A Husband's Secret
Chapter Two: Battle of Wills
Flashback: 1 year ago
Julius Steele's cock surged in his pants as Connor McLean entered the small briefing room. Connor was the kind of guy that turned heads everywhere he went. Tall, thick, bearded and with a cocky attitude that couldn't be contained, he stuck out like a sore thumb everywhere. The women loved him; men simultaneously admired him and feared him.
With his tattoos and stony stare, he wasn't the kind of guy you wanted to run into in a dark alleyway. If Connor didn't like you, it was in the best interest of your health to stay out of his way. If you were one of the few he called a friend, you'd never want to leave his side. His loyalty and charisma were unwavering. There's no one better you'd want beside you if shit turned sour and you needed someone reliable to help you out of it. He and Julius had been working together for well over 5 years. Julius considered himself fortunate to be in Connor's good graces. Julius had earned his place in Connor's inner circle after having saved his ass more than a time or two.
Julius Steele was no stranger to conflict or unsavory situations himself. For as tough and rugged as Connor was, Julius held his weight and worth equally. Julius's six-foot, two frame contrasted Connor's body as much as his skin tone. Where Connor was pale, hairy and thick, Julius was dark, smooth and lean. Julius was built like a gymnast with the corresponding agility, power and speed. His high cheekbones and smooth dark skin ensured he always had the attention of the room he occupied.
Julius had started his career as an analyst. Numbers and trends were his forte. He never expected to find himself in the operational environment out. Connor, after working with him for years in the analyst-operative role, had seen the potential in him and recommended Julius to go through the selection process. No one was more surprised than Julius when he completed the process in the top ten of his class.
Connor glanced at Julius and flashed his typical affable smile. Julius felt his stomach turn and his cock twitch.
"Julius, I'm glad you're early. We have something we need to discuss about this prior to the rest of the team getting here." Connor stated matter-of-factly in his husky voice.
Julius furrowed his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? What's up man?" He intoned with genuine hesitation in his voice. When Connor had something to discuss without the group, it was rarely good.
"I've received some additional intel from my source in the country. It's troubling to say the least." Connor murmured while moving closer to Julius; giving a hesitant glance at the door.
"Why not wait and share this with everyone, man? This could be valuable for all of us to know." Julius whispered back; his nervousness rising.
"Yeah well the intel makes that impossible." Connor uttered coldly.
"Fuck man just spit it out then." Julius said impatiently.
"My source says we have someone working for the Kona Syndicate within our organization." Connor exclaimed in a barely audible voice.
Julius began to sweat. His stomach turned and he felt like he was going to be sick. Was Connor onto him? Did he know that Julius had been approached and blackmailed into giving information?
"Jesus. Someone on our team?" Julius almost screamed while scrambling to think about how he was going to navigate this situation.
"He couldn't confirm where the double agent is placed within the organization." Connor replied looking sharply at Julius. Julius couldn't tell by Connor's facial expressions or tone if he know or how much he knew. Was this a test? Was he giving Julius a chance to come clean?
"Fuck, how good is this source? Can he be trusted? Hell, how do you know it's not me?" Julius stated daring to push the conversation towards himself in an effort to probe further into what Connor knew.
"The source is solid. You remember the raid last year that netted Kona's #2? Yeah that was because of this source. I know it's not you because I already combed through your records with a fine tooth combÉ..twice. If it's you, you're fucking beyond good at covering your tracks to the point where I couldn't flush you out; you know me and I rarely miss a detail so you're clean." Connor stated with a smirk on his face.
Julius felt his nerves cool but his mind still whirled with the other possibilities. Was Connor lulling him into a false sense of security? Was he laying a trap by letting Julius think he wasn't being watched closely. Julius had never turned over intel on his own team or organization. The demands from his blackmailer had so far been for access to outside information. Julius knew that the demands could escalate and was working desperately on a way to free himself without risking his career, family or worse their lives.
