Ben cast an eye over the men and sighed as he was pretty sure he knew what they found amusing about that. He shared a look with Evelyn, then headed for the stairs with Billings following him.
Once he was in the master bedroom, he pulled his cell out and started the voice recorder. “Master bedroom,” he said. He turned to the sailor and nodded to indicate he was ready. The man spoke quietly into his mic. He nodded when they began the test.
Ben listened but heard nothing. When he’d initially renovated this home, he’d put extra effort into soundproofing the rooms, and it seemed like that was doing its job even against the vibration noise in the building’s frame.
“Run completed,” Billings reported. “Second test now.”
There was no sound, and Ben nodded.
“Run completed,” Billings reported. “Final test beginning.”
When the sailor nodded to indicate the run was done. “No detectable noise in the master bedroom. Moving to Gretchen and Sam’s room.”
They moved through the bedrooms and followed the same process until they’d confirmed the noise wasn’t getting through to any of them significantly. Ben turned off the voice recorder app and put his cell away.
Ben looked to Billings. “There’s one room that must be picking up the noise. I’d like to do one more run though this one won’t have any bearing on the verdict.” The sailor let his Lieutenant know they needed one more test and followed Ben down to the basement office.
He indicated to the sailor that they were directly under the tower. Ben nodded to the sailor who spoke into the mic.
The buzz of the wire from the weight rushing down its length could be heard distinctly at first, then it quickly grew quieter. Ben grinned at Billings. “That’s fine. Thanks!”
They left the office and climbed back up to the top of the tower, where Ben nodded to Billings as the sailor rushed over to slip a harness on. It was his turn.
The Sergeant joined Ben with a smile on her face.
“How’d we do?” Ashton asked with a smile.
“You got a passing grade. No noticeable sound in the front bedrooms. The sound was barely detectable in the rear guest bedroom, and no one is using that room now.”
Ben watched Billings accelerate away on the wire and grinned before looking back to the Lieutenants.
“I’ll add the following entry code for you on the keypad for the backyard tower entrance: 37483. The code will be active between midnight and six in the morning, starting tonight. Is that sufficient?”
“Yes, that would be perfect. Thanks!” Ashton agreed, and Gage nodded. They shook Ben’s hand and then moved to join their men as each took their turn to zip down to the ground. Ben and Evelyn watched as Ashton and Gage joined their sailors and disappeared into the foliage. Then it was just the two of them on the tower.
“Enjoyed yourself?” Ben asked.
Evelyn grinned at him. “Very much! The wire skims below and beside the branches and between the trunks. That makes it feel much faster. It’s also excellent training!” She looked back at the anchor point and the railing. “Once more, I’m in awe of the engineering used in this tower. It’s so much more advanced than anything you’d see commercially or even by Army standards.”
Ben smiled. “I had the luxury of exceeding the minimum industry standards to meet the client’s highest expectations.” She grinned at him as they headed for the stairs.
When they reached the ground floor, Ben used the wall-mounted control panel by the inner door to program the outer door keypad for the SEAL team’s access. They went into the house, and she proceeded him into the basement when the doorbell rang.
“I’ve got it!” Evelyn said and turned to climb back up only to discover Ben’s bulk was blocking her way.
He snorted and walked back up, where she slipped past him to rush to the door. As he was already in the hall, he followed.
Evelyn peeked to see who was there and opened the door with a frown.
Ben could see CIA Agent Stephanie Russo standing before the door with Liliya and Tatiana behind her.
The Sergeant opened the storm door and stood back for the three women to enter.
“Agent Russo, I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” Ben said.
“A pleasant surprise, then?” she answered with a coy smile.
Ben returned her smile and gestured for her to enter the living room and take a seat. He nodded to Liliya and Tatiana.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
Russo shook her head. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
“It wasn’t something you could do over the phone?” he asked.
The CIA agent smiled and shook her head. “You never know who might be listening.”
Ben couldn’t stop the snort from leaking out, and he saw she enjoyed getting that response from him.
