Operation Bayou Angel

by Margaret Kay

  “I’ll really try to keep that in mind and relax.”

  “If you feel like that again, trust me enough to talk to me,” Sherman said.

  “I will. I promise.”

  He brought her to Garcia’s workroom. Garcia gave her the agency phone and explained how his programming worked to mirror her real phone’s data. Her own phone, if being monitored, would alternately ping off cell towers near the rehab facility and Sherman’s condo. He showed her how to access all her stuff from her own phone on the agency phone.

  “You cannot download anything to this phone. Several of the game programs you had on your phone are not secure enough for our network, so I did not load them.” He opened the games folder on the agency phone. “These are secure and permissible if you find you must play games.” Then he opened the music folder. “Here is all the music from your phone.” He handed a set of wireless earphones to her that he’d already paired to her phone. “I usually listen to music while we are en route, thought you may want to too. There will be a lot of downtime during the operation.”

  “Wow, thank you,” she said.

  “I listened to some of that Zydeco music you have on here. It’s very interesting. I’ve never heard any before, but I know it’s native to Cajuns and the Creole bayou folks. I have to admit, I don’t understand the difference between Cajun and Creole and Googling it didn’t help any.”

  “No, it’s about as clear as the brackish water in the bayou,” Sherman said. “Some go strictly by skin color; mixed race is Creole and white with French origins are Cajun. Others in New Orleans say that if fancy you’re Creole, and Cajun means rustic.”

  “Others say Cajuns are those who live in the city and Creole are the swamp people,” Brielle said. “Since I am so mixed with different cultures, American Indian, Caribbean, Spanish, probably even some African, I identify as Creole. My sister, Dahlia, proclaims she’s American Indian, would never say she’s Creole or Cajun for that matter.”

  “Yeah, that’s all pretty confusing,” Garcia said. “My parents came here from Mexico. I’m straight up Mexican, easy. Anyway, here’s how to access the agency text messages. I have the members of the team that will be on the ground programed in as well as myself and Jackson.” He pointed out the Ops contact. “This will get you to our Operations Center. Call it if there is an emergency. It’s manned twenty-four-by-seven,”

  “Wow, thanks,” Brielle repeated, genuinely surprised by his thoroughness. She was sure though that she wouldn’t need the contacts.

  Indigo

  When Sherman and Brielle returned to the Team Room, it was empty. All the bags were gone, and no one remained. He led her through to the garage. The men milled around the two vehicles. Requisition Ryan was just wheeling his empty ammo cart back towards the elevator. Sherman greeted him as they passed.

  “Good timing,” Mother called. “Ryan just finished loading our ammo.”

  “We need to roll,” Lambchop said, and then slid into the driver’s side of one of the SUVs.

  Mother climbed behind the wheel of the other. Sherman led Brielle over to the Suburban that Lambchop was in. Sloan was just settling himself in the passenger seat beside Lambchop. Sherman opened the back door and motioned for her to get in.

  At the other SUV, Sherman watched Doc get in the front passenger seat as Burke climbed into the backseat. He hadn’t had much of an opportunity to work with Burke. Delta normally worked with Alpha Team. He was sure Burke was competent, or Shepherd wouldn’t have hired him, but he would have felt better if Garcia or Jackson had been on the detail.

  Lambchop’s eyes in the rearview mirror flickered to Brielle. “How are you holding up?”

  She smiled at him, remembering what Brian had said. They were all just human beings doing a difficult job. Nothing to be intimidated by. “I’m fine. I feel like I just stepped into a Tom Cruise movie.”

  The men laughed.

  “Those things are so fake,” Sloan said. “Kaylee loves to watch those action flicks and I can’t help but pick them apart.”

  “What do you like to watch?” Brielle asked.

  Sherman laughed. “And don’t say porn.” He reached forward and smacked Sloan on the shoulder.

  Sloan laughed. “As little as I’m home, I don’t want to watch anything when I’m alone with my fiancé. That’s all I’ll say.”

  The men laughed again. Brielle smiled. She pictured Kaylee, remembering how cute she and Sloan were together. He held her hand while she was obviously nervous about the takeoff and landing. Well, with the turbulence they’d hit, she too had been nervous. Bobby held her hand, but he’d been as afraid as she was. She glanced at Brian. She wondered if he would sit beside her on the plane this time and if he would hold her hand in front of his coworkers if she was nervous. He hadn’t been physical at all with her when they were around the others.

  As they drove, it started to rain. By the time they arrived back at the same hangar at the same airport they’d arrived at, it was pouring. Within, the cars pulled up to the same jet. They all got out of the cars. Brielle shivered against the cold in the hangar. The dampness made it feel a lot colder and the Navy hoodie she wore wasn’t warm enough.

  “Go into the plane and sit as far back as you can. I’ll join you after we’re loaded,” Sherman said to her.

  She felt bad boarding the plane empty handed when she saw how full both SUVs were with supplies. When working as a bayou guide, the heavy lifting was on her. She was just as much one of the boys as the actual boys were.

