Chapter Eleven #4
“Oh, Rayna,” he said, wiping the blood onto her uniform from his hands after gagging her.
“All I had to do was a little research. Do you think I haven’t paid people on this reservation for information on the Blackhawks?
Sleeping with one of the Blackhawk’s security?
Oof. Bad choice. You have such pretty eyes. ”
And now, they were about to be his.
Along with this round.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
Post Gym Meltdown
A Private Moment
The Phone Call
When he passed Elizabeth off to Ivan, he took that time to do exactly what Elizabeth had asked him to do. If she was telling him it was dire to get The Hunters here, then it was freaking dire.
If she wanted them to haul ass because it was time to take down Devon, he was absolutely going to reach out and deliver those orders.
There was no way he was wasting time. Elizabeth was focused and ready to do what needed to be done, so it was time to move.
Doing the math in his head, he knew it was about one in the morning in the UK, but that didn’t matter.
They had a rule.
If someone needed them, then they could call at any time of the day. Since Gene was one of them, even after leaving, he was definitely reaching out to his old family.
When the call was answered, the voice was sleepy, but very familiar.
“Yo,” she stated.
It was the boss lady herself.
“Hey, Major, it’s Gene. We have a problem.”
Well, that woke her up, and fast.
Gene wasn’t one to exaggerate.
“What’s going on?” she asked, coming alert. “Are you in trouble?”
Maura knew that Gene NEVER called.
EVER.
When he left The Hunters, he left that life behind to be Ethan Blackhawk’s sexy love muffin. That he was reaching out, and at this time of the night, after they’d spent some time a few days ago with Elizabeth…
Yeah, that told her everything she needed to know.
Gene didn’t mince words.
“I know it’s late, but things have escalated here. The fire is getting a little too hot.”
At his wife sitting up, Jagger rolled over, and onto his one arm so he could listen to the conversation. There was no doubt this was going to be important.
“Elizabeth?” he asked.
She put it on speaker.
“No, it’s Gene.”
The man was surprised.
Well, that couldn’t be good that he was reaching out to them instead of Ethan, and at this time of the night.
“Do you need us?” he asked, knowing that they’d been told by Ethan that they were absolutely supposed to head back to help. Only, they’d just wrapped up their stuff there, and they figured they had at least the night to sleep.
Apparently, not.
“Yes,” he said, not mincing words.
Uh-oh.
That wasn’t good.
Gene needed to know one thing.
“Are you clear?” he asked, more than willing to tell them to take a break from that so that they could help out.
Yeah, he’d do that.
Screw the military and its desires. His family needed a lifeline, and that came first to Gene.
In fact, they’d just had a little impromptu wedding in a cemetery, after taking down Von Donore. They were going to update Elizabeth in the morning, but if that couldn’t wait, it simply couldn’t wait.
As Marines, they knew they had to be ready to go at any time, so this was nothing shocking for them.
The bottom line was that Elizabeth was eyeball deep in her own case.
“We can be. How bad do you need us?” she asked. “Like hop a flight now?”
Again, words were not minced.
“Yes.”
Yeah, that damn fast.
Already, they knew it had to be dire.
Gene continued.
“Callen’s jet is still at the air strip there.
Can you get your asses on it? So far, this killer took out one of her Marines, and then poisoned her secretary.
He’s picking off whoever is not locked down in order to get to one of us.
Honestly, we’re worried for everyone. With one slip, one of us could be next. ”
Jagger was curious.
“Do you have anything yet that we can use to begin tracking this person?”
That was the problem.
And he knew it.
“We’re still working on it. This is bad, guys. Like she’s about to go nuclear and either burn the world down or fall apart. One more thing and we’re worried about her sanity.”
They got it.
It was go time.
Elizabeth had moved mountains for them when they’d reached out to her for assistance, and it was payback time.
They owed her about fifty favors, and were more than willing to make that happen.
“When she was in NOLA, she looked horrible,” Maura admitted. “We’ll mobilize. See you in the morning. Where are you at?”
He told them.
“We’re in lockdown at FBI West—Damascus, Utah.”
Jagger laughed.
And his wife knew why.
“Oh, we’re totally bringing Zayn. I can’t wait to make him walk into the FBI building. He’s going to be twitchy as fuck leading up to that. This should be fun.”
Only, Gene didn’t laugh.
That should have told them exactly all they needed to know. This was a really bad situation for everyone involved.
As in it was ready to implode.
“Just get here. I’ll work all night to get you guys something. Just hurry. You’ll be cleared to get inside. Maura has creds,” he said before hanging up.
At his statement, Jagger looked over at his wife to confirm what was just said.
“You have creds to get into the FBI buildings?” he asked.
