Termination Limits: Tom Kintrell Book 1 (Tom Kintrell Thriller Series)

by R. J. O'Rourke

  “Are you going to kill us?” asked one of the men.

  “Not unless we have to. Don’t make a sound,” said Summers.

  Summers and Cole then ascended the stairs into the kitchen.

  “How could they know about what we were planning?” said Cole, removing his shirt.

  “It’s a mystery. The only other person who knew of our plans was the judge, and I can’t see him giving us up,” said Summers.

  “We gotta move. If they knew about the plan, they may also know about this place,” said Cole.

  “I agree, we gotta move but I don’t think they know about this place, or they’d already be here,” said Summers. “The judge said this place is virtually untraceable, but I think the FBI could track it down. It will take them a few days, at least, so let’s use the time to plan.”

  “They may be able to track the ambulance, it probably has a locator in it somewhere,” said Cole.

  “Yeah, good thinking,” said Summers.

  “Let’s get out of this SWAT gear. I’ll drive the ambulance and you follow in the SUV. We’ll ditch it somewhere in Arlington, then come back here,” Cole said.

  They found a strip mall in Arlington, left the ambulance behind it, then headed back to the house in Georgetown in the SUV.

  Once safely ensconced back at the house, Cole said, “Our brothers are dead.”

  “Yes, I know,” said Summers. “I guess we have two choices here, we could cut and run—maybe make it to Mexico or even the Caymans—if that jet is still waiting for us. If we get away, we could always come back at some future date and pick up where we left off. I’m not sure the jet option is still open to us, but we could check it out. Or, option two, we lay low here for a while and bide our time.”

  “I wouldn’t mind getting some payback,” said Cole. “Another thing, what do we do with the hostages?”

  “Good points, Em, we may have to take out the hostages,” said Summers.

  “Ah jeez, Bill, I’m not good with that,” said Cole.

  “Neither am I,” said Summers.

  “Look, Bill, the chances of us getting’ outta here ain’t very good. That airport is probably on lockdown by now. They have to know who you are, and they probably don’t know who I am, so if we need food or anything I’ll be the one to get it. The judge mentioned the ex-Seal FBI guy and his partner. The judge also texted about the woman being wounded, and in a hospital in Jersey. Maybe we should think about some payback. If I gotta go out, I’d prefer to go out operating.”

  “Yeah, the FBI guy, Kintrell is his name, he’s the one the judge was worried about. So, he’s probably the one that fucked this thing up,” said Summers.

  Chapter 31

  Kintrell and Stryker huddled with T.J. Worthington and Dixon.

  “I think we have to find a way to nail the judge at this point. The only evidence we have on him is either inadmissible or circumstantial,” said Dixon.

  “What about the two that got away? They’re a damn sight more dangerous than His Honor,” said Worthington.

  As they discussed this, an agent approached them and said to Dixon, “The Speaker wishes a word with you, Agent Dixon.”

  After Dixon left the Hall, Stryker said, “Gee, I wonder if Agent Dickhead’s going to take credit for this operation?”

  “It don’t matter, Norm, we gotta focus on bagging these other two killers. Let’s take another look at Lanny’s list and see if we can figure out who ‘C’ is,” said Kintrell.

  ***

  The Speaker and Dixon were in the hallway behind the dais, the Speaker shaking Dixon’s hand. “I know you were in charge of the task force that ran these guys to ground, Agent Dixon. The nation and the Congress owe you a tremendous debt. You saved a lot of lives today, maybe hundreds. I won’t forget.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Speaker but it was a team effort. We were indeed fortunate to have some dedicated agents of the Bureau involved on this. I just tried to stay out of the way,” said Dixon.

  “Nonsense, Agent Dixon, it’s usually one man, a bold man who leads and points the way, that makes the difference, especially when lives are at stake. “

  “Well, thank you for the kind words, Mr. Speaker, now I should get back to my team.”

  “Yes, Agent Dixon, of course of course.” said the Speaker, while patting Dixon on the back.

  The Speaker then motioned to his chief of staff. “Harry, get me the Director of the FBI on the phone.”

