by Jaime Lewis
“I’d give you the world if I could,” he admitted to her, then kissed her back.
Hearing laughter coming from behind her, she turned around and looked at everyone while wiping away the tears. “I don’t know what to say. I was so not expecting this.”
Stitch answered for all, “Ace came up with the idea, but honestly, I didn’t think he could pull it off.”
She laughed, “Well, you can say you finally succeeded because I honestly had no idea.”
“We had an early dinner brought in,” he said, pointing to the table on the far side where there were a bunch of pizza boxes stacked up, and she wondered where in the hell they were able to get pizza. “And we have a cake for dessert.”
She walked over to the table, and sitting in the middle was a birthday cake along with a bunch of envelopes.
The Colonel stepped forward and hugged her. “We all wanted to do something special for you since you had to spend your birthday here.”
She looked at all the men that stood before her. “Thank you all so much. You really don’t know how much I appreciate this. I’ll admit it sucked to think I had to celebrate it here, but what I don’t regret is celebrating it with all of you.”
After pizza and conversation, Ace lit all thirty candles on her birthday cake as everyone sang happy birthday.
While they enjoyed cake, Alex asked the Colonel where Staff Sergeant Hill had been since she hadn’t seen his friendly face around the last couple of days.
The Colonel took on a grim look, and her gut clenched. “He took a few days of leave to be with his family. His mom passed away. She’d been battling cancer for a few years.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Me too. He’s actually due back sometime this evening.”
Alex made a mental note to reach out to Hill later and offer her condolences.
Once they were all finished with the cake, Ace handed Alex the envelopes from the table.
“These are for you. And to give credit where it’s due, Tenley had a hand in helping pull this off, along with Derek. Between the two of them, they got us the cake mix and frosting in record time, along with the pizza.”
Alex couldn’t believe the thought and effort that had gone into making her day as special as it was.
She took the envelopes and opened the first one, which was from Ace. Inside was a photograph of a Jaguars football jersey autographed by the entire team. Confused, she looked at Ace, who was sitting next to her, smiling. “Umm…I don’t understand the photo.”
“The item in the photo is your present. The jersey is at Tenley’s house. She took the picture and emailed it to me, and then I printed it out here at the office.”
She felt her face light up with surprise. “Oh my God…are you shitting me?” She shouted, bouncing up and down in her seat as one would do when they got such an awesome present. “You got me a jersey autographed by the entire team? I love it!” She leaped into his lap, almost knocking them and the chair over. She looped her arms around Ace’s neck and hugged him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Ace chuckled and secured her with his arms around her, so she wouldn’t fall off. “You’re welcome.” Neither one missed the smirk that the Colonel gave them. So much for being discrete.
Not making any effort to remove herself from Ace’s lap, she grabbed another envelope off the table. Each envelope was from a team member and inside held a picture of the gift they got her. Potter got her a gift card to buy books for her tablet, Dino gifted her with a spa package to an upscale spa in Virginia Beach, meaning she had to visit to use it. Diego got her a set of Navy Christmas ornaments she’d been wanting but never got around to ordering. She got tickets to the upcoming Country Music Festival from Frost. Stitch got her a wall display for her Challenge Coin collection she started when she was a kid. She received some new Photoshop software she’d wanted from Skittles, and Irish gave her a gift only a sniper would give, a year membership to the local gun range.
After the last card was opened, the only thing that remained on the table was an actual present wrapped in brown craft paper with an envelope attached to it. She opened the envelope first and read the note inside:
Alex,
Hearing your uncle over the years speak so highly of you, I can’t tell you how much it has been a pleasure to meet you finally and to serve alongside you, although I wish we’d been able to meet under more favorable circumstances. You are an incredibly special woman, one with many talents and a very bright future still ahead of you. If I had a daughter, I would hope she’d grow up to be a confident, intelligent, and beautiful woman as yourself. Please know that once your job here is complete, if you ever need anything, you have another ‘uncle’ you can call upon if needed or if you just want to talk.
Happy Birthday!
Col. Johnson
She took the wrapped gift and opened it. One look at the contents, and she threw her head back and laughed. It was a picture of her and the Colonel. She was wearing an I Love Army t-shirt. On her third day on the base, she had lost a bet with the Colonel and had to wear the shirt around the base for an entire day. Noticing something folded under the picture frame, she picked it up and saw it was the actual t-shirt she wore in the picture. She unfolded the shirt and saw the front of it was covered in signatures.
Looking at the Colonel, he told her, “I got as many guys as I could on the base to sign it, so you have a little souvenir to take home with you.”
It may be Army, but this gift would hang proudly on her wall at home. She slid off Ace’s lap and walked over to where the Colonel was sitting. He stood up and enveloped her in a hug. And, damn did she need that hug. She didn’t have her uncles here, so this was the next best thing. She stepped back and looked up at him. She was trying desperately to keep her emotions in check by blinking back the tears.
“Your words mean so much to me, and I already consider you a part of my extended family.”
