Chapter 12
Clay pulled up to his new house with the bed of his truck full of boxes. He was so excited when the call came in that the sellers had accepted his offer. Clay had been able to get it for three hundred grand less than the asking price, which was huge for Clay. He had been approved for the full amount, minus his down deposit, from the bank, so Clay added onto the new mortgage an extra fifty grand so he could get the furniture he would need for the house. All of his new furniture was being delivered today. In the bed of his truck was things for the house like all of the kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, patio furniture for the decks, some new clothes that he was finally able to buy now that he had his own place and no loan to pay off. He also had everything he needed for Raider and his own computer setup. The computers that he purchased were for the future. Working for Ash and everything going on with the CIA and Delta has taught Clay that he needs another plan.
He was thinking that he would run his own team one day and then become an Admiral. Thanks to his current situation Clay had discovered that he didn't want a job being stuck behind a desk. He also discovered he liked money more than he thought he did. He thought he wasn't like Ash in that sense, that he didn't care about having money or nice things. As it turned out he did care about it. He liked having nice things. He liked having money in his bank account and mostly it was because he had grown up with nothing. He had grown up not knowing when he would be able to eat again. Not knowing if there would be lights or if he was going to be sitting in the dark. He liked having nice things, because he had nothing for so long. Clay didn't ever want to go back to that and in order to ensure it he needed a better plan. In the past few weeks he had been reading a lot of different books. Some on business and marketing as well as cyber security and investigations. Clay figured he would start his own business that would focus on offering translations, but also cyber security and cyber criminal investigations. It was growing within the world and not every company wanted to involve the police for any crimes against their company or employees. It made sense to Clay, because if you had your emails hacked, a cop wasn't going to truly care about it. Still, the company would want to get to the bottom of things and discover where that hack came from. They are willing to pay well for it and can keep someone on retainer for a monthly fee. It could be very profitable and Clay was interested in trying to carve out a name for himself. It would also help that he was working for the Navy so he had a high level of classification in his corner. It would take him a bit to build up a company, but it was something he could do while still working.
"Home sweet home Raider. You ready to go check out your new place?" Clay said, as he removed his seatbelt.
Raider barked and wagged his tail. Clay knew he was ready to get out and look at his new home. Clay had been talking about it for the past couple of weeks to get Raider excited and ok with the idea of moving. He didn't want to move Raider around from home to home and he was happy to see that Raider was pretty good at adapting. Clay got out and he got Raider out of the truck before he made his way to the front door. He was going to let Raider in before he would start unloading his truck. He had a couple of hours before his furniture would arrive. Clay was hoping with it being a Saturday that they wouldn't get called into work. He just needed today to get his place set up and then he could be spun up whenever they wanted. The second Clay unlocked the door Raider ran inside and immediately started to sniff around and get a feel for the place. Clay gave him a smile as he turned and headed back to his truck. He grabbed the computers first so he wouldn't be leaving that out in the open. He brought them over to the bar and placed them on the counter before he went back to grab the rest. Once he had everything inside the rec room he then went off to find Raider, who was standing looking out at the back deck.
"You want out?" Clay asked. "You can't go too far."
Clay opened the sliding backdoor and Raider was instantly outside looking all around the deck. Clay walked out and took a deep breath in. He loved the smell of the salt water and he knew this was never going to get old. Clay walked with Raider down to the beach and allowed Raider to run into the water. Clay knew Raider was going to love living here and being able to take swims, especially in the summer. It was perfect here, absolutely perfect. Clay hung out for a bit outside with Raider, but once he got a text message that his delivery would be here soon, he got Raider out of the water and left him to relax in the sun on the back deck as he got to work on the house. Clay was really hoping he would be able to get it all set up today so he could relax tomorrow before he would have to go to work on Monday.
