by Powers, AJ
Hagan’s eyes lowered to the ground as Aileen’s words found their mark, settling deep within his conscience.
“It’s got to be bigger than just us, Matthew, or nothing will ever change.” Aileen’s expression softened as Hagan avoided her eyes. “We’re fighting for freedom. Most of the people with us? They’ve never even tasted it before. Not like we have. And yet, they are willing to die for it.”
The realization that Aileen’s troops were fighting for some unknown glory like liberty was a sobering slap in the face for Hagan. The notion that these men and women would willingly give up their lives for something that they couldn’t even fully comprehend shamed Hagan’s blind devotion to his mission. His slavery to a cause that was nothing more than a road to nowhere. Guilt soon conquered him. Aileen was right. About his unquenchable thirst for revenge. About finding a greater purpose to fight for. About how the world would never get better so long as those who have the power to influence change refuse to use it for good.
As if his eyes had finally seen the light, a light he knew was there but refused to acknowledge, Hagan felt the weight of Benjamin’s death lift from his shoulders. As if the realization that his death, like Aileen’s loss, might not be in vain if something positive could come of it. A truth that Hagan should have realized from the beginning. “You’re right,” Hagan said, nodding shamefully. “You’re right, Aileen. I promise that will never happen again.”
Aileen nodded. “I know it won’t, Matthew. Because we’re done,” she said, a mixture of bitterness and pain in her tone. “Your promises mean nothing to me anymore. And I will not allow you to endanger our efforts, or the lives of my men, with your wavering allegiance. I told you that you could have Price when we were finished with him, and I still plan to make good on that promise, despite your selfish actions. But, beyond that, this concludes our partnership.” Aileen stuck her hand out, pushing aside her conflicted vitriol for the man and returning to her professional demeanor after a brief, emotional hiatus.
Hagan looked down at her hand, then back at her eyes, the vibrant baby blues looking like cold steel now. He lightly grabbed her hand, shaking it.
“Good luck with your revenge, Typhon,” she said sincerely. “I hope it’s not nearly as empty as I believe it will be.”
Aileen did an about-face and walked toward the door. Wilford’s judging eyes lingered a bit longer before falling in behind her.
“Aileen,” Hagan said loudly, causing the woman to stop and turn around. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he said, sincerity in his voice.
She gave him a disappointed smile, dipped her chin, then turned back around leaving the room.
Chapter 27
Mason’s phone buzzed on the dining room table; the fifth time since dinner had started. Trying to ignore the glares coming from Kayla, he looked at the screen and saw it was from Winters. He tapped the green button on the display and held it up to his ear.
“Whatch’ya got, Winters?”
Kayla chewed indignantly; her eyes fixated on her plate as Mason’s sergeant gave him the latest update on the mysterious disappearance of Colonel Price yesterday evening.
“They found the convoy on a bridge two hours ago, about sixty miles southeast of Tulsa,” Winters said grimly. “The Humvees were little more than charred remains. Colonel Price’s vehicle faired a bit better, but his security team was DOA.”
“And Price?” Mason asked.
“MIA. At this point in time, we have to assume he was taken prisoner by the insurgents.”
“Any evidence to back it up?”
“Our guys are still sifting through the rubble, but so far they’ve recovered pieces of housing from an H-400 high explosive shell, traces of an explosive compound on one of the abandoned vehicles on the bridge, and quite a few 5.56mm casings on the ground.”
“That could just as easily be Typhon,” Mason said, unsuccessfully avoiding the continual scowl from the other side of the table.
“Highly unlikely. At least, not without a lot of help. We only received a few transmissions from Colonel Price’s vehicle during the attack, but the last one indicated they were being hit from both ends of the bridge.”
“I assume we’ve already got teams moving on this?”
“Yes. And, honestly, that’s the real reason for the call. It’s not been officially disseminated yet, but our task force is being reassigned to this case, at least for the time being. Finding Colonel Price is our highest priority right now, and we’ll be working closely with the Guard to make sure this happens. If we happen to take down Typhon in the process, then that’s just icing.
“Gray had a few teams hit a couple of low-level locations early this morning, and we are currently interrogating the suspects, but so far, no one seems to know anything about this move.”
“Are we believing that?”
“Daddy! Look! Look!” Robyn said excitedly, causing Mason to firmly hold up a finger to silence the two-year-old girl. He received another hostile look from Kayla.
“You know our interrogators are good at what they do. It seems that none of these people were aware this was happening. Sounds like Cleon played this one close to his chest.”
“So, what’s our next move?”
“We’re hitting Aileen’s at 2300. Our surveillance teams say they haven’t seen her around for a couple of days, but they think a few of her men are still holed up inside. Gray authorized the raid and personally told me in the brief that he wants you to take charge on processing the scene afterwards.”
“All right,” Mason said, turning his wrist over to see his watch. “What time?”
“Mission brief is at 1930. So, you better get moving.”
“Will do. See you in a bit,” Mason said as he pushed his chair back and stood up.
