Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (23 page)

*

Dani left the
Human Resources office, having informed them about the pregnancy and her approximate due date. She could not keep the smile off her face as she walked to the elevators. Entering, she saw Jahfar was the only occupant there. Still smiling, she stepped to the side as they made their way to the fourth floor.

“You and I were hired about the same time,” Jahfar said. “I was so busy learning the business I did not learn much about my co-workers.”

His statement did not seem to indicate a comment was warranted, so she just nodded politely and looked up at the elevator numbers again.

“I understand you came from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Department. That must have been interesting.”

Once more, a polite nod seemed to be the only required response, but she wished the elevator would hurry.

“I did not realize you were a widow,” his smooth voice said.

Immediately, her eyes jumped from the floor of the elevator to his. Cocking her head to the side, she stared at him, dumbfounded.

“I wanted to offer my condolences,” he continued. “The circumstances of his death must have been…devastating.”

Heart pounding, Dani heard a roar rushing through her ears. Throwing her hand out, she balanced herself against the wall. Just then, the doors opened, and she hustled down the hall to her office. Inside, she sat heavily in her chair.
Why does he give me the creeps? Am I just paranoid? Stereotyping? Is he just trying to be polite? Or is there something going on with him?

She hated that she allowed his presence to mar her feelings of excitement about the baby. Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled those feelings back to the surface. Her computer calendar alarm buzzed and she grabbed her notes and headed back down the hall to the conference room.

Inside, she avoided Jahfar’s eyes and took a seat at the farther end of the conference table. Sitting next to Ethan, she noticed he shot her a questioning look. Shaking her head slightly, she mouthed
Tell you later.
Todd and Cybil Marsden walked in and the meeting began.

Two hours later, Dani squirmed in her chair. Uncomfortable, and needing to pee, the conference was almost unbearable. Unable to last any longer, she slipped out to the ladies’ room and then hurried back to her seat.

Ethan leaned over and whispered, “What’s going on?”

“Too much to even begin to describe,” she whispered back.

Just as she thought the meeting was over, Cybil stood up and started her presentation on a new project that would be culminating in the fall. As assignments were discussed, Dani realized she would be on maternity leave at the crucial time of the project. She planned on waiting to let others know about the pregnancy, but realized she needed to let her co-workers know for assignment purposes.

Clearing her throat, she said, “I need to inform you of something that will affect the timeline from the military sales division. Next fall, about the time the project is finalizing, I will be on maternity leave.”

The room was silent for a second before
Congratulations
were heard all around. Cybil hustled over to offer her a hug. Todd lifted his cup of coffee in a toast.

“It was a surprise, I admit. I did not realize it until right after Adam’s death.” As soon as she said the words, she realized what a pall it created over the assembly. Looking around, she said quickly, “I was stunned at first, but it’ll be fine.”

The others smiled once more, continuing to offer their congratulations. Looking to the side, she was surprised to see Ethan’s face a mask of doubt. Cocking her head to the side, he caught her expression and his face cleared.

“Sorry, Dani. I was just selfishly thinking about the project and how to make it all work while you’re gone.”

Patting his hand, she said, “Well, I’m not gone yet. We’ll have the summer to plan.”

“Unfortunately, we won’t—”

“Since this seems to be the time for announcements,” Todd declared, “I’d like to announce that Ethan has been promoted to Head of manufacturing production security. It’ll be his job to make sure our shipments get where they’re going…on time…and intact.”

Another round of congratulations followed. Leaning forward to look at Cybil, Dani got a glimpse of Jahfar…looking angrily toward Ethan.

The meeting broke up at that point and Dani found herself having difficulty getting out of the room with all the well-wishers. She saw Jahfar leaving immediately and wondered what he really felt about Ethan being over production.

The rest of the day flew by as her news had she and Cybil re-working the timeline for the new project. As they finished their work, Dani said, “I just have to ask about Ethan’s promotion.”

Cybil nodded but stood and walked to Dani’s office door to close it before speaking. Sitting back down, she smoothed her shiny, black hair away from her face and said, “We’ve gotten some warnings from your former employer—the ATF—that there are terrorists hoping to infiltrate into munition plants. Dad and I talked it over and decided we needed to increase our security before something becomes a problem.”

“Do you have any suspicions?”

“No, we’ve never been lax in security, but you never know.”

“Was this a job Ethan wanted?”

Cybil’s face scrunched in distaste as her sharp gaze sought Dani’s. “Actually, Aaron wanted the job. It would be a promotion and I know he felt as though he should have gotten it. I’m hoping it does not create a problem between egos.”

Dani turned that information over in her head, but found it was hard to imagine laid-back Aaron involved with security. The two women finished their meeting, but thoughts of Jahfar continued to weasel their way into her thoughts. By the end of the day, she was exhausted. Leaving, she was startled when Jahfar stepped into her office.

“I wanted to congratulate you personally on your news,” he said. “Children are a blessing from God.”

“Yes, they are,” she answered, her eyes sharply watching him. As he nodded and turned to walk out of her office, she quickly stopped him. “Jahfar? What did you think of Ethan’s promotion?”