  From her seat at the back of the plane, she watched them load the bags. It went remarkably fast. They had a system, a rhythm. She suspected that they worked that well together under all circumstances. Her respect for this group of people increased with that realization.

  The man introduced as Mother made his way back. He sat himself across from her.

  “Have you warmed up? I can get you a blanket,” Mother offered.

  She was still just a little chilled. “That would be nice, thank you.”

  She watched him go to a cabinet. He brought her a pillow and a blanket. Then he settled back into his seat. By then, the big black man who had been introduced as Lambchop made his way back to them too. Although Brian had not specifically said, she guessed that he was the one in charge of the team.

  “Sherman will be on board in a minute. Do you need anything before we take off?” Lambchop asked.

  “That’s very nice of you, thank you.” She held the pillow and the blanket up. “He,” she said pointing to Mother, “got me these. I think I’m set.”

  “My name’s Mother,” the Hispanic man who was seated reminded her.

  “I know. I just feel silly calling you Mother.”

  His lips pulled into a grin. “Almost everyone calls me that. I go by Danny too, if you prefer.”

  Brielle smiled. “Danny, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “And my name is Landon,” the black man said.

  “Thank you. So, you all have nicknames?” The men both nodded. “What’s Brian’s?”

  Sloan was within earshot. He laughed. “Brian hasn’t told you his callsign yet?”

  She shook her head no. All the men laughed. She didn’t know why.

  “The Birdman,” Sloan said.

  “What?” Sherman said from behind him.

  “Your callsign,” Sloan said. “Brielle asked what your callsign was.”

  “Oh, looking to talk bad about me, are you?” He made eye contact with Brielle and smiled a cocky grin. “It’s because I have no fear of heights. I’ll climb up anywhere and hang out where the birds land.”

  The men laughed again. Yeah, they all knew his callsign wasn’t earned by brave climbing feats.

  “As I remember it, it was because you couldn’t stop yourself from flipping people the bird, mostly at our training officers who then PT’d us to death because you flipped them off during a one-finger salute, or while you held your hand by your side,” Sloan said.

  Sherman shrugged. “Yo
u remember it how you want to; and I’ll remember it how I want to. You can’t deny though, that I did climb up where most others wouldn’t.”

  “That’s because the rest of us didn’t have a death wish,” Sloan said.

  The three men still stood between him and Brielle. Sherman pointed to the seat beside her. “And that seat is mine. One of you needs to back off.”

  Lambchop flashed a knowing smile at him. “I’m sitting up near the front. I was just making sure Brielle had everything she needs.”

  Sherman noticed she already had a pillow and a blanket. He was a little annoyed. He wanted to get her what she needed. He wanted to take care of her. He went to the small refrigerator and got four water bottles. Lambchop had already moved forward when he returned. Mother and Sloan were settled into the chairs that faced Brielle. He handed them each a water bottle. At the front of the plane, he noticed the door was secure. Doc and Burke were settled in across from Lambchop. The team was loaded and ready to go.

  He took the seat beside her as the engines started. He felt the craft vibrate. He checked her lap. Her seatbelt was already on. He secured his own after handing her a water bottle. He reached over and massaged over her shoulder. “Are you still cold?” She had the blanket draped over her legs.

  She yawned and then locked eyes with him. “I’m warming up. When I’m allowed to, I would like to recline my seat and try to sleep all wrapped up in this blanket. I’m still tired.”

  He leaned his head in close to her ear. “Didn’t you sleep good last night?”

  “I slept great,” she said with a knowing smile that struck him as flirty. “But someone’s alarm woke me up way too early, four-fucking-thirty!” She rolled her eyes.

  Sherman laughed. “I’ll see if tomorrow we can let you sleep into at least five-fucking-thirty,” he teased her.

  “Then I guess I better get that nap.” She flashed him a smile.

  The plane rolled forward. Brielle watched out the small window as it pulled out of the hangar. Rain pelted the aircraft as it taxied. It turned onto the active runway and paused only a second before the pilot throttled up and the Lear sped down the pavement, slicing through the sheets of rain.

  Sherman watched Brielle closely during takeoff. She was relaxed, her eyes fixed on the cabin window. Once they leveled off, he glanced across the aisle at Mother and Sloan. They both watched him. Shit, he was sure they both knew that Brielle meant something to him. He wasn’t sure why that bothered him, but it did. Fuck it, he decided. So, his teammates knew that she meant something to him, big deal. It wasn’t like he was going to put a ring on her finger too. He leaned in close to her, lips to her ear. “You can recline and try to sleep now, if you want.”

  She turned her head into him, her nose tapping his, their lips but centimeters apart. He smiled and everything else and everyone else on the plane faded away from her view. She couldn’t help but gaze over his face, his eyes, his lips. She wanted another of those real kisses from him.

  An instant of turbulence shook the plane, and she snapped out of it. “Oh, I hope it’s not that bumpy all the way down to Louisiana,” she said, recovering from nearly kissing him.

