Page 85 of Protecting Maggie
“So…what now?” he asked. “What do we do while we wait for Tex and his friends to do their thing? It’s not exactly safe for us to go back to work.”
“I talked to the commander as well,” Kevlar said. “He’s pissed. He agreed that Robertson had to have a hand in Maggie ending up in a crate on that plane. He’s put us on a no-deploy list for now. Of course, Robertson has the power to rescind that order, but if he does, it’ll be even more obvious that he’s guilty of everything we’re accusing him of.”
“And Maggie? How do we keep her safe?” Preacher asked.
No one spoke for what seemed like minutes, but was probably only a few seconds. Preacher felt Maggie’s hand tighten in his grip.
At that moment, Kevlar’s phone rang. He answered it and put it on speaker. “Tex,” he said briefly, acknowledging the former SEAL on the other end.
The conversation continued as if it hadn’t been interrupted.
“She’s not to be alone. One of us needs to be with her at all times,” Safe said.
“Working is probably a bad idea too,” Smiley agreed.
“He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure she can’t testify against him when he eventually goes to trial. And hewillhave to own up to what he’s done. Tex will make sure of that,” Kevlar added.
“No.”
It would’ve been comical the way everyone’s head swiveled around to stare at Maggie. But nothing about this was funny. Preacher did his best to stay calm. “No what, Maggie?”
“He put me in prison once. I won’t let him do it again. I don’t want to hide away like a coward. I don’t mind having someone with me, because I’m not an idiot, and I don’t want to risk being snatched again and being sent to some other war zone just so he can get rid of me. And I don’t want to quit my job. Ilikeit. But I know being near me puts other people in danger. That’s the last thing I want.It’s bad enough thatyourassociation with me has put all of you in his sights. This needs to stop.Now.”
Preacher’s gut rolled. “What are you saying?” he asked.
“He won’t be able to resist talking to me if he has the chance. He’ll want to exert his power over me. Threaten me. Probably brag about all the things he’s already done. Gloat about what he’sgoingto do. If we can get that on tape, that’ll help prosecute him. Oh! And I completely forgot. I still have the recording from that last phone call he made to me.”
“That’s right,” Tex said from the phone. “Can you send it to me? Like…ASAP?”
“Sure. It’s on my laptop at my apartment though.”
“I can go get it and send it to you, Tex,” Kevlar said.
“Good.”
“I still think it would be a good idea to get him to admit what he did to me. The Ukraine thing,” Maggie said. “The phone recording is pretty bad, incriminatory, but what if a lawyer says it’s not him? There’s no other proof he’s the one threatening me. If we can get both audioandvideo recordings of him bragging about what he did?—”
“No,” Preacher said firmly, interrupting her before she could finish her thought.
“Probably not the best idea,” Blink agreed.
“I’m with them,” MacGyver said.
“She might have a point,” Smiley said.
Preacher gave his friend a death glare.
“I’m not saying let her waltz into his office and have a showdown…although, now that I think about it, that’s not the worst idea either. He won’t be able to do anything if she’s on his territory. He seems to work best outside the boundaries of his job. So if she shows up on base, where there are people around, he won’t be able to snatch her again or do anything that would hurt her.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You can’t be that stupid,” Preacher told Smiley.
“I’m guessing he wouldn’t risk saying anything someone could overhear in his office,” Safe interjected.
“Okay, good point. But what if they ‘accidentally’ run into each other in a parking lot on base? With no one in hearing distance, he might feel empowered enough to tell her what he has planned for her next. And obviously, we’d all be there watching, recording, out of sight. Just in case.”
Preacher took a deep breath. He wanted to beat the shit out of Smiley for even suggesting that Maggie confront Robertson face-to-face. But he also had to admit that the idea had some merit. On one hand, there was a good chance if the man knew he was being investigated, he’d be paranoid and evenmorecareful about what he said, and to whom. On the other, he was a cocky bastard. Someone who thought he was smarter than everyone around him. He might make a mistake. And as long as they controlled how and when he and Maggie met up, the rear admiral couldn’t do anything to hurt her.
“Yes. Let’s do it,” Maggie said.
