Kieran grumbled under his breath, “Now what?” He took a bite of a sandwich.
Martin spoke first, relaying that he finished the Sullivan case with Kip, then added, “Tag just called Julian again. The model he spoke to you about today, well, she just called in a cardiac arrest at her hotel. Two serious incidents in one day.”
“When did you start playing ventriloquist?” Kieran ground his teeth.
“What's this about a model?" Ian asked.
“Well, Dupart, explain." Kieran leaned back in his desk chair and placed his hands behind his neck.
Julian explained to Ian what happened earlier and what his brother said tonight. “Tag doesn’t worry like this. I don’t like it; I’d like to be pro-active.”
“Great, the calm brother is the one not working for us,” Kieran teased.
“Let’s do a little research. Find out who the security contractor is. I do not want to poach another company’s client. But I agree with you, if this is an unnatural cardiac arrest, perhaps her security people are not up to the task. Have Esther push up your flight. I'll call Olivetti and have him take a look. He certainly is more discreet than you.” Tony Olivetti oversaw the San Diego branch. “And, Martin?" asked Ian.
"I thought I'd head out there with Julian and keep him out of trouble?" Martin was a lethal warrior, but at this moment, he took on the visage of a sweet Iowa farm boy.
Both the Chase brothers turned red with laughter.
“Keep him out of trouble? Who’s the gasoline, and who's the match?” Ian’s eyes were tearing. “Alright, both of you go.”
The two men chorused, “Yes, sir,” and ran out the door to go visit Ian’s secretary, Esther.
* * *
Ian and Kierancontinued their conversation about the problems with the new Denver branch build. They went over the additional cost projections as well as the time delays. Both men knew that was typical in construction, but it still didn't sit well to have their plans delayed.
"We’ll have to split the intended Denver load between the New York branch and the San Diego branch. We can't pick up any more here in DC," Kieran said.
"I know, but we need to do something. I asked a realtor in Denver to start scouting for an existing building. If we find something suitable, we can lease it as a temporary location. Either way, if we lease a building or not, we need to start hiring more personnel. I certainly can't complain that business is booming. But we can't keep putting that much stress on fifteen men for the higher-level operations. We need to start building on the Eagle’s Talon level. And then we need to add more to the three levels of regular operators.” Ian chewed his lip.
“I agree, but that takes time. We can hit the base message boards with a help wanted for anybody coming off contract in the Teams, the combat controllers, the Marines, and Delta. That'll give us a pool for Eagle’s Talon. I figure we need five more sixteen-person teams. And for London, we can give them two more Kings Crossing teams.”
Besides American special forces, the Eagle’s Talon teams were composed of men and women coming out of MI5 and MI6, as well as the SAS. They also would hire personnel who were former FBI, CIA, and Israel’s Mossad.
“If they want to come to the US, I have no problem adding women to Eagle’s Talon. Our salaries are better than competitive; I don't think we'll have trouble attracting a group.” Kieran rested his elbows on his knees.
“I don’t either, and if the women meet our requirements for Eagle’s Talon, no issue. We have almost fifty percent women in the other levels. I think that's a good start. I'll ask Tate to start sending out the notices." Ian sighed. "I was hoping you would mention it on your own, but I saw your name on the jet request. You’re going to San Diego?”
“I want to check on the operation. Neither of us has been out there in a while. I figure it would be good for our personnel to see their boss cares.” The corner of Kieran’s lips turned up.
Ian’s brow rose. “Mmmhmm, and this has nothing to do with Julian's model mess?”
“When he described what happened with the acidic seltzer, it bothered me too. And now with this. I figure one of us should be out there to deal with any repercussions if she has a United States security provider. If her security team is coming from France, we have an honest leg to stand on. If it's not from France, and it's one of our competitors, well, I guess I’ll do a song and dance.” Kieran shrugged.
“You can't dance.” Ian smirked.
“Well, you can't sing, so I guess we make a pair,” Kieran fired back.
“Keep yourself safe and call me when you know what's going on.” A text popped up on Ian’s phone. “The jet is sitting at Reagan, ready to go when you get there. Call Farmer and Smooth and tell them you're going out there too.” He stood.
“Why would I call them? I figure, as I step onto the jet, I can at least get some amusement at the terror on their faces.” Kieran’s face lit up.
“You're the mean brother, after all, huh?” Ian laughed.
“Watch your six too; protecting Miss Kentucky will be so hard,” Kieran teased. His brother had been assigned to escort the beauty queen to a gala.
Ian patted his heart. “Someone has to do it. I figure, unless some juicy scandal happens, the headline will state she’s having my triplets.”