  ***

  Kintrell managed to reach Alvarez at the hospital.

  “Alvarez here.”

  “Hey, good lookin’, you still malingering in that hospital bed?”

  “Hey, Tom, I heard what went down. You should be proud of yourself.”

  “We’re not finished, Lanny, two of them got away. Summers and whoever ‘C’ is. I need you to get a hold of that list again and find the names that begin with C.”

  “Hold one,” said Alvarez. The laptop was still on the table. Being careful not to pull out the IV in her arm, she managed to pull the table over to the bed. “Okay, I’m opening. Two C names, Cole and Culp. Cole is ex-Green Beret, has quite a few sniper kills. Left the service under something of a cloud, records are sealed. Culp’s a former Seal, also an excellent marksman. Evidently beat up his commanding officer, circumstances unknown, was reduced in rank and now supposedly working for a civilian contractor somewhere in Africa. Believed to also be on the CIA’s payroll as an independent operator.”

  “If we can verify Culp’s in Africa, then it’s gotta be Cole,” said Kintrell.

  “I tried that and got nowhere,” said Alvarez.

  “What’s your next move, Tom?”

  “Well, the judge is toast. I’m pretty sure I can get the guy from Puerto Rico to flip on him. But I can’t think of any leverage that would induce the judge to help us,” said Kintrell.

  “Maybe you can rattle the killers,” said Alvarez.

  “How so?” asked Kintrell.

  “We know what special operators are like—their self-image, their mind set of honor, courage, and dedication to the mission. Suppose you put it out that these two guys deserted their comrades, the cowardly way they ran out when the shooting started. You know, something along those lines. It would be like poking a rattler, so you would have to be extremely careful, Tom. You’d be putting a huge target on your back.”

  “You may have something there, Lanny. I’ll talk it over with Norm, and try to come up with something. I’ll see you as soon as I can Lanny, and thanks for your input.”

  “You take care of yourself, Kintrell.”

  ***

  Kintrell got together with Stryker and went over what Alvarez suggested.

  “Geez, I don’t know, Tom. These guys are death with both hands. If they come after you, they could pick you off and you’d never see it coming.”

  “I’m going to try to draw them close to me, appeal to their pride.”

  “You, my friend, are bat-shit crazy,” said Stryker.

  “I just need to end this, Norm. No telling what these guys will do. If they have a way out of the country, they could come back a year from now and start up again.”

  “We’d have to throw a net around you, 24/7. You’d have to wear body armor till we ran these mutts down, and we have no guarantees they’ll take the bait,” said Stryker.

  “I know, Norm, but I can’t think of anything else to do. We have to act now, before they split.”

  Kintrell requested a meeting with Dixon then and outlined what he wanted to do. Dixon not wanting to sign off, thinking how the blowback might affect him, said, “I’ll have to get clearance on this from the higher-ups.”

  “We don’t have time for this to traverse the bureaucracy, we have to do something now,” said Kintrell.

  “There you go Kintrell, going off half-cocked again,” said Dixon.

  Kintrell, trying hard to hold his temper, said, “Look, Dixon, no one has to know you knew anything about this. I’ll do it on my own, and you can disavow an
y knowledge of what I intended to do.”

  “Well, Agent Kintrell, I guess I can’t stop you from this reckless course of action, but I can’t help you either. You know my thoughts on the matter.” Dixon then walked away.

  Kintrell then got with Stryker again. “I’m going to need Roddy again, Dixon isn’t going to be any help.”

  “I have an idea, Tom.” said Stryker, a devilish grin on his face, “Why don’t you say, Agent Dixon pointed something out that resonated with me. He said these dishonorable cowards deserted their comrades the minute the shooting started, and ran away. It would serve the prick right.”

  Both Stryker and Kintrell had a good laugh at this.

  Kintrell then called Dede and explained what he wanted to do.

  “Jesus Christ, Tom, are you actively trying to get fired?”

  “Dede, we can’t let these guys split. We have to do something now! Besides, we both know my days in the Bureau are numbered.”

  “What did Dixon say?” asked Dede.

