Page 45 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

Greystone hung up, finished dressing. While he hated to step away from the mission, he never missed an opportunity to fly. He’d given that up when he accepted this special assignment, but truth be told, he missed it… a lot.

Getting him in the air would help alleviate his stress, even if just for a little while.

CAROLINE

Caroline had a stress headache, so she popped two aspirins, washed them down with water, and returned to the rec room. Tank’s program had ID’d nine terrorists employed at JL’s company, Federal Commercial Cleaning Services.

After they’d get a hit, either she or Addison would vet their profile, only to find none of their personal info was legit.

Each of these men had been assigned to different custodial teams. Two had been assigned to the Justice Department, two to the Bureau, two to the Supreme Court, two worked at the State Department, and one was at the Capitol.

It was a labor-intensive job that required her to jump on multiple people-search sites, along with sites law enforcement used to hunt down criminals.

“Did you find aspirin?” Addison asked as she rubbed her forehead.

“Kitchen.” Caroline pushed out of her chair. “I need to refill my water. I’ll grab you two.”

“I’ll go with you,” Addison said. “Tank?”

He was head-down, his fingers flying over the keyboard. “Huh?”

“Aspirin?” Addison asked.

“Ice cream, if we’ve got any.”

In the kitchen, the smell of bleach lingered, but Sin had set up two fans. While Addison downed the aspirin, Caroline refilled her water.

Addison extracted a box of chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream sticks and a half-gallon of mint chip from the freezer. “Caroline?” She waggled her eyebrows.

Caroline chuckled. “I’m good, but if you bring that to Tank, he’ll eat it all.”

“I would if I could,” Addison said as she pulled out one of the individually-wrapped tasty treats.

After Addison scooped mint chip into a bowl, she collected a spoon and second stick of ice cream.

As they made their way toward the conference room, Addison said, “Come for dinner tonight. We’re having sautéed chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables.

Nothing fancy, but we try to cook healthy. ”

“I’d love to,” Caroline replied. “What can I bring?”

“Your lovely self.” Addison glanced over. “I’ve gotta warn you, my oldest, Axel can be a talker, so?—”

“I love that. How old is your daughter?”

“Riley just turned one. She’s pretty chill. You can follow me home. ”

“I’m gonna swing by my house and shower. It’s been a long twenty-four.”

“Is six too early?” Addison asked as they returned to the conference room.

“Six is perfect.” Caroline sat back down, picked up working where she left off.

Addison set down the bowl of ice cream and the spoon in front of Tank. That caught his attention, and he grinned up at her. “I love you.”

She laughed, then set down the wrapped frozen dessert. “You can have this after you finish your main course.”

His eyes lit up. “I’d propose, but you’re already taken.” He popped a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. “Hard to believe JL’s team doesn’t vet new hires.”

“How many employees work for her?” Caroline asked.

“Close to two thousand, but there’s a lot of turnover,” he replied.

“Maybe Sajid Haqazzii told HR he could vouch for them, so they didn’t check,” Caroline said.

“We haven’t found a single legit address or phone number,” Addison added before biting into the chocolate-covered ice cream.

“Someone just posted a video,” Tank said. “Check it out.”

She and Addison clamored around his laptop. Inside the private chat group of extremists, a member had uploaded a video.

Tank started it up. It was a group of four extremist soldiers covered in black, executing ten American prisoners lined up against a cinderblock wall. After the firing squad finished, and the prisoners dropped, the video went black, then a single line filled the screen.

NOT IF WE KILL YOU FIRS T

“What was our message to them?” Tank asked.

“You’re next,” Caroline replied.

“They saw the photos Grey uploaded of Haqazzii’s body, and this is their response,” he said.

Dread pounded through Caroline as she and Addison exchanged glances.

The terror cell was closing in on their newest target.

Them.

GREYSTONE

Greystone pulled up to the main gates at the White House. “Commander Santini for Evelyn Baker.” He handed the guard his driver’s license and his Navy ID, both with his photo, though the Navy pic showed him with short hair, mustache only.

“Please step out, sir.”

Greystone exited the SUV.

As one of the security guards ran a wand over him, the second asked, “Are you armed, Commander?”

“No.”

“Are you bringing in a computer bag or satchel?”

“No, nothing,” Greystone replied.

While he stood there, one of the security guards swept the underside of his SUV, then checked the interior of the vehicle. After a phone call was made, he was cleared to enter.

The guard pointed. “Park over there.”

Greystone was escorted inside, then down several corridors. People buzzed around the hallways, the energy palpable. While Greystone could have been jazzed he was at the White House, he wasn’t. He was there to deliver unsettling news to the President .

Nothin’ good about that.

His escort said, “Lovely weather, don’t you think?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

The woman stopped in front of a closed office door, the gold name plate Chief of Staff, Evelyn Baker , etched into the metal.

Knock-knock.

“Yes,” said Evelyn’s familiar voice.

Love surged through Greystone as the escort brought him into her office.

It had been a few years since he’d been there.

Three, to be exact. His special assignment had to get cleared by the White House.

Though his meeting with the President had been all of three minutes, it had set his career on a completely different path.

He walked in as Evelyn hurried around her desk. She thanked the staffer, then hugged him.

“How’s my number one?”

Evelyn and Sean had no children of their own, so he was it… and boy, did he get the royal treatment.

She gestured for him to sit on the sofa. Instead of sitting behind her desk, she pulled a small bag from her desk drawer before joining him. “Looking sharp, Greystone. Love the blue and gold tie.”

