Trust Under Siege Ii: Ghost Hunt

By D. M. Frederick

Travis Mitchell and Richard Billings return with the rest of the cast of characters, to battle a National Security issue, that they thought was over with. This story of deceit and murder continues on, and the level of adventure, excitement, and emotion is amped up in this second chapter in the Trilogy, Trust Under Siege. Hold on for an adrenalin ride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524615956

D. M. Frederick

D.M. Frederick spent several years as a police officer, before he was injured in the line of duty. He’s used his experiences as an officer to write many short stories over the years, and ultimately led to this Trilogy, Trust Under Siege. He spent years revisiting his experiences to put together a real, lifelike, and understandable story of fiction…full of action, adventure, and emotion. Be sure to catch D.M. Frederick’s full Trilogy…Trust Under Siege, Ghost Hunt, and Reflections of Death. He now resides in Florida with his family.

Book preview

Trust Under

Siege II

Ghost Hunt

By

D. M. Frederick

Edited By

Miranda McBee

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© 2016 David Frederick. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/27/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1596-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1595-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016910365

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

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* * *Epilogue* * *

Bonus Feature

DEDICATION

For Dad

We recently lost you, but God gained a Major League Angel. Thank you for all of the many years of love and support. All of those times of hauling me all over the country to baseball tryouts. Coming to all of my high school and college games… even when we were on the road, you showed up. Thank you for the guidance you gave when I didn’t have a clue as to which way to go. Thank you for your humor, your silly dancing to funny made up songs, and even for the times that the family would be standing in line at a restaurant, and you would start whistling or singing. Thank you for listening, when I had to vent. Although I know it was time for you to go home, the selfish side of me wishes you were still here. Thank you again for all of the many things you did for me, and supported me in. But most of all, thank you for being my Dad.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my beautiful and loving wife, Julie Ann. Every day I thank God for Him putting you in my life. Every day, I know how fortunate and blessed I am to have you as my wife. Thank you for your undying support, and love. I love you always.

To my wonderful son, John Matthew. Thank you for your support and inspiration… and your humor. Your levity, and your character voices, are always needed. I love you Son.

Thank you to all of the many people who have supported me in this project.

Miranda McBee

Jayne Lillis

Nick Morey

Nathan Shruba

Mark Frederick

Mom and Dad

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Swanson (Ret.)

Sean Carroll

Scott Crawford

And

Rock Bottom Divers, Dunedin, FL

A special thank you to all of the men and women, past and present, serving in our Armed Forces. Their dedication is unmatched. They give us our freedom. God bless them.

Author Bio and Book Synopsis written by John M. Frederick

PROLOGUE

* * *

Everyone involved in the Rafael Gutierrez case returned home to their lives, or to the best of their abilities. Only a few days had passed since they had closed the case, when Travis Mitchell, Richard Billings and a few of the previous players, received a phone call from Director Aires.

Aires had caught the eye of the President with the way he had handled the Gutierrez case. That case was nothing but high pressure and tension from start to finish, and he had responded admirably. The President had to fill the position of Director of the CIA. Aires was his first, and only choice. Although the Gutierrez case had been closed from a domestic point of view, there was still the problem of Robert Nance, and that was a global problem.

The file on Nance had been opened, and gone through extensively. However, there were still many blacked out areas that were still considered classified. Only the highest security clearance could view the blacked out areas of the file. All the more reason to bring Aires into the mix of the CIA, and go after Nance.

President Garland called Aires into the Oval Office for the official offer. The President was going to make sure that it was an offer that Aires could not refuse.

The CIA had developed a spotty past over the past few years, and it was time to change things. Aires was a no nonsense type of leader. He was a brilliant investigator, with a tremendous attention to detail, and he was a man of high character. Aires was also the man who had a case that directly involved Nance. At the end of the day, it was a no brainer. Aires was the choice… the only choice.

Robert Aires arrived at the White House, and was shown into the Oval Office by the Presidential Secretary. The President jumped straight into the job offer, with zero small talk.

"Director, it’s good to see you again. I won’t waste anymore of your time than I have to, so I’ll get right to it. I want you to take over the CIA as Director. This is not a provisional appointment, this is the full Presidential appointment. I want you to start immediately.