“What are you doing?” Kayla said, the tone of her voice sounding more like an accusation than a question. “You’re supposed to be on medical leave, Andrew. They can’t just keep telling you to come in, anyway.”
Mason raised his hand slowly, a feeble attempt to calm his wife’s growing anger. “Listen, something big is happening and Gray wants me to be there,” he said, reflexively grabbing at the tenderness in his chest as he pushed the chair back in.
“You can’t even pick up a chair!” Kayla said, her words sharp and full of frustration. “What good can you offer them right now?”
“Listen,” Mason said calmly, trying to reassure his anxious wife, “Gray just wants me to comb through a crime scene. Long after it’s been secured. I’m not going to be in any danger. But it’s important that I’m there for this.”
Kayla stood from her chair and stomped over to him, her head shaking no. “And it’s important that you’re here for us,” she hissed before grabbing his arm, pulling him to the bedroom. With a few walls between them and Robyn, she lowered her voice to a whisper and said, “I almost lost you. We almost lost you,” she nodded toward the table hidden behind the wall. “I don’t want some ‘better life’ if you’re not here for it.”
“I know. I know. I will be careful, Kay. Things are…” he trailed off, choosing his next words carefully. “Things are going to be rough for a little while, but I promise, it’s going to be worth it in the end.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, gently stroking it. She quickly withdrew. “Kayla…”
“No. I can’t keep doing this.”
Mason’s phone buzzed with a text message, forcing a heavy sigh from Kayla’s lungs.
“Kayla, it’s going to be okay,” he said, reaching up to stroke her cheek with his thumb. She closed her eyes and a single tear squeezed out from the corner, making its way down her cheek. “Honey,” Mason said, leaning in to kiss her forehead, “There’s really nothing to worry about. The threats will be gone long before I step foot in the building.”
Kayla’s body started to bounce as she could no longer hold back the torrent of emotions waiting to burst through the dam. She dropped her face into Mason’s chest and cried. Cried like she did at the hospital. She
wrapped her arms around him and bawled quietly in his comforting embrace.
Mason stroked her hair with one hand as the other securely held her by the waist.
“Mommy? Daddy?” the child from the next room called.
Mason looked over his shoulder and said, “We’ll be out in a minute, baby girl.” He turned back around and kissed the top of Kayla’s head just before she pulled away from his chest. “Kayla,” he said softly, a reassuring smile on his face as he stared deeply into her big, green eyes. “Really… It’s going to be okay.”
Battling through a series of sniffles, Kayla shook her head. “No, Drew, it’s not.”
Mason recoiled from her words. He cocked his head as he looked at her, his eyes demanding an explanation.
Kayla took several deep breaths, as if to steel her nerves. When her breathing had slowed, she finally looked up at Mason with terror in her eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 28
Mason peered through the slits of the aluminum blinds and watched as a young, laughing couple stumbled from the front door of Aileen’s. Though his eyes carefully tracked them across the street, his mind was elsewhere, plagued with a thousand worries that stole his attention from the mission at hand. After watching the couple disappear down the block, Mason snapped out of it and lifted a handheld radio to his mouth. “Two more exited.”
“Copy that,” a voice crackled back over the radio.
Gray wanted assurance that civilian casualties would be kept to a minimum, so he ordered the entry team to hold off until after the bar closed for the night. Tension was already high among the civilian population as it was, Gray didn’t want a bunch of drunks getting caught in the crossfire of a raid, creating even more unrest among the people. Gray was not the cold-blooded creature that Colonel Price was. He wasn’t afraid to do what was necessary to get the job done, but he wouldn’t put innocent lives at risk just to get it done a few minutes faster.
After announcing yet another inebriated couple’s departure, activity at the bar started to die down and Mason’s thoughts quickly returned to his wife and the child in her womb. Kayla guessed that she was around ten weeks, which meant he still had some time to figure out a solution before she started to show. His first instinct was to just apply for another license, but securing a license for a second child was much harder than the first. And more problematic than securing a license was that the application process required Kayla to take a pregnancy test. This was not a rule that was strictly followed, but Mason couldn’t risk it. He wasn’t going to let the life of his unborn child hang on the hopes that the person processing the application would play loose with the rules on that particular day.
Mason considered going to Gray. After all, he and the Secretary had started to develop something of a report since being assigned to his task force. Mason quickly scrapped the idea, however. The bold favor would be risky enough as it was, let alone during such tumultuous times. Gray had enough problems on his plate, and the mere notion of Mason asking his boss for anything at such a time would likely backfire.
“Three more exiting,” Mason said into his radio as he observed a trio of women leave the bar and walk down the street with unsteady gates.
Fear and anxiety soon crept back into Mason’s mind, smothering the joy and excitement he should be feeling over the news. His chest tightened and his pulse skyrocketed when Kayla uttered those words just a few hours ago. The disquiet in his soul grew with each dead-end plan that came to his mind. There were pockets of jubilation amidst the worry, though. He loved Robyn more than words could describe, and the thought of another little voice calling him Daddy brought a smile to his face that temporarily overpowered the angst flooding his body. But it only took seconds for the realities of the situation to rush back to his head, reminding him that he would never hear that tiny, precious voice if the regime discovered the illicit conception. Against her will, Kayla would be taken to a medical facility where his child would have to pay the price.
