Page 7 of Cold Silence
When her attacker was most likely to return?
When Purcell stood staring at Claire, she gestured at Travis. “My associate thinks this may not be a random attack and that I need protection.”
“Not random, huh?” Purcell shifted to face Travis. “Care to share your reasoning?”
Travis would have to phrase his words to keep from giving away confidential information. “She works on a top-secret project worth millions, and someone might want to abduct her to gain access to it.”
“Do you have any evidence suggesting a concrete connection?” Purcell asked.
“No, but my gut says she’s still in danger.”
“Can your department provide protection?” Claire asked, hope ringing through her tone.
Purcell frowned. “Without proof of an ongoing threat, we don’t have the manpower for a detail.”
Travis looked pointedly at Claire.
She held his gaze for a moment, her mouth set in a grim line. “Then welcome to Orlando, Travis,” she said with unmistakable belligerence in her voice. “I’ll accept your help, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
Travis wasted no time ushering Claire back into the building for safety. While she showered and changed clothes to bag them for the police, he found an empty conference room to call Colonel Vogler and bring him up to speed on the attack. “With an attempt to abduct Dr. Reed having already happened, I’d like to request additional support.”
“Nothing else has changed, and I’m reluctant to provide anyone else. For every additional person read in on this theft, our chances of it getting out increases.”
“Did the team spin up last night?”
“Affirmative.”
Travis socked a fist into the wall, jerking back as pain radiated up his arm. He’d forgotten Florida buildings were constructed with cinderblock. Not something he should shove a fist into. “What if we hired a civilian team to enhance my efforts?”
“Like who?”
“I have a buddy. Former SEAL. Has a company comprised of former spec ops guys and law enforcement officers. They train law enforcement personnel and handle in-depth investigations.”
Vogler didn’t respond right away. “Sounds like more people than we want to bring in on this.”
“We could start with the company owner Gage Blackwell. I know he still has top-level security clearance if you’re worried about that. Then as the investigation plays out, we add team members as needed. Getting clearance from you, of course, for each one.”
“I don’t know.”
“Jackson Lockhart works for Blackwell,” Travis said, naming a former Green Beret who’d reported to Vogler for years. “He wouldn’t work for just anyone, and that tells you the quality of their operation.”
“It does indeed. Was sorry to lose Lockhart to that knee injury.” Vogler let the silence linger.
Travis resisted saying anything more and overplaying his hand.
“Send me details on this Gage Blackwell and his company,” Vogler finally said. “I’ll review the info, check into his clearance, and get back to you.” Vogler ended the call.
Travis wasted no time dropping into the nearest chair and searched his phone for Blackwell Tactical to gather intel for Vogler. He copied Gage’s bio, touting his many years as a SEAL. What he didn’t mention to Vogler was that Gage had to retire from his SEAL team after an arm injury. Turned out for the best as his daughter Mia suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was in a car accident with her mom. Gage’s wife died, and Mia now needed special attention that Gage could provide when he was out of the service and stateside all the time.
Travis added the bios for the other Blackwell Tactical team members to show the diversity of skills on the team. A former FBI cybersecurity professional, Portland Police Bureau sniper, Army Ranger, recon Marine, and of course, former Green Beret. Then he added the types of training they provided. Shooting on the move, concealed carry, close-quarter combat, handling long guns, survival skills, and cybersecurity and crime.
Finally, he added company reviews and a link to the Better Business Bureau, then emailed the report to Vogler and marked it urgent.
He was tempted to call Gage to check his availability, but there was no need. Once a spec ops guy always a spec ops guy, and that meant supporting your team members. Now and forever. Sure, Travis and Gage were in different branches of the military, but they’d worked joint ops, which was how they’d met. They both considered each other brothers and would come to the rescue if needed.
To Claire’s rescue in this case.
As if thinking about her brought her closer, she strode down the hall with Julie, deep in conversation. That worry line between Claire’s brows remained in place.
