CHAPTER SEVEN
The great thing about being in D.C. was that there was always someone they knew. An old teammate, someone from the government that they’d worked with, FBI or CIA agents they knew. Even the occasional Secret Service agent.
The horrible thing about being in D.C. was there was always someone who knew them.
The team always stayed away from popular restaurants or bars, opting to either order room service at their hotel or visit local, neighborhood restaurants where it was typically just the average person in attendance and not too crowded.
Tonight would not be that kind of night. Opting for a local neighborhood pub that served good pub food, they found their seats and waited to order.
“Hey,” frowned Tanner, “that’s Logan. Logan Anders.”
“Shit, you’re right,” said AJ. He walked over to the table in the corner and pulled out a chair. Logan never lifted his head.
“I’m not in the fucking mood,” he growled.
“Well, I’m not in the fucking mood either,” smirked AJ. Logan slowly lifted his head seeing the four familiar faces. Wyatt stared into his eyes and knew something was drastically wrong.
“Logan? Logan, brother what did you take?” he asked. He opened his lids, staring at the pupils, then began taking his vitals.
“What did he take? What the fuck are you saying?” asked Tanner.
“He’s taken something. His pupils are dilated, he’s sweating even though the air conditioning is blasting, and his nail beds are turning gray.”
AJ knelt beside him, gripping his jaw. He heard Tanner behind him calling for the Osprey.
“Logan? Logan, what did you take?” he asked.
“N-nothing. I was poisoned. Not my choice mind you. I would have preferred something else but here I am. Dying.”
“Poisoned? What the fuck dude? We need to get you to the hospital,” said AJ. Logan shook his head.
“They won’t know what to do. It’s top secret. Everything is fucking top secret.”
“Logan, what happened?” asked Wyatt.
“They killed a bunch of kids. They fucking blew up that school knowing it didn’t have anyone in it other than kids and teachers. You know why? Because that fucker is sick!”
“He’s not making sense,” said Hiro. “Let’s get him to the runway.”
“I’ll be dead before I can get home. They made sure of it,” he smirked. “It’s why I didn’t call anyone. I’ll be dead anyway. Will you tell my parents, grandma and grandpa, that I love them?”
“No, I will fucking not!” yelled Wyatt. “Get up!”
Logan was like his father and grandfather. He was big. Viking big. Tall, broad, heavy, blonde, and big. But so was Wyatt and so were the other men. Gripping his arms they lifted him from the chair and shuffled toward the door.
“Hey, is he okay?” asked the bartender.
“No, he’s sick. Did someone come in with him?” asked Hiro.
“Not in with him but someone dropped him at the door and left him. I thought he had someone coming to take him home or something.”
“Fucking idiots,” frowned AJ. “Base what’s the ETA?”
“Five minutes. Evie was in Baltimore. Get him to the runway. Doc is with her.”
“Good news, Logan. Looks like your fucking luck just kicked in. You’re gonna live, brother,” said Wyatt.
The entire drive to the private runway, Wyatt was relaying the stats for Logan. Although they wouldn’t know exactly what happened or what caused the poisoning, Doc knew he could keep him alive until he got to the pond.
Safely on the plane, the door closed before they could even wave goodbye, the four men stared at one another, wondering what the fuck happened to Logan Anders.
“I’m worried about him,” said Wyatt.
“I am, too,” said AJ, “but we have to worry about our issues. Doc and the others will take care of him. What would be the ultimate goal of these hackers? The credit cards seem easy. Steal as much as you can. But the hacking in through the backdoor to get to a business is new.”
“Not government business,” said Wyatt. “It’s going to be interesting to see the gaming being used at the DOD in their training programs. If someone is getting in through that backdoor, they’re in big trouble.”
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” said Tanner. “I’m still hungry. Anyone want to whip into that burger joint up there?”
“I’m in,” said Wyatt. The others nodded as he pulled into the parking lot. For nearly ten on a weeknight, it was packed, which meant it was probably pretty damn good. They were on the outskirts of Georgetown, which meant lots of high school and college kids with money and privilege.
They knew that by looking at the parking lot as well. BMWs, Mercedes, Jaguars, even a Maserati. These kids had money.
The smell of meat over an open flame hit their nostrils the moment they walked inside. The patrons seemed to be a mix of college aged kids, most likely from Georgetown and other colleges, and locals in their Gucci loafers and Thomas Pink button-downs.
“Strange clientele,” smirked AJ.
“How can I help you, gentlemen?” asked the young girl.
“What do you recommend?” asked Tanner.
“Our burger is what we’re known for. I like mine with bacon and avocado and our homemade pepperjack cheese. It’s delicious. And you have to get the fries. We season them with a Cajun seasoning mix.”
“Sold,” said the men in unison.
“Give us four with fries and four sodas,” said Hiro.
“No problem.”
