“Okay.” Jay took another pull from the whiskey bottle. “And?”
“But what if the locals who are downtown for a scheduled protest get hurt?”
“A protest that they are being paid to attend,” Muhammed added.
“Right. Just your average Joe Haji trying to make a buck. You’re downtown, maybe bring the wife and kids so they can earn a few bucks as well. And the whole family ends up dead?” Bridger eyed each man, waiting for the light bulb to go off over their heads. “That makes for some pretty horrible stuff to put on the five o’clock news.”
Steve nodded. “And if they tie the deaths to the chemical plant, then suddenly all of the moderates are against whoever decided to put a chemical weapons plant in their town.”
Bridger touched his nose and pointed at Steve. “Bingo.”
Gregg shook his head. “But then why frame you?”
Jim held his hand up. “Ooh, I bet I know this one. In case something went tits up on their plan, they had to have a scapegoat. Who better than a red-blooded American patriot group member who sounded like he knew what the hell he was doing on some online forum.”
“Bingo again,” Bridger sighed.
“But why me?” Muhammed’s voice cracked as he spoke. “I have done nothing to—”
“You organized the protest,” Jay cut him off. “That makes you a pot stirrer.” Muhammed gave him a look of confusion and Jay sighed. “A trouble maker.”
Bridger growled low in his throat. “I’d bet money that somewhere in country is a Special Missions Unit pulling this black bag shit.”
Jay pulled his cell and entered a code. “I’m calling Jeff.” He punched in the number and pressed the phone to his ear. “If anybody can track their coms, it’ll be him.”
18
Langley, VA
DARREN CHESTERFIELD HUNG up his phone and sighed with relief. Deputy Director Ingram may want to hang this fuckfest around his neck, but he wasn’t ready to go down without a fight. He glanced at his checklist and marked off the last of the agencies that he’d alerted to Baba Yaga and Bobby Bridger. Between the team that infiltrated earlier, the Delta Force team that was in country now, and the stack of state agencies currently looking for the group, he knew it was only a matter of time.
His phone beeped and Chesterfield lifted the receiver, fully expecting to hear that the men had been apprehended.
“My office. Now.” Colonel Nelson hung up before Darren could respond. He stood on nervous legs and made his way out into the darkened hallways of the Agency. He glanced at his watch and realized that it was way past normal working hours. He could only assume that worst if Colonel Nelson was still in house.
He made his way to the colonel’s office and knocked firmly on the door.
“Enter!”
Darren swallowed hard and pushed the door open. Colonel Nelson knew who it was and didn’t look up as he finished going over the reports in front of him. “Have a seat.”
While I still have an ass to sit on. Darren sat across from the colonel and waited while he finished. He squeezed his hands together to keep them from visibly shaking.
When Colonel Nelson closed the folder and looked up, Darren Chesterfield could have sworn that the man was staring through his body and into his very soul. “I hear that your op has gone sideways.” He leaned back in his chair and continued to eye the younger man.
Darren took a deep breath and shook his head. “I wouldn’t go that far.” He saw the colonel’s brow rise slightly. “There have been some…unforeseen factors that have risen that may slow the—”
“Don’t try to bullshit me, son.” Colonel Nelson pushed away from his desk and stood. Even after a full day at work his uniform still looked freshly pressed. Darren was impressed, although he never have ventured to comment.
“I’m not, sir. I truly think that the op is still viable.” He remained seated while the colonel eyed him, measuring him up.
“Well then, please, do explain.”
Darren swallowed again and nodded. “The raid on the bioweapons factory was a success. We have tier one operators inbound to Torkham with samples. Actually, they may already have landed.” He avoided the man’s gaze and tried to swallow again, his mouth suddenly dry and his hands shaking. “It’s true that we’ve lost track of al-Abadi, but we may not need him.” Darren’s mind raced and he found himself smiling as a new scenario fell into place. “In fact, it might be better that he wasn’t present for the flag burnings in town. We could spin it so that he knew, since he was behind it all…and that his disappearance only proves his collusion.”
Colonel Nelson crossed his arms and gave the agent a stern stare. “Go on.”
“It’s no secret that Abadi is an arms dealer. And who better to pin the plant going FUBAR on than him?” He smiled at the older man. “Our insertion team and the Delta operators are all looking for Bridger and the Baba Yaga group.” He smiled broader and sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders. “And I had the different state agencies and intelligence services informed that they were wanted for questioning in response to the attacks.”
Nelson’s face twisted into a mask of rage. “You did WHAT?”
Darren involuntarily shuddered and stared back at the man wide eyed. “I, uh…informed—”
“Why in the name of everything holy would you do that?” Nelson’s fist slammed down on the corner of his desk and Darren actually jumped.
“I’m almost positive that they have al-Abadi. With everybody looking for them, we’re sure to find them in time—”
“Just how fucking stupid are you?” Nelson’s voice was a growl. “Surely you couldn’t have thought that tipping our hand this early was a good idea?”
“I…I thought that…” Darren’s voice trailed off.
Nelson shook his head and slowly took his seat again. “You just screwed the pooch,