“I needed to brief your security detail on the latest information we have on a threat developing against you. We finally got confirmation of a power shift within the Russian Federal Security Service. This means many things, but one of them affects you. The loss of the late Colonel Vasiliev agitated some reactionary elements within the Security Service. Certain agents within the Service have been granted authority to proceed with some covert missions. One of the players, Agent Sergey Zhdankov, worked as the liaison for Colonel Vasiliev. He’s been given the mandate to quietly remove you as a threat. We believe he will send a team to make this happen.”
Ben stared at Russo for a moment, then he blinked. “A team. He’s going to send a team of assassins to take me out.” Stephanie nodded. Ben shook his head. “Have we considered the idea of asking him not to?”
It was Russo’s turn to snort softly. “We can’t let on that we’re aware of this intel as we’d jeopardize the lives of the agents who collected it for us. We can only prepare and act.”
“General Davis hasn’t notified me of this threat,” Evelyn said with a frown.
“He’ll get the update this afternoon,” Russo explained.
Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Not that I don’t appreciate the early warning, but shouldn’t he have the news first, so he can alert the troops in the neighborhood?”
“You have two Navy SEAL platoons in the Spa for the next two weeks. General Davis will give their commanding officer the low down,” the CIA agent informed them. To Ben, it felt like she was showing off how knowledgeable she was about the neighborhood’s business. He wasn’t impressed.
“What’s the next step?” he asked.
Russo nodded. “We’re keeping an eye and an ear on Zhdankov. If he contacts a hit team, we’ll get intel on them and pass it along, so you’ll know who to watch for.”
Tatiana made a sound of frustration. “That is reactionary response. We should take Zhdankov out,” she insisted. Liliya also looked upset, but she was keeping her advice to herself.
Ben frowned at the brunette. “That’s also a reactionary response, which would just yield greater violence from the next agent or officer up the chain. His superiors gave this Zhdankov permission to act because the Colonel was killed. This could easily become an escalating shit storm.”
Stephanie stood up. “I’ve told you all I can at this time. I have to get back to Virginia.”
Ben glanced at her in surprise, then rose to walk her to the door.
As he reached to open it, Russo moved closer and looked up at his face. “I also wanted to let you know we may be calling in that favor soon,” she said quietly.
He was quite aware of the CIA’s favor and knew he didn’t really have any option but to play ball at this point. He nodded stiffly.
Her smile turned sultry as she watched his mouth, then looked into his eyes. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
She stepped back as Ben opened the door. She left with a sly smile on her lips.
Locking the door behind the agent, Ben returned to the living room. Evelyn had moved into the dining room to speak quietly into her cell. Liliya and Tatiana were talking to each other in sharp tones, but all Russian sounded harsher than normal to Ben’s ear.
“I’m not sure of the usefulness of being informed in advance when there’s so little information,” Ben said.
“Agreed. This was a political move on Agent Russo’s part. She wants something, and she wants you grateful,” Liliya suggested.
Ben nodded. “She mentioned she might be calling in a favor.”
Tatiana surged to her feet. “I will get this information from her.”
Ben caught her just before she reached the door, and she yanked her arm from his grip. She snarled as she aimed an elbow jab at his throat. He was ready and caught that with his palm, twisting her arm behind her back. Before she could retaliate, he slammed her against the wall face first, with his body pinning her in place. Still, she struggled, so he added pressure and lifted her off her feet. He had his face next to hers and heard her sudden gasp. He realized his cock was pressing firmly between her ass cheeks, and there was a tremendous amount of pressure there as he was almost lifting her with it.
“You will settle down and get control over your impulsiveness,” he growled into her ear.
“Uhhh–or what?” she spat.
Ben felt her body trembling as she tried to push herself away from the wall with her free hand. She was still fighting. He knew she was trying to go for her knives.
With a mighty shove against the wall, Ben stepped back, suddenly releasing the pressure holding Tatiana up. Her shaky legs wouldn’t support her, and she fell onto her ass as her arms flailed. She lost her grip on the blade she’d palmed, and it skittered across the floor towards the kitchen.
Ben watched her with a scowl. “You’re free to leave at any time. If you can’t work with others in a rational, civil way, or if you put others in danger, you’re not welcome here. It’s entirely up to you.” She looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “Now, get your knife and get out of my house.”