Page 50 of Ava
“If you were the best of the best,” Alex began. “Did you have any specialty? I mean, something that set you apart from, not only the other women, but also maybe the men?”
“I was a sniper,” Ava said proudly. “After I went to school for the languages, I went to sniper training. There, I was with both men and women, and again, I came out on top.”
“Same with me,” Morgan admitted. “And, before you ask, no, neither Ava nor I knew each other before her file came across my desk, and I asked Uncle Chip to look into her. The other women that I plan to have arrive will be here from next week, and up to mid-October. They are not all snipers, but they do have their own specialties.”
“Now that you know the brief background of both Ava and Morgan, let me tell you why I called you all here today.”
CHAPTER20
“Letme go back to that scuttlebutt I heard three years ago.” Chip began, and leaned back in his seat. The others did the same, ready to listen. “I was in DC finalizing some contracts with Boswell Group for the government. I happened to be in the hotel restaurant one night, when I overheard two people talking about how they wished they knew of some people who could go in, gather information, and get out with it, and pass it along.
“I listened as much as I could, and the same thing happened the next morning, with a group of different people. After my meetings all day, I saw the six men in the hotel bar, and asked them to come to my room. I figured it was safer to talk on the fourteenth floor than in the hotel bar. If I had overheard them, then I was sure others had, too. I didn’t beat around the bush. I told them who I was, what I had overheard them say, then I dropped my bombshell, and told them I just happened to run a company that had what they were looking for. It took three months of meetings, then another three of back-and-forth negotiations, but I was able to get what I wanted.”
“Which was?” Alfie asked.
“To allow me and Boswell to send in my operatives to find what they were looking for. They started out small, because I knew they were testing me, but I was able to get them what they wanted. Once I was able to prove myself to them, bigger fish started coming in. Now, as I said, the CIA isn’t allowed to operate on US soil, but they had a quandary where several of their own agents had been killed. Yes, these missions were dangerous, but when I was contacted by them, I sent in my newly recruited operative, and was able to get the Intel they wanted in four days, and my agent came home safe and sound. From that day on, I’ve been on speed dial with them.”
“Who was the operative?” Wyatt frowned at Chip.
“Me.” Morgan waved her hand, and everyone except Dillon, Tom, and Ava gawked at her.
“Why not you?” Justin asked Ava.
“Because, I’ve never worked for Chip. As I told you earlier, I’ve only been out of the service for a little over ten months, and you can’t work for anyone if you’re still active military. My first encounter with Boswell, was when I arrived here, and met Morgan. I’m now employed with Boswell Two.”
“Oh.”
“What was the scuttlebutt?” Chuck asked as he returned with a carafe of coffee, and began pouring it for anyone who wanted some. He even brought a can of Cola over and set it before Ava. He didn’t see the daggers Justin shot at him, but he saw his sister’s look, and hung his head to cover up his jealousy.
“The scuttlebutt came from all the bowls of soup, both domestic and abroad.” He smiled at their confused looks. “US soil, and foreign. Anyway, I gathered what the people started telling me, and after a year, I had enough information to start my own investigation.”
“Why a year?” Wyatt asked.
“Because, I didn’t have anything solid. Neither did the people contacting me. They had heard this, or heard that, nothing concrete, and I needed to put out feelers to see if any of the information had merit, because if it did, then this would be a federal case, and it would involve the ATF, the DEA, and the FBI. All the other agencies gave me the go ahead to look into the matter. As I said, it took me a year, and it lead me to Tom here.”
Everyone turned to look at the local sheriff, and he only nodded to them. With his hands crossed over the file before him, he drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I had been hearing the same scuttlebutt, but again, like those other agencies, I didn’t have any concrete proof.”
“Wait,” Alex sat up and frowned. “How did you hear the scuttlebutt?”
“People who were arrested would say they had information on bigger fish to fry, but unless they walked on their current charges, they wouldn’t talk to me or the DA prosecuting them. However, when the fourth person in a year and a half came up dead, I began to sit up and take notice. Around that time, was when I was contacted by Chip here. We collaborated on our information, and that was when it was decided he would send help. In the interim, Morgan here had her accident, lost her memory, and fell in love with Wyatt. When she came back to us after regaining her memory, and told me she was opening another branch of Boswell, I jumped for joy.”
“So, what exactly is this scuttlebutt?” All the A’s, along with Chuck and Wyatt asked.
Tom rose from his chair, grabbed the pen he had laid beside the folder and walked over to the maps Morgan and Ava had set up. “There are more maps in Morgan’s office, but I’m assuming this is here, because it’s of our state?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, this blue outline is the county we live in. I know almost all my citizens, and all my staff. None of them are crooked, or on the take. I skate my reputation, name, and badge on it. However, I’m not so sure about the rest of the state. I served in the Marines years ago, and I had heard of the EWMs, but none of the current ones, nor Morgan or Ava, or any of the others that are due to arrive. I got out fifteen years ago.” They all nodded, and looked at the map. He went back over to his seat, opened the file, and began passing out papers.
“Again, we have nothing to confirm or deny the rumors, but it’s been bandied about that there are a group of doomsday preppers.” He paused when Alfie stopped him.
“What’s that?”
Ava grinned. “Ever hear of the people who went ape shit when Y2K was coming around? They’d stockpile food, clothing, water, toilet paper. You know, they thought the world was coming to an end, and they wanted to be prepared in some bunker in the ground, or their basement.”
“People still do that?”
“Yes, however, these rumors are saying that these preppers are armed to the teeth. In the state of North Dakota, you don’t have to have any of your guns registered, and you aren’t limited on the number of them you can own, nor on the ammo.”
