Page 119 of Into the Storm

He took a seat next to Flyte. They had a few minutes before the meeting would officially begin.

“How’s Audrey?”

“Amazing.”

Chris grinned, showing off deep dimples in both cheeks. “Excellent. You took my advice.”

He nodded. “You’re a wise man.” He glanced at Chris’s hand, noting his ring was still absent. “Pam?”

Chris gave a sharp shake of his head. “It’s over.”

“I’m sorry, man.”

His nostrils flared. “Me too.”

Cohen entered the room, the bandage on his hand much smaller now than the last time Xavier had seen him. Paul dropped into the empty chair on Xavier’s other side.

“How’s Carly?” Xavier asked.

“Thankful.”

Both Xavier and Chris nodded.

“Thankful” was the word of the day, week, and month.

Thankful for George Shaw. Audrey’s cameras and timely arrival. Thankful for Luke and Jae’s concern putting them in the right place at the right time.

If not for those things, they all might be being honored in the memorial service scheduled for tomorrow.

The officers and military investigators who’d called the meeting entered the room, and everyone came to attention.

They began with an update on the investigation…and then things got interesting.

Captain Jane Harlow launched right in. “From the beginning, one of our analysts examined the intersection between the Belarus op and the Lake Olympus Lodge Exercise. Obviously, Mr. Rivera’s and Lieutenant Flyte’s participation in both activities was key, but the odds that both men would be assigned on opposite sides of the LOLE training was a coincidence that couldn’t be ignored. The number of individuals who knew details of both ops was limited. The number who had the power to influence the assignment of which trainers would plan the exercise and which SEAL platoon would participate in the training even smaller. A deep search of the financial data and communications of everyone at the center of that Venn diagram led us to interesting results.”

Harlow paused and met Xavier’s gaze before moving on to meet Flyte’s. “Mr. Rivera and Lieutenant Flyte were cleared immediately. I’m sorry, gentlemen, but it was necessary.”

Xavier nodded. He knew he would be investigated and wasn’t offended. The fact that he was still in the room was a testament to the fact that he and Flyte were innocent.

“Three days ago, our investigators discovered the wife of an officer integral to ops training and planning has large sums of money in foreign bank accounts. Far more than could be justified or explained.”

Xavier studied the room, trying to think of who was missing at the table, and came on the answer a moment before Captain Harlow identified the missing man: Commander Pearson.

“Commander Pearson was taken in for questioning. We have a confession. We are waiting for confirmation of certain details, but it does look like we’ve got the right man.”

Silence settled in the room as they all took this in. Selling military secrets to a Russian oligarch was treason. Directing operations to fit said oligarch’s desires—actions that led to the deaths of three SEALs—was another level of betrayal.

Revulsion spread through Xavier. It was a good thing the man was already in a cell, because Xavier and a number of SEALs would happily tear him limb from limb.

“Pearson confirmed that Russian oligarch Grigory Laskin wanted revenge for the death of his daughter, who died in the rescue op led by Flyte and Rivera. It is worth noting that Katerina Laskin was kidnapped by men believed to be working for the president of Russia when the president was told Laskin intended to betray him and provide intel to the US.”

“Was it true? Was Laskin turning against the president?” a captain near the head of the table asked.

“Yes. Laskin was in negotiations with the US when his daughter was taken. After her abduction, a deal was made that if his daughter was safely extracted, he would turn on the president. He also promised several other oligarchs would join him. But the Fire Team was betrayed. Katerina and two SEALs died.”

Even now, in this room, the true circumstances of Katerina’s death were left out. Those in the room who didn’t know already didn’t need to know the details.

Xavier had no idea if Laskin had been told the truth or not. The man would never have believed it anyway. They’d still be here, debriefing after the oligarch’s revenge.