The Gray Man Ch. 15 - Samantha

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. The previous 3 stories have all been commissioned by readers. If you'd like to meet Gray - please let me know.

Keep Soaring,

Pelican

(¬‿¬)

Things were a whirlwind for First Sergeant Thomas Patrick James AKA TJ Gray - or even Callsign: 'Ghost' to those who knew him well and knew the work that he did. Following the mission in Finland, TJ headed to Camp Panzer Kaserne and spent a little bit of time with First Sergeant Angela Taggert before heading back stateside.

The Den Mother was knee deep in the weeds in mission prep and logistical planning for NATO Special Forces elements that were spreading out all over Eastern Europe in response to the threat of the war in Ukraine spreading out to Poland or other nations. Coordinating, planning and logistics is what she and her boss, Brigadier General Robert Williams whose call sign wherever he went was Pogue Leader. Bob Williams was an expert on getting people and equipment anywhere in the world at just the right time.

When he was tasked to work with Special Operations folks they quickly started to refer to him as Pogue 1 as a bit of a jab. At that time, the newly minted Lieutenant Colonel played right along and all of these years, with one star on his collar, he is still known Pogue Leader and he and First Sergeant Angela Taggert run what is affectionately known throughout the SF world as The Pogue Shop.

Gray didn't overstay his welcome as various Spec Ops units from all over Europe began to make their way to Panzer Kaserne. TJ recognized folks from the 68th Brigade out of Belgium, British SAS and SBS operatives, Jaeger Corp guys from Denmark, French Commando Marines, KSK folks from Germany, 3rd Spec Ops Helicopter Squadron from Italy, 1 PSK from Poland, the 32nd Intel Regiment from Sweden as well as SEALS, Rangers, Green Beret's and Marine Recon from the US. Life for the Pogue Shop was moving at a frenetic pace as Gray hopped a ride from Ramstein Air Force Base on an Air Force C-17 headed back to the States.

Once back home, he double checked on everything at the house before letting the appropriate folks know that he was headed back to Michigan for a couple of weeks to check on his parents after the threats made by the Russians that Elliot was working with.

While he was away, Elliot was quietly whisked away from his apartment and moved to a secure location while the US Attorney was working with Elliot Charles Davidson the third on a plea arrangement to try to reduce embarrassment for the Davidson family as well as shining a bad light on the law firm of Saban-Knight-Foster.

TJ didn't stay in Michigan for long, just long enough to enjoy some of the late Spring weather, go with his dad to a couple of Tiger's games, and end his lease on the house he had been renting. He told his parents about Angela, and that he was back "in the game" and was going to be stationed out of northern Virginia. He was happy when he was able to load a few of his things in his Tacoma and start back towards DC. The Suburban was nice, but his nimble little truck was more in line with TJ than the oversized SUV.

Finally back in the metro area TJ could get to work. On his first day in the office he was called into a meeting with the cyber security team who had been tracking a Space Force Colonel who was prowling around online to try to find a bidder to Top Secret Satellite Intelligence. The Chinese had been trying to field 'Hunter/Killer' satellites for years, but the US were light years ahead of where the Chinese were, and the intel that the Colonel was trying to sell would go a long way to evening the playing field.

The cyber team spent two days showing Gray how to navigate the dark web and a briefing on the team's capabilities. On day 3, a girl that looked younger than she was with a couple of piercings and green hair got a tip to where Lantz allegedly posted encrypted messages and files for his Chinese contacts. One call to her boss and she looked at Gray, "We are a go, let's go catch us a treasonous asshole," she said with a smirk.

Her hands flew over the keys on her keyboard as her 3 wall mounted monitors went to work. It was apparent to Gray that one monitor was the one that she was working on with her mouse and keyboard, one seemed to show threat detection, and one was just a series of numbers moving on the screen that made absolutely zero sense to the seasoned field operative.

Amber, as he would later learn her name, hacked into the forum and created a fake account, posing as a Chinese hacker interested in buying satellite data. She sent a private message to Lantz, offering him a large sum of money for the latest information on the US military satellites. She sat back and smiled, sipped her drink and said, "Now we wait for the rat."

TJ looked at the young lady, "Is that coffee?"

