It took Arnold over an hour to get them back to Charlie’s. As always in the DC area, roads resembled a parking lot.
While Jonah worked on picking through the data on the flash drives as they sat in traffic, Cole could do nothing without a computer of his own. They’d tracked down the leads they’d had. Now they had to dig deeper into these new ones.
“Do you think Chris Carpenter is involved?” CJ asked.
Cole shook his head. Based on what they knew so far, he doubted it. “He could have been telling the truth when he said he’d left his phone at home the day of the attack. Likely his wife sent the text to Tully.”
“Someone should question him about his wife’s connection with the Russian.”
“Sergei Orlov,” Jonah called out from his position at the laptop inside the van. “I got a look at his wallet prior to the EMTs arriving to collect the bodies.”
“What have you got on him?” Mustang asked.
“He works at the Russian consulate as some kind of staffer,” Jonah reported. “He’s been in the States for over a year and has no criminal record.”
Cole pulled out his cell phone and dialed the estate.
“Halverson Estate, Grace speaking.”
“Grace. How’s Declan?”
“He’s here, refusing to take pain meds and grouchy as a grizzly bear with a sore paw. But he’s alive. Want to talk to him?”
“Yes, please,” Cole said. “Put him on.”
“Cole. You gotta get me outta here. These women are going to smother me to death. I’m fine. I can go back to work.”
“The doctor said two weeks without lifting anything heavier than your hand,” Grace said in the background. “That means lifting a gun is out of the question.”
“My gun is not that heavy,” Declan grumbled. “Forget about me, Cole. What’s happening?”
Cole brought him up to date on the visit to Carpenter’s office and home. When he got to the part about the phone conversation between Lydia Carpenter and her lover, Declan interrupted.
“She was having an affair with a Russian?” Declan whistled. “Affairs in Washington are practically public knowledge. No one in DC ever gets away with anything juicy like that for long.”
“Apparently, Mrs. Carpenter was.”
“And you caught her,” Declan said.
Cole went on to explain about the accident and the Russian’s death and Mrs. Carpenter’s words.
“By the way,” Jonah said. “I hacked into the hospital records. They called it. Lydia Carpenter is officially deceased.”
“Chris Carpenter should be on his way to the hospital, if he’s not there already.”
“I’ll have Snow intercept Carpenter to see what he can find out about the missus and her lover,” Declan said.
“We’re headed back to the estate,” Cole said. “Unless you can think of anywhere else we should go at this point.”
“No,” Declan said. “We need to put our heads together and think about our next steps before we take them.”
“You don’t need to do anything but take your pain meds and sleep,” Grace said in the background.
“I’m beginning to regret the relationship portion of this gig. I liked it better when I made my own decisions about what my body could or couldn’t take,” Declan grumbled.
“You can’t let your wound get infected,” Cole said. “Let yourself heal before you jump back into the thick of things.”
“Great,” Declan muttered. “All I need is one more person telling me how to recuperate.”
“Like I said,” Grace murmured in the distance, “grizzly bear cranky.”
“You would be, too, if you were stuck with a bullet wound when your team is out risking their lives.” Declan cursed. “See you guys when you get here. If I haven’t died of boredom by then.”
Forty-five minutes later, the van pulled through the gate of the Halverson estate and rolled to a stop in front of the mansion.
Declan, Jack and Grace met them at the top of the steps.
Declan held a hand over his middle, his forehead creased.
“You didn’t have to come out to greet us,” Mustang said.
“I needed some air,” Declan said and turned, wincing. “Hurts like the dickens.”
“It wouldn’t hurt as bad if you’d take the pain medication the doctor prescribed,” Grace reminded him, slipping her arm around his back.
Declan draped his arm over her shoulder and leaned into her. “I can’t take those drugs. They make my brain fuzzy. I get the feeling we’re on the cusp of something big. I need a clear mind to think through what’s going on.”
“Fine. But at least find a place to stretch out,” Grace said softly. “I don’t like it when you’re in pain.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’ll be okay. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.”
“I hope not. I haven’t had nearly enough time with you. I want more.”
Declan laughed. “Even when I’m surly?”
She smiled up at him. “Even when you’re surly.” Then she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his in a light kiss. “If you’ll follow us, I had the guys set up a lounge chair in the war room for Declan before Gus left.”
Declan tipped his head toward Jack. “Snow checked with the hospital to track down Chris Carpenter. He never showed up. Mack’s in the war room, going through the video images that Gus is transmitting via the drone.”
Carrying his laptop and the two flash drives, Jonah ducked past the people standing at the entrance and hurried inside.
Declan watched as he disappeared into the study. “Has Jonah found anything useful from Carpenter’s computers?”
