Learning to Stand Read online

  “Yes sir,” Larry said.

  “Add to your list: why does Joiner have so many children?” Joseph asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  Alex could hardly believe the interaction. Larry did what he was told without a word of back talk. Looking at Joseph, he winked at her. She gave him a soft smile.

  “Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves, will you share your information with the group?”

  “Yes Major,” Alex said. “Where should I start?”

  “Joiner was all over South and Central America,” Troy said. “I ran into him a couple of times, but he doesn’t know who I am. He says he’s exploring for oil reserves, but don’t they do that by satellite now?”

  “They determine regions of interest by satellite,” Alex said. “Usually they will send an engineering team or a field team. For example, you were supposed to work out the transportation details for a specific region of Afghanistan the Corps of Engineers asked me to re-map.”

  Troy blinked. He opened his mouth then nodded. He had not even looked at what had been assigned to him.

  “Do we need to add the re-mapping to our list, Lieutenant Colonel?” Joseph asked.

  “You’ll have to ask your superior officer, Major,” Alex said. “I’m not certain what your team’s priorities are at this time.”

  Joseph squinted at Alex in response. The room became very still. At that moment, there was a small bark. Max stood in the doorway holding Maggie.

  “Excuse me,” Alex said.

  She felt every eye on her as she went to speak with Max. Max pressed his forehead against hers in support.

  “I’m going to take her out for a little walk,” Max said. “John called. His attending figures if he’s not in a class, he can do a few surgeries. He thinks he’ll be home by nine. Cian’s making dinner.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Go easy,” Max said. “You’re not yourself.”

  Alex closed her eyes and leaned forward. She felt the familiar comfort of Max’s forehead on hers. Wishing she could go with him, she watched him leave the basement.

  Turning in place, she heard Joseph’s raised voice. Looking across at her former Fey teammate, she saw he was furious.

  “And exactly what did you expect? Olivas, did you do the work your commanding officer asked you to do? Did you even look at it?”

  “No sir,” Troy said.

  “Then what do you expect? You are the laziest, bunch of babies I have ever seen in ANY team, let alone elite soldiers. The President of the United States has asked for our assistance and you can’t even keep your egos in check to get the information you need.”

  Nodding to Joseph, Ben stood to walk over to Alex. He hugged her to him then, as if she was a small child, he took her hand and led her to an empty loveseat. He helped her settle in then sat with his arm around her. His body language was clear. He was protecting his fragile child.

  “Before we continue, we must make a decision. Are we willing to do what it takes to become a team?” Ben said in French. “If not, we will not waste any more time here.”

  “I can only speak for White Boy and myself,” Trece replied in French. “We’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “I will do whatever it takes, even if it costs me my life,” Vince replied in French. “I owe Alex my life. It’s hers to do with what she’d like.”

  “I’m willing to go as far as it takes to regain the trust and friendship lost,” Matthew replied in French. “Alex owns my life, as well.”

  “What did Ben say?” Larry asked. “He spoke so fast. I didn’t get it.”

  Joseph raised his eyebrows to Larry.

  “Anyone like to translate for Sergeant Flagg?” Joseph asked.

  “Ben wants to know if we are willing to do what it takes to become a team. You need to put ‘learn French’ on your list, Flagg,” Troy said in English. Switching to French, he said, “I’m even willing to translate for the jerk off. I will do what it takes.”

  “I will do anything, anything, really just ask me,” Larry said in English.

  “To hear you ask if I shall love always, and myself answer: Till the end of days.” Speaking in his mother’s tongue of Patois, Raz quoted a line from Jamaican poet Claude McKay poem. “My allegiance is yours, my queen.”

  “What language was that?” Larry asked. “What did he say?”

  “None of your business,” Joseph said. “Alex? Are you willing to continue?”

  Overwhelmed by the men’s words, Alex gave a small nod.

  “We were discussing Cee Cee Joiner,” Joseph said. “Joiner told people he went around exploring for oil, Alex?”

