Chapter Eighteen
SAUL CHUCKLED as he watched Dex Peters hit the floor of the training room for what had to be the umpteenth time. “You thought this would be easy, didn’t you?” He’d asked for volunteers to put Eve through her paces, and Dex’s hand had shot up in a heartbeat, even though she had four inches and about ten pounds on him.
Even I’d think twice about tangling with her.
Except he had an advantage over Dex—he’d read Eve’s file.
“She caught me off guard,” Dex protested, a little out of breath.
Saul grinned. “Nah, she’s been wiping the floor with you since I gave the go-ahead.”
Eve stood over Dex, her face flushed, eyes bright, hands on her hips. “You sure you don’t wanna shift?” That edge of amusement in her voice told Saul one thing.
Eve was enjoying herself.
The door opened and Crank ambled in. For a man as muscular as he was, Crank moved with a fluidity that never failed to impress Saul.
It also got him hard as a rock every single time.
And he’s all mine. Well, mine and Vic’s.
“Horvan says you need to get your ass—” Saul arched his eyebrows, and Crank coughed. “Excuse me, sir , but you’re wanted in a meeting.”
“Fine. I think we’re done here. Aren’t we, Dex?”
Eve extended a hand and hauled Dex to his feet. “No hard feelings?”
He huffed. “Just my ass that aches like a bastard from being dropped on it one time too many. Maybe we need to get padding for the floor.”
Crank guffawed. “Next thing you’ll be wanting is a bed in here so you can lie down and recuperate.”
Dex’s face reddened. Then he chuckled as he shook Eve’s hand. “You’re all right, Duncan.” He glanced at Saul. “You might’ve warned me.”
Saul raised his eyebrows. “Why? When you go on a mission, you don’t have a clue who you’ll be up against. You have to deal with the unexpected.” He pointed at Eve and smirked. “Meet the unexpected.”
“Yes, sir.” Dex gave a nod to Saul and Crank, turned, and headed for the door.
Eve sauntered toward Saul, that gleeful light still evident. “So is that it? Or is there someone else you want me to work over?”
Saul smiled when Crank brought a finger to his lips and snuck up behind her with all the stealth of a tiger stalking its prey. “No, I think that’s it, especially if I have a meeting to—”
A second later Crank pounced, and Eve ended up on her back, glaring at him. “Hey!”
“Now tell her why you did that,” Saul told him.
Crank smirked. “To show her there’s always someone better, and that she can’t ever let her guard down. Plus, it was fun.”
Eve propped herself up on her elbows and let out a chuckle. “Yeah, okay, it was fun for me too. Next time I’ll know better.”
“You’d better.” He stared back at her. “Okay, so you were bigger than him. That means dick around here. Size isn’t everything. Having smarts is what really counts, and not being afraid to fight dirty.”
She sighed. “I get it.” Crank held out a hand to her, and she hooked her leg around his calf, bringing him down with all the grace of a wounded buffalo. Then she sat astride him, grinding her ass against his crotch. She grinned. “Who says I’m afraid to fight dirty?”
Saul snorted. “Crank, get up. You’re enjoying that far too much.”
“I will. Just… gimme a minute.”
Eve performed another slow grind, and Saul laughed out loud. “I tell Roadkill and Hashtag about this and I know one gorilla that’s gonna get her ass smacked.” He gave Crank a pointed stare. “I thought we’re supposed to be in a meeting?”
Eve stood and helped him to his feet.
“Yeah, H wants both of you in the briefing room.” He glanced at Eve. “I like the way you fight.”
She snickered. “I know what else you like.”
Crank gave Saul a sheepish grin. Sorry .
Saul snorted. No, you’re not. And just because we’re mated, that doesn’t mean she isn’t sexy as fuck.
Crank grinned. As long as you know the only ones in my heart are you and a certain Greenland shark.
Saul and Eve followed him out the door and along the hallway. The main building at the Romeoville barracks comprised two training rooms, two meeting rooms, and a cafeteria and kitchen. From the sand-covered yard outside came roars and hollers as Troy had the guys working on their combat tactics.
Eve inclined her head toward the sound. “I should be out there.”
“Uh-uh. H needs you.” Crank glanced at her. “Plenty of time for that later.” He pushed the door open, and they filed into the briefing room. Horvan stood at the head of the table, large sheets of paper spread out in front of him. To his right was a guy Saul recalled having met when Horvan and Aelryn’s teams had swooped in to save his ass. Brick, Hashtag, and Roadkill were there too, along with a familiar face.
“Hey there, Doc.” Saul greeted him with a wave. “When did you get in?”
“Horvan picked me up at Joliet Airport, after he’d dropped off Keppler. He’s been filling me in on what you’ve learned.”
“Doc’s assembling the medical team for us.” Horvan gestured to the man at his side. “This is Johan, one of Aelryn’s top men.” He pointed to one of the sheets of paper. “This is what Hashtag found using the satellite. Milo’s drawing of the compound matches it exactly, only now we know what these buildings are. So gather round and take a look.”
Crank and Eve joined the others who stood at the end of the table.
