Page 28 of CJ

“Yes, sir. Not only that, but we went back and reviewed the list of items from Adam’s death.”

“Was he missing things?” asked Georgie.

“No. Nothing. That’s because when we checked the serial numbers it all belonged to Tim. He had obviously taken the equipment that was Adam’s and replaced it with his own temporarily.”

“Why would he do that?” asked Jill.

“The thermal imaging equipment is fitted with a camera for daytime use on the streets. I think Adam’s camera caught something that Tim didn’t want anyone to see. He was able to verify the equipment was there then somehow get it back. Except, now someone has taken his equipment as well.”

“I’m going to ask you something that might be really hard for you to answer,” said CJ. “I’m a SEAL. I trust my team more than anyone on this earth. Did you trust your team? Did you guys trust Adam and Tim? Do you trust one another?”

Ross and Gordon stared at one another for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

“We trust one another,” said Ross, moving his finger back and forth between himself and Gordon. “I’d say, for the most part, we trust Thompson and Stratafos.”

“For the most part?” questioned Moose.

“They’re newer to the team. They came to us from another unit because two of our guys retired. They’re young but seem solid. I think they’re scared as fuck over what happened. Two guys killed, seemingly without any explanation. It doesn’t feel right for anyone.”

“Then you trust each other,” said Brix.

“Yes, sir. We do. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t trust Adam or Tim. Adam was losing focus. We thought it was maybe him getting older, but he wasn’t much older than any of us. He just always seemed to be thinking about something or someone else.”

“Do you suspect drug use?” asked Georgie. They both stared at her as if she’d lost her mind, then realized it was a great question.

“If it was, he was able to hide it. You know that we have drug tests routinely and randomly, especially after a shooting like that. I don’t know,” said Gordin, shaking his head. “Then we heard that Tim was killed, and how he was killed. It all just feels like too much of a coincidence.”

“And Alana,” said Jill.

“You’ll forgive me, Jill, but I could give a shit that Alana is dead. My gut tells me she’s at the bottom of all of this, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how. Now she’s dead, and we’re back to zero.”

“Maybe not,” said Dan. The two men frowned, staring at him.

“What do you mean, maybe not?” asked Ross.

“Alana has two sisters, not triplets, but they were made to look identical. We think they were scamming multiple men at the same time, all with the same look.”

“Jesus, what a fucking mess,” said Ross. “What do we do about the missing equipment? We had to report it to our superiors, but do you want us to look for it?”

“No,” said Fitch, shaking his head. “Do you have the serial numbers on the equipment?”

“Yeah. We wrote everything down,” said Ross. He handed him the information sheet that had been submitted to the Army, and Fitch grinned. “How is that going to help?”

“This equipment can be traced by us,” said Sor. “All of it.”

“Wait. What? You mean to tell us that if we’d gone missing, you would have been able to trace this equipment and find our location?”

“Theoretically, yes,” said Fitch. “Unless someone turned the equipment off permanently or damaged it to the point of destruction. Everything we make has coding that doesn’t allow for tampering. Basically, if someone touches something they shouldn’t, there is a security feature that locks the equipment down.”

“Fucking cool,” smirked Ross.

Fitch nodded, sending the serial numbers to the team back home. If someone were tampering with them, they would know. If they were still active, they would have their location. They spoke casually for a few moments, and then the sound everyone heard sent a chill up their spine.

“We’ve got a hit.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Why are we at my condo again?” asked Jill.

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