Obviously, you can turn me down, but this is a career move of epic proportions for you. To be honest, you are the one I need for this position. I can give you a little time to digest my offer, and get back to me."

Mr. President, I am extremely flattered with your offer. How long do I have to make my decision?

President Garland smiled at Aires. About thirty seconds.

In that case Sir, I accept. Thank you, Mr. President.

Very good. Ok, here’s what I want. I want you to put together a team, and go after Nance. This is not going to be easy. The man is known in many circles as a ghost, because of his past during the Cold War as a deep cover operative. Your team can be totally of your choice, but I want this thing off the ground and running yesterday.

Yes Sir, I will jump right on this. Is there anything else, Sir?"

One more thing. General Willsford will be your coordinator for any military assistance you might need. Good luck, Director, and congratulations.

Aires walked out of the Oval Office numb. To say this was a big deal, was a severe understatement. He already had a list of names in his mind that he would be calling.

This assignment was at the heart of national security. Nance had intimate knowledge of the United States’ security procedures, military ops, and nuclear safeguards.

Director Aires wasted no time in calling all parties involved. They were to all assemble in the FBI parking basement at zero three hundred hours. There was a door in one corner of the basement, that led to stairs that went to a retired file room. It was without a camera feed. This meeting was going to be completely covert. The players in this game would have to sign up knowing this, or they would not be allowed to play. The stakes of this game were going to be extremely high, and the orders were going to come from the highest power.

The group that was being assembled for this, all had military backgrounds… including intelligence gathering and covert ops experience. Some had just retired from the military, and some were about to retire from civilian law enforcement agencies. Some were simply caught in the middle of their careers, but could not pass up this opportunity.

None of the players knew who the others were. They were all being brought into the meeting under complete darkness. The first time that they will know who is involved, is at the meeting.

* * *

* * *1* * *

Commander Rhederich felt a quick and searing pain in his right arm. He looked over and saw a spear from a spear gun lodged in his right tricep. His wet suit had been shredded, his air hose severed, and now his blood was pouring into the ocean. He turned to see where the shot came from, but he could only see a faint figure in the distance ascending to the surface. He was too far away to make out a description of the other diver.

Besides the spear in his arm, the other problem was his air. He was at one hundred feet when his airline was severed. He had been at that depth for only a few minutes, so he would not have to decompress on his accent, but he also could not shoot directly to the surface.

He still had to make a slow enough ascent to the surface of the ocean, to avoid oxygen bubbles entering his blood stream (the bends). The Commander had one other real problem. When his airline was severed, he had just exhaled. He had no air in his lungs to speak of… only a small residual amount, and not enough normally to make an ascent of one hundred feet. His seal training would help in his emergency ascent. He dropped his weights from his BCD, hit the auto-inflate button on his BCD, and started his ascent.

As he got closer to the surface, he could feel his consciousness start to leave him. He struggled to continue his ascent. He pushed the auto-inflate button on his buoyancy compensator to add more air to his vest… to aid in his ascent in case he blacked out and could not ascend on his own. His mind started to wonder with thoughts about his new bride, Sarah. He fought harder and harder to stay sane, and make it to the surface. With the ocean surface only a foot away, a hand grabbed the back of his wet suit and pulled him up and out of the water, and to open air.

Rhederich was semi-conscious, but could see the silhouette of the man that pulled him out of the watery grave, and into the small boat. The man rolled Rhederich over and removed the Navy Seal .45 caliber semi-automatic from the back of his wet suit, and also pulled the six inch knife from his ankle sheath. The man tossed both weapons to the front of the boat, and out of reach of Rhederich. The Commander’s eyes became clearer when the man spoke his name.

Commander Rhederich, fancy meeting you here. That’s a nasty wound you have on your arm. Let me help you with that. The man grabbed the end of the spear and with a twist and a violent pull, he dislodged the spear from his arm… tearing more flesh and tendons.

Rhederich screamed with agony as the spear left his arm. The man then wrapped the arm with a rag dowsed in whiskey. There you go… you should be as good as new, Commander.

Who are you? And how did you know that I was wounded? The man put his scuba gear back on, and turned to Rhederich one last time.

"That’s easy. You see Commander, I was the one that shot you. I figure right about now you’re wondering where your gun and knife are. Well, you’ll find them soon enough after I’m gone.

