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“We’re aware,” said Nine. “Nothing to be done about it. We committed to this life and to helping others, even as old men. We’ve made it through this far. We’ll make it a little further.”
She nodded at the men, then turned to head back out.
“Patti? We do appreciate that you were there. Things could have gotten out of hand quickly with just Miller and Addie there.” She smiled at the men, shaking her head.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked, staring at them. The foursome looked at one another, then back at the older woman. She was younger than them but at least sixty.
“Have we met?” asked Ian.
“We have. About thirty years ago. I was with a group of agents infiltrating a child trafficking ring. You guys beat us to it, but the bad guys had me and three other agents up against a wall, ready to put a bullet in our heads.”
“Fucking hell. Phoenix,” said Nine.
“Phoenix,” she laughed. “You and your team walked in, looking like the three hundred Spartans, but you were only thirty. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s how I recognized your man. He was there as well, and he looks just like you.” She pointed to Gaspar, and he laughed, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry we didn’t recognize you,” said Ghost.
“No reason you should. You saved dozens of lives that day. I was just one, but I was one damn grateful woman, I can tell you that. I had a husband and kids at home. Little kids at the time. They’re all grown and have lives of their own now. But I got to see that because of all of you. If I can keep your faces and names out of this, I damn sure will.”
She walked out of the room, and they all just smiled at one another. It wasn’t often that they got to know what happened to the lives they saved, the lives they changed. It was nice knowing that they’d saved a life worth saving.
“You’re okay?” asked Magnus, hugging his wife. She inhaled his masculine scent, falling into his arms.
“I’m fine. I was always fine. Miller wasn’t going to let anything happen to me,” said Addie. Miller grinned at the younger couple and nodded at his friend. He wasn’t offended by his statement. He would have asked the same thing if it were Kari.
“We were all listening here, so we knew things were getting heated. Julia and the team really tore his ass apart in the Square,” said Magnus.
“He’s been getting away with it for so long, he thinks he’s invincible,” said Miller. “Bastard has a rude awakening coming to him.”
“I don’t think he thinks so,” said Addie. “He’s so conceited and so sure of himself, he thinks everything will fall into place, just like he orchestrated it.” Miller squeezed her hand.
“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure it doesn’t.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Rory, Tailor, Alec, Billy, and the men of the D.A.’s office sat around the table, ready to begin the conference call. The cameras were on, and they were ready for this. The video had been put together by the tech team back home and the tech team with the D.A.’s office. Every single thing that Charlie Gates said was put onto the tape in a sound bite or video format.
“It’s 0500,” said Billy. “Showtime.” He pressed the button on the computer and watched as hundreds of faces appeared before him.
“I know you don’t want to be here this morning, but I promise you, I don’t want to be here either,” said the D.A. “It’s no secret to any of you that we’ve been investigating the department for months now. In turn, we’ve been investigating many of you.”
Some of the cameras went black, others just showed stoic faces unwilling to give anything away.
“I ask that you give this video your full attention. It will determine your future in this city, state, and country.”
For the next twenty minutes, the video played with Rory giving the voiceover. It showed the stacks of materials, money, cars, and much more hidden by Gates, the video footage of him in the Square, as well as the conversations at Maison Soleil. Camera after camera flickered off, then back on. Scared faces stared back at them as the team watched them watching the footage.
When it was done, they turned off the video and stared into the camera.
“My name is Rory Baine. I’m a retired MARSOC Marine and proud member of Gray Wolf Security, former REAPER-Patriots, and Voodoo Guardians.”
That got their attention. The faces that paled were guilty. The ones with grins knew they were going to be saved.
“Right now, Charlie Gates is stupid enough to believe he can still pull off this rally. If you believe that, then you’re stupid too. Our teams have been out all night arresting the men and women that he hired to cause chaos at this rally. He expects to see twenty thousand people. He’ll be lucky if two hundred show up.
“We have everything we need to arrest and convict Gates. And you,” said Rory, glaring into the camera. “If you think for one moment we don’t know your names, the ones involved, you’re mistaken. You can thank Charlie for that. He left a ledger of everyone’s name, address, and amount paid every month. He knew that if he were caught, he would bring all of you down with him.”
“Except you all didn’t know he had millions stashed in his own name,” said Alec. “I’m Alec Robicheaux. Former CIA, member of Gray Wolf, REAPER-Patriots, and Voodoo Guardians, among other things.”
