We weren’t interested in interrogating the Fox, after all this time we just wanted to make sure this time that we got him, that there were no more tricks up his sleeve.
This time my brothers and I were all there while the others stood watch outside. We didn’t dare make too much light but it was enough to see that the man sitting on the chair grinning at us was indeed Khalil.
Everyone’s blood was up and we didn’t have a lot of time, it’s never too wise to hang around in places like this. So though we each wanted a piece of him we knew it wasn’t gonna happen. This was the end of the road.
The only thing we wanted from him now were the names of the men working for him on our end. He was tied, gagged and bound to the only chair in the room.
“Hello Khalil long time no see.” Con tore the gag from his mouth. It was easy to see his grin in the dark but he said nothing as he looked around at us.
Lo shone his light in his face and his eyes were either sleep glazed or the Fox was on something. Didn’t matter. Lo started the questioning while the rest of us listened and nothing this fool was saying made any sense.
It was like playing a game of cat and mouse. We were getting nowhere and I was seriously beginning to think he was high or drunk when Mancini rushed into the room.
We all went on alert. “What is it, what’s going on?” He didn’t answer Logan just walked swiftly over to the chair where Khalil was tied in the middle of the room and pulled his head back roughly. Then he slit his throat. He did it so quickly we didn’t have time to react.
“What the fuck?” Lo looked at Mancini questioningly.
“He’s not Khalil.” He opened the dead man’s eyes and removed contacts before pulling his scalp back and dropping it on the floor. There was someone else sitting there.
“Who the fuck is this?”
“I don’t know but your boy is on the move we gotta go.” As soon as the words left his mouth we were on the move.
“How do you know this?” I questioned Mancini as the others joined us.
“No time to talk now he’s heading to the airfield. Shit.”
We hopped into the desert buggies we’d left hidden behind a dune and headed back the way we came. We’d been so close, but I can’t say I was surprised.
Khalil always seems to be one step ahead of us; only this time there was no way he should’ve known we were coming.
Once back in the air we turned to Mancini for some answers. “Long story short. Track had a bead on the senator. Apparently he and his sister has been in contact since we left the island.”
“An hour ago he picked up noise between the senator and an unknown. I don’t know how he knows but he’s certain it’s Khalil, he has eyes on him.”
“What, how’d he do that?”
“Why don’t we ask him when this is all done?”
60
Devon
No one breathed easy as we flew through the night, heading towards the gulf which is where Mancini informed us Khalil was meeting with the senator.
“So that’s how he’s always evaded us, he uses a decoy.” Logan looked around at the rest of us.
“Yep, I guess for the criminal element it pays to be paranoid.” Con stretched out his legs and closed his eyes.
“But how did he know we were coming?” Ty dropped his head back and rubbed his eyes.
“I’m not sure he did, but after the move on the general, he must’ve decided to be extra careful.” Mancini filled us in.
“How sure are we that he’s the one with the senator?”
“Track seems pretty sure, like I said, he has eyes on him and they’re in a convoy tent. Lots of security so we have to go in hard and fast.”
It only took us half an hour to land and we hit the ground running. I’m pretty sure my brothers like me, were hoping that this was it. Sure we’d hit and missed before with the Fox, but we all knew the stakes were much higher this time.
“Lyon, you sure you don’t want to stay back? You might get a bit confused in the fog of war.”
“No fucking way Tyler, this is perfect. I can kill the senator here and no one would even think about looking at me for it.” He actually grinned.
Mancini was right; the place was crawling with military guards. They’d joined a convoy to blend in with people leaving war torn areas heading to safety. It was a smart move, but the only way to pull it off was if the military was in on it.
We went in on foot and since there was no place to hide, had to crawl until we had the place within our scope.
There was more than one tent but it was easy to figure out which one was theirs. That would be the one with all the security on guard.
“They’re not military, that’s black water, what the fuck are they doing here?” I crawled over to Lo’s side to ask.
“Makes sense, the senator is dirty as fuck, he wouldn’t want the military tracking his movements here. I count four of them.” Ty crawled over to us as the others stayed in place.
Lo spoke into the mike on his collar as we watched the men on patrol. “Ty’s going to cover the tent, Zak, Con, take out the guards on three, we’re going in.”
We fast crawled on our hands and guts just as the first body fell. There was no time for the others to raise the alarm because the others weren’t far behind.
Outside the tent we could hear voices inside but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Lo held up his hand with the signal for two hot bodies.
A quick look showed that the other tents had not been disturbed, the only sound was the crying of a child a little ways up from us.
We waited a few seconds more to be sure that there were no more guards on duty before climbing to our feet and rushing in.
The two men jumped up from the table they’d been sitting at quite at ease for two dead fucks. “What is this, who are you people?”
I’ve always believed that if you can’t control your fear you should keep your damn mouth shut. The senator looked like a trapped rodent.
