The Book of Joshua II - Believe (The Gems & Gents Series 3) Read online

  Books by Iris Bolling

  THE HEART SERIES

  Once You’ve Touched The Heart

  The Heart of Him

  Look Into My Heart

  A Heart Divided

  A Lost Heart

  The Heart

  NIGHT OF SEDUCTION SERIES

  Night of Seduction/Heaven’s Gate

  The Pendleton Rule

  GEMS & GENTS SERIES

  Teach Me

  The Book of Joshua I - Trust

  The Book of Joshua II - Believe

  Copyright © 2014 by Iris Bolling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN-13:978-0-9913426-0-0

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905577

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are with the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, locales is entirely coincidental.

  SIRI ENTERPRISES

  RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

  www.sirient.com

  Prologue

  Mexico

  As a CIA operative, few things surprised Joshua Lassiter. As a man, many things disgusted him. Those were his thoughts as he pulled sheets of paper from the container he was holding. Inside were several documents with a letterhead he knew well. The documents were from the White House with the seal of the United States of America at the bottom. It wasn’t the Presidential Seal, he knew for he had several documents with that seal himself. No, the document he was holding held another prominent seal in the center. Glancing at the document, the signatures of the Secretary of Defense and the Vice-President glared back at him in bold black ink.

  Joshua shook his head not wanting to believe what he was reading. Pulling out his handheld, which he affectionately called Sally, he scanned the document then sent it electronically to Ned, his handler. He knew the original had to be authenticated, however, this would at the very least, give him an idea of the true source of the evidence he’d found.

  Tucking Sally in his breast pocket, he pulled out a long thin item that resembled a pen. He held the document up, clicked the top of the item, shinning a black light over it. There were certain security features in the paper used by the White House that could not be seen with the naked eye. The features were there. Someone from the White House gave immunity to this man. Joshua looked around at the weapons of mass destruction. “Who in the hell would allow these weapons on U.S. soil?”

  He folded the paper and placed it inside a covert section of his coat pocket, near the small GPS button. If something happened to him, Ned would be able to locate the coat using the GPS. The document would be found. He quickly scanned through the other five documents in the file, sending a copy of each to Ned, then placed them back.

  This was not his mission. He was in Mexico City to deliver a secure message to the President of Mexico without being detected. Afterwards, he stopped in Monterey to see an old friend, Alejandro Mateo.

  Mateo was the head of the Mexican Cartel, but from time to time, he had proven to be a friend to him and the United States. Never hurt to have friends on both sides of the law in his line of work. It would not serve him or Mateo any good if a CIA agent were seen leaving his estate. Joshua used a back way to return to his chopper, which he’d landed at the tail end of Mateo’s property some ten miles away. He was about to turn into the densely wooded area where his chopper was, when he heard gunshots, then loud cheers. Turning away from the chopper, he walked towards the sounds and found men taking target practice with M2 Browning machine guns. Sitting next to them on the ground, was an open case of the weapons. He heard the men talking and knew this was an arms deal going down. Joshua thought it was one of Mateo’s deals and was about to turn away when he heard the man say, Mateo would have him killed if he knew about this. The other man testing the weapons turned, causing Joshua to pause. Standing not fifty feet away was a face from the past. The last time Joshua saw the man was outside a window in Richmond, Virginia with the scope of a rifle, firing at the police chief.

  Jonas Gary, what in the hell are you doing here?

  Joshua listened a little longer and discovered Gary had been granted immunity from the highest level in the U.S. He mentioned the documents were in his safe. Joshua was shocked.

  “I’ll take all you have. Come with me,” Gary said as he turned towards the building.

  Using the trees as cover, Joshua followed the men to a log cabin style house, with a warehouse type building to the left. The man placed his hand on a panel to the right of the door, to unlock the building. Another man backed a truck up to the door. Using Sally, he took pictures of the men unloading weapons from the truck and carrying them to the warehouse. He made himself comfortable next to a tree. He wanted to see what was in that building.

  It was hours later, when he deactivated the sophisticated alarm system, then walked through the door at the back of the building. He couldn’t believe his eyes at the sight of the stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. The M2s were only the tip of the iceberg. He sent Ned a message. We have an issue. He sent pictures of semi-automatic rifles, AK-47s, AR-70s, Uzis, AR-15s, MAC 11s, even his favorites, grenade launchers. From the floor to the ceiling, there were crates stacked across the room. Walking through the building, he had the feeling someone was preparing for a war with a small country.

  “Whew,” he murmured as he stood there in disbelief. A few thoughts crossed his mind. Was Mateo aware these weapons were on his property? Were the weapons taken from Mateo without his knowledge? The last thought sent a shiver through his spine. Were these weapons meant for the United States? It was the last thought that caused him to survey the room a little closer. There was a door to what appeared to be an office. Walking over, he tested the door. It was locked. Using Sally, he pushed a few buttons. In a matter of seconds the lock clicked. He deactivated the alarm on the office door, then entered.

