Trident's First Gleaming: A Special Operations Group Thriller Read Online Free

know where I can get a good bottle of wine ASAP?” Chris shouted out to the others in the gator pit.
    A man in civilian clothes hesitantly raised his hand.
    “I need it for the interrogation. How fast can you get it here?” Chris asked.
    “Right away.” The man left his desk and rushed out of the room.
    “If Mordet likes wine and my ear, I’ll give him what he wants.” Chris borrowed Hannah’s phone, called the surgeon, and asked for his ear in a small cooler.
    He observed the monitor of the interrogation booth. Gator’s henchman cleared out the waterboarding equipment, handcuffed Mordet’s hands behind his back, chained his feet together, and sat him in a chair.
    Minutes later, when the cooler and wine arrived, Chris left the gator pit. After the henchman stepped out of the booth, Chris stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and set his cooler down beside the door. Then he took a seat on the plastic chair in front of a table between himself and Mordet.
    It’s time we have a little chat, my friend.

2
    _______
    T he booth, like other interrogation rooms, was kept cold to make the prisoner uncomfortable. Chris exhaled, purging any anger or anxiety from his system—neither would help him succeed in the interrogation.
    Mordet gazed at the bandage on Chris’s ear. “I gather that we have already made each other’s acquaintance, but my doctorate is in philosophy, not medicine.”
    Chris felt the same giant, dark hand pressing down on him that he’d experienced at Mordet’s estate. “You gather correctly, Professor.” Chris poured a glass of wine and gave him a sip.
    After Mordet finished the sip, he licked his lips. “It seems that you know about me, but I do not know about you, other than the fact that you and your comrades were highly professional, and we left via the Euphrates River. No conventional military units would operate inside Syria. I can only guess that you are a Navy SEAL—probably from SEAL Team Six.” Mordet stared into Chris’s eyes as if he were probing Chris’s brain.
    Chris showed no expression in his face or voice. “I can neither confirm nor deny—”
    Mordet was equally cool. “No need—I have already confirmed it. Even so, I still do not know your name.”
    Chris didn’t know how the interrogation would play out, but if he was patient, he might spot an opening and exploit it. “My name is Chris.”
    Mordet’s eyes sparkled. “Do you have a last name, Chris?”
    Chris continued without showing emotion. “Yes.”
    Mordet took another drink. “Will you give it to me?”
    “No.”
    The sparkle in Mordet’s eyes faded. “That is not very sporting. You have come here to ask me where Young Park is, but you will not even tell me your last name.”
    “Yes, I came here to ask where he is.” Chris gave him the rest of the drink.
    He seemed pleased. “Why is he so important to you?”
    Chris refilled Mordet’s glass. He had thought he was in control of the interrogation, but now he wasn’t sure. He gave Mordet a long drink.
    “Is Park related to you?”
    Chris said nothing.
    “A friend?”
    “Yes.”
    Mordet stared at Chris’s eyes. “This rescue has more meaning to you than mere friendship. Maybe this is more about the rescue than about Young Park.”
    The remarks caught Chris off guard, as if Mordet had a sixth sense for digging into his soul. Every rescue was deeply personal, but the purpose of the interrogation was Young, not Chris. He surveyed for a warm spot in Mordet’s cool veneer. “You bit off my ear and tried to eat it. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”
    Mordet gazed at the ceiling. “Is it? During the Vietnam War, a CIA SOG officer killed enemy combatants and cut off their ears. And made necklaces out of them.” Mordet sniffed the air as if he smelled a meal, and then his eyes lowered to his interrogator.
    Mordet had an aura about him that made Chris’s skin prickle, but he didn’t show it. “I’ve heard the stories. I’ve heard a lot