She smiled, her eyes twinkled as she rattled the ice in her glass, "This is to coffee what a jet engine is compared to a 350 4 barrel."

TJ wrinkled her nose, "I'm not sure I am following."

Amber proudly said, "This is an Iced Quint Americano - 5 shots of espresso, sometimes 6 if I show enough cleavage to the right barista, a bit of water and ice."

TJ chuckled, trying to not think about the cleavage the young girl had hidden beneath an oversized sweatshirt that day. "That is a lot of caffeine."

Amber smirked, "It takes a lot to get a girl like me going and motivated." As she lifted the straw to take another sip her computer chimed. She sat down her glass, winked at Gray and said, "Catching treasonous assholes motivates me."

Colonel Lantz had replied, and even asked Ghost to meet him in person at a hotel in Washington DC. He said he would bring a USB drive with the files and exchange it for cash. He also gave Ghost a code word to identify himself: "Orion".

Amber was giddy, but Gray was hesitant, almost suspicious of Lantz' request. Gray wondered why Lantz would risk meeting a stranger face to face instead of using a more secure method of communication. He suspected that Lantz was either very desperate or very confident.

Amber looked at him expectantly, "Do you want to reply?"

TJ rubbed his temples, "Set it up," was his simple request. He closed his eyes tightly and headed to Underwood's office to bring him up to speed on what he was tracking, how quickly Lantz took the bait and Gray's concern.

Underwood looked at him, "That's quick. What do you think?"

TJ sighed, "My guess? Computer wizard, kind of a nerd, the deeper he got into this the more paranoid he's becoming. Every headlight that flashes across his wall at night spooks him, every car behind him at a stop light freaks him out, everytime he hears a siren he panics. He wants to unload this shit as quickly as he can, get paid, and get the hell out of here to someplace warm and tropical where the island girls don't care if he's a small dicked geek as long as he's flashing cash."

Behind him he heard a familiar voice, but one that surprised him in the office on a Tuesday at 1500 hours. None other than Assistant SecDef Jennifer St. Jean. "You can tell all of that from a few words on a computer screen. I don't know whether to call bullshit or hire you myself."

Sharpshooter and Gray spoke as one, "Madam Secretary,"

She smiled at Mark Underwood but looked at TJ like a lioness looking over a wildebeest before pouncing, "Don't mind me, I had a meeting with Admiral Barnett and decided that I should come see him instead of my office, I needed a change of scenery."

Lt. Colonel Mark Underwood was pissed but bit his tongue, "Like I told the Admiral, Ghost is the best at what he does, he reads a person, reads a room, and usually knows what a person is going to do ten moves before they do it. It's a gift."

The pretty Sec Def turned and walked away, "From what I have seen that's one of his many gifts."

Gray looked at his friend, "What the actual fuck was that?"

Sharpshooter returned the look, "Two things my horse cock friend, 1. She has never stepped foot in this building before today. 2. She watched the video from my optics at the cabin, so she saw you and your horse cock turn Aija from an in control spy to a quivering mass of hyper orgasmed pussy flesh, so I think she wants to..." Underwood chuckled, "In the words of the immortal Nature Boy Ric Flair, 'She wants to ride Space Mountain, WOOO'"

Ghost shook his head, "Well, one rule that I will never break is, 'Don't eat where ya shit. No way am I fucking the bosses bosses boss."

Gray found out from Amber that Lantz wanted to meet on Monday night at 9:00 at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City. Gray went over plans with Underwood, had the cyber team prepare an encrypted laptop for him. He picked up a 'Mission Only' burner phone. These were special Smartphones that were encrypted and only used for one mission, then the tech guys would wipe it and start over for the next mission. He also picked up a new fake ID, his H&K concealed weapon, and a tracking device that was connected to the encrypted phone.

On the Friday before the mission he met with Sharpshooter who would be providing discrete overwatch in uniform. They double checked the mission profile with Barnett, where he gave them the green light. Barnett looked up from his desk, "Gray," he said, "Be careful, document everything. We want this asshole.

Ghost arrived at the hotel on Monday afternoon and checked in under a false name. That evening he came down in an elevator about 8:45 and scanned the lobby. Underwood was sitting in the corner with a couple of others that TJ assumed were from the agency. They were all in uniform and talking quietly. The good thing about meeting near The Pentagon was that they did not look out of place in their Pinks and Greens.

