Page 49 of False Flag

Commander Gleeson spoke first. “We received an intelligence briefing this morning that has raised some questions we’re hoping you can answer.”

He did his best to maintain the same bland expression Rand wore but was certain he failed. “You have my attention.” At least he could blame the sweat on his brow on the run.

“Are you aware your brother is employed by an individual on a watch list?”

“Gerard Campbell is on a watch list? What sort of list?”

“So you know about your brother’s job?”

“Yes. He’s been working for Campbell for a month, maybe two? I don’t remember exactly when he started.”

“In what capacity?”

Jake shrugged. “I’m not certain. Something to do with mapping, I think. For an expedition.”

He glanced in Rand’s direction but immediately looked away. He had no clue if he was aware Staci was also on the expedition team. Would he be questioned about her?

What on earth could he tell them? Rand had known her for years. Jake only knew her for a few hours.

“You don’t know what your brother does?” Huang asked.

“Not really. He’s only recently started sharing any part of his life with me again.” He cleared his throat. Might as well tell them everything since Lloyd was at the center of…whatever this was. “He was discharged from the Navy a few years ago. He was accepted into BUD/S, but rang out several days before Hell Week. He got out as soon as he could after that—I think it was a year, maybe a little longer. A year or so after he was discharged, I entered BUD/S. When I earned my Trident, his wife…” Adrenaline spiked at what he was about to reveal, but he pushed through it. “Left him. Said she was in love with me. The actual SEAL.”

“Oh shit,” Rand whispered.

“Yeah,” he said under his breath. He’d never shared this story with anyone, and now he was saying it to the leaders of Naval Special Warfare Command. He took a deep breath. Centered himself and maintained his calm. “To be clear: I barely even liked her as a sister-in-law.” He shook his head. “And I’m certain it wasn’t even remotely true. She knew it would gut Lloyd and damage his relationship with me in the process.” Jake straightened in his seat. “After that, he didn’t talk to me for a year and a half. Then suddenly, six months ago, he reached out. He had two tickets to one of Campbell’s fundraisers, and he wanted me to go with him.”

“That brings us to our next question,” Commander Mooney, the only woman in the room, said. “The intel had you on a list of Campbell’s associates. What is your exact involvement with his organization?”

“Nothing except attending the one fundraiser.”

“You don’t subscribe to his newsletter? Listen to his podcast? Comment in his forums or on his YouTube videos?”

“Like millions of other people, I’ve listened. I started when Lloyd invited me to the fundraiser. I was eager to connect with my brother again. So I became a subscriber.”

“You are, in fact, a Patreon subscriber.”

He leaned back, shaking his head. “No. I just subscribe to the free stuff. I’ve never used Patreon for anything. And no, I’ve never visited the forums, but I would imagine my brother is active there. Or was until he was hired and required to sign several NDAs regarding the expedition.”

“We’ll circle back to the Patreon account. You understand that maintaining your Top Secret security clearance gives us the right to look at your financial records in situations like this?”

He nodded. “Of course.” He was going to throttle Lloyd if he’d used Jake’s name to sign up for crap that could cost him his clearance. Without TS level clearance, he’d be off the SEAL team.

But of course, that could be the point.

“You don’t deny being a subscriber to the podcast. Do you listen often?”

“I’ve been a regular listener since November. I miss episodes here and there, but I’ve tried to keep up since Lloyd joined the expedition team.”

“And what is your take on the content of the podcast?”

Now Jake did glance at Rand, who gave away nothing, but his opinion of Campbell would almost certainly match his fiancée’s.

“I think I need to make it clear, I’d never even heard of Gerard Campbell until last November. That was when I first started listening. Last fall, I found it interesting. Amusing even. Some of it sounded nutty. But my brother, he was really into it. I was attending the dinner, my first shot at getting my brother back, so I leaned into it. Accepted that Campbell, who has been studying the subject for over a decade, had to have some expertise.”

“Are you aware his show is used as a recruiting tool for white supremacist groups? That there is a strong likelihood his followers are behind attacks on college campuses targeting archaeology and history professors?”

“I only learned that recently.”