One-by-one, she walked around the room and thanked each guy with a hug. She was so overcome with emotion she couldn’t stop hugging them, even causing them to chuckle. Finally, she turned to face them all.
“I am so humbled by all your thoughtfulness. This birthday has been one of the most special ones I’ve ever celebrated. And here I thought it was going to be the shittiest.” She cracked a smile. “It doesn’t surprise me, though, that a bunch of stealthy SEALs managed to pull off this surprise. Over the last week, you all have come to mean so much to me, and I just want you to know that even though we don’t share the same blood, I consider each of you a part of my family.”
She heard her voice cracking and knew she needed to wrap this up before she started crying. “So, thank you guys again for making my day special and one I’ll never forget.”
As soon as she finished talking, someone from the Colonel’s came in, letting him know he had a phone call from Washington.
After the Colonel left, Alex looked at Ace. “Well, I guess playtime is over. You guys ready to go over the plans for tonight?”
Chapter Fifteen
“Fuck! Get the hell out of there!” Ace yelled into his mic as explosions rocked the area around them.
Gunfire followed as the team ran to take cover. They were outnumbered, and Ace feared there was a good chance they wouldn’t make it out alive unless the air support he called in for arrived within the next few minutes.
“There!” Dino pointed to a cluster of boulders, and they took cover behind them.
“Where are Stitch and Diego?” Ace asked as he lifted his rifle and fired at two of the three men approaching. Potter fired off a round, hitting the third guy, and he dropped to the ground, a bloom of blood covering his chest.
“They are pinned down on the other side,” Irish communicated as he too picked off incoming enemy forces.
“Fuck!” Ace reached for his radio. “Where in the hell is the air support?”
“One minute out,” Skittles stated.
“Stitch, you
and Diego need to move. Air support coming in hot. Less than one minute.”
“Copy, we are approaching your location from the west over the hill at your three o’clock.”
Ace looked up and saw the two figures making their way down the bare, rocky slope. He lifted his weapon and started firing at another wave of hostile forces coming their way.
Just as the enemy forces were gaining their position to strike again with heavy artillery, two attack helicopters crested the nearby ridge and rained down a hail of gunfire onto the approaching crowd. An orange glow rose above the smoke, lighting the sky up as explosion after explosion rocked the mountain.
Seconds later, the world felt like it stood still. There were no movements, no sounds; there was no nothing. When the smoke eventually cleared, and Ace was able to get a visual on the intended target location, his stomach clenched, seeing the entire area had been decimated. Bodies were strewn across the ground, but what caught his eye were the two huge craters in the ground where the buildings had once stood.
Potter looked over with a grim expression. “This just turned into a recovery mission.”
“Afraid so.” Nobody inside those buildings would’ve survived that blast. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if they could find anything to pull DNA from.
“Is everyone good?”
“All team members accounted for and in one piece.”
Thank God for that.
“What the fuck was that?” Frost asked, joining them. The others gathered around as well, all glancing at the destruction.
Ace shook his head. He wasn’t even sure what went wrong.
“I don’t know. We were cleared to move in.” Ace was already compiling a list of questions he wanted answers to. “Let’s fan out and see if we can find anything.”
They all rose to their feet; then, a call came over the radio that added more mystery to the situation.
“Alpha One, this is Eagle One. Operation is aborted. Area is still considered hot and hostile. Extraction team incoming with coordinates…”
Ace had no words except, “Eagle One, copy. Team awaiting exfil.”
◆◆◆
Alex looked like a raging bull in a china closet as she stormed across the base, moving people out of her path who dared to cross it. Her expression alone should have warned those approaching her that now wasn’t a good time. To say she was pissed off was a huge understatement. If she didn’t tamp down her emotions, she was liable to be charged with murder.
Bert McMahon had better have a damn good explanation for his actions involving the unmanned aerial vehicle that was being used to aid the team during the mission. The video feed from the UAV was unexpectedly interrupted the exact moment the team moved in over the ridge of the compound. Had the feed not been disrupted, anyone watching would have seen the large contingent of enemy forces that had been awaiting the team’s arrival.
Once Alex had confirmation the team had been safely extracted from the side of the mountain, and she had time to take a breath, she started making phone calls, trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong. The agency had provided credible intelligence, indicating the hostages were being held in one of the two structures within the compound. She had been so focused on getting answers that she hadn’t realized that Bert had slipped out of the room. Usually, when things turned ugly, he always made it a point to interject some sort of snide comment, anything to get a dig in at her. But tonight he acted differently, and after talking with the operator of the UAV, along with a former colleague at the agency, she knew why he appeared uptight, and now she was looking for answers.
Only having listening capabilities and hearing the audio of the team being overrun by enemy forces had her on the edge of her seat. Even though the team had been outnumbered, that didn’t stop them from giving everything they had until air support arrived and leveled the mountainside.
There were times during the skirmish where she struggled to keep her tears at bay, but the tears now that were now threatening to return were out of pure anger.
