Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (5 page)

Dani’s parents sat, neither saying a word, just glad their daughter was finally talking.

“I was angry and mortified to find that I seemed to be the only one who didn’t realize what was going on. I have no idea when he started stepping out on me. Did I drive him to it because of my sadness?” She jerked her hand up when her parents began to protest. “I know that’s no excuse…but I was so sad and Adam just was not the type of man to want to stay down.” She stopped, her voice choking as she remembered the look on Chad’s face.
Even he knew my shame and said nothing. Nothing.

“I suddenly could not stand being in that house. Thank God it was only a rental and most of the furniture belonged there. I called in a favor with a neighbor who had a moving business. Packed it all up, had it delivered to a storage facility near here and got the hell out.”

She looked over to her mom and dad, appreciating their earnest expressions. “I feel the need for a life change. I’ve resigned from the ATF and am looking for work nearer here. I want to find a new place to live and sort out my life.”

Her father stood, walked over to Dani and took her hand in his older, weathered one. “Danielle, take as long as you need. You’ll always have a home…and acceptance here.”

Her mother followed suit and walked out with her father. Dani continued to sit in the sun for a few more hours, her life plan now needing adjusting.

Lying in bed that night, she twisted and turned, her life with Adam melding into what she had hoped would have been her life. Rolling over, punching the pillow, she grew angry.
Tomorrow, I’ll go to Marsden Energy Systems and Munitions Plant to talk to their HR department. Then I’ll call a realtor and see if I can find a place to rent.
Flopping over one more time, she huffed loudly before getting out of bed. Not wanting to wake her parents, she tiptoed out to their garage where the boxes she brought in her car had been stored. Digging through one of them, she came across what she was looking for.

A silver frame holding a picture taken a year and a half ago. She, Chad, and Adam. All smiling at the camera. She was in the middle of the two men, small compared to Adam but dwarfed by Chad. She ran her finger over Adam’s face, then closed her eyes tightly as the tears slipped out. Theirs had not been a marriage of great love…but certainly one of friendship. And now he was gone…taken away so very quickly…and so horrifically. She was told he did not suffer but had died instantly.
Thank God.
As angry as she had been at him the past week, she still cared for him. He was a good agent and deserved better than to be blown up in a terrorists’ home-making bomb lab.

Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes again, now focusing on the tall, dark haired man with his arm around her. Chad. Her gentle giant. His face had been memorized over time, once dreaming it would be hers.
What would my life be like if I’d told him what was in my heart before he left to go to Afghanistan? If only I’d told him that I was in love with him? If only he’d said the words back to me?
Sighing, she traced his face in the photograph with her finger slowly.
What was it grandma used to say? Oh, yeah. The two saddest words in the world are…If only.

Placing the picture back into the box, she tiptoed to her bedroom, crawling into bed. Sleep still did not come for hours and when it did, dark dreams followed her into slumber.

Three months later

C
had checked his
watch as he walked into his kitchen to turn on the coffee maker. Unlike Luke, he was fine with the coffee pods. He stood at the kitchen sink, staring out into his back yard, watching the sunrise over the tops of the trees. Hearing a noise, he turned and walked to the front door. A quick look confirmed what he assumed and he threw open the door to Marc.

“Come on back,” he called out, as he moved into the kitchen.

“I see you cut a few trees,” Marc commented as he reached for the travel mug of coffee. “Looks good.”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to take care of some work on the house on our down days. The last winter storm really took a toll on a few of them.”

Chad had bought a fixer-upper when he began working for the Saints and between the house and the yard, he always had a project going. Marc had bought property not too far from Jack’s and began building his own home. Chad had not been that enthusiastic about starting from scratch, but loved the projects on the old farm-style home situated on five acres.

“Let me know the next time you’re cutting trees,” Mark said. “I’ll come over and help.”