  “Joiner works for Pecos Oil, a company his father, Cecil Joiner Sr. started,” Alex said. “Joiner Sr. was dirt poor when he married his wife. They lived with her parents while he worked the oil fields. One day, they discovered oil on the in-laws property.”

  “Like Jed Clampett?” Trece asked. The men laughed. “I apologize for my interruption, sir. I will return to practicing my listening skills.”

  Alex smiled at Trece. He responded with a shrug.

  “Joiner Sr.’s in-laws died in a freak accident maybe six months after they discovered oil on their property. Raz helped me research the records. The police report indicates drunk driving on the part of the father-in-law. But they were a Baptist family: no drinking, no drugs.”

  “Flagg, put the accident on your team list,” Joseph said. “Joiner Sr. was fond of his in-laws. So it’s kind of a dead end.”

  “Was Cee Cee alive when the accident happened?” Matthew asked.

  “Yes, he was about three,” Ben said. “Raz and I went to Mexico to speak with Papa Joiner. He was incoherent. Raz? The photo?”

  Clicking a button on his laptop, Raz brought up a photo showing a gray haired man slumped in a wheelchair. He turned the laptop so everyone could see the image. With a flick of Raz’s finger, an image of the gentleman with a young Hispanic woman came on the screen.

  “This is the lovely Ágeuda. She said Joiner Sr. has been in this condition for the last four or five years. She prays every day he will finally go to see our Lord. His file says Alzheimer’s. Anything happen four or five years ago? Alex? Troy?”

  Both Alex and Troy shook their heads.

  “I’ll put that on our team list,” Larry said.

  “Cee Cee technically runs Pecos Oil,” Alex said. “However, Joiner Sr. set up an executive committee and C class officers before retiring. Cee Cee is little more than a figure head. I’m not sure he attends to or knows any of the company’s details. One time, when we were trudging through another jungle with Cee Cee Joiner, Mike quizzed him about Pecos Oil. Mike loved to harass him. Joiner’s answers changed from day to day. When you’re stuck in the jungle, it’s pretty funny to listen to the moron scramble.”

  Alex smiled then remembered that this moron probably had her entire team killed. Her face fell and she sighed.

  F

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Charlie always believed Cecil was running the company,” Joseph said.

  “Why did Charlie believe that?” Ben asked.

  Joseph nodded toward Alex.

  “Someone held Cee Cee’s strings. It wasn’t the Board of Directors, that’s for sure. Every time Cee Cee would get out on the skinny branches, someone would pull him back. Except when he got himself in trouble. Like this time.”

  “The record shows you extracted him five times,” Vince said. “Why was he held so many times?”

  “We rescued him five times. He was in trouble more times than that,” Joseph said. “Anyone know the total number?”

  “Eight,” Ben said. “Maybe ten but not more than twelve.”

  “Sometimes, he would disappear,” Alex said. “He had a way of turning up again. A couple times, we received the call to go get him. By the time we could go and get him, he’d show up as if nothing happened. I always thought he was up to something.”

  “Something?” Raz asked.

  “I can’t explain it. He kn
ew every nasty on every continent,” Alex said. “He only spoke English. So he’d miss the finer points of any negotiation.”

  “He offends people and breaks international law,” Joseph said. “He slant drilled under a mosque in Morocco. Mosques are holy ground above and underneath. The mosque dropped an inch. It was almost war.”

  “We spent five weeks looking for him that time,” Alex said.

  “What does he look like?” Vince asked.

  “He’s a fat fuck,” White Boy said.

  “He’s tall, maybe six-three, six-five,” Troy said.

  “And about four hundred pounds,” Trece said. “Three-fifty at the lightest.”

  “All gut and hat,” Alex said.

  “Hat?” Vince asked.

  “Blonde cowboy hat,” Troy said. “He acts like everyone’s buddy. ‘Just a Texas good ole boy.’ That’s how he introduces himself.”

  “He’s smarter than he looks,” Alex said. “What was he working on last?”

  “No one knows,” Raz said. “He was supposed to be on his honeymoon. He and the new wife were to return to the new home. No one noticed he was gone until he didn’t show up for work two weeks ago. Wife number five says he left for a business trip a couple days before that.”

