“On a hunch, I had Mason ask the dad and the son if they knew Gunner or Locke. The dad, Captain Martin Block, said he’d worked an op with both men but hadn’t spoken to either in a few years,” Darius said. “It took a bit to get all this out of them, but Mason dropped both the 73 and Black Ledger, asking if that op was run through either division. Block didn’t bat an eyelash when he mentioned your division, but he got damn twitchy overBlack Ledger. However, he didn’t confirm it. So, we decided to call Vance and ask a few questions.”
“You asked Vance about Black Ledger?” She stared at Darius with her mouth gaped open. Those two words were never spoken. Not even between her, West, and Vance. They didn’t want to bring to light something they didn’t want others to know existed, especially when they didn’t know how deep it ran or who they could trust. “Jesus, what did he say?”
“At first, not much. But then he demanded we speak on a secure line.” Darius tapped on his keyboard. “I’m sending more intel over the portal. Mostly my notes on the conversation, but also some things Vance sent. You’re gonna want to take a look at that with Patch, McGuire, and Riven.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m not gonna like this?”
Darius chuckled but quickly turned serious, running a hand over his face. “Okay, here are the CliffsNotes version.” He leaned back, folding his arms over his chest. He let out a long breath as he shifted his gaze upward in a contemplative look.
One she didn’t like.
“Vance says he started Black Ledger.” Darius didn’t shift his gaze, as if he didn’t want to make eye contact after that bold statement.
“What?” She swallowed. “How is that possible? Why would he do that? Why start a second shadow division while already tasked to oversee the 73? If he thought there were problems with my division, why not try to fix them from the inside?”
“You’ll see all this in the report, but Vance said he got tired of the red tape. Tired of having to go through proper channels, even for an unsanctioned op. He figured it would be easy to sidestep protocols, knowing how the 73 operated. He plucked men whom he’d had to reprimand inside the 73, like Gunner. Men who had some issues with the chain of command. Men who had no problem ignoring orders but weren’t complete lone rangers. Hethought he could control them. He believed that having two divisions that worked black ops, one that the government knew about and one that worked as a shadow of that, he’d be able to accomplish more. And at first he did, even if a few times your teams took major hits for the things the shadow teams did.”
“That’s a fucking deadly game.”
“That’s what I said, but Vance was adamant that at first it wasn’t. That because only a select few knew about the 73, using shadow agents to aid in unsanctioned aspects of those missions only got the job done faster. It was all about efficiency, justice, and security for the nation. But a couple of years ago, he started noticing off-the-books missions that he hadn’t authorized from Black Ledger. And new recruits, ones that he would’ve never approved of, and he had no idea where they came from or what they were doing. It was as if he’d been nudged out of what he’d started. Now he has no control and doesn’t know who does. The worst part is that Black Ledger no longer provides unsanctioned government ops. It’s buying and selling intel to foreign governments. They’re traitors and they're making millions doing it.”
“I can’t believe Vance told you all this. Do you believe him?”
“It’s almost too unbelievable not to believe,” Darius said. “When he first started rambling on, I thought, what a load of shit, but then he started talking about you… your mission… your team being dead and the man fucking broke down and cried.”
She jerked her head. “Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t joke about a grown man shedding tears.” Darius ran his fingers through his hair. “He blames himself for sending you in—especially when he wasn’t sure about the intel on Jenkins—and admitted he doesn’t know what to believe or whom to trust. He and West have been questioning Jenkins, but according to Vance, Jenkins seems to be in the dark about everything except the 73. Jenkins had been unaware he’d beenflagged or that you were coming for an extraction. He does know Locke and Gunner, and he’s worked with Mendoza and many others in the 73, but he swears he doesn’t know anything about Black Ledger, other than he’s heard about it.”
“What about West?”
“Vance says he wasn’t part of it and didn’t tell him about his involvement until you went missing.” Darius held up his hand. “They both still believe that you’re most likely dead but are holding out hope. They want to hire the Brotherhood Protectors to find you. Not really our area, but we’ve taken on cases like that before, and I told them I’d bring it to my boss and get back to them later today.”
“Imagine their faces if they knew I was holed up out here in the bayou.”
“Or that Mendoza was still alive.”
She nodded. “He’s talking but doesn’t seem to know much. I can’t be sure since I can’t hear everything. Locke would rather die than betray whoever’s giving him orders.” She tapped her index finger against her temple. “You know, it’s possible Vance is playing us. He’s the one who opened up to me. He was concerned Black Ledger was a real thing. He brought it up in a private meeting with me and West. He tasked me with finding those involved. First real intel was finding out about Jenkins, but now I feel like a fool about that. I can see how it was all a plant.”
“I’ve thought about all that.” Darius leaned forward, clasping his hands on his desk. “While I’ve seen women cry without trying, it’s not easy for a seasoned military guy to do that.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth. “He was willing to confirm some missions and a few key players. We have a list of men he’s used in Black Ledger before he lost control of it. Jenkins wasn’t on it, but he did tell me he trusted your intel andyour instincts and again, he’d lost all control over the missions and the people.”
“He could be misdirecting. It could all be bullshit and it doesn’t explain why he didn’t give me that list when he asked me to find people. Or at least hint at someone. Or better yet, call me off Jenkins.”
“You’re a smart woman. You would have suspected him right off the bat. He was trying to protect his career. Besides, Logan’s inclined to believe him,” Darius said.
“And who’s Logan?”
“My best friend and the person I trust as much as I trust my wife.”
“How does Fenmore feel about that?”
“She keeps her jealousy in check.” Darius chuckled but quickly cleared his throat. “Three more interesting pieces of intel before I sign off.”
“What’s that?”
“First one is Gunner’s adopted.”
She crinkled her brow. “I’m not following. That’s not bothersome or necessarily interesting at all.”
