Rising (Anderson Special Ops #2) - Melody Anne Page 0,45

or weeks. A soldier learned to snarf food for fuel rather than taste.

“Green, if I don’t get an invite to dinner soon, I’m going to have your next assignment be at the sewer plant,” Chad said as he savored the taste of some egg dish Green must’ve made up the day before.

Green laughed. “If your wife isn’t doing her duties, all you have to do is ask,” Green said with a laugh.

Chad looked around as if Bree was going to walk in at any second, then glared at Green. “My wife isn’t my slave,” he said as if she could hear him. “And we share our duties equally. I just like a nice home-cooked meal with the men sometimes,” he added. The entire table laughed.

“Dang, I’m never getting married. You are whipped,” Smoke said as he leaned back. He’d probably just finished off more food in about ten minutes than an entire hockey team could consume after a three-hour game.

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Chad said, not in the least offended.

“I’m far too smart for that,” Smoke said.

“Okay, fun’s over, let’s get the business done,” Chad said, still wearing a smile. “The last time we were together, Brackish handed me a list of names who had a lot of cash moving through their bank accounts. I instantly recognized one of the people on the list. After talking with our boss, we’ve decided to move forward with our investigation of him.” Chad paused, feeling bad for Joseph and what he was going through. “Brackish, please work your voodoo magic on the comp and get us all of the information you can on Damien Whitfield. The rest of you need to do recon. I want daily reports.”

Chad didn’t often tell them exactly what to do, so with his words, they sobered up and stared at him, knowing how serious this situation was.

“Got it, Chug,” Eyes said, instantly reverting to team leader mode.

“Since you know him, share with us all you know so we can save some time,” Sleep said.

“I feel as if I’m betraying him,” Chad said. “This isn’t easy, but I’ve printed out everything that’s pertinent.” He slid papers to the men with Damien’s address, work and phone numbers, and known locations he frequented.

Brackish was typing away on his computer as they continued to talk. “I have his location for this afternoon,” he said after a few minutes. Damn, he was fast.

“How close are you to this man?” Eyes asked. Chad knew he was asking how far this was going to go if this man was truly crooked.

“Close,” Chad said. “But that doesn’t matter. We need answers. And if he’s screwing his family over, I’ll come down harder on him than the law would.”

“Okay,” Eyes replied. The lightheartedness of earlier had evaporated.

“Where’s he going to be?” Green asked Brackish.

“It appears he has a meeting with Hudson Anderson, the builder at the Anderson Veteran’s Center at 0900. He’s blocked out the entire day,” Brackish said.

“Do you have a map for the screen?” Eyes asked.

Brackish smiled. “Duh.” he answered as the complex with all of its buildings popped up before Eyes was even done asking the question.

“Will we be able to get inside, or do we watch from a distance?” Green asked.

“This is a secure facility with gate guards and security throughout. They’ve amped that security team up since an attack happened there with Katherine Anderson. The only way in is to live there, work there, or have an escort. I’ve arranged for passes for those of you who go inside. Just let me know who that will be,” Chad said.

“Smoke’s assigned on his op right now and Green needs to head to the docks,” Eyes said. “Brackish will be working his geek stuff, so that’ll leave Sleep and me to head inside.”

“I might personally escort you, not sure yet,” Chad said. “After our meeting I’ll make some calls and get back to you on that.”

“Sounds good,” Eyes said. “What else is on the agenda?”

They finished up, then Chad told them to take two hours of free time before he excused himself and went to his office. He called Joseph, giving him an update of what was happening that day. Joseph was under far too much pressure at this time, and he wanted to keep him updated on the team more than usual to help get his mind off his wife’s surgery. Joseph said he’d call the center and have passes waiting for Sleep and Eyes, allowing them access to