The Gray Man Ch. 13 - Kristine

Dear Reader,

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination.

Constructive criticism, and feedback is truly appreciated. I would like this to be an interactive journey as much as this medium allows. Please feel free to send suggestions, ideas for future characters etc. I welcome the input.

Also, if you'd like a character to inquire about Gray's services send me a description and we can work from there.

Keep Soaring,

Pelican

(¬‿¬)

When the weekend came, Gray, Angela, Gretchen and Underwood took off for a short weekend in Virginia Beach as they prepared for Angela's upcoming deployment. The 4 - or as Gray soon realized the 2 couples had a fun weekend.

Great food, good friends, amazing weather, and a lot of laughter. TJ was amazed at how well his cousin and Sharpshooter got along. For all of his brashness, Mark Underwood was just one of those rare types of men. There was a reason that most often firefighters hung out with firefighters, nurses with nurses, cops with cops, and military folks with other military folks. There was a shared story - there was also a fairly common personality type.

It took a special kind of person to run into places that most others ran away from. Whether that be a burning building, chasing bad guys, a trauma filled Emergency Room, or a combat zone. There was another type of person that spent time far behind enemy lines on the types of missions that were, "Deniable Accountability" missions. Those places where if you were captured the United States would deny everything about you, other than you were some rogue intent on global terror or chaos.

Ghost and Sharpshooter were those types of people. Intense people with incredible brains that could analyze people, systems, and situations on the fly. While at the same time being incredibly calm, almost having ice water in their veins - they rarely got rattled. One of the reasons Angela wanted to introduce Underwood to Gretchen, was observing how much admiration Gretchen had for her cousin.

The weekend was just what everyone needed. Underwood and Angela even put away their official government phones, which was something that either of them rarely did. When the alarm clock went off early on Monday neither TJ nor Angela wanted to get up. When they did get up, they showered together, had some fun shower sex, drank their coffee and headed out the door on their way to start their days.

When Gray left the house he noticed a silver BMW parked on the street with the engine running. On the next block was a gray Mercedes, that also had the engine running. Not usual occurrences in this quaint Mt. Vernon neighborhood. He called Angela who had already left for the longer drive to Quantico.

She answered, "So, you have a tail too?"

Gray sighed, "Yeah, did you pick one up this morning?"

Angela chuckled, "Sure did, even jumped off onto 1 at Woodbridge and he came with me. Three cars behind me, comfortable, keeping pace but not making any moves. I called the Colonel and we now have an NCIS team tailing the tail."

Gray nodded even though Angi couldn't see him, "Good call Gunny. I have two on me right now playing leapfrog. I may have to take them on a little excursion."

Angela smiled, "You love this shit don't you, Ghost?"

TJ chuckled, "Yeah, I really do."

Angi smiled into her phone. "Call Sharpshooter, see if he can scramble some assets. Stay safe, I'll see you at home later."

Gray hung up and punched the accelerator on the Suburban, roaring through traffic on 95, with the two SUV's trying to stay close in the morning commute traffic.

When Gray crossed over the Woodrow Wilson bridge he dove off of the outer loop and meandered his way down to the Waterfront Park area. Gray pulled into a parking lot, stopped the big Suburban and stepped out.

As the BMW drove by he smiled and waved, seeing the two large Slavic looking men speed past. The Mercedes slowed to a halt, the passenger rolled his window down. A very accented voice yelled out to him, "Be careful what you are looking for, Mr. Gray. You may not like what you find."

TJ's hard gaze memorized the face of the man making the threats as the window rolled up and the Mercedes sped out of the park. Gray's gut wanted to follow the SUV's to find out where they came from, but he knew that if he was dealing with trained bad guys that they would just repeat the cat and mouse game that he had just lured them into.

TJ sat in his car for a few minutes, trying to gather his thoughts when his phone rang.

TJ picked up, "Mom, what's wrong?"

The soft midwestern voice was shaking, "How do you know there is something wrong?"

TJ forced the panic from his voice, "It's before 8:30 on a Monday morning and we talked yesterday."

His mom was trying to remain strong. "I got a call, I thought it was spam at first. Some foreign voice. I hung up. They called right back, they told me to not hang up and to tell you to stop what you are doing, that innocent people will be hurt. Paddy, what are you doing? I thought you were working with your cousin."

