Because of You: Covert OPS 1

by Kymber Jones

  “It’s the least I could do,” Bret told him. “What happened never should have taken place. Especially on our premises.”

  “That doesn’t make it your fault. You went out to stop it, for which we are thankful. You went out of your way to help Chrys, and we’ll always be grateful for that.”

  “Come on,” Bret said, leading the way out of the hospital. “The cars are this way.”

  Once at the vehicles, the group split into two groups and returned to the Windemere Hotel.

  When Bret was about to let everyone out of his vehicle, Chrys asked, “What’s your MOS? What do you do in the Army?”

  “I’m a 35 Papa.”

  “Cryptologic Communications. You’re Intelligence, so I’m going to guess you’re probably a Ranger. Am I right?” Chrys asked.

  “You are, yes.”

  “That’s how you recognized my name.”

  “That’s right. You’re the new poster child for all of the Special OPS right now.”

  “If I were to contact your C.O., how would you feel about working with our group for a little while? I mean, it wouldn’t just be you. I would be asking for a few of the men. But, would you have a problem with it?”

  “When would it take place?”

  “Starting tomorrow morning or this morning. Or whatever morning it is coming up. We’re going to group and start gathering our intel. We need to get our mission done as soon as we possibly can, safely.”

  Bret pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

  “Rutledge, do you have any idea what time it is?” The voice on the other end demanded.

  “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry for calling you so late, but I have a few folks here you’re going to want to talk to. It's Miss Chrys…”

  “Captain Chrys Hopkins.” Chrys interrupted Bret.

  “It’s what?” Bret asked, his shock evident.

  “Captain.”

  “I have Captain Chrys Hopkins along with her father, who is also Captain Hopkins, and their Unit here with me. They want to see about borrowing some of our men for a mission they’re on, only they’re going to need the men in the morning.”

  “Chrys Hopkins. Isn’t she the girl that just completed Ranger training? She just got the last of her pins for all of the Spec OPS, am I right?”

  “Yes, Sir, you are.”

  “What the Hell is she doing here? How did you end up meeting her?”

  “It’s a long story, Sir. But she just asked to get in touch with you so she can borrow some of the men starting this morning. I don’t know what the mission is or what it entails; I’ll let her speak to you.”

  “Fine, put her on.”

  “Yes, Sir. Sorry again for waking you up.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

  Bret handed the phone to Chrys, mouthing, “Captain?” as if he still couldn’t believe he heard her correctly.

  Chrys shrugged as if asking, ‘what can I say?’ before turning her attention to the phone.

  “This is Captain Crystalline Hopkins. I’m with a special Naval Operation taking place, and I am requesting some last-minute assistance. I will send you the documentation required for both the mission and the formal request for assistance, but I will need the manpower by 0800. Is that going to be feasible?”

  “This is last minute Ma’am. How many men are you going to be needing?”

  “I have eight men, four from a second Team came in this evening, and I’m expecting another four by morning. So, eight would be great, but four would be a major help on their own.”

  “How soon can you have the request for the men in?”

  “I’m already putting it in now. I just messaged personnel as we started speaking and told them to put the request in immediately.”

  “Are you sure they’re going to approve your request?”

  “Yes. That’s the great thing about my Unit. I tend to get what I want. Especially if people know what’s good for them.”

  “Too bad you couldn’t get your pins that way. From what I hear, you had a hell of a time.”

  Chrys laughed. “Yes, especially my Trident. That was a real bitch, let me tell you. I got cycled there. I fractured my right ankle and had to wait for it to heal. But I kept going until they found out about the damn thing. I took my boot off to check on it, and one of the other trainees saw what it looked like. He told an instructor who came to check it out, and he laid into me for not having it tended to. My ankle was about the size of my thigh, and no one could believe I was walking on it, never mind running on it. They took me to medical, got it checked out, and told me it was a slight fracture that was not given any time to heal. If I had kept going, I would have done serious damage to my foot, the Doctor said, but sitting out six weeks let it heal and saved me from irreparable harm. I also earned the respect of my fellow Trainees. I kept going and refused to complain. If that one Trainee hadn’t seen my foot, no one would have known I was injured. They couldn’t believe a ‘girl’ had that kind of grit.”

  “I have to admit, speaking from experience, it’s almost impossible to find a female that will have what it takes to pass our training. But you did, I’m impressed. And not only did you pass, you passed Spec OPS training for every branch. Only one other person has passed Spec OPS training for two different branches as well as the Air Force Tactical Air Control Party, and of course, he’s male. It also took him a couple of tries for BUDS, and it too was because of an injury, so I think you have him beat.”

  “Thank you. It makes me feel good to know there are people out there that recognize what I did. But I’m not saying what Chief Goggins did wasn’t amazing because it was. He was and is a true inspiration. I don’t know if I could have done half of what I did if it weren’t for OSC.”

  “Did you know the man?”

  “No, sir, I never got the pleasure of meeting him. I would have loved to have had the chance, but he retired before it happened. However, I still listen to the motivational speeches he uploads to Facebook and YouTube.”