Julius' mind lurched as unsettling feeling surged through him. What if he wasn't the only one within the organization working for the Kona Syndicate? Hell, what if this other agent was working for a different criminal or terrorist enterprise? Even with sophisticated counterintelligence it's unlikely the organization could expose every person working for the enemy. What if that other agent was keeping extra eyes on him?
"So what now?" Julius asked, apprehension still surging through him.
"We set a damn trap and catch this fucker before he turns this organization inside out and fucks us to high heaven. I'm the only one who is going to do the fucking around here." Connor spat emphatically as the two men stared intently at each other; making prolonged eye contact for the first time.
A heavy silence took over the room as the two men smiled widely at each other.
"Speaking of fucking," Julius started, "Have youÉ."
Before Julius could finish his sentence, the door flung open and the rest of his team rushed in. Connor looked at him empathetically and signaled that they'd talk later. Julius's thick cock pulsated at the thought of the conversation they'd have.
Catskill Mountains: Current Time
The morning sun hid behind the mountain ridge; already the light was starting to burst through the tall trees of the Catskill mountains. Julius curled his fingers repeatedly in an attempt to keep his hands nimble and ready. He could feel the dried blood caked on his fingers. Cleaning himself up hadn't been on the top of his priority list these last few hours after killing his would-be captor and previous full-time extortionist.
Julius' life hadn't been his own ever since he met Connor. Connor had changed everything. Julius forced himself to think about something else; the thought of Connor was the last thing he needed distracting him while he tried to get himself out of this mess.
The sound of a helicopter flying slow and low over the tree canopy made Julius freeze in place behind the nearest tree.
`So they brought in all of their assets after all; he wasn't lying. He wasn't kidding when he said he called in his best.' Julius thought to himself as his chest tightened with fear and anxiety. All of Julius' skills and training would be put to the test if he wanted to get out of this in one piece.
The helicopter banked right and its thumping slowly became low and distant. Julius knew he would need to move quickly now. There would undoubtedly be ground teams combing through the woods for him, heavily armed and thoroughly anxious at not hearing back from their boss. With any luck, they wouldn't discover his body with its caved in skull hastily covered or they'd expedite their search; Instead of orders to capture, the mission would change to kill.
Julius moved as fast and quietly as he could. Thankfully, with the improvised bandage, his ear had stopped bleeding. Now, he'd just have to worry about infection but there was no sense in worrying about that considering he might not make it out of these damn woods alive.
As he moved, Julius contemplated his hunters' courses of action. He wondered if they already had the local towns scoped out. Julius' gut told him that the towns wouldn't have surveillance posted unless the teams discovered their boss' body. Without the body, they had no reason to believe their boss hadn't apprehended him and simply lost contact; all the more reason to move fast.
Julius' ears caught the distant sound of voices and barking.
`Shit, those fuckers brought out the dogs to follow my scent.' Julius whispered out loud to himself.
Julius felt his anxiety surge at the thought of having to outpace and outsmart the hounds in addition to the men. This situation kept getting more complicated.
Determination set in as he humped it towards the nearest village. As he came to a clearing he paused to assess the situation. Below from his ridge, he could see the town he'd been looking for. Relief pulsated through his body before his mind told him to tighten up; he wasn't out of this situation yet.
He contemplated darting for the town across the clearing. The teams hunting him definitely had his description at this point so if he did encounter them, they'd likely try to take him down. Would they dare to take him on in public with so many witnesses?
Julius felt the impulse to start moving but before he could, he heard the thumping of the helicopter blades coming closer again. Sure enough, the roar of the helicopter echoed off the town as the machine burst out from over the tree line. It circled twice and then landed in the open field between Julius and the town.
Julius watched closely as the helicopter powered down. The man who stepped out of it nearly made Julius' heart stop; Ignacio Valdez, the Kona Syndicate's head of security. Ignacio was infamous for his brutality. He was wanted by just about every country he ever stepped foot in for crimes ranging from petty theft all the way up to crimes against humanity. The man was a damn ghost though and so far no country could grab him long enough to build its case against him.
"Fucking hell. Ignacio is here?" Julius heard himself state out loud in exasperation. Ignacio Valdez was the last person Julius wanted on his tail.
