Covert Ops, page 12
George shook his head. “If you can go through the scare of not knowing he’s coming home and still want to marry him, maybe you are cut out to be a military wife.”
An odd sense of satisfaction bloomed inside her. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“As it was intended.” When they reached the set, George waved at the security guard and parked in the lot. “I don’t see Tucker’s car here yet.”
“That’s probably a good thing. I want to have a plan of attack before I talk to him.”
“Plan of attack?” George laughed. “You’re starting to sound like you’re the one in the military.”
“I may have picked up a few things from Craig.” Her gaze settled on Reed’s classic Mustang. “And it looks like the rest of my team is already here. Come on.” She got out of the car, and she and George walked into the beach house. She passed the set area and found Jane and Reed in the office Jane shared with the other personal assistants. Jane sat at her desk, and Reed slouched in the chair next to her, his feet up on a second chair, his eyes closed.
“Good morning,” Sienna said.
Reed cracked one eye open before he closed it again. “You know that when you call my wife into work early, that means I have to come in early too, right?”
“You have your own cars,” Sienna reminded him. “You could have come in later.”
Reed shot her an I-can’t-believe-you-would-suggest-such-a-thing look. “But then I’d miss talking to her on the way to and from work.”
Sienna laughed. “Hey, it’s not my fault that you’re so in love with your wife that you want to spend extra time with her.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Why did you want us to meet you here early?”
“I need your help to figure out how we can redo the shooting schedule so I can have the week of the election off.”
“A whole week?” Both of Reed’s eyes opened now. “We’re already working ten- to twelve-hour days. Do you have any idea how long our day will be if we have to cram that much shooting into the next few weeks?”
“No, but Jane will figure it out for us.”
Awareness lit Jane’s face, and she leaned in and lowered her voice. “You’re finally getting married.”
“I hope so.” Sienna clasped her hands together. “Election day is our plan.”
“That’s not a lot of time to put everything in place.” Despite the flash of skepticism that crossed Jane’s face, she asked, “How are you going to get your parents there?”
“I’m going to enlist the help of an expert.”
“Who?” Reed asked.
“My sister.”
18
Jim sat beside Trey in the back of his campaign bus, the remaining tour schedule on the table in front of them. Katherine had opted to try to sleep in their sleeping quarters while they traveled from San Francisco to Los Angeles. After a rally in LA tomorrow, they would then make their way to Phoenix. Jim’s head was spinning. Had it really only been last weekend that they’d been home?
Trey tapped on the schedule a few lines down. “With as good as your numbers are, we could skip the stop in Albuquerque and go straight through to Dallas.”
Though lightening his load sounded appealing, Jim shook his head. “The stop has already been announced. I don’t want to upset New Mexico by making the people there feel like they’re any less important than Texas.”
“Jim, they are less important. New Mexico only has five electoral votes compared to forty in Texas.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t make the people living there any less significant to how I plan to run my presidency,” Jim insisted. “Everyone matters.”
“I still think this stop-in-every-state idea is crazy,” Trey said.
“Only two weeks left.”
“Thirteen days and eleven states,” Trey corrected.
“Hey, at least we visited Hawaii and Alaska early on.”
“I wouldn’t mind a week in Hawaii about now.”
“We’re on the home stretch.” Jim leaned back on the bench seat. “Anything new out of Gallagher’s camp?”
“So far, it’s the usual rhetoric.” Trey pulled out his phone, no doubt checking his notes. “She met with a reporter from the Post yesterday. We don’t know what that was about.”
“You’re still worried she’s planning a smear campaign in the eleventh hour.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Let’s assume she tries.” Jim adjusted his body so he could get more comfortable. “What can I do to defend myself that I’m not already doing?”
“I don’t know.” Trey set his phone on the table. “You haven’t given the opposition any fuel to work with, and the gap between you widened another two points after the last debate.”
“If there’s nothing we can do, then I guess we should finalize those last few cabinet-member positions.”
“Finally. I was starting to think you weren’t ever going to come to a decision.”
In truth, Jim had made his decisions about the final two candidates after meeting with Charlie and Doug. He had also changed several that he had previously settled on, but he hadn’t wanted to give Trey too much time to try to talk him out of his choices. “Here’s my final list.”
Trey took the paper, and he lifted his eyebrows. “Did you even look at the candidate list I gave you?” Trey asked. “Not one of them is on here.”
“Sorry, Trey, but those names you gave me were just that. Names. I need people I know. People I can trust.”
Trey’s jaw clenched briefly. He fell silent as he read over the list again. “I haven’t even heard of some of these people. Who is Kel Bennett? Or Doug Valdez?”
“Kel is currently serving as a commander in the navy.”
“Not with your son-in-law.” Disapproval hung in Trey’s voice.
“He’s Brent’s commanding officer.”
“Why him?” Trey asked. “You already have a retired general as your running mate. Not to mention, a commander isn’t exactly the rank one would expect for a cabinet member.”