  “There’s been no movement on his financial accounts,” Matthew said. “No corporate credit cards and no personal money used. Nothing. It’s like he disappeared. There’s this other oddity. Vince, you were going to look into that.”

  “I found a missing person’s report filed around Christmas for Joiner’s oldest son, Tristan,” Vince said. “I spoke with the child’s mother. She said the boy lives with his father. When I pressed her to find out where exactly that might be? She clammed up.”

  “What did you make of that?” Alex asked.

  “She seemed frightened,” Vince said. “She said she shouldn’t have filed the report. But she didn’t file the report. It was filed by a guy in Long Beach. I tried to get him, but the phone number was wrong or shut off. No listing in the computers.”

  “I’ll find you a number,” Raz said. “What’s his name?”

  “Robert Lopez.”

  “I’m on it,” Raz said.

  “Good work,” Joseph said. “That’s the kind of detail that can break an investigation wide open. Ramirez? Blanco? What can you tell us about Cee Cee Joiner?”

  “He likes to beat women,” White Boy said. “Open handed, mostly. We stopped him once when he was pounding on this pregnant lady with his fists.”

  “He was drunk. He’s dangerous when he’s drunk,” Trece said.

  “What aren’t you saying?” Alex asked.

  “You know how I feel about saying this stuff in front of women and children. You have enough on your mind without dealing with Joiner’s evil,” Trece said. “What if I tell Rasmussen?”

  “Rasmussen will tell her,” White Boy said. “You know he has no control with her.”

  “You should see them skinny dip,” Trece laughed. “Alex always starts it. You know she can strip in like two seconds flat. She jumps in the water and taunts...”

  “Captain Ramirez? We’re talking about Cee Cee Joiner,” Joseph said. “Plus it’s like one second flat.”

  Trece laughed.

  “Cee Cee Joiner?” Alex asked.

  “He rapes women.” White Boy said.

  “Children, really,” Trece said. “We pulled him off a ...”

  “Twelve-year-old girl.” White Boy curled his lip with disgust. “He was piss drunk.”

  “Why do we think he was taken this time?” Matthew asked. “Women? Children? Alcohol? Oil? Money? The more I learn, the more confused I become.”

  “No one knows,” Joseph said. “One thing we haven’t talked about is the fact that Joiner cheats. He cheats on his taxes. He cheats at cards. He cheats at diets. Everything.”

  “He’s greedy,” Alex said. “Almost desperate with greed. Maybe that’s a key to his personality. Women, for example, are only one of his appetites. If he wants something, he will do whatever it takes including steamrolling over anyone in his way. Once he has what he wants, he could care less about the woman, the oil well, the home, whatever. He’s only interested in the acquisition and conquering of what he wants.”

  “Are we one of his appetites?” Vince asked.

  “More like a resource to get what he wants,” Joseph said. “You left him when you went for Captain Mac Clenaghan the last time.”

  “Yeah, you were home with Nancy.” Alex gave a sheepish grin. “It wasn’t one of our finest moments. We’d been looking for him for a couple weeks when I heard a group of US soldiers were taken hostage. Repercussions from Abu Graib or so we heard. We went to the Middle East and found Mattie, Vince and four other guys. Jesse and I spent a month with the soldiers to help them recover.”

  “All this time Joiner was held?” Raz asked.

  “Three months? Maybe longer,” Alex said. “When we got there, he was emaciated. Maybe two hundred and ninety pounds.”

  White Boy laughed.

  “He was sick with dysentery and typhus,” Alex said. “Our medic Dean saved Joiner’s life. No doubt about it. The moment Joiner was well enough to talk on the telephone, he forgot all about us. No ‘Thank You.’ No ‘You saved my life.’ Nothing. Just business as usual. He called for a chopper to take him back to the States. If the Jakker hadn’t been waiting for us? If we hadn’t been through this before with Joiner? We’d have been stuck in the middle of the jungle. Again.”

  “What? You saved his life and he took your transport?” Larry asked.

  “The first time we saved his butt, he took our transport. Presidential order, no less,” Joseph said. “God, Charlie was pissed.”

