Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (10 page)

BRIAN
:
Alright. So he just gave that intel to the cops, right?

CAL
: Nope.
Think about it. Every American citizen has a certain right to
privacy. Technically, the intel was gathered because one of the
team members was curious about the girls coming in and out of the
house. So the team shifted a couple of listening devices over to
the other house along with a camera and just monitored it for a
couple days. Well, they found out pretty quickly what was going on
but the dilemma was the legality of the source of information. Any
two-bit lawyer could’ve had the case thrown out of
court.

BRIAN
:
There’s gotta be something the authorities could’ve
done.

CAL
: Their
hands are tied, man! They would’ve loved nothing more than to bust
that whole thing down. Our company has a lot of contacts in local
law enforcement so one of our guys cautiously asked what they would
do with the situation without giving away the details like
location, etcetera. The cops basically said that unless they were
allowed to build the case from the ground up or catch the ring
red-handed, there’s not much they could do.

BRIAN
: But
that’s bullshit! They’re here to protect us from that kind of
stuff.

CAL
: I
know. But remember that in order to live in a democracy like we
have in this country, certain laws must be in place to protect
individual freedom and avoid abuse of that freedom.

BRIAN
(confused): Alright, so you’re telling me that your dad just
sat on the intel and did nothing?

CAL
(smiling): That’s the opposite of what he did.

BRIAN
: You
gonna tell me or just sit there with that cheesy grin on your
face?

CAL
: I know
I don’t have to say this to you but I will anyways: you can’t say
anything about what you see around here to anyone outside SSI. Oh,
and don’t go telling Travis what I’ve told you. I don’t think he’d
care, considering who you are, but I don’t want him to think I’ve
been running my mouth.

BRIAN
: Who
do you think I am? I know how to keep my mouth shut.

CAL
: OK. So
my Dad ordered the team to wait until the original mission was
over. He didn’t want to tip off the ring leaders. Once the first
job was finished, the team covertly rounded up all the ringleaders
and made them get caught.

BRIAN
: What
do you mean MADE them get caught?

CAL
: Some
of our top snoopers caught the guys, tranquilized them and set them
all up in one of their vans in a park down the street. The team
loaded the criminals with some booze and their own dope so it
looked like they’d passed out after a little partying. They loaded
all the drugs and weapon stash in the back of the van so when the
cops were anonymously tipped off, the drug dealers and pimps woke
up to a slew of cops yelling at them to come out with their hands
up and get on the ground. I heard the whole thing was pretty
funny.

BRIAN
: What
about the slaves they had in the house?

CAL
: For
their own safety, they were knocked out too and a minor fire was
set. Just enough for the alarm system to alert the fire department.
When the fire department busted in and searched the house, they
found the girls locked in a back room.

BRIAN
: I
still don’t see why the cops couldn’t have just knocked down the
door and swept the place.

CAL
: That
sounds easy but think about those raids you did with your Marines
over in Iraq. Did you ever like going into a situation not knowing
what you were gonna get? Who knew what those guys would’ve done to
the local cops busting down the door? The way our team did it, no
one was hurt and the criminals were dealt with.

Brian still didn’t look totally
convinced.

CAL
: Are
you really so naïve to think that the police can do anything they
want? Come on, doc. You’ve seen the shitty things people do in this
world.

BRIAN
: I
know. I guess I never really thought about it that much until now.
It’s like the cops are handcuffed from doing their duty. Reminds me
of those times in Iraq when the Rules of Engagement kept my Marines
from killing bad guys.

CAL
(nodding): Exactly. If they don’t do things by the book these
good cops that don’t get paid squat could lose their jobs. The
law’s made it to where police hesitate because they’re worried
about getting in trouble.

BRIAN
:
Yeah. Last week I saw that some cop was getting sued by a guy who
got shot while robbing a bank. The cop shot him AFTER the guy shot
one of the tellers and refused to give up. It’s
bullshit.

CAL
: Yep.
That’s where Corps Justice comes in.

BRIAN
:
Explain that.

CAL
: Like I
told you before, my Dad lived and breathed the Marine Corps way. It
was my fault he got out of the Corps, but you could never take the
Corps out of him. That, mixed with his moral sense of right and
wrong, made him adopt his motto about Corps Justice.

BRIAN
: So
is this Corps Justice like a company credo or something?

CAL
: Kind
of. It’s more of an overarching guidance for SSI employees for when
they encounter gray areas.

BRIAN
: Is
it written somewhere?

CAL
: For
obvious reasons we can’t publish it.

Cal paused and reached for his wallet. He pulled out
what looked like a business card on tattered paper. He handed it to
Brian.

CAL
: I got
that from my Dad when I went off to college.

Brian looked down at the card:

Corps Justice

1. We will protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.

2. We will protect the weak and punish the
wicked.

3. When the laws of this nation hinder the
completion of these duties, our moral compass will guide us to see
the mission through.

Brian looked up at Cal.

BRIAN
: Cal,
to me this looks like you can do whatever you want as long as you
think it’s right.

CAL
: I know
that’s how it seems but you have to remember that my Dad’s moral
compass wouldn’t allow us to conduct acts of undue aggression.
Besides, only the top management within SSI can green light those
kinds of jobs. Dad handpicked that leadership.

BRIAN
: Does
this come up a lot?