“Experience and character are more important than rank.” Jim’s resolve remained intact. If he did win, he didn’t want to become president in name only. He wanted to make a difference, and he needed the right people around him to make it happen. “And like you said, I already have a retired general as my running mate. Nate has the command experience I lack and will make an excellent vice president, while Kel is uniquely qualified to head up the Department of Veteran Affairs.”
“How?” Trey set the list of cabinet nominees down. “You want someone who is used to giving orders running things. A commander in the navy is basically middle management.”
“Which is why he’s perfect. He’s still connected to what military life is like for the men and women serving,” Jim said, his conviction rising. “And Kel knows what it’s like to be injured in the field and have that change the course of his career.”
“Does he have any skeletons in his closet?” Trey asked. “What about his family?”
“His parents and sister were killed in a domestic terrorist attack years ago. His wife is a novelist and is already in the public eye.” Jim paused. “They’re good people, and Kel is someone I can trust to take care of our veterans without any political ambitions getting in the way.”
“I can’t say it’ll be an easy sell, but you can try.” Trey motioned to the list. “What about Valdez? Who’s he?”
“An FBI agent,” Jim said. “Who better to run Homeland Security than someone who has spent his career protecting people?”
“Let me guess.” Trey let out a sigh. “You know him, and you trust him.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m seeing a theme in your nominations.”
“Trust is a good thing.”
“Forgive me if I feel the need to check these people out myself.”
“I’d rather you didn’t do that.”
Trey’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
Jim automatically censored his answer. “Let’s just say I’d rather these names not leak to anyone prematurely.”
“You’ve got to give me more than that,” Trey said. “If I’m going to be your chief of staff once you win, you need to trust me.”
“I’m trusting you with that list.” Jim stretched his arms over his head. “I need to get some sleep. We can talk about the rest of those names tomorrow.”
Trey’s hand tightened on the list. “Good night.”
Jim opened the door to his sleeping compartment, surprised to find Katherine sitting in bed with the light still on.
“What are you still doing up?” Jim asked.
“I just got off the phone with Amy.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, but remember when you told Kendra you would do anything you could to help Sienna and Craig?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Well, they have a new plan.” Katherine hesitated in that way she did every time she wanted something she wasn’t sure he would agree to.
“Should I be worried about this new plan?”
“Not worried, but I’m not sure how you’ll feel about their request with as busy as you are.”
“Obviously they aren’t getting married while we’re still on the campaign trail,” Jim said. “If there’s a way to help them finally make their wedding happen, you know I’ll do anything I can.”
“Great. I’ll make the arrangements.” Katherine stood and took a step toward the door.
“Wait. Aren’t you going to give me the details?” Jim asked, his suspicions rising. “Have they even set a date?”
“They have.”
“When?”
Katherine shot him an innocent look and tilted her head. “Election day.”
19
Craig rolled his shoulders to work out the stiffness that had settled there. A morning working out and an afternoon staring at intel reports from their mission in Honduras. Even though they already knew what had happened, with Damian originally from Venezuela and Craig and Quinn fluent in Spanish, the work of translating emails and other online content had fallen to the three of them.
“My eyes feel like they’re about to fall out.” Quinn leaned back in his chair.
Craig didn’t bother to look up. “We’ve only been at this for fifteen minutes.”
“It’s been at least twenty.” Quinn looked up from his screen. “You know, I bet we could set up our laptops on the treadmill so we could work while we get a few miles in. I could use some physical activity.”
“We were on the obstacle course this morning,” Damian said in Spanish.
“Oh yeah.” Quinn pushed away from his desk and stood. “So we go for a run now, and later we can hit the basketball court and play a little pickup ball.”
“And end up with a sprained ankle for my wedding? No thanks.” Craig leaned back in his chair and rolled his shoulders. Quinn was right. Maybe a little extra physical exercise would be a good thing. Craig opened the next email. “Everything I’m seeing here indicates the Jaguar Negro didn’t have anything to do with the bombing.”
“If they just happened to be there, outside the embassy, when the bomb went off, that’s one heck of a coincidence,” Quinn said.
Damian straightened in his chair. “This may be something.”
“What have you got?” Craig asked.
“A cargo plane left Cali, Colombia, about six hours after the embassy bombing,” Damian said. “Looks like it’s one of Morenta’s.”
“Where did it go?” Craig asked.
“The flight plan had it refueling in Casablanca before flying to Adana, Turkey.”
“Which is right next to Abolstan,” Craig said.
“Why were you checking flights out of Colombia instead of reading emails from the Jaguar Negro?” Quinn asked.
“Because the emails were boring.” Damian shrugged. “And you two were already looking at those.”
“Can’t argue with that logic.” Quinn stood and moved to look over Damian’s shoulder.
