19. Lincoln
Lincoln
I swear to Christ if she left the God Damn White House unprotected while I was on this mission I would tan her ass when I got home.
I usually used my time in transport to go over mission specifics and reports; this morning, however, I was thinking about how infuriating my wife was.
My head was not in the right place for this op.
Thoughts of Jasmin invaded every corner of my mind.
Her sweet little body under mine, her capture and torture, her nightmares.
They were all flashing together in a jumbled mess that only fucked with my mind more.
Not to mention, that fucked up stunt she pulled.
Trying to play me as just a dick to warm her bed.
Two fucking years, I lived and breathed filth and shit.
I chased some cocksucker over four different countries to find those women.
To dole out the punishment he deserved. It was slow and it was painful.
By the time I found him, there was only ten of the original fifteen women left, but the piece of shit had added twelve more to his stable.
Twenty-two women were rescued and returned to their countries of origin. Ten came back to the United States.
I gave up two God damn years to finally come home and claim my wife and her ass threw me attitude.
If I was being honest with myself, I knew she would.
I knew it would be a struggle. Nothing was ever easy with Jasmin.
That was why I fell in love with her; she was all fire and sass.
You had to work your ass off to get to the sweet.
But once you got there, it was pure beauty.
I needed that back. I craved to have that back.
She soothed my soul and kept my demons at bay.
After this mission, I would make things right. I would not allow my pride to ruin me.
“Ten minutes out.” The pilot’s voice crackled over the headset.
“Copy,” Zane confirmed.
I laid my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.
I had ten minutes to lock that shit down and focus.
When I opened my eyes, I could see The Farm in the distance.
We would use the landing pad in the center of the oval driving course.
I tried to distract myself by identifying all the additions Zane had made in the last two years.
There was a new sleep cabin, a new shoot house, and it looked like the shooting range had been expanded somewhat, if all the new steel target systems were any indication.
“That a new rodgers range?” I inquired.
“Hells to the yes,” Jax answered. “When this shit is over, you and me. Best time wins.”
“Shit yeah, you wanna place a wager on that?” I asked Jax.
“I got a c-note that says I smoke your ass.” His lips twitched as he tried to hold back a smile.
“Shit, I’ll gladly take that bill off your hands, bro,” I joked back. Damn, it felt good to smile. The last twenty-four hours had been absolute hell. I needed this.
I felt the helicopter start to descend and the aerial view of The Farm narrowed to just the landing field. We touched down with ease and Zane slid the door open. I quickly pulled my headphones off and grabbed my bag, patting the pilot on the shoulder as I prepared to exit.
“Smooth flight, thanks.”
I jumped to the ground, keeping low as I ran from the helicopter to the waiting Suburban.
Our first stop was the armory to get our gear and weapons.
Holy hell, if I had thought the armory at Z Corps’ HQ was badass, this was the motherlode.
Our gear for the mission had already been laid out for us on the larger work table in the center of the room.
I made my way over to a pack and started to inspect my equipment.
Picking up a fully kitted out Colt M4 carbine, I racked the weapon, leaving the slide open, pointing the M4 toward the wall, and checked the Trijicon reflex sight.
Clear and crisp. Perfect for close quarter operations.
I placed the M4 down and did the same with the SigP220 .
45ACP before I strapped my SERPA thigh rig on and holstered my weapon.
“God Damn, Z, you win the lotto?” Eric whistled as he inspected his gear.
“I think I need a raise if you can stock all this shit,” Leo said, noting all of the expensive gear.
“Yeah, cause your ass is broke,” Zane shot back.
“Fuck, the raise. I just want a week here at The Farm with unlimited ammo once a month as a perk,” Colin joined in as he checked the number of chem sticks on his tac vest.
“All a bunch of jokers, no raises, no free ammo.” Zane laughed. “You assholes get plenty of perks. Finish up in here. Garrett is ready for an updated brief.”
Zane finished checking his gear and started to walk out the door when he suddenly stopped and turned back toward us. “Though, Jax, if you can smoke my brother’s ass on the range, there will be a five hundred dollar bonus for you.”
