Smoke screen alexander k.., p.1
Smoke Screen (Alexander King Book 6), page 1
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Also By Bradley Wright
Alexander King
THE SECRET WEAPON
COLD WAR
MOST WANTED
POWER MOVE
ENEMY LINES
SMOKE SCREEN
SPY RING
Alexander King Prequels
WHISKEY & ROSES
VANQUISH
KING’S RANSOM
KING’S REIGN
SCOURGE
Lawson Raines
WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND
SHOOTING STAR
Saint Nick
SAINT NICK
SAINT NICK 2
Copyright © 2022 by Bradley Wright
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Bradley Wright/King’s Ransom Publishing
www.bradleywrightauthor.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead,
or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
SMOKE SCREEN/Bradley Wright. -- 1st ed.
ISBN - 9798418995698
For Tim Lawson
I’ll never forget your ability to brighten every room you walked into. I’ll miss your stories. Thank you for your son. I promise we’ll keep doing our very best to make you proud.
“The man who is just and resolute will not be moved from his settled purpose, either by the misdirected rage of his fellow citizens, or by the threats of an imperious tyrant.
Horace
1
The sun had just dropped below the horizon of the Pacific Ocean. The watercolor sky remained, but the light was fading. Alexander King took a sip of his gin and lemonade and set it back down on the table he shared with the lovely Ms. Natalie Rockwell. As beautiful as the sunset had been, she was still the star of the show.
“You’ve been drinking a lot more gin than bourbon lately,” Natalie said. “Careful, or they’ll pull your Kentucky boy card.”
Xander smiled. “Nah. You’re born there, you’re a lifetime member.”
“Ah.” Natalie smiled. “I like you on gin. You’re a little feisty.”
“Me? I know not what you speak of.”
“I like your hair too,” she said. “I’m glad you let it grow out.”
King ran his fingers through it. He’d never had hair long enough to blow in the wind. Navy Seals weren’t exactly known for their flowing locks. And though his wasn’t long by a lot of standards—not long enough to put into a ponytail—it was definitely a change from the shorter sides he’d always been accustomed to. It felt odd, but he was getting used to it.
“Yeah,” Xander said as he formed a wry smile. “It’s growing on me too.”
“Oh good, dad jokes.” Natalie tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn’t hold it. She tucked her sandy blond hair behind her ear in an attempt to hide her laugh.
“It’s okay. You know you can’t resist my sophisticated wit.”
“That what we’re calling it now?” She finally showed her smile. “You were much more charming when I first met you on that rooftop in San Diego. What happened to that Alexander King?”
“That was first-impression Xander, honey. All you get now is old-married-couple Xander.”
They both laughed. She was glowing under the string of yellow lights floating above her.
“Got to get married first, babe.”
Xander smiled and sat back in his seat. “You can’t tame a wild spirit, darling. You can only hope to come along for the ride.”
“I’d ride anywhere with you.”
Xander reached over and clinked her glass. “Same.”
The two of them were at a restaurant bar called The Deck. It was one of the few places in Laguna Beach that sat directly on the beach itself. The deck seemed almost to hang out over the water. Only a thin stretch of sand separated the acrylic half wall and the water. The bar was actually out on the deck with the tables, and it was a very lively spot. A good mix of people too. All ages and all sizes. Xander and Natalie were at the smaller two-person table right along the see-through divider, the sand just below them.
“What did you think about the properties?” Natalie said. “Did you have a favorite?”
King took another sip and thought it over. Things had been fairly quiet by his standards on the CIA front. After what happened in Haiti, Director Lucas practically shut Xander and the team down for a few months. For once, Xander didn’t put up a fight. He was happy to have a break. Especially since things were going so well with his beautiful woman. That was actually why they were there in Laguna. Natalie was getting ready to film a new movie in Los Angeles, so they decided to look for a temporary place to stay together. After Xander vetoed living in LA for any amount of time whatsoever, they compromised on Orange County. Close enough so she could easily get to work, but far enough away from the madness that Xander wanted no part of.
“That excited, huh?” Natalie said.
“Both places were great. Maybe we should go with the one closer to Newport to make your drive to LA a little easier?”
“That’s sweet, but it really doesn’t matter to me. I liked them both too.”
Xander and Natalie had fallen into the relationship point where neither wanted to make a decision. They were constantly trying to “out nice” each other. And while there were worse habits for a couple to have, it still had its annoying moments. Like when choosing what to have for dinner. Sometimes it’s nice if someone just makes a call. He supposed he would probably have to be the one to do so on their temporary home in California.
“Newport it is,” Xander said.
Natalie sipped her old-fashioned. “Isn’t that closer to where your friend lives anyway?”