Sorrow and fury roiled through Mason’s stomach as he watched a lone man walk out the front door. He shook his head and clenched his jaw as he tried to control the swelling emotion in the deepest pit of his stomach. He took a slow breath and cleared his throat, before radioing in the latest departure.
“One more out.”
“Hey,” Winters said from across the room as he monitored the shoulder cameras on the entry team, “You all right?” he asked.
Besides Kayla, Cody Winters was Mason’s closest friend. He had confided in the man many times over the years, and the level of trust he had in his sergeant was about as high as it could get. But Mason knew that some secrets were just too big to tell. Especially when others were nearby.
Mason spun around in the chair he was sitting in and looked at his friend sitting at a small desk in an office that the team had commandeered for the operation. “Yeah, I’m okay,” Mason said. “Just not feeling the greatest.”
“Well, getting shot will do that to ya,” he joked, trying to make light of the situation. “How pissed was Kayla that you had to come in tonight?”
“Let’s just say that pissed would be a major improvement from the vibe I got when I left.”
Winters chuckled. “She’s a good woman for putting up with you.”
Mason smiled. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I’m sure I don’t,” Winters said before returning his focus to his tablet screen.
Mason spun back to face the window and spotted a small group of people leaving. He grabbed his radio off the windowsill and said, “All right, looks like it’s closing time.”
“Copy. Pandora and Talos Teams, stand by for go.”
“Pandora One. Affirmative.”
“Talos One. Copy.”
“I’ve got four more leaving,” Mason radioed.
“By my count that should be all of them.”
Mason turned around and saw a flurry of activity on Winters’s tablet screen as both Pandora and Talos teams readied for breach. He spun back around and moved his eyes to the large, white, windowless van down the street.
“Pandora and Talos teams, this is Eagle actual. Medusa. I repeat. Medusa,” Gray’s voice broadcasted clearly and firmly over the radio.
Mason watched the back doors of the van explode open as Talos team hopped to the ground and advanced toward the bar, sticking close to the buildings along the way. Each rifle of the squad seemed to be pointed in different directions, ensuring that that all exposed directions were covered.
“Pandora One. In position.”
Talos team slowed as they arrived at the bar, stopping just short of the front window.
“Talos One. In position.”
“Stand by,” the operation commander said. “All right, killing power in three, two, one…”
Mason watched the few lights inside the bar go dark all at once, including the streetlight directly in front of the building.
“Go, go, go!” someone shouted over the radio.
Talos team made light work of the front door with a battering ram, allowing the squad of lethal soldiers to enter the building in just a couple of seconds. As the men disappeared into the building, Mason got to his feet and moved over to Winters on the other side of the room, watching the live feed on his tablet. Talos made their way through the darkened bar, encountering no resistance along the way. Jittery guns swept the room, expecting to discover a threat, but with each hiding place they stumbled upon, they found nothing.
“Where the hell are they?” Winters asked aloud. “They should have made contact with someone by now.
It was more of the same for Pandora. Entering through the delivery bay in the back, their rifles, too, remained silent as they combed the large room for targets, but found nothing but boxes and empty hallways.
“I don’t like this,” Mason said. “Something isn’t right.”
“I’m with ya, Lieutenant,” Winters replied.
The first floor was quickly cleared and
both teams converged on the stairs in one of the back rooms. Mason watched as the squad ascended the steps, IR laser beams cutting through the dusty air like a tactical rave. There was an unease in the atmosphere, as if everyone collectively held their breath while the teams reached the second floor.
Still no contact.
The team approached a set of steel, double doors and stacked up. The enemy was running out of places to hide. Talos One stopped in front of the door and looked at a man beside him, making a few hand gestures that Mason understood.
Breach, bang, and clear.
A man with a battering ram made his way to the front of the stack while another man pulled a flashbang off his vest. Like a well-oiled machine from working together for thousands of hours, the men moved into position without making a sound, knowing exactly where each one of them needed to be without having to be told.
A quick nod was exchanged between the man with the flashbang and the one with the battering ram. The man then swung the heavy, steel bar back and slammed it forward, connecting with the door near the handle. The door shot open with a loud metallic crash as Battering Ram rolled out of the open doorway. Without exposing his body to gunfire, the other man tossed the stun grenade into the room. The bang was deafening, but as soon as the blinding flash had passed, the team stormed into the room, screaming and shouting commands. But once the dust settled, Pandora and Talos discovered they were yelling at an empty office.
“Pandora One. Negative contact.”
“What the…?” Winters uttered. “Are these guys ghosts?”
As the team searched what appeared to be Aileen’s office, one of them discovered a note in the middle of the otherwise empty desktop.