She snorted.
“Dude, yes. You don’t?” she asked like it was a completely normal thing to question.
Jagger stared at his wife.
“You know damn well I don’t have creds. The only place you spend more time in than in trouble is in my wallet. You would have seen them.”
She laughed.
“I mean, you carry cash. A girl needs a sweet treat when she’s working. I don’t carry money, and where would I put my purse? Next to the bazooka?”
He rolled his eyes.
Well, it was time to get up.
Getting out of bed, the two of them pulled on fatigues, and got ready to wake everyone up. A mercenary’s work was never done.
Apparently.
Heading out into the hall, they began knocking on doors. When they did, Zayn opened his.
“What?” he asked, looking around like the paranoid nut he was. He had a gun in his hand, and suspicion on his face.
“We are getting in the air fast. Elizabeth needs us Stateside ASAP. Pack and roll. We’re getting to the strip and heading back to the US. It’s a long flight to Utah.”
Well, now, he was wide awake.
“That bad?”
Jagger nodded.
“We want gears up in an hour, so shake it like lives depend on it. Gene said they are in trouble.”
That was all the man had to hear. It would be good to see Gene again. So, he saluted and closed the door to get his things.
Maura hit the next room in the hallway.
“Rogue,” she said, opening the door to peek in.
When he rolled over in bed, she tapped her watch.
“The Blackhawks need us. Pack the gear, and get ready to bug out. The hunting trip is on, and we’re taking out the trash for the Blackhawks.”
That was all he had to hear. Rogue got out of bed and headed to his suitcases. He began packing up their tech, so they could use it back in the US of A.
As Maura closed his door, Jagger banged on Gamble’s and Poe’s door. It only took a second for them to hear their friend and shout back.
“Uh, this better be damn good. I’m currently having marital relations with my fancy husband,” Gamble shouted back.
Why wasn’t he shocked?
Well, he was going to have to put that on the back burner for the time being. There was work to be done, and a friend to save.
That.
Came.
First.
“Meet us in the foyer. We’re heading out,” Jagger stated in no uncertain terms.
From behind the door, there was a sigh.
Oh, and he got it.
Jagger knew the two men had been nonstop since the assault at Poe’s farm. Jagger kind of felt bad for them that they didn’t get a honeymoon.
Just more work.
Glancing over at Maura, he stopped her.
“Do we need everyone?” he asked. “Can’t we leave Poe and Gamble here? Dakota isn’t necessary either. He can babysit the two and make sure they get back to the country.”
She contemplated it.
In her head, she was running the statistics, trying to see how many of them they needed. With Gene in Utah, and if he would help out, they would be fine. Four Hunters were a handful of trouble.
Finally, she clued him in.
“I mean, you, me, and Zayn should be good. We can use Gene, and Elizabeth has Marines.”
He knew who would be happy to hear that.
“Let’s let the lovebirds make a baby,” he said, laughing. “Or at least keep trying until they wear themselves out.”
At his comment, the door opened.
“I heard that, jackass,” Gamble stated. “Just because your little legs can’t get you up Mount Saint Maura, doesn’t mean we all have the same problem.”
Jagger pointed.
“I. AM. NOT. SHORT.”
Yeah, said every short person.
To cut that off at the pass, Maura opted to offer them a break.
“We don’t need you or Dakota for this. You guys can stay here. Have a little honeymoon.”
He lifted a brow.
She’d better not be kidding.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Finish up romancing your man, and get yourselves and Dakota back to NOLA by the time we wrap this up. We’re taking the playboy and Zayn. Can you do that?”
He nodded.
“We can.”
At that exact moment, Poe stuck his head out and smiled at them.
“So, we get to go back to bed?” he asked.
That was amusing.
“Yeah, Poe. Have at him,” Jagger offered.
And before Gamble could say a word, he was pulled inside the room, and the door was slammed. They even heard the lock turn.
Well, someone was getting manhandled.
Lucky Gamble.
Downstairs, it didn’t take long for Zayn and Rogue to appear. Both had their travel gear and equipment.
“And here I was having fun staying in a castle,” Rogue said. “I should buy one.”
Zayn stared at him.
“Yeah, do that, Playboy. Why would you want a place where NO ONE can find you? Instead, pick the most ridiculous, massive monstrosity to hide in so you’re a fucking spectacle. How could that go wrong?”
The man laughed.
“I mean, I like classy, you dumpster raccoon. How you got Stella to marry your ass is beyond me. She was definitely dumpster diving that day.”
He didn’t miss a beat.
“I rescued her and it was love at first sight. Your wife had to talk you into sex. One of us is a pussy. One of us isn’t. Spoiler, you’re it, Meow.”
He laughed.