The Algorithm (Corps Justice Book 20), page 19
Tom Roberts didn't even feel it.
He tried to speak. Blood surged from his lips instead.
When he fell back onto the dirt, the land of his ancestors, he stared up at the blond man, who never looked away. His was the last face Tom Roberts ever saw.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CAL STOKES — ARRINGTON, TENNESSEE
Cal resisted the urge to scratch his healing wound by taking another sip of his drink. He was back at SSI headquarters with his friends, sitting in the lodge. It was spacious and beautiful. They’d claimed all the couches in the lounge next to the bar while waiting for their final two guests.
"My wife runs the business,” Senator Roberts told the group. “My daughters are in college. I try to get back home to Wyoming whenever I can, but you know Washington."
"Here's to never going back to that hellhole ever again," Gaucho said, raising his drink and trying to get a clink from Top.
Top withheld his glass. "Gaucho, if I ever hear you call our nation's capital a hellhole again, so help me . . ."
"Sorry, sorry," Gaucho said. "Can I at least call the people who work there bastards? No offense, Senator."
"None taken."
Top shrugged and finally clinked his drink against his best friend’s. "To the bastards."
"Too bad Miles can’t be here," Roberts said.
"He's got his hands full," Cal said. "Good thing Neil's helping him. I’m sure they’ll get Blinker pieced back together between the two of them."
Neil had called every few days to keep them updated. He was helping Miles scrub Blinker’s code and employee list from top to bottom. They’d already brought the police in to arrest three long-time employees who’d been working for Senator Roberts’ father, and there were warrants out for the arrest of two more who had fled the city.
“I sure hope Blinker’s altered algorithm didn’t mess up too many lives,” Top said.
The group went quiet for a minute, thinking about Senator Greenwood. They’d sat the old man down before leaving Chicago to tell him everything. He hadn’t said a word the whole time. When they’d finished explaining, he’d ambled away without a goodbye, his shoulders hunched and shaking. They’d expected Senator Greenwood to reach out eventually, but instead, he’d gone on television and announced his retirement from the Senate. Cal hoped the man would find some inner peace away from it all.
Roberts sighed. "If there's anything I know about Miles Manning, it’s that he’s going to try to make things right as best he can. The man has a big heart. He really does believe in Blinker’s mission to do good for the world.”
The front doors of the lodge opened, and four Secret Service agents entered. They fanned out around President Zimmer, who was accompanied by his chief of staff, the former CEO of SSI, Marge Haynes. There were handshakes all around.
"Well, you look like hell," Brandon told his friend.
"Thanks. At least I haven't been sequestered at the White House for the past month." Cal turned to Marge. "Hey, Hammer, how are you feeling?"
"Like I could use a drink," Marge said, hugging him.
"Ouch," Cal said.
Marge pulled back. "Oh my . . . I'm sorry, Cal."
"Stop. It's the best pain I've had all day."
"Where's Daniel?" the president asked.
Cal shrugged. "He's gone again."
Brandon grunted. "And Wilcox?"
"The same, though he's been sending me roses—red fucking roses—and Life Savers every week."
"You could make a movie about that guy," Brandon said.
"I'd watch it if I got to play myself," Gaucho said.
"You'll be played by the old lady from Titanic," Top said. "I'll play myself and make sure I get the pretty girl in the end." He looked at Marge. "Sorry, Hammer."
"What are you sorry about?" Marge said, heading over to the Top and punching him in the shoulder. "Has it been too long since I gave you a whooping on the mat?"
Top held up his hands, looking at Cal. "Please! Please! Don't let the lady hurt me!"
Everyone laughed. Marge punched him lightly in the abs.
"Oof," Top said. “We sure have missed you around here, lady."
"I've missed you guys, too."
When everybody was seated with a drink, President Zimmer looked at Roberts.
"Senator," he said, "I appreciate what you did. I know naming your father couldn't have been easy. Someday, I'll tell you about my father and how he tried to manipulate me. Not right now, though. There are better things to discuss today."
"Let me guess, Mr. President," Gaucho offered. "You and Marge have been taking hula lessons and are working the Disney Resort in Honolulu."
"I know Marge could get away with that, but I doubt I could," Brandon said, his smile a bit wider than when he’d first arrived.
His friend was loosening up by the second, and Cal was pleased to see it. He couldn't imagine the pressure the man had been under while in office. His hair had gone almost completely gray. Some said that the presidency aged the commander in chief twenty-plus years in a single term. Cal didn't doubt it.
"So, what are we discussing first, then?" Cal asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Marge winked at him, then scooted over on the couch and laced her fingers in Brandon's.
"Holy hell," Top said.
Marge gave him the middle finger with her free hand.
"No, no, no. You misunderstand me," Top said. "I'm happy for you. In fact, I'm ecstatic."
Brandon and Marge beamed, looking happier than ever. Cal was excited for them. They deserved to find joy together.
"That was going to be my second topic of discussion, but I guess Marge wanted it to be first.”
“Sorry, honey,” Marge teased, kissing Brandon on the cheek.
The president flushed, and everyone laughed.
“All right, go on with what you were going to say before I threw off your mojo.”
Brandon cleared his throat and looked at Roberts. “Ed, one thing you should know about me is that I trust my friends with my life. That ugly fellow with the chest wound over there is quite possibly my best friend in the world. I trust his judgment above all others."
"Hey, what about me? I introduced you to that special tequila from Oaxaca," Gaucho said.
"You’re my second favorite, Gaucho," the president said.
“It’s an honor, Mr. President,” Gaucho said, saluting him.