  The office wasn’t large, maybe twelve by twelve. There was a desk with a chair against the wall and two chairs in front of it. Against the wall near the door was a metal file cabinet. On the opposite wall, there was a tall glass case with an assortment of rifles displayed. On the far wall, there were pictures that caught his attention. Joshua stood looking at pictures of Jonas Gary shaking hands with several people he recognized. There were two in particular, that triggered an alert. One was the man named to lead the United States Military, Admiral Mark McGary. If that didn’t scare him shitless, the next picture did. Smiling and shaking hands was a picture of Jonas Gary and the Vice President of the United States, Jerry McClintock. Both the Admiral and the Vice President are advisors to the President of the United States.

  It was a fact that Joshua himself hadn’t been too fond of the United States for the past three years and had wanted to blow up a few places himself. In fact, he had, but that island in Southwest Virginia had been used to imprison young boys in that area and needed to be destroyed. Him blowing up crap was acceptable, but he’d be damned if he would allow anyone to put weapons of mass distraction on the grounds of his homeland.

  Looking around, his curiosity was piqued. “What are they doing in a picture with a man like Gary?” He walked over to the file cabinet, then sifted through the files. Not much, records of sales mos
tly. Not what he was looking for. The man mentioned a safe. Using Sally, he activated the sensor. If a metal safe existed, Sally would find it. And she did. It was in the floor under the two chairs and the carpet in front of the desk. That’s where he found the papers he was reading.

  Now, standing in the warehouse with his arms folded over his chest, he knew there was no way he could allow these weapons to move from this location. With Gary involved, his gut told him the weapons were slated for the United States. Smiling, as a thought occurred, he nodded his head. “Why the hell not?”

  He took the walk back to his chopper, activated the sleuth mode, then took off in the direction of the building. Using night vision glasses, he flew in the dark. Before emerging from the trees, he saw activity on the ground. Something must have alerted the occupants of the house, for two men were standing outside of the building and another was running back into the house.

  “Oh hell, sorry guys. I wanted to destroy the weapons, but since you are there, I guess you have to go too.”

  Just when Joshua was about to fire a missile to destroy the weapons below, the sensor on the chopper panel went off. A missile had locked on to him. He looked out the window to see a man standing with a land-to-air missile pointed at him. His first thought was how in the hell did they detect him? His second was anger. “No, you did not fire at me.”

  He swung the chopper around.

  “BOOM.” He dropped the missile, then flew away from the explosion.

  Flying in the direction of the Mexico and Texas border, Joshua was using every evasive maneuver he knew, but the missile had locked on him. He could not shake it. The only thing he could do, was find a dense area with no population and go low. A second explosion ricocheted below, but he could not celebrate, for he still had a missile on his tail. He flew towards a mountainous area, headed towards one, then pulled up, right before hitting it. The missile nipped the tail end of the chopper sending it into a tailspin, before exploding into the mountain.

  The chopper was out of control. Joshua sent a message to Ned. Going down. He was still in Mexico, not far from the first explosion. The monitor on the dashboard of the chopper indicated his location was close to Laredo, Texas, just not close enough. He knew the men on the ground would get to him before anyone from the United States could. Moments later, just before his chopper crashed, his last thought was, he never gave his mother grandchildren. Sally was going to be pissed.

  Chapter One

  Washington, D.C.

  President Jeffrey “JD” Harrison sat in the lone chair at the top of the oval shaped carpet surrounded by his national security team. On a sofa, to the right of the President sat the Vice-President, Jeremiah “Jerry” McClintock, Secretary of Defense, Harry Armstead, General Gerald Ashton and Admiral Mark McGary. On the sofa to the left sat the President’s Political Advisor, James Brooks, Chief of Staff, Calvin Johnson and Royce Davenport, the President’s appointee as the Secretary of Homeland Security.

  The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. The topic at hand, a CIA Operative caught behind enemy lines, injured. If it was any other operative, the discussion would be moot, an operative would never be left behind enemy lines. However, they were not discussing a normal operative.

  “Everyone in this room knows he will find a way out. He always has.” General Ashton huffed. “Hell, the man has nine lives. He should have been dead years ago during that fiasco in Nickelsville, VA.”

  “Our concern should be the repercussions if we are detected behind enemy lines.” The Vice-President stated.

  The Secretary of Defense spoke. “We don’t want to chance a war with Mexico over this.”

  “We leave no man behind,” Secretary Davenport stated. “We know he is alive. We have the means and the resources to bring him home. I say we go in. I don’t give a damn if it’s life number one or twenty. We leave no man behind.”

  President Jeffrey “JD” Harrison had been in office for two years. In that time he had brought the kind of leadership that was inclusive of all, but above all else, a level of respect and admiration from other countries. He turned to his Chief of Staff, Calvin Johnson and his top advisor, James Brooks, men who he trusted with his life for advice. “Scenario, gentlemen?”

