“Boss, I think we might have our first real lead.” Jared’s head popped up from behind his monitor.
“What have you got?” We all walked over to look at his screen.
“I got a hit on facial recognition from one of the security cameras at Camp Allen.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“A former Army sergeant turned private security named Joseph Branigan. You know one of those big firms that work over in the Middle East?”
“Yeah, which one?” I said feeling a little impatient.
“Russo Security.”
“Good work! I clapped Jared on the shoulder, “Logan, check with Russo Security and see what the status of his employment is with them.”
“I’m on it.” Logan returned to his desk.
I turned back to Jared. “What else you got?”
“He was dishonorably discharged for fighting. Apparently, he has quite a temper.”
“Wonder if he holds a grudge?” I mused.
“He might.” Jared agreed.
“Who filed charges against him for the fighting?” I asked.
Jared typed away. “Whoa, looks like he was charged with manslaughter and got off with a dishonorable, because the witnesses changed their testimony. They said Branigan didn’t start the fight and acted in self-defense when they previously stated he was drunk and started the fight inside the NCO club. The man he was fighting with died of head injuries sustained in the fight.”
“Okay, we are going to need more on Joseph Branigan, I’m going to call GPPD and let them know what we found.” I said reaching for the desk phone.
“On it, boss.” Jared got back to work.
“What can I do to help?” Stephanie called out.
“Look into his known associates while he was on active duty and the witnesses to the fight to see if maybe they can tell us more.” Jared instructed.
I was pumped, it finally felt like we might have a solid lead. At least we had something to focus on at the moment. I reached Greg, our resident technology whiz kid, so that he and the GPPD would look for local connections and see what Branigan was into these days. It didn’t seem likely he would steal weapons here if he wasn’t planning on using them here. Unless he was going to try and smuggle them out through the port.
I called over to the port authority and put them on alert as well. Jared emailed all the other local departments Branigan’s picture from his Army file and what we pulled off the surveillance camera. He looked scruffy now, so I had a feeling he wasn’t working for Russo Security anymore. From what I knew all the Russo employees were clean cut and very military in style and dress. Unless, they had something going undercover.
Logan hung up his phone.
“Branigan is no longer employed by Russo and they didn’t want to talk in detail over the phone. They’re sending someone out to talk with us.”
“All the way to Virginia?” I was surprised.
“Apparently, so.” Logan confirmed.
“That’s interesting.” I said trying to think of a reason why they would go to the trouble.
Stephanie and Jared looked up.
“Either they know he is into some heavy stuff or they are seriously paranoid.” Stephanie offered.
“Yeah, so why not talk on the phone if there isn’t anything to tell?” Jared added.
“You have a good point. Logan, did they say when they would be here?” I asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“I think it might be a good idea to let our friend the chief know as well. This might be worse than we thought.” I reached for the phone again.
Chapter Four
Ethan
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon as I sat in Chief Corey’s Office with Mike Russo from Russo Security.
“We appreciate you coming all the way up here to talk to us, but I have to admit I’m a little curious as to why we couldn’t do this over a secure phone or video chat.”
“I understand your confusion. I’m afraid the area of concern is at my end rather than at yours.”
“You think you have a leak in your organization?” I asked.
“It might be worse than a simple leak. I have suspended all our activities at the moment because I believe our files have been severely compromised. I think the only way that could happen is from the inside.” It was clear, Russo was trying to get ahead of the situation.
“And you think Joseph Branigan might be involved?”
“I think it is not out of the realm of possibility, especially since you called asking about him.” Russo postulated.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning Mr. Russo.” Jim sat down behind his desk and waited.
“As I’m sure you already know,” Russo began, “Branigan was dishonorably discharged from the Army for fighting.”
“Yes, I am aware, and it makes me wonder why you would hire a man with such a record.”
“Listen, I’ll admit not everyone I hire is a boy scout and sometimes you need someone who is willing to get their hands dirty to get a job done.” He paused and held up his hands. “I’m not talking about breaking the law and certainly not in the U.S. As you know the laws are somewhat different in a war zone and we are not held to the same standard as the U.S. military. We often can get things done the military cannot.”
Jim and I both nodded.
“I was aware of Branigan’s service record and I was also aware