  “He kinda washed his hands of it. He won’t help but he won’t stop me. He did suggest I had to get permission from the higher-ups, to cover himself.”

  “Tom, you’re handing Dixon what he wants on a platter.”

  “I don’t care about that, Dede, I need to get these guys. It’s absolutely essential. Dixon can’t or won’t see that.”

  “If this thing blows up, I’ll try and cover for you, Tom. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.”

  “Thanks, Dede, I appreciate it.”

  Next, Kintrell placed a call to the junior Senator from Idaho.

  “Hello, Senator, it’s Tom Kintrell.”

  “Hey, Tom, great job today! I wanted to call you after the dust settled. I know you were instrumental in pulling this off. A lot of people owe their lives to you.”

  “Thanks, Senator.”

  “I told you before Tom, it’s Charlie.”

  “Er, thanks Charlie, I need to ask another favor of you.”

  “Sure, Tom, anything you need.”

  “I need an introduction to a news anchor in D.C., preferably a popular one.”

  “Do I need to know why?”

  “Better if you don’t, Charlie.”

  “Okay, I’ve become friendly with Stuart Woodson at the local affiliate. He’s a straight shooter and he owes me a favor. I’ll call him now and tell him to expect your call. Here’s his number. Give me five minutes. If you don’t hear back from me, that means he’s expecting your call.”

  “Thanks, Charlie.”

  Kintrell made the call ten minutes later.

  “Hello?”

  “Mr. Woodson, this is Tom Kintrell of the FBI.”

  “Yes, Mr. Kintrell, the Senator told me you’d be calling. What can I do for you?”

  “I know this is short notice, but I need to talk to you as soon as possible.”

  “What’s this about?” asked Woodson.

  “It’s about the attack today on the Capitol.”

  “Were you there, Agent Kintrell?”

  “Yes, front and center.”

  “That’s our lead story! I’d love to talk to you. We go on the air in two hours. How soon can you get here?”

  “How far are you from the Capitol Building?”

  “About twenty minutes,” said Woodson.

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  Woodson gave Kintrell the address and said he would see to it that once he got to the building, he’d be taken right to Woodson’s office.

  Kintrell grabbed Stryker and said, “We gotta go, Norm.”

  Kintrell filled Stryker in on the way to the studio.

  “Bat-shit crazy,” said Stryker.

  They arrived at the studio eighteen minutes later and were shown to Woodson’s office.

  After shaking hands with Woodson and declining refreshments, Kintrell spelled out what he wanted.

  Woodson, understanding immediately, said, “You want to put a target on your back, so a couple of highly efficient killers seek you out?”

  “Something like that,” said Kintrell.

  Woodson looked at Stryker, who said, “I know, bat-shit crazy. The only reason I’m supporting him is in the hope that he’ll mention me in his will.”

  “What’s in it for me?” said Woodson.

  “Well number one, you’ll be getting a first-hand account of what went on by someone who was there from the planning stage to the action itself. Number two, there are certain things that happened that you won’t hear in the official version of the event, that you can say you got from an unimpeachable source.”

  “You’ll go on record with these things?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tom, let me talk to you for a minute,” said Stryker.

  Kintrell excused himself and followed Stryker out of the office.

  “Look, Tom, you could actually go to jail if you leak certain things that are not for public consumption,” said Stryker.

  “You worry too much. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Marie Antoinette said to good King Louis.”

  “Come on, let’s go back in,” said Kintrell.

  After sitting down, Woodson agreed to Kintrell’s proposal. The reporter called for a camera crew. While they waited, Woodson jotted some notes down.

  A makeup girl fussed with Woodson and then turned to Kintrell who declined her services.

  They joined the camera crew who awaited them at an interview set.

  Before the interview started, Kintrell said to Woodson, “This interview has to go out exactly as I say it, no editing. If you can’t agree to that there will be no interview.”

  Woodson, taken aback, said, “I can’t promise that, Agent Kintrell, there are people who I myself answer to, that may want to shorten the interview to fit it in a specified time period.”

