Radar, p.1
Radar, page 1
Books in This Series:
Radar, Book 1
Legend, Book 2
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
About Legend
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Having cultivated his instincts through years of naval missions, Radar is roaming the world, working part-time for Levi and Bullard. When he’s instructed to go to Paris to help out a new start-up, he’s not sure what to expect. Especially given the caginess of Levi’s description of those who Radar would be working for. Outside of telling him, He’d fit right in, there is minimal intel on the job itself. Plus Radar’s working with two men he doesn’t know, and they aren’t willing to share their own secrets.
Sammy threw in her heart and soul to help her best friend and fellow hacker track down a bomber, who’d left devastation behind on the Parisian streets over the last few years. When they finally get something tangible, they contact the authorities to help. That’s when Sammy’s world goes to hell.
The race to save Sammy—and, indeed, Paris from an imminent attack—has Radar questioning his own instincts, and the abilities of those around him. … especially Sammy’s.
Sign up to be notified of all Dale’s releases here!
Prologue
It had been weeks since the chaotic mass wedding and the biggest party that Terkel had ever attended in his life. That it was all for him and his friends and his team had filled his heart with joy and had reminded him what was important in life. Now, as he eyed his wife’s protruding belly, he realized that they still had a ton more work to do—turning this old castle outside of London into their team’s new headquarters. He looked over at Gage. “We need to do an assessment of what still needs to happen here in the next little bit.”
“We’re also getting calls for help.” Gage frowned, then said, “I wasn’t going to mention it Terk, but he’s called twice today already.”
“Who?”
“Jonas. He wants to talk to you.”
“What does he want?” Terk asked.
Gage shook his head. “I’ve been pushing him off because I know, as soon as I call him back, our free time here will come to an end.”
“It will change for sure,” Terk murmured. “We can’t get out of that.”
“I know. I know,” Gage admitted. “I was still trying though.”
Terk burst into laughter, nodding. “It’s been pretty special. Crazy at times, with all this work on the place and all. It seems even those who left after the weddings are back today.”
“And that will change things too,” Gage noted.
Even as they talked, Damon and Tasha walked in the door, all smiles and hugs.
“You guys look great,” Terk said.
“You should try getting away every once in a while,” Damon suggested.
“And I would, but, right now, this place is still a nightmare.” Terk shrugged.
Damon raised his eyebrows, as he looked around. “It’s looking phenomenal.”
“We’re getting there,” Terk acknowledged. “We’re not quite there yet, but we’re close.” Then he studied the newlyweds, smiled, and asked, “Are you guys ready to get back to work?”
Damon and Tasha both nodded. “Yeah, it was good to get away, but honestly we missed you guys,” Tasha said, as she walked over and gave Terk a big hug. “And now, after confirming that I’m pregnant, I’m so excited. I really just want to be home with family.”
Damon nodded. “Even when I told her that we could stay longer, she was like, Nope, I want to go home,” he said, with a big smile.
“So, that’s where we’re at, and that’s good,” Terk replied, “because you really do want to know who your friends are and where you’ll be in these times to come.”
“Exactly,” Tasha stated. “And, with that, I’m heading upstairs. I might even have a nap.” She laughed, rolling her eyes, and quickly disappeared.
“She hasn’t quite adjusted to the fact that she has zero energy. And it’s still early in her pregnancy,” Damon shared. “So she’s not sure what that means.”
“It means she’s pregnant,” Celia declared, as she waddled into the kitchen.
Damon took one look at her and winced. “My God, I sure hope Tasha is not carrying twins.”
Celia chuckled. “I have no clue what she’s carrying. And, right now, it’s all I can do to keep my own world somewhat contained.”
Damon nodded. “I hear you there,” he murmured. “So what’s going on?”
Terk replied, “Jonas is being insistent this morning. He’s called a couple times already.” Just then, Terk checked his phone. “I had mine off,” he confessed. Reluctantly he turned it back on, and it rang immediately. “Well, here we go.” He frowned, switching it to Speaker. “Jonas, what’s up?”
“Don’t you guys ever answer your phones?” he asked in exasperation.
“Sorry, mine was off,” Terk stated. “What can I do for you?”
“What you can do for us is give us some help,” he snapped. “We have two escaped prisoners.”
“More escaped prisoners?” Terk asked in a drawling voice.
“Hey, they were being transported from France,” he clarified, “and now the shit’s hit the fan.”
“Who are these prisoners?”
“They’re wanted by Interpol, but we wanted first crack to interrogate them, so they were being transported,” he said. “However, on the way, somehow they escaped.”
“Did they go via the tunnel or the ferry?”
“Yeah, we’re still trying to get the details on all that,” Jonas replied. “I’m sending over the information I have right now. We really need these guys, and we need them back now.”
“And why are you calling us?” Terk asked.
