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“The FBI is about to send SWAT teams under the command of the Sacramento Joint Terrorism Task Force to raid the compound. They have two objectives. The first is to recover the Semtex if it’s still there and the second is to determine the fate of my grandson. But the main plan is to put Freedom’s Echo out of business before that Semtex disappears.” Frank locked eyes with Nathan. “You two were the best covert ops team this country’s ever had. I’m not patronizing you. I mean it, you guys were the best. What I need is for you to be my eyes and ears up there. I have a personal stake in this. It’s my grandson, my own flesh and blood. I no longer have the access I used to. I could make a call and get boilerplate information, but it wouldn’t be firsthand visual intelligence coming from a source I trust.”
    “Okay.”
     “Essentially, I want you to back up the FBI raid. Things could go badly, there could be a firefight. You guys were the best damned sniper team in the world. The FBI could use—”
    “With all due respect,” Nathan cut in, “we don’t do that anymore. We aren’t hired guns. We run a security business. The FBI has its own sniper teams.”
    Harv moved uncomfortably in his chair, but remained silent.
    “I’m not asking you to be hired guns. I’m asking you to serve as a safety net for the SWAT teams in case things go south. These smugglers are hard-core guys. Elite-trained military. Now they’ve got Semtex. You could save lives. I cashed in a major favor with Director Lansing to involve you in this operation. He gave me the okay, but he’s considering it a don’t-ask, don’t-tell situation. I personally vouched for your integrity. I’m putting my reputation on the line here. If you’re willing to do this, then the trust will have to work both ways. You need to trust me, I need to trust you.”
    “Then you must know the potential ramifications of what you’re asking us to do.”
    Frank Ortega looked at Harv with a troubled, almost annoyed expression and Greg was gripping the armrests of his chair too tightly.
    “I understand the ramifications, McBride. Do you?”
    Nathan said nothing.
    Ortega raised his voice a little. “There’s more at stake than just my grandson. That amount of loose Semtex on American soil makes this a national security issue as dangerous as any Al Qaeda threat. More dangerous. These guys are Americans, they look, act, and talk like us. They blend in. They’re invisible.”
    Over the ticking of the regulator clock, no one spoke for several seconds.
    “We have some conditions,” Nathan said.
    “Conditions.”
    “That’s right. Conditions. We’ll find your grandson and back up the SWAT teams, but we don’t want to be left standing when the music stops. Understood?”
    “Clearly.”
    “And we’ll need complete background and intelligence information on the targets and their compound.”
    “Not a problem.”
    “One more thing. No armchair quarterbacking. Once you turn us loose, that’s it. No second-guessing our moves. We do this our way, without interference, or we don’t do it at all.”
    “Like I said, it’s an issue of trust in both directions.”
    Frank pushed the file across the desk.
    Nathan didn’t touch it. He knew what it was, what it represented.
    “This is everything we have on Freedom’s Echo. Everything,” Frank said. “It’s an exact duplicate.”
    Frank kept saying we . Understandable, the man had spent over forty years with the bureau.
    “I’m coming with you,” Greg said.
    “Out of the question.”
    “He’s my son.”
    “Out of the question.”
    Greg stood and squared off with Nathan. “Listen, you son of a bitch, I don’t care who or what you used to be. He’s my son .”
    Nathan got up and pivoted toward the door.
    “Damn it, Greg,” Frank said. “McBride, wait. Please.”
    Nathan stopped but didn’t turn around.
    “We’re all under a lot of stress. Please, sit back down.”
    Nathan didn’t