CHAPTER TWENTY
Both planes arrived within seconds of each other. But it was up to the Air Tower to determine which plane would have priority landing, and which plane would have to circle the runway. And for the first time ever, Hammer Reese’s plane had to circle so that Mick Sinatra’s plane could land.
That decision stunned even Hammer’s own pilot. “Do you want me to remind the tower who owns this plane, sir?” the pilot asked Hammer over the intercom. “Perhaps they don’t realize that you are, in fact, on this plane.”
“No, Captain,” said Hammer, “you don’t have to remind them of anything. That won’t be necessary.” Although Hammer was as surprised as his pilot that he didn’t get first dibs too, it wasn’t the end of the world. “We can wait,” he added.
But Amelia Sinatra, who was the half-sister of Mick Sinatra and who was on the plane with Hammer, got herself a good little laugh at Hammer’s expense.
“You, of all people, have to wait for my brother to land?” she teased him.
“You? Now do you understand who my brother is? Now do you understand Mick the Tick doesn’t take a backseat to anybody?
Not even the great Hammer Reese? Better put some respect on that name! ” she said with relish.
Hammer sat quietly on his plane, his legs crossed, as he refused to take his wife’s bait.
They were constantly at each other’s throat lately.
It did him good to see her laugh. “All I understand is how misinformed that air traffic controller happens to be,” he responded to her laughter. “Nothing more than that.”
But Amelia knew the macho battles Hammer and Mick always had whenever they were together. She loved that somebody was finally putting Hammer in his place. “You hate it, don’t you?” she said. Then she laughed again.
“Your ass won’t be laughing when I put my foot up in it.”
Amelia’s smile immediately left her gorgeous brown face. “I want your ass to try it,” she said defiantly. And it was Hammer’s time to smile.
Realizing she had taken his bait, she frowned. “Forget you, Hammer!”
But Mick wasn’t surprised that he got priority landing.
He was as accustomed to it as Hammer was.
But when he saw that a motorcade of SUVs were waiting on the tarmac for their arrivals, he knew that was all Hammer.
DC treated him like he was some kind of royalty in America.
And his ass didn’t even live in America!
“Canadian motherfucker always have to have a king’s treatment,” said Mick.
“Thank God he’s here,” said Roz. “We need a king to help get TJ out of this mess he’s in.”
Mick remembered the mission, and dropped the attitude.
After his plane landed, he and Roz deplaned quickly and made their way to the first SUV.
Although Roz was dressed in jeans and a blazer, Mick was suited up in his war outfit: Black trousers, black turtleneck, and long white coat no matter the weather.
Because it wasn’t ordinary attire. It was tricked-out attire that had gotten him out of rough situations time and time again.
He only hoped this wasn’t one of those times. Not with Junior’s life on the line.
When they made it to the SUV, one of Hammer’s bodyguards opened the back door, and Mick and Roz got in and sat down. And waited for Hammer’s plane to land.
When his plane finally landed and he and Amelia made their way to the SUV, Roz got on the third row, along with Amelia, as Mick and Hammer took over the second row. The bodyguard got in on the front passenger seat, and the motorcade took off.
“We go in together,” Mick said as soon as he and Hammer were face to face.
“I knew you’d say that,” Hammer responded.
“Tommy told me about this implantation device. Give me the particulars.”
Hammer didn’t like Mick’s tone. He was accustomed to everybody jumping at his command. But Hammer wasn’t the one. “Is that an order?” he asked Mick.
“Ah, I forgot,” Mick said. “You’re so used to yes-men at your beck and call that I forgot I have to tiptoe through the tulips when I’m dealing with your ass.”
“Kiss my ass, Mick,” Hammer shot back.
“Oh hell no,” said an angry Roz. “This is not the time nor the place. We’re here to help TJ, not massage your egos. Now cut that shit out and I mean it!”
Both men had to settle back down. They knew Roz was right.
Amelia looked at Roz. “When I grow up,” she said, “I wanna be just like you.”
“Quit lying,” Roz said, and Amelia laughed.
“They’re expecting us to go straight to the command center,” Hammer said to Mick, “and that’s what I wanted them to think.”
“But that’s not the plan?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want any police escorts to that classroom. If anything goes sideways, I may need to take measures that they may not deem as appropriate. It could end up in the papers.”
“Ad be it far from you to ever have negative press.”
Hammer ignored that putdown. He was beloved in the United States for the numerous successful missions he spearheaded for his country.
The only bad press Mick ever saw him get was whenever he and Amelia were breaking up, which was seemingly every month, or whenever Hammer was spotted with some other woman that wasn’t his wife or when there were other romantic news to report about him.
Hammer somehow had managed to not only be a war hero to the country, but a heartthrob too.
That asshole a heartthrob? It was uncanny to Mick!
And besides all that, Mick found his plan odd at best. “You say you don’t want a police escort into that school?”
“That’s right.”
“But there’s an active shooter situation at that school. How in hell are you going to avoid the cops? They have that place covered.”
“I have my cops covering that far back gate,” Hammer said. “They’ll escort us in.”
Mick had no idea what kind of cops Hammer had, but he was certain they weren’t beat cops. “So we go in through a back gate?” said Mick.
“Right.”
“And you disable that implant that you believe is inside of TJ?”
“I don’t believe it. I know it for a fact.”
Mick, Roz, and Amelia looked at him. “How would you know that?” Amelia asked him.
“I’m not answering that,” said Hammer. “Just know I know,” he said.
But Mick was skeptical. “Can I take a look at this implant you supposedly have inside of your body?”
Hammer stared at him. He knew better than that. Anything relating to that level of technology was Top Secret. He already told them what he wanted them to know, to help alleviate some of their fears, but he wasn’t going to tell them anything more than that.
“Or is it an implant at all?” asked Mick.
“If I can get within five feet of TJ,” said Hammer, “I’ll be able to disable that device. Isn’t that all that matters?”
Mick didn’t like law men, and he especially didn’t like super-powerful ones like Hammer Reese. But he respected that power. “Yes,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”
And on that note of agreement, they shut the hell up.
When the SUV drove to a road behind the school, a small group of Hammer’s special ops agents were waiting for them.
Mick and Hammer got out and made their way toward the school’s back gate while the SUV still containing Amelia and Roz, along with the others in the motorcade, drove off to the command center.
“Once I disable the device,” Hammer said as he and Mick were walking toward the gate, “you’ll order TJ to open the door and tell him his device has been disabled. And that they can’t see or hear him anymore.”
“Nor can they blow him to smithereens?” Mick asked.
“Nor can they do that,” said Hammer. “But if he doesn’t believe you,” Hammer started saying, but Mick cut him off.
“Are you joking? He’ll believe me and he’ll do whatever I tell him to do. I’m not bragging,” he added, “but that kid’s terrified of me. Even more than he is of that implant, I’ll tell you that.”
Hammer shook his head. “Anybody ever tell you how modest you are?”
“Anybody ever tell you how modest you are?” Mick shot back. “Just make certain you disable that device,” he added.
“Yes sir boss,” said Hammer, and his men smiled.
Two alphas was all they saw. Two unusually-alpha alphas.