Kneeling on the step below the box, he used the sharp blade and dragged against the smooth edges of the box until he could lift the top away.
It wasn’t on a timer but it was as deadly—a pipe bomb.
He studied it—allowed his eyes to play over the smooth then rough surfaces. The metal rod in the middle blocked from getting to the innards of the actual device. Along one end of the rod was a cork and he assumed the inside contain things to make the bomb a lot deadlier.
He couldn’t get frustrated. If he did, they were all dead. Once he’d memorized what he needed, he waited on the porch until the others showed up. Quickly, Zero helped Pitbull into the EOD Bomb Tech suit. He snagged the helmet while Zero belted him in place and slipped it over his head.
“Did you take a look at it?” Beast asked.
“Yeah.” Pitbull slipped the visor down and grabbed his bag. “It’s motion sensitive. We can’t risk moving it.”
“Where’s Anke?” Zero asked.
“Upstairs in the bathtub.” Pitbull explained.
“Not that I don’t trust you, Pit. But I’m gonna get her out.” Beast headed into the house.
“Ready?” Zero asked.
“Not really—but let’s do this anyway.”
Once Beast had Anke out of the house, there was a struggle to get her into the truck and away from the area. Zero remained behind in his own bomb tech suit as backup but Pitbull didn’t want Anke anywhere near. If anything happened, he wanted her safe. He set to work on the bomb, being super slow and really carefully. The least little nudge could set it off.
Finally, he managed to get the cork off, slide the metal bar out and was able to get to the wires below. Pitbull wasn’t sure how long it took until he was able to remove the putty from the belly of the beast, rendering it harmless.
Zero called it in and in no time at all, Beast had returned.
“You guys aren’t staying here tonight,” Beast said. “Pack a couple of bags.”
Anke said nothing. She merely entered the house. He stopped to remove the gear and stashed it back into the truck then turned to look at his friends. “Give me a minute alone with her.”
Beast nodded but Zero merely headed back to the truck.
He entered the house, shirtless and sweaty. But he grabbed his shirt from where he’d tossed it over the back of a chair and found Anke in the bedroom pushing things back into her bag. There were tears running down her eyes, and he didn’t understand it. This was the same woman who’d kicked and screamed and sworn as Beast tried taking her away. Now, she trembled.
Walking up behind her, Pitbull wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her neck, her shoulder, the side of her head.
“Tell me what’s bothering you,” he whispered.
“You could have died.” She said.
“But I didn’t.”
“But you could have!” She tried pulling from his arms.
He merely held her tighter. “This is my job, Anke. I do this more than you think and I’m still standing. I’m good at what I do. I know you’re scared.”
“I can’t lose you!”
“Anke?”
“Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. Let’s just grab our shit and go.” She struggled again.
This time, Pitbull released her. As she grabbed her bag and headed for the door, he spoke. “Whether you want me or not, I belong to you.”
Anke stopped. A soft gasp filled the room from her direction.
“I will always do whatever it takes to come home to your arms—to you.” Pitbull cleared his throat. “All I ask is for you to believe in me and the people who stand by my side.”
Anke glanced back at him, smiled, nodded and left him alone in the bedroom.
For a moment, Pitbull wasn’t sure what to take from her reaction. All he kept thinking was he’d come on too strong. It would all have to wait for Zero was calling him from downstairs. He shook his head and rushed to the spare room for his go bag and small black bag. He hefted the bag over his shoulders hurried down the stairs to meet up with the others.
14
“I think I found something!” Tex’s excited voice cut through his morning fog.
Pitbull didn’t understand it. He had yet to have his first cup of coffee and already Tex was excited about something. Before replying, he poured a mug of coffee, took a couple of sips then hurried to look over the man’s shoulder. “What you got?”
“Do you know a man name Tavart Penrod?” Tex ask.
Pitbull rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. A few years back he was the man in charge of CIRO.”