  “The area is hot. Our presence, if detected, could ignite instabilities. We cannot afford a war in that region.” Calvin stated, “With that said, you have a good relationship with the Mexican President. I say give the President a call. Let him know we are coming to get our man. If we are detected, we will hold his confidence and maintain that he knew nothing of our plans to enter his country.”

  “Lassiter knew the risk.” General Ashton voiced his opposition. “He has survived worse. We don’t jeopardize our position in the region to save one.”

  JD stood, then walked over to the window, looking out into the rose garden. It didn’t feel right. Joshua was a friend, more like family. With all his crazy antics, he was one of the best weapons at the United States’ disposal and someone he cared about. Even, if all of that wasn’t at play, you don’t leave a man behind in enemy territory. “Is he being tortured?”

  “With no military background you wouldn’t understand, that is an acceptable course of action.” General Ashton quipped. “Any military man knows he puts his life on the line everyday.”

  The comment angered JD. Keeping his cool was a part of his job. Even with those who openly disrespected him. Be it with foreign or domestic enemies. He turned, walked back to where everyone was seated and spoke directly to General Ashton. “Look down at the carpet, General.” The General looked down, then looked back up at him. “That—is the seal of the President of The United States of America. That would be me. The President is your Commander in Chief. That would, also be me. While in this office you will respect the man and the position.” His eyes narrowed. “When I ask you a question, I don’t want your commentary. I want an answer. Shall we try it again?” JD held the man’s eyes to ensure he understood.

  “Yes, Sir.” The General sat up straight. “Lassiter has knowledge that would dictate extraction. Any country that captures him would be traitorous if they did not attempt to extract that information.”

  “We never leave a man in enemy territory.” JD held the man’s glare. “I want him home in forty-eight hours.”

  “Mr. President, that request could have international repercussions,” the General continued to protest.

  “Yes, it could. Leaving him will have domestic implications,” the President replied.

  The President turned his back, walked back over to the window that over looked the Rose Garden. When he placed his hands in his pockets, those in the room that knew him, understood his decision had been made. He turned back to the group. “Secretary Davenport, who can we send in undetected to bring him out?”

  Royce stood to hand the President a folder. “Forty-eight hours from go and we will have him home.”

  JD glanced over the plan, then passed it on to Calvin to review. “Royce, I need you and Admiral McGary to remain. Dead or alive, I want him brought home.” Looking up at the other men in the room he nodded his head dismissing them. “Thank you for your counsel gentlemen.”

  As the men walked out of the Oval Office, Admiral McGary, Calvin, James and Royce remained. “Calvin,” the President spoke. “Place a call to the President of Mexico. Tell him with or without his support we’re coming to get our man. Secretary Davenport, who are we sending in?”

  Secretary Davenport handed a second folder to the President. “I’ve contacted our top medical retriever.

  JD glanced at the file, nodding. “You were that certain of my decision?” He gave the file to Calvin.

  “Just being prepared,” the Secretary replied.

  Calvin looked over the file and chuckled. “If Joshua isn’t dead already, this will kill him for sure.” He passed the file to James.

  “If he’s dead, this should bring him back to life,” James jested.

  “Roc has indicated f
orty-eight hours would be sufficient for the mission. Unfortunately for Joshua, who is known for his antics, Roc is one of our more dangerous operatives. If Joshua gets out of line, she will kill him.”

  “Mr. President,” Admiral McGary cautioned, “I don’t always agree with General Ashton, however, in this situation, I believe he may be correct. Going after Lassiter may be more trouble than he is worth. For the last three years, he has been unmanageable. I don’t think I need to remind you of the death of King Tarik in Asmere, or the island in Nickelsville, Virginia he blew up.”

  “The President made his decision Admiral. It’s not up for discussion,” James stated.

  “Admiral, you are correct,” the President intervened knowing James did not care for the Admiral, “I no more need to be reminded of those incidents than I need to be reminded that it was Joshua Lassiter who stabilized the region in Asmere and Emure. Nor do I need to be reminded, it was Joshua Lassiter who successfully diverted an assassination attack on my life. I am well aware of who we are rescuing.” He turned away from the Admiral. “Secretary Davenport, reach out through diplomatic channels,” JD stated, then turned to Calvin. “I expect to be briefed in the Situation Room within the hour on our progress.”

  Calvin stood, “Gentlemen, Situation Room in ten.”

  Once Secretary Davenport and Admiral McGary closed the door, JD looked to Calvin. “Synopsis,” JD said as he walked around to take the seat behind his desk.

  “It’s no secret Ashton is not a fan. However, he serves at the pleasure of the President.”

  “Ashton is going to follow orders. It's McGary I don’t like or trust,” James stated. “My concern is the growing number of top brass in the room that we can’t trust.”

  “I can’t change my history James,” the President looked up. “I didn’t serve my country in combat. I’m serving my country in the way that I can make a difference.”