“The URLs and IP addresses were the most interesting items we found on the Carpenters’ home computer. Jonah’s digging into Sergei Orlov’s background. All we know so far is that he works at the Russian consulate.”
They entered John Halverson’s study and descended the stairs into the basement war room.
Jonah was already hard at work, searching the internet for clues and answers.
Mack sat at the other computer with a screen showing the tops of trees, roofs on houses and barns and an occasional pond.
“Anything?” Declan asked.
“Nothing yet,” Mack responded. He glanced up briefly. “Heard you guys had an interesting day.”
Cole snorted. “To say the least.”
Mack grinned. “Didn’t expect to uncover a politician’s wife cheating with a Russian, did you?”
“No, we didn’t,” CJ said.
“At least it was interesting. I’ve been staring at this screen for over an hour and haven’t found anything nearly as cool as what you guys did.” He returned his attention to the monitor.
CJ crossed the room to look over Mack’s shoulder. “The compound where I was trained was pretty much buried in foliage. It won’t be that easy to spot from the ground or air. Want help?”
“Sure.” Mack pulled another chair close to where he was sitting. “Between you, me and Gus, three sets of eyes ought to be able to find something.” He pointed to the monitor. “The dog trainer who gave us the info has a training facility here.” He pointed to a spot on the screen where trees had been cleared and all that remained was a green grassy area. “He said the facility is off a road a couple of miles from his place to the northwest.”
“What made him go that way?” CJ asked.
“He lost a dog he’d been boarding and went looking with a tracking dog. He found the animal, but also heard a lot of gunfire. When he got up close, he noticed the facility was surrounded by chain-link fence topped with razor-sharp concertina wire.”
“Gunfire could be from a couple of guys out target practicing with pop cans, getting ready for deer season,” Cole said, coming to stand behind CJ.
“Yeah, but they weren’t firing single rounds, they were firing semiautomatic and automatic weapons, from what the dog trainer said.” Mack pointed to the northwest of the dog facility. “The trees are dense here, and there are more hills to hide in.”
CJ leaned closer to the monitor, looking for anything that didn’t fit in, like the straight edge of a roofline or vehicle. The more she looked, the more the green leaves of the trees blended together. Until she came to a dark, rusty line in the middle of a canopy of trees. “There,” she said, pointing to the line. “Is that a corrugated tin roof?”
Mack zoomed in on the image, blowing it up to twice the size on the screen. “Looks like it.”
Following the line of the roof, CJ found another shape that wasn’t natural for a forest, a gray, curved bowl. “Satellite dish?” she said, her brow dipping.
Mack nodded and pointed to another straight line. “That appears to be another building tucked beneath the trees.”
Soon, they’d identified several potential buildings.
Mack picked up a satellite phone and called Gus. “Any way you can get closer to these coordinates?” He gave Gus the numbers and waited.
When Gus finally spoke again, Mack’s brow furrowed. “Got it. So, it’s like the dog trainer said. Did you hear any sounds of gunfire?”
CJ could hear Gus talking, but couldn’t make out the words.
Mack’s gaze met Cole’s. “No sounds. Maybe they’ve moved from that site.” He paused while Gus spoke. “You did? I’d say it’s time to go in and investigate, boots on the ground.”
“We’re in.” Cole glanced across at CJ.
She nodded, her pulse pounding hard against her eardrums. Heading back to where it all began seemed insane, but necessary. They might find the leader of Trinity there, supervising the training of even more Trinity agents. A bunch of babies being led into a life of violence.
If she had any way of getting them out, she would. “Let’s go.”
“We’ll get back with you when we have a plan and timeline,” Mack assured Gus. “Stay low and don’t get caught.” Mack ended the call and turned to Cole. “We need communications equipment, bulletproof vests, weapons and some smoke grenades.”
“Are we going in prepared to shoot kids?” Cole asked.
“No, but we’re going in prepared to defend our lives,” Mack said.
“Who’s going where?” Charlie’s voice sounded from the top of the stairs.
All gazes turned to the woman who funded their little band of brothers.
Charlie Halverson looked like a million bucks. Dressed in a long, silver-beaded, satin-and-lace gown, she looked like royalty as she descended the stairs one step at time.
She glanced around the room. “I thought everyone was headed in for the night.” Her gaze settled on Declan. “And that Declan was going to get some rest.”
“We think we may have found one of Trinity’s training camps,” Mack said.
Charlie moved forward, her eyes widening. “Do I need to stay home tonight and help monitor activities?” she asked.
Declan frowned. “You’re going out?”
“I had an invitation to a special event where the president is scheduled to speak,” Charlie said.
“Charlie, you have to go to the event,” Grace said. “That’s more important.”
