Tactical Force

He couldn’t get ahead of himself. If Anne stayed at the Halverson estate, she wouldn’t need a personal protector. Jack wouldn’t have to worry about her safety or jinxing her.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked him.

“Why do you ask?”

Cole shrugged. “You were frowning.”

Jack shook his head, clearing his rampant thoughts. “I was thinking about the mess they made of her apartment and the message on the wall,” he lied. Now that he did think about it, he wondered who had put it there and why they thought she was a problem.

“Halverson must have been onto something big with Trinity for them to target him for assassination.”

“If they knew about Ms. Bellamy all along, why did they wait until now to go after her?”

“I assume it has to do with the person who texted her,” Cole said. “Using the phone number Anne gave Snow, Jonah hacked into the phone system and is going through her call and text history as we speak. We should go to the war room and see if he’s found anything.”

Jack followed Cole through the house and into Halverson’s study, where the trapdoor was hidden. It led into a basement painted white and set up with a conference room and a computer room with an array of monitors, CPUs and keyboards lining the walls.

Jonah Spradlin, Charlie Halverson’s young computer guru, sat at a keyboard, looking up at a setup of six monitors. His fingers flew across the keys, then he’d pause and study the screen. He repeated the process several times, shaking his head, his lips pressing together each time.

“Find anything?” Cole asked, taking the seat beside Jonah. Cole pressed several keys on the keyboard in front of him and brought up a screen.

“I traced the call back to a burner phone purchased at a store in Arlington,” Jonah said. “I hacked into their computer system, but the name the phone was registered to was Linda Radcliff, a woman who died five years ago.”

“Did they have video surveillance at the store?”

“Yes, but I haven’t hacked into that system yet. I’m working on it.”

“If the phone was registered to a Linda, the person had to be female,” Cole surmised. “Surely, the clerk or store owner would have denied the sale if the ID didn’t match the person presenting it.”

“So, we’re looking for a female texter.” Jack paced the length of the room and back. “What will that buy us? There are hundreds of thousands of females in this area. We have to narrow it down a little more than that.”

“We’re working on it. We don’t have a lot to go on and now your lady doesn’t have a phone for our mystery texter to send messages to.”

“She figured out Ms. Bellamy was associated with John Halverson,” Jack pointed out. “She’s smart. She’ll come up with a way to communicate with Ms. Bellamy again.”

Cole glanced up. “What’s your girl’s plan from here?”

Jack frowned. “She’s not my girl. And I have no idea. I just got her here.”

“I’m going to work tomorrow, as usual.” A female voice sounded behind them.

Anne descended the steps into the war room, followed by Grace and Charlie.

Jack faced her, his feet spread, his arms crossing over his chest. “The hell you are.”

Anne’s eyebrows rose up her forehead. “I have a big meeting to prepare for on Friday. I need to be in my office every day this week. Besides, the person who texted me wanted me to help stop Trinity from doing something. I can’t help if I’m locked behind the walls of this estate.”

“You’re a walking target,” Jack said. “It would be suicide for you to step past the gates.”

Anne lifted her chin. “I can’t hide away forever.”

“You can until we figure out what’s going on,” Jack insisted.

“We can figure it out a lot faster from inside the government offices. I assume since the person texted me, I’m probably in a position to find out something. Otherwise, why would he ask me for help?”

“She,” Jack corrected.

Anne cocked an eyebrow. “See? You already know more than when we started.”

“Okay, she’s female—” Jack threw his hand in the air “—so is half the population of the Metro area.”

“I’m going to work tomorrow,” Anne said. “I just need a ride in to a Metro station, and I’ll take it from there.”

“You can’t go alone,” Charlie said.

“Charlie’s right,” Jack said. “It’s too dangerous. You’re not equipped to handle armed assassins.”

Again, Anne stared at him with a cocked eyebrow. “And you are?”

“More so than you,” Jack shot back.

Charlie clapped her hands together. “Then it’s settled.”

Jack glared at the woman whose money funded Declan’s Defenders. “What’s settled?”

“The fact that Anne can’t go to work alone.” Charlie smiled as if everything was perfectly obvious. “You’ll go with her.”

Chapter Three

Anne frowned. “Jack can’t go with me. You have to have a badge and a security clearance to get inside the office where I work.”

Charlie nodded toward her computer guy. “Jonah, can you make it happen before morning?”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He held out his hand to Anne. “Could I borrow your badge?”

Anne shrank back, her hand on the purse she still carried over her shoulder. “You most certainly cannot. I swore an oath. I could get fired.”

“You could die,” Jack reminded her.

