Jessie’s gaze shot to Bran, whose jaw clamped down. Her stomach quivered.
“Two different buyers?” Bran asked. “Or the same buyers with two different money sources?”
“My guess would be the buyers are connected in some way, but the money for the smaller batch of weapons came from a different source. But at this point, I can’t say for sure.”
“I don’t suppose you have any idea where the second batch of weapons went?”
“Unfortunately, no idea. I’ll stay on it. See if I can narrow things down.”
Jessie looked at Bran as the call ended. “According to Ahmed, the weapons were shipped out of the country,” she said. “Now we find out there’s a chance some of them are still here.”
“Yeah,” he said. “The question is where?”
* * *
Two batches of weapons. Bran didn’t have enough intel to find the location of the smaller batch, but he knew where most of the weapons had gone.
Sitting down on the sofa, he phoned a number he had never used before. Delta Force Squadron Commander, Colonel Dylan Bryson.
“It’s Brandon Garrett, Colonel. A problem’s come up. I’m really hoping you can help.” He told the colonel about the shipment of chemical weapons that had been stolen and shipped to Yemen, gave the colonel the ship name, Delfina, which he’d found registered in Bolivia, and the names of the terrorists who’d been arrested so far.
“The group in Yemen calls itself sawt Allah,” Bran said. “I don’t know what they’re planning, but it can’t be good.”
“Who’s in charge of the investigation on your end?” the colonel asked.
“It’s murky. General Samuel Holloway, director of Chemical Materials Activity, is the top of the food chain. Weapons went missing under his watch so he’s heavily involved. Special Agent Derek Tripp at the CID is heading up the investigation. Long list of others. Lot of folks in the mix but not much progress being made. I’m hoping you can find out what’s going on in Yemen and stop an attack before it’s too late.”
“What’s your interest in this?”
“Colonel James Kegan was arrested and charged with the theft. His daughter’s my client. You might remember her brother, Danny.”
He could almost see the colonel nodding, a lean, athletic, broad-shouldered man with thick dark hair cut military short, and a nose that had once been broken.
“Daniel Kegan. I remember him. Loss of a good soldier and a good man.”
Bran felt a sudden tightness in his throat. “From what we’ve discovered, Colonel Kegan was set up to take the blame, wrongfully charged, then murdered. His daughter began investigating, now she’s fighting to stay alive. I’m doing my best to make sure she does.”
“She’s fortunate to have your help.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Unfortunately, there is. We just got fresh intel that the stolen munitions were divided into two different batches. Most of them went to Yemen, the rest followed another money source in the States, which means there’s a chance they’re meant to be used on US soil.”
“Who’d you report this to?”
“That’s part of the problem, sir. We’re no longer sure who we can trust. And as I said, the latest intel can’t be verified.”
“I may be able to help with the situation in Yemen,” the colonel said. “You have my word I’ll do what I can. But domestic terrorism is out of my jurisdiction.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll be back in touch.”
The call ended and Bran looked up to see Jessie standing a few feet away.
“You think he’ll help us?”
He nodded. “If there’s any way he can. He knew your brother. Maybe your father, too. He’ll keep his word.”
Her eyes found his. “Just like you,” she said softly. “If you give your word, you keep it.”
His chest tightened. “I do my best,” he said a little gruffly. He thought her eyes glistened, but maybe he’d imagined it. He wanted to ask what was going on in her head, but he was afraid he knew.
“So there’s nothing more we can do with this new information,” she said.
“Maybe we can find out if Homeland has seen any uptick in terrorist activity. I’ll call Jax Ryker. He was a navy SEAL. He knows people, maybe someone in Homeland who can help us.”
He picked up his cell and phoned Jax, who said he’d make a couple of calls and get back to him.
Jessie shoved her hair back from her face and sighed wearily. “So until something breaks, we’re pretty much at a standstill.”
“Pretty much,” he said. He could tell by the set of her shoulders how discouraged