Axel: SEALs of Honor Book 25 Read online

  “Asshole,” he said in an irritated tone.

  “Exactly,” she said. “I went to the cops, but they never would do anything with it.”

  “No. Once a photo’s up on the net,” he said, “it’s out there.”

  “And it’s not that the photos were pornographic or anything,” she said, “just more along the line of sexy. Maybe that made them more appealing.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. It was pretty bad. They’re out there. I was just hoping this wouldn’t inspire a new round of interest in them. That’s really not who I am.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” he said. “I’ll just tell the guys up-front and take the news out of it.”

  “That just means they’ll all instantly look for them,” she said bitterly.

  “So how did you handle it at the time?”

  “I posted a dozen photos of myself, like in a bikini and in a thong. I figured if more pictures were out there of my own choosing, maybe they’d stop looking for the others.”

  “An interesting point of attack,” he said in surprise.

  She opened her eyes, stared at him, and said, “I’d much rather play offense on my terms than sit back on defense and wait for something to happen.”

  “Unless you’re hurt?’ he asked.

  “Hurting and facing impossible odds,” she whispered.

  Just then the nurse came bubbling back in. “Time’s up,” she said. “This young lady gets to go back to sleep for a while.”

  “She’ll be happy for that, I’d wager.”

  *

  Axel walked out of the room, knowing she’d probably be asleep within ten or fifteen minutes, if not sooner. He stood at the doorway and waited till the nurse came back out and then checked through the window of her door. Ally had curled up as best she could, with her leg in traction, and went right to sleep. “Will she be okay?” he asked the nurse.

  “Yes, we think she’ll do well,” the nurse said. “You can probably come back in another four or five hours, if you have more questions for her.”

  “I’ll see,” he said. “Thank you.” And, with a smile, he headed off. As he walked out the exit door of the hospital, he contacted Mason. “Just talked to Dr. Minga,” he said. “She’s out of surgery and awake, although they just gave her meds, so she’ll be back under any minute now.”

  “Apparently the one leg was quite a mess,” Mason said. “The other was a soft tissue injury through and through, didn’t hit anything major.”

  “From the looks of her, she won’t be moving too much very soon.”

  “They did give us the x-rays to point to the trajectory. For the bad one, she was shot as if she were seated and stood up as somebody was above her and fired downward, so it went down at the top of the thigh through the femur and out just above the knee.”

  “That’s not good,” he said.

  “It shattered the bone top and bottom, so the femur will not support anything for a while. And that’s if it heals properly. It took them a while to pull out all the chips and fragments.”

  “Oh, that’s worse than I thought,” he said. “What about the head wound?”

  “Stitches. It was a deep graze, split the skin, and ran along her skull. She’ll have a hell of a headache for a few days.”

  “She doesn’t remember getting off the sub,” Axel said. “She vaguely remembered me, but that’s it.”

  “You are kind of forgettable,” Mason said, with a smile in his voice.

  Axel grinned at that. “Hey, I can be unassuming and discreet, if I need to be.”

  “I’d like to see that just once,” Mason said.

  “She is still adamant that another person was on board though,” Axel said abruptly. “I told her that the general consensus is Hostettler was likely the shooter and then took himself out at the end. She disagreed and made the point that he might have taken himself out because he had no hope for help and because he had nothing ahead but terrible pain until he finally ran out of oxygen.”

  Mason made a small noncommittal sound.

  “I told her, if that were the case, chances are there would be an even bigger investigation.”

  “Nobody believes a thirteenth man was on board,” Mason said.

  “I know that,” he said, “but she’s pretty adamant.”

  “But how did he get out then?”

  “She did say that somebody locked on to the hatch before we did. Remember?”

  “And that’s possible,” he said. “A pretty shitty deal though.”

