“The two powders can be burned,” she told him with a tight smile. “Just don’t put the fire out with water.”
Lieutenant O’Donlon raised his hand. “I have a question for Admiral Robinson. After two weeks, sir, you must have some idea who was behind the theft.”
The admiral stood up. He towered over her by a solid six inches. She started toward her seat, but he caught her elbow, his fingers warm against her bare skin. “Stay,” he commanded softly.
She nodded. “Of course, sir.”
“We have identified the terrorist group that stole the Trip X,” Jake told them, “and we also believe we’ve found the location of the missing canisters.”
Everyone started talking at once.
“That’s great,” Zoe said.
“Yeah, well, it’s not as great as it sounds,” the admiral told her in a low voice. “Nothing’s ever that easy.”
“When do we ship out?” she asked just as quietly. “I’m guessing our destination is somewhere in the Middle East.”
“Guess again, Doctor. And maybe you should wait for all the facts and details before you agree to sign on. I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to like this assignment very much.”
Zoe met his steady gaze with an equal air of calm. “I don’t need to know the details. I’m all yours—if you’ll have me.”
It wasn’t until the words left her mouth that she realized how dreadfully suggestive they were.
But then she thought, why not? She was attracted to this man on virtually every level. Why not let him know it?
But something shifted in his eyes, something unidentifiable flitted across his face, and she realized in another flash that he wore a wedding band on his left hand.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she said swiftly. “I didn’t mean for that to sound—”
His smile was crooked. “It’s okay, I know what you meant. It’s a juicy assignment. But you won’t be going to the Middle East.” He turned and knocked on the table to regain the room’s attention. “The terrorists who took the Triple X live right here in the United States. We’ve traced the canisters to their stronghold in Montana. They’re U.S. citizens, although they’re trying hard to secede from the union. They’re led by a man named Christopher Vincent, and they call themselves the CRO, or the Chosen Race Organization.”
The CRO.
The admiral glanced at her, and Zoe nodded. She knew all about the CRO. And this was what he’d meant about waiting to find out the details. The CRO was mysogynistic as well as being neo-Nazi, antigovernment and downright vicious. If Jake Robinson’s plan was to send her into the CRO fortress as part of an undercover team assigned to retrieve the Trip X, it wasn’t going to be fun. Women were treated little better than slaves in the CRO. They served, silently, tirelessly, unquestioningly. They were treated as possessions by their husbands and fathers. And they frequently were physically abused.
Jake was passing around satellite photos of the CRO headquarters—a former factory nestled in the hills about two miles outside of the tiny town of Belle, Montana. Zoe was familiar with the pictures, and with the extensive high-tech security the independently wealthy CRO leader, Christopher Vincent, had set up around the place.
If the lab in Arches had had even half the security of the CRO headquarters, this wouldn’t have happened.
“We don’t want to get in by force,” the admiral was saying. “That’s not even an option worth considering at this point.”
Admiral Stonegate spoke up. “Why not simply evacuate the surrounding towns and bomb the hell out of the bastards?”
Admiral Forrest rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Jake,” he said. “That worked so well at Waco.”
“Surround ‘em, then,” Stonegate suggested, unthwarted and possibly even unaware of Mac Forrest’s sarcasm. “Give our soldiers gas masks and let the CRO use the Triple X to wipe themselves out.”
Admiral Robinson turned to Zoe as if he’d sensed her desire to respond.
“There are a number of reasons we wouldn’t want to risk that,” Zoe explained. “For one, if they waited for the right weather conditions—strong winds or even rain—the amount of Trip X they’ve got could take out more than just the immediately surrounding area. And then there’s the matter of runoff. We don’t know what would happen if that much Trip X got into the groundwater. We don’t have enough data to know the dilution point—or, to be perfectly honest, if there even is a dilution point.” The room was silent, and Zoe knew they were all imagining a lethal poison spreading through the groundwater of the country, making its way down to the Colorado River…. She took a deep breath. “I’ll say it again, gentlemen, our sole option in this situation is to retrieve—or destroy—the six canisters of Triple X in its powder form.”
“My plan is to continue surveillance,” Admiral Robinson said. “I’ve already got teams in place, watching the CRO fort, trailing everyone who goes outside of their gates. We’ll continue to do that, but we’ll also be sending someone inside to track down the exact whereabouts of the Triple X. That’s not going to be easy. Only CRO members are allowed in.”
Senior Chief Becker lifted his hand. “Permission to speak, sir?”
“Please. If we’re going to work together as a team, let’s not stand on formality.”
Becker nodded, but when he spoke, it was clear he chose his words carefully. “I think it’s obvious that I’m not likely to be accepted as a member of the CRO any time in the near future. Seaman Taylor, here, either. And as for Crash—Lieutenant Hawken—his face may be the right shade of pale, but it’s only been a year since he was on the national news. He’s got to be too well-known. And while my intent is not to suggest that lieutenants O’Donlon, Jones and Shaw aren’t capable of a mission of this magnitude, sir, it seems to me we might want to have a team leader with more experience. I’m sure either Captain Catalanotto or Lieutenant Commander McCoy of Alpha Squad would appreciate the chance to be included in this op.”
The admiral listened carefully, waiting courteously until the senior chief had finished, despite the fact that Zoe could tell from his body language that everyone he wanted to be part of this operation was already right here in this room.
“I appreciate your thoughts, Senior Chief. And I’m aware of both Joe Cat and Blue McCoy’s well-deserved reputations.” He paused, glancing around the room before he casually dropped his bomb. “But I’ll be leading this team, hands-on, from out in the field. And I’ll be the one gaining entry into the CRO fort.”
CHAPTER TWO
JAKE LIFTED HIS HANDS, halting the words of outrage, doubt and concern. He was too old to go into the field. He was too out of touch. It had been years since he’d last been in the real world. It was too dangerous. What if he were killed? What if, what if, what if?
“Here’s the deal,” he said. “I know Christopher Vincent. I met him about five years ago—he had a book published by the same company who released my wife’s art books. We met at a party in New York, and I talked to him for a very long time. He’s extremely dangerous, a complete megalomaniac. And it just so happens that he liked me. I know with a little help and the right cover story, I can get us inside.”
“Admiral, this is highly irregular and—”
Jake cut Stonegate off. “And six missing canisters of T-X isn’t?” He looked around the room. “I didn’t call you here to ask your permission. I run the Gray Group. I call the shots. And this is a Gray Group mission. The president gave me this assignment with a direct order not to fail.