Stormy Seas

by Ali Vali

  “No problem. I could use one myself.” She flew back over the area, and saw that the pier, along with all three subs, was still on fire. “Wiley, everything okay?”

  “Great. Just waiting for my ship to come in.”

  * * *

  “I’m in position,” Tito said.

  It didn’t take long for the boat Wiley figured held Chandler to finally make it to the beach. The first two men off held automatic weapons and started firing as soon as their feet hit the sand. Wiley guessed Tito had killed the first one when he went down, and she had a clear shot at the second guy. Quiet returned, since Baylor had gotten most of the guards under control.

  “You want me to check the boat?” Tito asked.

  “No. Put a line of bullets across the hull, but aim low.”

  Tito followed orders again, and two grenades came flying out when he finished firing. They landed short of Tito’s position, but Wiley didn’t want to take a chance their aim would get better. She reloaded and aimed toward the boat where she figured someone would be crouched. This wasn’t how she wanted to put a bullet into Chandler, but she’d take what she could get. In reality not many people in her career needed killing, but Chandler was the exception to every rule she could think of.

  A yell broke the night, and it sounded like a man who made it. “Stop,” the man screamed, and two hands came over the edge. “Don’t shoot.”

  The top of a head appeared, and she recognized the white, wispy hair and jowly face. “Tito, get ready, and Baylor, move to the beach.”

  “Stand up with your hands behind your head,” Tito said. “Move, or I’ll finish the job.”

  Dick Chandler stood up, and another man from the second boat jumped into the water and ran over to help Dick down. Whoever the guy in the navy uniform was, he defined devoted convert from the way he stood in front of Chandler. The naval officer had a side arm, but he didn’t make any move to grab it, so Wiley waited.

  Chandler might have deserved a bullet to the head, but she refused to kill an unarmed man. “You shot my son—get him some help,” Chandler said. Tito stood in the dunes with his weapon pointed at them, and Baylor walked down and moved across the beach. “Do you know who I am?” Dick said as if Baylor should fall at his feet and plead forgiveness for trying to stop him.

  When Baylor reached the halfway mark between the dunes and the boat, Chandler yanked his protector’s gun free and aimed at Baylor. It was Wiley’s cue, and she pulled the trigger. If the revolution depended on Dick Chandler for its survival, the revolution was over.

  “Zookeeper, this is Black Dragon,” she said, taking pride in the code name. “The snake’s head has been severed. We’ll need backup, an explosives team for a field of land mines, and cleanup for all those damn subs. Some of the personnel has been terminated, but we’ll need some bodies on the ground to help with the rest.”

  “Thank you. We’re right off your position, and Captains Washington and Greer will be sending people in as well,” Aidan said.

  “Ma’am, you might want to block the road out to the mainland,” Wiley said as she climbed down to the water. A lot of the homes now had their lights on, except for a couple that appeared empty. “The number of houses they own or at least have access to goes beyond the six previously mentioned. The team finished clearing out one, but we’ll have to check the others.”

  “I’ll get in touch with Command and let them take care of that.”

  “We’ll hold our position then,” Wiley said as Baylor walked toward her.

  “Is the captain sending backup?” he asked as he removed his helmet and wiped his forehead.

  “On their way, but we need to get into the main house. It’s occupied, and I want to know who’s inside. Believe me when I tell you about the dangers that can follow you home. It’s a bitch.”

  “We’ve got it surrounded, and the guys are watching for anyone trying to leave by car,” Baylor said as he moved to the dunes. “Who else do you think is in there?” He pointed to the boat.

  “According to Dick, his son is wounded, but there was more than that,” she said, glancing through her scope again but seeing nothing. In the distance they saw the multitude of helicopters headed their way, as well as boats. “Zookeeper, can you have one of our birds sit on the boat beached onshore as well as the other craft dead in the water? We need to see who’s left on it before we approach.”

