Page 27 of CJ

“Dad? Why are you there to tell me who they are?” she asked nervously.

“Georgie, I don’t know how this is all connected, but I was in here when Hiro found their names and the connection to all of us. The sisters are Alana, Irena, and Mikella Zacharov.”

“Fuck.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Who is Zacharov?” asked Dan.

“He’s the man who attempted to steal equipment and secrets from G.R.I.P. during a hurricane. He attempted to do it by kidnapping Lucy, and he was going to take me as well. I ended up killing him. I had no idea he had children.”

“They may not know who you are, Georgie,” said Moose. “But I think we need to get back to Belle Fleur as soon as possible.” Georgie nodded.

“No offense to your husband, Aunt Georgie, but I’m sleeping in your room tonight.”

“Me too,” said Brix. She nodded again.

“They couldn’t know how this is all connected. The daughters would have been little children, babies. They would have only received word that their father died if they even knew he was their father. He was a Chechen rebel leader and a crazy man.”

“We’ll figure it all out,” said Moose. “Tonight, we’ll take watch shifts, make sure everyone is safe until we can get to the plane in the morning.”

Georgie was quiet for a very long moment, then tapped her comms device again.

“Hiro? Dad? I need you to see if any of Alana’s husbands were connected in any way to G.R.I.P. equipment. Were they receiving equipment, using it, signing for it, anything? He wanted our equipment once before. Maybe his daughters are trying to get it now.”

“We’ll follow up on that,”said Angel.“Just come home, honey. Carl is being restrained by his father.”

That made Georgie smile, and the others nodded, chuckling at the visual it brought to mind. Carl was a big man with strength to spare. If he thought his wife was in trouble, then he’d find a way to get to her.

“I think you’re right, Georgie. If this happened when the girls were babies, they could have never known that you’re connected to any of this. He and all his men were killed. There was no one left to tell the story of where he went or how he died. Besides, they’re killing their husbands, not coming after any of you. They would have no way of knowing who CJ is and that we’re connected.”

“I agree,” said Brix. “I think it’s all a terrible, horrible coincidence. But. And I do mean but. They’re still killing military men.”

“If they’re sisters,” said Jill, “why is one of them dead? Are they fighting about something, or are they working for someone who isn’t happy with their results?”

“Now, that’s the million-dollar question,” frowned Dan. “You’re right. We’ve seen siblings kill one another before, but why do that if their little plan was working out for them? We know that it was Alana who was killed based on DNA evidence and what little was left of the fingerprints. That leaves Irena and Mikella. Maybe one of the sisters isn’t happy with what Alana was doing.”

“This has so many possibilities and working parts it’s terrifying,” said Georgie. “Zacharov was connected to Vashkov, the man who took Ryan’s arm. We killed both of those men years ago.”

“Hiro? Did Vashkov have any known living relatives?” asked Dan.

“None. Anton Vashkov was an only child, never married, according to the records, and has no legal children recorded. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have illegitimate children, but there is no record of it.”

“That makes me feel a little better,” said Georgie. “I think this is a sick, twisted coincidence, but we still have to stop it and find out why.”

While they finished their meal, waiting for their decadent dessert choices to arrive, two men walked into the restaurant that they recognized.

“We’re sorry to interrupt your meal,” said Kip Gordon.

“It’s alright. Take a seat,” said Brix. “What brings you guys out in the cold?”

“You mentioned you were staying here, and we didn’t want to talk about this over the phone,” said Ross. “We had to inventory all of Tim’s equipment. You guys know how that is. You have to account for everything personal and everything that belongs to Uncle Sam.”

The team nodded, knowing full well what had to happen. They’d had to do it more than a few times themselves.

“Tim is missing some items. His comms device and the thermal imaging equipment,” said Ross. “We can’t find it anywhere.”

“Fuck,” muttered Moose. “It’s G.R.I.P. equipment, isn’t it?”

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