Horvan pointed to the thin pale line that ran from east to west, ending in a large gray square. “This is their airstrip, and it’s long enough to deal with jets. We can easily land the Chinooks on it when we’re ready to take all the inmates outta there.”
“I didn’t know we had Chinooks,” Roadkill commented.
“You don’t—we do,” Johan informed him with a smile. “We’ve also got a mobile center of Operations. We’ll have all the headcams and mics online, so we’ll be able to monitor the whole shebang from one vehicle.” He gazed at Hashtag. “Horvan says you’re the best tech guy he has. You’ll be in Operations with our guys.”
Hashtag’s face tightened for a second, then relaxed. “Yes, sir.”
It didn’t take a genius to know what had just gone through his mind. Saul gave him a sympathetic glance. “I know, you wanna be in the thick of it, but this is a huge operation. Our most powerful weapon is intel, and that means we need our best on it. And like the man said, that’s you.”
“And it’s not as if you have a problem following orders. Right, soldier?” Horvan stared at him.
Hashtag straightened. “No, sir.”
Horvan smiled. “That’s what I thought. We’re assuming Fielding will arrive by plane, so we’ll take out whatever transportation we find there, mainly because we don’t want him to leave.” That earned a few snorts. “The buildings include a science block, what Milo called a reeducation block—basically where they conduct interviews or keep prisoners isolated—four barracks for the guards, five sleeping quarters for the inmates… you get the idea.”
“We’ve been going over the information Milo gave Horvan,” Johan continued, “and we think we’ve come up with a plan of attack. I’m going to lead Aelryn’s forces. We’ll be Team B.”
“And Saul, you’ll be in charge of our troops, Team A,” Horvan concluded.
Saul peered at the map. “How many men are we taking?”
“We think fifty should be enough, but we’re waiting on any last-minute information from Milo.”
Johan sighed. “It had better be enough. What with all the missions currently being conducted around the globe, it’s all we could scrape together.”
Saul perched on the edge of the table. “What are the variables?”
“We know there are usually about seventy guards at the camp, but we don’t know if they’re going to bring in more men for this goddamn inspection, or if Fielding is bringing his own team with him.” Horvan scowled. “We also don’t know when he arrives exactly, or how long he’s staying at the camp. He could be planning to be there less than twenty-four hours for all we know.” He glanced at Eve. “Have you had much experience of camp inspections?”
She frowned. “Two that I can recall, but they were both different. One was a last-minute visit with no warning, and that put the wind up the camp commander.”
Hashtag frowned. “Put the wind up? What does that mean?”
“It’s a British phrase meaning scared the bejesus out of.” Eve rolled her eyes.
Then Roadkill stilled. “Wait. You’re British?”
“I was born in the UK, but my parents moved here when I was ten years old.”
“Is that why you don’t have a strong accent?”
She laughed. “My parents would disagree with you on that one. I was involved in intelligence work, so I needed to learn to speak like an American. My natural voice? Definitely not like this.”
“Then what do you really sound like?” Hashtag demanded.
Eve locked gazes with him. “Why do you need to know? Got a thing for Brits?”
That flush told Saul she’d nailed it.
Hashtag huffed. “Well, fuck. That’s just great.”
“What’s wrong?” Eve demanded.
“Now I have to learn another language.”
Roadkill shook his head. “What the fuck are you talking about? It’s still English.”
He gave a goofy smile. “Yeah, but English never sounded that good. And you know what this means, right? We have to learn to like tea and drink it with our pinkies up. I’m too old to learn new shit like that.”
Eve chuckled. “Trust me, baby, you’re not. I’ve got all kinds of things I’ll want you to learn for me.”
Hashtag’s cheeks pinked. “You think you could talk British tonight? You know, when we’re—”
“Excuse me?” Saul glared at them. “Would it be okay with the three of you if we focused on the present situation? Leave the flirting for the bedroom, for fuck’s sake.” He stared at Eve. “Back to what you were telling us about surprise inspections.”
She flushed. “There was no time to put on extra guards, not that we were undermanned. I think he stayed a total of two hours.”
“And the other time?” Saul inquired.
“We knew the VIP would be staying a couple of days, so we had accommodations ready for him. And then we all tried not to look as if we were walking around on eggshells the whole time he was there.”
“So they’ve got a week to get ready for Fielding’s visit.” Saul nodded. “Then let’s hope Milo moves fast if there are any changes that’ll affect the mission.”
“And speaking of the mission….” Horvan pointed to the map. “Okay, here’s Allagash, roughly nineteen miles to the east of the camp, along the Saint John River. The Canadian border is about thirteen miles to the west. There’s a forest to the north of the camp, and the river meanders around it.” He pointed to a spot east of Allagash. “This will be Johan’s entry point: Northern Aroostook Regional Airport, about forty-four miles from Allagash. He and his men will land there, where they’ll have transportation waiting. They drive to Allagash, cross at Dickey to the northern side of the river, then follow the Old River Road all the way to the camp.” He paused. “Except we don’t go all the way.”
Crank snickered. “That’s not what I’ve heard about you.”