TJ felt a wave of emotion. His mother was the only one to ever call him Paddy, after her Irish father. The sadness was quickly replaced by white hot rage. "I am working with Gretchen mom, but what I am working on involves some very bad people. Why don't you and dad come down here for a while, we have plenty of room."

Shauna James took a deep breath, "Paddy, you know your father isn't going to leave here for the city. What is going on?"

TJ's mind raced. "I need to wrap some things up here and I'll be home soon. I need to go mom, there are some people I really need to talk to. I'll call later and check up on you, lock your doors."

Shauna was frightened, "What is going on, Paddy?"

TJ spoke slowly, "Mom, you know what I do and you know I can't talk about it. I love you, I'll call you in a bit. Lock your doors, please and call dad and at least have him come home until I can make some calls."

TJ hung up and pushed the button to call Underwood. He picked up on the first ring, "Ghost - you aren't calling to complain about the sounds of amazing sex that came from our hotel room are you?"

Underwood knew that the call was more serious when the reply he got was quick and curt, "Not the time, Shooter." TJ proceeded to tell his friend all that had happened this morning then pulled the friend card, "Shooter, I don't know what agency you work for - I have a hunch, but I'm not sure. However, I know that you have contacts all over the place. FBI, Homeland, Whoever... but, I need you to get someone to keep an eye on my folks while I speed up the grunt work. I can't be in two places at once, and these assholes just made it personal."

Underwood jotted down the details, "Done and Done. How is Den Mother?"

TJ spoke clearly, "She's good - She called the Old Man and he scrambled some NCIS folks, who started tailing the tail."

Underwood listened before finally speaking, "She's in good hands Teej - I'll make a call and get eyes on your folks. What else do you need right now?"

TJ's voice went eerily quiet, "To kick the ass of one Mr. Elliot Charles Davidison the fourth." TJ hung up and turned the big black Chevy Suburban towards the law firm of Saban, Knight, and Foster. Folks at the esteemed DC area law firm were about to see a side of Thomas Patrick James that few people knew existed underneath his calm demeanor. His blood burned with white hot rage and that fury was about to be unleashed on Elliot.

When Underwood hung up he called the operations chief for his organization and had them ping Gray's phone and to send folks to keep an eye on his parents. The ops chief sent the phone track to Sharpshooters laptop. He watched the screen, before he shook his head and whispered. "Jesus TJ, doing 90 in this traffic is going to get you arrested or killed."

Mark Underwood rushed to get assets in place, knowing that at the moment his best friend was not thinking logically. Elliot and his handlers had made it personal and TJ was going to end it - and possibly end up in prison. He made a phone call and within a minute he and his boss were headed towards Saban, Knight, and Foster.

Underwood had the advantage that his unmarked SUV had red and blue lights in the grill that got even the traffic in DC to give way. He was hoping that TJ would get stuck in the morning commute and if the cards fell the right way they would beat Gray to the firm.

Mark Underwood and Rear Admiral Steven Barnett pulled into the parking lot a couple of minutes before Gray roared into the lot. When Gray slammed the door to the suburban and started his march towards the door, the driver's side rear window of the black unmarked Chevy Tahoe. The smile on the Rear Admiral's face did not reach his eyes. "Sgt. James, please get in. We need to talk."

TJ paused, "I don't think that's going to happen."

The black man in the rear seat of the SUV held out a bifold and opened it, showing an ID card and a badge, "Master Sergeant, I am not asking. I am ordering you to get in the truck."

Once in the Tahoe he saw Underwood in the passenger seat while the driver was the female agent that had been with Mark at the diner when Gray got Kim to flip and give the Russians a small trojan program that allowed Underwood and his agents to clean up a bit of espionage.

When the button nosed redhead drove out of the parking lot Rear Admiral Barnett spoke, "Sgt. James, I am Rear Admiral Steven Barnett, I am the operations director for the office of military counterintelligence housed under the umbrella of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. I report directly to the ODNI who reports directly to the occupant of the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We need to talk."

During the drive through the streets of Washington DC The Admiral assured TJ that his parents were being protected, that agents were in route to keep an eye on Gretchen, and that he was in direct contact with General Williams about the well being of First Sergeant Taggert. He then smiled and said, "I expedited their promotions for the sanctity of operations."