Gray finally spotted Lantz sitting at a corner table, wearing a suit and glasses, reading what looked to be the Financial Times. Gray smirked as he imagined Lantz thinking of the ways he would be spending the fortune he was about to receive. He looked like a typical businessman - nerdy but professional, except for the USB drive Gray noticed tucked into the cuff of his dress shirt sleeve.

Gray glanced at Underwood who turned slightly to face his friend, the camera mounted in the button of his olive coat pointed towards the exchange. Ghost approached him and said the code word: "Orion".

Lantz nodded and gestured for Ghost to sit down. He slid the USB drive across the table and said: "Here's what you wanted. Now show me the money."

Ghost took the USB drive, opened the encrypted laptop and inserted it. When he knew that the files had been sent to the Cyber Task Force he waited for Lantz to hand him the second USB drive. He put it into the computer as he pretended to transfer the money to Lantz' account. When the transaction was complete Gray stood to walk away, pausing to turn around and thank Lantz for doing business, as he walked away Ghost activated the tracking device and slipped it into Lantz' suit pocket.

After a few minutes, Lantz got up and left the hotel, unaware that he was being followed by The Ghost.

TJ had gone up in the elevator, making sure to get in with someone else, he had pushed the third floor, slipped out, down the stairs to his car where he waited for his target.

The secure phone chirped, it was Barnett, "Good job, Ghost, We've received the files and we're analyzing them now. They contain some very sensitive information on our satellite capabilities and vulnerabilities. This is a major breach of national security."

"What about Lantz?" Ghost asked. "What's the call, boss?"

"For now, just follow, no harm," The Admiral said. "Let's see if he's really the frustrated incel you think he is or if he's working with someone and this is deeper than we think. We've traced his phone and we're tracking his movements. We'll let you know when we have more intel."

"Roger that," Ghost said as he hung up and followed Lantz' car at a safe distance.

Gray wondered what made guys like Lantz turn on their own country, sacrificing their own work and reputation. Was he truly a rogue agent or part of a larger conspiracy. He wondered if he would ever find out the truth.

He decided to stay on Lantz' tail as he drove out of Arlington, up to Baltimore where he walked into the Country Inn and Suites near BWI Airport. Gray presumed he had a flight to somewhere in the morning. As Gray drove away he chuckled, thinking he would hear the scream of frustration from Colonel Lantz when he checked his own bank account, and saw that money had indeed been transferred, but had also been frozen.

Truthfully, Gray hoped that Barnett or someone would give the order to have Colonel Lantz arrested so that bad wouldn't go to worse and force Gray's hand to "erase the threat', but he was prepared to do so if necessary.

Gray sent a short text to Underwood and smiled to himself. It was good to be in the game and he was glad that tonight he didn't have to erase a threat but then again - legend said that he was Ghost, after all. And Ghosts don't leave any traces.

On Saturday Gray fixed breakfast for himself and his cousin. She and Sharpshooter were going to some sort of fancy fundraiser that night, but she wanted to take some time to catch up with her cousin so they agreed to breakfast.

When she arrived she was all smiles. They talked about Gray's new job, about how giddy she was over meeting Mark. She brought TJ up to speed on what she knew about Elliot and Gray tried to calm her anxiety over the entire situation.

She looked into her cousin's eyes and saw a sadness that hadn't been there before. Sipping her coffee she made an offer, "Wanna talk about it?"

TJ looked at her, "It's stupid Gretch."

She smiled and looked at her cousin, "Contrary to popular belief o mighty warrior cousin of mine, emotions are not stupid."

Gray sighed, "It was easier to be the one leaving than to be the one left," he said.

Gretchen smiled, "Go on."

Gray shook his head, "Being deployed you get mission focused, driven, prepared. You push it all out of your head, you push everyone out of your head. Mission first. When I was in Germany I don't know what I expected because when we deployed together, our missions were the same. This time she has to take care of everyone but me, and truthfully I was an unnecessary burden on her mission. But, fuck, I miss her. The house is too big without her, the bathroom doesn't even smell like her perfume and shampoo anymore. This fucking sucks."

Gretchen reached out and touched his hand, 'That's love Teej - sometimes it sucks."

