Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(40)

David pushed the photos back under Mark’s nose again. “I know this is hard, but I want you to remember what Alex would say to us right now.”

That word. Mark had heard it a thousand times. He could almost hear the impatience behind it when Alex snapped it out of his mouth like a sting at the end of a whip.

Think.

Mark scrubbed a hand over his face and looked at the damned pictures again. And then he looked closer. Alex had lost a kidney after a confrontation with Kelsey’s ex. He’d been beaten and knifed. Left for dead. “This body doesn’t have any scars. It sure as hell should have.”

“Precisely.”

“So either the ME labeled the wrong photos or...” Mark bit his lip at the evidence, not wanting to entertain the impossible. Could there be another body out there with three identical bullet wounds like the ones Alex had suffered? “Or what? Or the dead body I saw with my own eyes wasn’t Alex? No, David. This is an administrative error. Call the ME. Tell him to send the right pictures.”

“I did. He claims these are the right ones.” David’s eyes narrowed. “There’s another thing that puzzles me. Who called the paramedics the morning Alex was shot?”

“I’m not sure. Gabe maybe? He was first on the scene,” Mark replied, his mind still on the pictures of the body that very well might not be Alex’s. Could it be possible? Damn it?

“I checked with 911 dispatch to verify. They have no record that anyone called.”

“What are you saying? That someone intercepted Gabe’s call? Maybe the paramedics were just in the right place at the right time for once. It happens.” Was there any damned way Alex was still alive?

“Maybe.” David’s quiet agreement spiked Mark’s irritation. “Or maybe someone did intercept the 911 call as you suggested.”

“What? You think those guys who showed up weren’t really paramedics?” This conspiracy theory just kept growing. Now David believed? Mark had just been thankful the paramedics arrived as quickly as they did, but now he didn’t know what to think.


He held one hand up to stop this insane line of thought. “Wait a minute. If you’re insinuating the paramedics were fake, then you also think the emergency room doctor lied. And if he did, the ME’s lying, too. So is FBI Agent Kenny. You’re way off base, David. That’s just too damned much collusion to be real world. No way could all of those professionals pull off a cover-up that big. The boss is dead. God, let it go.”

A frission of unease crept up Mark’s spine even as he argued. Kenny had lied. Mark knew it in his sniper’s heart, which meant the ME and the Bureau were in league for some ungodly reason. Could David be right?

David leaned forward on the table, his fingers interlocked in front of him. “I found something on the FBI server. I’ll need Mother’s help to crack it, but I thought you should know about it first. It’s an encrypted file called Eagle Two.”

“So?”

“So it’s on the Secret Service server, too.”

“Why are you inside federal servers?”

“Because I don’t believe Agent Kenny and neither do you.”

And there it was, the real problem. God, Mark wanted to believe, but facts were facts. He’d seen what he’d seen, damn it.

Bottom line—The TEAM had enough on their plate right now. The last thing they needed was to get between the FBI and Secret Service, both heavy hitters and lethal as hell if you got on their bad side. “Why’d that grab your attention?”

“Would you understand if I told you I have a gut feeling that it’s related to Alex? I’d like to investigate further if it’s okay with you.”

That was Alex’s first rule, wasn’t it? Always trust your gut?

“Why are you asking me? You’re co-owner of this outfit, too. Do what you want.”

“We both know why, Mark. Each of us brought a different aptitude to this place on the day we were hired. I may be your equal in title, but there can only be one in charge.” David glanced toward the door. “Besides, they’re already following you. As am I.”

There it was again, the humbling enlightenment that he, Mark Houston, was the top dog now. It rattled him to his boots. “Thanks. I guess.”

David offered the barest smile. “I would think a farmer’s son would know the cream rises to the top. In ten years, no one will remember caliber or weapon, only that you stepped up to the plate and salvaged a team worth keeping when they needed you most.”

“Well, there’s an old Marine saying that tells us to shoot everything that moves, too.” Mark rolled his eyes at his friend’s implied compliment. He, of all people, knew better. He wasn’t the cream. He hadn’t risen to the top because he was the best. More like in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Grab Mother or Ember, whoever’s got the time to help. Let me know what you find. But while we’re talking, how’s Mother seem to you?”

David’s eyes narrowed. “She’s grown quiet since the funeral. Why do you ask?”

Mark dug his thumbs into his tired eye sockets. “Maybe it’s just the grief talking, but she’s been short with me a few too many times. And that scene at the hospital was just plain weird. She’d brought her overnight bag. She meant to move in. It’s almost as if she wanted Kelsey all to herself.”