Page 33 of Memphis Heat
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Everyone was here.All the key players.Colonel Roberts, Lt.Commander Snorrasan, Agent Miller, Lt.Carson and his mate Regan, and Callahan’s own mate, Amanda Black.And one of them was a traitor.Callahan was sure of it.And he was pretty sure he knew who.
Showing more restraint than usual, Jamie waited until the door was closed and everyone had taken their seats to turn on Miller.“So tell me, Agent Miller.Exactly how does the FBI not know that not all wolves are created equal in the eyes of the old world packs?Or did you just throw Jarod and Belle out for bait and hope they landed on their feet?”
Miller raised one eyebrow fractionally.“This might surprise you, Officer Callahan, but we generally try not to get our undercover operatives killed.It’s wasteful.And expensive.”He glanced down at his tablet, flicking the screen with one finger.“And from what we’ve got here, it looks like Jarod’s doing fine, despite his lack of Old World blood.I realize you’d have volunteered to take the assignment yourself, given the chance, but I really don’t see how that would have helped.You may have been born a wolf, but you were born in this world.To the Russians, you’re just as much a mongrel as Jarod is.And unlike you, Jarod speaks Russian.”
Butch Carson snorted.“You know they don’t consider themselves Russians?Jarod says they’re from Chechnya.”
“You’re kidding.Right?”Regan raised an eyebrow at her partner and mate.“You do know Chechnya was part of the Soviet Union, right?That makes them Russians.”
“Chechnya is a Soviet Republic.That does not make them Russians.Chechens would kick you in the nuts for saying that.It’s like saying Scots are English,” Butch argued.
Agent Miller ignored the byplay.“Bottom line is, the weapons they’re selling are from the former Soviet Union, and they’re illegal.With this shipment we’ve got enough to take them down.”
“No,” Regan argued.“We’ve got to see the bigger picture here.You may get this pack that way, but that’s all you’ll get, and you said there are more.They’re spread out all over the country.”
“That may be, but these weapons are coming in through our port,” Amanda pointed out.“They’ve got to be.They’re using our terminal as their main distribution point.That’s why time and again we’ve run into them.”
“That’s why Smith and Reginald are dead,” Carson added.“In all the bloodshed, only two officers have died, and they were both our lieutenants.We thought the Russians -- sorry, Chechens -- were going after the bait cops, Black and White.But I think we were wrong.Our guys had to have been targeted.I’ve been going over their notes.They were working on the theory that this was all tied together, tied to the inland port distribution routes.Makes sense.The warehouse district around the airport will rent to anyone who’s got the money, and they don’t all require long-term leases.We get too close?They move on.”
“But it looks like Smith and Reginald had spotted a pattern,” Reagan continued.“And their notes correspond with what Jarod was saying last night.Every warehouse location, every truck route -- it all leads back to the port.And that means somehow they’re getting their goods past the Port Authority.”
“Shit, Memphis International’s one of the busiest airports in the world.FedEx and UPS both fly out of here, and so do most of the smaller carriers.More than four million tons of cargo moves through Memphis International every year.Hong Kong’s the only airport in the world that moves more cargo.There’s no way in hell the Feds inspect all that.”
“Which is why initially we thought we were dealing with human trafficking,” Snorrasan pointed out.“There’s no way to inspect all the containers coming in, though Homeland Security spends an outrageous budget trying to look like they do.We knew the Russians would bring the pack over.Thanks to your work, now we know they’re bringing over surplus Cold War munitions as well.”
Callahan exchanged a look with Amanda.
“What?”Snorrasan demanded.
“Nothing, sir.”
“That wasn’t a ‘nothing.’I’ve been Pack Second for nearly thirty years.I can almost smell you thinking.”
Amanda smiled at that, though there was no real pleasure on her face.“You said munitions.We’ve been talking about arms all along, sir, but you just said munitions.”
“Yes.You just spent several thousand dollars of Agent Miller’s money on enough munitions to hold siege warfare for a year, so…”
“So, we’ve been looking at rifles and assault weapons.But when you said munitions, somehow I got a bad feeling.Something Jarod said.We were never really alone, so we didn’t get much of a chance to talk, but he did throw a sales pitch at us.Said when we were ready to get back to him -- something about ‘More bang for your buck.’Sir, I think he was trying to get a message to you.I just didn’t see it ‘til now.”
“Son of a bitch.”Snorrasan’s face actually paled.“No way.No fucking way they can offer that.”
Callahan slammed his notes shut.“That’s what Jarod was trying to tell us.That’s why he and Belle stayed under.They aren’t just moving AKs and ammo.They’ve got a fucking nuke.”
Miller’s face went white.“Hell, they’ve got the whole Soviet Cold War arsenal at their disposal.Why stop at one?”
Takedown (Memphis Heat 4)
Marteeka Karland and Shelby Morgen
Memphis, Tennessee.Two packs fight for the heart of the city -- one old world, one new.The Russian mob and the MPD stand at odds, the city of Memphis caught in their crossfire.
Their growing pack at their backs, the new Alphas plan to leave their enemies in the dust.But it’s their friends they should be watching out for.
When the final takedown comes, there will only be one Alpha standing.
Prologue