She handed them their receipt and a placard with a number on it. Fifteen minutes later they were moaning in pleasure, biting into the juicy burgers. Wyatt ate his, ordered a second and was done with it before the others were done with their first one.
“Damn, that was good,” smiled Hiro. “Now, I can sleep.”
“Before you boys lay your heads down, just know that you saved Logan’s life.
Riley and Suzette said five minutes later and he wouldn’t have made it back here in time.
We dropped him in the pond from the Osprey.
Literally stripped him in the chopper and dropped him from twenty feet in the air,” said Luke.
“Shit,” muttered AJ. “Do we know what he was given?”
“Not yet but there’s some shit that needs to addressed and the team and I are working on that. Just know that he’s alive because of you guys. How did you know where he was?” asked Luke.
“We didn’t,” said AJ. “We went to get some food and there he was. I think we can safely assume this has Mama Irene and Matthew written all over it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have found him before it was too late.”
“Amen, brother. Amen.”
“That’s so fucking crazy,” said Tanner. “That bar was random for us. It seemed quiet and out of the way. The odds of us choosing that place, at that time, was unbelievably high. I hate to think if we’d gone anywhere else.”
“I think that’s point,” said AJ. “There’s no way we could have gone anywhere else. Someone was making sure of it. We all felt the need to stay close to the hotel and we all were looking for simple fare.”
They tossed their trash and walked outside, noticing a group of young men that appeared to be arguing with one another. They were college kids still dressed in their preppy gear.
“Fuck me, not tonight,” said Wyatt.
“They’re probably drunk, brother. Let them bash each other’s heads in,” said Tanner. Then all four men noticed something they didn’t like. A woman in the mix and the two men at the heart of the argument, yanking on her arms.
“Well, I guess that settles it, doesn’t it? Exercise before bed, boys?” said Hiro.
“Fuck my life,” frowned Wyatt. “Yes but so help me if I get my shirt dirty someone owes me a new one.”
There were several young men on both sides of the girl who was crying, trying to break free, begging to be let go. They all looked to be early twenties, possibly late teens.
“Let the girl go,” said Hiro standing at the periphery, his arms folded across his chest.
“Fuck off,” said one young man ignoring his ask.
“Okay, I’ll make you let the girl go.”
Hiro was so fast, so skilled, he spun his body low, then leaped up, kicking one man’s arm and hearing a snap. When he hit the ground, he gripped the other man’s arm, hearing the same sickening snap. While their buddies were staring at Hiro, Tanner grabbed the girl.
“Do you have your own car?” he asked calmly.
“Y-yes,” she sniffed. “They wouldn’t let me go!”
“Are you hurt? Did they break anything, cause you any harm?” She shook her head, looking down at herself as if she needed to be certain. “Well you’re free now. Get the fuck out of here.”
She ran to her car and sped from the parking lot, leaving her rescuers behind.
“You broke my arm! I’ll sue! My father’s a lawyer,” yelled one of young attackers. AJ smiled at him, holding up his phone.
“I’m so glad,” he grinned. “I’ve got all of this on video and I’ve already downloaded the videos from the cameras of the restaurant. You tell your daddy to give me a call and we’ll talk about the charges of attempted abduction and sexual assault on that young woman.”
“Dude, let’s just go,” said one of his friends.
“No! Fucking kick their asses,” said broken arm number one. “There are more of us than them.”
“Do you guys mind if I sit this one out?” asked AJ. “I’ll just keep filming. Between the three of you this shouldn’t last long.” The others smirked, nodding.
“Everyone here over the age of eighteen?” asked Wyatt. The young men all stared at him, then nodded. “Good.”
With five quick thrusts, he punched five young men in the face.
All five fell to the hard concrete parking lot, completely knocked out.
He rubbed his knuckles, then waved Tanner forward.
Before he could he even move toward the remaining young men, they were gone, leaving behind the loud mouth with the broken arm.
“You should get to the hospital before you lose your fingers,” smirked Tanner. “Maybe you and the other dude, where is he? Oh, he left with his friends. Maybe the two of you could get a two for one on casts.”
“Fuck you guys! We were just having fun.”
Wyatt gripped the broken arm, squeezing harder than he probably should have but it was already a rough day and he was in no mood to tolerate some kid that thought harassing and raping a girl was fun.
“She didn’t want your kind of fun.” Tanner pulled the kids’ wallet from his back pocket, snapped a photo of his license and smiled.
“Don’t worry about telling, daddy. We’ll be reaching out to him ourselves.”
With that, the young man ran to his BMW and squealed out of the parking lot. The four men stared at one another.
“That was rude. He didn’t even say goodbye. I mean, I think we were incredibly kind. I didn’t break more than one or two bones, three max. Kids just don’t appreciate how hard it is to hold back anymore,” said AJ. Tanner chuckled, shaking his head.
“I think I needed that release. Now, I can sleep knowing that I got my exercise in for the day and my release of anger.”