“Senator, may I introduce you to SEAL Team Seven.” Khalil actually grinned at us like he was in charge of shit. There was no fear after the initial surprise.
We all had our weapons pointed at the two men and of the two only the senator seemed shook. “What is the meaning of this? Why are you here? This is official business of the United States of America and you gentlemen were not invited. Now if you’ll excuse us.”
“That’s not gonna work senator, we know what you’re doing here and it’s not official business. What we want to know is who else is working with you?”
“That is none of your concern, this man has been given diplomatic immunity, he now works with the U.S. government in a highly secret capacity, you gentlemen are gonna have to leave.”
The whole time this asshole was talking Khalil had a sick fucking smirk on his face like he had us. I had my hand on the trigger ready to blast his ass no matter what the fuck was said, but I waited for Lo to give the order.
“Is that how you do it? He steals and sells American kids and you fucks make a deal with him?”
“Lyon…”
“Fuck that Hank.” I was pretty sure from the use of names that those two had no plans on letting these two live. Fine by me.
“Are you going to give us what we want or not?” Just then Mancini’s SAT went off on his hip and he turned out of the tent. Lo asked the question again but the senator was still giving us the spiel and time was of the essence.
My only interest was in ending this fuck and getting the hell back to my girl, and I’m pretty sure from the looks on my brothers’ faces they were thinking the same.
“Your commander, how is he?” This fucker. I guess he thought that diplomatic immunity bullshit meant something to us. It didn’t. We’d seen enough to know that that shit wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
“I wonder, how did you find me this time? It’s only taken you what, five and a half years?” He was talking shit but it was obvious from the dead look in his eyes that
he wasn’t pleased.
I was about to ask Lo if he was sure we couldn’t get the information we needed some other way so I could put one in this asshole, when Mancini walked back in with a smile on his face.
I knew before he spoke that the tables had turned. “We have what you need boys now let’s end this and get the hell out of here. There’s movement out there and any minute someone’s gonna notice the dead bodies lying around.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by he had what we needed but it sounded good to me. Lo looked around at the rest of us and nodded.
That was all it took for us to open fire. None of us would ever know who made the kill shot, but I’m pretty sure it was Lyon’s glock that put the hole in the senator’s forehead. He was the only one not carrying a Mac.
Ty planted the explosive devise on the table and we ran into the night back the way we came. The explosion sounded just as we made it back to our vehicles, scattering all the people who’d ran out of their tents a the sound of the gunfire.
No one looked back as we headed for the plane and the sky lit up behind us. We didn’t start laughing until we were safely on the plane and headed back to the island.
“Well that was anticlimactic. After years of trying to bring him to ground, who knew it would be this easy?”
“I hear you Logan but damn I’m glad that shit’s over. Is it really over?”
“Yeah, we finally got him Dev, she’s free.” I felt tears in my eyes and wasn’t ashamed of them.
“I still have to deal with the old king.”
“Maybe not, I think her father, Samson might be of help there.”
“What do you know Mancini?”
“Nothing much until we land, but from what I can tell, he and his son has been running interference. We’ll know more once we get there.”
It was a long fucking thirty-six hours but once we landed all my fatigue went away as soon as I saw her waiting for me. The others were there as well, but I only had eyes for her.
She ran to meet me as soon as I stepped off the plane and I grabbed her up in my arms. Nothing had ever felt this good. “Is it over?” She had tears in her eyes.
I put her back on her feet and dried her face, my heart breaking just a little at all that she’d had to go through. “It’s over baby. Don’t cry anymore okay, I can’t bear it.”
She held my hand to her chest and nodded as the last fear fell. I pulled her into my chest and kissed her forehead before heading after the others.
“Boys I hate to do this to you, but you only have a few hours down time, we have to get back to your compound ASAP.”
“What the fuck Mancini, why what’s going on there?”
“You’ll see when we get there, get some sleep.” He just walked away with his arm around his woman leaving the rest of us looking after him.
I was too tired to make love to her so I made her lay with me even though she wasn’t tired as I caught up on my sleep. It felt like I hadn’t slept in days.
Lo was right, the shit was anticlimactic. After all the time we’d spent hunting down the Fox, for it to end that easily seems almost surreal.
Personally I would’ve loved to put his ass through a grinder until there was nothing left and feed his remains to a pack of wild dogs, but you take what you can get in these situations.
When I woke up a few hours later she was still there next to me, watching me sleep. I pulled her down to my chest and rolled with her putting her beneath me.
No words were spoken as I pulled her panties off down her thighs. I felt around between her thighs and found her heat with my fingers.
I slid into her going slow and it felt like coming home when she wrapped her arms and legs around me, holding me close.
There was no haste in my movements as I thrust into her over and over, our mouths sealed together. I felt at peace knowing that she was finally safe and knowing that no matter what, she was mine.
