by Warren Ray
“Cara, I’m glad you decided to meet me,” he said as he sat down.
“You’re not going to try and arrest me are you?”
“No, not at all. You can trust me,” said Green as he gave the waitress a drink order.
Green watched her dart her eyes around the restaurant and out the window. He wondered what she had been through to be so paranoid.
“Order what you want, it’s on me,” said Green.
She looked through the menu for a minute before putting it down. She continued to look out the window and then she looked at her watch.
Green thought about what he wanted to tell her and decided to see how committed she really was. “Let me ask you something, Cara. If you could, would you want to meet up with your dad?”
Cara’s eyes lit up by the question. “What do you mean?”
“If you had the opportunity, would you want to see your dad?”
“Uhm, well sure, of course, I would. Can you do that?”
“I think it could be arranged,” said Green satisfied with her response.
“That would be amazing,” said Cara.
Green was just about to tell her he’d arrange it when he saw her break out into a smile, and raise her hand to get someone’s attention. Green thought she was flagging a waitress; instead, it turned out to be another girl. She was a tall lanky girl with short bleached blond hair that she combed over to one side. She wore black thick-rimmed glasses and had multiple earrings. Her appearance was striking and seemed familiar.
“I hope you don’t mind, but this is my friend, CC,” said Cara.
CC stuck out her hand and gave him a hearty handshake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I asked her here cause I’m still a little distrustful of the government.”
“No, no, not at all. I can’t say I blame you really.”
“She’s the only person here I trust so don’t worry about anything.”
Green stared at CC and thought he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on where. He thought back to everyone he knew in the district and recalled nothing.
“So, what’s does CC stand for?” asked Green as he picked up his water.
“Charlie Chivers.”
Green about spilled his drink when he heard the name. He stared at her and then remembered the mug shot his friend Sam showed him. She was the radical terrorist who was on the list of names Alison O’Connor gave them. Her hair was different and she wore glasses now, but it was her, the girl with the unusual name. Green’s mind began to spin as he realized the mistake he had been about to make by helping Cara. Reed was setting him up and he almost fell for it. It was foolish for Cara to bring this girl with her, but it was to his advantage.
“Why go by CC, I like the name Charlie on a girl?”
“I was an ugly duckling when I was young, so kids teased me by calling me, Chuck.”
“You’ve certainly turned into quite a swan,” said Green, not meaning it.
“Thank you, Major,” said a smiling CC.
“So, how do you two know each other?” asked Green wanting to mess with them now.
“Oh, uh, we met in Florida,” said Cara.
“Yeah, we met at a club,” said CC.
“Well, that’s fun and here you are now.”
“Yes, here we are,” said CC.
The conversation became contrived, which was what he wanted. His mind was still reeling over how close he had come to exposing himself. Reed was crafty and Green was curious how he got ahold of Cara. He had to admit, it was a brilliant move to use the girl. He wondered what Cara’s real story was and what kind of lies, if any, Reed had fed her.
“So, you were telling me you could take me to my dad?” asked Cara.
Green was ready for the question. “Yes, I know for a fact where he is.”
“You do?”
“Yes I do,” said Green toying with her now.
“Where is he?”
“He’s in Jackson, Michigan.”
“How can I see him?”
“Well, if you’re willing to help us, we could get you out there to maybe try to talk some sense into him,” said Green trying to control his smile.
“But, I thought that you, like, knew him.”
“I told you I met him once when he put a gun to my head. You’d be a big help in capturing him.”
“That’s not what I want, I told you I don’t trust the government.”
Green could see she was becoming frustrated. “Well, I’m sorry, but you’re talking to me and I represent the government.”
CC put her hand on Cara’s arm. “Major, she’ll think about it, okay.”
“I think I want to go now,” said Cara pushing her chair back and standing up.
“But, you haven’t even ordered yet,” said Green.
“She’ll call you, Major,” said CC.
Green watched the two of them get up and walk out of the restaurant. He broke out in a smile, surprised at how much he’d enjoyed that. The waitress came around, so he decided to go ahead and order lunch. He needed to eat before reporting to Reed. He would enjoy seeing the look on Reed’s face when he told him with whom he had just met. He only wished he could see Reed’s reaction when they sent him the recording of O’Connor and himself discussing the bombings. That would be priceless.
Chapter 116
Washington D.C.
Reed sat his rotund body down in the booth of his favorite restaurant and greeted Perozzi. It had been a long day and he was thankful Perozzi had already ordered him a Scotch, neat. He picked it up and took a long sip.
“Been one of those days I take it,” said Perozzi.
“You could say that.”
“Well, get on with it then.”
“Oh, where to start. Oh, I know, how about with that incompetent Mordulfah. The man has an army of three thousand men and can’t take out three hundred.”
“Last night was a failure?”
“Ha, failure would be too kind. The man lost upwards of six hundred men and he thinks another two hundred ran off.”
“Six hundred?”
“Yep. No telling how many are wounded, probably at least half that.”
Perozzi took a sip of his Scotch. “All in one night?”
“No, no, over a two-day period. The rebels were picking them off while they sat on the interstate and they didn’t even chase them.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I know. I’m hearing all of this from Vatter. Apparently, Mordulfah didn’t want to give away the location of his hidden forces, like it was some kind of chess match. Then they lost more at night as they sat around guarding the interstate waiting to make a move. That’s just day one. The next day, he decides to send some of his men to a small town north of Jackson to capture little girls and those guys all end up dead.”
“Him and his little girls,” said Perozzi taking another sip.
“Creepy bastard if you ask me.”
“What about the attack on Jackson?”
“Yes, this is where he really screws it up. They get word from their spy in town that they’ve got Winters cornered in a small area of woods. So, what did he do? He practically sent everyone he’s got to surround the woods to trap Winters. But, the only thing it did was to allow his force to be surrounded. He had the upper hand and gave it away. The man is a complete idiot.”
Perozzi shakes his head.
“To top it all off, I was wrong about Green.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. He came to me after lunch and told me he met with that Winters girl, Cara.”
“And?”
“I double checked with CC afterward. She confirmed everything Green had said.”
“Well, that’s good news.”
“Yeah, I suppose, I just thought for sure, he wasn’t on the up and up.”
“Cross it off your list. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
“What should we do with this girl?”
Perozzi thought a
bout it for a minute and broke into a half smile. Reed gave him a curious look.
“I got an idea even Mordulfah can’t screw up.”
Reed waited for him to finish.
“Let’s send her to Mordulfah. He can use her as bait to draw Winters out.”
“But won’t he…”
“Who cares?”
Reed laughed deviously and then, still smiling, raised his drink. The two clinked their glasses together over the middle of the table.
Dear Reader,
Cole Winters and the Shadow Patriots won the day.
Are you ready for the next book?
Is Cole Winters ready for what comes next.?
Someone is spying on them.
But who is is?
Can they use it to their advantage?
Winters must keep their plans close to the vest after suffering yet another major blow costing them many lives. This fatal error weighs him down as he is forced to revisit his past.
Can he move past this in time?
Dark Toll is Book 4 in the Shadow Patriots series and can be found in single form or in Box Set # 2 available soon.
Pick it up today!