The Sparks Broker, page 5
part #2 of S.A.S.S. Series
His eyebrow crinkled, perplexed, then smoothed out again. “Never mind. You can explain later. Get your gear.” Kate ducked into the tent, snagged a jacket and quickly fitted up in her combat boots. Then she went back outside. Surprised to see Forester waiting for her, she smiled.
“I, um, thought you might not know the way to the command post.”
He was embarrassed. How totally charming. “Thank you.” Standing straight as a blade despite the sand shower, he nodded and then took off at a brisk clip. She followed him past the rows of tents to a large one near the center of the outpost.
Inside it, Kate noted five desks—all unoccupied—a ton of electronics, and, in its center, a clear-walled booth that surely had been designated for use by the commander. There, Forester could see all...and be seen by all.
She let her gaze drift from it to him. “Major, may I ask a question?”
He entered the booth and sat, then motioned for her to sit in the visitor’s chair opposite his desk. “Go ahead.”
“Has someone filed harassment charges against you or something?” Kate took her seat. “I couldn’t help but notice... The visibility...” She let her voice fade.
“Between that and my policy on not entering women’s tents, this is your conclusion?”
“I haven’t drawn a conclusion, Major,” she said, hiking her chin. “Just asked a question about something that strikes me as odd.”
“It is odd, isn’t it?” He didn’t smile, but amusement put a lilt in his voice.
Kate thought she might just love that. Add that twinkle in his eye and it was a combustible mix. “I think so.”
“No, no one has filed harassment charges against me, Captain Kane.”
“Kate. Please.” It was friendlier, and they were to be allies on this mission.
He nodded, acknowledging her, but she didn’t hold out hope that he’d actually call her by her given name, or explain his penchant for visibility.
“So why is a Code Two critical in this situation?” He poured a cup of coffee from a maker on a table beside his desk and slid it across the desktop to her. “The truth, please.”
Kate started to smile. S.A.S.S. had no choice but to fabricate plausible scenarios all too often. And it appeared that all the commanders knew it. “Are you familiar with GRID?”
“Yes,” he admitted, then elaborated. “Largest black-market seller of U.S. intelligence, technology and weapons in the world.”
He was definitely in the loop.
“That’s right,” Kate confirmed. “But there’s more to them.”
“Disclosure is authorized, Captain,” he said softly. “Colonel Drake informed me that you would brief me in detail.”
“You said it wasn’t necessary.” She frowned at him. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Kate tilted her head, stared at him a moment. Amanda had relayed the authorization to rely on him. Kate couldn’t very well do so if he was assisting her from the dark. “What do you know about GRID operatives?”
“Covert. Experienced. Multi-national. Very highly skilled, and they’ll do anything to anyone for money or to destroy America.”
“Anything is right,” Kate said. “Some have undergone plastic surgery, mind-altering therapy sessions, reprograming and only God and Thomas Kunz know what else, Major. They’re body doubles for real. Five counter-operatives currently hold classified, intelligence-heavy positions in our government.” She paused for a second to let that sink in. “Obviously, we don’t know who is genuine and who isn’t, or exactly where in our government they’ve been inserted.”
“That explains how Kunz is getting his intelligence.” Forester sipped from his own steaming cup. “What happens to the real employees? Does he kill them?”
“We have reason to believe he holds them permanent prisoner so they’re available to fill in any blanks that arise for the GRID doubles.” Actually, S.A.S.S. knew that for fact.
Surprise flashed through Forester’s eyes. “Just how well has Kunz done at this?”
“Very.” Kate frowned. “We know of thirty cases total and we strongly suspect there are at least that many more. How many more is anyone’s guess.”
“He’s been at this awhile, then.”
Kate nodded. “The truth is, we don’t know exactly how long.”
“And these doubles are still functioning within our ranks?”
“Until we weed them out, yes,” Kate replied.