  “I wish more people had your drive.” Pause. “Alright. I’m not going to say I understand everything going on because I damn sure don’t. I’m going to check in with my office and have them keep an eye out for your request for extra manpower. I will have them call me when it comes in. What’s a good number to call you back on?”

  “That would be my work cell. I will text you the number.”

  “Very well. I’ll call you when the request comes in.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate a couple of more hours of sleep. Some of us aren’t as young as we used to be.”

  Before Chrys could say anything else, the C.O. disconnected the call.

  Chrys handed the phone back over to Bret. “Thank you,” she told him.

  “It’s not a problem,” Bret said. “What did the slave driver have to say?”

  Chrys smiled. “He said he would approve the manpower, but the paperwork had to be in. Give me a couple of seconds. I need to call my command for a minute and confirm the request is going out as we speak.”

  Chrys pulled out her phone and speed-dialed her command, and asked to speak with the Duty Officer.

  “I’m sorry, he’s not available right now. I can put you on with the Officer of the Deck if you would like,” the Junior Petty Officer of the Watch told Chrys.

  “Look, I don’t mean to be a Bitch here, but you’re new. Do you see my name on the caller ID?” Chrys asked, trying not to sound impatient.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “What does it say?”

  “It says Captain Crystalline Hopkins, ma’am, VIP.”

  “Correct. Now, did you do a thorough turnover when you assumed the Watch, or did you just briefly go over things?”

  “It was a thorough turnover, ma’am.”

  “Then you know where it tells you on the inside cover of the logbook to call the Duty Officer if I call in. That’s supposed to be passed down on every Watch,
am I not correct?”

  Chrys sighed as she listened to the Junior Watch quickly flip the logbook over so he could read what she was speaking about.

  “Yes, ma’am. I see that. I’m sorry, I’ll call the Commander for you now.”

  “Thank you. And be sure to pass it down to the next watch. If I call in needing to speak with someone, the Watch is to patch me through. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good, now I’ll speak with the Officer of the Deck while you get the Duty Officer for me.”

  “Yes, ma’am. And I’m sorry, ma’am.”

  “Don’t be. Just let this be a learning experience. Be sure to do a complete turnover, and read everything before you assume your watch. Or at the very beginning, at least. You never know what’s going to happen or who to expect.”

  “I understand.”

  “Good. Now, if you’ll hand the phone over and get the Duty Officer, I would appreciate it.”

  “Right away, ma’am. Have a good night.”

  “Thank you, you too.”

  The phone was passed over, and a different voice came on the line.

  “Good evening, Captain,” the Officer of the Deck greeted her.

  “Lieutenant Speck. How are you doing?” Chrys asked.

  “I’m doing good. My wife is wondering when you and the guys will be back over for another cookout.”

  Chrys laughed, pushing Sven away from her as he answered for her. “Tell her this weekend. I want me some potato salad!”

  “I guess you have your answer. Actually, that sounds great. How would your wife feel about a full command get-together?”

  “Really? Don’t you usually take a month or more to plan one of those?”

  “I know, but this is a special occasion, so I need all hands on deck for this. That’s the main reason I’m calling. This mission I’m on has to get done in the next couple of days, or we’re going to be screwed, majorly. I need to know that my request for help for extra manpower has been submitted to the C.O. here.”

  “I believe that it’s been submitted, but only the Commander can say for sure. He’ll be here momentarily. You’ll be able to ask him then. Is there anything else you’re going to need help with?”

  “At this moment, no. I just need the manpower. If we get the right players, we should have this completed with no problems.”

  “I hope everything works out well for you guys then, and I’ll tell my wife to have everyone start getting everything ready.”

  “Great. We’ll be looking forward to it.”

  “Will you be making your famous spaghetti and meatballs?”

  “I can if that’s what you want me to bring.”

  “Damn right. That stuff’s to die for!”

  “Okay, I’ll bring the spaghetti then.”

  “We can’t wait! And here’s the Commander. We’ll see you when you get back. Stay safe, Captain.” Lt. Speck told her.

  “Thanks. See you guys when we get back.” Chrys said, then acknowledged the Duty Officer as soon as he got on the line.

  “Captain Hopkins,” the Commander greeted. “I received your request for extra manpower there at Ft. Huachuca and put it in with the C.O. you asked me to. He should have it, so you should be hearing from him any time.”

  “Thank you. The C.O. already told me he would approve it; he just needed the request in writing. I didn’t tell him what the mission was yet. I wanted to let you know what was going on first. You know we came to help Stone and Bullet reunite with their niece and nephew after being separated all these years.”

  “Yes. We’re looking forward to meeting the kids.”

  “Did you know there was an issue going on before they could reunite with them?”

  “We knew there was some sort of trouble, but we didn’t know what. Nothing too serious, I hope.”

  “That depends on your definition of serious. It’s Guarnieri and Valdovinos.”

  “Guarnieri and Valdovinos. You don’t mean Salvatore Guarnieri and Timón Valdovinos do you?”