XXX
Clay made his way into the restaurant. Jason had gotten back from an operation and he wanted to meet up for dinner. The two of them had been texting and talking on the phone with each other for the past few weeks. Clay had been really enjoying their new relationship. He liked not having the mix of professional and personal, it made things so much more simpler. Clay had no idea what would happen in the future, but he was hoping with them building a stronger personal relationship it would make their professional one more stable and easier to navigate. Clay headed over to the table where Jason was currently sitting drinking a beer. Clay gave him a warm smile and spoke in a teasing tone as he sat down.
"Are we restaurant people now?"
"It's one step up from a food truck and they have really good burgers here. I need one after the operation I just had."
"That bad?"
"It was a shit show." Jason said, sounding exhausted and still stressed by it.
Clay ordered a beer when the waitress came by before he spoke. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about it." Jason knew Clay didn't want to hear about the team, not that he could blame him. The last thing he wanted to do was cause problems between them when things had been going well within the past month or so.
"I don't want to hear about their personal lives, but that doesn't mean I don't want to hear about your day. If we can't even talk about our operations or teams, what the hell are we doing? We can't ignore or refuse to talk about the majority portion of our lives. I don't want to feel like I can't talk to you about an operation and I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about one. I don't want there to be a wall up between us."
"I don't want there to be a wall between us either. You're right, I'm sorry, we should be able to talk about work and what is going on in our lives. I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about Delta or an operation, because you are worried I'll be upset. We're on different teams and that is something we both have to accept and be able to talk about."
Clay was absolutely right. They couldn't go forever never talking about their team or any operation they have been on. That wasn't healthy and it wasn't what he wanted with Clay. He kept Mickey and Emma in the dark because they didn't need to know about the darkness that he sees. They also didn't have clearance to hear most of the things that he does. With Clay, it was different. He did have the clearance and he knew damn well what was out in the world. They should be able to talk about it and it was something he would start to do with him.
"So what happened then?" Clay asked just before the waitress came over.
They both ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and once the waitress left Jason spoke.
"Total mission failure."
That shocked Clay, the guys never got a total mission failure. Clay was pissed at Bravo, but even he could admit they were the top team for a reason, they never got total mission failure.
"What the hell happened?"
"Vic and Ray were sent in ahead of us to Yemen to help protect a diplomat who was trying to negotiate a peace treaty between the two tribes. You know how bad the city is, before we got there things popped off and the congresswoman, her people, Ray and Vic were trapped in their compound. When we got there we were able to create a window of opportunity to get everyone out of there. The congresswoman wanted to use the phone to try and get the peace treaty started. Ray and Vic went with her, but an RPG hit their area of the building. They were able to get out and we got away, but she didn't make it."
"I'm sorry, it sounds like it was a real shitstorm from the moment you guys landed."
"It got worse. Mandy had an informant that she used to help us on this operation, he turned up missing. She couldn't leave without getting him, even though we had been going for days straight without rest and we were on very limited ammo, we went after him. We found him in a factory compound, I stayed outside with a couple to keep watch while the rest of the guys went in. It was a couple minutes in when an explosion was going off, the guys were all ok, but the hostage was dead. AAR came back that Sonny might have seen an s-vest on one of the tangos in the room with the hostage. Ray was with him, but he didn't see anything to confirm it. It was good enough for the Upper Brass."
"Wow. Sounds like everything went wrong. I'm sorry, I know that makes for a really hard day or a really hard few days. Are you going to be in trouble for any of it?"
"No it's been put to bed. There's going to be a fallout from the congresswoman's death and the peace treaty. It's already starting to become undone with her death. There's nothing we can do about that though."
"The political world is a cold and cruel place. Someone will use her as a scapegoat for one issue or another. It's too bad for her family though."
Clay knew they would use her to blame for the failed peace treaty. It was wrong, but it was also the way of the political world. They always needed to blame someone to save themselves. The best person to blame was someone that couldn't even tell their story.
"It is too bad. The whole thing was just a mess. It's done though at least so we don't have to worry about an investigation. I wanted to have dinner with you to catch up, but I also got some news to share with you and I didn't want anyone to overhear us."
