Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
IBIZA
“We’re spinning back up.” Luke simulated the blades of a helo and twirled his finger in the air.
“Five or six of us are needed for this one.” Luke stood alongside his sister inside the lavish estate on the island, standing before Bravo and Echo Teams. Luke had awoken the guys just as they’d fallen asleep and lassoed them into the main living room.
Only two hours ago, they’d taken out a terrorist cell that’d been using the cover of a nightclub to traffic high-powered weapons and explosives.
Bravo and Echo Teams had managed to take out seventeen tangos without killing any clubgoers.
They’d consider that a win, especially since no one on their team had been clipped.
But now where were they heading?
Jessica pushed her black-framed glasses up to the bridge of her nose as she viewed the tablet in her hand.
She was in her standard white fitted tee and dark jeans.
Not much makeup. She did her best not to stand out with a so-called plain look.
But Bravo Three certainly had been paying a hell of a lot of attention to her since the moment he joined the team last winter.
“Two hours ago,” she began, her voice solemn, “a CIA officer and a member of SOG were taken in the Cabash area of Algiers. Chandler was there to meet with an asset that had possible intelligence on the AQIM, as well as the hacker responsible for selling the intelligence to them that caused the downing of a Black Hawk six weeks ago.”
A few muttered curses rumbled around Wyatt from his buddies. “You know the officer?” he asked.
It’d only been a few years since Jessica left the Agency, so it was possible.
“We met a few times,” Jessica replied. “A bit of a hell-raiser.”
“Like you, Peaches?” Bravo Three and his love to get under Jessica’s skin . . .
Wyatt hid a laugh at the sight of Jessica’s scowl directed Asher’s way.
“Anyway,” she said as if biting on the word, “the guy she was meeting up with betrayed her. From the sound of it, she and her partner were ambushed by at least ten armed men.”
“Their man on overwatch managed to take out several tangos, but he couldn’t prevent the abduction,” Luke added, his voice grim.
“And why are we going in? Why not send in additional paramilitary forces or—”
“They’re still waiting for the green light,” Jessica cut off Owen, who served as Bravo Two. “They’re trying to coordinate with the Algerian government, but they’re assuming if the AQIM is responsible, this is a ransom situation.”
“The request for us to move in and now is coming straight from POTUS. Not only is Chandler an operations officer, but she’s the daughter of Admiral Warren Chandler,” Luke said, his tone graver than if the words had been delivered by the Grim Reaper himself.
“And the man with her was a Green Beret before joining SOG. Family friend of the Chandlers as well.”
“This should be a quick in and out rescue and recovery operation.” Jessica flipped her iPad screen around to showcase the man and woman they’d be going after.
Wyatt’s brows pinched, and he took a step back. You gotta be bloody kidding.
Natasha Chandler. The Natasha. The woman he’d thought about tracking down after Clara’s wedding to pick up where they left off after that kiss on the beach.
He’d resisted finding her because she seemed sweet and innocent, and he was the exact opposite of what she probably needed—a shag and nothing more.
He’d joked she was CIA, but she’d easily tricked him with a little spy tradecraft.
He wasn’t sure if he was pissed at her lie, though he had no right to be given his current line of work, or, if possible, even more turned on and intrigued by the woman.
But she was also being held captive by a terrorist group, so he’d have to put his thoughts on hold.
“Echo’s got this,” Wyatt volunteered his team, working the words loose around the knot forming in his throat.
Luke nodded. “Then Owen can serve as extract.”
Owen spun his ball cap around and his hands went straight to his hips. He’d been a naval pilot before becoming a Teamguy, choosing to follow in his brother’s footsteps, who’d died serving their country as a SEAL. Owen’s flying skills came in handy more times than Wyatt could count.
Jessica showcased an aerial view of Algiers on her tablet.
“Chandler’s wearing a tracking device, so we have her GPS coordinates.
The military has a drone up monitoring every move of their abductors.
Six enemy combatants have them held at a house about a klick away from a historic Ottoman palace.
They’re north of the beach near the Caves of Jijel.
The landscape is rugged, which makes it pretty isolated.
You should be able to get in without any eyes on you. ”
“Too bad they didn’t take them back to their compound, it would’ve been nice to track them there and take out their entire base upon arrival.” He’d love nothing more than to get revenge for the men taken down on the Black Hawk.
