The back ramp lowered. Jake and Honi followed Major Stafford out of the plane. Stafford stopped as soon as he stepped off the ramp. Jake and Honi nearly ran into him. An Army Captain blocked the way. With him were six Army Military Police, helmets on and M-16 rifles pointed at them. What the hell? Jake thought. The three of them stood still as the noise of the engines wound down.
“Captain, what are you doing?” Stafford said in a loud, firm voice.
“Following orders, sir. General Teague, the Base Commander, has declared you, and anyone with you, persona non grata. You are not allowed on this base, sir.”
“Do you know who I am, Captain?”
“Yes, sir. You are Army Major Bob Stafford, sir, persona non grata.”
Honi reached for her ID.
“Don’t do that, ma’am,” the Captain shouted as he drew his sidearm and aimed at her.
“It’s just my ID, Captain.”
“Put it away, ma’am. I don’t care what your ID says. You are persona non grata.”
This sure took a nasty turn in a hurry, Jake thought. “So what now, Captain. Do you arrest us, or just shoot us?” Time to push back a little.
“That’s up to you, sir. You can get back on that plane and leave, which is my personal recommendation. If you attempt to enter this base, my orders are to shoot you.”
“So do we just stand here and put our hands up?”
“Not necessary, sir.”
Jake took a step forward. The army Captain aimed his sidearm at Jake.
“Agent Hunter,” Stafford said firmly. “You’re dealing with soldiers trained to kill other people. They are not like civilians. Don’t take another step forward or he will shoot you.”
“That’s good advice,” the Captain said. “I strongly suggest you take it. When the cargo is unloaded, get back on the plane and leave.”
“Captain, do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?” Stafford said.
“None, sir, I’m following a direct order from my commanding officer, General Teague.”
Stafford slowly looked over at Jake and Honi. “Don’t move. We’re leaving as soon as the cargo is unloaded.”
Jake and Honi nodded in agreement. Half an hour later the C-130 was clear of crates and refueled. Stafford, Jake and Honi slowly climbed the ramp, which closed behind them.
“What the hell was that all about?” Honi yelled.
“What did you drag us into the middle of?” Jake demanded.
Stafford held his hands up, palms facing toward them. “I know, I know.”
“That idiot almost shot me!” Jake screamed. “I’m in no mood to be shot twice in the same week!”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t anticipate anything like this. I’m really sorry.”
“I can’t believe that members of our own military were ready to shoot us,” Honi said in an angry voice. “This has to be reported to the authorities!”
“That’s actually the smallest part of the problem,” Stafford said. He looked from Honi to Jake and back again. “There are two things I need to explain. First, the only one who knew where I was going and what I was doing was my commanding officer. I purposely didn’t say anything to you or Agent Hunter about our destination to prevent leaks. If not my commanding officer, who then, exactly, am I supposed to report this to?”
“And the second thing?” Jake asked.
“I came here to investigate a missing nuclear weapon.”
“Swell,” Honi said quietly.
“And this missing nuke is part of our investigation now?” Jake asked.
“Unfortunately, it is.”
The massive engines spooled up as the three passengers took their seats. Major Stafford sat with his head down the entire way back. Once the C-130 landed and the engines shut down, Jake took off his ear protection and looked at Stafford.
“I don’t understand why you wanted us along on this. This should be handled strictly within the army. You have the Criminal Investigation Division. Why involve us?”
“Honestly, I don’t know who I can trust within the army anymore. Apparently, I can’t even trust my own commanding officer. Agent Badger has resources I can’t even dream of accessing on my own. You, Agent Hunter, impress me as having the kind of analytical skills I could only imagine having. The two of you trusted me and helped me with a case you were only marginally connected to. Short version, I trust you.”
“So what’s the deal with Fort Hood? Why there?” Jake asked.
Stafford sighed. “It’s not well known, but Fort Hood is the army’s primary storage facility for nuclear weapons.”
Jake nodded. “Okay, that, at least, makes sense.”
“So let’s go confront your boss,” Honi said.
CHAPTER 7
The following morning, the three of them entered Colonel Jensen’s office. The colonel’s face was etched with anger.
“Colonel, this is FBI Agent Hunter and NSA Agent Badger,” Stafford said. “They were with me yesterday at Fort Hood.”
The colonel looked stiff and unyielding to Jake.
“This is an internal matter,” Colonel Jensen insisted. “We don’t discuss army issues with outsiders, Stafford. You know that!”
“We were nearly shot by our own people, Colonel. You were the only one who knew where I was going and why. Who did you tell?”
Colonel Jensen fumed and glared at Jake and Honi. “I’m not discussing this in front of outsiders!”
“Then I guess I have my answer, don’t I?”
Colonel Jensen glanced around his office, apparently considering the alternatives. He began to calm down. “Do they have the proper security clearances?”
“Both of us have clearances significantly above yours,” Honi replied calmly.
Colonel Jensen looked Stafford in the eyes. “Major, I didn’t tell anyone about your mission. I have no idea how this all went to hell.”
“How long since your office was swept for bugs?” Stafford asked.
“Security sweeps my office at the beginning of every day. It’s clean.”
As Stafford and Jensen continued to stare each other down, Jake noticed Honi was looking at the phone on Jensen’s desk.
“Gentlemen, will you excuse us for a few minutes,” Jake said. Stafford and Jensen seemed not to notice. Jake and Honi left the office and exited the building. They stopped in the center of the parking lot.
“Do you think someone is listening in on the phone?” Jake asked.
“One way to find out.”
She pulled her phone out and connected with Brett at the NSA.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I need a quiet audio check on a phone.” She gave him the number.
“It’s on. Two guys really aren’t happy with each other. You should hear the language.”
“Thanks, Brett. Don’t mention this to anyone.” She disconnected. “Someone within the NSA was listening in on Colonel Jensen’s phone.”
“Mole?”
“That’s only part of what concerns me. Our new project could be compromised.” She dialed her boss. “Deputy Director Ellington, it’s Honi. I may have screwed up. Brett’s project in B6, area 4, I need a full lock-down on the project. Isolate and polygraph every tech who has been in the room. I need to know everyone who has had access to the data in the project.” She looked at Jake. “Yes, sir, we have a mole. Maybe more than one. I’m sending you a phone number. Can you find out who is listening in?” She disconnected.
“Time to rescue Stafford and let Jensen off the hook?” Jake asked.