"What's going on?"
"I did some digging on who could be working with Delta. I spoke to an old teammate of mine who took the officer route. Now technically Admirals don't have a team that they look after, they focus on ensuring the Generals are doing their job. Delta has Commander Boden as you know, but what you also may have noticed you don't have a set Captain."
"Ya I've wondered about that."
Clay had noticed that Delta didn't have a Captain that overlooked the team. It was weird to him that they didn't but it wasn't like he could just ask. It's not something a team guy would be interested in knowing. Most would prefer to not have a Captain to answer to.
"My guy said they used to have a Captain roughly twelve years ago, but he was reassigned after a scandal and no one was put in to replace him. Apparently, due to the nature of Delta's operations the Upper Brass felt like they didn't need a Captain and a General overlooking the team. Instead an Admiral volunteered to watch over Delta and has been ever since."
"What Admiral?"
"Admiral Watson, ever since he took over Delta has been going on more cartel operations then they ever did."
That was his guy. Clay could now try and get something off of him. He could finally give something to Agent Brooks that will make him happy and will give him the time he needed to get the information to take them all down.
"He's who I'm after. This is great, now I can dig deeper into him and see what I can find. Thank-you for this, it really helps." Clay said with a warm smile.
"No problem Sunshine. Be careful, the more powerful the man, the harder he fights to not lose his throne." Jason warned.
"I'll be careful. Agent Brooks will be happy with having a name and I'm sure he'll do his own digging now that he knows where to look. This is a huge help, thank-you."
"You're welcome. What's going on with you? Anything new?"
"I moved today actually."
"Where to? I thought you were bartering with Ash for a place to stay while you have to pay back the loan?"
Jason was surprised that Clay had moved. He didn't think he would be able to afford a different place. As much as he didn't like Ash, the house was a nice place to stay.
"I paid off the loan."
"Wait what? How?" Jason asked, confused and shocked by that.
"For my birthday Stokes gave me a lottery scratch card. I ended up winning almost three quarters of a million dollars from it." Clay said with a small shrug. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his new place hidden from Jason for so long. He couldn't exactly tell him he bought the place from the stolen cartel and terrorist money he was getting. This was easier.
"Whoa, congrats man. That's great. So you paid off the loan and got a new apartment?" Jason was surprised, but also very happy for Clay. It was a huge relief that he wouldn't have to worry about the loan.
"I paid off the loan and when I did that my credit shot back up into good standing. I got a new truck lease and I used the bulk of the money as a down payment for a house. I just moved into my new house today with Raider."
"Wow, good for you. Looks like something good came from you being in Delta. That's great Clay, it's really great. Where abouts is the house?"
"It's on Sandfiddler, right on the water. Raider loves it. He spent a few hours in the ocean today before drying out on the deck. It's a great house and perfect for the future."
"It sounds great. You planning a family over there?" Jason asked, with a warm smile.
"No, but it's important to think ahead. With everything that happened with Ash's interview and the fallout, plus Delta, I've been thinking about what my life will be like outside of the Navy. I'm hoping it never happens, but something could take me out one day and I need to be ready for it. I'm going to start my own business on the side and have something already set up that I can fall back onto should I need it."
"I think that is a really smart idea. A lot of team guys don't want to think about what their life will be like after they can't operate. We all like to believe we can still do this when we're sixty or we'll die in the field. It doesn't always work out that way. It's good that you are thinking about what a future could look like outside of being within the Navy. What business were you thinking about?"
"I've been doing a lot of research and reading up on cyber security. I'm going to start a business within the cyber security industry. It'll be a slow growth, but hopefully it will be successful and provide me with some financial security should the worst happen."
"I'm sure it will be. Cyber security isn't going to go away and it is only going to grow. It's a smart move on your part to get into the industry and with you being in the Navy that will provide potential clients with comfort for their sensitive information. I'm proud of you. You are making the best out of a situation and you are really owning it." Jason said, warmly.