“He’s not really a friend per se. More of an acquaintance.”
“How do you know him again?”
“He tried to kill me in Mexico,” Xander blurted.
“Oh, right. Of course. That’s how I meet all of my friends.”
They laughed.
“What was his name again?”
“Lawson Raines,” Xander said. “Turns out we are a lot alike. We found that out after our attempts at murder didn’t work out on each other.”
“Nothing like violence bonding, I guess,” Natalie said with a laugh.
“So,” Xander said, swirling his drink, “who’s your costar in the movie? Is he hot?”
Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Why? You aren’t jealous are you, Mr. King?”
“Jealous? Nah. Just curious. Trying to stay involved in your life.” He smiled. Sipped his drink. Smiled again.
“Maybe a little jealous?”
“Maybe,” he admitted. “There aren’t too many kissing scenes, are there?”
“No comment.”
“Vomit.”
Natalie laughed. Xander’s cell phone began ringing.
“It’s Sam, mind if I take it?”
“Of course not,” Natalie said. She finished her drink in one slug and stood. “I’m going to go put my toes in the sand.”
“I’ll be there in just a minute.”
“Take your time.”
Xander answered the phone as he watched someone ask Natalie for her autograph on her way to the beach. Poor girl never got a night off.
Xander answered the phone. “Sam! You miss me, do you?”
Sam answered him back, but her voice was muffled.
“What’s that?” Xander stood from his chair and walked over to the stairs, a quieter spot away from all the dinner conversations. “Say again, I couldn’t hear you.”
Her voice came in a bit clearer, but it was still hard for him to hear.
“You want me to what? Walk out front of the restaurant? What are you talking about? Where are you? You sound like you’re at the bottom of the ocean.”
He listened, covering his open ear to shut out more of the noise.
“I don’t get it. There’s a package for me, here at The Deck in Laguna? Why?”
Sam said something else, but he couldn’t make out what it was. Then the line went dead. Xander took his phone from his ear and stared at it like that would help him make sense of what just happened. It didn’t.
“The hell was that?” he said to no one.
Xander put his phone away and looked up the stairs. There was a couple walking down toward him. He looked back toward the beach, across the crowded deck. He could see Natalie’s silhouette. She had her back to him, holding her shoes in her right hand, her toes in the water. Beyond her the sky was painted deep red and orange. He was trying to decide if he should even worry about what Sam was saying. Before he made a move, he pulled his phone out and dialed Sam back. It rang several times, then went to voice mail.
Xander texted Natalie that he would be right down; then he started up the stairs. As strange as it was for Sam to call and say there was a package, he couldn’t not go have a look. At the top of the stairs, just beyond the hostess stand, there was a skinny white kid in a blue hoodie just standing there holding a box. Xander walked over.
The kid noticed him before he made it all the way over.
“Are you Mr. King?”
“I am.”
The kid held out the small box. “This is for you.”
Xander didn’t reach for the box. “Who’s this from?”
“Uh, Samantha . . . Harrison,” he said.
The hair on the back of Xander’s neck stood on end. He had no clue what was in the box, but he knew for certain it wasn’t from Sam. She would never have used her full name to send him a package.
“You spoke with Samantha?” Xander said.
“N-no. That’s not really how this works, bro. I’m just a delivery guy. I don’t talk to anyone.”
“Okay, bro,” Xander said. Then he took the box.
The kid just stood there staring at him.
“You have another package for me?” Xander said.
“What? No. I’m just waiting for my tip.”
“Oh, well. I have a tip for you then. Don’t call people bro, bro.”
The kid made a face, called him an asshole, then turned and walked away. Xander looked down at the tan-colored box in his hand. He knew he wasn’t going to like what was inside, but he had no choice but to open it. It was light as a feather, so whatever was in there couldn’t have been an explosive of any kind. He tore the tape from the top and opened the two flaps. He moved over beneath a light on the side of the building to get a better look.
Inside were a few printed four-by-six photos lying on top of each other. He pulled them all from the box, keeping them in their stack. Before he zeroed in on the top picture, he gave the area around him a sweeping look. There was a good chance that whoever sent the package would want to see his reaction. He had no idea what this was about or who was behind it, but it was clearly the beginning of a game he had no interest in playing.
Xander separated the top photo, pulled it up toward his face, and gave it a closer look. That’s when he realized he had no say whether he’d be playing along or not, because someone had just put him right in the middle of their little act. And even before moving past photo number one, he knew he’d been given the starring role.
2
“Xander, is everything okay?”
Xander jumped when he heard Natalie’s voice. He shoved the pictures back in the box and closed the flaps.
