He flinched, but then his jaw tightened.He squared his shoulders and met Faith’s eyes.“I’m not going to stop.I’m not going to let them get away with what they’re doing.I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but if you want to help, then you’re going to have to help me pursue justice for Sierra.”
“I am.”
He blinked.“What?”
“I texted Michael, Jessica, and Smythe.”
“You texted… Faith…” He looked down and rubbed his temples.
“Yeah, this isn’t up for debate, and I don’t give a rat’s rosy cheeks if you’re embarrassed.I texted them, becauseyouare not going to do this anymore.”
“Faith, Smythe is a damned bureaucrat!You said so yourself!”
“And as soon as Michael has proof that the Marine Corps is doing this, Smythe will make it very uncomfortable for them to continue.He has friends in Congress.I doubt like hell the Marine Corp’s pet project is worth their entire leadership being canned for unethical practices, and even if it’s worth it to the Corp’s leadership, it won’t be worth it to the politicians seeking reelection.”
“See, this is what I was afraid of,” David complained.“It’s bureaucracy.”
“I feel like you read that word and decided to use it as much as possible.”
“No, Faith, I—”
“Here’s something interesting,” Faith interrupted.“Tell me if you’re following: I actually work for the FBI.As a senior field agent.As Chief Instructor of the K9 School.I actually know what I’m talking about.”
David didn’t respond right away.Faith watched him, trying to look stern and angry and not shocked and terrified.For God’s sake, what on Earth was he thinking?It was like she tried to perform open-heart surgery on a dog without asking her veterinarian husband to help.
“How did you find out?”he finally asked.
Faith rolled her eyes.“I called Cybercrimes and had them walk me through it.”
His eyes widened.“You had Cybercrimes break into my laptop?”
“I had Cybercrimes helpmebreak into your laptop,” she clarified.“Because I knew you were hiding something from me.”She laughed.“I kind of wish I had caught you cheating on me or something equally mundane.”
“Really?”
“No, not really, dipshit!I just don’t want you to getmurderedby a damned Marine Corps sniper!Which is why I called Jessica.She’s going to arrange for a twenty-four-hour guard to watch you.I’d do it, but since I’m technically not a field agent, I don’t have the same kind of pull with the Washington Field Office.Not without bringing Smythe into that side of it, and I think it’s better I not give him that piece of this shit sandwich.”
“No, Faith—”
“You don’t get to say no.Clearly you can’t handle that level of responsibility.”
“What if it was Turk?”David asked.
Faith stiffened.Before she could answer, her phone buzzed.Jessica Torres, her partner.She answered and said, “Hey, Jess.Sorry to throw this at you.I just don’t want this to become a bigger problem than it already is.”
“No, that’s fine,” she replied.“I’ll have Rogers and Hammerton watch him.And yes, I know, one syllable away from greatness.I’m not calling about that, though.We have a case.”
Faith’s shoulders slumped.She pressed her thumb and index finger to the bridge if her nose and growled, “Of course we do.”
“Don’t worry,” Jessica said.“Rogers and Hammerton are badasses.Seriously.Rogers was a Green Beret, and Hammerton won bronze in the FBI’s golden gloves competition.They both place in the top percentile with their handguns, and they’re both built like mammoths.Unless the Corps wants to mow David down in broad daylight with machine gun fire, they’re not getting past my boys.”
Faith nodded.Realistically, this 93rdTesting Brigade wasn’t going to do anything unless David got stupid again.It would beverydifficult for them to execute an American citizen without causing themselves an enormous amount of trouble.Ideally, David would stay out of it from now on, and they’d leave him alone.
She still hated the idea of not being here with him.“What is this case?”
“I don’t know all the details yet.Something dog-related.A woman was killed at an animal shelter in Plano, Texas.”
“Plano, Texas,” Faith repeated numbly.
