Risky Extraction

Chapter 21

“You fucking son of a bitch. You should be in fucking jail for what you did.” Axel shouted.

“Can’t go to jail when you run and hide like a coward,” Crash tried to step around Aaron.

“You need to calm down,” Aaron warned.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? This bastard is the reason we are all in this situation in the first place. Isn’t it, Titus?” Crash yelled.

Titus didn’t speak, but it seemed as if he was about to throw up or bolt. He stood behind the open car door as if it would protect him if Crash or Axel grabbed him.

“He’s here for a reason,” Keith stepped next to Nick.

Crash looked at his boss and shook his head. There was no way Keith was letting NES protect that prick. If anything, the guy should be thrown to the wolves and let him defend himself. He didn’t deserve any pity for what he did.

“I swear, Rusty, if you tell me he’s here under protection, I’ll quit.” Crash glared at Titus.

“You’re not going to quit, but you’re going to damn well listen.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“To what? His bullshit?” Crash pointed toward the man he’d trusted.

Keith said nothing as he turned and walked back to his jeep. A few seconds later, he returned with a file about two inches thick. Before Crash could ask anything, Keith slapped it against his chest.

“This guy is the reason you’re both still alive.” Keith snapped.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Axel yelled.

Crash didn’t hear anything else as he started to flip through the folder. It was the papers he’d received in the mail, but the names were not redacted. They were the autopsy reports for Halima, Otto, and Perry, but the fourth one had him shaking his head.

“He’s dead.” Titus’ voice was barely above a whisper.

“He can’t be.” Crash looked up at his old officer.

“He is, and there’s a lot you need to know.” Nick released Axel.

Crash’s head was spinning because if Nasir Hasan was dead, then who the hell killed his friends, and who was after Sidney? None of it made any sense.

“How long has he been dead?” Axel asked.

Titus finally stepped around the car door’s protection and closed it. He slowly moved toward Crash and Axel but stopped when Keith held up his hand.

“He showed up at my house five years ago. He wanted me to tell him where Aya was because his life was in danger.” Titus blew out a breath.

“Who was going to kill him?” Crash asked.

“Aya’s uncle,” Titus said.

“Nasir is her uncle,” Axel snapped.

“Yes, he is, but he isn’t the only one. Nasir wasn’t the bad guy. His brother was and still is.” Titus pulled his hands down over his face. “Look, I was only trying to protect a woman and child from someone I thought was going to do them harm.”

“Two of our team were killed. This guy couldn’t be too good if he killed Canadian soldiers.” Axel was pacing.

“Nasir wasn’t the one who killed them,” Titus informed them.

“What?” Crash closed his eyes to calm his rising anger.

When he opened them again, Titus had moved closer. Crash wasn’t sure they should trust what the man was saying, but why would he make this shit up? Unless he was working with Nasir and was trying to get close to Sidney.

“Why should we believe any of this?” Crash asked.

“It’s all in that file. I’ve been collecting evidence against this guy for years. I don’t know what he looks like because he never shows his face to anyone outside his circle. Nasir said his brother was cautious about keeping his identity hidden from people.” Titus held up a photo. “This is the only picture we could find of him, and he’s only about ten years old.”

Crash snatched the picture from Titus’ hand. It was old, with three little boys holding rifles and grinning and a little girl in the background. They appeared to be happy kids having fun, but the boy in the middle looked more ominous than the other two.

“The boy on the left is Nasir, the one on the right is Akram Hasan, and the one in the middle is the oldest brother. His name is Emir, but he’s been living between Syria and Canada for years. Nobody knows what name he goes by.” Titus stopped.

Crash glanced toward Axel. His face was red, and he looked as if he was ready to explode. This whole thing only made things worse. Their team had been sent not to save a woman and child but to bring them back to danger.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Axel began. “You sent us to rescue a woman and child from another country, and you being a high fucking rank, didn’t think to investigate.”

“I went through the channels and was told absolutely not, but I was never given a reason why we wouldn’t extract her. I was simply told no,” Titus explained.

“So, you decided, fuck them. I’m gonna be the hero and send guys to get her, but not tell them that they’re on our own over there. That backfired, didn’t it?” Axel’s agitation was written all over his face.

“The guy outside Ally’s house, we think it’s one of Emir’s men,” Aaron said.

Crash’s gut clenched, and his heart pounded in his chest. If that man had gotten into the house, he could’ve hurt Allyson or worse. He wasn’t a fan of Dr. Witt Davenport, but at that moment, Crash would give the guy a medal for being a nosey bastard. He did want to punch Titus square in the face for bringing all this shit to the doorsteps of people he loved.

“Do you know for sure?” Axel’s voice was a deep growl.

“Not for sure, but who else would it be?” Nick glanced at Titus. “He’s here to help.”

“Cause he was so fucking helpful in the past,” Crash said through gritted teeth.

“They were my friends, too,” Titus whispered.

Before anyone could stop him, Axel flew between Nick and Aaron. None of the men were quick enough to stop Axel’s fist from connecting with Titus’ face. Crash’s friend got two jabs in before Keith and Nick pulled him off the bleeding man.

“Your friends? You don’t know the fucking meaning of being a friend. Those men gave their lives for something they should never have been thrown into. I shouldn’t have to fight every God damn day to stay sober because every night, I see my friends blown to pieces in front of my face,” Axel shouted. “What the fuck do you dream about, you prick? I’m sure it’s nothing like me and Brent face in our dreams. You’ve never seen a day of active duty, yet you wore all those medals on your chest as if you’re the fucking hero. You should be stripped of those, you fucking coward.”

Keith and Nick were both large men, but it took all their strength to keep Axel from flying at Titus again. Crash understood the anger, but violence wouldn’t solve the problem—there had already been too much of it. He needed to defuse the situation.

“This isn’t helping, Ax,” Crash stepped in front of his friend.

“It sure as hell felt great to feel his nose break,” Axel yelled over Crash’s shoulder toward Titus.

It was then he smelled it. Axel had been drinking. Usually, his friend didn’t get out of control, but he had a short fuse when he drank. Crash grabbed his friend by the shirt, and Axel met his eyes.

“You need to go to a meeting?” Crash whispered.

Axel glared for a few seconds, but then the whole fight went off him. His legs buckled as he nodded. He would’ve dropped to the ground if Nick and Keith hadn’t held Axel’s arms.

“A.J., take my phone out of my pocket and call my dad.” Crash kept his eyes focused on Axel.

“I’m sorry,” Axel choked out the words.

“Nothing to be sorry for, man. We all trip,” Keith said.

Crash knew his life could be in danger, but Axel was in a bad way, and he needed all the support he could get. That was why Crash, his father, Keith, and Elijah headed to the closest AA meeting an hour later. Keith was careful as they drove out of the compound, and unless someone had seen the people in the back seat get in the armored SUV, they would never have known Crash was inside.

Axel sat between Crash and his father while Keith and Elijah waited outside the building. They probably could’ve pretended they needed the meeting, but Keith said he didn’t want to invade people’s private struggles. Crash appreciated his boss for understanding.

“Do I need to go back there again?” Axel asked as they got ready to leave the meeting.

“It’s for our safety,” Crash reminded him.

“I can’t go back there if that… If he’s going to be there. I can’t believe you aren’t furious about him being there.” Axel pulled on his coat.

“I hate this, and the truth is I think he should be held accountable for what happened, but you know it’s not going to happen. Keith will keep him away from us.” Crash hoped he was right.