Black Flagged Redux

Chapter 15





4:30 PM

Brown River Security Corporation

Fredericksburg, Virginia





Darryl Jackson sat hunched forward at his desk, furiously scribbling notes as Karl Berg spoke. He had weathered the investigative storm caused by Berg's last request well enough, though he didn't enjoy the multiple visits from Special Agent Sharpe's crew. All of which paled in comparison to sitting in front of Brown River's board of directors and answering some hard questions about the policies in place for their Brown River Special Operations Group. He had assured them that Jeremy Cummings had sourced the Petrovich operation on his own. As a senior member of the SOG, Cummings had access to the armory and the appropriate personnel. He had also convinced them that Cummings possessed the perceived authority at Brown River to assemble a team without supervision. He assured the board that safeguards had been put in place to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again on Darryl's watch.

The mysterious six figure payment to Cummings had sealed the deal and kept Darryl from being fired. Everyone except the FBI had bought off on the theory that Cummings had been paid to hunt down and kill Petrovich for overseas clients. He felt guilty about framing Cummings, but the man was dead, and there was no need to complicate matters beyond that for either Brown River or himself. When he finished scribbling, he settled back into his chair.

"Are you sure that's all you need? Last time I did you a favor…well, I almost kissed my retirement goodbye, among other things," he said.

"I appreciate the assist on this one. The embassy there doesn't have the type of gear they've requested. Acquiring this stuff would be a pain in the ass and raise too many eyebrows. Kazakhstan is crawling with Ruskies."

"Five burly men arriving in that shit hole of an airport might attract all the attention they can handle," Jackson said.

"Their arrivals will be staggered, and nobody should be expecting them."

"Famous last words. The gear will be in the back of the rental vehicle. The vehicle will be rented using a bogus business account…just in case it doesn't get returned," Jackson said.

"Always a few steps ahead, eh?"

"When dealing with you, I like to be about a football field ahead at any given moment," Jackson said, and they both laughed.

"Sorry to be a stranger, Darryl."

"Hell, Karl. No need to apologize. I feel the same way. The heat came down pretty fierce on both of us. Scared the shit out of me, to be honest. We're good friends no matter what," Jackson said.

"It's always good to hear that. Thanks again for the help. Anything I can do, just let me know," Berg said.

"Well, since you mentioned it, I do have fond memories of the scotch we used to sip on my patio."

"Green Spot? Single Pot Still…one of the finest and rarest whiskey discoveries from my travels to Ireland?"

"My very favorite and impossible to find here in the states," Jackson said.

"Two bottles are already headed your way, my friend. Save enough for us to toast," Berg said.

"No promises. I'll give you a number for the team to contact when they arrive. Our guy will pick them up at the airport and take them to their rental vehicle. I'll do everything I can to get them a 4X4. They'll need it if they’re heading out to the testing sight. I'll be in touch shortly. Catch you later."

"Sounds good. Later, Darryl."

Jackson replaced the receiver and considered his options. Brown River ran a small scale security operation in Kazakhstan, with most of it based out of the capital, Astana. The compound boasted two dozen contractors at any given time. Kazakhstan wasn't considered a high risk location, especially compared to Afghanistan or Iraq. Taking five assault rifles fitted with advanced optics out of their armory would be a big deal. Giving them to another team would be an even bigger problem. Onsite personnel would sense a lost opportunity, and more importantly, lost money. The less he explained to the Brown River group in Astana the better. This would require a little finesse on Jackson's part, or if necessary, some serious ball busting. One way or the other, he fully intended to get the right equipment to Berg's team. He pulled up an intranet computer site on his desktop computer and started looking for the right numbers. He needed to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. He'd like to have this settled before the scotch arrived.