Operation Zulu Redemption: Act of Treason - Part 4 Read Online Free Page A

a cart. Trace waited for the remnant of Zulu to find a seat, then noted Houston plugging in his machines and getting things working. “Okay, let’s get this going. First thing I need you all to be aware of is the Lorings have vanished from protective custody.”
    Silence slapped through the room.
    “How is that possible? Did they miss the part where it’s
protective
? Why would they leave it?”
    Trace had been through these questions a dozen times on his way over and since Haym had called and warned him.
    “Do you think they’re in danger?” Annie asked.
    “No,” Trace said. “I think they willingly left.”
    “But we got their information, right?” Annie leaned forward, pressing her fingertips to the table. “They gave us Ballenger, that he was the one behind moving the children there.”
    “That’s not much for them to be on the run though, is it?” Rusty scratched the side of his face. “What threat are they running from if they only had information on Ballenger?”
    This is why Trace had wished Rusty would’ve returned to the team weeks ago. This type of dialogue, talking out the problem, kept them safe.
    “Unless Ballenger is a bigger threat than we realized,” Annie said, then looked at Trace. “Is he?”
    He considered the question. Ballenger. Danger. Yeah, they seemed to go hand in hand. “We won’t rule it out. Each time we’ve sought him, we’ve encountered deadly opposition—in Denver and Paris.”
    “Yeah, but that could’ve just been us. Someone trying to put us off the trail,” Annie said.
    “Ballenger could be doing that,” Nuala offered. “He plays the victim very well.”
    “We need to move on. We’ll qualify Ballenger as a high threat.”
    “With the Lorings missing, is the bunker in jeopardy?” Boone asked, arms folded over his thick chest.
    “Possibly,” Trace said, unwilling to play things safe. “Need to keep our ears and eyes out at all times coming and going.” He nodded to Houston. “He’s going to catch us up on what came off the yacht computers.”
    “There wasn’t much,” Houston said as he aimed a remote at a laptop. “I should say—there was a lot, but not much useful to us. There are innumerable files pertaining to what appear to be shipments. Port records. Munitions sales—”
    “Batsakis is in weapons,” Annie said. “Aegean Defense Systems.”
    “Yes. Right. Buuuut,” Houston said as he pulled up another file. “The pattern is fairly regular. What I looked for is irregularities.” He snickered. “Or I should say, irregular
regular
shipments.”
    “Houston,” Trace bit out.
    “Right.” Houston’s Jheri curl hair bobbed as he nodded. “If you look through this file, ADS has a pattern of shipments, going out every few months. Same countries. To the same clients. It’s your standard fare, right?”
    “Except?”
    Houston grinned, a tech-geek in his element as he pressed the remote and a series of neon blue panels flashed over the screen, highlighting certain entries in the shipping ladings. “Except these.”
    Trace wasn’t the only one leaning forward. “They’re imports.”
    “Bingo! Score one for the commander!” Houston beamed with exultation. “They’re imports.”
    “Where are they coming from?”
    Houston sniggered. “That’s the question, isn’t it? Because you, of course, noticed there’s no origination scan to match these records as there is for every other shipment.”
    “You’re telling me that a world-renown defense contractor is buying illegal weapons, and. . .what?” Annie pressed. She always did. She wanted solid proof. She had to be sure the rabbit they hunted was rabid before putting it down.
    “Black market,” Boone said.
    “Makes sense,” Rusty put in.
    “How?” Annie’s voice pitched. “They’re a billion-dollar company! Why would they need to deal in the black market?”
    “Because seven years ago, they were on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. Most companies in Greece were,”