Fay's Six

CHAPTER7

Walker hadno regrets about what had happened last night, or this morning, between him and Fay. However, he was conflicted. The idea that someone on the ground could have turned on their country—on him—had unsettled him to his core. He believed without a doubt it hadn’t been one of his men. They fought tooth and nail to get out alive.

And to save each other.

But there were two other teams in the area on different missions. One had been another SEAL team and one had been an A-Team. Neither were privy to the sensitivity of Walker’s mission. He wasn’t even sure if Fay had been briefed or not because it didn’t matter. Her job had been to get them out, not to aide them in the murder of terrorists.

He stepped outside and handed Fay a mug of fresh-brewed coffee.

“Where the hell did Lee go?” Fay stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankles. She adjusted her sunglasses as the morning sun hit her face.

“I have no idea. He didn’t leave a note. Kind of annoying since he’s supposed to be helping us.”

“But he’s not employed by the Brotherhood Protectors, so he’s not punching a time clock and let’s face it, that man beats to the tune of his own drummer.”

Gently, Walker pushed her sexy legs to the side, making room for his ass on the chaise lounge chair. He massaged her calf, enjoying the softness of her skin and firmness of her muscles. “Maybe not, but if he wants this job, he shouldn’t have left without at least letting us know.”

“Perhaps, but this gives us some time to talk.” She pointed to her tablet. “I don’t want to email all this to you, nor do I want to print it with Lee around. My passcode is 9518. You’re welcome to access my files anytime.”

He reached across her body and set his coffee on the table. Lifting the device, he tapped in the code and it opened immediately to the document that Anton had filled out. Walker quickly scanned the handwritten words. He swallowed the bile that bubbled to his throat. It didn’t make sense. He’d served with Anton longer than anyone else on his team. If Anton had an issue with anything that Walker had been doing, he would have brought it to Walker’s attention. Not in the same way Lee had, but still, he wouldn’t have filed a complaint. “Did you have the handwriting analyzed?”

“I wanted to, but I was removed from the case before I found out if that request was approved.”

He scrolled to the next page, which was basically an unofficial after-action report of her mission. So far, he didn’t see anything that jumped out at him as odd. It was all standard stuff. “Is anyone at the CIA or the department of defense still looking into this theory? Or has it been wrapped up, like I was informed when I was discharged?”

“I have friends who are investigating when they can, but according to the Navy and the CIA, your mission was a series of unfortunate mishaps and my extraction was a Hail Mary. Case closed.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I had resigned myself to the same thing until a few months ago and yes, before I saw you again, but you brought it all to the surface. I just didn’t think there was any way to find answers without opening Pandora’s box.”

Fay grabbed a chunk of hair and twisted it between her fingers. Walker had been worried that things might be weird. Now he was concerned that they weren’t. “I’ve reached out to someone I trust who used to work black ops and manages to have access to highly classified information. For the life of me I have no idea how he gets it done. But he does.”

“And who is this guy?”

“His name is Joe. He has access to everything that is on that tablet, and more, or so he says.”

“How do you this Joe guy?”

“We worked together about five years ago. He’s a stand-up guy. The only reason I didn’t give this to him sooner was because I couldn’t find him. He can go dark for months with some of the shit our government has him do. But he’s connected, so if anyone can find intel, its him.”

“All right.” Walker set the device aside. “We’re going to have to keep this a side project. Late at night, early mornings, whenever we have a few moments. Otherwise, our focus is finding Levi and Andrew.”

“Understood.”

“Sparrow texted me this morning. There was blood on the backpack. They put a rush on the forensics, but you know how that goes. It could be a day or two before we know if it’s a match to the kid or someone else.”

“Lee left the files on the kitchen table this morning. So I spent some time categorizing all the cold cases. Where they were coming from and where they were going. Who saw them last and how long it took before they were reported missing.” Fay swung her legs over the side of the chair. She reached for a stack of papers on the table. “I made notes of where their phones were found. I then went and mapped out where the vehicles were found.”

“Where are you going with this?” None of this information was new, but he suspected her brain had made some connection that no one else had found.

She handed him a map that had been marked with the locations of the phones and cars of each victim, with the exception of Levi and Andrew, whose cars had yet to be found. “The cells were all dumped coming into town from this direction. Every single one. The cars were all found a hundred miles from Fool’s Gold.” She tapped her finger. “After doing a little digging I found out that right here is a bowling alley and guess who owns it?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Chris Carroll.”

“You mean that guy that just became business partners with Pete.”

She nodded. “He’s so connected to the Javi Cartel it’s crazy, but the feds haven’t been able to touch him.” She leaned back and let out a long breath. “I just don’t believe he’s our guy, but I bet our guy is part of his organization.”

“Which means he’s part of Craig’s crew.”

“Exactly.”

Walker puffed out his chest. “I’ll call Albert and see where he’s at with that list.”

She smiled. “I beat you to it.”

“Of course you did.” He couldn’t resist her pouty lips. She tasted like a combination of coffee and strawberries. He could easily lift her into his arms and carry her back to bed; however, the sound of someone clearing his throat caught his attention.

“Are the two of you always this gross?” Lee stood in the middle of the sliding glass doors holding a bag from a local breakfast shop and an extra-large soda.

“Where the hell have you been?” Walker asked. “We’ve got work to do.”

“I didn’t know I answered to you.”