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“Yes, sir.”
Seconds later, a large wall screen flickered to life. From the Oval Office, President William Martin said, “Great job on this operation, Brent.”
“Thank you, sir. Carrying this off took three teams of operatives.”
“I recognize Phantom. Introduce me to the other two teams.” After Maddox introduced the members of Artemis and Seth’s team, Martin said, “Who fired the shot at me?”
Beside him, Teagan stiffened. Seth squeezed her hand.
She lifted her chin. “I did, sir.”
“Nice shot, Teagan. Thanks for missing me and taking out the other sniper. I owe you a debt of gratitude.”
Teagan smiled. “Glad to help, Mr. President.”
“To all of you, thank you for helping us unmask the conspirators, including the Speaker of the House. Brent, you know where to send the bill.”
“Yes, sir. You’ll receive it shortly. With three teams involved, the price tag will be larger than normal.”
“Since I’m alive to pay the bill, I won’t complain. Much.” He smiled. “Until next time.” The president ended the transmission.
Seth glanced at his teammates. They looked as stunned as he felt. Holy smoke. In all the time he’d been in Special Forces, the President of the United States had never recognized him or his team. To have that recognition now left him almost speechless.
“Let’s get started,” Maddox said. “Seth, start at the beginning and let’s run through everything that happened. I want to know every detail so we can improve our performance and support for the next mission.”
Four hours later, Maddox dismissed Phantom. “Artemis, you’re also free to go although I suspect Teagan and Violet will opt to stay for the next session since it concerns Seth’s team.”
“We started this mission together,” Iona said. “We’ll finish it together.”
Maddox’s mouth curved. “Thought that might be the case.” He turned to Seth and his team. “Burnett told me about the push back from your fellow cops. He and I both feel your return to the Ardmore PD is too dangerous. Zane has reversed the changes to your files, by the way, so if anyone looks, he’ll see the original files.”
“But they won’t look,” Seth said.
Burnett shook his head. “I’m sorry, Seth.”
“What about the murder charges against me and Noah?”
“Dismissed. With the evidence that mysteriously appeared in my email, we know Salitto and King were on the running trail before you and Teagan arrived. Noah was nowhere in the vicinity until Teagan called in the assault and murder. Based on the evidence found in King’s home office, he and Salitto murdered Pico.”
Burnett turned to the rest of Seth’s team. “You volunteered to go undercover to watch your teammates’ backs. I admire your loyalty and can’t thank you enough for what you did forour country. Unfortunately, you’ve been painted with the same traitor’s brush as Seth and Noah. As much as I hate to admit it, you won’t be safe on the job. Despite King being dirty, they feel you betrayed a fellow cop. If the five of you want to continue working in law enforcement, I’ll write letters of recommendation for all of you. However, I’ll warn you that cop houses leak information. Word about your role in King’s death will eventually reach your new station house.”
“Considering Burnett’s recommendation, I’m offering you a job with Fortress,” Maddox said. “If you agree to come on board with us, I believe you’d be safer moving to the Nashville area.” He looked at Iona. “The same is true for Artemis. I don’t think it’s wise for you to stay in Ardmore. Zane already looked into property for sale in areas surrounding Davidson County. He has a list of properties available that are comparable to what you own in Ardmore. Is your team willing to move to this area?”
Iona glanced at Seth. “I believe that will depend on what Seth’s team decides.”
He looked at his teammates. “Your choice. We go in together or take our chances with another law enforcement job.”
One by one, each of Seth’s teammates said, “I’m in.”
The ball of ice in his stomach melted as he faced Maddox. “We’re in on one condition, sir.”
“What’s that?”
“We want to be on the same deployment cycle as Artemis.”
Maddox’s eyebrows rose. “Do I want to know why?”
He smiled. “I’m marrying Teagan as soon as possible. I don’t want to be separated from her any more than necessary.”