  Sherman pulled away from Brielle when the plane shook. Damn, he’d nearly kissed her. Or she’d nearly kissed him, he wasn’t sure which. “No, we should be out of it soon. It’s safe to go ahead and lay back.” He took hold of the blanket. “I’ll wrap you up in it and tuck you in snug after you recline.”

  Brielle put her hood up, reclined her seat and got comfortable on the pillow. Brian did indeed lay the blanket over her, and he tucked it in all around her. She closed her eyes and willed herself to go to sleep. Her thoughts would not quiet though. Her brain was fixated on the fact that she almost kissed Brian. She knew she wanted him, but the problem was, she wanted a relationship with him, not a ‘whatever happens’ with him. She couldn’t accept that, wouldn’t accept that with him or anyone else.

  After the turbulence stopped, Sherman moved forward. Mother and Sloan followed. Lambchop advised there were no updates. Sherman hadn’t expected any yet. The six members of Shepherd Security went over the facts of the mission, knowing they couldn’t fill in any of the gaps without the info that only the digital team could dig up.

  “The fact that the Sheriff has been all over Brielle since she started her blog attack of BioDynamix, and he got all over my ass as soon as I got into town, proves to me that he’s in on something. His actions have not been those of a normal Sheriff,” Sherman said. “I say we continue to focus on him, maybe even do our own active surveillance.”

  Lambchop nodded. “How threatened did you feel by him?”

  “If I hadn’t gotten Madison on the video call to see him, I’m not so sure there wouldn’t have been an accident involving my boat. There was no reason for him to board me twice, especially the second time after I’d already identified myself as a federal agent.”

  “One thing we absolutely do is keep Brielle safe from him. We’ll have to take her with, to talk to Tina Landry, but she has to otherwise remain unseen,” Lambchop said.

  “Yeah,” Sherman said, glancing towards the back of the plane at her. “She’s not going to like it, but the less she leaves that Coast Guard building, the better.”

  Sloan stood beside him. “Don’t worry, we’ll have your girl covered,” he whispered in Sherman’s ear.

  Sherman shot him a caustic stare, to which Sloan just smiled a crooked, knowing grin. Mother smiled and nodded too. Who did Sherman think he was fooling?

  The Lear descended through the sunny Florida sky over Pensacola Naval Air Station. It was a beautiful eighty degrees out when they deplaned. Everyone immediately shed their warmer shirts and jackets. Brielle tied the Navy sweatshirt around her waist. When this was over, she wanted to keep it if Brian would let her.

  A transport sat nearby to take them and their gear to the Coast Guard Chopper, the Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk. This time, Brielle helped to unload the bags. She insisted on it. “Look, I normally load the tour boats with supplies. I’m not some fragile female who can’t do any physical work,” she told Brian. Besides, she’d feel more a part of the team if she could pitch in and help.

  “Fine,” Sherman relented.

  Before she knew it, Brielle was seated deep within the big orange and white painted Coast Guard helicopter. There wasn’t even a window to look out of except the large front window that showed her only sky. Brian handed her a ballcap. “Hide your identity as best you can when we get off this bird.”

  She took it from him. The ballcap also said U.S. Navy. She wondered if he was still considered active duty. She still didn’t have a good idea of exactly what their unit was besides Black Ops. She knew that could be military or government. Given that she’d never be able to write a story on them, she figured it didn’t matter which they were, but she would like to know just to satisfy her own curiosity.

  The Coast Guard chopper landed on the helipad painted cement. The doors opened, and they all exited. They were parked near three other Coast Guard helicopters. About a hundred yards away was the back entrance to the Coast Guard Building. One of the men who’d been in the back of the helicopter with the Shepherd Security Team went to the building to get a cart to help transport their equipment.

  “We’ve got your team set up in our vacated north wing,” an officer who came from within the building said as he approached. “I’ll show you.”

  Sherman turned back to Lambchop. “We’re going ahead, I’ll be back out in a minute.”

  Lambchop nodded. Yes, best to get Brielle inside right away. The man returned with the cart. Lambchop and the rest of the team unloaded their bags and supplies. It would take two trips.

  Brielle followed Brian and the officer into the building. They went through a door immediately within the entry to the right. It led them into a hallway which emptied into an exterior room with all the blinds drawn where Madison and Cooper were. It was a lounge, but they had added a few tables up against one wall to transfor
m it into their on-site command center. They had two computer tablets open on one of the tables.

  Cooper rose from his seat as they entered. “I thought that was your chopper coming in.” He glanced at Brielle. “Stay here with Madison. The Birdman and I will go help with the equipment.”

  Brielle had to smile at Brian being called the Birdman. It again reminded her just who he was, and the smile left her face as fast as it had appeared. The job he did was dangerous. She watched the two men leave. Madison came to her feet as well. She pointed to a space beside the tables. “We’ll have them stack the equipment here, personal bags can be brought to the sleeping quarters.” She pointed at a door that led out of the room.