  “We’ve got you covered,” someone who sounded a lot like Cletus said, and the Apache sat on the boat with their spotlight a few minutes later. When someone raised a weapon and aimed at it, Wiley shot through their hand. That’s what prompted the rest of the men to stand and take the position of surrender.

  Berkley was the first one out of the helicopter, followed by Aidan, and Wiley and Baylor left the dunes to meet them. Wiley smiled when Berkley shook her hand and slapped her on the back once they were close enough. “Thank you,” Berkley said as she glanced at Chandler’s body. “I’d drag his ass out to sea, but I don’t want to poison the fish.”

  “Who’s in the house?” Aidan pointed to the sprawling structure with a huge outdoor deck that faced the beach.

  “I don’t know, ma’am. We found land-mine trips on the northern section of that house.” He pointed three houses over. “We were waiting for morning before we head up to the big house. Someone has to be up there since it was lit up like now, but the lights went out when the first sub surfaced,” Baylor said.

  “Where were the guards most concentrated?” Berkley asked.

  “Here and the place next door,” Wiley said, indicating the house on the left, which was smaller but no less impressive.

  “The mines can’t be on the main path then,” Berkley said, walking to the naval officer who’d been in the boat with Chandler. His name tag said Liskow, so she motioned him forward with the help of Tito and his weapon. “Let’s go for a walk up to the house,” she said. “You’ll be twenty feet in front of us, and if you make any stupid moves, my friend here’s going to shoot you through both kneecaps. I’d kill you, but I wouldn’t want to mess up your court-martial for you.”

  “Tell me the status of my men,” Liskow said, turning his head to where the sub had been.

  “You left them out there to die because you were planning to give a traitorous asshole a nuclear weapon. Hopefully some survived and are in the water, but every soul lost is on you.” Berkley was pissed that this bastard had the gall to act like he cared about the people in his command. “Were they at least on the same page when it came to your love of Chandler?”

  “I wasn’t here for Chandler,” Liskow said, taking a step toward her, and Berkley hit him so hard the blow knocked him backward on his ass.

  “What, you ran out of gas and ended up next to two enemy subs? Did you show up here because your communications were down? Did you run across a reef that knocked off all your locator devices?” Berkley hit him again, and no one stepped up to stop her. “Get up and get moving, dumb ass. You’re no different than Chandler and every other guy who followed him in betraying their country.”

  Liskow held his hands over his head as if expecting her to hit him again, but eventually he got up and started toward the house, trudging slowly up the sandy slope. When he reached the deck, the back door opened suddenly, and Liskow took off, making it through the opening before Tito or Wiley could get off a shot.

  Berkley turned and tackled Aidan toward the dunes. “What are you—” Aidan stopped talking when Wiley fell right next to them and a barrage of gunfire erupted from the house.

  “Keep your head down,” Baylor said as his team fanned out.

  KO threw three grenades in succession at the house, ripping holes in the outer wall, which showered them with bits of wood and glass. She pressed herself over Aidan and put her hands over her lover’s face.

  “Cletus, are you hurt?” Aidan asked when she winced hard enough that Aidan obviously noticed.

  “I think I got a big splinter in my hip, but you keep your head down, or else your fa
ther will kick my ass.” Aidan laughed, and Berkley raised her head when the shooting stopped.

  “Stay here,” Baylor said as his guys moved forward and fired as they went through the hole they’d made.

  “What were you saying about finding new places to take a walk?” she asked Aidan as they moved to better cover in the dunes.

  “I’m beginning to see you’re a magnet for trouble,” Aidan said and winked. “Now pay attention before both of us get shot. If that doesn’t scare you, then remember when I had the flu and what a great patient I was.” That made Berkley shiver, and Aidan hit her on the arm.

  The silence stretched out, and Wiley went to the top of the dunes and set up as best she could. “Man, I hate sand unless I’m on vacation with a girlie drink and a beautiful woman,” Wiley said.

  “Don’t we all, but save it for later. See anything?” she asked.

  “Tito’s by the entrance, but I don’t see the others.”

