Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
“ I t is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
—Robert E. Lee
Beckham
I’d never wanted to be in the middle of a war but that’s exactly what it felt like at this point. All I’d been able to concentrate on during the last two days of preparation and travel had been getting Kenya back. Yes, I cared about what the Death Squad had planned. I was eager to see them go down in flames but for an entirely different reason than most.
We’d scrambled to ensure all the main assassin cells were covered and that they weren’t aware our various soldiers working alongside members of the DEA, ATF, various military organizations, and other local law enforcement agencies were standing by for a roundup of the assassins.
Although everyone had a feeling it was just going to turn into a bloodbath.
We were only a mile away from the compound’s entrance. With the contacts members of the Brotherhood had at the Pentagon, we not only had an exact location of the underground facility but had used infrared scopes to locate the recently installed security cameras. In addition, there were mostly invisible trip wires that James had worked tirelessly in discovering a way to shut down the sensors.
It hadn’t been as difficult as initially thought. Electricity was needed. While the compound had been designed with solar attributes and the use of natural gas, given the carved-out location in the mountains with thousands of square feet completely underground, a form of electricity was still needed.
I wasn’t going to assume I understood all the various details I heard from James and the various engineers already commandeered to be on our team, but I understood they had switching off the system under control.
At this point, my main concern was getting my wife from the clutches of madmen.
If she was still even alive.
I’d faced that ugly fact soon after the horrific tragedy, but I refused to believe it. Something told me she was still alive.
And if she wasn’t, there wouldn’t be enough of the fuckers left to imprison.
Constantine sighed as he moved toward me, crouching down where I was. “I just authorized the go on the media blast. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Too little, too late,” I growled. We’d had to calculate the possible mass hysteria, tempering the broadcasts with the help of some experts. We’d had to get it approved by trusted members of the Pentagon but no one else knew the blasts were coming.
“Stop worrying, my friend. We will get her back.”
The group had been lucky in that none of the other women had been injured, all following their safety protocols and making it to the panic room. Using our soldiers as staged wedding guests had paid off.
Their quick and trained reactions had been the reason only the men stationed on the outlying limits of our line of force had lost their lives.
It only added to my list of reasons to be pissed off.
Twenty-five of my men had lost their lives in the attack. Twenty-five.
A few of the Brotherhood’s men in addition. Every Brotherhood member was out for blood.
The fuckers hadn’t covered their tracks very well, but they’d used methods of subterfuge, pretending to be tourists while coming on land, alongside using boats and landing well enough away they’d remained under our radar. I had to admit the attack had been well coordinated, but given what they didn’t know, their arrogance would be their undoing.
The upper echelon of the Death Squad truly believed they could impose the hostage environment they’d set out to create.
Over my dead body and a lot of others.
“Good. Let’s get this over with. I have a honeymoon to get to.”
“Yes, you do.”
“We go in, we destroy. We leave.” I was on my feet, adjusting the assault rifle on my shoulder.
With walkie-talkies our current source of communication, Constantine gave the go order. We were coming in from all sides, taking out the soldiers assigned to walk the perimeter.
As a kid, I’d been brought up to believe I was invincible. My father had mostly encouraged it, allowing me to find refuge in what others would call dangerous hobbies: rock climbing, bungee jumping, surfing, and skiing. I was the adrenaline junkie of the family, something my mom and dad had believed I’d outgrow.
While I’d put those types of risky endeavors on the back burner when I’d moved up to being a lieutenant on my dad’s team while handling a significant volume of our day-to-day operations, the burning need had obviously never left.
I was completely in my element as we approached the secondary entrance, the one that had purposely been left off every schematic. I was being fueled by adrenaline and caffeine at this point, which suited me just fine.
At some point exhaustion would settle in but not until she was safely in my arms.
The rush of what I used to be also fueled my anger, but only enough to keep me on the edge, my senses heightened.
We were all dressed in black, our faces blacked out with the use of special paint, using the encroaching darkness as a partial cover. It also allowed us to use our infrared goggles, guiding our way through the thick foliage.
The two and a half days after the attack had been a whirlwind but it wasn’t as if we hadn’t been planning for this moment while engaged in our separate regimes. Those with solid leadership skills didn’t react, they acted on threats that were necessary. They were cautious in their undertaking, never letting their cards be shown.
That was one thing Pops had been good at training, ensuring I respected our privacy in all things.
However, I was also no arrogant fool. Without the help from every member of the Brotherhood, including the covert group led by Stavros, there would be no chance of success. None.
