Free The Killing Chase (Beach & Riley Book 2) by Craig Hurren Page A

fingers, and had him squealing pretty good, but he wouldn’t give us what we needed. Priest stepped up and told us to leave him alone with the bloke for ten minutes. We didn’t want to break protocol, but he insisted, so we left him to it. We could hear this quiet mumbling through the door, but no screams, no yelling, nothing. Sure enough, he walked out ten minutes later with everything we wanted to know – and the terrorist just sat there crying like a baby. I shit you not!”
    Jake screwed his face up in disbelief. “You expect me to believe he learned some kind of Aboriginal voodoo magic in the desert?”
    “I don’t expect you to believe anything, mate, but he’s been doing it for years now. Just wait another minute and you’ll see for yourself.”
    A few seconds later, the door opened and Harry Phillips smiled at Jake. “How do you feel about a trip to Cambo, mate?”
    “Cambodia - are you sure?” Jake asked skeptically.
    “He would have given me the street address, if he knew it.” Harry grinned broadly.
    Over Harry’s shoulder they could see Grigori sobbing uncontrollably in his chair. Jake turned to Dozer, shaking his head in disbelief.
    “Now you know why he’s called Priest, mate. I guess we’re off to Cambo.”

 
    Chapter 7
    While Foxx headed for the tech lab, Beach took the DNA samples upstairs to the analysis unit. A friendly but frazzled-looking technician took the bags. “I got the rush order from your supervisor – should be done in about seventy-two hours. Once the machines have finished the profiles, which database do you want me to run them against?”
    “Which ones can you access?”
    “I can do local, state, and federal criminal databases, no problem. CIA and Interpol are off-limits without authorization and special access codes – even then, there are some black holes. I can get into standard military systems, but definitely not Spec Ops – you need a federal warrant for that.”
    “Okay, hit everything you can while I try to get authorization for the others.”
    Beach went next to ask SAC Talbot to obtain the necessary permissions for the CIA and Interpol databases. His supervisor sat alone in his office, perusing documents. Beach knocked on the open door before entering. After a bumpy start, their last encounter had ended on a good note, but he wanted to show his boss due deference.
    “Come in, Beach. The DNA lab got the paperwork for priority testing?”
    “Yes, sir, a very helpful young guy is on the case.”
    “Dion Hogg – good kid and smart as a whip. They’re all good, but he’s got a real spark that others don’t.”
    “I noticed he looked pretty worn out. Have you got him working double shifts?”
    “He’s doing his Ph.D. part-time – the study probably has him working overtime. Don’t worry – he’ll get the job done right. I assume you need clearance for special databases?”
    “That’s what I’m here for, sir.”
    “I think we can drop the sir – except in formal circumstances. It seems kind of odd, given our ages, so call me Judd.”
    Alan, relieved his boss was making an effort to break down barriers, nodded his acknowledgement.
    Talbot continued: “I’ve already sent the paperwork for the CIA and Interpol systems. I think it would be prudent to wait and see if anything pops before we try to tangle with the military over their special forces databases. Those guys are pretty damned prickly about that sort of thing, so there’s no point poking the bear if we don’t have to.”
    “Agreed. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything from Dion.”
    “Can you update me on the case yet?”
    “There’s really not much else to say at this point. I’m heading down to see Foxx in the tech lab. Maybe he’s found something we can run with.”
    “How is your partnership working out, Beach? You two have been teamed up since the academy – everything going smoothly?”
    “Everything’s great – why, is there something I should know