"Only easy day was yesterday right?" Clay said back with his own smile.
"That's right.."
They spent the rest of dinner talking about little things. Jason told Clay about Emma and Mickey and what they had been up to. Clay had been in touch with Emma, but not as much as he normally is with everything going on with Delta. It was good to hear how they were doing. After dinner was done, Clay paid, much to Jason's annoyance, and they both headed out.
"Do you want to come over, grab a beer?" Clay offered.
"Ya, sounds good. I'll follow you out."
Jason was very interested in seeing Clay's new place. He wanted to know where he was living and see it for himself. Clay gave a nod and they both got into their trucks and headed out. Clay had a feeling that Jason would want to see where he was living. He was fine with Jason knowing, but he wasn't certain what he was going to do about Delta yet. He also didn't know about Ash. He still had to play along with Ash because of the photos that he had. At least until he got immunity. He didn't want Ash knowing where he was living, but he couldn't go back and forth between the homes either. He would just have to tell Ash he got his own apartment, but he would still work for him. Clay knew it would be for free, because there was no way Ash would start paying him while he had the blackmail. Once he got immunity he could quit and leave Ash in his rearview mirror. As for Delta, he would have to keep it a secret and just make sure Stokes messaged before he wanted to see him. Maybe tell them that Ash had someone else staying there so they couldn't just show up. It was something he would need to figure out.
Pulling up at Clay's new house had Jason feeling impressed. The house was very nice and the area would be perfect for Clay and for Raider. Not to mention for his family one day when Clay did find a woman or a man that he wanted to marry and have children with.
"Wow." Jason said, as he got out of his truck.
"Ya it's one hell of a sight." Clay agreed, as he headed to the front door.
The second he opened it Raider was running at them wagging his tail. Clay started to pet Raider.
"Hey boy. I know I'm home."
Raider headed over to Jason once Clay stepped back and headed inside further. Jason showed Raider some love as he followed Clay into the room. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a games room and the place looked like a dream. Jason couldn't help but think how this house would have been perfect for Bravo. It would have been the hot spot for the team and where they could go and hang out with their families. It was the perfect team house and it was bittersweet that Clay was living here, but that their family would never get to experience it. Jason followed Clay around the house and checked it all out. It only got better the further up in the house he went. Clay grabbed them a beer and took Jason up to his favorite spot. Jason followed Clay as he headed back up to the bedroom as Clay spoke.
"I'll show you my favorite spot."
Clay headed out the deck and up the spiral staircase to the top deck. He had a fire table and couches up here that he had set up today. Raider went right over and laid down on one of the couches.
"This is amazing." Jason said, as he took in the view of the ocean.
The stars were shining down on the water and made it look like it was sparkling. He could fully understand why this was Clay's favorite spot in the whole house, it was his too.
"I know. This was the selling point." Clay said, as he handed Jason his beer.
"It's worth every cent that is for sure. This house is just amazing Clay, seriously. I'm proud of you Son." Jason said, warmly.
"Thanks Dad."
Jason angled his beer bottle towards Clay and Clay easily clicked his own against Jason's. For the first time since Clay had left Bravo, Jason was feeling comfortable and confident that Clay was going to be ok. That what happened to him on Bravo was not going to destroy him or forever change him. His son was doing just fine, better then fine, he was doing amazing and Jason couldn't be prouder of him.
XXX
Clay made his way into the underground parking lot on the other side of town. He was meeting with Agent Brooks today to inform him of Admiral Watson being the Upper Brass connected to Delta. He was hoping Agent Brooks was happy with the news and he would be satisfied until Clay could get into his office and home to bug it. Now that he had a name he could do some research and see what he could find out on Admiral Watson. Clay knew he would be able to get the evidence that he needed to take them all down, he just needed a way to get to the Admiral. Clay parked his car and got out and made the short trip over to Agent Brooks' SUV. Clay got into the front passenger seat and once the door closed Agent Brooks spoke.
