CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Peter Wentz,” said Ryan, staring at Sophia Ann and Georgie on the screen. Behind them were Ham, Carl, and Aiden. “He’s an expert in tracking and counter-terrorism techniques.”

“He can’t be the only one,” frowned Georgie.

“He’s not. But he is the only one that was represented by Copeland, Mansur, and Vaughn in a lawsuit claiming he breached privacy of a non-suspect private citizen.”

“And how was he connected to this private citizen?” asked Georgie.

“Laura Wentz is his ex-wife. They’d been divorced for two years, and she was dating someone for several months. Suddenly, the boyfriend claims that she was putting private photos, things they discussed, that sort of stuff on social media. She was able to prove to him that it wasn’t her because she didn’t have any social media accounts.

“Unfortunately for Wentz, the man his ex-wife was dating is a D.C. cop. Apparently, Wentz is not as smart as he thought. The cop got some help from the force, and they were able to track everything back to him.

“Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Wentz makes about a hundred-and-fifty thousand a year. He pays alimony and child support to his wife, lives in a fairly expensive townhome, and drives a new car. He shouldn’t be able to afford all of that, even if he lived frugally. Top that with the fees that Copeland, Mansur, and Vaughn charge, and it doesn’t add up.

“Yet a month into the legal proceedings, he shows up with their top counsel. They made all kinds of bullshit claims about stress-related work psychosis that pushed him to do things out of the ordinary. The wife was granted a restraining order against him, and his visits with his kids were limited, but he didn’t have to pay any retribution to the wife or boyfriend.”

“Are the wife and boyfriend still together?” asked Sophia Ann.

“They are. In fact, they announced their engagement over the Christmas holiday. Sergeant Julian Moore is on duty today. I’ve asked him to meet with you at a local coffee shop after you land.”

“You’re the best, Ryan,” smiled Georgie.

“No, Hiro and Tanner are the best. I just told them what I was looking for, and they found it. Take care. Wentz won’t be happy if his little secrets come to the surface. He’s got one mark against his record. If he gets another, he’ll have to leave his role at the Pentagon.”

“Good to know,” frowned Carl. “Thanks, brother.”

“What do you think, Georgie?” asked Aiden.

“I think Sophia Ann and I need to speak with Moore alone. I don’t want your faces seen with us. I need you to be able to get into the Pentagon as unknowns.”

“Georgie, someone will know us, babe. They always do. Besides, we need you to get into the Pentagon as well. We’re not doing this separately. Moore will want Wentz punished for what he’s done. We have to trust that he’ll help us.”

Georgie didn’t like it, but she also knew that her husband was right. Carl, Ham, and Aiden were very recognizable. Not just because they were former Special Forces. Women seemed to remember their faces wherever they went. It was like traveling with the Rolling Stones.

“Okay,” she nodded. “Then you and Sophia Ann meet with Moore. Ham, Aiden, and I will head to the Pentagon, and you can meet us there when you’re done with Moore. There’s a meeting at 1400 with Staff Sergeant Hunt, the law firm, his Army superiors, and members of the Japanese consulate.”

“Do we think Hunt knows about what’s happening behind the scenes?” asked Ham.

“I’m not sure,” said Georgie, shaking her head. “I know that whatever Wentz did to that communication device is preventing him from proving his innocence. He won’t be happy about that when he finds out.”

When the plane landed, Evie and Autumn stared at the team, nodding toward the windows.

“It’s ugly weather. We won’t fly home until you’re ready. We’re going to park this baby in stealth in a hangar, get a couple of rooms at a hotel, and wait for you guys. If you need something, let us know, and we can do some groundwork for you,” said Evie.

“Appreciate you, Evie,” said Ham. “Don’t risk anything for us. If we get in trouble, you guys get out of here.”

“Honey, look at the weather,” she grinned. “We’re not going anywhere. There’s a nor’easter coming straight at us. Blizzard white-out conditions, winds up to fifty miles per hour, and as much as three feet of snow. We’ll be warm and toasty. You guys need to get to the Pentagon before they make the decision to shut it down due to weather.”

Evie was right about one thing, the weather sucked. Just trying to get the few miles to the Pentagon proved more difficult than they imagined. As they hit the security gate, Ham gave the guard his name and showed their identification.

“Mr. McDonald, we were told to expect you and your team. Captain Morgan will meet you at entrance Delta. I’m notifying her now of your arrival,” he nodded.

“Thank you. Can you tell me if members from the legal team of Copeland, Mansur, and Vaughn have arrived?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. They pulled up just a few minutes ago.”

Ham pulled the SUV into a parking space, and he, Georgie, and Aiden entered the building. They’d changed into their uniforms prior to arriving, knowing that the law firm expected to see only military personnel. They would introduce Georgie as a lawyer for the Pentagon.

“Morgan, nice to see you,” smiled Ham, giving her a friendly hug.