  “That would be those two sonsofbitches.”

  “Holy shit! They’re there?!”

  “Yes. My C.O. knows we will be after the Bastards, but other than a few need-to-know people, no one else. That’s why the request for extra support. If we get the extra manpower, maybe we can get the Bastards in the first go-round instead of chasing them all across the fucking world again and chance losing them like we did last time.”

  “You let us know if you’re going to need anything else. I’ll personally make sure you get what you need.”

  “Thank you. We’re meeting up at 0700 with Stone and Bullet, but the extra men will be here at 0800. We should be home by Friday.”

  “Alright. You take care. Stay safe. Do what you need to to make sure everyone comes home.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “We’ll see you all when you get back.”

  “See you then. And thanks, Commander.”

  Chrys disconnected the phone just as it started to ring. “Captain Hopkins,” she greeted.

  “Captain, Major Hatfield. I have the request. I want you to know it’s been approved. Will you let me know what the request is all about?”

  “How about I let you know in the morning when everyone is more awake?” Chrys suggested. “I think it’ll sit better with you at that point. Otherwise, you’ll never get any sleep.”

  “Very well. This operation won’t take place tomorrow, will it?”

  “We’re going to meet up tomorrow and work out a plan. We plan on executing it in the next day or two. It depends on how the plan unfolds.”

  ‘“Just keep me updated.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll keep you posted one hundred percent of the way.”

  “You be sure to do that. And you make damn sure my men come home.”

  “You have my word, Sir; all of your men will return home alive. And I appreciate the help. I’ll talk with you later in the day. You have a good rest of the night.”

  “I’ll be sure to do that. I look forward to hearing from you this afternoon.”

  “Same here,” Chrys said and disconnected the phone, then turned to everyone.

  “Okay,” she told everyone. “You all heard the news. We have the extra manpower now. This mission just went from ‘we're going to make damn sure we get it done in a reasonable manner’ to ‘we’re going to smear these Bastards from one end of the planet to the other in a matter of hours.”

  Captain Hopkins reached over and put his hand on Chrys’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

  “You just upped our chances of success tremendously just now, so you did great. Let’s get you into your room to rest, and you can deal with everything else in the morning. Remember, we’re not driving out to meet Stone and Bullet; they’re coming here to meet us at 0700.”

  Chrys nodded. “I remember. It took me a little bit, but I finally remembered. Which is good because I can use the extra sleep.”

  “I know, so let’s finish up here and get you on up to your room.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Chrys said, not trying to argue. She knew any type of arguing would just end up with her on the losing end. When it came to her safety and well-being, no one in her family so much as cracked a joke.

  Turning to Bret, Chrys said, “Thank you for your help. I appreciate it. If you’re part of the group your C.O. sends over tomorrow, I will see you in the morning; otherwise, I will probably see you around town.”

  Bret shook his head. “Don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily. I will definitely be a part of the group in the morning, but I am also going to walk you up to your room, make sure everything is alright.”

  Chrys laughed. “You do know I have my father and six brothers here with me right now,” she gestured to everyone around them. “And each one of them would kill to make sure I get to my room safely.”

  Bret shrugged. “I don’t care. You can have a thousand people make sure you get there safely. I’ll still be personally making sure you
get to your room. So let’s get you inside.”

  Chrys just looked at Bret and sighed. She was more than familiar enough to recognize someone who could match her in being stubborn, and right now, she was not up to the sparring match.

  “Fine.” She huffed. “You can see me to my room. Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Bret smiled. “Sounds good.”

  Together, the group walked into the lobby of the Windemere Hotel, where they made a straight beeline for the elevator.

  “Good evening.” The attendant called out as they walked past. “Did you all have a good time out tonight?”

  “It was decent, thank you,” Chrys replied, smiling at her. “You have a good night.”

  “I will, same to all of you.”

  “Will do, thanks,” Chrys said, stepping into the elevator when it opened.

  As soon as everyone exited on the second floor, they quickly made their way over to Chrys’s room which just happened to find itself in the middle of all the other rooms used for protecting her.

  Pausing one last time, Chrys looked once again at Bret and smiled.

  “Well, we’re at my room.” She indicated to the door.

  “Good. Now go inside, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Chrys sighed, trying to glare at him. “You are so much worse than my brothers. You know that?”

  Bret smirked. “You have no idea how much worse I can be. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.

  “Night.” Chrys replied, laughing and rolling her eyes at the silly, repetitive game, then said, “And thanks for everything you did for me this evening. You didn’t have to, especially taking off work as you did. It means a lot to me.”

  “I’m glad I could be of assistance. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Chrys turned to her family before giving everyone a hug goodnight and told them she’d see them in the morning, then turned to open the door and go inside.

  Chapter 9

  Sitting at a table going over documents and talking on the phone, Chrys slowly enjoyed her fourth cup of coffee as she waited for family and fellow Teammates to join her down in the dining area.

  “Dammit, girl!” Chrys heard Sven grumble loudly as he joined her at just after 0600.