I would hold that thought in the back of my mind, providing my thanks when the job was done and we could all breathe easier.
So much of what had occurred seemed like a blur, an ugly fog that I’d tried to wade through but right now my mind was crystal clear, eager to finish this.
We swept through the forest like a well-orchestrated machine, waiting until the last minute to cut the power.
With precision kills, bodies of the enemy soldiers began to drop, which meant the folks underground had been alerted.
It was only a matter of time before they charged, but little did they know what we had in store for them.
As soon as explosives were placed on the main hatch, the power was cut and we backed away. The explosion was contained as it was supposed to be, allowing us to throw open the steel door and turn on our high-powered flashlights.
The closest I’d been to an actual war was through Camden’s eyes, his firsthand knowledge that had left a terrible imprint on his life.
With only honor as his reason, he’d encountered a sad yet authentic training ground for membership into my world.
It was days like today I valued the man more than he knew.
It was also times like this I realized how fucking lucky I was, including for my strong family ties. Not everyone had that.
I’d likely taken my life for granted, including the money and notoriety, the backup help in the form of my soldiers and their unyielding loyalty something I’d come to expect. Now I understood how valuable they were.
As I suspected every member of the Brotherhood did. As soon as we made our descent, it was another moment of utter chaos, shots being fired from every direction. We’d been prepared, initially using smoke canisters to help clear our way. As we fired off calculated shots, able to see clearly through our goggles and carefully crafted beams, slowly the peppered gunfire began to cease.
But we’d yet to make it to the main control location, the oversized room one an entire war could be controlled from. While the nuclear missiles had long since been disengaged, that didn’t mean other weapons hadn’t been installed.
We arrived just outside the room with caution.
Another crafted explosive was placed on the door, all of us taking cover as Camden pressed the mechanism.
The blast was horrific given the location, shrapnel flying everywhere. There was no time to check on anyone injured. It was full go, or we’d lose the momentum.
Yet as I rushed inside, another round of bullets flying, I did what I could to keep my patience.
Until I found what I was looking for.
As suspected, holding court inside the room was my uncle Mitchell and one of my two cousins. David was just as smug as I thought he’d be, acting very much like he was ready to take the international spotlight. I couldn’t care less whether either one survived the incident. What I hadn’t expected was seeing Kenya tied to a chair, her own father pressing the barrel of his weapon against her temple.
In the next moments that passed, an eerie silence took hold, captivating the entire room. With our soldiers outnumbering theirs, it wasn’t going to be a fair fight.
Not that I gave a shit.
I was here for two reasons and wouldn’t leave without satisfaction on both counts. But as the haze of gunfire and smoke residue slowly began to subside, I was the one who ventured forward. This wasn’t my fight alone, but Kenya did belong to me.
And as I’d told her several times before, no one touched her without facing my wrath.
“Uncle Mitchell. How fascinating to meet you here.”
He grinned as if he’d already won the battle. “Nephew. I wondered when you’d show. How does it feel to be on the cusp of something amazing?”
“If by that you mean the calculated dismantling of an empire that will soon face the kind of fates every member deserves, then damn good.”
His laugh was meant to piss me off. Instead, it encouraged me to swagger closer. I glanced at my wife, her eyes lit up with the fire I’d seen so often, the first thing that had attracted me to her in the first place.
“About time,” she said in her coy way.
“Yeah, well, we stopped to grab a burger on the way.” I scanned the room before heading toward the main computer console, nodding to James who’d swung in back behind us.
“I suggest you back down and take your men with you or your entire world will be turned upside down.” My uncle seemed to think this was up for debate.
“What happened to blood is thicker than water?” I couldn’t help but smile as James inched closer, prepared to share a glorious program that would rock their world.
“Unfortunately, your father killed that.” Mitchell was laughing to himself as if he already had control of the world.
As David stepped forward, glowering at me as I’d seen in pictures, I almost burst into laughter.
“Why don’t we show our visitors how we handle intruders?”
Uncle Mitch nodded to Kenya’s father and I was surprised when I noticed the man had beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face no one but my group could see. He wasn’t happy with the arrangement. Perhaps he’d learned his services were expendable.
I had every intention of using that to my advantage. “Go ahead, Boris. Kill your own daughter.”
The utter silence annoyed the hell out of my uncle. It did David as well. The moment my cousin raised his weapon, prepared to do something stupid, I simply shot him in the arm holding the gun. As it flew out of his hand, the tension mounted. Then I lifted the barrel of my gun toward my uncle. “It’s time for you to see the spectacle you’ve become.”
