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  Modeen: Insurrection

  Frank H Jordan

  Copyright © 2021 A Hope ABN 59 573 352 521

  * * *

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Acknowledgments

  This book is written in Australian English.

  * * *

  The situations, organisations and characters in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to an existing or past entity is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To all of Modeen’s fans who are hunkered down during the global pandemic

  – keep fighting the good fight.

  About the Author

  A long time fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels and Matthew Reilly’s fast-paced stories, ex-Army Reservist and Queensland author Frank H Jordan penned his own high-action thriller series, inspired by the brave men and women of the Australian Defence Force.

  Enter, ex-Special Forces soldier Jo Modeen.

  Modeen: Insurrection is the eleventh instalment in the thrilling Jo Modeen series.

  * * *

  The books in the series are available from your favourite online retailer as paperbacks, ebooks, 3-book box sets, and as a 6-book collection from selected stores. The first 3 books in the series are also available as audio books.

  The Mission

  NatSec agents are going missing.

  * * *

  When an attempted systems breach is detected, and two covert operatives fail to report in, national operations manager Jack Pender dispatches additional agents to provide on-ground assistance.

  But when those agents and a team leader are found dead in Perth HQ, Jack calls in the big guns, NatSec’s top-ranking team.

  Jo Modeen's team.

  Who are about to face their deadliest foe....

  Chapter One

  Perth, Western Australia, Tuesday.

  Liam Reinhardt, NatSec’s WA team leader, checked his watch.

  Nineteen hundred hours.

  ‘Sorry to keep you back late, Joel.’ He eyed the national security agency’s head IT technician seated across the desk from him, marvelling that the obese man could squeeze his sizeable bulk into a standard office chair. ‘Any indication of who’s behind the attempted systems breach as yet?’

  The tech met his boss’s level gaze. ‘I’m using the latest software tools available to run a GEOIP trace. With a bit of luck we should get an IP address and location soon. I—’ When his phone chimed an alert, he glanced down at it and frowned. Something like dread crossed his face. Snatching up the retractable lanyard from his belt, he eyed the cards and fobs dangling from the end. Now the dread turned to alarm, and he began frantically rifling through his pockets.

  ‘Hey,’ Reinhardt barked, ‘what’s up?’

  ‘My ID pass ... it’s ... g-gone,’ Joel stuttered.

  ‘Could you have dropped it somewhere?’

  ‘No ... I....’ Gathering himself, Joel raised his eyes and gave a tight headshake. ‘You don’t understand.’ He took a deep breath and eyed his boss. ‘Someone has used my pass to access the server room. They’re in there right now, messing with the router.’

  Reinhardt’s mobile was already in his hand. He stabbed a finger on a number which was answered a heartbeat later. ‘Security,’ he barked, ‘lock down the server room, we have a breach.’

  At the end of the call, the security guard’s eyes darted to the server room monitor, where he saw a hunched figure in a dark, hooded tracksuit creeping among the equipment. When the figure turned toward the concealed camera in the room, the guard leaned closer to peer into the monitor, only to find a khaki headover concealing the bottom half of the intruder’s already shadowy face.

  With a frustrated grunt the guard leapt to his feet. Setting off the internal alarm, he pulled the Glock from his holster, and raced out the door in one fluid movement. Glimpsing the hooded figure making for the stairwell door at the end of the long corridor, he set off in pursuit.

  He kept in time with the perpetrator’s footfalls as they echoed up the stairwell, but dressed as he was in the usual security garb—bulletproof vest, and carrying a baton, two-way, Taser, torch, chest-mounted camera and firearm—the climb soon had the guard breathing hard and falling behind. Stopping at level twenty to suck in a breath, he peered upward, hoping his quarry was also tiring.

  But the figure continued climbing.

  At footfalls from below, the guard whipped around to see NatSec agent Mason Archer running up the stairwell toward him. Taking the stairs two at a time, Archer overtook the guard and was waved through with a puffed, ‘Go, go.’

