Shattered Shield: Cole Cameron Thriller Series Book 1 Read online

  “I will personally be involved with the mission team.” Several heads turned at that reply.

  “With all due respect, the team will benefit more from an experienced field member than an administrative officer.” Kingman rebutted and even got a nod of agreement from Thompson.

  “That decision was cleared by Director Le June,” Hernandez responded with a nasal tone that did not complement his assertive stance holding up his phone with the text for all to see.

  “Very well,” Kingman said. “Let’s review the operational objectives before we brief the team.”

  ✽✽✽

  McLean Virginia

  The honk of a car horn behind him shook Cameron out of his temporary hypnosis. He had lost track of time at the intersection near the coffee shop where he’d last seen Grant. As the rain grew heavier, Cameron could feel his body responding to the stress of mixed emotions.

  He was concerned for Grant, dealing with his divorce settlement, but he somehow felt alive again. Blood was finally flowing through what had felt like his corpse. This assignment could help him discover once and for all whether he should submit that letter in his case.

  ✽✽✽

  Counterterrorism Center - Langley

  Amy greeted Cameron as he stepped off the elevator with his jacket still wet from the outside rain.

  “Cole,” she whispered, “Roslin?”

  Cameron shrugged his shoulders to signify his uncertainty. He and Amy were in casual clothes. Cameron had on dark jeans and a heather colored quarter zip pullover athletic performance type shirt.

  “I’ve got to grab some files,” Amy said leaving him to walk the rest of the way alone. “McCune wants to see you in her office before you go to the briefing.”

  Cameron shook his head and smiled. Then one quick look through the glass walls turned his mood somber as he saw McCune preparing for the briefing.

  “Ma’am.” Cameron greeted McCune entering her office.

  “Officer Cameron,” McCune began. “You’ll be taking the lead on an interagency AIJB mission team with the objective of ensuring there are no additional attacks. You will get the details in the briefing, but I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be counting on you.”

  “I appreciate your confidence,” Cameron said with doubt to McCune’s motive. McCune began walking to the door but stopped as Cameron continued. “I need you to know something. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Grant regarding Roslin Environmental.”

  McCune closed her door and motioned for Cameron to continue and then folded her arms.

  “He wanted to know if I knew anything about the company from my private sector experience. Anyway, he said he was doing some basic research for his company and was following leads that had him concerned.”

  “How would this relate to the AIJB bombing?” McCune asked unfolding her arms.

  “Oh, I’m not sure it does, but he indicated there was suspicious behavior regarding Roslin’s VX project,” Cameron said.

  “VX?” McCune questioned.

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “We will need to question Grant Ramsey if you hear from him have him contact us immediately. In the meantime, let’s keep this information between us.”

  “Certainly.”

  The two left for the conference room. As Cameron followed her, he noticed that even on Sunday, she wore her business suit. Her auburn hair bounced as she walked down the hall. Cameron glanced over at Amy who looked worried.

  Just before entering the situation room he noticed Hannah Jacobs coming through the CTC entrance. As they entered the room, McCune whispered to Cameron reminding him of the need for flawless execution on this operation. I should pull this resignation letter out and hand it to her now. Cameron thought to himself.

  Cameron saw the facial expressions of those in the room conveying the gravity of the situation.

  “We’re still waiting for a couple of others. Everyone, please take a seat.” Kingman directed. Amy pointed to a chair next to her.

  “Thanks,” Cameron replied taking the available seat.

  Cameron surveyed the room to see the group of people gathered. He paused when he came to Hannah, who had found a seat next to her director, Charles Thompson and another young man in his mid-twenties. She flung back her dark hair as she situated herself. She noticed his gaze and smiled back at him. Cameron nodded a ‘hello.’

  “I see your friend is here with us,” Amy teased having caught their mild exchange. Cameron turned and looked at Amy shaking his head in disbelief at her knack for observation.

