Page 77 of Chasing Grace
As of right now, they were walking the wire. And they sure as hell didn’t have a safety net. These bastards were almost as crazy as his unit had been. For an instant, Grant missed being one of the good guys. Then he remembered, being one of the good guys usually got you royally fucked up the ass with nothing to show for your efforts.
Thanks, but no thanks.
“Does that work for you?” Colonel Grayson asked, turning his attention to his daughter.
Grant studied the man discreetly. It didn’t take seeing the gray hair or the deep lines on the colonel’s face to know he’d sacrificed a great deal during the years of service he’d dedicated to his country.
Neither did it take a genius to see the impact those sacrifices had on the woman he addressed. Meeting her father’s stare with a glare of her own, Gray didn’t hesitate. “Bring it on, Pops.”
“We go after the money,”Jay Mann said. “Nothing turns allies into enemies faster.”
Tempted to throw his secure phone through the floor-to-ceiling window of his New York office, Adam found himself vibrating with the need to do some serious damage. Unable to take direct action and beyond frustrated, the index finger on his right hand twitched repeatedly.
It irritated the hell out of him, and he balled his hand into a fist to make it stop.
He had a list of people who needed killing, and it kept growing by the hour, Tom Hood, Victor Bodak, Bill Ryerson, Donnie Francisco. And the new number one on his list of targets, Jonas Johnson Senior, the Secretary of Homeland Security. As the elusive Mr. Wright, Johnson had been stringing them along from the beginning.
Personally, Adam agreed with Cody Babbitt’s preference for putting a bullet in the back of Secretary Johnson’s head before shoving him into a hole. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a legal option. It also meant they’d have no way of knowing who else was involved in Johnson’s master plan to secure the popular vote of the American people.
Still, you had to give Babbitt credit for his enthusiasm.
“How does that work?” Takoda Keenan asked.
“Johnson’s personal wealth consists of old money, but old money and a civil servant salary doesn’t cover the budget requirements for a terrorist start-up,” Mackenzie replied. “Guaranteed Johnson has some serious financial investors involved in his bid to take up residence in the White House.”
Mann nodded. “We create a ghost account and divert the funds. Anyone looking at Bodak’s bank statements would see a couple billion give or take a few zeros. Anyone trying to access the money will hit an empty vault.”
“Johnson’s backers are definitely going to react when they discover a couple billion missing from Victor Bodak’s pot of gold,” Kincaid added. “It’s a risk.”
“One worth taking,” Jay said, and heads around the room nodded.
The intelligence analyst had certainly lived up to the colonel’s expectations. Out of necessity, the JTT hadn’t known about Adam’s existence, but he had full access to all the files on the members of the colonel’s team.
Recommended by CIA Deputy Director Diane Heughan, Jay Mann was a brilliant mind that stood out among hundreds of brilliant minds recruited by the CIA every year. And the colonel trusted no one in Washington more than Diane.
For personal reasons, Adam wasn’t convinced they should be placing their bets on her.
“Do it,” the colonel ordered.
“And the arms shipments?” Jamie Snow asked.
“Long Beach’s DHS Customs and Border Protection Officers are set to board theKaraboudjanafter it docks. I’ve arranged it so the field operations team will find a couple of sea containers full of guns. Small shit, most of it barely serviceable.” Adam had planned to get the good guys looking at the west coast while moving the heavy stuff in on the east. “Johnson knows the logistics surrounding the diversions. My guess is he’ll use them as the kick-off for his election campaign.”
“Makes sense,” Mackenzie said, his gaze shifting to Gray, who was surreptitiously trying to inch her way toward the door. “He takes credit for the seizures, calls them a threat to national security, and starts to hint at something bigger.”
Adam nodded. “Americans get nervous, they start to pay attention, and by the time Johnson’s done playing them, they’re convinced he’s the only one who can protect them.”
Mackenzie kept his tone casual, and his posture relaxed, but his hard expression carried the weight of his threat. “You won’t get far, Gray. So don’t even try it.”
Her body froze in place, but her green eyes flashed with her anger. “I’ve got places to be. And you”—she pointed at the screen—“have a terrorist to catch. Now let me go.”
Mackenzie shook his head. “Can’t do that.”
About to unleash her temper, she drew a deep breath giving the colonel the opportunity to cut her off. “Give us five more minutes, Grace, and then we’ll address your issue.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Gray was in testosterone hell.Seriously. The colonel’s office didn’t have enough square footage for the number of dicks in the room.
