I followed these guys around night and day trying to get the images that told the real story of this war. The costs on all sides. Most people didn’t appreciate my being here and considered me a liability. I was told under no uncertain terms that if I stepped out of bounds and got myself kidnapped; I was on my own. The commander wasn’t going to risk his men or their mission just because some photojournalist wanted to take a picture. It was fair enough. I knew the risks when I volunteered for this assignment. Actually, getting into this unit was nothing short of a miracle. These guys did what no one ever got to see. The real stories were here, these men all of them what they sacrificed, what they endured and what they did without thinking twice as incredible. The civilians we encountered their stories were both heartwarming and heart wrenching.
But my team, my guys as I thought of them, we all looked out for each other and they took care of me. I tried not to be in the way or complicate their missions. I wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardize their safety.
Chapter Three
Ethan
“Morning, boss.”
“Morning.” I mumbled in return. I came to work carrying my second cup of coffee for the day and it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. I hadn’t slept well and spent most of the night on the couch so that I wouldn’t wake Diane. The relationship was becoming more distant and I knew the inevitable was coming. She had made an appointment with a divorce attorney. It was only a matter of time.
“You see the notice from DC?” Jared checked in.
My phone had started buzzing the moment I took it off the charger this morning. “Yeah, we need to get started on that, what do we know locally?”
I set the coffee down on my desk and looked around the room. Agents Logan Watson, Jared Walker and Stephanie Fisher were already hard at work.
“Rough night?” Stephanie asked.
“No rougher than usual.” I sat down at my desk and logged into my email. “What do we know so far?” I pressed.
“DC has picked up on chatter that something is being planned locally, they don’t know who yet. We don’t know the target or the players.” Jared reported.
I looked to the three agents. “Where’s the chatter coming from?”
“Other groups advising their people to stay out of the area this week.” Logan replied.
“We have nothing,” I sighed, “Well, let’s get to work.” The office was a concert of keyboards.
An hour later Logan spoke up. “I might have something.”
“Let’s hear it.” I said, hoping for something useful.
“There was a warehouse theft two nights ago of demolition equipment and supplies.” Logan continued.
“From where?” I stood up eager or details.
“A construction company warehouse.” Logan’s eyes scanned the screen as he read out the details.
“The report say what was taken?” I pressed.
“Some tools, small equipment,” Logan looked up from the screen, “and the interesting part, explosives.”
“Logan, you and Stephanie go interview the owner of that warehouse.” I instructed.
“On it.” Logan pounced.
“Jared, see if you can get a copy of the police report on the break-in.”
“You got it, boss.”
I continued searching our database of known terrorist groups that might be operating in the area. We needed to find a way to determine the target. The question was, what to search for first? The potential target or the potential bad guy, one could lead to the other. It was a catch twenty-two. But we had to look at every angle until we came up with something. It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t like all the excitement you see on television. It was hours of digging through files, listening to chatter, interviewing people, searching more files.
“Boss, there is a report of some weapons reported missing at Camp Allen.” Jared had found something.
“How many weapons?” I asked.
“About ten automatic rifles and a case of grenades.”
“Better give NCIS a call. Maybe they will be willing to share intel.” I instructed. I blew out a sigh. This was going to be one of those long drawn out cases and I was feeling antsy. I needed something more to occupy my mind. It was a product of too little sleep and too much caffeine.
“You look tired.” Jared added.
“Comes with the job.”
He nodded and went back to work.
I didn’t want to talk about it. Besides it really wasn’t anything I could put into words even if I wanted to. Jared wouldn’t understand regardless. Life hadn’t kicked him in the teeth enough yet. Maybe in about ten years, he might get it. I got up and walked to kitchen. I really didn’t want any more coffee. I went to the fridge for a bottle of water instead. I imagined my body protesting at something that wasn’t coffee or alcohol.
Back at my desk I tried a different approach. I found where a tip had been called in that someone bought a lot of farm grade fertilizer recently from a feed and seed store.
“Jared I’m going to go talk to Saunders Feed and Seed, I’ll be back later.”
Jared nodded and I left him alone to handle the research. I couldn’t sit at a desk today; I need to be outside in the fresh air and moving otherwise my mind was going to dwell on my personal problems when I needed to be focused on this case.
I got back around six and we sat comparing our notes from the day.
“Something doesn’t sound right.” Stephanie said
“What do you mean?” I asked, appreciating her ability to see the larger