  Berkley moved next to Wiley and peered toward the house as she radioed Baylor. “You okay?” Behind them more soldiers appeared on the beach as the boats arrived, and Wiley warned them about the explosive booby traps along the shore.

  “Give us five more minutes,” Baylor said. “We’re clearing the rooms one by one.” Baylor had just finished when some more shots were fired, and he didn’t say anything for ten more minutes. “I’m sending Tito out to walk you all in, and you’re not going to believe this,” he said finally. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.

  They stood and followed Wiley, navigating around the holes in the deck that the grenades had ripped open. “I don’t know who these guys are, but they put up a good fight,” Tito said as he pointed to the dead guy next to an equally dead Liskow. “Baylor recognized this guy,” he said to another man on the other side of the room with a missing arm. “He’s a SEAL.”

  “Where are the stairs?” she asked, and Tito called over another guy to stand post to watch the beach side. They went up the stairs and into the room where Baylor was standing in the entrance.

  When they reached the door and Berkley looked inside, her mouth dropped open like she was trying to find the words to explain what she was seeing. A few dead men were scattered around the room, and a woman who appeared vaguely familiar had a bullet wound in the center of her chest and a gun in her slack hand. Whoever she was, she hadn’t died without a fight. “Who is that? I feel like I should know her.”

  “Isn’t that the woman who works for Marcus Newton, the CIA director? A Joanna something,” Aidan said as she stared at the dead woman.

  “I guess we can ask him,” she said when she noticed Newton wounded in the bathroom.

  “He tried to shoot Goose when he broke the door down. If he tries to claim otherwise, I’m going to shoot him in the other leg,” Baylor said.

  “Now North Korea and the team waiting on us, as well as all our setbacks in the last year make sense,” she said, and Aidan nodded.

  “You think you’ve done a good thing tonight?” Newton yelled as he kept both hands on his leg. “This was our last chance to regain our standing in the world. Me and Chandler would’ve been unstoppable.”

  “Next time,” she told Goose, “aim for the head.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Goose said with a smile.

  “Baylor, I hate to ask, but does this place have a basement?” she asked, putting a hand on her healing wound. The dive into the dunes had ramped up the pain again.

  “We’ve opened every door, but once we get all these people out of here, we’ll start on the walls and closets.”

  “Let’s head back and send in a report,” Aidan said.

  Newton started to sweat from what Berkley surmised was his wound, since the house was cool. “Tell that fraud Michaels there’s plenty more like me,” he shouted. “We won’t stop until we take back what’s ours.”

  “What’s that?” Berkley asked, leaning close to him and looking him in the eye. “Are you going all the way back to before the Civil War, or do you have a specific date in mind?”

  “You can make fun of me, but once Washington burns, they’ll come running to us.”

  “Washington burns, huh?” She glanced back at Aidan, shaking her head in disbelief. “You did happen to notice what went down here tonight, right?”

  “Captain Liskow can’t be stopped,” he said, his breathing becoming more rapid when she leaned on his leg.

  “Liskow is dead in the kitchen, and his sub is on the bottom out there,” she said, smiling. “This bitch made the shot.”

  “And this bitch took Chandler out,” Wiley said, pointing to her own chest.

  “No, you’re lying. Our plan was perfect.”

  The medic that had arrived injected Newton with a sedative before he could continue.

  “Make sure you check for anything he could use to end our misery before he stands trial,” Berkley said.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “We need to round up every single person who was working here, and we need to expand our search of the houses along the strip. Make sure Robyn Chandler gets back to the Jefferson under heavy guard,” Aidan said. “No one gets away.”

  “We’ll take charge of getting that done, Captain,” Baylor said, then pointed at Berkley. “Take her with you, and have someone check to see why she’s bleeding again.”

  “Cletus wants to keep the ship’s nurse busy,” Aidan said and laughed.

  “Very funny. Get going, and we’ll be back as soon as we contact Command,” she said and placed her hand on Baylor’s and Wiley’s shoulders. “Great job, guys.”

