Page 12 of Surge

Garrett frowned, digging through his memory. “Kane,” he realized. “Kane Reicher is with them?”

“That’s right,” Zim continued. “Kane remembers you were his brother’s buddy. It’s why they suggested you.” The short, wiry guy glanced at the spook, then back at Garrett. “We all feel you’re the one with the fire to stop this.”

So Kane wanted justice for Samwise.As do I.

But this still involved Caldwell.

Garrett tilted his head toward Mr. CIA. “No.”

Zim’s face fell. “Come on, Boss.”

“I’m not going to work with someone who withholds intel and throws their own under the bus, lets innocents die.”

“Why?” said Caldwell from behind him.

Garrett turned. “Burma. Djibouti.”

“I told you my Burma HUMINT was simply wrong. Didn’t know that the sniper chasing you was killing civilians.”

“And people died because you didn’t do your due diligence, nor did you inform me as the op continued. If it hadn’t been for Zim, I wouldn’t be standing here. More would’ve died.” He leaned into Caldwell’s face. “Oh, wait. They did—in Djibouti! Sam and Tsunami!”

“I told you I had no way of knowing the chemist had weaponized it.”

“You are the intelligence officer. That means you get the intelligence before sending people out on some rushed job to die.” Garrett stepped forward, ramming his shoulder into Caldwell’s. “I’m done with you.”

“You’d really let innocents die, just so you don’t have to work with him?” Zim’s voice hardened. “This isn’t you, man. You’re better than this.” He edged in and lowered his voice. “Have you ever thought maybe Caldwell is trying to make things right after Djibouti?”

“Never crossed my mind,” Garrett snarled. He headed toward the front door.

Zim paced. “At Reicher’s funeral, you vowed to make those responsible pay for what happened.” He swiveled around in front of him “This is it, Boss. This is your chance to make it right. To make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Definitely wanted to pull Hakim Ansari’s kidneys out through his mouth. Maybe if Garrett focused on that, not on the spook . . . Jaw tight, he stared out into the bright Texas afternoon. “When’s it happening?”

Zim pulled in a quick breath of hope. “Intel suggests they plan to have the poison on American streets a week from Friday?—the six-month anniversary of the death of Hakim’s father.”

Gripping the security bar of the door, Garrett worked through this very bad idea.

A voice cleared from behind—Caldwell. “My source says the chemicals are leaving Singapore Wednesday. We have to stop them before that.”

Wednesday. A week.

Garrett slid his gaze to Caldwell, who had the good sense to look contrite, if not a little hardened. Curse it all. If he took Caldwell out of the equation, he could do this. There was a reason he’d become a SEAL—to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Even against men like Caldwell. Not acting now would lower him to the spook’s level.

He had a chance to stop them. To stop the men responsible for Reicher and Tsunami and save countless other lives.

“Fine.” He drove a hard glare to the spook. “But my rules, my way.”

2

A BREED APART RANCH, BLANCO COUNTY, TEXAS

Out in oneof the training fields at the ranch, Delaney stopped tugging the dog agility obstacle. She stood with her hands on her hips, chewing her lip as she scanned the yard hemmed in by cinderblocks. Should she leave this double-combo obstacle in the agility course? Tire jump on the left attached to the window-shaped jump on the right. Crew had created the behemoth to level-up the challenge of the course. Surge would commit to whichever she signaled him through. Butshouldshe?

Delaney jogged to the front of the training yard, where Surge waited in a “sit” for her next to the eight-foot chain-link fence. She leaned against the chain-link fence opposite him, taking in the earthy, fresh scent of the newly mowed grass. This place reminded her of hot football afternoons back in high school.

Surge leaned his shoulder into her thigh, ready to play—which meant working this course.

“You goofball,” she said. “Yes, we’re going to do the course. I promise. Gimme a second.”

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