“Sorta like Webber?” Tex asked.
Pitbull nodded. “Yeah.” He took another sip. “Pendrod was actually one of the founders of CIRO. His history with the agency is sketchy at best. A while back, about a year after he started heading CIRO, the bosses suspected Penrod of being dirty. I mean, there was always whispers but this time they were louder. They investigated, never found any proof but by the time it was all over, the damage had been done. His career was never the same. When he went in for his psych evals, he failed.”
“You think he might be out for revenge?” Tex asked.
“I don’t know—why?”
“Well, I found out he’s involved in this whole thing.”
“So, it might have nothing to do with prostitution?”
Tex shrugged. “All I can tell you is what I found. Maybe he could be the mysterious man who called Abigail.”
“Maybe.”
“What I don’t get is, how did Abigail meet Claudia…” Tex paused but then shook his head. “What does it mean for this whole deal anyway?”
Pitbull rubbed the back of his neck. “We went into this whole thing thinking it had something to do with prostitution and the girl.” Pitbull took another swallow from his coffee. “Could it have been some elaborate scheme?”
“None of this makes any sense.”
“How did you find Penrod anyway?” Pitbull asked.
“I followed the money.” Tex tapped away at his keyboards. “I went through the banks, searchin’ for every large withdrawal someone was tryin’ to hide.”
“Trying to hide?”
“Yeah. They didn’t report it.”
“Um—but that’s not possible to hide in Germany. Everything is computerized—those reports are automatically sent.”
“True.” Tex beamed proudly. “I never said anything about Germany. I looked into Germans still livin’ in Germany who’s made some big withdrawals or transfers in the last six months out of offshore bank accounts.”
“I don’t wanna know how you did it and how many international laws you’ve broken.”
“Fourteen, but shhh. Behold my genius.”
Pitbull had to chuckle. “Okay, Boy Wonder. Dazzle me.”
“I believe you misspoke—I think what you were going for was Man Wonder?”
Pitbull groaned. “Tex!”
With a smirk, Tex explained. “I traced those to find how many of them had major dealings in Germany. Only three came up,” Tex continued. “Out of those, one had money transferred back into Germany, twice in the time we’re looking at. The money disappeared but showed up again being transferred to a numbered account for a shell company. Once it was there, it was split in two and withdrawn in cash. So, guess what I did next?”
Pitbull sighed. “Um—I don’t know.”
“Traced the bills.”
“You can do that?” Pitbull asked, wide-eyed.
“Well, yeah. Each bill has a serial number,” Tex explained. “Every time you pull money out of the bank, the machine or teller’s computer keeps track of the bills they expend. All I had to do was follow the serial numbers for those withdrawals.”
“And…”
“See this euro bill?” Tex asked pointing to the screen. “We found it in Abigail’s things after she confessed to helping these thugs. It came from one of the large withdrawals. The person who brought it back into German was Tavart Penrod.”
Pitbull suddenl
y felt as if his whole world had been turned upside down. The more information he received the more things made absolutely no sense. Where would Penrod get that kind of money? Why would he have an offshore account? Why would he have paid some shell company fifty thousand euros? Why would he go after Claudia?
He rubbed his temples.
“I’m a genius, huh?” Tex patted his shoulder.
“Yeah—a certified Kevin Mitnick. But all this just gives me more questions than answers. Why go after Claudia? If he wanted to get to me? And I had nothing to do with him being expelled from CIRO—why come after me at all?”
Tex inhaled loudly then exhaled. “Because he may have only worked with you for a short time, Pitbull. But he knows, no matter how angry you get at family, you won’t let them suffer.”
“And what if Claudia was in her car?”
“Unfortunately, that’s the best way to make sure you hurt.” Tex folded his arms across his chest. “As for why he targeted you—well, who knows? You can’t explain crazy and this man seems to be two grapes short of a fruitcake.”
Pitbull chuckled, despite his anger and confusion.