  “Killing all twelve on a submarine—or trying to—and making it look like one of them was actually the killer who’d gone rogue is also pretty shitty too,” he said. “It’s just a bad deal all the way around.” Axel now stood outside the hospital in the parking lot beside his Jeep. “It’s not our investigation though, is it?”

  “No,” Mason said cautiously. “At this point I don’t think they’ll be doing too much of an investigation. It’s fairly low-key at the moment, as they try to keep it out of the media.”

  “What if she’s right?”

  “How will you find out?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Any chance we can get access to the cameras for the loading of the sub? See if anybody around there fits the description?”

  “What, tall and lean?”

  “She said he had a bit of a limp, favored his right side, though that could have happened in the fight on the sub,” he said.

  At that, Mason hesitated. “It’ll have to be on your own time,” he warned.

  “You know what? I’m okay with that,” he said. “I saw those men in there. Shot all to hell, then one between the eyes for good measure. They were butchered. That’s not fair. They went out there in good faith, serving their country and testing the new sub. They didn’t expect to die that day.”

  “Nobody ever does,” Mason said. “I’ll see what kind of access I can get you for those cameras. Head on home, and I’ll contact you soon.”

  With that, Axel walked to the burger joint on the next block, got himself something to take home for dinner, returned to his Jeep, and headed for his apartment. As he walked in, his phone rang. He hurriedly put everything down and answered. “Mason?”

  “Yeah, I sent you a link,” he said. “It’s got security data on it. Listen. Don’t share it with anyone, and, if you find anything, you tell me and only me.” And, with that, he hung up.

  Axel loved this cloak-and-dagger stuff, but this one was particularly sensitive. If a thirteenth man was on board, somebody had been lax in letting him get there. Axel was good to blame Hostettler for it, but that didn’t mean the guy had a part in it. Where had the thirteenth man hidden onboard? In the HVAC system, like Ally? It would make sense why the gunman shot up the HVAC system, in case anyone else had had the same idea as he had. And sometimes, when shit hit the fan, sometimes it was nobody’s intention and nobody’s fault.

  Carrying his burger, he headed to his laptop, turned it on, brought up the link, and clicked on it. It was one of the cameras on the loading dock, where the submarine was being loaded. And the feed started four days earlier. “Interesting timing. Thanks, Mason.”

  Axel checked his own watch, thinking it would take a while to get through four days of video. He set the speed three times faster and moved through the video, slowing it down when anybody was coming and going, and took screenshots of faces for later. When nothing was happening, he sped it up, then slowed it back down again. Finally he was up to the day the sub left. Still more supplies were loaded and some equipment. He watched as Dr. Minga walked up and got on, followed by the rest of the crew. Hostettler was there. He was laughing and joking with the others. He carried a simple duffel bag, like everybody else did. Minga herself had a small bag, not a duffel, but more of a suitcase without the wheels. They were supposed to be out for seven days. They were out for three before things blew up. He kept watch, but nobody else came on board.

  He shut off the video and sat back, considering this, then got up and pulled
a beer from the fridge. Sitting back down again, he backed up to the twenty-four hours before, focusing especially on the night before launch, and set it at normal speed and then slowed it down even more and watched. He leaned forward when he thought he saw movement. Everything was pitch-black, and it was hard to see anything leading up to the sub. He leaned forward again, slowed it down, and took another look.

  And, sure enough, there was something, someone, wandering around in the dark. Studying the guy’s movements, Axel didn’t see any method to his madness, until he pulled his phone from his pocket and held it to his ear, then moved quickly toward the sub. Was there some kind of a security lock on the sub that had now been unlocked? Someone else who helped him gain access? Axel watched as the man quickly boarded the submarine, having absolutely no trouble opening the hatch and getting inside. Axel waited and watched. “Where are you, you little bugger?”

  But nobody else was here. And at no point in time—from that moment until the next day when the submarine left—were there signs of that man leaving the sub. Axel sat back, then reran that same video feed of the man answering the phone and then walking into the sub, watching at a very slow speed. Axel noted a slight hitch in his stride, indeed, an odd little movement that he made, favoring his right side.