CAL
: I
don’t think so. Keep in mind that most of the work SSI does is
consulting and training. Yes, we do have security teams and quick
reaction forces, but most of the missions they undertake are cut
and dry. There’s typically a clear bad guy and that’s who we’re
sent in to take care of.

BRIAN
: It
sounds more like the gigs you take on are government
sanctioned.

CAL
: Keep
in mind that I don’t know everything. I don’t work here. But you’re
right. The federal government is our biggest customer, but we have
a lot of divisions that trump even that big account.

BRIAN
:
Really? Like what?

CAL
: We do
a lot of R&D work and either sell the final product or retain
the rights. There’s a lot of money in that kind of
stuff.

BRIAN
: I’ll
bet. Are you gonna run the company?

CAL
: Nope.
Trav is better at it than I would be. I’ll probably be involved
somehow but he’s a much better schmoozer than I am. Plus I’ve still
got some things to take care of.

Cal gazed out the expansive windows. Brian
looked at his new friend trying to comprehend the immense pain in
the man’s eyes. He decided to prod Cal on.

BRIAN
: So
tell me how the hell you went into the Marine Corps instead of
working here?

Cal maintained his gaze then turned to Brian.

CAL
: I
started my first year of college at the University of Virginia in
1998. My parents were excited about the high caliber of The
University but they still wanted me close. By that time, the
company was doing a lot more work with the feds. Dad had
anticipated the rise of terrorism, and built the company to combat
those threats with the ability to augment the American military. He
was even doing some work for our allies like the U.K. and
Germany.

He paused and shifted his weight trying to
find the right words.

CAL
: Like I
said, my parents were really happy about me going to U.Va but still
wanted to see me. I wanted the same thing. We’d been through a lot
together. The great thing about money is that there’s not much you
can’t do when you have it. At that point, SSI was probably a tenth
of what it is now but Mom and Dad had more money than they could
ever spend. Well, on one of their trips to Charlottesville to watch
a U.Va football game and visit me, Dad went house shopping. I
thought he was just looking for a condo or something they could
stay in for weekend trips in. Dad didn’t come from much money but
always loved the idea of owning land. He always told me that land
was one thing you could never reproduce or take away from a man. In
Albemarle County, Virginia there’s a lot of land. You know
Monticello, right?

BRIAN
:
Yeah, that was Thomas Jefferson, right?

CAL
: Yep.
Founded U.Va too. Anyways, there are a lot of estates like that out
there. So Dad goes out and finds a spread a lot like this one here.
Around two thousand acres. He called it his little getaway. What he
ended up doing was turning that into our second headquarters. He
called it Camp Cavalier because I was at U.Va. It turned out great
because he built an almost identical campus there that we have here
in Nashville. That gave the SSI the ability to be really close to
Washington, D.C.

BRIAN
: I’ll
bet your parents spent more time there too.

CAL
: Yeah.
It was great to have them close by and they understood that I
needed my space too. They’d come over for football games and
sometime take me out to dinner. That was a great three
years.

Cal paused and returned his gaze to the
window and continued.

CAL
: In the
fall of 2001 I was starting my last year in school. My parents had
just been by to visit, then headed up to D.C. to visit new clients
and old friends. They were going to jump on a plane out to Los
Angeles for a quick vacation then head down to Camp Pendleton to
see some more friends and fit a little work in too. My parents
boarded American Airlines Flight 77 the morning of September 11th.
They tried to call me from the flight when it became clear to my
Dad that the flight was hijacked. I was in class and didn’t get the
call. Both calmly told me that they loved me in hushed voices and
my Dad told me they’d always be with me.

Tears were now streaming down Cal’s face,
but he continued.

CAL
: I
could hear my Mom try to choke back her gasps. My Dad was all
business but he still sounded scared. More than anything I think he
was worried for my Mom and for me. That’s the way he always was. He
finished the message by telling me how proud he was and that I’d
been his greatest accomplishment on earth.

Cal stopped again his breath now coming in
gasps.

CAL
: I
never got to say goodbye. Those fucking terrorists took the most
important people out of my life. I sat there playing that message
over and over again as I sat with my classmates watching the
attacks on TV. I was just numb. Before I knew it, a couple guys
from our Charlottesville headquarters barged into the room and
found me. Apparently Travis had sent them to come get me and secure
me somewhere.

He reached down and grabbed the bottom of
his shirt and wiped his eyes. There was a new anger, cold and
deadly in Cal’s eyes.

CAL
: They
tried to take me out of there but I shook them off. One of the guys
tried to get me on the phone but I wouldn’t do it. I ran out of
there and went straight to the ROTC building at Maury Hall. I
wasn’t part of ROTC but I knew some of the guys. The MOI was a
mustang and had served with Dad. I found him and asked him how I
could get into The Corps. He was sympathetic but said it wasn’t
that easy. There were a lot more hurdles going the officer route.
Before he could finish I bolted. I knew where the Marine
recruiter’s office was and ran all the way there. There were a
bunch of other kids there apparently doing the same thing as me. I
pushed my way to the front, no one wanting to mess with the
sweat-soaked kid with the tears running down his face. The Gunny
sitting at the desk glanced up annoyed that I’d broken his routine.
I asked him how I could get to go overseas the fastest and kill the
people that had killed my parents. His face changed and he softened
up. He stood up and took me to the back of the room where we could
talk in private. The Gunny told me that he was getting flooded with
similar requests and that he only had one slot left to ship kids to
boot camp later that week.