“Now you know Penrod has something to do with this.” Texas continued. “All y’all have to do is find him and squeeze him until either he talks or gets squished like the insect he is.”
“Yeah…” Pitbull couldn’t keep anything straight in his head. “I need you to keep digging, Tex. Find out everything you can about Penrod.”
“I thought you’d ask that. Here’s what I know.” Tex retrieved his computer. “He’s married—doesn’t seem to be a happy one. The wife tried divorcin’ him four years ago, wound up in the hospital. After she was released, the divorce was off.”
“Sketchy…”
Tex nodded. “Especially when you see she was in the hospital because of what the doctors were calling blunt force trauma to the back of the head.”
“Damn.”
“He seems to have a butt-load of money comin’ to him from some offshore oil company.” Tex continued. “He doesn’t seem to work. Has three credit cards that shows no activity for the past four months. The wife on the other hand is spendin’ more money than she has. I haven’t found a link between Penrod and Abigail aside from the money. Whatever he did, he did it off the grid.”
“Thanks.” Pitbull left the room to where he’d spent the night on the sofa. He’d given Anke the bed. Though she wanted him to stay with her, he refused. There was too much happening inside him. He picked up the small black bag and brought it back to Tex. “Remember I said I had something for you.”
“Yeah. Aww, Pitbull, for me?” Tex teased. “You shouldna done it.”
“Open it already.”
Pitbull pulled the tissue paper out and then picked up the bottle of whiskey Pitbull had a friend send from London. “It’s not much but…”
Tex nodded. “Thanks man.” His voice cracked. “This means a lot.”
“You do so much for us, Tex. I never want you to feel like we’re taking you for granted. Just know if you ever need us…if you ever need me…”
Tex hugged him. “I know, brother. I know.”
Anke finished making some lunch of Kaesespaetzle with Mouth’s help and put it all in the oven. After finding out Claudia had been set up the night before, she was still a little shell shocked. Because of the whole situation with the explosive device, CIRO rallied around her and Pitbull and took them to Mouth’s place.
It hadn’t felt right being completely intimate in someone else’s home. But when Pitbfull offered to shower with her, Anke wasn’t going to turn it down. In the tub, his large body stole most of the water but she didn’t care. He’d taken the time, to touch her, stroke her to life then allow her to break apart in the strong safety of his arms. She’d snuggled into his chest, accepting his soothing until the ran cold. When he took her to his bed, Pitbull had only drawn her into his arms, and held her until his phone rang the next morning.
Though she said nothing to Mouth, the two chatted about life, how things were and how Mouth became a member of CIRO. It seemed, Beast had a hand in his joining.
By the time Pitbull returned, Anke could tell he was tired. But, she kissed him softly and they sat around to eat. Less than forty five minutes later, the rest of the team descended on the house, including Tex and Mozart.
“Who is watching over Ruby now?” Anke asked.
“We have another GSG 9 officer taking shift,” Mozart said. “It seems I’ve been missing out on all the going-ons around here.”
She managed a smile at him.
Tex went through all the information he had. Pitbull was eerily silent and Anke kept her eyes on him. Once all the information was out in the universe, Pitbull leaned forward and rolled a large map out on the table.
“This is his house,” Pitbull said. “There are entrances here, here and here. I was thinking we could get a couple of eyes in there, have a look around. I don’t want to do a hard hit unless I’m sure.”
“I agree.” Beast said. “Crash, with your skillset, you’re going in with Pitbull—consider this on the job training. Barbie, you and I will take position here, in case they need cover for extraction. I figured this rooftop will give Barbie a clear view of everything. Mouth, I need you at this position. Zero, you and Mozart will run point here—that way you will cover the extraction and back-if needed. Your position is the only way in or out of the street. Anke, you will stay at home base with Tex.”
“What about Tex? What will he do?” Anke asked.
Tex smirked.
