The Puppeteer

CHAPTER 19



DANI WAS RELENTLESS. But then, after knowing her for her entire life, this didn't come as a shock to Drew. But still, even he was surprised at the extent she interrogated Adam about his trip to Miami and every little detail he could remember about Nicholas Frey.

Dani was hovering over Adam's desk and, though Drew couldn't hear everything they were saying, he did catch the occasional ‘save me’ glances Adam was throwing in Ty's direction.

Drew turned his attention to Ty and saw he was deep in conversation with Roddy, Fawkes, and Jay. All of Adam's pleas where going nowhere. Even when Ty did glance in the direction of Adam and Dani, all of his attention was focused on her.

As he approached Ty, Drew could hear the men talking about currents, drop times, swim times, and other SEAL-related topics. As he came closer, the men stopped talking and looked up at him expectantly.

“You need to call off the dogs,” Drew said to Ty with a jerk of his head in Dani's direction. Ty smiled.

“No way. I did your dirty deed this morning and kept her from coming after you for withholding the information last night and the information about her father's files being in your possession. Don't think she's forgotten about that,” Ty offered in warning.

Drew grimaced. She'd get over his little omission, he knew she would, but she wouldn't be graceful or gracious about it.

“Drew?” Marmie said, walking toward the group carrying a stack of files. “Ready?”

He nodded and moved to the center of the room. “Guys,” he called. The room went silent. When Drew was sure everyone was listening, he continued.

“As you all know, Nicholas Frey arrived in Portland about an hour ago and made his way to Getz's compound. Sonny's schedule changed and he is expected to land in Toronto within the hour and several of his Eagle's Wing cohorts are already there.

“Martin Cassidy, the cousin in New Brunswick,” Drew reminded everyone, “procured a couple of boats this week. Long range sport cruisers. The kind of boat that, if it launches tonight, will be down here by the day after tomorrow.”

“Which means we go in tomorrow night,” Fawkes interjected.

“Which means you go in tomorrow night. Early morning to be exact,” he added, confirming the plan they'd already set. Fawkes and Roddy would lead the water assault by taking in a team in the dark hours of the early morning so they had a higher chance of emerging from the water onto the land without being seen. Once on land, the team would get in place and stay that way until the action started.

“What about the drugs?” Dani asked. “Do we know if the Eagle's Wing has them, or is getting them somewhere on the way? And if they're getting them on the way, where?”

“They idn't have them when they arrived in Toronto,” Drew answered. “Canada agreed to let us handle customs and we ran a couple of extra-high tech searches. Nothing came up, so we know they're clean for now. It's looking like Cassidy might have acted as the intermediary, receiving the goods and storing them until they are shipped down to Getz.”

“Or?' Ty prompted. Drew didn't even bother to hide the fact that he hadn't wanted to share his own opinion on what he thought might take place. He didn't have any evidence to support his new belief, but his instincts told him it might not be drugs Getz was going to be receiving from the militia.

“Or,” he started, taking a deep breath. “Or, it's not drugs they'll be exchanging at all. It's possible Sonny has something else, maybe information, they will be handing over instead. Something passed to him from Frey.”

“What kind of ‘something’ and why wouldn't Frey pass it on himself? He's there already,” Spanky pointed out.

“Manipulation,” Ty replied. Drew nodded.

“For some reason, Frey wants Sonny involved with both Getz and the Eagle's Wing. Again, we don't know why, but he seems to be setting Sonny up for something. As for what that ‘something’ is, I'm not sure. But, a couple of months ago, Frey was in South America when the oldest son of a prominent drug lord, one of Getz's suppliers was killed. My guess is, he has information about this. Information Getz could use to secure access to more drugs and expand his growing empire.”

“So Frey gives Sonny the name of the man who killed the kid and Sonny hands the information over to Getz and gets the weapons in exchange. In the meantime, Getz gets to take the information to the drug lord and use it as a bargaining chip to get cheap drugs.”

Drew shrugged, knowing he didn't have any evidence to back up his claim, but also knowing chances were good he was right.

“Okay,” Fawkes jumped in, weighing this new information. “So, if it's true, the boats that come in, probably won't have anything on them so there will be no drug seizure. They'll be light and fast until they're loaded with the weapons and then they'll slow down and burn through fuel like nobody's business.” It didn't change the equation all that much but it needed to be taken into account.

“That's assuming the weapons are heavy,” Spanky interjected.

Fawkes acknowledged the point but added, “We know they're big though or they wouldn't be bringing down two boats. So it could be light, it could be heavy, but either way, it's probably big.”

“And either way, you drop as planned,” Drew responded. “Once we confirm the boats are headed down the coast, we'll move forward. The current won't be good for swimming down the coast so Jay found us a fishing boat. It won't raise any flags with anyone watching if it's seen out in the early hours of the morning. You'll drop about a mile off shore at around three in the morning, swim in, and set up.” Drew pulled a map out of one of the files Marmie had handed him and tacked it to the wall.