Anne chewed on her lip, her gut knotting. She’d spent her entire career trying to do right by the people of her country. She prided herself on always taking the high road. Helping someone into the inner sanctum of the West Wing was almost like committing treason.

Charlie touched her arm. “Based on your informer, others could die if Trinity isn’t stopped. But you have to do what you think is right.”

“If it helps,” Declan said. “As a Marine Force Recon team, we all had top secret clearances.”

“Had?” Anne questioned. She knew what Marine Force Recon meant. They were the best of the best of the Marines.

Declan glanced at the other members of his team. “Until we were discharged from the Marine Corps.”

“Discharged?” Anne tilted her head, her gaze going to Jack. “Honorably?”

Jack’s lips thinned. “No. We were dishonorably discharged.”

Anne reeled, shaking her head, her hand tightening on her purse. “Why?”

“For doing what we thought was the right thing,” Declan said, his face grim. “Unfortunately, the powers that be didn’t agree.”

“Did you…kill someone?” Anne asked. “Is that why you were discharged?”

Jack snorted. “No. We didn’t kill someone we were ordered to kill. If we had, a lot of innocent people would have been collateral damage. We made the decision to abort.”

“I don’t understand,” Anne said. “I thought, as a country, we weren’t in the business of killing innocent people, if we could help it.”

“Someone had to take the fall for not taking out a high-powered terrorist.” Declan pushed back his shoulders and lifted his chin. “My team took that fall.” He spread his arms wide. “And now, because of Charlie, we’re fighting the good fight, helping people when the government can’t.” He stared directly into Anne’s eyes. “We understand if you don’t feel comfortable giving us your badge. We’ll find another way to create one for Jack. He will be with you tomorrow, one way or another.”

Anne chewed on the information Jack and Declan had imparted. If what they were saying was true, they’d been booted from the military because they hadn’t wanted to kill innocent people. Their government had let them down.

If the informant who’d texted Anne was correct, Trinity had somehow infiltrated the government and was planning on doing something catastrophic. She couldn’t let it happen. But how could she, a single midlevel analyst, stop anything from happening? It wasn’t as if she could spot a Trinity operative by looking at him.

She didn’t know who they were. But they knew who she was, and they didn’t want her to tip off anyone as to their intentions.

By going to work, she was putting herself at risk. If she died, no one would know that Trinity was planning something big.

She might not be anyone or know anything, but she did know something was about to go down. Since the informer had contacted her, she had to be close to either the entrenched Trinity operatives or close to the people who would be targeted. Either way, she had to find out what was going down and stop it before anyone got hurt.

Anne dug in her purse, pulled out her employee badge and handed it to Jack. “I’m trusting you to do the right thing, as I hope I am by handing you my badge.”

Jack took the card, holding her hand in his for a long moment. “I promise we’ll do the right thing. When it comes right down to it, we love this country, despite what some individuals in powerful positions have done to us. We want what’s right for the country we swore to honor and protect.”

Her fingers curled around his for a moment, then he let go and handed the card to Jonah.

Jonah nodded. “I’ll have that badge and your clearance entered into the system before morning.”

“I don’t want to know how you’ll make that possible.”

Jonah grinned. “It’s best you don’t know. Ignorance is bliss.”

Anne eyed Jack. “If you’re coming to work with me, we’ll have to have a good cover story.”

Jack grinned. “Look at you going all covert on us.”

She frowned. “I’m serious. I can pass you off as the new hire coming to train in my office. I’ve been interviewing people for the position of my assistant for a couple of weeks but hadn’t found anyone I thought could handle the workload or the stress.” She gave him a wry smile. “Guess you’ll be my selection. If your clearance has come through by morning, we’ll have to tell people your security clearance is in process, in case anyone noses around.”

“Just what do you do?” Jack asked.

“I’m an analyst for the national security advisor who sits on the National Security Council.”

Jack frowned. “That’s more than a mouthful. How am I supposed to keep up with all of that?”

Her smile twisted. “Oh, man, you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s alphabet soup at the White House.” Anne’s smile turned south. “Do you have a business suit?”

Jack’s frown deepened. “I haven’t worn a suit since my mother passed away. And that was so long ago I don’t own that suit anymore.”

Declan eyed Jack. “I have a suit that might fit. We will have to take out the length on the trousers, since you’re taller than me.”

“My butler, besides being former military, an expert in martial arts and having amazing taste in vehicles, has been known to sew when necessary,” Charlie said. “We can get that done tonight, assuming there’s enough material in the hem of Declan’s trousers to let them out.”

Anne wanted to laugh at the deepening frown on Jack’s face. “If you don’t want to wear a suit, perhaps one of your teammates would prefer to accompany me to work as my assistant.”

