Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“Fuck, we've got to stop talking about this in the office,” Jag said, as he spied Irish, Angel, and Growler coming out of Ox’s office.
He wasn't concerned about them all meeting with their boss.
He'd seen the suspicion in Irish's eyes as he’d approached them, and they’d stopped talking.
They were all former special forces operatives, they should know how to be covert.
But they were all just so damn excited to do this for the guys and their partners.
All four of them had been a little lost when they’d decided to leave the Navy and leave their SEAL careers behind.
They’d still wanted to do good in the world and had been keen when Ox approached them to join Alliez.
They worked with the FBI to rid the world of assholes who took advantage of the innocent, in addition to other security work.
It gave him, and the others, the satisfaction of doing good, without some of the constraints they dealt with when they were in the Navy.
Which was why they wanted to do what they were planning. To show Ox and the others, that they saw themselves as part of the Alliez family.
“You're right,” Fox said. “Why don't we all meet at my place tonight, and then we can discuss what we're going to do next?”
“We've got the basics of our plan sorted. It’s going to take a bit of organizing, and we can't do it in the office. It's just too difficult, and they're going to be watching us even closer.”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Hound lifted his chin to the right. Jag followed his line of gaze and saw Irish, Angel, and Growler all watching them with arms crossed over their chests.
Jag swallowed a laugh. That wasn’t suspicious at all. It was almost humorous, the way they thought they were being covert, but instead were being so obvious. Perhaps Jag and his friends weren’t the only ones who’d lost their secretive skills after leaving the military.
“You good?” Jag asked the three of them.
Irish stepped forward. “Yeah, are you?”
Irish's reputation preceded him, and when they first joined Alliez, Jag had to admit he’d been a little bit concerned with what he'd heard about the former Delta.
But then he'd worked with the guy, and there was nothing immoral about Irish or his actions.
Everything Irish did was done with purpose.
And so, whatever had ended his career as a Delta, Jag didn't believe the rumors that swirled about it.
“Yep, we’re just shooting the breeze.” Jag leaned back in his chair.
“Whoa! What’s with all the testosterone flying around?” Cass, Irish’s wife and Alliez’s computer whiz, looked at all of them. “Whatever it is, pack it away, we’re a team. Don’t forget that.”
She shook her head and turned around, heading back in the direction that she came from.
Jag blew out a breath. Cass had a point, they were all a team, and while what he and his friends had planned was for the other guys, he didn’t want them to think they were trying to cause a rift.
He could let them know a hint of what they were planning, without giving it all away.
“Look, everything’s good. We’re chatting about something we want to do. Nothing sinister. Or nefarious.”
The three men shared a look, almost like they were having a secret conversation. Which wasn’t surprising considering him and his friends did the same thing, especially when they were on a mission and being quiet was the difference between life and death,
Eventually, Irish nodded. “Fine. But if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know.”
“Will do.” Jag responded. They drifted away to their various desks, and Jag rolled his shoulders, getting rid of the tension in them.
“Fuck, we definitely need to take this out of here,” Deal said. “Your place sounds good, Fox. What time?”
“Come around six thirty, we can order food and make the final plans to Operation Keeping Christmas.”
At seven, they were all sitting in Fox’s living room with six pizza boxes spread out on the coffee table. A brightly lit Christmas tree sat in the corner.
“Fuck, dude, do you need any more Christmas decorations?” Hound complained.
Jag had to admit he never picked their team leader as someone who loved Christmas, but with how every surface was covered with garland, Fox clearly loved the season.
“It’s not often we’re home for the season. I decided to celebrate it.” Fox picked up a slice of pizza and took a big bite, as if he had zero fucks to give.
“It certainly is jolly,” Jag joked, and dodged a screwed-up napkin Hound tossed in his direction.
“You know what’s missing?” Deal looked around, as though he was searching for something.
“What? A talking Santa?” Hound tossed back.
“Nope, although I’m sure now that you’ve suggested it, Fox will try and hunt one down,” Deal said, a big grin on his face. “What’s missing is Christmas music.”
They all groaned, but Jag reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. A few seconds later, the dulcet tones of Bing Crosby singing about how it was beginning to look like Christmas filled the room.
“You’re right, Deal, this is what’s missing,” Fox laughed.
For the next few minutes, they ate their pizza and listened to Christmas music. This is what Jag liked about his friends; they gave each other shit, but they had, and always would, have each other’s backs.
“Right,” Fox started, as the pizza boxes were cleared away. “We need to nail this plan down and make sure every contingency is accounted for. We don’t want to freak the babies out, and we don’t want to have anymore situations like we had at the office today.”
“How are we going to get them all to the location? You know they’re all going to talk to each other about us more, now that we’ve raised their suspicions.” Hound picked at the label on his bottle of beer.
“I don’t think it matters if they do. They still won’t know what’s going to be waiting for them when they get there,” Jag stated.
“True. They’ll be cautious, but the invitation will be from us, not some random stranger, so they’re not going to go in with guns at the ready,” Fox said.
“You hope; after today, anything is possible,” Deal countered.
Jag shook his head. “Doubtful, not with their wives and kids with them. Once they see the place, and what we’ve done for them, and their families, they’ll forget about all their concerns.”
At least Jag hoped they would. They were planning a Christmas surprise, not a coup.