“You'll have a team of five with you, so that gives us seven on the ground, including yourself,” he said to Fawkes. “And you,” he added with a nod to Roddy. “Now why don't you take the rest of the team through your plan.” Drew stepped away as Fawkes moved toward the map.

“We'll drop here,” he pointed to a spot off the coast. “And swim in this way,” he marked the path with his finger. “Roddy and I have already been in a couple of times to scope the area and this is our best bet. It's not great for staying deep but it puts us out here,” he pointed to a spot on the shoreline that was about four hundred yards from the house. “There are a series of boulders here that will provide cover for our exit. We'll be able to strip and set up out of sight from the house, but still be close enough.

“We'll be taking a couple of people from Cotter and Spanky's teams, people we've been training with these past few days,” Fawkes continued. “Based on the reports we've been receiving regarding the activity at the house and the movements of the security guards, we're not expecting any problems.”

“You've done a trial run?” Dani asked.

“Trial enough. Trust me, this is a piece of cake compared to some of the things we've done,” he added when she flashed him a skeptical look. Drew had to fight a smile when Dani, as she had the day before, turned to Ty for some sort of guidance. Ty gave her a quick nod.

“You sure?” she asked, concern etched in her voice.

“Yes,” Ty responded without hesitation. She accepted this with a nod and turned back to Fawkes.

“You're hurting my feelings darlin'. You don't trust Fawkes,” he said. Dani rolled her eyes and everyone laughed. No doubt his plan.

“So, that's the plan for us. We've got our gear, we'll be in place and waiting for your orders,” he concluded, turning the floor back over to Drew.

“Once the boats have made their way into the bay, we'll move into place,” Drew took up talking as he looked at his assembled team. “Even though drugs might not be the currency of the day, we're still treating it as a raid. Spanky will keep monitoring the situation from the control rooms. Cotter's team will be the first to go in,” he said with a nod to the older man who responded with his own curt nod of understanding. They'd made a deal earlier in the day that no one else knew, or would know, about. Cotter was going after Frey. His team would secure the area and stay focused on Getz and the militia members. But Cotter, with all his experience, was who Drew trusted the most to bring the man in, in whatever way he could.

“Dani, Ty, Adam, and Cotter's team B,” he said, referring to the secondary team Cotter led, which included agents who had combat experience but who usually sat on Spanky's team, “will come in second, plugging any holes. Between Fawkes's water team covering the boats and the shoreline, and the two teams coming in by land, we should have the place covered.”

Everyone in the room nodded. The information they'd gone over wasn't new to anyone, each team had developed their own plan with Drew coordinating efforts, but it was the first time they'd heard the orchestrated results.

“Folks,” Drew raised his voice a bit to be heard over the growing din of conversation. “I know I don't need to say this, but please keep your eyes on the targets.” He knew Dani would take the comment personally, as a warning to her to stay focused on her job, regardless of Frey's involvement. And, in all honesty, it was. While he wanted Frey as much as everyone else in the room, with the possible exception of Dani, he didn't want to lose their chance at Getz or let the Eagle's Wing slip through their fingers. He'd promised Getz to the DEA in exchange for letting his team take over the investigation. He would lose credibility if he didn't deliver, and the man would still be on the streets pushing his drugs. Drew hoped like hell that if drugs weren't being exchanged, there were at least enough on the premises to deliver on his promise.

As for Eagle's Wing, he didn't know what their target was, but just knowing they intended to target something was enough. He wanted them taken out of the equation. Now that they knew who Frey was, tracking him would be easier and, with his mobility reduced, his effectiveness would decrease. If they didn't get him now, they'd get him soon.

He waited for Dani to comment on his parting words. ‘Coward’ wasn't a word he used to describe himself, except for when it came to situations like this, so he kept his head down, focused on collecting papers from the desk rather than on Dani. But curiosity got the better of him when, after a few minutes she said nothing, so he glanced up. To his surprise, she seemed not to have noticed his comments at all—or rather, not to have taken them too personally. She and Ty stood head-to-head, Ty's hand wrapped around her arm as they talked. Dani nodded at something Ty said, his grip on her arm relaxed, and his hand slid down to grasp her fingers. Cradling the tips of her fingers in his, he leaned forward and said something into her ear that made her smile. She whispered back. Drew couldn't hear it but could guess the topic when Ty gave her a single focused look before laughing. Her smile broadened and she moved away. Ty watched her go and then turned to find Fawkes. As he scanned the room, Drew caught his eye and Ty walked over.

“You're not planning on going against my orders are you?” Drew asked. He didn't think so. He was almost certain the little exchange he'd just watched wasn't a plot to go after Frey, but he wanted to hear it from Ty.

“Feeling a little paranoid?” Ty laughed.

“It happens when Dani doesn't respond the way I'm used to her responding. It makes me nervous.”

Ty laughed again. “No, we're not plotting to go after Frey ourselves. As tempting as the idea is, I think I've convinced her you must have a plan. Which,” he added, with a little tilt of his head, “I imagine you do. And I can even understand why you're not telling Dani about it. But, I'll give you fair warning—if you are keeping something from her, it's one more thing she'll hold against you and, sooner or later, you will need to deal with it.”

