Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I t had been a long night for Rand. That was standard for deployments, ops, and even trainings, but yesterday had been none of those things at the start of the day.

Then Rand had killed the man who'd opened fire on two sailors and shot up a lot of property as he hunted a civilian woman on what should be a secure naval base. Any of those things would make for a long debriefing, but add them all together and it was after 1400 the next day and he had yet to be released for a few hours of rack time.

He didn't care about sleep, but he had hoped to talk to Kira before she boarded her flight.

Hell, he'd hoped to see her, but any chance of that had slipped away with the sunrise. Not unless he could commandeer a helicopter.

He rose from his seat at the conference table to grab a cup of water, stretching as he did so. He nodded to Kramer, Burns, and Collins as they filed in. Flyte, as Assistant Officer in Charge, had a seat at the table. Later, when Rand left the team and Flyte became Officer in Charge, Burns would move up to AOIC and get a seat when the meetings were as packed as this one would be.

The rest of Rand's team had been released to get a few hours' sleep, but they'd been called back in because the shooter had been identified. This would be a short briefing on the preliminary findings, then, in theory, Rand could go home at last.

Morgan would be teleconferenced in because Kira had been on base fulfilling a Friday Morning Valkyries training seminar contract. Would Kira also join in, or was she at the airport already?

Rand had asked if she could be detained, but not only were there no grounds to keep her in the US, he had no doubt she would hate him forever if he stopped her from leaving.

Not that he could blame her. There were no grounds except he was worried. He'd seen her, battered and bloody. He'd checked her pulse and breathing after monsters had hurt her. Now he couldn't stand the idea of her being vulnerable to that kind of abuse again.

The guy had been hunting her. Either to kill her or take her hostage.

Again.

All Rand wanted was to protect her.

It took a few minutes to set up the video feed with Morgan and one of the investigators who'd been part of the initial search of the apartment. Once everyone was present, Captain Huang launched right in. "Dr. Adler, it's our understanding that you're sitting in on this meeting as a person with security clearance and as Dr. Hanson's employer. Furthermore, I understand that Dr. Hanson declined to join this conversation as she is currently on a flight to Europe."

On the screen, Morgan nodded. "She's currently being escorted to the airport by Freya Lange and former Special Forces Sergeant Cassius Callahan. They will see her safely through security."

"Very good," the captain said. "At present, we have begun the initial search of Ben Kinder's apartment. Kinder is— was —a civilian employee of JEB Little Creek-Fort Story. He worked for Fleet and Family Readiness as an Information Technologies specialist."

So not trained military, just as Rand had expected. IT guys were often into gaming. Was Kinder a first-person shooter fan gone wrong? But what would Kira have to do with that?

"We're currently searching for a connection between Kinder and Hanson," Huang continued. "Dr. Adler, I understand Ms. Lange shared his name with Dr. Hanson?"

"She did. I have a recording of their conversation to submit, but the gist is Dr. Hanson has never heard of Ben Kinder."

The discussion continued, with Morgan being questioned about Kira's trip and if she was working for FMV in Malta.

"No. This is a personal trip for Dr. Hanson. Something to do with her father, who recently passed. We didn't even know she was leaving the country until we asked her to step in for Dr. Diana Edwards to teach the class on base."

"It seems impossible anyone could have known Dr. Hanson would be tapped for that assignment," the captain said.

"Absolutely. Dr. Edwards was taken ill Sunday night. That evening, Lieutenant Chris Flyte"—Morgan tipped her head toward her computer camera, indicating she saw Chris sitting next to Rand—"took Diana to the hospital. The following morning, she was in surgery. No one could have predicted her sudden illness or that Dr. Hanson would be the only one available to step in. When she told us about her vacation, we told her we'd find someone else to teach, but she insisted." She smiled grimly. "Kira is quite thankful to Diana."

Morgan had switched to informal first names, a sign her relationship with both women was more than that of employer. He'd realized that when he saw Kira's car at her baby shower, but he was fairly certain the shift had occurred in the last few months. He'd known Freya and Morgan and their husbands for years and had regularly visited them when he was in DC to see his sister. Until the baby shower, Kira hadn't been at any of the formal or informal gatherings either couple had hosted.

"Given that there was no way for the shooter to know in advance Dr. Hanson would be there, is it possible Dr. Edwards was the original target?"

This was old ground, covered in the middle of the night, but new people were being read in. "The gunman called out Kira by name," Rand said.

"How did he know she was there?"

Rand replied. "It was all over Signal and the other informal base chats. That's how I learned she was there."

"We have on our list to check Kinder's computer to see if he was in any of the base chats. Even though he was a civilian, he was IT and worked on base. He'd know how to get in."

As far as Rand was concerned, the guy's computer or cell phone would be their best bet. Maybe he'd written a manifesto. But they'd only just located the guy's apartment. They were hours, even days, from having real information.

I t was just before 0800 when the call came in. Rand had actually gotten a full night's sleep after missing an entire night and was raring to go when his commander told him to return to base for another briefing.

He quickly dressed in his officer's Navy Working Uniform Type III, but didn't bother shaving. As a special operator, he was granted leeway on grooming and was short on time to make the meeting.

Thirty minutes after receiving the call, he was back in a seat that should be molded to his ass by now. This time, the video feed had Morgan, Freya, and their spouses. Only Morgan showed signs of sleepiness, but she'd given birth to her second child just a few months ago. He suspected she and Pax had barely slept at all, and it had nothing to do with the shooting on base.

Captain Huang launched right in. "Dr. Adler, we find it curious that you denied Friday Morning Valkyries has anything to do with Dr. Hanson's trip."

Morgan bristled, looking more alert. "And I find it curious that you would phrase that question accusingly when I spoke the truth."

Rand smiled. Oh, to not be part of the military hierarchy and get to speak your mind.

"We've learned Dr. Hanson is searching for artwork stolen by the Nazis during World War II."

"So?"

"This isn't work for FMV?"

"No. We occasionally consult with the Monuments Men and Women Foundation, and we work with the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab in Virginia, but we don't do our own research tracking down lost art. We're in the business of stopping artifact traffickers and shutting down supply lines. The stolen items we track were looted from the Baghdad Museum at the start of the second Iraq war, or stolen from other countries during and after the Arab Spring, not by Nazis during World War II." She paused for a moment, then asked, "How do you know what Kira's looking for in Malta? She didn't share any details with us. Are you digging into the shooter's life or Kira's? She's a victim here. You don't have the right to spy on her."

"We aren't. We found the information about her search for stolen art in Malta on Ben Kinder's laptop."