At that question, Jonas sighed. “Because there’s a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“We weren’t supposed to have them in the first place,” he shared reluctantly. “So none of this can come back to us.”
“Great, so we’re supposed to do a catch-and-retrieve mission, and you don’t want anybody to know you guys did the original catch?”
“No one can know that and no one can know that you were hired by us. So I hope you guys have your banking set up because we have the budget to pay you.”
When he named the figure, everybody in the room was stunned, and they just stared at each other, their eyebrows sky-high. An audible silence took over, as they contemplated the monies involved.
“Fifty percent now, fifty percent when you bring them in,” Jonas confirmed. “I can’t tell you how important it is for your future possibility of working with us if you can do this. … If you can’t? Well, I can’t guarantee too much more work.”
“Send us what you’ve got,” Terk said, “and I’ll see who I’ve got available.”
“If you don’t have anybody available because you’re all still sitting around in whatever marital-bliss thing you guys have going on over there, not to mention the baby factory,” he added, with a snort, “you need to hire somebody.”
“Oh, I definitely need to hire several somebodies.” Terk groaned. “Still I wouldn’t send them out on a mission all alone,” he stated, knowing that, when working previously for the US government, Terk’s team had always been the intel gatherers, the secret weapon in the background, not necessarily the front-runners. “We must ensure they’re good enough to even go on a job in our name.”
“That’s your problem,” Jonas declared. “You have literally four hours to get back to me. Well, no, you had four, but now you only have one. You would have had longer, but you didn’t answer your damn phone.” And, with that, Jonas disconnected.
Terk addressed the group, “You heard the figures.”
“Yeah, we sure did,” Gage said, “and we definitely need the money for our own satellite, so I’m willing.” He looked around at the others. “Who’s coming with me?”
Calum spoke up. “And that’s the problem. We normally work as a team. Two to four of us. Now it’s a whole different ball game. Are we doing this alone or what?” Calum asked. “Do you think this is a two-man job or four?”
“Even if four, we can’t leave this place unprotected,” Terk noted. “An awful lot of very important people are here. … So we need a plan in place. However, let’s not forgot that we have two other teams we can work with as well.”
“Right.” Calum nodded. “Levi and Bullard, correct? But, if that’s the case, and we need help this time, then they must send men to London or Paris, just to be local for this job. So maybe save their men for the next job?”
Terk frowned, contemplating that logistics issue. He pulled out his phone and pressed a speed dial number. “Levi, do you have anyone close to us?”
“I know of some over there,” Levi said cautiously. “Why are you asking?”
“Jonas has a job for us, but we’re hardly set up with the manpower yet.”
“That is something we need to sort out. I could have someone at your place in a f ew days—if you’re set up for team members moving in?”
“If you know anyone available today, call me. Otherwise send this guy,” Terk replied abruptly. “We’ll find room regardless. If we can pull off this job, I suspect we’ll get very busy, very quickly.”
With that he disconnected and looked around at the group. “I was contacted by someone not too long ago,” he shared, checking his phone. “It’s one of the reasons I had turned this off, so I could think about it. Anyway, his name is Riff, and I used to know him, and he sent out the word that he was looking for work,” Terk explained. “I just wasn’t sure that we were ready to hire anybody.”
“Probably not, but, if we’ll be taking MI6 jobs,” Damon suggested, “we need more people, particularly given the pregnancies right now.”
“I agree,” Terk stated. “I just didn’t want to start down that road so soon. I was hoping to have, say, a half-dozen men from Levi and Ice, and, if we were so lucky, the same from Bullard. But that means additional housing, cooks, weapons, etc. And we’re not there yet.”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Damon pointed out quietly. “What’s the deal with this Riff guy, the possible new hire?”
Before Terk could respond, Wade stepped forward. “I know him. … He was always a little different.”
“He’s definitely a little different,” Terk confirmed, “because his abilities are a little different.”
“He has abilities?” Damon stared at Terk in delight. “So how come you haven’t hired him before?”
“A couple reasons. Before, he couldn’t pass muster with the CIA.”
“Why was that?” Damon asked.
“Because he was once suspected in a murder case, and they steer clear of that messiness.”
“Ouch, whose murder?” Gage asked.
“His fiancée’s,” Terk said.
“And did he kill her?”
“No, he didn’t,” Terk replied, “but it affected him badly.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding,” Gage stated. “Can you imagine? Not only dealing with the grief and the loss but you also have to deal with the rest of the world suspecting you.”
“Exactly.” Terk nodded. “I know he didn’t do it, and he knows he didn’t do it, but it’s really a matter of whether any of you will have an issue with it.”
“If you trust him, I’m willing to give Riff a try,” Damon said. “Send him out with me. I’ll put him through the wringer.”
“One more thing,” Terk added, “and it’s one of the reasons Riff called me in the first place. He’ll be looking for help as well.”