“Hey!” he said, trying to recover from his movements that clearly revealed he was hiding something. “I told you I’d be down in just a minute.”
“It’s been several minutes . . .” Natalie walked up, and when she stopped, her hand planted on her hip. “What’s that?”
“This?” Xander held up the box. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just something Sam had delivered for me.” His usual smooth exterior was a lot rockier than usual. He knew it, and he knew that Natalie did too.
“Okay, so why are you so jumpy? And why would Sam send you something to a restaurant?”
Both good questions. Normally he could field them in stride, but the photos sent to him by God knows who had him rattled.
“I . . . she . . . you know, I told her the same thing when she called.”
“All right. So? What is it?”
Natalie wasn’t going to let the awkward situation die.
“We had an agreement, remember, Xander?”
“Agreement . . . ?” He played dumb. Or he was dumb. At the moment he couldn’t tell the difference.
“What’s going on? Is this about a mission? Because we agreed that if you and I are going to work, really work, you can’t keep me in the dark. I can’t do another weekend like when you were in Haiti. No information. Not knowing if you are dead or alive. You know I don’t need the specifics. That’s your business. I just need to know if you’re safe.”
Xander took a deep breath and composed himself. His entire career was a secret. Of course she didn’t need to know the details.
“All right. It is about a mission, but I don’t know what it is. In fact, we need to go. Because this box wasn’t sent by Sam. And whoever sent it might be here watching.”
“Xander, you’re scaring me.”
“You don’t have to be scared. We just need to leave.”
Xander pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his pocket. He hurried over to the hostess and handed it to her.
“I’m sorry, we have to leave,” he said. “ We had the two drinks at the table by the rail on the deck. Split whatever is left with our waitress. Thank you.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond. He turned and hooked Natalie’s arm in his, and they moved toward the street.
“How bad is this, Xander?” Natalie said.
“On a scale of one to my toughest mission? A one. For now.”
Xander escorted her down the street to where they’d parked on the curb. What he told her was true, but it didn’t tell the entire story of where he was afraid this thing could go. They walked up to the Escalade, and Xander opened Natalie’s door. She stopped before she got in.
“For now?”
She was looking at him, but he was busy scanning the area for anyone looking suspicious. She didn’t try to pull his attention from doing so again. She let him scan as she pulled herself into the vehicle. King shut the door and held his position. He took his phone from his pocket and held his finger up to tell Natalie he needed a minute. She nodded. She let him do what he needed to do. King pressed Sam’s contact.
“Xander,” she answered. Her nonchalant British accent immediately told him what he already knew. She had no idea what was going on. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“You didn’t call me earlier, did you?”
“No, and I don’t much like your tone of voice. Everything all right?”
“No.”
“Okay. Natalie all right then?”
“Yes, but we have trouble.”
“Well, spit it out so I can help. What’s got you all worked up?”
“Natalie and I were at dinner in Laguna Beach. All was going great until I got a phone call from you.”
“Shit. This can’t be heading somewhere good. From my number as well?”
“Yep. Your number, but I could hardly hear you, so in hindsight, it was clearly someone trying to mask the fact they weren’t actually you.”
“I am one of a kind.”
Xander ignored the quip. “Whoever it was told me I had a package from you.”
“Odd, but if you thought it was me, you obviously went for a look. Cut to the chase.”
“Delivery kid hands me a box. Inside it are pictures from when Natalie and I were looking at the rental property on the beach earlier today.”
“Bugger.”
“Yeah,” he continued, “but the real bugger is that I wasn’t in any of the pictures. Just Natalie. Looking vulnerable as she was touring the property.”
“A message then,” Sam said. “Someone wants you to know she’s in danger.”
“Why would someone want to hurt Natalie?”
“They don’t. They want to hurt you.”
Xander looked through the passenger window. Natalie was waiting patiently. The day had come that he had worried about since getting back together with her. His work had once again put her in danger. Unable to help his mind from jumping around, he thought about how he’d been kicking around the idea of marrying her. Seemed like a terrible idea at the current moment.
“Xander? Did you leave?”
“Leaving now. Heading back to the hotel.”
“Did they leave a note? Any other clues?”
“Nothing.”
“Damn it. Okay. They want to play games with you then,” Sam said confidently. “This is someone you’ve really pissed off.”
“Great. Have Dbie run a check on the list of a thousand people that I’ve pissed off in my career, would you? Should be an easy find.”
“Oh good, you haven’t lost your sarcasm.”
“What’s the move?”
Sam was quiet for a moment. Xander took one last scan, then went around to the driver-side door and got in. Natalie gave him a nervous smile. He took her by the hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You’re not going to like what I think the next move is. Because you’re not very good at this next move,” Sam said.