"What do you got?"
"Admiral Watson, he's the Upper Brass that is connected to Delta."
"Watson? You sure?" Agent Brooks said, but Clay could hear he was pleased by the new intel.
"Intel has him being the one in control of the operations. Operations also changed when he took over for Delta. More cartel and drug related ops were given to Delta. The ones that had the highest chances of a big pay day."
"He's not who I was expecting. Admiral Watson tends to fly right in the middle. He doesn't stand out as a rising star, but he's also not dead weight, it's a sweet spot. You'll need to bug his office, his home and his car. You'll be authorised to do it and then listen in on the wire. You get him on the wire admitting to criminal acts with Delta we can get all of them."
"I know. I can also dig into his personal life and his finances. I'm going to be doing that today. I wanted to keep you updated on what I had so far."
"No you're doing good. You have a real talent for undercover work. You're smart, calculated, you know how to build trust. You should think about the prospect of your future and what it could look like as an undercover agent."
"You mean permanently?" Clay asked, surprised that Agent Brooks would want him to be within the CIA. Clay was Navy, that was who he was.
"Doesn't have to be. We've had military come over before from the Navy and Army. They come on a year contract and work undercover for us. It's not uncommon for an operator to try something different, to put their skills to another use. There are a lot of operators like yourself Spenser that are smart and need a different challenge. They need something more than just going from one operation to the next killing targets and fighting the same war year after year. You don't have to make a decision right now, but think about it. You can always take a gap year off and work for the CIA. Your spot will still be there when you get back."
"How would that work? What type of people would I be going after? How do undercover operators handle when they have to do something illegal?" Clay asked, looking to get more information. He didn't think he would, but it would be nice to have the knowledge.
"All undercover operators are on an immunity contract like yourself. So anything illegal they have to do is fine as long as they get their guy. Any drug use, any money from an operation, they keep it all. You are doing exactly what every other undercover operator is doing right now. Nothing would change, just the targets."
"And what type of targets do you go after?"
"Drug traffickers, arms traffickers, human traffickers, terrorist cells, sleeper spies. We focus on gathering intel on dangerous targets and organizations that have the power to ruin thousands of lives. Sometimes an operator's involvement is just being the money guy, keeping track of the books for an organization. Sometimes it's being the muscle and helping with hurting people, kidnappings, etc. It just depends on the in that we have presented to us for that organization. It's hard work, and it can leave you feeling discouraged and grimy from some of the things you have to do, but the end result is saving thousands of lives and getting evil people either in the ground or in a cell. My operators that I handle all tell me that the road is hard, but every second of it is worth it when they finally get what they need to shut the organization down."
"I'm not going to lie, doing this in the past five months or so has been different. I didn't expect that I would enjoy the work, but I have. I like the challenge and my mind really likes the chess game of it all. I don't know what the future will hold, but I'll keep it in mind."
"Do you have cameras and mics?" Agent Brooks asked, accepting that Clay needed time.
"I can get them from work."
Agent Brooks reached into the backseat and placed a small black duffle bag down in Clay's lap. "These will connect to a computer that you set it up to. They are CIA mics and cameras so no one will wonder where they went. Load them onto a computer first and then plant them. Once they are planted and turned on they will automatically connect to your computer and the feeds will be stored on the computer and not the camera."
"Got it. I'll get some research on Admiral Watson and find my way in. I'll plant the cameras and mics and get you what you need." Clay promised. There was no other option at this point.
"You're doing good. Let me know if you need anything else or if you get something actionable."
Clay gave a nod and he knew the conversation was done. He grabbed the bag and headed back over to his truck. Clay placed the bag down onto the passenger seat and headed out. He had to get them setup and start looking into Admiral Watson. He was going to be using his new skills on the computer to see what he could discover. He also picked up a hacking book so he could start to learn how to hack into basic things like someone's computer or their bank accounts. He would need a week or two, but then he would be able to start to truly see just who Admiral Watson was.