“If anything, we could wait to move in on the training camp until another day,” Declan said. “If they’re still using the camp, I doubt they’d get out of there sooner.”
“No.” Charlie held up a hand. “You do what you have to do.”
“But we can’t leave you unprotected. Someone needs to go with you to the event,” Declan insisted. He tried to rise to his feet, but he couldn’t bend over enough to lean forward. Instead he sat back in the lounge chair and winced. “I’ll go with Charlie to the event. As soon as someone helps me out of this chair.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Grace said. “I’ll go with Charlie.”
Declan frowned. “You aren’t trained in hand-to-hand combat and they won’t let you in if you carry a gun.” He glanced around the room, his gaze landing on Roger Arnold, who was just descending the stairs carrying a tray filled with a pitcher and glasses. “Arnold and I will go to the event with Charlie. The rest of the team will check out the compound. If you determine the place is a Trinity training camp, you are not to engage. You will fall back and call in the FBI, national guard and whoever else we need to round up all of the operatives.”
“And don’t forget the children,” CJ said. “They’ll need special handling. They’ll be well on their way to being brainwashed.”
“If you’re going with Charlie, I am, too,” Grace said.
“I can’t get everyone in. I can only bring a plus one,” Charlie said. “Roger will be my plus one.” She turned to him with a frown. “We’ll need to have you fitted immediately with a tuxedo.”
“I have one, ma’am,” Arnold said.
Her eyes widened. “You do?” Then her brow dipped. “Why did I not know this about you, Roger?”
He straightened to his full height, shoulders back and chest puffed out like the military man he’d once been. “Because you never asked.”
Charlie smiled. “Roger, you take such good care of me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“You’ll have to stop calling me ‘ma’am’ if you’re coming with me tonight.”
“Yes, Charlotte,” he said, his voice softer.
CJ hid a smile. She might not be an expert in the ways of the heart, but she could swear there was something there in Roger’s eyes. A flash of desire or longing? Or was CJ projecting her own feelings for Cole into those around her?
CJ sighed. Until they resolved the Trinity issue, she couldn’t have any kind of long-term relationship with anyone without putting them at risk. As much as she loved being around Cole, she’d have to cut the ties forming and leave. A heaviness settled on her chest. She hadn’t felt that kind of weight since she’d lost her parents.
Mack had risen and gone to the cabinets against the wall. One by one, he pulled out weapons, grenades, bulletproof vests and communications devices.
Jonah helped him organize and store them in a couple of large duffel bags.
“I’ll bring the SUV around to the front of the house,” Roger Arnold offered and left the room, climbing the stairs, his limp barely noticeable.
Charlie’s gaze followed him up the stairs, the corners of her mouth curling upward. “Arnold—Roger,” she corrected, “never ceases to surprise me. And we’ve known each other since I met my husband. He was in the SAS when the three of us met in a bar in London.” She smiled. “At first I was more attracted to Roger than John.” She pressed her hands to her chest. “There’s something about a man in uniform that makes a girl’s heart flutter.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Alas, Roger deployed to some godforsaken place in Africa and John swept me off my feet.” She turned to CJ, her eyes misty with unshed tears. “I loved John with all my heart.”
CJ nodded, not knowing what to say to the woman. She had no experience with love. Her gaze went to Cole as he loaded rounds into magazines to be used in the weapons they would take. What would it be like to be loved by a man the way John had loved Charlie?
Dragging her gaze away, CJ squared her shoulders, grabbed a box of bullets and fit them into still more magazines. Though they weren’t going in with the intention of starting a fight, they might be forced to defend themselves and the children who’d been recruited by Trinity.
“The most important thing we have to be aware of is Trinity’s leader,” Cole said. “If he’s at the compound, we can’t let him escape.”
“True,” Declan agreed. “If it comes to a choice between losing him or engaging with the enemy...engage the enemy to save the children.”
CJ loaded more magazines. If they had to engage the enemy, they might be shooting teenagers and children. She prayed it didn’t come to that.
For the first time in a year, she had a chance at finding and neutralizing the leader of an organization that had ruined the lives of many children, including her life. They had to make this opportunity count. She didn’t know if she had the strength to continue a life of looking over her shoulder.
CJ wanted more. She wanted love and maybe a family of her own.
She’d never even considered children as part of her future, never saw them fitting in, so she’d not given the possibility any thought. Now, though, she realized there were many things she wanted that she’d simply refused to allow herself to contemplate as a member of Trinity and then as an escapee from their evil grasp.
But, yes, she wanted children, damn it. After all she’d been through, all she’d been trained to be, she hadn’t considered herself fit to be a mother. Hell, she’d thought she wasn’t fit to be the wife of a good man.
But now—now she had dreams.