Forester set down his cup. It clanked against the gritty desktop. Sand got into everything here. “How in the world does he duplicate our people? That takes time—”
“He preys on loners, Major. People making permanent changes of station, so their co-workers are new and their habits unknown. He’s also been known to abduct them during remote tours where no one knows them, isolate them by feigned illness, and various other methods.”
“Incredible.” Forester shook his head, rubbed at his nape.
“He keeps them out of commission for three months, studying them. Only, thanks to a combination of drug-therapy and psych-warfare processes, the captives don’t realize they’ve been away for three months, and they have no recollection of what happened to them during that time.”
Kate realized how this sounded. If she hadn’t seen evidence of it firsthand, she would have been skeptical of the process. But she’d seen it twice personally, and reviewed more than a dozen case studies of other victims S.A.S.S. had already discovered. “It’s a complex process, but very effective.” She paused to drink from her cup and motioned for a tissue.
Forester passed her one from the box on his desk.
She wiped at her eyes, still bleary from the trek to the command post. “Thomas Kunz runs GRID—”
“I’m familiar with Kunz, Captain.” Venom laced Forester’s voice; the kind of venom that came from firsthand experience. He leaned forward, lacing his hands atop his desk. “You were going to explain why this mission has been upgraded to a Code Two.”
“Yes, Major.” Before continuing, Kate inhaled slowly, collecting her thoughts. Apparently he had enough background now to feel comfortable. “The designation keeps the need-to-know loop small. That’s important, particularly in this case, because the longer news stays suppressed, the greater our odds for revealing infiltrators and for capturing Kunz. Without him, GRID is no longer a significant force.”
“Wait a minute.” Again, surprise twisted Forester’s face. “Thomas Kunz is serving a life sentence in Leavenworth.”
“Yes, I know that.” Kate lifted her cup toward the coffeepot, silently requesting a refill. “I arrested him.” Forester poured to the rim and then returned the pot to its metal seat in the coffeemaker. A drop of liquid hit the metal and hissed. “Did he escape?”
“No, Major. He did not.”
“Then you’d better explain what you’re talking about, because I’m not tracking.”
Kate looked up from a file labeled “Douglas” on the desk and met Forester’s gaze. “According to the message you gave me from Colonel Drake, the Thomas Kunz in Leavenworth isn’t the real Thomas Kunz.”
Shock lit Forester’s eyes. “He’s a double?”
Kate nodded. “We’ve gotten his doubles before, too. And the one I heard today could be another—or it could be him.”
“The hits are rolling in for you today, aren’t they?”
She shrugged. “Some days you’re the windshield, some, you’re the bug.”
Forester grunted, watching a young private enter and take a seat at his desk. “Colonel Drake also mentioned that when you return to the States you’re to go to Providence Air Force Base down in Florida and not to D.C.”
“Thank you,” Kate said. Secretary Reynolds had moved the S.A.S.S. office out of Washington to put distance between it and Congress, hoping to give S.A.S.S. a little less well-intentioned interference, but Kate had her doubts. Colonel Gray, the Providence base commander, was in a full-fledge power struggle with Colonel Drake. The entire S.A.S.S. would have to fight Gray tooth and nail for so much as a paperclip.
Leaning forward, Forester tapped his index fingertips together. “Colonel Drake also asked that you be reminded to trust no one.”
Kate blinked hard, looked over and up at him. He didn’t much like being included in that remark. It shone in his eyes.
“To keep the truth buried, Kunz will kill you, Kate. You, Douglas and anyone else in his way—even if he has to blow up one of his own compounds to do it.”
“Yes, Major, he will,” she agreed. “He did in Texas.”
“Commander?” A young man wearing owl glasses and a sparse mustache walked to the door of the clear booth from his desk near the tent opening, carrying a clipboard.
“What is it, Riley?”
“Douglas, sir.” Riley’s eyes stretched wide and his thumb flicked at the metal clasp on the clipboard. “He disappeared during the diving training exercise early this morning, sir. Search and Rescue are on it, but they haven’t spotted him. Tide’s moving out They say odds are that he’s...” His Adam’s apple bobbed hard. “Odds are that he’s drowned, sir.”