Craig pulled up his notes from the emails so far as well as the after-action and intel reports from the hostage rescue. “The IDs came back on the guys we drugged at the cabin. Both were known members of Jaguar Negro.”
“So the gang was involved in the kidnapping.”
Craig skimmed through the next report, this one listing two of the men who had kidnapped the hostages outside the embassy. Both were from Abolstan, and one was suspected of having ties to Gioia’s group. “This is weird. It looks like the kidnappers were Gioia’s men, but the men holding the hostages at the cabin were gang members.”
“They were working together? Why?” Quinn asked.
Snippets of overheard conversations pieced together. “The guards at the cabin said something about not trusting these guys and that it was easy money,” Craig said. “Maybe Gioia handed the hostages over to the Jaguar Negro for them to collect the ransom.”
“But why?” Damian asked.
Craig shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Quinn motioned at Damian’s computer screen. “When did that flight leave for Turkey again?”
“Six hours after the bombing,” Damian said.
“That’s plenty of time for Gioia’s men to hand their hostages off to the Jaguar Negro and fly down to Cali to catch the cargo plane home.”
“That’s a stretch,” Damian said. “What’s their motivation?”
“Think about it,” Craig said. “All of the regional resources would have been focused on securing our other embassies in the area and assisting the victims of the bombing. With the added element of rescuing hostages, our focus was everywhere but on Morenta and what Gioia was buying from him.”
“You think they took hostages as a distraction?”
“That’s exactly what I think.”
* * *
Sienna walked into the production trailer after her latest scene. Reed had taken the spot beside Jane while he reviewed his script for his next scene. “How’s it going?”
“Jane figured it out,” Reed said.
“Sort of.” Jane handed her a printout, and Sienna scanned over it.
Hope bloomed. If Tucker agreed, it might just be possible for her to really get married on election day. She nearly crossed her fingers but reminded herself that superstition wasn’t going to get her to the altar.
Reed stood and tapped on the color-coded schedule. “If Tucker agrees to this, we are going to be wiped out by the time we get to hiatus.”
“Yeah, but this will let you come with us to D.C. and be at Whitmore’s victory party,” Sienna said.
Reed tilted his head to the side, clearly weighing the benefits. “It would be cool to be there when Whitmore becomes president.”
“See?” Sienna squeezed his arm. “I’m doing you a favor.”
Reed rolled his eyes. “Nice try. We’re totally bailing you out.”
“And I love you both for it.”
Tucker’s voice cut through the air. “Get that set ready now. We’re shooting the kitchen scene this morning.”
Whoever responded to the order did so in a voice that didn’t carry to the PA’s office.
Tucker appeared in the open doorway. His eyes narrowed. “Why aren’t you two in makeup? You’re up next.”
“I’m going now.” Reed moved toward the door, stopping long enough to give Sienna’s shoulder a squeeze. “Good luck.”
Tucker scowled. “You want something.”
“Yes, I want something.” Refusing to be deterred by Tucker’s sometimes prickly exterior, Sienna picked up the revised schedule Jane had printed for her. “I need a few days off during election week.”
“Sorry, Sienna.” He waved his hand through the air like a knife cutting through whipped cream. “We can’t afford to get behind this late in the season.”
“I know, which is why Jane, Reed, and I came up with a plan.” Sienna handed him the printout. “Okay, so it was mostly Jane, but Reed and I helped.”
He scanned the paper briefly. Then he looked up. “My office.” Tucker crossed the hall to the bedroom that had been converted to his private office. Sienna followed him inside. “Close the door.”
Sienna leaned back into the hall. “Jane? Can you come here?”
Jane walked in, and Sienna pulled the door closed behind her. When she turned back to face Tucker, she was surprised by the flash of amusement in his eyes.
“What?”
“You. We’ve been working on this show for over a year, and you still won’t be in a room by yourself with me?”
“Or with any other man,” Sienna said. “Having Jane here protects us both from any nasty rumors starting.”
“Whatever.” Tucker held the paper up. “Want to tell me what this is all about?”
“It’s my family. Everyone is going to be in D.C. for election day so we can be part of Jim Whitmore’s celebration after he wins.”
“He could lose.”
“He’d better not,” Sienna said with conviction. Jim Whitmore had to win, and he had to win big enough to tempt her family to make the trip to D.C. She pushed that thought aside and added, “Neither one of us wants to mess with the schedule if I’m only there to listen to his concession speech.”
“We could maybe cut off early on election day and give you the next day off.”
“I have to be there the day before,” Sienna insisted. “Traffic is going to be crazy getting into the city.”
“Fine.” He sat behind his desk, grabbed a pen, and started marking up the schedule. “We can do the early-morning beach scene that Monday so you would be done by noon. If it rains, we’ll move to one of the interior scenes.”
Though Sienna was hoping to have Sunday and Monday in northern Virginia, she took what she could get. “I can make that work, but I need to take off through Thursday.”