Horvan rolled his eyes, then continued, pointing to the river. “Team B will approach the camp from the water in Rigid Inflatable Boats.” Another pause. “Now, there are at least three civilian campsites along the river, so they’re going to have to appear as if they’re out on military maneuvers.”
Eve peered at the map. “There’s only the one road that goes to the camp?”
“Yes. The entrance to the compound is in the northeast corner, and there’s electrified fencing around the perimeter. Obviously we can’t approach the entrance, not without alerting them to our presence.”
“Maybe we can.”
Horvan stared at her. “I’m listening.”
Eve leaned back in her chair. “Okay, I’ve worked in three camps so far, and they all had one thing in common: They were shit hot on security. So much so that any deliveries—ammunition, food, you name it—were always scheduled to arrive in the middle of the night. That way, there was never any likelihood of inmates trying to escape by clinging to the underside of trucks or climbing on top of them. Once they were in their sleeping quarters for the night, that was it. They were locked in. So the soldiers would unload the deliveries and send the trucks on their way without having to keep an eye out for wannabe escapees.” She smiled. “If there’s only one road in, then any delivery trucks will have to take that road.” Her eyes gleamed. “Of course, if we hijack the trucks before they get to the camp….”
“A Trojan truck.” Saul beamed. “I like it.”
“And if there are trucks, then there’s a schedule. Milo can check whether there are any deliveries planned for that weekend.” Eve bit her lip. “I suppose it’s too much to hope for.”
“We can plan for our two-pronged attack—and if luck is on our side, then it becomes a three-pronged attack.” Horvan smiled. “What do sailors say about plans being written in the sand at low tide?”
“If we can hijack the delivery truck, I think Eve should lead that assault,” Saul declared. He glanced at her. “You up for that?”
She grinned. “Sir, yes, sir.”
“Question.” Roadkill drummed the table with his fingertips. “Milo said we’d need to secure the airfield. Drones?”
Horvan nodded. “We’ll have Predators for reconnaissance, then use them for air-to-ground weapons. Once we’re inside the camp, it’ll be nonlethal ammo, unless we’re fired upon. We’ll have cover from a couple of Apaches too, once we’re in.”
“Pepper rounds?” Hashtag inquired.
“Yeah, .68 caliber.”
Eve blinked. “Is that standard procedure?”
Roadkill shrugged. “Sure. They make the target cough, and the PAVA powder stings like fuck when it gets into contact with the eyes, nose, and throat, but they’re still alive. Sometimes we use Byrna MAX, which is mostly tear gas. That brings ’em down for about forty-five minutes, long enough to get in, do our thing, and get out.” He cocked his head. “Let me guess. In the Geran camps, the guards only use live ammo.” She swallowed, and he sighed. “Figures. Don’t get me wrong, there are going to be deaths, but our mission goal is getting the inmates out of there in one piece.”
“What will happen to them?” Eve asked.
“There’s space for them at the schools in Boston and Croatia,” Johan told her.
“But… didn’t you shut down the schools?”
Johan smiled. “Why do that when we can use the buildings? We have to teach these kids somewhere.”
“For ‘teach,’ read ‘deprogram.’” Hashtag murmured.
Johan nodded. “And that takes time.”
“Wait—you kept them in the same schools?” Roadkill’s eyes were huge.
“They’re only bricks and mortar. What matters is that all those kids have a good home life and normal schooling. No indoctrination, just a solid education. Mind you, we did take the Boston kids to Croatia and vice versa. I don’t think half those children knew what had been going on. By all accounts, they were treated well. But try explaining why your mom and dad don’t want you to come home. And we couldn’t leave them in the same buildings. That’d be like freeing people from the concentration camps and telling them the torture would end but they still had to live there. The point I was trying to make is that there’s plenty of space at the schools to house the inmates, and they’ll be well looked after.”
“But Jake, Seth, and Jamie will be coming home with you, surely,” Doc remarked.
Horvan chuckled. “Of course they will. I like my balls where they are.”
Brick snickered. “No one who’s ever had a cat would underestimate them.” He glanced at Crank. “And what are you grinning about, you doof?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m realizing for the first time what the phrase pussywhipped really means.” He gave Horvan an innocent gaze. “And speaking of pussies… how come you managed to hold this meeting without your mates being here?”
Horvan sighed. “I had to promise them all the facts when I got home. Well, that and copious sexual favors.” Saul let out a muffled snort, and Horvan eyed him with amusement. “Laugh it up, but your time will come. We will do anything for our mates, right?”
Saul glanced at Crank, and warmth flooded through him. “Yeah.”
Horvan cleared his throat. “We’re going to start moving the troops into the area on Tuesday. Time enough for several recces. Then as soon as Milo gives us the go, we’ll be in and out.”
“You know what will happen to him if they get so much as a whiff of what he’s doing, don’t you?” Eve’s face was pale beneath the tan.
Horvan’s expression grew solemn. “Yeah, we know.”
“But it won’t come to that,” Saul announced.
Crank’s eyes were warm. Yeah, talk it into existence.