The conversation was not much of a dialogue, more of a monologue as the tall black man spoke softly and eloquently in a way that only someone with years of command experience could. Not once did he give Gray an order after the initial order to get in the car. However, TJ had been around long enough to know that what The Admiral was saying was not just fatherly advice or suggestions.

They spoke of Elliot and his role in the espionage ring. They spoke of Gray's military career and his relationship with Den Mother and Sharpshooter. He had obviously read TJ's file - even the parts that were redacted and labeled "EYES ONLY".

At a stop light near The National Cathedral Admiral Barnett looked at TJ, "Quite simply Sergeant Major, I am offering you an opportunity to get back in the game."

TJ stopped, "I am retired, Sir and I retired as a Master Sergeant."

The Admiral smiled, "That's just a piece of paper, I am offering you a promotion and an opportunity to do what gives you life."

For the first time Underwood turned to speak to his friend, "The rank just allows us to move in and around the military with fewer questions. The pay is just slightly above what the Army paid us."

The Admiral smiled, "Slightly?"

Underwood laughed, "Okay, significantly."

TJ was lost in thought as the Admiral spoke again. He winked at Gray, "Also, you can keep up your business partnership with your cousin. As a matter of fact, that may be helpful in many areas."

Gray did something he rarely ever did. He blushed, how the hell did Admiral Barnett know about what he and Gretchen were doing? The Admiral waited before speaking again, "I know it is a lot to consider Sergeant James, and I would love to tell you to take your time. However, as you know in the intel world time is the one thing we don't have. I need a decision by the end of business today and I must insist that until then you have zero contact with Mr. Davidson."

At that the Tahoe pulled back into the parking lot. TJ opened the door to step out into the warm sunshine. He looked back into the Tahoe, "Thank you Admiral, you have given me a lot to think about."

Admiral Barnett handed TJ a business card with a private number. TJ looked at the card, "Rear Admiral Steven T. Barnett" underneath that was one line, a phone number. The Admiral spoke again, "Secured line, answered 24/7. I'd say use it anytime, but please do so before 1600 hours today."

Gray got in his truck and started south to Quantico. He needed to talk to Angela. While driving he called his parents to try to alleviate some of their anxiety. Once at Quantico, he and Angela decided that the best course of action would be for Gray to officially start working with Underwood since most of the work he was doing was in counter terrorism and counterintelligence, at least he would have official resources and protection when walking into harm's way. All that was left was to tell Gretchen.

On the drive back to the house TJ called his cousin and told her that they needed to talk, privately, away from the office. They agreed to meet at TJ and Angela's house for cocktails at 7 and yes it was okay if she invited Mark.

One last phone call was to the number on Admiral Barnett's card. It was picked up on the second ring and even though Gray was on his burner phone that was registered to a Gray Industries the voice on the other end said, "Sergeant James, the Admiral is expecting your call. One moment please."

In typical military fashion the phone was picked up, "Barnett."

"Admiral, I'm in," was all that Gray needed to say.

Admiral Barnett acknowledged with, "Good, good. I'll have your reinstatement, orders, and promotion by 0700 on Monday, I will see you at the facility then. Lieutenant Colonel Underwood will fill you in. Welcome aboard Ghost."

TJ hung up, "Lieutenant Colonel?" he shook his head, "When the hell did he make Light Bird?"

That evening as they sat on the large deck with their drinks Gray told Gretchen that he had met with Underwood's boss and had an offer to return to the game officially and that he was going to accept the offer. TJ thought she would be at least a little upset, instead he was greeted with her smile, "That's where you need to be."

As the evening wore on, Mark left and Angela went to bed leaving Gray and Gretchen with a chance to talk. They talked about the craziness of the last few months, talked about the first encounter with Nadiya, the intense time with Rebecca and Gretchen's growing relationship with Mark.

It was getting late when Gretchen looked at her cousin, "Do you remember when we first talked about this and I said there might be a time when I needed you to find some dirt on a colleague?"

TJ nodded, "I do."

Gretchen smiled, "I need you to gather something I can use against a competitor, Teej."

TJ sat back, "That's going to be a little tougher to do working with Mark. My days aren't going to be as free."

A wicked smile crossed his cousin's face. "Oh, cousin. This isn't playing detective, the fly has come to my web."