  “Bingo,” he said, and he picked up the phone to call Mason.

  Chapter 3

  Ally woke up again, this time more aware of where she was, her thoughts less hazy, though the pain was still overwhelming her. The nurse walked in a few minutes later. “You must have an instinct for knowing when your patients wake up,” she said.

  “That’s easy,” the nurse said cheerfully. “Your meds should have worn off about twenty minutes ago, and usually the pain kicking in wakes you up.”

  “Well, why don’t you just keep the pain meds coming,” Ally joked, “and then I don’t have to wake up until this is healed.”

  “Well, wouldn’t that be nice,” she said. “I’m sorry to tell you, but it won’t be that simple.”

  “Of course not.” She looked down at her leg. “How long do I have to stay here?”

  “It’s not for me to say,” the nurse said, “but, when the doctor can get you out of here, rest assured that he will.”

  “Got it,” she said. “I was just hoping to get out sooner rather than later.”

  “Maybe,” the nurse said. “As long as the x-rays show the bone is set properly and the blood circulation is fine. You are nicely casted, so you’ll probably be good to go home before too terribly long, if it heals well.”

  Ally watched as the nurse checked her blood pressure, temperature, and took her pulse. “I’m still alive, I presume,” she said. “Alive and in good health, from the sounds of it.”

  “The doctor’s doing rounds at nine. He’ll pop in then.” And, with that, she headed to the door.

  “Wait. Is there any chance of getting a coffee?”

  “Sure,” she said. “How do you take it?”

  “Black, please.”

  “It will have to be coffee from the nurses’ station, until breakfast is delivered in an hour.”

  “What time is it anyway?”

  “It’s seven,” the nurse said. She walked back into the room and moved the small table used for meals closer to Ally. “Your phone is here too.”

  When she saw it, she smiled with relief. “I hadn’t even thought about it,” she said, “but I’d be very sad to lose it.”

  “You and the rest of the world,” she said with a smile. “I’ll get you a coffee.”

  Ally reached for her phone, grateful that the movement didn’t seem to wake up the trolls in her head that she’d pictured doing the pounding against her skull. As she lay back down again, phone in hand, she realized that she felt a whole lot better. Taped to the top of her phone, she saw someone had left a phone number. And no name. She knew only one person who would do that. Axel. She smiled when she saw it.

  “So there you are,” she murmured, knowing instinctively that this was the man who had helped get her out of the submarine. She added his phone number to her contacts, then sent him a text. Cute move, leaving your number like that.

  Next she checked her emails, wincing at the seventy-five that downloaded when she brought up the app. “That’s not fair,” she murmured. She didn’t know if anybody had heard she was in the hospital or not, but most of these appeared to be business oriented. One was from her mom, and she doubly winced at that.

  “Sorry, Mom. I don’t dare talk to you right now,” she said to herself. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to tell you.”

  As far as everybody knew, she was still out in the sub and wouldn’t be home for another few days. She checked out the news, frowned at the political climate of anger and angst taking over the country, and then checked the weather, simply because, when there’s nothing else to talk about, there was the weather. She had a few favorite sites that she whipped through, just browsing the internet, wondering what had happened while she was out of it, only to realize that basically nothing had, and it was still the same old crap like always. Just as she went to put down her phone, a text message came through. She smiled when she saw it was from Axel.

  How’d you know it was me?

  You’re the only one who came to see me.

  Are you alone?

  Kinda stuck in the hospital. Never alone here.

  Can I come visit?

  It’s pretty early.

  But, if you’re awake and I’m awake, does it matter? Can I come?

  Sure, I guess. Can’t promise they’ll let you in though.

  He sent her a happy face. I’ll make it in.

  She trusted him on that too. Hearing no more from Axel, she put down her phone, just as the nurse walked back in with a cup of coffee. “The same guy who was here the other day is on his way back,” she said. “He has more questions.”

