just as snide as Jewel’s.
The women stood toe-to-toe and stared at each other for a long minute. Jewel relaxed slightly, her shoulders dropped,
her head cocked, and a small pull at the corner of her lips softened her face. “Deal. I’m Jewel.”
Tori smiled and held out her hand. “Tori.”
Jewel shook her head. “Nah girl, we’re huggers.”
Tori laughed when Jared released his breath and looked to the heavens as they embraced. “Come on ladies. We are heading to the house. Jacob will meet us there.”
Jewel picked up her purse, logged out, and turned off her system. She looked up with a question on her face. “Why? Where’s Jacob?”
Jared shrugged. “Getting fired.”
In unison, all three finished, “Again.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jared swirled the dark liquid in the bottom of his glass. Tori and Jewel had gone upstairs to find something for Tori to wear tomorrow. Jewel was fading quickly. The woman hadn’t slept in days and, if he knew his sister, she would be asleep the second she and Tori stopped talking. That would not happen anytime soon. After the initial standoff between the two women, they hadn’t stopped talking. Not once. Not for a second. If it wasn’t computer geek talk, it was clothes this or shoe that. Fuck, did those two women go on and on and on.
He reclined in his huge leather chair and enjoyed the quiet of the house. Silence could not be over-valued. God, he hoped the women would find something to amuse themselves for a while. Jacob, Jason, and he lived in the Georgetown mansion. Jasmine and Jade stayed here from time to time and had closets full of clothes staged upstairs. Even with transitory residents, the house had always remained his peaceful and quiet sanctuary. With the amount of travel the men did it was a perfect solution to their housing needs. The girls loved having a place to stay when they stopped over in D.C. Even though Jewel’s apartment was literally two blocks from Guardian’s offices¸ right now she needed to be here with them.
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