  Kintrell thought about that for a few seconds then rose. “Sorry I wasted your time, Mr. Woodson.” Then he and Stryker headed out of the studio.

  “Wait, wait a minute Agent Kintrell.” Woodson hurried after him. “Let me get my station manager, I’m sure we can work this out.”

  “Better hurry, we’re running out of time,” said Kintrell.

  An intern was dispatched to find the station manager. A short time later a harried looking man of indeterminate age entered the studio, looked at Kintrell and Stryker, and said, “What’s the holdup?” to Woodson.

  Woodson explained the situation to the manager. The manager nodded his head, thought about it for a moment, then said, “How about this, Agent Kintrell, we do the interview, then my people will put it together and you can look at the final product and if you okay it, we’ll go with it.”

  “Sounds good,” then to Stryker, “You get that, Norm?”

  Stryker waved his cell phone at them and said, “Yeah.”

  The station manager laughed. “You don’t trust us, Agent Kintrell?”

  “Half the time I don’t trust myself,” said Kintrell.

  ***

  Woodson, seated in a comfortable chair, looked at the camera and said, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, sitting across from me is Agent Tom Kintrell of the FBI. Agent Kintrell was part of the team that successfully thwarted the attack on the Capitol today.”

  Woodson then asked Kintrell a series of questions about how they prepared for the attack, who the attackers were, and how they knew about the attack in advance. Kintrell answered the questions truthfully, leaving out the identity of the judge, and not mentioning the parts Roddy played in the investigation. When Woodson ran out of questions to ask, he said, “Tell us, Agent Kintrell, what would you say to the two conspirators who you claim are still at large?”

  Kintrell then looked directly at the camera. “I would tell them that they have shamed themselves. I would say to them that they have disgraced the uniforms they so proudly wore at one time. I would say to them they are without honor for the cowardly way they deserted their comrades when the lead started flying. I wo
uld say to them that slaughtering unarmed civilians is not something real warriors do. I would tell them to run away, like the cowards they are, because the men coming after them are real warriors, not unarmed civilians.”

  Woodson said “Cut” as he stared at Kintrell.

  “Your superiors have no idea you were going to do this, do they?” asked Woodson.

  “Thank you, Mr. Woodson, and please remind your station manager of the deal we made, and also remind him we have his agreement on tape,” said Kintrell, as he rose and left the studio, accompanied by Stryker.

  “Agent Kintrell, don’t you want to see the finished version of what will air?”

  “You have my number in your phone, text me the video, if there is anything I don’t like, I’ll call you,” said Kintrell.

  On their way to the car, Stryker said, “I hate to sound mercenary at a time like this but if these dudes kill you, can I have your house?”

  “Don’t worry, Norm, if they come after me, they’ll probably come after you too, so you won’t need to worry about housing anymore,” said Kintrell.

  “That’s a comfort,” said Stryker.

  One hour later a message hit Kintrell’s phone. He opened the video and watched the clip that would air at 7:00 PM. Satisfied, he texted “K” to Woodson.

  ***

  Summers and Cole were at the Georgetown house debating about going after Kintrell, when the news aired. There were three TVs in the rec room of the house, each tuned to a different news channel.

  Woodson’s newscast got their interest when Summers’s name was mentioned, accompanied by an old military ID photo. They heard Woodson introduce Agent Kintrell of the FBI.

  After Kintrell finished, both Summers and Cole were momentarily stunned, then Summers said, “We can’t let this pass.”

  “Funny they didn’t have my picture on the broadcast,” said Cole.

  “Maybe we can use that to our advantage,” said Summers.

  “You know the prick is just trying to draw us out, right?” said Cole.

  “Yeah, I get that. But I can’t let this pass. I’m going to gut that motherfucker,” said Summers, adding, “Listen, Cole, we could walk away maybe even make it to Canada, but what about our dead brothers? Do we walk away and make their deaths meaningless? I can’t do that. I’ve gotta get some payback for them. Maybe they don’t know about you, in which case you could probably get away clean, I won’t begrudge you that, Cole. Maybe it’s better if one of us goes so, if I’m not successful, you could maybe wait a year, then come back and catch them unawares.”