  He increased pace and began gaining on the hooded figure. Archer was only five flights behind when the intruder passed the top floor of the fifty-storey building, from which point the stairs spiralled upward to where the rooftop rose to a stylish peak. The stairs terminated at a solid fireproof door, behind which a narrow platform provided access to the communications tower.

  As he burst through the door, Glock in hand, Archer glimpsed the dark figure leap off the platform. Hurrying to the edge, where the blustery high-level wind tugged at his hair and clothes, he peered down in time to see the man falling with arms outstretched, and a ribbon of fabric flapping in the wind as it trailed behind him.

  The ribbon inflated as he fell, ballooning and transforming into a rectangular ram-air canopy that jerked him vertical.

  Archer aimed his Glock at the base jumper, only to lower it again.

  A wayward bullet from this angle could be catastrophic for an innocent bystander below.

  Blowing a frustrated breath he returned the Glock to its holster, and watched the man bank sharply before gliding downward to land a distance away in Langley Park.

  And vanish from view.

  Twenty-two hundred hours Thursday.

  The midnight-blue Aurion sped down Great Eastern Highway, its low-slung suspension bottoming out over speed bumps as it entered the carpark of Perth’s Crown Casino. As was usual for a Friday night there was competition for the few available spots in the parking lot, and the casino grounds buzzed with punters, diners, and tourists.

  At the wheel of the NatSec Aurion, Mason Archer nosed the sedan along the rows of parked vehicles, before pulling to a stop two rows back from another sedan, the same model and colour as the one he was driving. Beside him in the passenger’s seat, fellow agent Imogen Lee had her head bent over the mobile phone in her lap.

  Without looking up she asked, ‘What’s Reinhardt’s beef with Aaron and Hunter?’

  ‘Not sure.’ Archer scanned the nearby rows for any sign of an available parking bay. ‘He said they were on assignment and hadn’t called in for forty-eight hours, so we’ve been sent to find out why.’ When reversing lights illuminated nearby, he idled the Aurion closer and waited for the other car to exit the bay.

  ‘Reinhardt can track them just like we can.’

  Archer held up his mobile. ‘Neither agent is answering his calls or mine, and Reed’s tracker has dropped off the app. Luckily Knight’s is still transmitting.’

  ‘Does Reinhardt suspect they’ve been compromised?’

  ‘He knows something’s going on with them, but as to what that is....’ Archer shrugged. ‘It might be related to the recent attempts to break in to NatSec’s systems.’

  ‘I don’t get why Reinhardt’s so concerned about them. Aaron Knight and Hunter Reed are seasoned agents.’

  ‘He must have his reasons,’ Archer muttered. ‘Anyway, I’m doing as I’m told. So far the agency hasn’t given me any reason to question my assignments.’
/>
  Raising dark, monolid eyes to stare at him, Lee said softly, ‘Surely he doesn’t suspect them of some ... transgression?’

  ‘He didn’t say as much, but I got the impression that if everything was kosher we wouldn’t be here. And those two blokes are hard ones to read, especially Aaron, which is probably why he’s so effective at covert ops.’ He nosed the Aurion into the bay and switched off the ignition.

  ‘It could simply be that they’re in a position where they can’t check in.’

  ‘Though it’s not that hard to do, especially,’ and he arched an eyebrow, ‘if you have time to visit a casino.’ Archer checked the tracking app on his phone and tensed. ‘Well, well. He can’t have done any good at the tables ’cos here he comes now.’ He pointed through the windscreen at the grand portico entrance, where people were constantly moving in and out. At six-foot-two and sporting a flat-top buzz cut, the former Australian Forces Commando stood out amid the milling, predominantly Asian crowd.

  Tugging at the cuffs beneath his stylish Cavani two-piece suit, Knight stepped off the kerb, crossed the taxi rank, and headed for the carpark.

  ‘Okay.’ In the Aurion, Archer leaned forward to grasp the keys dangling from the ignition. ‘We’ll follow him and see if we can find out what’s going on.’