  They walked outside, finding it now lit up with floodlights, and the closest helicopter started as they approached. It was over for the most part, but this time they weren’t repeating the end of the last mission. They were staying aboard the Jefferson until Aidan docked it. It was her ship, her command, and Aidan had done enough to earn the right to see it through.

  “You ready?” she asked, running for their ride with her head down.

  “For what?” Aidan asked.

  “We did what we promised, baby, so we’re done. I hope you’re ready for the picket fence and everything that comes with it,” she said, glancing toward the beach houses as they lifted off. They’d put in so many hours to get here, and the conclusion was going to take some time to sink in. But the nightmare was definitely over, for them at least. “We have some sailing to do before then, and I want to see your parking skills.”

  “You’re a romantic at heart, Cletus, and I love you for it,” Aidan said right into her ear.

  “Only with you, and that’s because I love you more than life,” she said softly, knowing she had a lifetime to say it over and over again.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  The Jefferson sailed on after Rooster sent troops down to take over the cleanup job, and they’d been asked to anchor right off the coast close to the capital. Aidan looked out at the media crews that had been allowed on her ship and shook her head. This was way out of her norm, but President Michaels wanted the American people to know their lives would return to normal now that Chandler was dead and the folks who’d followed him were either dead or jailed. At least they’d invited her parents as well as Berkley’s, and she was looking forward to celebrating with them later.

  “Jefferson, this is Air Force One. Permission to land, ma’am,” Berkley said, and she sounded happy. It’d been a week since that night on the beach, and Rooster had slowed their return until they could put all this together.

  “Permission granted, Cletus.”

  Berkley came around and buzzed the bridge before she circled and landed on the deck. Once the engines were cut and the cockpit was open, Aidan had Devin call everyone to attention. The first person out of the plane was Berkley, and she helped the president down the stairs.

  Olivia gave her speech from the podium below the bridge, and as with her eulogy for Peter, it was one of her most heartfelt. “In closing,” Olivia said as they bobbed gently in the water, everyone appearin
g happy with the cloudless sky and their surroundings, “I’d like to thank every person who made this mission a success. We’re all in your debt for giving us back our peace of mind and bringing to justice those working for Dick Chandler and his family.”

  Everyone stood and applauded, and she joined them. Hell, Dick Chandler was dead, Marcus Newton was keeping Rachel and Jeffery Chandler company, and the feds were working through the complete list Chandler had amassed. Most of those people who’d been arrested were scattered around various federal facilities, the most dangerous going to Gitmo.

  “Thank you for everything, ma’am,” Aidan said as Berkley walked over to join her and President Michaels, “and for having faith in us to finish the job.”

  “Please, Aidan, it’s me who should be thanking you and Cletus,” Olivia said, taking their hands. “I know you plan to retire, but if you want, you both have a job with me.” The White House photographer took a picture of the three of them first, then with their parents, promising to deliver framed copies.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Berkley said, but shook her head. “We’re not Washington material, but we’d love for you to join us for a visit if you get a chance to visit New Orleans.”

  “I’m coming sooner rather than later, I hope. After all, Preston promised me a good party, so don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it.”

  Epilogue

  “Are you nervous?” Corbin asked Berkley a year later.

  After the ceremony on the Jefferson, she and Aidan had spent a month in Washington testifying before Congress about the details of their mission and giving detailed accounts of the agents Chandler had working for him within the government. They’d also testified against Marcus Newton, who, Jonas Chapman and the FBI had discovered before the beginning of Newton’s trial, had helped Chandler steal millions from the Pentagon and set up in North Korea.

  Now Newton had joined Rachel and Jeffery Chandler on death row, and all three had declined the right to appeal. That would hasten the end of their part in all this, so soon the major players in this strange assault on their democracy would be history. Once that was done and they’d answered all the questions everyone had, they’d reached a mutual agreement and returned to sea. It had been a year of enjoying Aidan’s commission as the captain of the Jefferson and Berkley’s time as her flight leader.