“Unfortunately, they’re not dumb enough to do that,” Luke commented.
“What’s the infil plan?” Wyatt asked.
“You’ll insert in a few kilometers offshore,” Luke ordered. “Take a Zodiac craft with you, then when you get close enough, swim in. Hide your equipment in one of the caves.”
Wyatt looked around at his teammates, who stood stoic, prepared despite the lack of sleep. A.J., his right-hand man as Echo Two, gave him a firm We got this nod.
“Rules of engagement?” Roman asked, who served as Echo Four and their comms chief when he wasn’t rotating as main sniper with Wyatt.
He hadn’t gone to sniper school like Wyatt, but every man on their team was well-equipped to be both an assaulter and sniper.
Hell, medic and breacher when needed, too.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not getting in and out of there without taking some lives,” Jessica said. “This is Admiral Chandler’s daughter, after all. Do what you have to do.”
“These the same assholes responsible for taking down the Black Hawk in Algeria, or are they hired help?” Bitter anger crawled through Owen’s tone, mimicking the rage Wyatt felt on the inside at American lives lost.
Luke let go of a deep breath. “Looks like they’re with the AQIM, so engage as if they shot the missile at the Black Hawk themselves.
” The guys began to disperse to prep for the mission, but Luke shot a hand out to stop Wyatt from leaving with his team.
“You sure you want to do this? You’ve been up for almost two days. I can head this one up.”
The sultry sound of Natasha’s voice floated to mind, and he had to blink a few times to pull himself back to the present.
If anything happened to that woman . . .
He shook his head, and Luke released Wyatt’s arm.
“No, I’m good. And if I’ve been up for two days, you’re probably looking at day three without rack time.”
“One more thing.” Jessica’s blue eyes, the same shade as her brother’s, landed on Wyatt. “The admiral wants his daughter brought back here, and she’s not to leave until he arrives.”
“Holding her prisoner, huh?” He had no idea what Natasha was like in the field, but he couldn’t imagine she’d be thrilled about a bunch of secretive former SEALs telling her she had to stay put and wait for her dad.
“And what about the contractor with her?” he asked when Jessica’s silence served as response enough to his prisoner quip.
“He’s to catch the first flight back to Algiers per the Chief of Station’s orders,” she answered. “Natasha will most likely not be a fan of this plan. If she’s anything like me, she’ll be pissed her cover was blown.”
“What, she won’t be happy to see our handsome faces?” A.J. joined in on the conversation and threw an arm around Wyatt’s shoulder. “I’m sensing this Natasha woman is a feisty one?”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Wyatt grumbled, not meaning to let the order slip through, but like hell would he have A.J. hitting on her, especially now that he knew she wasn’t some telecommunications specialist at the State Department.
No, not only was she CIA, she was the admiral’s daughter.
“You good, Chief?” A.J. dropped his hand when Wyatt faced him.
Not really. “I know our target,” he said once Jessica and Luke were out of earshot. “Hell,” he added, “I’ve even kissed her.”
A few hours later, all five Echo guys were inside a plane similar to a C-130, prepping to jump off the coast of Algeria. Luke had hired the same pilot they’d used on the op in Ibiza, a former Air Force officer who lived in Spain.
Their team didn’t have the luxury of operating with official military planes given they didn’t technically exist, but they did have friends with access to fun toys.
One, in particular, was an expat living in Spain who had a rare collection of military vehicles. It was his plane they were currently flying in, and it’d be his customized Black Hawk Owen would swoop in on for Echo’s extract.
The wealthy expat had somehow designed the helo to be on point with the stealth bird used to infil Bin Laden’s compound.
The tail rotor had extra blades to reduce the noise, along with modifications to the main rotor for sound reduction.
And a paint job to make it difficult for infrared sensors to spot. Plus, a few more mods.
Admiral Chandler knew Luke’s team was being sent in to rescue his daughter, but the president had explained they were being hired as private military contractors, similar to SOG.
Having the cover of Scott & Scott came in handy for operations such as the one tonight.
And apparently, the admiral didn’t care what enemy lines were crossed as long as his daughter returned alive.
He didn’t want her spending weeks in some cage until the government chalked up a ransom, or even worse, was killed with her death broadcast online.
“Ready to save your girl?” A.J. asked while standing in preparation to exit the aircraft.
“Shut the bloody hell up.” He rolled his eyes and moved his goggles into place.