Wade whistled lowly. “Damn, brother, that’s serious stuff. No wonder the OSI is involved. And I assume you got pulled in helping her?”
“Turning away from Rachel is not an option.”
“Which begs the question… What are you doing here?”
“Don’t know who to trust on base. Until I do, I need Rachel tucked away safely.”
“Okay.” Wade nodded slowly. “I can buy into that. What do you need me to do?”
“Make sure the team stays on track with training for the security at the summit. I’m guessing they’ll loan the team a captain from one of the reserve PJ units until I’m back, but I need you to keep the guys unified, solid. Stay under the radar. Do not call attention to yourselves. My leaving is going to cause enough unseen ripples. We don’t need that coming to the surface.”
“What do I tell people about why you’re missing?”
“I’ve decided to take some time off with my new girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Wade’s black eyebrow slashed upward. “Are we back in high school or what?”
“All right, all right… You can make the wording sound cooler.”
“Shouldn’t be too tough, since everyone’s met her.” Wade grinned. “She’s a serious dime.”
“Dime?”
“She’s a ten. A dime, a ten piece. Like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kesha…” He leaned back in the office chair. “You are getting old.”
“Thanks.” Great. Just what he needed to remember right now.
“No disrespect meant, given your senior status.”
Liam gave up and laughed, a rusty sort of sound. How long had it been since he slept?
“I mean it when I say to be completely open if authorities question you. I don’t want to compromise you in any way. If Brandon Harris comes up at any time, feel free to say I’m as confused as the next fella about what’s going on. Never even met the guy. But again, be straight up if asked. I arrived, picked up some gear I’d stored in at your place when I moved here.”
“Like the gear I’ve got stored at your place?” There it was, the offer for more, for gear needed to fly under the radar for a while.
“Let’s just say Rachel and I have reunited after the Bahamas and are heading out to commune with nature for a couple of days. Thus the need for firepower. There are wild animals out there.”
“Fair enough.” Wade shoved to his feet. He rolled back a rag rug and pulled a key from underneath the desk. He slipped the key into a nearly undetectable groove in the wood floor. A spring popped and a trapdoor eased open to expose a safe built under the floorboards. Gun cases, ammo boxes, survival gear. “Take whatever you need.”
“Just my stuff stored here.” Liam knelt beside him, knees popping. “Pass me that, and I’m good.”
He lifted out a green duffel bag and hefted it over to the top of the desk. “You can take more from my personal stash. Might as well be better than good. No questions asked.”
“Thanks. But I want to make sure you’re armed as well.” And he didn’t want to cross a line. They would die for each other any day. That wasn’t something he would ever take advantage of.
He unzipped the bag and sifted around inside, inventorying.
Remington 308, a sniper rifle.
AR-15, a smaller assault rifle, easier to conceal.
Body armor.
Three sets of IDs.
Two prepaid, disposable cell phones.
And lastly, a Baby Eagle 9 mm, a smaller version of his Desert Eagle semiautomatic handgun. He would be passing the 9 mm to Rachel along with lessons on how to shoot it.