“Great to see you, McDonald. How are Sadie and the kids?”

“Great. The kids are acting like little shit pre-teens, but they’re good,” he grinned. “When are you and Tim gonna pull the trigger and finally get married?”

“Yeah, that won’t happen,” she frowned. “A discussion for another day. Come on. I’ve told them we were waiting on new support personnel, and they stalled a few minutes.”

It felt as though they walked miles of hallways and turns and tiled floors before finally hitting the conference room. The three VG members said nothing, taking their assigned seats and nodding toward the others.

“Gentlemen, thank you for waiting,” said Morgan. “As I mentioned, two members of our team are out on medical leave, and we didn’t want to stall this proceeding any further.”

“This isn’t a court of law, Ms. Morgan,” said one of the men on the legal team for the staff sergeant.

“It’s Captain Morgan,” said Jill, staring at the man. “And I’d appreciate it if you’d use my full title. I’m well aware of the fact that this is not a formal court of law. I graduated from Georgetown Law after achieving valedictorian status at the academy.”

The lawyer said nothing, just looking down at his papers with a flush.

“I’m sorry, but I’m confused,” said the staff sergeant. “Where are we on getting the recordings off of the device? I didn’t touch that woman. I barely spoke to her other than to say, ‘no thank you,’ and the device should show that.”

“Mr. Wentz is still working to achieve that for us,” said one of the attorneys. Ham, Aiden, and Georgie all turned toward the man identified as Wentz. Ham stared through him, watching him squirm in his seat.

“I’m doing what I can, Mr. Mansur,” said Wentz.

Now it was Aiden’s turn to stare through someone. He wanted Mansur to squirm as well, and he did, practically out of his seat.

“Why can’t we get the manufacturer in here to take a look at the device?” asked Hunt. “I mean, I know of them and their work, and we’ve never had issues with their products in the field.”

There was a knock on the door, and Morgan stood, opening it a crack as someone whispered to her. Nodding, she opened the door further, and Sophia Ann walked in with Carl.

“I thought you might ask for that,” said Morgan, lying through her teeth, smirking at Ham. “These people are from G.R.I.P., the manufacturer of the device.”

“Pfft,” laughed Wentz nervously. “You’d need the engineers and designers to know what’s wrong with this piece of shit.” Sophia Ann grinned at him.

“Aren’t you the lucky one? I’m the engineer and designer, along with my twin sister. And that piece of shit as you call it, contains technology you obviously cannot understand.” Wentz frowned, pushing his chair back from the table as if he were going to leave.

“Mr. Wentz, stay where you are,” said the colonel running the proceeding.

They could see the panic in Wentz’s face as Sophia Ann picked up the device. Mansur was sweating, looking down at his notes as if hoping to find something that would help him escape.

Pulling out a small, zippered tool kit, Sophia Ann began taking the device apart.

“We have a problem,” she said quietly. “This device has been tampered with. The camera and recording information are external. You don’t have to open it to get to those items. Someone obviously opened it for another reason. In the process, the clumsy, awkward, inexperienced individual damaged the drive.”

“I…” Wentz stopped, knowing he couldn’t say anything.

“Can you get anything off of it?” asked Hunt.

“I can get everything off of it,” nodded Sophia Ann. Carefully removing the drive and the recording component, she slipped it into another small device on the table. Immediately, they could hear and see the images caught that night.

“Soldier, want to come with me?”

“No, ma’am, thank you.”

“Please come with me,” said the female.

“I appreciate the offer, ma’am, but I’m not interested. Please back up. Ma’am, take your hands off of me.” They could see that he’d held her wrists, hoping to keep her at arm’s length.

“He’s hurting me! He’s touching me! Stop touching me!”

The Japanese consulate members began whispering to one another and stood from the table.

“Please accept our apologies, Sergeant Hunt. You are obviously innocent of the accusations.” They left the room, and all eyes turned to Mansur and his team, along with Wentz.

“Why did you do it?” asked Georgie.

“Wh-what?” stammered Wentz.

“Why did you screw with the device? You nearly put an innocent man behind bars, destroying his career.” Wentz said nothing, shaking his head.

“You’d better speak up, asshole, or you’re going to find out just how angry I am,” said Hunt.

“He made me do it!” he screamed, pointing at Mansur. “His stupid son needed to track his ex-fiancée. I tried to just re-use the device, but it wouldn’t work, so I had to take it apart. I didn’t realize it would ruin the recordings.”

“It didn’t ruin them,” said Sophia Ann. “It only had them in a sort of cold storage, tucked away until we released it. Mr. Mansur, I believe you need to tell us where we can find your son.”

Wentz stood to leave, and Carl and Aiden blocked the door. Aiden shook his head.

“I don’t think so, buddy. You nearly ruined a soldier’s life. You’re not going anywhere.”