Chapter 50
FIFTY
Oahu, Hawaii
Adam walked down the ramp from the ship the captain had referred to as a “liberty boat” that brought them over to shore, then shoved them off before the crew finalized their preparations for extended shore leave.
The whole ship had been abuzz with excitement, and Adam didn’t blame them—he also didn’t want to get in the way.
He dumped the duffel he carried on the ground by Ice’s feet, his hair tickling his cheek thanks to the warm breeze. “You can carry that for Stephanie.” He slid the hair tie from his wrist and pulled it back.
Ice’s expression remained shadowed behind his sunglasses, which were essential in this sun. The rest of them didn’t have any, but at least they had clothes.
Adam didn’t want to get distracted by the sweetness on the air, the warmth of the sun on his clean skin, and the fact this was Hawaii for crying out loud. There were a whole lot of worse places in the world to get kicked off a ship so they could make their way home.
The battleship wouldn’t be in dock for an hour, so they had time to clear the area before the fanfare started. No one wanted to wind up on the background of someone’s viral social post or get in the way of someone’s family reunion when their sailor returned home.
Adam wanted them all out of here and wheels-up, headed back to the castle before then.
Well, not all of them. Just transporting them from that death ship back to where they all needed to go, with medical care for Steph’s dad and Dan—who had yet to regain consciousness—was a feat of logistics.
But Kai and Marina had mapped it all out, and they’d spent a whole day making calls.
Securing medical personnel for transport and strategically leaving Kyle’s name off the list of those returning to the castle.
Marina wasn’t even coming, and Adam got the distinct feeling her disembarking in Seattle with Noah had more to do with some quiet time in one of her bunkers than Noah’s family time in Montana.
Ice lifted Steph’s duffel and slung it over his shoulder. “Fair enough.” He checked his watch. “The plane should be gassed up and ready to go by the time we get to Honolulu.”
Adam nodded. “Not much time to enjoy Hawaii.”
“You’ll have to come back later.” Noah turned, pointing to the group at large all gathered around. “No one gets distracted and runs off to cause trouble. We have a debrief to do.”
“Speak for yourself.” Kyle stepped off the bottom of the gangplank. “Also, I’m pretty sure these sailors want us away from their dock now.”
The liberty boat was already motoring away from the dock, heading back to the ship.
Adam had talked to a few of the ship’s personnel, men and women, over the past few days, and they were all eager for shore leave, even if a detour to pick up the CIA’s new Division Zero team had been an interesting diversion.
As had blowing that ship sky-high for a bit of target practice.
The fact it had the body of US Army Colonel Alan Montrose on board, along with a dozen or so mercenaries on the Earthnet payroll, wasn’t something Adam had discussed.
Noah had been in closed-door meetings with the captain, who he apparently knew from the Naval Academy, most of the journey over to the base on Oahu.
The private ambulance they’d contracted to transport Steph’s father and Dan pulled away from dockside on a single-lane road, then passed through the base to the gate, headed to the airplane.
Two black SUVs had been parked beyond it.
Adam glanced back at the battleship that had rescued them, admiring it making its way in. When he was done he slapped Kai on the back. “Let’s go.”
Jay walked with a slight limp. Noah and Marina walked together. Steph joined them from where she’d been watching the ambulance, offering him a relieved smile, and took his hand.
Adam smiled at her. “I believe I owe a lady a cheese plate.”
Kai barked a laugh. “I’ll call Winston and put the order in.”
Noah and Ice both chuckled. Steph was a little more subdued, but that was to be expected when she was worried about her father.
Jay looked at Adam and grinned. “You guys, enjoy. I’m getting off in Seattle and going home as well.”
Kyle chuckled, walking behind Adam. “The look on those sailors’ faces when we walked on their ship in our undies…”
Adam nodded. “Good times.”
Steph squeezed his hand.
They disbursed to the SUVs, naturally splitting into two groups and loading onto the vehicles.
Each had a hired driver, which was fine by Adam.
Sleeping on a cot the past few days, seeing the ship’s doctor and getting a lot of frowns and muttering from the guy, and eating way too much food in the mess hall had him feeling less than able to navigate unfamiliar streets.
He waited by the door while Steph got in, sliding onto one of the captain’s chairs in the middle row. “Ever been to Hawaii before?”
She buckled her seatbelt. “No, it looks nice.”
He wanted to tell her they should come back and explore more than one corner of a naval base, but the words didn’t make it off his tongue. Adam slid into his seat and shut the door.
They had time.
He closed his eyes and listened to the rumble of the road as the driver took them to the Honolulu airport, chatting softly with Kyle, who sat in the front passenger seat. Kai was already snoring in the back row.
The SUV slowed to go through the private entrance and drove around to an open hangar several rows over. A Hawaiian Airlines 737 lifted off the runway and took off. A black town car was parked in front of the hangar, a suited man standing by the passenger door.
Adam glanced around in the SUV. “Anyone know who that’s for?”
“That’s my ride.” Kyle held out his hand over the shoulder of his seat, and they shook. The handshake lingered a second and Kyle said, “He’s gone.”
Adam nodded. “He’s dead and gone.”
Steph shifted in her seat. “You aren’t coming to the—” Thankfully, she caught herself before she said castle.
Kyle looked at her. “Maybe someday.” He shoved his door open and was gone.
Adam let the rest of them out on his side and kept an eye on Kyle. Awfully quick to get to his fancy taxi. Kyle spoke to the driver, who handed him an envelope from the inside of his suit jacket. The team gathered up, and Kyle came over.
Inside the hangar, the ambulance staff loaded Stephanie’s father onto the plane on his gurney. Ash and Kai went over to help with Dan, who looked to be awake now.
Kyle handed the envelope to Noah. “This is for your eyes only, as they say.”
Noah stared at it for a second, then accepted the envelope. “Thanks.”
“Actually, thank you.”
“We supposed to know what that means?” Adam asked him.
“You know I can’t tell you my assignment.” Kyle gave them an informal salute and wandered off to his car.
Steph touched Adam’s arm. “I’m going to go make sure my dad is settled, and the doctor knows everything he needs to know.”
Adam nodded. She wandered off, and he turned to Noah. “You find out about that facility?”
“Yeah, Marina checked it out,” Noah said. “She’ll be able to get there in four hours from the castle, and he’ll be secure and well cared for. When he’s up and recovered, we’ll figure out where he can go next.”
“Castle’s gonna get crowded.” Ice took Steph’s duffel and went to the plane. Marina spoke to the pilot, then climbed the stairs.
The others disbursed, except Noah. “You think Ice is gonna tell us what exactly he was up to while we were on that island?” Adam asked him.
Noah said, “Maybe. Eventually.”
Adam followed him to the plane. “We can start our debrief on the plane, finish it later over video call.”
“Everyone writes a report on this one.” Noah boarded the plane to a chorus of groans. “I don’t care if it’s a voice note, I wanna hear your stories.” He settled into a seat. “There’s too much to lose if we miss something. And with the fight we have coming, we can’t afford that.”
Adam stood just inside the door and took a moment to look at his team, this family he’d claimed for himself with all their quirks and dysfunctions. They’d gone to hell and back with him, not even hesitating to show up to the fight.
Don’t fret.
Whatever happened next, he was ready for it.