Brandon laughed. "As I was saying, Ed, Cal told me that you are a good man. So, while I can't promise anything about how the future will go—you know as well as I do that elections swing as fast as the news cycle—I can promise that I’ll stand by your next campaign, whether that’s a bid for Congress or a bid for the presidency."
"Thank you, sir," Roberts said, stunned.
"You’re welcome. Now, there’s one more thing you should know. Once I leave office, I'm taking a new job. Margie gave me her consent a while ago, and I’ve already taken my oath. So, let me tell you about the Council of Patriots."
EPILOGUE
DANIEL BRIGGS — LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Sarge was supposed to meet him at baggage claim, but when Daniel got off the plane, he wasn’t there. He waited thirty minutes, then tried calling the old war dog. There was no answer. He left a voicemail and went outside, hailed a taxi, and gave the driver Sarge’s address.
He knocked on Sarge’s door. No answer. The old man was probably at a meeting.
Daniel needed a meeting himself. If he'd learned anything during his recent trips to Chicago and Wyoming, it was that he was playing a delicate game of tug-of-war with the beast. There was work to do on himself and his expectations of the world. Sarge was the only man who could help him through it.
He knocked on the door again, just in case. Still no answer. A strange sensation tugged at his gut, so he peeked through Sarge’s front window, something he’d normally never do. A portion of the curtain was open, and when his eyes adjusted to the gloom inside, he saw something that made his heart sink. Stepping back, he kicked the door open and rushed inside. He found Sarge lying on the floor next to his wheelchair.
The old man's eyes fluttered open. Daniel pulled out his phone, but Sarge gripped his wrist, whispering, "No. Pray with me."
"Our Father, who art in Heaven—"
"No," Sarge said, shaking his head. His eyes gleamed with tears. "The other one."
Daniel cradled Sarge's hands as he started the next prayer. Sarge’s weak voice joined his, and they said it in unison.
"Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
As the last syllable of the last word left his mouth, Sarge's eyes went blank, and his hands went limp. Daniel looked up at the ceiling and screamed, then looked back down at his friend, tears flowing freely. Still clutching Sarge's hands, he closed his eyes and repeated the Serenity Prayer five full times while waiting for his heart to slow. Then he opened his eyes and kissed the forever-sleeping cheek, saying, "Thank you, my friend. Thank you, my brother."
After an ambulance came and took Sarge's body away, Daniel locked the apartment door as best he could, walked down the street, barely seeing the other pedestrians, and entered the familiar church.
He took a seat in the back of the room, and he got back to work.
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ALSO BY C. G. COOPER
Corps Justice Novels
Corps Justice (Previously Titled “Back to War”)
Council Of Patriots
Prime Asset
Presidential Shift
National Burden
Lethal Misconduct
Moral Imperative
Disavowed
Chain Of Command
Papal Justice
The Zimmer Doctrine
Sabotage
Liberty Down
Sins Of The Father
A Darker Path
The Man From Belarus
Matters of State
Payback
Black Mist
The Algorithm
Breaking Point
Wilcox Novels
I Will Find You
I Will Catch You
Lone Peak Heroes Novels
The First
The Second
The Third
The Fourth
Daniel Briggs Novels
Adrift
Fallen
Broken
Tested
Tom Greer Novels
A Life Worth Taking
Blood of My Kin
Standalone Novels
To Live
The Warden’s Son
The Nicene Cipher
The Next Dawn
Higgins
The Patriot Protocol
The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon
Benjamin Dragon – Awakening
Benjamin Dragon – Legacy
Benjamin Dragon - Genesis
Corps Justice Short Stories
God-Speed
Running
Chosen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. G. Cooper is the USA TODAY and AMAZON BESTSELLING author of the CORPS JUSTICE novels, several spinoffs, and a growing number of standalone novels.
WHY C. G. COOPER MATTERS
Fiction has the power to change lives.
Pay a visit to Cooper Country and you’ll understand why. With his unique voice and flair for creating characters you’d love to hang out with, C. G. Cooper imparts every one of his novels with messages that perfectly illuminate what Faulkner called, “the human heart in conflict with itself.” In them, characters confront hard truths about life, the necessity of war, the military industrial complex, and why and how good men and women die.
But there are messages within the messages.
There is the power of the individual to triumph over evil against overwhelming odds; the struggle of good people against their inner demons; there is brotherhood, family, the discovery of allies in unexpected places, struggles with faith; there is community; there is authenticity; Cooper’s heart is on every page, beating hard and fast through action and moments of tenderness alike.
Expect high-octane action, slow-burn thrills, and gut-wrenching drama. Expect the ultimate conflict of the human heart.
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THE LOWDOWN
Drawing on his days as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps—a stint that came on the heels of a degree in foreign affairs from UVA—Cooper sifted his experience through his vivid imagination and created Corps Justice, the first novel in the beloved Corps Justice series. Thus, a band of characters was born that would go on to enthrall readers throughout over twenty novels. With nearly 300 million pages read in Kindle Unlimited and multiple appearances in the Amazon Top 100, C. G. Cooper remains one of the most successful USA TODAY and Amazon bestselling authors.
In 2020, he won the prestigious James Webb Award presented by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for his novel Chain of Command.
In addition to bouncing around the country in search of the perfect vacation (turns out, it is anywhere with his family), Cooper has called Nashville home ever since his final Marine duty station. When not enjoying the laid-back lifestyle of Music City, he’s doing his best to add more novels to the growing list at www.cg-cooper.com.
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C. G. Cooper, The Algorithm (Corps Justice Book 20)