61
Devon
True to his word Mancini hustled us off the island a few hours later. There was a sense of celebration in the air because the women knew their days of being confined were finally over.
When Mancini said he had what we needed back on the gulf, we took that to mean he somehow obtained the names of all the top-level men involved in the trafficking scheme.
He still wouldn’t tell us who or how he knew, all he would say is that we’d know soon enough. So the rest of us just cooled our jets and waited until he was ready. He hadn’t let us down thus far and he was one of us now.
It was great to be back here, I was especially excited to show her-her new home but when we pulled up to the gate it was obvious that we had a welcoming party.
“What the fuck?” Lo swore as we saw the admiral walk out to meet us a soon as the gates closed behind us. There were about six vehicles parked on the grounds, none of them familiar.
The girls who’d been taken with Kelly came running to meet her and I wasn’t surprised to see Track come towards me to meet his sister.
They fell into each other’s arms and my natural instinct was to pull her away. I checked myself just in time, I guess I’m going to have to get used to at least one other male being that close to her.
He put her away from him with his hands on her shoulders, looking her over. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She nodded as tears fell from her eyes and they hugged one more time.
He whispered some stuff in her ear and she nodded against his chest, but it was her sniffles that were getting to me.
I’m going to have to build up some sort of defense against them, because if she ever finds out what her tears do to me, I’m sure she’d own my balls for the rest of my damn life.
“Okay, give me back my girl.” I had to damn near wrestle her out of his hands. I think this kid was testing me. I quirked my brow at him because no matter how bad he is at hacking into people’s shit, I’m pretty sure I could break him in half easy.
“I’ll give her to you for now. Don’t forget, you’re on probation and I will be watching you.” He smirked and walked away, back towards the mansion.
“Don’t glare at my brother Devon he’s just playing. He knows how much I love you he won’t interfere. But if you’re ever mean to me…” She grinned and evaded my arms.
Her tears were dry now and there was light in her eyes. “Is that a threat princess?” She stopped smiling at my words and I rushed to reassure her.
“My princess, no one else’s ever.” I kissed her nose and sent her to join the women who were all standing in the middle of the yard talking to the girls.
I went and stood beside my brothers who were watching their women with a new sense of lightness. “Fuck this feels good, look at them.”
Lo pointed to the women who were standing out in the open for the first time in who knows how long. Carefree in their laughter and whatever shit they were plotting over there.
“Well boys, I think there’s something you’re gonna want to see in there.” Mancini came up beside us.
“What the fuck Hank, what else you got going on around here? My ass is tired.”
“Come along Colt, this concerns you too. We might as well see it through to the end.” No one questioned him as we headed towards the mansion. Zak had stopped long enough to send the women to his place.
The danger might be over as far as we knew, but it was going to take a while for us to get that shit settled in our minds and go back to normal.
We walked through the door, a little bone wary but upbeat nonetheless. We’d just rid the world of a very dangerous threat.
The only thing left now was the fallout from the senator’s death, but I wasn’t too worried about that. No one knew we were there.
“What the fuck?” I looked up at Quinn’s words and got a shock myself.
“Hello boys.”
“Commander?” The seven of us moved forward as if in a trance.
“How?” Lo asked as we looked him over to make sure this wasn’t some trick. With tec
hnology being what it is, you can never be too sure these days.
“It’s me, I had to do it this way for everyone’s sake.”
“You knew?” Quinn asked his father in law who was in the room.
“Nope, not the whole time, I went to his funeral the bastard.” He grinned at his friend.
“I had to fake my own death to bring the filth rising to the top. I suspected the general and knowing his close ties to the senator I suspected there were a lot more people involved, but I had to be sure.”
“Because of who I suspected was involved, I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I knew that if I moved before all the players had been smoked out of their holes, I’d only be peeling back one layer and leaving the rest to carry on.”
No one else spoke and I know my brothers like me were still coming to terms with what we were seeing. I’ve never experienced shocked joy before but I can’t say I didn’t like it.
“I thought I covered my tracks pretty well, but something went wrong and that’s when I tried calling you in. When you were sent into a trap, I knew I had to do something or we’d all be fucked, so I came up with a plan.”
“I know how the general operates, so when he invited himself here under the guise of friendship I was ready for him. I’d already taken the antidote for his little surprise so when he slipped me the poison I pretended to be dead while he ransacked my place looking for what I had.”
“So that’s why the closed coffin.” Connor asked as he too looked over the commander as if not quite believing his own eyes.
“I had to do it this way boys. I knew once I was gone that you’d take care of it once you got wind of what was going on. I didn’t want you involved, but I couldn’t get close. They knew me well enough to close ranks and I couldn’t find a way in.”
“If I didn’t want them to kill you off one by one I had to pull back or at least make them believe I had, but leave enough so you’d do the rest.”
SEAL Team Seven Books 6&7 Quinn and Devon Page 40