Cole looked up. “I’ll do it.” He grinned. “I own a suit. It’s dusty, but I’m sure it will do.”

Jack rose to his feet. “I’m going. Cole, we need you to help Jonah get me added to the employee database with the correct level of clearance so whatever badge you come up with works when I scan in at the door tomorrow.” Jack nodded toward the leader of their team of former marines. “Declan, show me what you have, so I can get Arnold started on the alterations. We don’t have much time to get things done by morning.”

“Follow me. I have the suit in my closet upstairs.”

Anne released a sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted another man to accompany her as her protector. Jack had proven himself twice that night. She trusted him with her life. Her niggle of doubt came because of her body’s reaction to the man’s touch.

Well, she’d just have to keep her distance from him and avoid bodily contact.

“It’s a good thing you and Grace live here at the estate,” Jack said to Declan as the two left the war room and climbed up to the study. “When did you invest in a suit?” Their voices faded as they moved through the house.

Anne turned to Charlie. “What did they mean by thanks to you, they’re doing the right thing?”

Charlie glanced at the remainder of the men in the room. “I’ve employed Declan and his team to perform missions to right wrongs, help people and do things the FBI, CIA, state and local police won’t or can’t get involved in. We call the team Declan’s Defenders.”

“A kind of vigilante group?”

Charlie shrugged. “Some would say that.”

“They’re more than that,” Grace said. “They saved my life and my roommate’s life. I wouldn’t be alive today if they hadn’t come to my aid.” She gave Anne a gentle smile. “You’re one lucky woman to have them covering your six.”

“Covering my six?”

“We’ll have your back,” Cole said. “Jack will be there with you at all times. If he needs additional help, we’ll be there, as well. You can count on us.”

Anne drew in a deep breath and let it go. “Good. This is all new to me. I’m not a spy, soldier or marine. I’ve never been trained in combat. I studied tae kwon do when I was a teen, but I haven’t used it since I graduated high school a few too many years ago to remember how.”

Grace chuckled. “I’m just now learning how to fire a handgun. Declan got me my own .40 caliber pistol. It scares me to death to think of using it against another human being.” Her face hardened. “But if it’s a choice between my life or the life of someone about to attack me, you bet I will pull the trigger. I refuse to be a victim, ever again. And that goes for anyone threatening someone I love.”

Anne heard the conviction in Grace’s voice and wondered what her story was. What had made her so determined to protect herself and those she cared most about.

“If you knew my husband, you know he was murdered for what he knew about Trinity,” Charlie said. “I might not ever find the people who killed John, but I hope I can keep others from suffering from Trinity’s machinations.”

Anne squared her shoulders. “John contacted me a while back, asking me to report anything out of the ordinary in the National Security Council. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, or what appeared to be out of the ordinary, but I promised I’d help him if I could. He convinced me he only wanted to expose the people who were bent on destroying our government from within. I’m still uncertain how I can help, but if this informant is on the up-and-up, and gives me some clues, perhaps we can bring Trinity down before they have a chance to attack.”

“I hope we can. But we can’t do it without our own people on the inside,” Charlie said. “We might have to get more of Declan’s Defenders inside. We’ll work more on that tomorrow. Tonight, our goal is to position Jack as your protector. You can’t focus on anything if you’re afraid for your life.”

“Thank you,” Anne said. “For taking me in when I didn’t know where else to go. Your husband was a good man and you’re doing a great job carrying on his legacy.”

Charlie’s eyes filled with moisture. “He was good and kind and gentle. I miss him.” She closed her eyes briefly and opened them again. “In the meantime, you need a place to stay.”

“I’ll show her to a room,” Grace said. “Were you able to salvage any of your clothing? I saw the pictures of the destruction to your apartment. I’m so sorry.”

“At least I wasn’t there when they broke in,” Anne said.

“I might have some clothes you can use until you can replace what you’ve lost.” Grace led the way up the stairs to the study above.

Anne followed. “How long have you been with Charlie and Declan’s Defenders?”

Grace grinned. “Since the beginning. I presented them with their first mission.”

Anne shot a glance toward the pretty young woman. “Were you being targeted by Trinity?”

She shook her head. “No, but my roommate had disappeared. Declan helped me put the pieces together, and ultimately, we found my roommate. Declan saved my life in the process.”

“They’re as good as Charlie claims they are?” Anne asked.

Grace nodded. “The best.”

Anne felt a little better about handing over her badge to the team. And she felt better knowing she didn’t have to ferret out Trinity and their plan of attack on her own. With Jack watching her back and Cole and Jonah scouring the internet for clues, they might have a chance of discovering what was going to happen before it actually occurred.

