“And I’m going to do it single-handedly?” Jackson asks.
“Not at all.” Kynan chuckles. “August is going to head up a five-man team of agents from here, and the Vegas office will handle the security plan as the delegation travels across the country. He’ll be in charge of the overall safety of the members who are coming over.”
“Then I don’t understand,” Jackson says, confusion clearly etched on his face. “What’s my role?”
“Your role,” Kynan replies, a slight curl to his mouth, “is to be the personal bodyguard to the Princess Camille of the House of Winterbourne.”
Jackson’s mouth hangs open. “You’re making that up.”
“I’m not,” Kynan assures him, and I have to suppress a laugh.
“I’m to babysit a princess?” Jackson sneers.
“Well, babysit isn’t exactly what I would call it,” Kynan replies, his voice going a little hard. “You’ll be personally responsible for protecting her.”
“From what?” Jackson demands. “A diamond falling out of her tiara?”
“It would probably be a ruby,” Kynan points out with a snicker. “But the truth is, she’s the heir to a kingdom and a vast fortune. She’s a valuable target. While there’s been no chatter that we know about that she’s at risk on this visit, her family doesn’t want to take any chances.”
“Christ,” Jackson mutters so only I can hear him, slumping in his chair and clearly unhappy with this assignment. “Another fucking babysitting job.”
I don’t reply, because Kynan isn’t finished. He gives a pointed look at Jackson. “I’m actually sending you and August to Bretaria next week to meet with the royal family’s security team to put together the entire plan so you can identify exactly what resources are needed.”
“Yes, sir,” Jackson says, his voice slightly antagonistic. I have no clue where this attitude is coming from as he’s generally a laid-back dude.
Kynan stares hard at him a moment, perhaps debating whether to call out his attitude, but then moves on. After fifteen more minutes, we are dismissed.
I have no current projects, for which I’m grateful since I need to stay in the area until I can get my marriage straightened out. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have work to do. I’ll actually sit in on planning sessions for the active missions as well as offer any consulting services Kynan deems appropriate. It’s one of the things I love about this job.
It’s never boring.
We file out of the conference room. Jackson and I are the last two to leave. I put my hand on his shoulder as I can feel the tension vibrating off him. “Hey, man… why so bent out of shape about your assignment?”
Jackson whirls on me. “You mean you’d be happy babysitting a fucking princess?”
I think about that a moment. “Well, it’s not a sojourn through a Central American jungle to rescue hostages, but it’s not without its importance. Sounds like she’s a high-risk target.”
“Princesses are brats,” he growls.
“Now, you don’t know that for sure,” I chastise.
“Regardless,” he says with a shake of his head. “It’s not what I signed up for.”
Jackson pushes past me, and I consider going after him. There’s something much deeper than disdain for royalty or whatever he’s got going on. But before I can make a move to follow, I see Clay Brandeis standing out in the pit, talking to Kynan.
Jackson forgotten for the moment, I move their way. I’m sure Clay is here to give us an update on Jaime’s kidnappers.
He sees me heading his way and smiles, giving a small jerk of his head to indicate he actually needs to talk to me.
We shake hands when I join them, and Kynan says what I suspected, “Clay stopped by to give us an update.”
“We’ve obviously turned the cases over to the district attorney since it wasn’t a federal crime,” Clay says. Kynan and I both nod. We knew that would be the case. “I also talked to the DA, and she said if Brian is willing to testify against them regarding the rest of their criminal enterprises so additional charges can be brought, they will give him immunity.”
That’s good news indeed, but there’s danger there. I lean in. “How far up the chain do they want information?”
Clay nods, understanding my concern. It’s one thing to turn on his low-level street pals, but it’s another if the DA is going to insist on information about the organized crime syndication, which is fronting all of it. That will make him a target and could even mean his death.
I get a reassuring smile from Clay. “I already sort of put a bug in her ear that he wouldn’t be willing to do more than what he knows on the low level. The DA seems satisfied with that, and she thinks she’ll get the kidnappers to take a lesser plea in exchange for information.”
That makes me bow up with indignation because now we’re talking about giving leniency to the fuckers who kidnapped and terrorized Jaime. And well, I’m not in favor of that at all.