  His words still hung in the air as he froze, one hand on the key and the other on the wheel. He didn’t have to look to know what the cold metal object pressed against the soft tissue behind his ear might be, nor who was wielding it. His shoulders sagged and he muttered resignedly, ‘I guess Knight isn’t the only one I should’ve been watching.’

  ‘You guess right.’ The nine-millimetre bullet tore through Archer’s skull, sending a spray of red across the dash and windscreen. His toned but now limp body slumped forward, slid sideways, and flopped against the door.

  As Lee unscrewed the silencer from her Beretta, the driver’s door was thrust open from outside and Aaron Knight’s tall, muscular frame leaned in.

  Shoving Archer’s flaccid corpse toward her he growled, ‘Drag him over to your side.’

  An instant later Lee was out of the car and leaning back in. Placing a knee on the seat for leverage, she grabbed a fistful of Archer’s jacket and helped slide his body across to the passenger’s side. Before taking the now vacant driver’s seat, Knight removed the silk handkerchief from his suit pocket and used it to wipe down the steering wheel and dashboard. Beside him, Lee secured the body with the seatbelt before ducking into the back of the car.

  Knight steered them out onto the highway, taking care to not attract attention. Weaving through the light traffic, he drove east, across the Garrett Road bridge and into Bayswater. There he took a side street onto Memorial Drive, and followed it to the boat ramp on the Swan River.

  Pulling to a stop near the ramp, he kept the motor running while surveying the area. A thick layer of mist clung to the still, dark water, and the distant sounds of city traffic echoed hollowly along the length of the river. In the carpark next to the boat ramp, an empty trailer hooked to a solitary dual-cab ute indicated the owner might be somewhere out on the water.

  Muttering, ‘As good a spot as any,’ Knight pulled a knife from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and flicked the blade open. Twisting to lean over the corpse in the passenger’s seat, he sliced the sleeve open and exposed Archer’s left arm. Feeling for the tracking device he knew would be buried in the soft tissue beneath Archer’s bicep, he pinched the skin and made a small incision. After squeezing the tiny metallic cylinder out and into his handkerchief, he gave it a wipe and held it up between his thumb and index finger.

  In the back seat, Imogen glanced at the device before returning her gaze to Knight, who slipped the tracker into the watch pocket of his suit pants and fixed accusing eyes on her.

  ‘We’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way now our cover’s blown,’ he muttered darkly, ‘thanks to your contact’s “undetectable” cyber-attack.’

  Lee said nothing, her gaze following Knight as he exited the vehicle and hurried to the passenger’s side.

  After a quick scan of the surroundings, he hoisted Archer’s body onto a shoulder with a grunt. Carrying the dead man out onto the jetty beside the boat ramp, he dropped him unceremoniously onto the rough timber boards. Kneeling beside the corpse, he yanked up the shirt and drove his knife’s blade deep between Archer’s ribs. Hastily turning his head away when air hissed from the perforation, he waited until the flow ebbed as the pierced lungs deflated.

  After removing the blade, he wiped it on Archer’s shirt and got to his feet. Seeing Lee standing watching, Knight announced, ‘That’ll keep the body from floating,’ and with a careless shove of a foot, rolled his dead colleague off the end of the jetty.

  As the heavy splash and gurgles subsided, Lee looked at him with raised brows. ‘How many times have you done ... that?’

  He grinned coldly at her. ‘Enough times to know it works.’

  She said nothing.

  They stood watching the dark, chilled water first lap and then consume the body.

  Rubbing her arm, she said, ‘We should remove our trackers too, otherwise they’ll be able to find us.’

  ‘Not yours, not yet anyway.’ Shrugging off his jacket, he indicated for her to hold out an arm and folded the jacket across it. Like a well-trained butler she kept her arm outstretched while he removed his tie and shirt. Retrieving the knife from his pants pocket and once more flicking it open, he pressed fingers to his own armpit, feeling for the embedded tracker.