“Luciano set me up.”

She smiled. “I’m happy you’re reconnecting with family.”

“I want you and Sean to meet them.”

“We’d love that.” She handed him the small shopping bag.

He extracted the small box, peered inside. “Thanks for doing this.”

“I asked one of my staffers.”

“Love the delegating.” He pulled his credit card from the bag, returned it to his wallet, and slipped the box into his jacket pocket.

“You’ve got a lot going on, so I’m happy to help,” she said.

“Who else is in our meeting? ”

“Just us three. You’ve got ten minutes, but the meeting might run longer once the President hears what’s going on.”

“Understood. Did I mention the Trinity is meeting me?”

“No, you didn’t, but I heard from Sin and cleared them. Who’s meeting is it?”

“Mine.”

“Why are they with you, then?”

Greystone chuckled, then murmured, “Power players.”

“Do you want time alone with the President?”

“Either way.”

She rose. “Let me see if someone’s with him.” She hurried out, leaving the door open.

Greystone glanced around. There had to be six photos of him on the bookshelves behind her desk. One when he made SEAL, another at Officer Candidate School graduation, one at his winging, another at Christmas. Gratitude filled him.

When she returned, he said, “You’ve got a shrine to me.”

She laughed. “I’m very proud of you, Greystone.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

She beamed. “The President will see you now.”

She escorted him to the Oval Office. The President was sitting behind his desk.

“Mr. President,” Evelyn began. “You remember?—”

“Lieutenant Commander Santini, it’s been a while,” said the President. “Good to see you again.”

He shook the President’s hand. “Thank you, President Garrison. You, as well.”

“I see the Navy has become very lenient on its hair-length policy.”

Greystone chuckled. “I’m flying on Thursday and will hear about it from my CO.”

The President directed them to the pair of sofas. He and Evelyn said next to each other while the President sat across from them .

“Evelyn mentioned we’ve got a problem.”

“Hopefully not,” Greystone said. “Let me bring you up to speed, sir.” Three short sentences later, he’d provided the President with a basic overview of the situation.

“Evelyn, let’s check on the security of our own custodial staff,” said the President.

“Of course, sir, but we’ve used the same group for the past twenty years, and we vet them bi-annually.”

The President regarded Greystone. “How many terrorists are here?”

“Fifteen to twenty.”

“And how confident are you and your team that this Day of Destruction will occur on May thirty-first?”

Greystone paused for a split second, weighing the odds.

He wasn’t a gambling man, but he wanted to be as precise as possible.

“Eighty percent. We don’t have evidence there are bombs in the buildings because we haven’t located them yet.

If we don’t have confirmation by May twenty, explosive-sniffing canines will be deployed. ”

“So, you don’t have confirmation it’s going to happen at all?”

“I would err on assuming it will, but if the bombs are completed ahead of their deadline, they might issue a surprise strike.”

The president nodded, then broke eye contact. Greystone stayed silent.

Knock-knock.

“Come in,” said the President.

“Sinclair Develin, Carrera Santini, and Luciano Santini are here.”

Evelyn slid her gaze to Greystone. He didn’t want to piss off the Trinity, but he didn’t need them.

“Are they working this with you, Greystone?” asked the President.

“Sin is on my team. My cousin, Carrera, has assisted us. ”

“I’ll be out in a moment,” the President said, and the staffer closed his door.

“Greystone, I’m not about to shut the government down without confirmation of an exact date. On the other hand, I can’t put thousands of innocent people at risk.”

The call wasn’t his to make, so he nodded once.

“Here’s what I need to happen,” the President said. “We stay open as long as possible while you and your team find these mass murderers and eliminate the threat before we have a full-on war in the middle east or worse, a war here on American soil.” After a pause, he asked, “Any questions?”

“No, sir.”

“I’m going to need updates,” the President said to Evelyn.

“Of course,” she replied.

“How have the past three years been for you?” the President asked.

“Good. Very good.”

“Do you miss flying?”

“I do, but both careers allow me to serve my country.”

The President rose. “Spoken like a true patriot. I know Evelyn is very proud of you.”

He smiled at her. “I’m pretty proud of her too.”

They laughed.

“I need to speak with the Trinity,” said President Garrison. “I know their egos bruise easily.”

Greystone chuffed out a laugh. He imagined the President was right about that one.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. President. Always a pleasure.” Greystone extended his hand and the President shook it.

“If you ever want to work for me directly, say the word.”

“Thank you.”

Evelyn opened the door and the three filed out of the Oval Office. When the Trinity saw him, they couldn’t contain their surprise .

“Gentleman, good to see you,” said the President. “Commander Santini has briefed me. He’s got the situation well in hand, but I wanted to see how the three of you are doing.”

Greystone tossed them a nod as Evelyn escorted him toward the exit.

“Can you come for dinner one night soon?” Evelyn asked.

“I’ll text you. I want you and Sean to meet Caroline.”

“We met her during the video chat. She seems lovely.”

Outside, he stopped in front of his SUV. “I’m not one to spend time lookin’ back, but I’ve wondered what woulda happened to me if I hadn’t met you and Sean.”

“We wonder what would have happened to us if we hadn’t met you .” Evelyn hugged him goodbye, then waited while he climbed into the SUV. She waved goodbye and hurried toward the entrance.

Greystone drove away feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. If he didn’t find these men, he would fail on an epic scale. He was determined to stop them, even if it meant losing his life in the process.