Backup
Wrenly
I was exhausted in a way I never experienced in my life. It was a mixture of adrenaline, emotions, and sleep deprivation. Looking back on the day, it was no wonder why I was so exhausted when it was over.
Many times, Creed’s Lake sent their operatives off on a bus, but at 0300 hours we watched as the private jet, that not only held twenty three operatives but also Magnus, flew off into the night sky.
I learned something I never once stopped to consider. It was something I saw that literally made my blood run cold. They loaded a casket into the jet. A fucking casket to possibly bring home an operative that was living and breathing on that jet now, but could die in the next twenty four hours. Travis said normally the families would say goodbye at the command center, but none of the operatives sent out today had families in attendance. In all reality for many of them, we were their family.
For this particular mission, Drakos was backup in the command center. We worked to watch the landing strip our jet was using to make sure it was still safe to land. Once our units were on the ground, they separated. Some went to Lima and others were to lay low and look like tourists until their transportation arrived. It was during that time when Travis gave me orders to go rest until 1700 hours just before the first unit was to engage. I refused, not wanting to leave him or miss anything. Many of the command center operatives were busy at work, using satellites to give Travis visuals of the areas.
Creed came by with lunch for everyone and to check in to see if any of our operatives encountered any hostiles. I was always amazed when in a command center and witnessing what all could be done with satellites. We could see the transporting vehicles taking our operatives to Lima. Creed’s Lake obviously cost Creed billions to build because the command center didn’t look much different than the ones I saw in the military.
I was even more amazed as I watched Travis take a seat in front of one of the computers and pull up the satellite feed he wanted. I didn’t know he was trained so well in computers, which was a training I was never offered in the Marines. Delta Force was the most elite special ops program of our time, and I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Creed left and the clock ticked on and on. We had been in the command center for around fourteen hours when Drakos ordered dinner. I was nervous, not because I didn’t have faith in our teams, but because I had never seen a civilian special ops mission and certainly never one that involved so many innocent children. There were rows and rows of computers, tech operatives that were both savvy and quick to respond. Above the rows of computers were several television screens and currently the largest screen was split into two maps and with the help of GPS, we could watch as our teams traveled toward their target locations. On the two medium screens were the satellite images, then next to them was the feed from the squad leaders on the on man camera that allowed us to see what was happening and they were in direct communication with Travis. One of them being Magnus. Drakos had communication with each operative and was communicating with them as backup to Travis.
The first engagement would begin at 1730 hours and the next was to occur at 1900 hours. Eventually, Travis had me looking over the GPS on a smaller screen and I was counting down the kilometers and minutes until their arrival. The first unit was in the air and approaching the target location.
From that point on, time seemed to move faster and faster. Travis paced as he yelled out orders, while Drakos kept his eye on the second team as they also approached their target location.
I would glance at Travis, standing with his hands behind his head as he watched the feed from the squad leaders. Not only was he communicating with them, but also our tech team as they shouted out what they were seeing from their heat sensitive satellite feed. They could see people moving around, but had to distinguish between the operatives and the hostiles.
I hadn’t really been on that side of the missions. I was always on the ground, but I had only been on six, where Travis had probably been on dozens. The missions went on for hours, both successful, but also extremely stressful. I was leaning more and more toward the DV division of Creed’s Lake as the days went by.
Once the operatives and the rescued were on the black hawks, Travis told me to go on home, but I knew he was exhausted, and I wasn’t leaving him. Those missions were successful because of his brilliance, and I was so damn proud of him.
He stayed until the black hawks landed and all the operatives were safely in the jet with the rescued woman and children. The mission wasn’t over for Travis. He still had to get things ready for their return and our new guests for a few days. They would be looked over by the medical team before they were settled in for their short stay and send back to their home countries. Travis and his two teams didn’t just make a few million dollars for Creed’s Lake, they just saved several innocent lives. Their high value targets were taken out, saving more lives of those who would have been enslaved in the future. I had already found a sofa as I waited for Travis. The command center was nearly a ghost town, except for a few agents and their air traffic controller. Travis plopped down beside me, and I laid my head against his shoulder and yawned. I knew the mission wasn’t over and couldn’t imagine how exhausted Travis was by the end. He took my hand. “Come with me.” He stood and I followed. He opened the door to the bunker, and we walked by three doors until he used his palm to open one. Once he did, he pulled me into an apartment and then into a bedroom.
I laughed, despite my exhaustion. “Just like old times?”
He chuckled. “Except this time, we won’t wake from our nap for snack time.”
We both crawled into the bed, then he pulled me into him. “Now it’s like old times.”
He yawned and that was the last thing I remembered before his phone went insane.