“Welcome, sir. We’ve been expecting you.”
“Brecht?” He was the highest-ranking leader of the Texas group, and the great-grandson of the Nation’s founder. The brief I’d read said he was jockeying for a promotion to the main compound located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It was the main reason Smoke believed we’d be successful in getting him to give up Possum’s killer.
“That’s correct, sir.”
I shook his extended hand, and he turned toward the men assembled.
“This is Colonel Swift. He’s been sent here by the general. I expect each of you to treat him with due respect and cooperate with whatever he asks of you.”
Several of them murmured their agreement; most remained silent. I was confident Casper was assessing the group in the same way I was. Most important was to identify those who appeared uninformed in advance of the visit. They were the contingent Brecht didn’t trust.
“I’m here to observe as well as review your reports in advance of the World Congress,” I announced. The annual meeting was scheduled to take place in three months’ time in Idaho. Promotions, like the one Brecht was after, would be handed out at that meeting.
If the alleged splinter group was successful in either breaking off or in taking over the leadership of this chapter, Brecht would be held responsible. He would benefit from their being stopped more than anyone else, and I intended to exploit his ambition.
A few minutes later, Brecht escorted Casper and me to the compound’s guest house reserved for VIPs.
In anticipation of our quarters being bugged, Decker had supplied us with jamming equipment that would block every signal b
ut his. He would, of course, test it via the other technology he’d somehow put into place.
It wouldn’t come as a surprise to whomever the ABT had monitoring us. Given who they believed we were, they would anticipate we’d seek out listening devices and disable them. Not doing so would immediately raise suspicion.
There was a mandatory dinner to welcome us held that evening. Casper knew to interact only with the other women present in an organization as misogynistic as this while I continued to play the role of a displeased high-ranking guest.
Once dinner was over, I was scheduled to meet with Brecht alone. Before I could do so, I was intercepted.
“Care for a smoke?” a man said as I was exiting the main dining hall.
“Ask if he has more than one,” I heard Decker’s voice say in my ear, and I did.
The man nodded and held up three fingers before walking away.
“What are they doing here?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out,” Deck responded.
When I heard Casper ask one of the women where the bathroom was, I went around the side of the building and waited. Seconds later, she came out of the front door.
“Interesting development,” she whispered.
Yeah, interesting wouldn’t be the word I’d use. Why weren’t we informed in advance that the FBI already had three agents on premises?
27
Rebel
Edge had been gone for almost forty-eight hours, and according to Kick, there was “nothing to report.” I doubted he’d tell me if there was.
I spent most of my time the day before at the dining hall. At least there, I had something to keep me busy. I know Tee-Tee sensed something was up with me, and thankfully, she hadn’t asked what it was. I was a shitty liar, especially with her.
The other benefit of being at the dining hall was that Kick pretty much left me alone. As long as I let him drive me here in the morning and pick me up at the end of the day, he didn’t hover.
Seeing it was a nice day, I decided to go outside to take a break between lunch and dinner. Right before I rounded the corner to exit through the back door, I heard voices coming from the storeroom.
“It’s goin’ down tonight,” a voice that sounded a lot like that of the guy who’d threatened me said.
“Why are they advancing now?” I couldn’t place the second voice, but whoever it was, was a male with a Hispanic accent.