They talked and as much as it pained him, TJ had to admit it helped. As they were standing at the sink doing dishes when she said, "Are you ready for one of our missions?" she asked. "No pressure, no rush, but I do have a request, but it's on a time schedule. Needs to happen next Saturday."

TJ looked at his cousin. "A good rage fuck couldn't hurt. Sure."

Gretchen said, "Wedding venue in the mountains. Bride and groom want her to be ravaged on her wedding day. They don't want details about how, when, etc. They just want to make sure that it's on her wedding day."

TJ shook his head, "What the fuck is wrong with people? Who wants to be fucked by a stranger on their wedding day. What red blooded male could handle knowing that before she walked down the aisle some stranger fucked the hell out of the woman you were committing to?"

Gretchen smiled, "Far be it from me to criticize and question others' kinks, Teej. These kinks have made us a lot of money the past few months."

Missing Angela, being angry at the current reality and even being offended by the request pissed off the Army Ranger. "Fine, sign the deal." He looked at Gretchen, "But, they aren't going to like reality."

The next weekend Gray took his Tacoma, packed the a crisp blue suit, a pale pink paisley tie and headed to the mountains, checked into a hotel, enjoyed some barbecue and waited for Saturday.

22 year old Samantha Marshall stood in the anteroom of the bride's cabin at the very exclusive yet rustic wedding venue tucked into the mountains of Virginia and looked at herself in the floor length mirror. She was standing there in her bra, panties and garter belt holding up her stockings. She reached over and ran her hand lovingly over her wedding dress. She had been dating Edwin for three years and today she was finally going to be his wife. She knew what she and Edwin had contracted for, but the unknown of how and when the mysterious stranger would make an appearance kept her on edge.

She looked in the mirror again and smiled. She had always been proud of her body, at 5'6" and maybe 130lbs. Her 36 C tits were pert and stuck out away from her body perfectly with no sag to them. She sighed softly, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked at the clock and sighed, she had just over an hour to finish getting ready to take that walk down the aisle. She angrily grumbled to herself that maybe the man they hired was all a fraud and that he had just scammed their money and never planned to show up. Not that money was an issue, she was successful in real estate and her husband was a developer who designed a silly game app that went viral.

Now that her make up and hair were perfect, she'd just have to imagine what it would have been like to be ravaged on her wedding day. The bride reached over and picked up her wedding dress and held it gently in her hands. She was about to put it on when she heard the door open. She turned stunned wondering who it could be and gasped. She was expecting her mother or the maid of honor, but instead she saw him for the first time. In an elegant suit, close cut salt and pepper hair. He was tall, lean, muscular with pale eyes that seemed to stare into the very depths of her soul.

Even though she and Edwin had signed a contract, and even though this was her wedding day fantasy that her gentle and caring husband had agreed to, seeing the stranger standing there, just staring at her with a smirk on his face made her very uncomfortable

She grabbed the bustling flow of wedding dress and glutched it in front of her like a shield. "W...what do you want?" Samantha was almost ashamed of her terror. She was aggressive, type A, dominant, driven, successful. There were not many successful realtors at 22, but she broke the mold, she had always broken the mold. Within 5 years she would take over her mother's prestigious real estate firm and enjoy as others did the hard work and helped her and Edwin rake in more money than they would ever need.

Gray smiled as he clicked the lock on the door. She gasped as she heard it click and shivered in fear. "I.. I am getting married in a little over an hour. Th... this may have been a bad idea."

TJ Gray smirked, with a glint of evil in his eyes as he slowly walked towards her, like a lion knowing that the chase was over. "Your pictures don't do you justice, Samantha, said softly, his voice husky yet melodic. "Edwin is a very lucky man."

Gray grabbed her hair and veil in one meaty hand, yanking it back and forcing her to stare up at his gleaming, panting, beaming face.

"You know this is what you want," Gray smirked, "or better yet what you need,", the smile spreading wide across his face. He slid his hips against her against hers, and now Sam could definitely feel the bulge. Gray licked his lips and his hand in her hair tightened. "Just so we are clear, I'm going to ride you good and rough for making me wait so long, Sam. You're going to be limping down that aisle, to say your 'I do's to little Eddie"