Kate’s stomach dropped to her knees, curdled, then shot up to her throat, pouring acid all along the way.
“You’ll have to excuse me, Captain,” Forester announced.
Somehow Kate managed to get to her feet. “Of course, sir.” She moved to the booth’s door. “I’d like to be in on the search, Major.”
He frowned. “Did you and Douglas have a thing?”
“Define ‘thing’, Major.”
“Were you, or are you, involved?”
“We’re professional associates. We both put our lives on the line for others.”
Forester’s face flushed. “Point taken.”
Kate turned to Riley. “Was Douglas alone at the time he disappeared? Injured in any way? Did anyone see him go under?”
“No, ma’am. He was with a team, not injured, and no one saw him go under. One minute he was there with them, bringing up the rear, and the next minute he was gone. Just that fast.”
She looked at Forester and saw the truth she felt burning in his eyes. Someone had snagged Douglas.
Considering the proximity, GRID was a strong possibility. Of course, Iranian authorities, any of a half dozen groups of Iraqi insurgents were strong possibilities, too. Unfortunately any one of them meant that the odds were better than even Douglas was already dead. A knot swelled in Kate’s throat.
Forester softened his tone and compassion rose in him. “Go back to your tent, Captain. I’ll let you know the minute I hear anything that requires action.”
“I want to be in on the search,” she repeated. She wanted firsthand proof of what happened to him. She wanted hard evidence.
When Forester nodded, she left the booth and then the tent, certain that something sinister had happened to Douglas. His disappearance reeked of foul play. He had been far from isolated, under no hostile pressure, and he was trained. He knew what to do if caught by a riptide or other natural occurrence. Douglas hadn’t just stopped swimming. He hadn’t just disappeared without a trace in the presence of his training team.
Someone had definitely intercepted him.
Chapter Four
Kate tugged on a fresh set of fatigues, preparing to search for Douglas. The obvious answer to what happened to him was that GRID had snatched him, but was that the right answer?
It seemed logical that GRID would snatch the entire team—they were all present and within easy reach. And the stealth factor wouldn’t have been as challenging since GRID would be removing the entire group, leaving behind no witnesses.
Standing in front of a cracked mirror attached to the tent’s center post, she ruffled her fingers through her hair. Douglas had brought her here. He had risked ticking off his commander by skipping up the chain of command and exposing his knowledge of S.A.S.S. to help her get GRID. Now she feared the worst had happened to him because he had.
A sliver of guilt cut through her. She wiped a hand across her chest, told herself all the reasons she shouldn’t feel guilty, but of course, she did anyway. And of course, she had to do what she could to help him.
She just had to get through Commander Nathan Forester to do it.
Giving her cheeks a final swipe, she turned toward the tent opening. Forester was going to either include her in the search or have the MPs arrest her. She headed out into the sandstorm toward Forester’s command post. One way or another she was going to find out what happened to Douglas.
The command post tent hummed. Where desks had been empty, people sat and stood gathered around. Four men stood shoulder-to-shoulder crammed inside Forester’s Plexiglas-walled cubicle, scribbling notes and cross reporting. Forester sat at his desk, a phone receiver cradled at one ear, his mouth pressed to a radio mike. In between transmissions on the radio, he barked orders to the four men, all of whom looked as worried and serious as Forester.
“I want divers down there now. Keep them down there until you find Douglas or his body.”
Kate stood beside the door and observed, sure that if she interrupted at the moment, Forester would just send her back to her tent. If circumstances hadn’t been what they were, she would have enjoyed watching him in action. His face was expressive, his focus intense. Did his left eye always flicker when he was under pressure?
He glanced over and saw her. The heat in his gaze could have melted her into the tent’s canvas. What perceived slight would she have to apologize for now?
He issued a hasty dismissal to the men in his cubicle.