Chad knew Marc was making an honest offer. The natural outdoorsman would love nothing more than spending a Saturday cutting trees. Setting the alarm, the two men got into Marc’s truck and drove to the Saints’ compound. The conversation was easy, mostly sports and what the group had been working on recently.

“Any idea why Jack called the meeting?” Marc asked.

Chad shook his head, and said, “Not sure, but I’ve got a bad feeling with all that’s going on.” The intelligence community news was rife with the new ISIS cells popping up all over the country. “I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find us being tasked for investigations by either the FBI again or even ATF.” Looking over at Marc, he continued, “Can’t say as that would bother me since I was looking into it anyway.”

Pulling up to the large house, the two went inside and hustled down to the command center, finding most of the others already there. Small talk ensued until the last of the Saints arrived and Jack immediately got down to business.

Jack nodded toward Luke, who patched them into a video-conference with Mitch Evans, the local FBI agent that had worked with the Saints on several cases. Greetings were made and then Mitch began.

“The FBI and ATF have been working together to ferret out the ISIS cells that are cropping up everywhere. One of the new things that the terrorists are doing is using houses in normal neighborhoods, some in Virginia, and setting up bomb building centers. Chad, I understand that this used to be your territory before working for the Saints.”

Luke panned the camera around and focused it on Chad. “Yes, I’ve been with the Saints for almost a year now, since I came back from the assignment in Afghanistan.”

Mitch nodded and added, “I know your former partner was killed by one of these setups. I’m sorry.”

Chad accepted his condolences. The grief over losing Adam was still very real.

“My contact at the ATF, Roscoe Barnes, has alerted me to the fact that more and more setups, like what killed Agent Turner, are cropping up all over the place. But that’s only part of why I’m here. It’s the newest development that has both the FBI and the ATF concerned. Terrorists are becoming more sophisticated in how they detonate these bombs. Remote detonation is nothing new, but they’re getting their hands on more sophisticated technology making it easier for the bombs to be detonated from a distance. On top of that, they are using newer explosives that are easy to make, but highly unstable…and very hard to detect.”

The Saints, always alert, became even more so. Chad, his nerves tight, leaned forward, eager to hear how Jack’s company might be of service.

Mitch continued. “The FBI has discovered that ISIS is recruiting computer loners…geeks if you will…to develop munitions detonation software that will work from a distance. It appears they’re aggressively recruiting a particular profile of person.”

Luke sent the information to the Saints’ tablets, as Mitch added, “They’re looking for computer software experts, often still in college, or just out and without employment. They’re targeting the loner, non-social person who needs money.”

“How are they targeting these people?” Monty asked. The former FBI agent had worked on murder cases, but not terrorist threats.

Mitch shook his head and said, “You wouldn’t believe it.”

Monty, quick-minded, bit out, “Dating sites. They’re using fucking dating sites.”

Nodding, Mitch agreed. “Yep, they’re looking at on-line dating sites and finding just the type of person they want to recruit. At one time we just had to worry about the Chinese fucking with us by using the internet to gain information and access…now, even the smaller terrorist groups are gaining this information from social media.”

“Hell,” Bart said, leaning back in his chair. “I never thought about what those sites could be used for.”

Luke piped up, “The internet is going to be used as a way of mass destruction one day if the terrorists have their way.”

“So what exactly are they doing?” Chad interrupted. He knew Luke, who lived and breathed computers, could go on a rant, for hours, about the lax security most companies had.

“They find those that fit the profile they’re looking for. They engage them in online discussions, then usually rope them in with money or promises of women. We don’t have hard evidence about their operation, but that’s why we’ve contacted the Saints.”

Jack looked at his group and said, “I’ve accepted a contract with the US Government, through the combined FBI and ATF task force. We’ll be working on gathering intel on these new operations and when we find them, visit recruits to obtain the computer information that’s needed to shut them down. We’ll also be getting surveillance on some of the sites that may be used for bomb making.”