  Soon Kingman gathered everyone’s attention and began to walk through the intel they had gained about the attack.

  The lecture style room with tiered seating was near its capacity, and everyone seemed to have something to contribute. Still, the meeting moved at a quick pace. It was as if someone had just unloaded a dump truck of intel that needed to be synthesized. Cameron and Amy each scribbled down notes as they followed the information flow.

  He felt a sense of accomplishment as he recognized that much of the data about the AIJB had come from his and Amy’s previous efforts. The familiarity with much of the details allowed Cameron’s mind to contribute commentary at various points. He tried to understand the AIJB’s targeting of Roslin. More features waved across the screen, as Kingman shared intel that Capps and Amir had gathered in Yemen.

  “We are running the identity of the three dead hostages in Yemen that were held by the terrorists. Capps’ interrogation of Abdul Mahib uncovered the AIJB’s plan of the bombing attack in the U.S. Unfortunately, Mahib did not know the specific target and intentionally released the information minutes after the bombing occurred at Roslin. We’re not sure why they choose Roslin.”

  Photos and bio-sketches of known AIJB members panned across the giant screen as Kingman continued his report. Then a large image of Hasni swiped across the screen.

  “Aakif Muhamad Hasni, the elusive AIJB leader,” Cameron explained to those in the room.

  “That’s right,” the Director said. “We need to get everything we can on his network.”

  Thompson added, “The FBI has field agents arriving at Roslin as we speak. They are also handling the investigation of the blast.”

  “It doesn’t make sense...” A senior CIA officer spoke up as if he was reading Cameron’s thoughts. “…A bombing on a Sunday morning, in a place with just a few people, as opposed to a crowded public facility.”

  “We believe the bombing may have been an attempt to create an environmental fall out of some kind. Crews are responding now to evaluate the environmental impact of the blast. But our concern is whether or not this is an isolated incident for the AIJB. Therefore, the President has issued a directive for the deployment of an interagency mission team that some of you will be assigned to.” Kingman continued, “McCune will have liaison command of this joint operation code-named Titan Shield, and I want to stress that speed and efficiency are critical on this.”

  McCune picked up from there and continued to lay out the operational objectives and plan to leverage the mission center capabilities for the interagency team. She began to introduce the team members with each one acknowledging themselves to the rest of the group as she went along.

  “Officer Cole Cameron will take the lead on Titan Shield; the team will also have Officer Amy Wiggins and Officer Amir Abdullah of the CIA. Abdullah is still in the field but is scheduled to leave tomorrow. He should be available by Wednesday afternoon.” Great. Amy is incredible, and Amir is an excellent language analyst. Cameron thought as he sized up his team.

  Then Thompson contributed, “From the FBI’s perspective, we will be investigating the blast scene. Also, while we have had several of the suspects you saw listed under light surveillance, we will now be putting on a full court press for all the suspects we have identified.”

  Thompson turned and pointed to the table where Jacobs and her colleague were seated. “For the interagency mission team, we will have Special Agent Hann
ah Jacobs and Agent Jason Albright.” Ah, the young guy next to Hannah. Cameron gathered. “Jacobs has worked with your agency on a couple of recent projects and knows her way around here, and Albright is one of our best chemical and biological experts,” Thompson concluded and nodded to Raymond Hernandez.

  Hernandez stood and projected his voice, “And I will personally be accompanying the team for observation and to ensure all Homeland Security objectives are satisfied.” As if his standing gave more authority to his words. Cameron nodded to each indicating his appreciation for their support. The nod wasn’t as warmly received as he had hoped.

  “Thank you, Officer Hernandez,” Kingman said in a dismissive tone. “Folks we’ve been going at this for several hours now, let’s clear the room and let the mission team get to work.”

  The room began to disperse, and the mission team members began to gather around Cameron. Hernandez strolled up as if he was in charge.

  “Let’s take five before we pick this up,” and walked out to chase down McCune before Cameron could even reply.