James didn’t need another cue, easily hacking into their system, finding one of thousands of reports that had gone out on every airwave, every news station and satellite radio across every continent.
As the broadcast began, the look of shock and awe on the faces of enemy soldiers was immediate. But Uncle Mitchell remained smug, even daring to roll his eyes.
“What the fuck does that mean? I’ll have that countered in ten minutes after we finish off with you. Men, take them out.”
I don’t know what the man expected out of the assassins. It would seem they were smarter than he was, dropping their weapons and fleeing instead. Little did they know what was in store for them when they reached the surface. They would face what every other major assassin cell was encountering at this moment.
“Oh, I assure you this isn’t just going to a select number of stations. It’s going out to the world. Oh, and for kicks and giggles, my team and I made certain every law enforcement agency was provided with details of the membership roster of your well-defined organization that was amassed over the last few years. I can’t wait to see the morning news.”
“You’re bluffing,” Mitchell said.
I turned my head toward Constantine. “Am I, gentlemen?”
“Not in the least,” Gabriel answered. “James, why don’t you show at least one fine group of men being rounded up as we speak.”
“Sure thing,” James said, flipping to a satellite homed in on the White House. In our careful planning, we’d secured a deal where the vice president would be arrested almost immediately, his very public arrest also shown on every major network.
At least I was able to see the hint of fear in my uncle’s eyes.
“Now, as you might imagine, I have a feeling that man is going to be happy to turn state’s evidence filling in any blanks once he finds out all the promises made to him were in vain. What do you think?”
“Kill her!” he ordered, and for a split second, I was certain Boris was going to do as he was told. He turned his weapon on his comrade instead, peppering off three shots in a row.
As Mitchell slowly began to fall against the communications console, I shook my head.
Even my beautiful wife made no sound.
“What a pity, American prick. But you always told me to take advantage of every situation.” He spit on the dead man, cursing in Russian. But there was a strange wavering moment as he peered down at his daughter. “I did love you, Anastasia. I truly did and I’m sorry.”
“Keep your apologies, Daddy. I have what I need now in Beckham.”
Boris glanced at me from head to toe, obviously sizing me up.
Unfortunately, the aging Russian made the mistake of attempting to turn the weapon toward me. From what little I knew about the man, it could be nothing more than a suicide mission of his own, but I wasn’t a fool, nor did I take those kinds of chances.
“ Pozabot’tes’ o moyey docheri ,” were his last words.
Take care of my daughter.
With a single bullet driven into his brain, I was now free to turn my attention to the woman I loved.
I knew that after I’d killed her father, she might hate me but I’d had no other choice. It was clear the man had wanted to die.
I didn’t need to ask Camden to untie her. He did so immediately and she bolted up from her chair, staring at me as if I was the Antichrist.
It was an odd moment, more so than any other. We had dead bodies, enemy soldiers being hunted and trapped, an entire world placed on edge given the information that had gone out and likely near madness. Yet here we were, the entire room remaining quiet, waiting for her reaction.
When she finally took several steps closer, still in her now filthy wedding dress, her hair a complete mess and dirt covering her face, I held my breath.
The brutal crack of her hand was just forceful enough that my head was moved to the side. I shifted my jaw, rubbing my chin as I accepted the blow. Sure, it was well deserved.
And there wasn’t a sound in the room. Not one. Not sucking in air or cursing under their breath. Just… silence.
“You bastard.” Her hiss was more powerful than her strike.
“I did what I had to do.”
She inched closer, her eyes piercing mine. Goddamn, I loved this woman. Her spunk. Her intelligence. Her verve for life. And her take no shit attitude.
“Yeah? Well, what took you so long? We have a honeymoon to get to.” When she threw her arms around my neck, I almost felt as if I’d been dropped into a twisted gameshow. Survival in the Wild. Hell, it might work.
As she crushed her mouth over mine, the entire group of men broke into applause.
I’d lived the kind of life so many people would dream of. I’d been allowed to enjoy all those finer things, toys, and treats that in the end wouldn’t matter. Heaven and hell. I wasn’t certain where I stood but I knew I wanted to become a better man.
For my wife.
For my children and grandchildren.
And for the men and women I was lucky enough to have gained respect from.
Today was a good day.
Okay, so it was one for the history books and by God, it had better not be repeated, but I still considered it one of the best days of my life.
Because I had the woman of my dreams in my arms.
The rest of the shit could wait.