“What kind of help?” Damon asked.
“He still hasn’t found out who killed his fiancée,” Terk replied. “As you can imagine, he needs to resolve that issue, before he can move on.” Just then his phone buzzed. Levi. “That was fast,” Terk said, with a smile.
“Radar is in Paris. I called him. Give the word, and he’s yours. He was doing a job in Africa, then headed to France to see some family.”
“We want him,” Terk said immediately, walking over to a whiteboard, full of house renovations in progress. He grabbed a corner and started writing. “Give me his contact information. I’ll set it up.”
“And Ice will invoice you for him,” Levi replied, laughing. “This will work out well for all of us.”
“Ha,” Terk muttered. “Says you. We need our shit here operational, and I wouldn’t have said we were there yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’ll learn on the fly.” And, with that, Levi shared Radar’s information, signing off with, “He’s waiting for you.”
Terk stared down at his phone, then lifted his gaze to his team. “Thoughts?”
“Radar, Riff, and me,” Gage said immediately. “Damon too, if need be.” Gage looked at the others. “Unless anyone has something to say about Riff?” With nobody objecting, Gage added, “Still, if we can’t widen our base, we’ll have to send out one to two new men on each and every job. Although, if Riff comes to work with us, he comes with conditions. We’d have to foot the bill for that.”
“If Riff comes to work for us, of course we would help him solve his own matter too,” Wade confirmed. “I say, give Riff a call, and let’s get started. And, while you’re working with Riff, maybe get the information on his fiancée’s murder, so we can start researching the details and possibly get this sorted quickly, after this catch-and-retrieve is completed.”
Terk nodded. “Any objections?” he asked, but there were none. “Okay then, I’ll give Riff a call, and one of you call Jonas. Tell him that, if he’s got that kind of money sitting around, we have no problem taking it off his hands.” Then with a big fat grin, he said, “Looks like we’re in business, ladies and gents.”
“We still need a company name though,” Wade reminded him.
“And I have one.” Terk hesitated. “It’s partly from this castle. Above the door in Latin, roughly translated, it says, In times of war, … we guard.”
The others looked at him in surprise.
“I was thinking, Guardian Security.”
“And for short, … because you know it’ll happen”—Wade gave a fat grin—“Terk’s Guardians.”
Chapter 1
Radar—or Robert Dagliesh, a name he barely recognized anymore—studied the lanes of traffic speeding past him. He was on the Calais side of the tunnel, crossing from France to England, in the immediate vicinity where the people had disappeared. He’d walked as close as he could get to where the abandoned vehicle had been found, then towed to the side, out of the way to keep traffic flowing. Of course nothing to see onsite. However, he had to admire the choice of location for a kidnapping.
The traffic at the time had been heavy, with steadily moving vehicles. They were in broad daylight, and the kidnapping, or worse, had happened fast enough that no one understood what was going on. There’d been enough room for the vehicles behind to drive around the empty vehicle, and that had kept many from stopping to inform the authorities that something was amiss—at least amiss enough to contact law enforcement and not just port authorities.
Several of the surrounding vehicles’ license plates had been caught on cameras, and the respective owners had been telephoned to see if they’d seen anything.
It wasn’t a big surprise that most hadn’t seen anything, other than a few people walking around a vehicle that had obviously broken down. As the traffic had been heavy, most of the drivers had been focused on getting to the next part of their journey, rather than watching what anyone else was doing.
The port itself was huge and moved with incredible efficiency, as they moved thousands of people back and forth. Any broken-down vehicle was towed out of the way and dealt with via the same efficiency. Only after several hours did anyone understand that the vehicle was more important than anyone had thought.
Of course all intel was out of Radar’s reach just yet, although he’d texted Terk several times, sending the bits of information he’d gathered on the issue.
Hell, by rights, Radar shouldn’t even be here. He’d just come from helping out Bullard on several jobs, when Levi had suggested that Radar travel to England to meet Terk.
“Hey, they are your kind of people,” Levi had declared.
“What the hell does that mean?” Radar had asked. “Since when do I have a ‘kind of people’?”
Levi’s gaze never wavered, and that straight knowing look had been eerie, coming from such steady eyes. “We all have a ‘kind’ of people. And I guarantee that Terk is yours.”
“And you aren’t?”
Levi’s grin flashed, even matching the flash in his gaze. “Absolutely. Terk is our kind of people too, yet in a different manner.”
The way Levi had worded that bizarre exchange had made Radar back off slightly. He’d spent a lifetime being … different. And he wasn’t, not as far as he could see. However, he’d always felt it. Like some faking it until he made it type of thing. Joining the military had changed all that, but, every once in a while, his difference still reared its ugly head. Like now.
Who the hell was this Terk guy anyway?
So far, wandering Calais, waiting for the rest of this hastily put together team to pick him up, Radar could only wonder what he’d gotten himself into.