All the guys snickered and laughed. I bent at my waist in an exaggerated laugh, pretending to wipe a tear from under my eye. “Oh, brother, that shit was funny.”
He just shook his head at my antics and continued out the door. We all followed him down a hallway into a conference room.
Zane wasted no time loading the video conference feed onto the large LCD monitor that hung on the wall. Garrett on half the screen and Drew on the other.
“Update.”
“Codes are filed and verified. Mission name: Sierra, Sierra. Countersign: Nightlight. Password of the day: Parris,” Garrett clipped.
I wondered if that man had left his desk in the last forty-eight hours or if he even slept. I hoped Zane had finally hired someone to help him, poor bastard.
“Copy that.” Zane smiled. “I see the director did not find the humor in my mission report. ”
“No, Sir, he did not. I believe his exact words were, ‘how stupid does this cocksucker think I am?’ I think he has caught on. He thought you were naming all your missions after the tail you bagged, however the Traci Lords op gave you away.”
“Damn, I knew that one was too obvious.” Zane chuckled. “Drew, you got anything new for us?”
“Captain Black has checked in again; the tunnels are still clear. You’ll have safe passage to the other side.
Black has an informant they use from time to time.
He told the kid to spread the word that the border patrol was going to be doing exercises in the area.
The drug runners will stay clear,” Drew filled us in. “Jasmin has something to add.”
Drew stood up and Jasmin replaced him on the screen. She had her hair pulled up in a high ponytail that gave me an unobstructed view of her beautiful face. I studied her for a moment, her mask of professionalism clearly in place. She gave away no emotion as she began to speak.
“Intel came back on the guards. Three men, all South African Special Forces; Tito Lee, Junior Alco, and Banele Yost. All three spent six years as Recces. When they left, they started offering personal protection for the dirt bags of the world. They are excellent at what they do, including safe transport for drugs and girls as well.” Jasmin stopped and looked down, obviously to scan a report in front of her.
She looked up and continued. “Do not underestimate these mother fuckers.”
“Copy that. Do we have their service records and pictures?” Colin asked.
“Yes, I have already sent that information to Zane’s tablet. Their client list and last known ops are also there. If at all possible, I am sure the director would love to rendition their asses.”
“The director can kiss my pale white ass. That cocksucker would love nothing more than to send us out to do his dirty work and then leave our asses flying in the wind. Fuck that noise. Let him send out his own God damn team.” Eric crossed his arms over his chest, looking like he was ready to spit fire.
All of us in this room had been burned by the CIA at one point in our careers.
It still burned my ass to have to play nice with the bastards.
I hated to have to eat shit, yet whenever the CIA stuck their nose in an op, that is exactly what you had to do, eat shit.
Eric was not wrong. The director was notorious for letting an operative swing in the wind to save his own ass. So much for playing on the same team.
“That all you got, Jas?” Zane asked as he scanned the information on his tablet .
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zane stiffen, but before I could fully study his reaction it was gone.
I racked my brain for any recollection of the three shit bird guards, but I was coming up empty.
I could not remember ever hearing their names, which is a red flag in my book.
When you’re in the game long enough, you know all the players.
You make it your business to know every detail. It could be a matter of life and death.
“What is it, Zane?” I asked.
“All good.” He looked up, his eyes boring into mine.
With a nod of acknowledgment, I let it go. Zane was not ready to share. I trusted my brother. He would never keep something important from his team.
“That’s all I got, boys. The jet will be landing in,” Jasmin stopped to look at her watch, “fifteen minutes. Flight plan to San Diego has been filled. Your transport to the tunnel will be awaiting you. See you all tomorrow, out.”
Before I could even blink, Jasmin’s side of the screen went blank.
My gut twisted in an uncomfortable knot.
Something felt off. My head was so fucked I could not work out if it was all the shit swirling around with Jasmin or if something was off about the mission.
Christ, I had to pull my head outta my ass before I got myself dead. My gut was always right, always.
“Garrett, you got anything else?” Zane looked up from his tablet.
“That’s all I got. I’ll be on standby at HQ.”
“No, you won’t. Go home and get some rest. You look like shit, brother. Drew and Jas can take over from here.”