  “He left us in the middle of the jungle,” Alex said. “It was four days before someone could get us.”

  “The Jakker,” Joseph said. “That’s when the Jakker’s nose was rearranged.”

  “Ahem,” Alex said. “JOINER. He’s ruthless. Once he has what he wants, you’re of no use to him.”

  “I always wondered who broke Jakkman’s nose,” Trece said. “You broke Jakkman’s nose, Alex?”

  Alex glared at Joseph. Joseph gave a slight nod.

  “Not to interrupt the gossip session, but I feel like I should add this,” Ben said. “We are each very compulsive, type A personalities. You might think you understand Joiner, but Joiner’s different. There’s something missing inside of him.”

  “Is he a psychopath?” Larry asked.

  “No, but that’s good thinking,” Ben said. “Psychopaths are charming, social creatures. Everyone loves a psychopath. When they are caught, their neighbors and friends are shocked and tell reporters what a great guy he or she was. Think Ted Bundy. Everyone involved in the case liked Bundy. Even knowing what a monster Bundy was, everyone liked him.

  “No one likes Joiner. Not even the women he marries. They are usually charmed by his money. His first wife married him right out of college. Their parents were friends. They were destined to get married. As soon as she was pregnant with her second child, she chucked him and kept a good chunk of his money.”

  “When I think if Joiner, I think of a Red Spitting Cobra,” Alex said. “Beautiful in color but dangerous to be around. Have you ever seen a snake strike? If you’re too big to eat, a snake will strike then move on. That’s Joiner. I always think he forgets we saved him. Then the President calls again...”

  “Spitting cobra’s venom is very painful,” Trece said. “But not deadly.”

  “That’s Joiner,” Troy nodded.

  “Joiner killed the Fey Special Forces Team,” Vince said.

  “You’ve found some evidence?” Alex asked. With Vince’s words, her heart raced and her mind flooded with sorrow.

  “Yes Alex,” Joseph said. “I wanted to tell you in private, but we haven’t had time.”

  “Why would he kill us?” she whispered.

  The men shook their heads. No one knew why Cee Cee Joiner had the Fey Special Forces
Team executed. While her eyes watched the men’s heads move back and forth, Alex retreated deep inside her head. Ben’s arm dropped around her again.

  “Did you get a profile, Raz?” Matthew asked.

  “Not really.” Raz flipped through a stack of pages then shook his head. “There are details about Joiner around, but not enough to really get a sense of him. I’m wondering what charms a cobra.”

  “Anything shiny,” Troy said.

  “Ben?” Joseph asked. “Could you ask the President about Joiner? That’s a resource we’ve never been able to tap.”

  “I can try,” Ben said.

  “Do it,” Joseph said. “Does anyone have anything else? Good. Let’s break for dinner. I expect you back here at 0600 hours tomorrow to get started.”

  The group broke up with a round of ‘yes’ sirs. The men passed Alex to touch her leg or arm as they left the room. But Alex was nonresponsive. Ben stayed with her until they were alone.

  “You may come out now,” Ben said in French.

  Alex sighed.

  “My brother tells me you are very fragile. If he was here, he would yell at me, and you.”

  “Dom is protective,” Alex replied in French. “It’s nice.”

  “He’s even that way with me,” Ben said.

  “You aren’t smoking as much,” Alex said.

  “I’m working on quitting… Again.”

  “Good.”

  “My beautiful wife is pregnant with what I hope is our last child,” he said.

  “Really? I thought she was,” Alex said. “When we saw her in January, she had that look she gets when she’s pregnant.”

  “She said the same about you,” Ben said. “And now she says that you need to rest, be loved, eat and mourn. She would yell at you for working.”

  “Claire is protective too,” Alex said. “Did you really retire?”

  “My last day is two weeks after Larry leaves for Iraq,” he said. “I’ll take you through this transition.”

  Alex let out a deep and mournful sigh.

  “Your sigh makes me long for a cigarette.”

  “Oh, sorry,” she said. “I don’t know how to function without you. What will the world do without its best intelligence agent?”