Starfish Prime (Blackfox Chronicles Book 2) Read Free Page A

field.” 
    “Roger, sir. I can make a request up through Big SOCOM for an interservice personnel requisition, but I wanted to pass that by you first.”
    “No, I don’t want you to go in that direction. We do that, and we open this mission to scrutiny from above. This is our dirty laundry, Dick, and I choose to clean it myself. Widen the net, look in RECON, ANGLICO, the reserves, and among recent r etirees. My guidance is that the only must-have qualifications are HAHO, a 3/3 level of competency in Spanish and Yanomami, and some expertise in computer hacking. The guy doesn’t have to be Kevin Mitnick, but he needs to be able to operate the automated hacking tools the six has assembled.” 
    “Roger, sir, I took the liberty of doing that and I think I found someone.”
    “Well, do tell, Dick. Don’t keep an old man in suspense.”
    “The guy I found was a Marine Captain separated in 2004 at Lejeune. His name is Blackfox. He’s a Recon Marine, has a Si lver Star, and was wounded during the war, but not badly. I looked into his medical history and it seems they were trying to re-class him based on a gunshot wound to the upper right arm, but the standards have changed since then, and I doubt we would re-class him now.” The General nodded. Nowadays, you could stay on active duty absent a leg if you could pass the physical fitness test with a prosthetic.  Encouraged by the general’s nod, Colonel Hearth continued.
    “According to his Service Record Book, he attended several computer security courses, including one run by the Air Force and another by a private group called the SANS Institute.” “Rea lly?” asked the general. “When did we start sending snake eaters to geek school?” 
    “He was Acting Battalion Six for a while,” he said, referring to the communications officer battalions and above have on their staff, “and I guess he took advantage of it to attend some schoo ling. All the services have been funding these slots for years in response to China’s growth as a cyber-threat.” The general gave a slight nod of understanding.
    “What about the other qualifications?”
    “He hits the mark as far as languages are concerned. It’s kind of interesting that, according to his records, he’s part American
    Indian, a Seminole, I think.” 
    “Probably why they sent him to study Yanomami,” 
    “And he is an experienced HAHO jumper. According to his records, he has over two hundred jumps,” said Hearth.
    “Okay, Dick, it sounds like you did journeyman’s work, so what’s the problem?” 
    “We can’t find him, General. He left active duty at Lejeune and no one has seen him since. He’s still in the IRR,” said Hearth, referring to the Individual Ready Reserve, a non-drilling status where Marines are listed on a roster should they need to be recalled to active duty. “And he did show up for one muster at a reserve center in Tampa, a few months after leaving active duty, but the contact number has been reassigned to another user.”  “Well, hell, Dick, it seems like you got a problem you need to solve. I suggest you get some of them highly motivated Marine NCOs you have on your staff involved to see if they can flush this guy out.  Work through the weekend if you have to.” “Roger, sir that was my intention, all along.” 
    The general looked at his Chief of Operations and nodded. “I don’t have to tell you that we’re on a fast moving train do I?” 
    “No, sir, it just feels like we’re laying the tracks as the train is moving. “ 
    “Well, Dick, that’s the business we’ve chosen to be in.” McElroy thought for a moment before he added, “Recon being who they are, you might want to check the jails.”
    “Yes, sir, it always pays to be thorough,” replied the colonel.
                  

Chapter Three - Bocagrande
     
    Cartagena, Colombia
     
    Char and his son, Michael, had been island hopping now for a few years. Most of the gold from the heist had