They didn’t waste any time leaving and rushed out of the tent. Watching them go, Kate didn’t sense the animosity coming from them that she had seen on Forester’s face. Most people here ignored her. She was an outsider, and they didn’t want her to forget it. That didn’t bother Kate. It was normal. She’d been an outsider all her life. But a fresh-faced lieutenant surprised her. He actually smiled at her.
She smiled back. “Hi.”
Forester noticed. “Captain Kane.” His voice boomed through the tent. “In here. Now.”
That shout had half the heads in the tent turning toward her and the other half checking out Forester to see what had riled him before turning to stare at her.
Irritated by his shout, she lifted her chin to a haughty angle and walked over to the clear-walled cubicle. She sure wasn’t going to hurry, not after being treated with such a lack of respect. “You bellowed, sir?”
“Watch it, Captain.” He slammed down the phone. “Now is not a good time for you to be cute.”
She stiffened. “I had no intentions of being cute. I had every intention of pointing out your obvious animosity. I can’t imagine your reason for it. I certainly haven’t earned it.”
Surprise flickered through his eyes. “Haven’t earned it?” Anger rippled off him in waves. “Come with me, Captain.”
Following him to the tent opening, she frowned. “We’re going back out into the sandstorm?”
“Yes.” He clamped his jaw shut and tossed her a once-white muffler. A rack of them hung on a peg-stand by the tent door. “Move it.”
In her three days here, she had wearied of having gritty sand invade her every orifice. This sandstorm had only hit this evening about 9:00 p.m., but it had hit with a vengeance. By 10:00 p.m., when Kate walked over to the command post, the entire landscape had changed. Some of the tents on the south side had drifts halfway up the outer walls. She swung the muffler around her throat, quickly wrapped her head to shield her face, then followed him out of the tent, ignoring the people inside who pretended not to notice that a world war was about to erupt between their commander and the outsider.
Darkness surrounded them. Forester disappeared into a thick cloud of wind-whipped sand. The nasty stuff stung like splinters. The wind had to be blowing forty knots. Breathing as little as possible to keep grit out of her nose, Kate pulled up her shirt collar and scrunched her shoulders to hide more of her exposed skin. Following Forester’s shadow, she wondered what had ticked him off and where the commander who never permitted himself to be alone with a female officer was taking her.
A wind gust slammed into her and, for a second, she lost sight of his shadow. He snaked out a hand and tugged her into a tent. “Here.”
Brushing the grit from her face, she frowned at him. They were alone, inside a tent. A serious breach of typical Forester policy, which had her edgy and nervous. This wasn’t going to be a typical chewing out session. It was going to be major. “What’s wrong?”
Surprised by her insight, he took a step back from her. “I wanted to speak to you privately.”
“I see.” She didn’t really see at all, and looked around. Personal quarters. Definitely his tent. He was either really rattled or supremely perturbed. “About something specific?”
He stiffened. “When I give orders, I expect them to be obeyed, Captain. I don’t know how things are run at S.A.S.S., but at this outpost, when I tell you to go to your tent, I expect you to do it.”
“I did go to my tent.” She nearly sighed, but caught herself. Unit commanders exerting their authority over S.A.S.S. operatives temporarily assigned to their unit for expediency’s sake was unfortunately common. Kate shifted her weight, unwrapped her muffler and let it dangle like a scarf wrapped around her neck. She knew the drill. Play the game. Let him rant and rave and get it out, then do the job, whether or not he agrees with what she’s doing or the way she’s doing it.
“You didn’t stay there.”
“I didn’t realize I’d been placed on quarters.” In this situation, that amounted to house arrest, which had an indignant squall fighting hard for its rightful place in her voice. “Is that what you did, Commander?” She narrowed her eyes, glared at him. “Placed me on quarters?”
He didn’t answer, but his disdain and her guilt over Douglas mixed and mingled with her aggravation at tasting sand grit and suffering Forester’s attitude. She snapped. “Why don’t you skip the nonsense and just tell me what’s really eating at you?”