She hoped she was right.

JACK ENTERED THE suite assigned to Declan and Grace. They’d been together since Charlie first hired him. It was because of the work Declan had done helping Grace stay alive while searching for her roommate that Charlie had come up with the brilliant idea to establish a team of trained combatants to handle situations outside of the police and federal agencies’ hands.

Declan had never been happier than he was with Grace. After being separated from the military for doing the right thing, he deserved to be happy.

Declan crossed the sitting room and entered the bedroom he shared with Grace, opening a closet at the far end. He sorted through the shirts hanging there and dug deep into the back of the closet, eventually pulling out a white dress shirt and charcoal gray suit. “The suit was tailored to fit me, but I think we’re about the same across the chest.” He handed the shirt and blazer to Jack.

Jack tried on the shirt over his black T-shirt. It appeared to fit just fine. The sleeves were a tad short, but they would work. He slipped his arms into the suit jacket and pulled it over his shoulders. It fit his chest and waist, but the sleeves would need lengthening.

“Try the trousers,” Declan said.

Jack kicked off his shoes, shucked his jeans and slipped his legs into the trousers. “They’re a little loose around the waist and hips. A belt will keep them in place.”

Declan patted his flat belly. “Guess I’m putting on a little weight. I might need to step up my exercise routine.”

“We’re just built differently.” Jack looked at himself in the mirror. “If we can let out the pant legs two inches and the sleeves at least an inch, this will work.” He removed the suit, dressed in his jeans and shoes and faced Declan.

His team leader handed him the hangers with the shirt and suit. “Are you up for playing the part of Anne’s assistant tomorrow?”

He nodded. “I suppose so. Although I’m not quite certain what exactly all the people who support the National Security Council actually do.”

“Let’s see if Cole and Jonah have made any progress on that badge. While we’re in the war room, we can do some research on the NSC. Since you’ll be a new hire, you won’t be expected to know much.”

“I’ll need to know how things work in order to look for potential moles or covert terrorists hiding among the people working around Anne.”

“Good point. It’s not like having an enemy pointing a gun in your face.”

Jack’s jaw tightened. “No, it’s more like having an enemy smile to your face and then shoot you in the back as soon as you turn around.”

“True.” Declan led the way down the stairs to the kitchen, where they found Roger Arnold, the butler.

He listened to Jack’s instructions and nodded. Then he took the suit and shirt. “I’ll have them ready within an hour.” Arnold left the kitchen.

“Let’s see what Cole and Jonah have come up with.” Declan motioned toward the study and descended into the war room via the trapdoor.

Cole and Jonah stood beside a printer/laminator in the corner of the room. When it spit out a badge, Jonah held it up. “Cross your fingers,” Jonah said. He slid Anne’s card through a reader that quickly blinked green. Then Jonah slid the new card through the machine.

Jack held his breath. When it blinked green, he let go of the breath he’d been holding. “It works here, but will it work to get me into the West Wing?”

“It should.” Jonah handed him the card and shut down the machines. “I’ve set it up just like Anne’s, with all the security access codes embedded in their database.”

“You were able to access their database that quickly?” Jack shook his head, amazed at what Jonah and Cole were capable of.

“Of course. It’s a government system. The Russians and Chinese aren’t the only people capable of hacking into it.” Jonah snorted. “It has so many back doors that anyone with a little knowledge can get in.”

“I’m glad you’re on our team,” Jack said. “I’d hate it if you went over to the other side.”

Jonah held up his hand. “Been there, done that. John Halverson recruited me out of that nightmare. I can still access the dark web, but I’m not selling secrets, and hopefully, I’m not someone’s target.”

Jack exchanged a glance with Cole.

John Halverson had collected a strange group of operators to staff his team. For that matter, Charlie was continuing his legacy by hiring a Marine Force Recon team that had been dishonorably discharged. Jack couldn’t judge anyone, not after how their careers in the military had ended.

Cole motioned for Jack to join him in front of the monitor. “You’ll need to know a little about the offices and people you’ll be coming into contact with who support the National Security Council.”

“Just what is the National Security Council besides the president and all of his security advisors?” Jack asked.

“Just that. The council is headed by the president of the United States. The most prominent people on the council are the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, secretary of treasury, national security advisor and director of national intelligence.”

For the next hour, Cole and Jack went over the names and faces of the people involved in setting foreign policy for the US government. By the time they finished, Jack’s head was spinning.

“If the informant thinks Ms. Bellamy is the closest person to the sleeper agent, you need to stick with her. Pay attention to them. There are a lot of government officials, committees, directors and more in Washington. We can’t begin to monitor all of them.”

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