Have a great day, Commander, and tell the rest of your team, you won’t find me… but I will find all of you. This was just a little message to all of you, that I can find you, no matter where you are.

Who are you… who the fuck are you?

The man started to go over the side of the boat and stopped. Oh yeah, tell Willsford that I will see him real soon. Tell him, Nance will see him very soon. He started to go over the side of the boat, when Rhederich reached for a smaller knife that he had concealed on his dive belt. He grabbed Nance’s leg with one arm, and swung his other arm around… thrusting the knife into his lower abdomen. Nance lost his balance from the shock of the blade penetrating his abdomen, and fell overboard. Rhederich was able to lean over the side of the boat, and saw Nance swimming away. Rhederich had definitely hurt him, and now he was bleeding badly.

The bastard’s shark bait now.

Rhederich was still in enormous pain from the spear. The whiskey used as an antiseptic probably worked, but certainly added to his pain. Rhederich used his good arm to reach for the small radio sitting on one of the boat seats, and made the distress call to the Coast Guard. Within minutes, a rescue ship was coming along side of Rhederich.

Once on board the Coast Guard cutter, Rhederich identified himself as a Navy Seal, and demanded to see the Captain of the boat. The two Petty Officers were a little intimidated with him, but took him straight to the bridge of the boat, to see the Captain.

At first, the Captain was not impressed with Rhederich’s story of Nance, he was even somewhat doubtful. I need a secure line right now Captain. I have to call this in to Washington.

Commander, I think we can wait until we get to port for you to make your little phone call.

Captain, I’m sure you ascended to your position by having a good head on your shoulders, so let me be crystal clear on this for you, Sir. If you don’t help me on this, you will be answering to your Commander in Chief… followed by a transfer to the North Pole for weather observation. That is a conversation that I don’t think you want to have.

The Captain did not like being shown up by Rhederich, but he knew the Commander was right. Alright Commander, I’ll take you to the communications room, and you can make the call from there. Follow me.

The Captain took Rhederich down a deck to the radio room. Rhederich did not hesitate in clearing the room. This is classified information Gentlemen. I need this room immediately. Go get yourselves a cup of coffee, or whatever it is you guys do, but I need this room cleared right now… that’s an order.

The radio men looked at their Captain for approval. You heard the man, clear this room, Gentlemen. With that, all of the men got up from their stations, and walked out of the radio room. "Ok Commander, it’s all yours. I’ll be outside the door. Let me know when you’re done.

A red light started blinking in the Sit Room. The incoming signal was also relayed to the Oval Office, as well as the Commander of the Joint Chiefs, General Willsford. The Sit Room radio operator flipped the switch, "I copy you Commander, hold for the General.

Seconds later, the General and the President walked into the Sit Room. They both listened to the Commander’s eventful day, and were completely taken back by it.

"Sirs, I’m on my honeymoon in Hawaii. How the hell did this guy locate me, and what’s with the James Bond 007 shit with the spear gun? Somebody did something to really piss this guy off. Oh by the way General, Nance told me to specifically tell you that he would see you soon. This guy is a bad man. I hurt him, but he’s a bad man. Something else you should know, after I stabbed him and he went over the side, I could still see him swimming away. Sirs, we were in the middle of the ocean. He had no boat to go to. He had to have some type of submersible that he could rendezvous with. That begs another question… where did he get a submersible? And who is he in bed with to be able to have that type of equipment?

Do you have any orders for me General?"

Commander, I’m sorry to interrupt your honeymoon, but I will need you to come here for a debriefing. I’ll see you in twenty-four hours, Commander. Hell, we wanted you here for the meeting anyway.

What meeting?

It’s need to know, Commander. You will be read into it after you have been debriefed… copy?

Roger that, Sir… I copy.

The line went dead, and the first thing that entered Rhederich’s mind was how he was going to tell his new bride that he just got shot with a spear gun by a renegade cold war spy, talked to the White House Sit Room, and have to leave Maui to be debriefed in Washington, DC. Oh yeah, this is gonna go over real well.

General Willsford and President Garland sat in the Sit Room quiet for a moment before either one of them spoke. The General was the first to break the silence.