  “You sure you’re our leader?” Hannah asked as she and Jason Albright followed the others. This is just what I need, everyone working his or her own agenda, Cameron thought.

  “Well, I’m here Cole. What do you want to do?” Amy offered.

  “Let’s take five. That might be the last reasonable thing we ever hear from Hernandez.”

  Amy laughed and patted him on the shoulder. It’s going to be a long ass day, he thought.

  CHAPTER 7

  Counterterrorism Center – Langley

  Cameron was back in the lecture room getting better acquainted with Jason Albright. The young chemical engineer impressed Cameron with his background. Albright seemed equally interested in Cameron’s diverse experience, but Cameron kept the attention on Albright.

  He could tell from the way Jason carried himself that he was relatively new to the FBI. He seemed to follow Hannah Jacobs’ lead and lacked the confidence she displayed. During their conversation, he continually pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose, whether they had slipped down or not. Cameron tried to put him at ease by asking more personal questions.

  “So, Jason, why did you decide to join the FBI?” Cameron asked, just as Hannah Jacobs entered the room with Amy. Before Albright could answer, Cameron’s cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. It was Grace. It might be the last chance he would get for a while to chat, so he excused himself and looked for some privacy. He walked to the edge of the room where he could see through the glass into the hall where Hernandez was ranting about something to McCune.

  “Hi Grace,” Cameron tried to sound routine to disguise his stress from the team.

  “Cole, I need to talk to you about the offer on the house.”

  “I can’t do that right now, Grace, I’m at work, and we’re just starting a meeting.” He felt like the group was monitoring his conversation as he moved further toward the corner of the room for more privacy.

  “Cole this is important.”

  “Grace, I just can’t. You can do whatever you want.”

  “Cole, no I can’t, it needs both of our signatures.”

  Grace, I’ll look at it later. I have to go now.”

  There was only a click and then silence. Cameron rejoined the team.

  Hannah looked toward the door watching for Hernandez.

  “Just for the record, because this is a domestic threat, I believe the FBI should be taking this.”

  Albright looked at Hannah then at Cameron, Amy squirmed a little in her seat next to Cameron.

  “I can appreciate that Special Agent Jacobs…”

  “Hannah, please,” Hannah suggested lifting her eyebrows with the request.

  “Sure, Hannah. Look I’ve been here long enough to know that if we let it, the bureaucratic turf war will bog this thing down and hinder the operation. I’m not interested in who gets credit; I’m only interested in making sure the AIJB doesn’t obtain the capabilities for another attack.”

  Amy jumped in. “You guys should know that Cole has done a lot of work on the AIJB and he has been pushing to have their threat rating raised for some time.”

  Hannah nodded, and Albright just smiled, relieved that the tension seemed released. But that moment of ease quickly turned again as Hernandez marched into the room, with his suit jacket open, he put his hand on his hip.

  “Alright, I think the first thing we need to do is…”

  “Whoa, Whoa.” Cameron firmly asserted. “Were you in the earlier meeting?”

  Hernandez stuttered.

  “I’d like to get us started if you don’t mind, now if you will please take a seat and allow me to do my job, I would appreciate it,” Cameron pointed to an empty chair.

  Hernandez stood for a moment and fumed about his rank and his opinion about why he should be taking the lead on this operation.

  “Well you’re in good company,” Cameron interrupted. “Hannah here thinks the FBI should lead. You think the DHS should lead and the person I think should lead this is still over in the Gulf of Aden.”

  Hannah almost laughed and had to force her mouth shut. Albright seemed nervous, and Amy just sat tapping her pen on her notepad.

  Cameron paused and calmly made his point.

  “Thank you all for expressing your concerns, now you have two choices, either you sit here as a team member of Titan Shield or get out now and send in your replacement. The choice is yours to make, but make it now, because we do not have time for this shit.”

