J Saint - Collateral Damage

"One in the same."

Jack clenched his teeth, fighting a wash of pain and guilt. He prayed Rico and Angie were alive, but odds of that with Menendez were bad. The drug lord had built the bloodiest, the most ruthless cartel in all of South and Central America. He'd been responsible for the deaths of thousands over his twenty year reign and toward the end, Menendez had a chimp, a chimp known as Murderous George. Jesus. They had to get to Matt and Mitch fast.

Lauren shook her head. "Why would the chimp-loving billionaire take Matt and Mitch?"

Jack cursed. "GXP." He picked up the faxed letter from the table. "'The real prize will be won when green world burns and Earnhardt, Jrs win the race with the super formula in their tanks.' With the oil market in chaos, the biofuel will be worth billions. If Collins worked for Miles and stole the formula, my bet is Miles wants to trade the boys for the GXP formula."

"But he already has it now if he has the boys," Lauren cried.

"He doesn't know that," Jack said. "We're likely the only ones who do."

"We need to locate Andreas Miles."

"You don't need to do anything," the SOO said. "We'll handle everything from this point. We're already looking to confirm Miles's coordinates. He left Florida thirty minutes ago, destination Brazil according to the flight plan."

"He could fly anywhere if he knows we're onto him." Jack said.

"We'll take care of it. You and Mrs. Collins can take a break," the SOO said.

"Excuse me." Lauren put her face in the man's. "Did you just say I can take a break? My children are kidnapped and YOU WANT ME TO TAKE A FREAKING BREAK! What are you going to do to get my children back?"

The SOO blinked. "Ma'am, we'll do everything we can when the time is right. We lack concrete evidence. For now, we'll be observing Miles's every move."

"What about my children? The right time is now."

"We are doing all that we can to locate them. Until we know more, there isn't more that can be done."

Jack slid his arm around Lauren's shoulders. "Come on."

"Jack, I can't just walk away. My children are-"

"I know." He urged her firmly out the door. He was so angry he thought he would lose it. The right time to get Matt and Mitch back would be the moment Menendez/Miles landed his plane, before the bastard had a chance to hide them anywhere. And Jack for damn sure knew who the right men for the job were and it wasn't the CIA or NCS or anyone else. Delta trained day in and day out for this sort of situation.

Think, Jack told himself, clamping down on his emotions. He had to keep his head cool.

Commander Weston was there. "You won't believe-"

"I heard," Weston said. "Follow me." He headed back through the richly decorated house to the double doors leading to the driveway and their car. He stopped by a fountain in the foyer where water spewed from the beak of a swan into a pond surrounded by fragrant flowers of bright blues and deep reds. The warmth of afternoon sun, the suburban ambience of the decor, and the rich comfort surrounding him might as well have been props for a Hollywood set. He had an uneasy feeling about everything.

Weston's voice was barely above a whisper when he turned to Jack. "You've got to back down. I see the fight in your eyes. We've been officially relieved of this situation. I got the call just after we arrived."

"What does that mean?" Lauren said.

"Means we aren't going to be invited to the party," Jack said, bitter. "We're out of the investigation and when they take down Miles and rescue your sons, we won't be in on the action." Jack frowned at Weston. "That's it. You're not going to push back on this one? You're going to let them shut us out? We're the right men to get her sons out."

Weston ran a harried hand through his hair as he exhaled. "Orders are orders, DT. This comes all the way down the pipe from the President. Paul is calling for an international crisis summit to be held to deal with the fallout. NCS needs believable proof that Menendez is behind it and they can't make a move on him until they have it."

"They can have the investigation, Commander. I'm talking about her children and getting them out of there before they're collateral damage in all of this."

"You're too emotionally tied to this one, DT. We have our orders."

Jack clenched his fist and bit back another retort. Weston wasn't going to change his spots. He always towed a hard policy line. Jack was usually in agreement with his commander when it came to following orders, but ever since he woke up in the hospital, Jack and orders were not getting along. And neither was his memory, something about the Rash guy bugged him. "Who is Rash?"

"Rashid McGuire. CIA. Was in charge of the Alvardo Rescue in Columbia. Haven't heard anything about him in the decade since. I get the idea he's running the show. Heard from the guards that Rash already led a raid on the corporate offices of BioLogics and GreenWorld Corporation before dawn today."

"Alvarado? Wasn't that the family on vacation, who were kidnapped and murdered?" Lauren asked, frowning. "There was no rescue. The drug cartel slaughtered them all even though the family paid the ransom."

Jack met Weston's gaze. They both knew what went down in Columbia. The ransom hadn't even been attempted yet. The CIA had moved in to rescue and everyone had been executed by the time the operatives reached the family. "Things just keep going from bad to worse," Jack said. "This Miles/Menendez character is sure to be on his guard after the raid, if he hasn't already gone to ground. What about news on Rico?"

"I have the team in Orlando already on it. Nothing yet"

"Wait a minute? Neither of you answered my question. What really happened in Columbia?"

"When we're alone," Jack said. "Right now, let's focus on what's being done to locate Miles/Menendez and where he is taking Matt and Mitch. What is NCS doing about it?"

"I don't know," Weston said. "Folks here are keeping tight control and we're out of the picture." Weston glanced at his vibrating cell phone. "I've got to get back to Bragg." Weston turned toward the door.

"We're done here," Jack said. "We'll come with you." To hell with the CIA and official channels. He'd call in every favor in the book to find out where Lauren's sons were and how to get them home safe. He caught Lauren's arm, urging her toward the door. She gave him a pointed look that sharply reminded him of how he'd left things between them that morning. Jack bit back a curse, his heart and conscience smiting him. He should apologize for leaving things they way he had this morning, but just like then, there was no getting around the facts. He was what he was, a man who took lives. He'd taken Bill Collins's life and nothing was going to change that. Her revulsion when she thought Collins killed for a living was the same as he'd gotten from his ex. Lauren's horror and anger at Collins had given Jack an out and he'd taken it.

Lauren pulled free of his grasp and followed Weston. Jack told himself that it was just as well to leave things as they were. Still, it ate at his craw to reduce great love making to pity fucks.

Weston opened the double entry doors and two armed guards dressed in tactical gear moved to block the exit. Jack snapped his mind into gear as he immediately assessed the situation. His earlier uneasiness justified itself in seconds.

"Sorry, Lt. Col. Weston, sir, but I can't let SFC Hunter or Mrs. Collins leave."

Weston paused and glared at the young man. Jack knew just how powerful Weston's ire was and almost felt sorry for him. The kid took a step back but did not move from blocking the way.

"We're prisoners here?" Jack swung around and confronted Rashid McGuire, who came up behind them.

"Consider yourselves houseguests for a short time. It's necessary for your safety and ours."