  Lee turned her face away as, sucking in a breath through his teeth, he sliced the skin with the blade. Moments later she heard a tiny splash as he flicked the bloody device off the end of the jetty.

  ‘Well,’ he sniggered, pressing the handkerchief to the bleeding incision, ‘that takes care of me.’

  Taking out her mobile, Lee checked the tracking app and gave a smug grin. ‘Anyone looking for you will think you’re in the river, and that Archer’s standing right here, with me.’

  ‘Exactly the illusion I was going for.’

  He reached for his clothes and she watched him put them on. ‘So ... what do we do now?’

  ‘Now,’ he said flatly, ‘we pay Reinhardt a visit.’

  ‘I believe the leak’s been found and plugged.’ In NatSec’s Perth office, Liam Reinhardt kept his eyes fixed on the laptop’s screen as he pressed the phone tighter against his ear. ‘It appears Aaron Knight has been retired ... or went for an extended swim in the river.’

  ‘I see.’ National operations manager Jack Pender’s tone remained level and business-like across the phone connection. ‘And you’re assuming it was Knight who gained unauthorised access to the server room two days ago?’

  ‘Yes. Archer and Lee must’ve had cause to neutralise him.’

  ‘And where are those two now?’

  ‘On their way back here.’

  ‘Good. I expect a full report, ASAP.’

  ‘Roger that.’ As he ended the call, Reinhardt sat back to eye the two agents sitting across the desk from him. ‘While we appreciate Sydney branch having sent you to assist,’ he said after a pause, ‘our internal investigation has brought the situation under control, so you can return to your home base.’

  ‘Your investigation resulted in an agent’s “retirement”?’ Senior NatSec agent Paul Dowding arched a sceptical eyebrow.

  Reinhardt nodded. ‘These agents weren’t simply missing. At least one had gone rogue and has now been retired.’

  ‘Does that happen often?’

  ‘Does what happen often?’

  ‘NatSec agents going rogue.’

  Seated beside him, Dowding’s partner, Aria Chastain, spoke up. ‘We’ve only ever heard of one other instance.’

  Ignoring her, Reinhardt said brusquely, ‘No, it doesn’t happen “a lot”.’ After an audible exhale, he went on in a more even tone. ‘That said, given the nature of the work we do, it’s a possibility we have to keep in mind. Another reaso
n the agency is working on a new tracking system, as an added safeguard.’

  Chastain sat forward. ‘What sort of new system?’

  ‘That’s all I can say about it at this point.’ Reinhardt eyed her. ‘As you know, the existing tracking devices allow us to assist if agents run into trouble. However, it’s been made obvious that the implants are all too easily removed should an agent be captured ... or decide to drop off the radar.’

  Chastain nodded, glanced at the wall clock, and then at Dowding. Turning to address Reinhardt again, she said, ‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t need us, we’ll call it a night and catch a return flight to Sydney tomorrow.’

  Mumbling, ‘Fine,’ Reinhardt peered at the tracking app on his laptop. ‘But our guys are almost here, if you want to sit in on the debrief?’ He raised his eyes to gaze at them. ‘If your team leader’s anything like me, he’ll expect a report on your return, regardless of the level of your involvement in the case. And the debrief will provide further details for your reports. It’s your call, however.’

  The two agents eyed each other and nodded.

  ‘We’ll sit in,’ Dowding said. ‘Makes this trip seem less of a waste of our time. And it’s not like there’s anywhere else we need to be.’

  After motoring past the towering skyscrapers of Perth’s city centre, Aaron Knight spotted the distinctive spiked glass roof of the Palace Hotel’s adjoining courtyard. Turning off George Street into a narrow lane at the rear of the hotel, he idled the Aurion into an underground carpark beneath the South32 Tower.

  The on-site guard glanced at the ID cards flashed at him by a smiling Lee and shadowy Knight before raising the boom gate to let them in. The Aurion’s exhaust rumbled through the cavernous two-level parking area as they made their way to the designated parking bay.