Ignacio Valdez and his henchmen made their way into the town looking angry and ready for a conflict. Julius felt sorry for whoever got in their way.
Julius bolted towards some small structures on the outskirts of the town. He hoped he could quietly grab a vehicle and make his way out of town unnoticed.
Julius made it to the small structures without encountering another living soul. Quietly, he tried to search for a vehicle to steal. He wasn't a local and given his skin tone, he knew he'd be easily spotted so he made every effort to look unsuspicious.
Unfortunately, there were no vehicles around the small structures. As he thought about his next move, he heard footsteps round the corner of building he was propped against. He spun around just in time to notice one of Ignacio's henchmen rounding the corner. Before the man had time to yell, Julius sprung on him. Julius landed one swift kick and a smooth punch. The man stumbled backwards and crashed into the building. Julius flung himself forward and landed two more blows before he circled behind the man. With every ounce of power he could muster, Julius snapped the man's neck - his body going limp without a sound. Julius quietly thanked the Agency for all those grueling hours of close quarters combat training that Julius hated so damn much. Julius dragged the body to a shadowed corner and put some hay over it. Now he really had to move quickly, Ignacio would notice one of his henchmen missing.
Julius had an insane idea; one that could make him a sitting duck easy for target practice. He'd need a distraction to make his plan work.
Julius darted to the next set of buildings on the outskirts of town. He then swiftly kicked in one of the doors. A quick search came up empty. He proceeded to kick in another door. This time, he came away happy and well supplied.
He dashed back to the woods and circled around to the other side of the village as swiftly as he could. Scouting the area before dashing forward, he didn't notice any movement and rushed into town.
Vehicles were parked haphazardly in driveways and along the streets. Paying careful attention to his surroundings, he started checking to see if any of the vehicles were open. No luck.
Julius made his way to the largest truck he could find. Quickly he popped open the gas tank and arranged his supplies. With a few last touches, he sprinted back to the wood line and frantically made his way back around to the other side of town.
Within minutes, Julius heard the sound he was yearning to hear; a loud explosion as the lighted rag reached the gas tank of the truck. Chaos ensued as people poured out of their houses and businesses to investigate. The sirens from the local volunteer fire fighter houses' lone fire truck filled the air.
Julius sprinted the remaining distance to the other side of town through the woods and burst out of the wood line. He dashed to the helicopter. He hoped the chaos and noise would drown out the sounds of the helicopter starting.
It'd been years since he'd last flown a helicopter but given the desperate situation, he was going to give it another shot. His muscle memory had the helicopter running in minutes. Just as he was feeling confident, gunfire erupted through the helicopter. Sure enough the team had heard him power up the helicopter.
The passenger door suddenly swung open and none other than Ignacio Valdez burst through.
Before Ignacio had time to level his gun, Julius launched a flurry of punches while trying to get the helicopter to pull up.
Ignacio countered with his own series of blows while trying to raise his weapon. Julius's knocked the gun out of his hand and it rattled to the floor. As Ignacio dived for it, Julius used the opportunity to jerk the controls and move the helicopter into the air.
Ignacio abandoned the dive for the gun and dove towards the flight controls. The helicopter veered left then right wildly. Julius struck Ignacio forcefully knocking him back into the passenger seat. Anger surged across his ugly, scarred face as the passenger door still hung open.
Julius waited patiently for what he knew was coming. As Ignacio stood up right to launch another attack on Julius, Julius banked the helicopter hard and flung Ignacio right out of the passenger door. He plummeted the 10 feet to the ground as Julius pulled up.
Julius looked down. He could see Ignacio moving. He was still alive. Disappointment flooded through Julius because now Ignacio would truly be gunning for him Ð well if he wasn't paralyzed from the fall.
Julius took a hard look at the flight controls and dialed in the direction he needed to go. He had to get back to civilization so he could start fighting back. The game had changed and Julius needed to act quickly if he was going to live long enough to make things right.
----- End Chapter 2 ----