“You’re fucking lying and I don’t like it. See, when Ham called me something struck a nerve with me. A problem with our boys gambling illegally, getting caught in traps by a group of men running various businesses around town.
“If I recall, and I always recall well, I asked you to look into this for me. Every time I ask you about the progress of it, you give me a line of bullshit. So, you can imagine when they called me where my head went.
“Now, thanks to their stellar technology, I also know that you’ve had a lot of money deposited into your accounts lately. You can explain that to JAG, I don’t give a fuck. What I give a fuck about is knowing who these men are and why they want the girl.”
He said nothing for a long moment. Squirming in his chair, he kept staring at his cell phone as if wishing it would ring. But there was no one to save him this time. No one was coming to his rescue.
“They sold her.”
“They fucking what?” growled Ham leaning over the table towards the man.
“They sold her. She’s some sort of chemical genius and they want her for something but they wanted her scared and compliant. She’s tried running a few times and they didn’t want her to get away.”
“Why are they calling you to get her?” asked Gator. He looked at his own three men, then back at base command.
“I owe them money.”
“Gambling?” asked Bo.
“No. I-I’ve entertained a few of their women.”
“You piece of shit,” muttered Red. “Those girls are being held against their will and you knew it.”
“Hold on, son,” said the commander, “he’ll get his day. Who are these people?”
“No one.”
“No one? So, no one was able to bend a colonel in the United States Army? That’s a new one,” said Ham. The colonel shook his head, then laid his palms flat on the table, staring at them.
“The Giamanco family.”
“Giamanco. Are you fucking with me?” asked Gator. “You crawl into bed with one of the biggest crime families on the east coast and you think that’s okay?”
“I told you. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Didn’t have a choice. I’d say you had a big choice. You betrayed your men, your country, and your community because you wanted to have sex with young girls.”
“You don’t understand,” he muttered.
“Explain it!” yelled Ham slamming his fist into the table.
“I killed them!” The room was so quiet no one moved. They all stared at him, wondering if they’d actually heard him correctly. Base command typed a text message, most likely to the MPs and JAG.
“Say again,” said Gator quietly.
“I killed the girls. They said they liked it rough, really rough. I knew. I knew they were just kids, college girls. They didn’t like it rough. They were told to like it rough or they’d pay. I took it too far.”
The doors opened and the MPs walked in with two JAG officers. Command explained to them what had happened, and what was said in the fully recorded room.
“You can arrest me but they won’t stop until they get the girl. They need her or they’re in a lot of trouble with the buyer.”
“Who is the buyer?” asked Gator.
“I don’t know. I swear to you, I don’t know. I just know that they already paid half the money and Giamanco was to keep her safe until they could get her. That’s all I know.”
“You might want to try and tap into those memories,” said Ham. “If they don’t come willingly, I’m going to fucking beat the memories and information out of you.”
With the colonel taken away in cuffs and base command filling everyone in on what happened, the men waited to see what was to become of them.