As usual, when Jack announced a new major mission the room resounded with a chorus of
fuck yeahs,
and this time was no different. Jack turned back to the cameras, saying, “Mitch. Looks like you’re working with the Saints again.”

The agent chuckled before adding, “Good to be working with you again. I’ve sent my preliminary intel to Luke.”

The Saints looked to Jack for instruction. “To begin with, you’ll be going out in teams to cities where the newest identified persons that have been recruited are located. Luke will stay here, working on a program to scramble some of the dating sites they have been known to use. It appears they avoid the major ones and use lesser-known sites. Once they’ve made a contact, then the terrorists begin the integration.”

“What does that entail?” Cam asked. His background came from police undercover experience with gangs, not terrorists.

“Once a contact has been brought into the fold and begins to work on a project or accept any money, then it’s hard for them to stop because of the threats held over their heads,” Monty explained.

Mitch rubbed his chin, looking disconcerted for a moment before saying, “Chad, I need to ask you about your former partner. I know this may seem public, but I thought this was easier than bringing you in for questioning.”

At that, Chad sat up straight in his chair, senses alert. “What do you need to know?”

“We’ve come into some intelligence that indicated Adam was involved somehow. We don’t know how, or to what extent, but wanted to ask you about it.”

Chad’s face grew red with controlled anger. “Are you implying Adam Turner worked for terrorists?”

“No, I’m not. But I’m telling you that his name came up in the investigation. We don’t have proof he was involved, investigating things himself, or what. We simply know at this time that his name came up from one of the cells we’re investigating.”

“Adam Turner was many things, but a traitor was not one of them!” Chad growled. “He could be rash, a jokester, and…” he almost said
a man who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants
, but chose to not divulge that bit of personal information. Sucking in a deep breath, he continued, “I’d stake my life that he was not involved in anything untoward.”

Mitch nodded, saying, “I’ve read reports on him and think you’re right, but he could be a loose cannon at times and the fact that his name was mentioned in an intelligence report…well, it didn’t look good.”

The video-conference came to a close, but Chad’s mind rushed with thoughts.
Adam? Why the fuck would his name come up in conjunction with a terrorist? Was it because he’d been killed?
Running his hand over his face, he heaved a sigh.
Whatever Adam was as a man…working with terrorists certainly had not been one of them!

Looking up, he realized the other Saints had grown quiet staring at him. “You okay, man?” Marc asked.

“Yeah.” Grunting, he amended, “No. I mean, what the fuck?” He looked around the table and said, “Adam was like a brother. We were the closest of friends for almost three years. Trained together. Worked together. Drank together. ATF agents working on bomb diffuses were just like a team in the military. Tight. No way would he be involved in anything like this.”

Blaise, with his typical anti-social aplomb, said, “You indicated when you came back from the special assignment overseas, you separated from your friendship with him. Maybe you sensed something then?”

“No!” Chad growled, then shook his head in frustration. “It had nothing to do with his work…or mine. It was…I needed a change and…oh hell.”

The silence in the room was strangely comfortable. Chad knew the other Saints were not judging…only waiting. For the right words to come from him in their right time. He let his gaze roam around the table and saw nothing but good men. Men he trusted with his life. Like Adam.

“The short and dirty story is there was a fellow female agent and the three of us were good friends. Only I screwed up and fell in love with her. There wasn’t time, before I left, to explore what might have been since I agreed to take the overseas assignment. But I thought there was still time when I came back. I thought her feelings leaned that way too, but I pussied out and never told her.”

He paused and realized that he should feel embarrassed by talking about this to his co-workers, but these men were also friends. And he felt their acceptance. “You probably don’t have to guess where the fucked up story goes next. I came home and Adam had married the woman I loved. I was blown away, but since I never told her before I left, I can hardly say I was betrayed. I visited with them when I got back, but just couldn’t handle it.” Emitting a chortle, he shook his head. “I realized I couldn’t continue to be his partner and see them together every day, so I quit the ATF and found the Saints.”