His dark eyes held her gaze for a moment. “I understand the need for ultimate security in this business. I have some concerns though.”

Cocking her head to the side, she waited to see what else he would say.
Concerns about a lack of security or MES increasing their security?
He did not offer anything more and she was surprised when he stepped closer. She did not have to lean her head back as he moved in; she was determined he would not intimidate her in her own office.

He stopped a foot away, his face cold and hard. “There are those here, I am not sure I trust.” He leaned in further toward her, lowering his voice. “Have a care. Snakes can hide in the grass.” He then turned and stalked out of her office.

Dani was glad her desk was directly behind her, as her ass landed on it when she leaned back heavily.
What the hell was that? A threat? A warning? About what?

*

The Saints gathered
for their meeting and before Jack could begin, Luke said, “Sorry, boss. But something came up from the Dallas location that I’ve got to go over with you all.”

Gaining Jack’s nod and curious look, Luke turned to Cam and Blaise, asking, “Did you guys see anything personal at all in the apartment? I know you said it looked like it was not lived in.”

“That’s right,” Cam answered, “At first I thought the recruit was just neat, unlike the slob Bart and Jude had. But then I checked out the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. Nothing. Not even a bottle of water.”

“What’s going on?” Blaise asked, his eyes pinning Luke.

Shaking his head while chuckling, Luke projected his messages from his mystery assistant onto the white board. It only took a few seconds for the Saints to read, understand, and then quickly break out into
What the fucks
all at once.

“So what does that mean?” Cam asked, irritated at being played. “Are they a recruit? Or…or…hell, I’ve got no idea what to think.”

Luke, looking at Jack, said, “All along, I’ve figured that the person helping me must be one of the brilliant computer techies who works solo. I’ve wondered if they worked for an underground criminal organization…or for the government on a contractual basis. They mentioned that it wasn’t safe for them to communicate too often or too clearly, and at first that had me concerned. Thinking about it though, that could really mean anything. Techies, the really good ones, and this person certainly is, like to stay under the radar and anonymous—wouldn’t want to give me any clues on how to track them. Whatever the answer is…they discovered me working on our last assignment and helped out. Now, they contact me occasionally and continue to help. I’m wondering if they haven’t figured out what some terrorists are doing and are working against them. Lester Wyant doesn’t exist, but whoever this is was in contact with Habib.”

“I wondered why it was so easy to get him out of the apartment,” Cam grumbled.

“Yep, I’d say that he knew all along that you were coming…when you were there…what you were going to do…and probably smiled at you as you left.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Marc cursed. “Do we ever really know who the good guys and who the bad guys are anymore?”

The group fell silent, each pondering his question. Finally, Chad spoke up, asking, “So other than him, did we get any intel from the others?”

Nodding, Luke said, “Yeah, we did. We’ve got a list of a few more people they were in contact with, which of course has been turned over to the FBI. That helps expand their list and it also gives them IP addresses to follow the trail to others.”

Monty took over. “According to Mitch, they’ve identified two more sleeper cells in rural Virginia, so it’s not just near D.C.”

“And we can’t check them out,” Bart groused.

“No fuckin’ way,” Chad answered. “Even ATF now have to go in so carefully, especially with the explosion that killed Adam.”

“How do they do that?” Jude asked. “How do they enter a house with known explosives?”

Shaking his head, Chad just responded, “With a fuck load of training and the right equipment. If possible, we’d identify the explosive device, either ourselves or with the robot. The world’s getting crazier, though. With the newer explosives, especially if someone gets their hands on manufacturer’s grade detonators along with the easily-made, but highly unstable explosives, a small amount can do a tremendous amount of damage. Even in purposeful detonation, to get rid of the risk is difficult. We’d let the robots do as much as they can.”

The other Saints looked at Chad, knowing he used to suit up and walk toward explosives the way most others ran from them.

“Damn, man. I knew what you did, but fuckin’ hell, you have to be about as selfless a person possible to volunteer to walk toward a bomb.”

Shrugging, he looked at the others and chuckled. “Yeah, so say the SEALs, Special Forces, CIA, FBI, DEA, and undercover police that’re sitting at this table with me. We’ve all been to the cave and seen the critter. I’m no different than you.”

“And found the Saints,” Jack added drolly. The others laughed before turning their attention back to the agenda.

“So here’s where we are with our contract,” Jack continued. “We were given three locations to acquire computer information for the FBI, and that has also been shared with Roscoe at ATF. Luke has done the preliminary analysis since his equipment…and friend…is far superior to what they have. Essentially that concludes our initial contract. Now…” he looked over at Chad. “Chad has asked to look into the death of Adam Turner. I’ve given him the go ahead. But there’s a new twist to everything and it may involve Chad directly.”

This announcement gained Chad’s full attention as he looked around the table, seeing that none of the Saints seemed to know what Jack was about to say.

“I was contacted by Todd Marsden, from Marsden Energy Systems, one of the nation’s largest producers of explosives. His company supplies the U.S. military as well as civilian and government contracts…mines…road building…that kind of thing. He got my business name from the FBI, who will also be looking into his concerns. It appears he has some security concerns and wanted to discuss what the Saints might be able to assist him with.”