TJ looked at her puzzled as she went on. "At a local event I talked you up at a table of women. Kind of put pieces of various stories together and wove it into one and made it sound like I was the recipient." TJ's expression grew even more confused as Gretchen smiled, "There is a person that wants to buy our little law firm, she think she has leverage to do that. Fucking Louis fucked up."

TJ nodded, "I'm not tracking Gretch."

His cousin went on. "Louis fucked up, she has some information on him that isn't good. She wants to leverage that to get a piece of power to force him to vote for a sale. William want to sell his share - so that would be two votes to sell the firm and I don't have the capital to buy both of them out. I need you to give me something as leverage to cause her to back out."

TJ leaned forward, "What do you have in mind?"

Gretchen leaned forward and reached into her bag and handed Gray a file folder. He opened it and saw one of Gretchen's applications. TJ looked at the picture of the woman and read down the application. "Gretchen, she's married, you know how I feel about that."

She nodded, "I need you to break one of your rules Teej - I need you to fuck her and get a picture so I can get her to back off. She wants to be dominated, humiliated, she says she wants video of herself being used so she can watch it on lonely nights. I just need one of those videos 'accidently' sent to my phone."

TJ again leaned back in the chair. "Have you told Angie?"

Gretchen nodded, "She said she's okay with it."

Gray shook his head, "So much can go wrong."

Gretchen reached out and took his hand, "Teej, I wouldn't ask this if I thought I had any other options. In this economy I can't get the loan needed to buy the two out. She's got a ton of cash and could easily buy out the other two. I need to stop her or my dreams are ruined. She would bring Elliot on board as the other partner and the firm that I helped build would crumble."

TJ nodded, "She's that big of a bitch?"

Gretchen nodded, "No, actually she is a raging cunt and on top of that she has to be working with Elliot. TJ, she has information of an illicit affair that Louis had during his crisis. Information that only those of us in the firm know about. I need to stop her in her tracks. Please. I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate."

TJ leaned forward, "Fine, I'm not happy about fucking a married woman without it being consensual with her husband, but I will do it. I love you, Gretch."

She stood, leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "I love you, Teej. Thank you."

That Friday Gray was making the drive to Baltimore to meet Kristine. When he arrived at The Ivy Hotel he found a key waiting for him. Kristine would arrive on Saturday morning and stay in a room across the hall.

TJ enjoyed a nice crab dinner and even took in an Orioles game at Camden Yard. On Saturday when she checked in, Kristine would slip her key underneath Gray's door. The plan was for Gray to walk across the hall at 7:00 on Saturday evening. Kristine was to be waiting for him, naked on the couch in her room. When he entered she was to observe and not say a word to the stranger.

At precisely 1900 hours on Saturday Gray slipped the key into the reader and opened the door to her room. The light skinned black woman was sitting on the couch just as instructed. This wasn't going to be the normal or routine rendezvous. TJ had to get information to return the blackmail that this woman was using to get her talons into Gretchen's firm.

Kristine took in the figure as he walked across the room without even acknowledging her. Gray was 6'1", a lean athletic body, a military style short hair cut. Kristine was actually surprised that he was white given what she had heard about the size of his cock. She had never been fucked by a white guy and was having second thoughts, thinking that she had been made a fool of. She listened to the impressive sounding stream of urine she heard through the door. Somewhat embarrassed, the ebony woman was prepared to stand up and put an end to the entire charade when the door to the bathroom would open.

Besides her husband, Gray was the first man to see her naked since she had been married, well over 20 years ago. She heard the bathroom doorknob start to turn and for some reason instead of standing she quickly sat up straight, pushed her big breasts outwards and tried to suck her stomach in.

"God I shouldn't be here" she thought to herself "I'm married, he's white, and this is stupid." She was nervous but her doubt melted away as she watched Gray walk out of the bathroom, towards the couch.

She sucked her breath in sharply as she locked her eyes on the dangling flesh between his thighs. His cock was limp and probably an impressive 5 inches long. Not porn size, compared to some she had seen online, but what amazed her was how thick it was. It was nearly the size of her wrist with a prominent circumcised head and a big set of testicles hanging below. The hair around his cock was trimmed very short and his balls were shaved smooth and as he walked towards her they swung heavily back and forth bouncing off his thigh.