Kirk set his cup down. Finally. He’d been patiently waiting. “Indonesia?” he asked. No need to give any details. “I thought you killed Petrovich.”
“Lacey did,” Shane affirmed, his voice grim.
Kirk blinked. Lacey? As in Shane’s girlfriend, the woman who had been by his side most of the day, Lacey? That revelation was new. He turned to Dec. “Petrovich’s involvement signaled Russian infiltration,” he said. “Why would my going to Indonesia be connected to you? And the STAR team?”
“Because you’re heading to the Interpol gathering in Bali.”
Kirk’s eyebrows shot up. “You seem to know more about my next job than I do.”
Declan nodded brusquely. “Knowing what’s going on in the world is my job. This time, it’s personal. At this moment, there are twelve hundred member delegations from over a hundred countries heading there to this assembly on a private island near Bali, many of whom are unaware of a sudden threat hanging over their heads. Your job is to negotiate the release of three Americans—two scientists and one operative—before the militant kidnappers shoot a missile toward that island. I want in on this operation. One of those scientists and the operative are my people. Under questioning, Holland has confirmed enough details to prove Petrovich was behind their disappearance and that the militants were going to give them to him in exchange for a large sum of money. Unfortunately, Petrovich is dead. This is their Plan B.”
“Wait, Dec. Why are you not sending our men in? Sorry, Hawk, but this should be Brady or me running the operation,” Shane interrupted.
Declan turned and gave his brother a level look. “Because Holland also revealed Petrovich had several SEALs in his pocket and that there were other rogue operatives who had lured those three men currently held hostage. I can’t chance sending any of our usual right now. It has to be Admiral Madison’s team and some outside contractors so none of those bastards are warned. Your job is here, Shane. You have to hand-pick a few trusted men and discover who else had been in Petrovich’s pocket. Kirk, those scientists were taken because of new bio-inventions wanted by many governments, so the stakes are high.”
“Fuck.” Lucas’s muttered curse came out succinctly in the pause that followed Declan’s bombshell as everyone digested the revelation.
Kirk understood the shocked silence. One SEAL traitor was a tremor among the brotherhood. A group? Taking out their own? It was an earthquake. As a troubleshooter, he quickly thought about everything that he needed to get together before the next move.
“There are several problems,” he said. “Indonesia has seventeen thousand islands and to get information fast, I’m going to need to find a translator. If it’s a group of rogue operatives who know you, they might not recognize me. But me and one of your translators? That’s upping the chances. Also, you’re going to have to go through red tape to talk to the high-level person who has contracted me for this negotiation deal. I can’t just give you your scientist and man back without any explanation.”
If he got them back alive. Depending on the factions, Indonesian militants were known to kill off their prisoners, even after the other party had paid ransom. The urgency of this mission lay in the imminent danger to twelve hundred people on an island. Ordinarily, his primary priority would be to stop the missile and then focus on the safe return of the three kidnapped victims. The two were tied together, but in the government’s eyes, the Interpol international meeting would be the more important objective.
But this was now personal. His usual SOP wasn’t going to be enough.
“Don’t worry. No red tape. I have already made contact to meet with that person,” Dec said.
Kirk’s brows shot up. “I don’t even know who’s giving the orders.”
Dec’s reply was soft. “I do.”
Of course Dec would know. He always knew. “What if that person refused to discharge the two back to you?” There must be a reason the two scientists had been together, after all. “I haven’t read all my instructions and can’t formulate a plan until I do—who’s meeting me there, how to integrate Hawk’s team in, the translator, operations personnel in Indonesia.”
Dec shook his head. “Right now, just do as you normally do until I call after my meeting. McNeil usually is fast when it comes to decisions.”
“Wait. McNeil, as in Jed McNeil?” Hawk interrupted.
“Yes,” Dec confirmed.
The SEALs exchanged glances.
“We’ve been doing joint ventures with his commandos to retrieve missing CIA weapons stolen by CIA moles,” Jazz said.
“Russian moles,” Hawk added grimly.
Ah. The picture was getting clearer to him. “Petrovich is part of the group who has infiltrated the government,” Kirk said. “Since the Gorman scandal, retrieving certain missing weapons is top priority.”
Declan nodded grimly. “And the enemy has been trying to stop the bleeding. They’ve been trying to figure out which agency was going after them so efficiently. Petrovich was sent to neutralize the MacKenzies because we work closely with the government.”
“But it’s been Jed’s outfit,” Hawk said. “If anyone could get rules bent, it’s Jed and his men. I’ve seen them in action.”
Kirk scratched off the top line on his note pad. “Translator,” he said.
“I have contact with someone who’s holidaying there,” Jade chimed in.
Jade worked for Declan. She was beautiful and lethal. One didn’t mess around with her.
“She owes me a favor,” Jade continued, “and will do it, no problem.”