The advice was half personal, half professional, and wholly unnecessary. Drew knew that by keeping the information to himself, he was causing a rift in the working relationship he and Dani had so carefully developed over the years. On a personal level, she might be able to forgive his omissions, but professionally, she'd have a much harder time accepting his decision. She'd see it as sign of faltering trust between the two of them. It could pose a problem down the road. Drew knew this—had calculated the risk and chosen his course of action. He'd have to deal with it when it was all over.

“I'll consider myself warned.”

* * *



Dani stirred as Ty slipped under the blankets and pulled her next to him. She wrapped an arm around his chest and sank back into the pillow, enjoying the feel of him beside her.

“Is everything okay?” she mumbled.

“Yeah, Fawkes and his team are in. They should be on shore and in position within the hour,” he answered, moving his hand down her arm.

“They'll check in?”

Ty chuckled, “Yes. Between me and Drew, I don't think anyone is going anywhere outside the lines on this one.”

“Because of me,” she said.

“Yes, because we care about you. We want to get Frey as much, or almost as much, as you do. But also because every player in there—Getz, Taylor, the militia, Frey—needs to be taken off the streets and out of action. Everyone knows how unstable the situation is, from drugs, to bombs, to arms dealing. We'll all sleep a lot better knowing all the players are accounted for.”

Dani rested her head against Ty's arm and thought about what he'd said. She knew it was true. She knew everyone on the team, hers and the assorted others they'd collected along the way, was loyal and committed to the United States and had pledged their lives, at one point or another, to protecting it. She didn't doubt everyone wanted all the bad guys off the streets, but she also knew, in her heart of hearts, that everyone would go the extra for her. She would for them. And she knew Ty was only trying to do some preventive assuaging of guilt. If anything happened to anyone on the team because of something they did that was above and beyond the call of duty, but was done for her, it would be hard to live with.

Intellectually, she accepted they were all adults and each person out there made their own decisions, but emotionally, well, there was no doubt in her mind she would feel responsible if something happened to someone. Ty was reminding her that she wasn't the only reason they were going after Frey—that there were other, very valid reasons they were going into this mission.

She didn't think this reasoning would work if someone actually did get hurt, but she appreciated his effort.

Dani turned her head and glanced at the clock. “An hour,” she said. That was all they had before they needed to be up and preparing for the raid. Everything was in order. All the equipment had been checked and double checked, but she would check it again in the morning, as well as go through all the scenarios with Cotter and Spanky one more time. They'd review their ‘shit list’—the list of the worst scenarios they could think of and prepare for—a few more times. And over the night, someone would have come up with a few more scenarios to add to it.

Ty murmured something and his hand slowed its progress up and down her arm. For a moment, her mind went back to that first night. But then she realized his movements had stopped altogether. And judging by his breathing he was close to falling asleep. Dani sighed and tucked herself in closer.

They hadn't had sex, or made love, or whatever it was they were going to call it, since that one night a few weeks ago. If asked that Monday morning when she'd walked into the Portland police department what they'd done, she would have unequivocally said they'd had sex. It had been a mutual giving and taking of satisfaction with no promises. Neither had asked or expected any more. But now, now if they did what they'd already done, she wouldn't be able to call it sex. Physically, that's what it would be, but emotionally, it was more. Much more.

But the thought of rolling over and saying ‘let's make love’—well, she couldn't even think it and keep a straight face. Maybe it was the newness of it, the idea that she'd never before put herself on the line enough to even consider what she did with a man as something with the word ‘love’ in it. Something about the term made her think of Michael Bolton and all the power ballads of the late eighties.

But all the giggles aside, she admitted to herself that being with Ty now, physically, would involve love, or something like it. Never having been in love before, never having even contemplated she would ever be in love, she wasn't certain what she did feel for Ty was love. But, she was certain that, with every day, he meant more to her than anyone, other than her family, ever had. He'd broken down walls and boundaries that were so thick, she wasn't even aware they existed. She knew she was a better person for having met him and was a better person with him in her life. His steady presence calmed her, like a port in a storm that was her life. He made her laugh and held her when she cried. And no one had ever looked at her quite the way he did.

So, given that she knew this, why wasn't she turning to him and suggesting they use this hour to get reacquainted with each other? The gung ho part of her personality cheered her on to do just that. But a new, steadier side of her was urging her to wait until they were alone. Wait until they had more than an hour. Wait until there were no other distractions, nothing to take them away from each other. Dani didn't think she would always need the kind of focus she now desired, but once she'd identified this new feeling, she knew she wanted their first time back together to be more than a quicky in her sister's guest room with a house full of CIA agents just outside the door and a ticking clock to a major raid sounding in their ears.

And, as if reading her mind, Ty's hand dropped to her behind and he gave her a little pat. “We'll get there,” he mumbled and then dropped off to sleep.