  “Not surprised,” the nurse said. “I’ll send him up.”

  “Thank you,” Ally replied. Then she sat here and waited, sipping her coffee. With any luck he wouldn’t be here too early. When he walked in ten minutes later, she looked at him, surprised. “How’d you get here so fast?”

  “I live on base,” he said.

  She nodded. “Did you follow up on anything?”

  He looked around behind him and then closed the door.

  Her eyebrows rose. “Is that a safe thing to do?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said, “but it’ll have to be. I need to talk to you about something,” he said, “and I don’t want anybody listening in.”

  “Top secret, huh?” she said lightly. But, then again, that was her world too.

  He walked forward, looked at the coffee cup, and smiled. “That coffee any good?”

  “It’s hot and bitter and strong,” she said. “I haven’t had any in a couple days. I figured it might clear off the rest of my headache that’s still pounding.”

  “Yeah, caffeine is tough that way,” he said. “But a caffeine headache? Really? That’s kind of a stretch for somebody with God-only-knows how many stitches in her head.”

  “So I suppose you don’t drink coffee and the like?”

  “Hell no,” he said. “I probably drink twice as much as you do.”

  Her smile got brighter. “No wonder you’re here so early. So what did you want to talk about?”

  He looked at his watch and said, “It’s not that early. When will we be interrupted?”

  “Breakfast comes around eight, I was told,” she said.

  “It’ll be close,” he said, “but we still have twenty minutes.”

  She nodded. “And you’re still evading the issue.”

  “You can’t say anything to anybody,” he said.

  She stared at him, perplexed. “That’s fine,” she said. “I don’t exactly have anybody to say anything to, in case you haven’t noticed.” He walked over, held up his phone, swiped the screen to get to something, and showed her a small video clip. The angle was wrong for her to see very clear
ly, so she brought his hand closer and twisted it, so she could get a better look at the video playing.

  He said, “It’s dark at the time of the video too, so keep that in mind.”

  She watched as the shadowy figure answered a phone call and then walked down the approach to the sub. He got in without any trouble. “There’s security on that sub,” she murmured.

  “Keep watching,” he said.

  She watched as the video sped up, and finally she could see herself and the others approach, and then the sub took off. She handed the phone back, wondering what she was supposed to see. Then she got it. “He didn’t get off, did he?”

  Axel shook his head. “No,” he said, “not that I could find.”

  “So I was right,” she said softly. She looked at him and took another sip of coffee. “Have you told anybody?”

  “Mason,” he said with a nod. “I left it with him.”

  “Are you anticipating a problem?”

  “Well, it’s possible,” he said. “I’m not sure. I think it’s nice and tidy for the navy to keep it the way it currently appears.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Hostettler shot everyone and then himself.”

  “Unless he didn’t, in which case hard questions need to be asked. Yet it’s all wrapped up, but for the ramblings of some woman with a head injury.”

  “Except for that video,” he said.

  “You found it, so, if anybody’s looking, they should find it too, right?”

  “And that, of course, is another question. Whether they look and find it or not, I don’t know. But Mason will take it to them, and hopefully that will force an investigation.”

  “I hope so,” she said. She paused, looked at him, and said, “So, the guy. Who is he?”

  “Don’t know yet,” he said cheerfully, “but I’ll find out.”

  She leaned back in the bed, studied his face, and gave a quick nod. “Do. I want to know who that bastard is.”

  *

  It was one thing to want to catch this guy, but it was another thing entirely to figure out who it was. They had absolutely no evidence or anything else other than the stark figure moving in the darkness. Black on black was never good for identification. But it had to be somebody with access, somebody who had security credentials, with a level of clearance to get in, and somebody who knew the timing of this mission and when the sub was going down. Those parameters should reduce the numbers of suspects to something manageable. As he walked out of the hospital, he called Mason. “Any update?”