“Oh boy.” Anke laughed softly. “I suddenly get the feeling I don’t wanna know.”
“Before we get down to business, Mozart, you and Zero will check out the place for last minute surprises,” Beast said. “Tonight.”
Both men nodded.
“Listen, guys,” Pitbull said. “This is not official so, this is where you get off this ride and no hard feelings.”
Anke looked around the room.
“Now you should know better,” Beast said.
“I know.” Pitbull turned. “Mozart…”
“I’m invisible, but I’m here,” Mozart said.
“Don’t even think of tryin’ to talk me outta this,” Tex said, a frown creasing his handsome features.
“Crash—you haven’t even gotten your full shield yet…” Pitbull’s voice cracked.
Crash smiled. “You were there to help me protect my girls,” the man with the full beard said. “You’re family, whether you like it nor not. And you don’t turn your back on family.”
A tear toppled down Anke’s cheek.
“Now, with that nonsense out of the way.” Beast pulled to his full height. “Let me go home and kiss my flower. We can meet back here first thing in the morning. I’ll bring the care packs.”
Anke turned to look at Pitbull. He seemed so tired. When he met her gaze, she blew him a kiss and a smile spread his handsome face.
15
Everyone began preparing for the night they had ahead. As usual, aside from a few muttered words here and there, everyone was quiet. Pitbull shoved one glock into his holster then turned to look over at Crash. The man was holding Barbie with the fingers of one hand curled behind her neck as he stared into her eyes.
“Come home to me,” Crash said to her.
“Always. You come home to me.”
When Crash kissed her, Pitbull looked away until he could hear Barbie’s combat boots leaving the room with everyone else. Pitbull glanced over at Crash again but this time he seemed nervous. “Relax,” Pitbull said. “This is only a fact-finding mission.”
“Do I really look so antsy?”
Pitbull laughed. “Yes.” He stuck I his ear piece and pressed the back to activate it as Crash did the same. They made their way along the corridor. “Could everyone tell Crash there’s no need to be nervous about this?”
“Don’t be nervous, man,” Mozart said. “This is really a recon deal. And you have all of us here if anything does
come up.”
“True,” Mouth added. “But I get it—this is your first major thing with the team.”
“So, we’re not going to count The Pope Identity issue in Rotterdam, then?” Zero pipped in.
“Smart-ass.” Crash chuckled. “You know what I mean! It’s just hard leaving the girls tonight. Eden isn’t happy with us because it’s her birthday tomorrow and she wanted to sit us down and tells us precisely what she wants.”
“Our little babies are growing up.” Barbie sighed.
At the truck, Zero extended a hand to pull Pitbull in and Mouth did the same for Crash. They found their place in with the others and Beast quickly pulled the door in and latched it while Barbie drove them away from the darkened building they’d been using as their headquarters. It was obvious they couldn’t really trust those at their actual HQ. The reminder made Pitbull frown again.
“I know what will calm you down.” Beast’s voice tore through his disappointment.
“Hey now. Keep it P.G.” Tex teased through the ear pieces.
Everyone laughed.
“I was going to say, talking about Pitbull’s love life.” Beast declared.
“My love life is not for public dissemination.” Pitbull groaned.
“Wait, Pit’s got a girl?” Barbie asked. “When did this happen?”
“When we weren’t lookin’,” Tex replied.
“E tu, Tex?” Pitbull frowned.
The whole team had a good chuckle.
“All I’m saying,” Beast said. “Is our Pitbull all all grown up. And the woman he’s claimed—well, she’s the type to keep him in line.”
“Who?” They all chorused.
“Beast!” Pitbull warned. “She could be listening.”
“No, she’s not.” Tex guffawed. “She’s in the bathroom. I’ll give you the heads up when she returns.”
“Oh! You’re such an ass!” Pitbull tossed his free hand up. “Traitors.”
Pitbull_Special Forces_Operation Alpha Page 12