  He paused again and added, “The Olympian gods are knocking at the door, and we’ve got to stay one step ahead of them.” He hoped his Greek mythological reference would calm down the little Napoleon.

  “The Titan Shield and Olympian gods, I get it.” Albright laughed. “Let’s hope we don’t have a repeat of Titanomachy!” Young Albright waited for a reaction from the group and seeing none was offered; he clarified, “you know, the battle where the Olympians defeat the Titans?”

  The group looked at each other as the pun missed its mark and then they all looked at Hernandez. He said nothing but pulled the chair out and sat down just as Cameron knew he would. Cameron suspected Hernandez was in desperate need for some recognized achievement within his department to continue his career advancement.

  Cameron knew he would not pass up this opportunity even if he had to play by someone else’s rules. As Hernandez adjusted in his seat, Hannah looked over to Cameron with a partial smile and nod as if to say ‘alright, then.’

  He skillfully led the facilitation of the team’s discussion of assignments and critical objectives and was pleased with the progress they were making. Amy secured an available Ops room that would serve as an AIJB Task Force war room. It was a little on the small size but would allow them to get started.

  “How soon before your FBI team in Tucson can gain access to Roslin’s R & D facility?” Cameron asked.

  “My understanding is that while the first responders are completing their work, a team will be working to get the bomb’s signature. They’ll most likely retrieve any security footage that might help them in the investigation,” Hannah replied.

  “See if they can do an inventory on Roslin’s VX supply.”

  “Why VX?” Hannah asked.

  Albright found his opportunity to participate. “VX is a nerve agent that is relatively easy to manufacture and requires readily available precursor chemicals. Because of its high lethality rating, like sarin, it’s a likely agent for a chemical attack if the group has access.”

  “And Roslin was working on a VX project, so we know it was there,” Cameron offered.

  “Yeah, but why VX? There are all sorts of chemicals there at Roslin. Look, all we know is a suicide bomber walked into the facility outside Tucson and killed nine people wounding a dozen more,” Hernandez questioned.

  Hannah seemed confused. “We are all sharing information here, right?” she asked. “What’s your concern about VX as opposed to anything else?”
>
  “Some intercepted communications mention VX,” Cameron said. “It could be nothing, but I feel strongly that it’s worth checking into.”

  “OK, I’ll make sure the field team in Tucson gets the information,” Hannah replied.

  “In the meantime, I suggest we head to Los Angeles to Roslin’s headquarters; we need to meet with their security and executive officers. They may have some internal information that can help us determine if this was a strategic attack or a fluke. Amy, make sure we have secure communications and bring field laptops for retrieving and decrypting data,” Amy nodded.

  “Why don’t we just have the FBI team or JTTF out of LA handle it?”

  “Remember all we’re doing is looking for AIJB. We’re not investigating Roslin. Stopping the AIJB is our objective. To me, it starts with understanding why they targeted Roslin.”

  The group chewed on it.

  “McCune will be here with more analysts that we’re adding to the team. I don’t know about you guys, but I would like to roll up my sleeves and get in the thick of it.”

  They all nodded.

  “Jason, I think we’d like to have atropine and diazepam on hand as a precaution in case of contact with VX.”

  “Absolutely!” Albright agreed.

  “What’s atropine?” Amy asked with some concern.

  “It’s the antidote for VX,” Albright answered.

  “Wonderful,” Hernandez moaned.

  “Raymond it might be a good idea to check with Customs and Border Protection to see if there's any middle-eastern detainees from border crossings,” Cameron continued down the list.

  “Well, I am constantly kept abreast of issues with CBP through my daily reports. There’s nothing out of the ordinary there,” Hernandez insisted.

  “Just the same, if you wouldn’t mind shaking the trees a little to see what falls out. If the AIJB wanted to penetrate our borders and they have some connection with Roslin, the Arizona-Mexican border would seem like a logical place. Just see if any red flags have been raised along the southern border.”