Mr. President, I do believe we have entered back into an age of time that has long since been just a part of our history. Nance is an old schooler from back in the day. His best work was during the Cold War, when he was a deep undercover operative. That’s the age I was referring to. This guy wants us to return to that type of activity for some reason. It could be merely about money, or it might be something deeper. I have no idea, but I can guarantee you this Mr. President, the Commander was right… he is one bad man. He is one scary sonuvabitch, and now he’s our problem to deal with.

"General, make sure that Director Aires is up on this latest set of events. I want everyone on the same page for the meeting. Also, I want you to monitor the meeting as well. You are going to coordinate activity with Aires from a distance, but I also want your hand in the pot.

When Rhederich returned to his hotel suite, Sarah was waiting for him in the bedroom. She already had his bags packed for him on the bed. Rhederich was a bit confused, but before he could speak, Sarah did the talking.

One of your buddies called you a little while ago. Does Travis Mitchell ring a Bell… and what the hell happened to your arm?" Rhederich was again lost for words… which frequently happened when it came to him trying to speak to her. She definitely had his number.

He was completely taken by her, which was usually the reason that he had trouble speaking when she was in the same room. Actually, he had trouble just breathing when Sarah was in the same room. Rhederich was one tough man, but he was putty in Sarah’s hands.

Sarah took him by the arm to the bathroom, to look at his injury. She peeled back a rag that smelled of whiskey, and saw the ripped and mangled skin… with tendons hanging outside the wound. Holy shit, John. I don’t suppose you wanna tell me how the hell this happened? John, you have some major damage here.

Apparently this is part of why I’m going to Washington. It’s from a spear gun, and the guy that shot me… is Robert Nance.

As in CIA, Robert Nance? Holy shit on a cracker, John. Ok, I’m gonna patch this up the best I can, but you’ve gotta get this taken care of, John… and I mean quickly… this is bad. By the way, Travis said he couldn’t say anything more about it, but your flight leaves in one hour.

Rhederich hung his head.

Before you say anything, hear me out. I married a Seal, so I understand what kind of scenery goes along with that. You go and catch your flight. I am staying here for a couple of more days. Get your ass to a doctor as soon as you land, John. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. She could see the dilemma in his eyes.

Babe, I’m so sorry.

I know, but you have a very important thing to do right now. Oh, believe me John, we will be picking up right where we left off, when you’re finished with this thing. She smiled and squeezed him one more time and kissed him. Rhederich picked up his bags and headed out the door. He didn’t want to turn and look at her… he couldn’t. As he shut the door behind him, she whispered to herself, I love you, babe.

Rhederich made his flight, and would be in Washington in a few hours. John Rhederich had no idea of the journey he was about to take part in.

* * *2* * *

Aires knew that his appointment to the CIA was huge for his career, but he could not help but have questions. The last three CIA Directors fell from grace, so to speak, and now Nance, a federal fugitive, had his face plastered all over the walls and fax machines of all law enforcement agencies, as well as airports, bus terminals, train stations, hotels and resorts.

Aires went from what was seemingly a comfortable position with the FBI, to a grab on to your ass type of position with the CIA. What possibly could have caused Nance to go rogue? It could not have been money. If it was money, why would he have gone after and wounded Rhederich. It just made no sense… at least on the outside.

Aires knew that if his team was going to catch Nance, he was going to have to get inside of Nance’s head… if that was even possible. And if it was possible, a person would not want to stay in his head for too long. He was thought to be by some, just a run of the mill politician with a military background. The fact that he was a deep cover operative from the Cold War days, was only known by a select few in the intelligence community. Most of his military file was blacked out. Only the highest special clearance could read it. With this latest set of events, the man had proven himself to be certifiable, which coincidentally, usually went with the job of being a deep cover operative.

For years, Nance operated under the radar, not just of other governments, but his own as well. While he was running around making deals and assassinating heads of state (and making it look like an accident, or an overdose), he was gaining contacts all over the world that would someday be useful. Some of those contacts, were within the nuclear community. That was the part of this whole thing that had everyone extremely nervous.

Aires’ appointment had not yet been made public. As a matter of fact, he had not even moved out of his office in Dallas. Because no one in the media had picked up on the change in the FBI or CIA, the perfect place for the meeting was in Washington. If by some chance a person in the media got wind of the meeting, it would not be connected with