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Once she left the building, she took a left and walked toward the headquarters building. CSM Waters was waiting outside of his office.
“Prosser. I don’t know what’s going on, or why he didn’t just call you himself, but your brother wants to see you.”
She raised her eyebrows. What was with all the formality? She followed him into his office, where he closed the door behind them. Her brother wasted no time.
“This one’s sensitive. Big time. Sorry for the cloak and dagger, but this might involve you,” he started.
“Me? What?”
Oliver looked at the Sergeant Major, asking permission with his eyes. The Waters nodded, and they all sat.
“Tell me about Ricky Smith,” Oliver began.
“Smith? He’s a shit. Mediocre analyst. Half-assed troop, always shoving his work off on everyone else. Has been snotty with me,” she said.
The Sergeant Major interrupted. “He screwing with you?”
Lesley shrugged. “A bit. Nothing I can’t handle, but he’s started catching an attitude lately.” She relayed the incident in the hallway, and the subsequent eye-rolling and snorting. “What does any of this have to do with what’s going on with you, Oliver?” she asked.
“Could be nothing, but there’s some chatter about GIs at the border,” he answered. “Someone gave an ID that sounds a lot like him.”
“What, young, white kid with brown hair?” she said.
“The image that came with it is grainy, but it looks a lot like him,” Oliver said.
“Oh. So, what does this have to do with me?”
“If the bit you’ve said is true, he’s a potential time bomb, sis. And if he’s running stuff from the border, well, he’s even more dangerous.” Oliver looked at his sister. “You’ve heard nothing? Seen nothing?”
Lesley shook her head. “No. I told you about Antony’s coworker. That’s the worst thing that’s happened in recent weeks, but I didn’t think he had anything to do with it since he didn’t leave our area much,” she said. “Other than him being an asshole at work, but I’m careful when I deal with him after the incident in the hallway.”
Oliver nodded. “Do your passes come through here?” he asked.
Waters shook his head. “No, we typically keep those at the platoon level. No reason for us to have them.”
“Can you change things up a bit? Get your First Sergeants involved?”
The Sergeant Major nodded. “Sure. We’ve been talking about more accountability anyway, after the latest drug reports,” he said. “I’ll call them right now and make that happen. You want copies of anything with his name on it?”
“CID will want that as well, I think. What about past passes?” he asked.
“They should be on digital. I’ll tell them to have all the pass files transferred over to the company level. We’ll go through them as soon as they pick them up. Day or two work?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Oliver stood. “As for you, sister mine, document everything he does in your direction. I want to know about it.”
“Why is this stuff coming to you, and not CID first?” she asked.
“Happens all the time. Young troops bring this shit to me, not understanding which side I deal with. I’ll hand it over to them today,” he said. “I know they’re working the drug garbage hard, and they are already waiting for this stuff. Just figured I’d help them out with statements. Don’t worry.” He picked up his briefcase and shook the Water’s hand. Turning once more, he asked, “Will you be at dinner?”
“I will. I’m going out later, but I won’t miss Mel’s enchiladas,” she said, smiling. She nodded at the Sergeant Major and the siblings walked outside together.
“I’m serious, sis. Be careful with that one. I don’t like how this smells,” Oliver said. His posture screamed tension, which sent an alarm off in Lesley’s mind.
“I will,” she said. “I can take care of myself, Oli. Besides, between you and Antony, I’m rarely alone. I mean, I live in your backyard!” She smiled at him. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” She left with a wave and made her way back to her desk.
Someone had been messing with her stuff. They’d tried to cover their tracks but had moved a couple of her personal effects. The little bobblehead Bobby that a friend had gotten her from England was lying on its side. She righted the little guy and scanned the rest of the items to see if things were missing. Everything was in order.
She was glad that there was nothing really personal on her desk—that’d been a painful lesson years ago after an ugly breakup. To say that Steven took it poorly was an understatement. Lesley’d come to work one day to find some pictures on her desk mutilated. He’d also used the others to identify her friends and family and had spent months sending them horrible messages about her. Ever since then, she’d only kept decorations on her desk that while she’d be annoyed if they were damaged, she could live without.