As she approached Bert’s housing quarters, Mical and Roland stepped out the door, and when they spotted her, Alex swore they both seemed nervous.
“Is he in there?” She called out.
Both looked at each other as if asking how they should answer. She wasn’t up for a round of games, so instead of waiting to hear what type of bullshit answer they were going to give her, she just barged in. Catching Bert off guard, he swung around and eyed her, telling the person on the other end of the line that he had to go.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” He asked her. He looked unhinged and wild. Something was off.
“I think you know exactly why I’m here, and I expect the truth, not some politically correct bullshit answer.”
◆◆◆
Bert took a slug from the bottle of whiskey and grimaced as the liquid burned on the way down. Tonight’s mission hadn’t gone as he had planned, and now he waited for the phone to ring, knowing Ashraf would be calling.
How in the hell those SEALs had survived on the side of that mountain had been a fucking miracle. The plan had been to take out two birds with one stone.
The compound that Alex and the team thought was to be holding the hostages was a rival terrorist group that Ashraf had wanted to eliminate. The Caucus is what they called themselves. When Alex had chased Ashraf into hiding two years ago, the leader of the Caucus had set his sights on Ashraf’s territory.
With help from some informants, the Caucus was tipped off that the SEALs were planning a raid, and they had been ready to defend their land. The SEALs had no clue what they were walking into, thanks to the video feed from the UAV being interrupted. That had been the genius work of another double-agent whose loyalty lies where the money is.
When the UAV’s feed was cut, it had been too late for the team to abort the mission. They had already been made and never saw the enemy until it was too late. However, he underestimated Lt. Commander Chambers and his team. Even he had to admit; they were one badass team. The only good that came out of the fucked-up night was the air support had taken out the majority of the Caucus, including its leader. The bad news was that the team would be returning, which meant Alex would be under their watch once more, making it difficult to lure her away.
He needed to come up with a plan and quickly because once he delivered the news to Ashraf, he would surely want to take matters into his own hands, and he couldn’t let that happen because then he’d be out just shy of a million dollars. He’d already made a lot of money over the last couple of years; however, this last payment would guarantee he’d be set for life. This would be his last mission before he would turn his resignation into the agency. From there, he’d sneak away to the private hideaway he’d already secured and live out the rest of his life relishing in the sand and sunshine.
He wondered where those two asshat associates of his had wandered off to. Those two had been a pain in his ass since his boss asked him to mentor the kids. He wasn’t thrilled about having the two shadows, and he had to adjust his plans accordingly so they wouldn’t suspect anything was up. They were nosey little fucks.
The ringing of his burner phone brought him out of his stupor. Pressing the button to answer, he didn’t even have a chance to speak before the angry voice spoke.
“What the fuck happened?”
He closed his eyes and sighed.
“It was a minor set-back. At least Caucus isn’t a worry to you any longer.”
“I’d rather deal with the Caucus then having that bitch and those SEALs playing in my backyard.”
Bert was starting to dislike Ashraf more each day. He was the most ungrateful bastard he’d met. And, that was saying a lot, considering all the scum bags he’d come in contact with.
“Look, Ashraf, you’ll have her.”
“You have twenty-four hours to bring her to me, or our deal is off, and we both know you don’t want that.”
Suddenly, the door behind him burst open. When h
e turned and saw who had dared to just barge into his private quarters, a slow smile started to form. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as he thought.
“I’ll have to call you back.” As he hung up, he could hear Ashraf shouting.
“What in the hell are you doing here?”
“I think you know exactly why I’m here, and I expect the truth, not some politically correct bullshit answer.”
Oh, you’ll know the truth soon enough, sweet angel.
◆◆◆
Alex took two steps back with every step Bert took towards her until her back hit the wall. She glared at him as he stood in front of her with a blank expression. He placed his hands against the wall by her head, caging her in. That was when she smelled the alcohol on his breath. Had he been drunk during the mission?
“Why did the agency order the feed to be cut?”
He just stared at her for a few seconds before moving his hand and taking a strand of her hair and twirling it around his finger. His actions were creepy and had her on-edge.
“Alex, come on now, I know you haven’t forgotten everything you learned while at the agency.”
“I’m not following.”
He smirked. “Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices for the overall mission to prevail.”
She took in his inebriated state as an opportunity to put some distance between them. She shoved him backward, and when he stumbled, she tried to skirt around him, but he snagged her wrist, squeezing it hard. He yanked on her arm, pulling her in close. She tried to pull away, but his hold tightened.
Was he saying that the agency risked the lives of Ace and the guys for the mission? That didn’t even make sense.
“Are you admitting that the agency was willing to stand-by and witness the murder of an entire SEAL team? For what?” She shouted and tried to pull away but to no avail.
She stared him down, her jaw was taut, and she clenched her teeth. “Our men, the same men who fight for your freedom, could’ve died up there. Why?”
“Come on, Alex, you know how things work. Sometimes, you have to give and take, even if it means putting the good guys in the line of fire.” He laughed or more like cackled, but all it did was piss Alex off.
