by Dale Mayer
That was the thing about SEALs. They were a tight-knit brotherhood, no matter how many years apart they served. One could only be a SEAL for so long before it took its toll. The length of service before that happened varied between five and ten years. Levi knew several who were over five already. And some of those were men he wanted to work for him. He could plan for their arrival down the road.
Mason’s close-knit group SEAL unit was the best place to start. They were at the top of their game, and they deserved to be. He’d mentioned it to Evan and Megan already, but they weren’t ready to walk away. Levi couldn’t blame them. But when any of the unit was ready for a change, he’d be happy to have them join his company.
But he also knew life was a bitch and threw a wrench in everyone’s plans at some time. And, if and when it did, he’d be waiting with an irresistible setup.
“Okay, we got satellite feed,” Levi said, pulling up a chair and sitting down as Rhodes brought it up on the big screen.
With Stone now standing behind him and Alfred arriving from somewhere, the four men studied the images of the small town. The hardware store was easy to pinpoint because it was the last one on the block; most of Texas had alleys. The storefront looked like every other one in that area.
“Rhodes, any chance of ground-imaging software?” Alfred asked. “It would really help if we had some idea what was below that hardware store.”
“Even if we did, it’s not likely to show through the building itself. If we were closer, we could do imaging and see who was inside, but even that won’t go through the layers beneath. And I highly doubt there’s any registered building plans of tunnels.” Rhodes snorted. “I sure as hell wouldn’t file a plan if I was building a secret passageway underneath.”
Alfred reached out and pointed past the hardware store’s door to the ice cream shop beside it. “It’s a long shot anyone would have spent the money to dig through the limestone, but maybe there’s a basement or tunnel. That could explain why they picked this hardware store in this town. Not that we saw anything like that there, but that alone could indicate a connection to the store beside it. While we were busy watching this one, he could have walked out the other.”
“It’s possible,” Levi said, “but, from the outside, the storefronts are very close together. I think we would have seen someone of the same size and build leaving.”
“But not at the back door.” Rhodes turned to look at Levi. “The rear door of that second building has a porch, and our cameras are not directed that way.”
Stone, his voice low, said, “Unless he hasn’t left. We’re not the only ones who can’t stand the man. What if he ran afoul of his new colleagues?”
“Hell, maybe he wasn’t supposed to show up here at all. His presence, if noted, is bound to raise alarms.”
“It’s probably a foolish idea, but it would let us know for sure.”
“Search the place?” Rhodes asked. “Logan could handle that alone. He’s a hell of a big man.”
Levi grinned. Logan held the record for lock-picking over all of them. The man was damn fast. But, if there was something or someone waiting for Logan, Levi couldn’t send him in blind or solo.
“Maybe we should search the building beside it first,” Rhodes said, “If there’s a way through, let’s find it from the other side. Not likely to be much in the way of security tere.”
“Unless you’re a terrorist cell using it,” Stone said. “In which case there will be security.”
Although Levi admitted, “Not likely,” he still nodded. “Let’s get this set up. I want Logan and Harrison to go in tonight.”
“I’ll run backup,” Rhodes said. “A little action would be good.”
Levi nodded. “Have them both come home and suit up. This could be a waste of time, but we won’t know what we’re up against until we get there.”
Chapter 8
They had lost their satellite feed, but dinner was a jovial affair.
Alfred had gone all out, barbecuing marinated shish kebabs, served with Caesar salad, baked potatoes, and all the fixings. Sienna helped him in the kitchen, and she appeared to be settling in just fine.
If it kept Ice out of there, she was good with it.
The men were a little overwhelming to a female newcomer, but Alfred would keep everyone in line. Not that they’d overstep the professional lines in the first place, but these were strong, healthy males, and Ice had brought a beautiful young woman into their midst. One related to a friend of many of them. But, of course, there were rules about a SEAL brother’s little sister.
Obviously there would be a lot of interest, although she kept to herself.
With Bullard and his men filled in on the developing Rodriguez situation, they were all busy making suggestions. Levi didn’t need them, Ice knew, but the camaraderie would do him the most good.
His men all knew what catching Rodriguez would do for him. Levi had healed on many levels, but this one spot just festered with anger and pain.
Sienna sat beside Ice but stayed quiet.
Ice wasn’t involved in the actual operation tonight. She would stay at the compound and monitor. Logan and Harrison would be going in fully equipped. A perfect time to test some of their new equipment.
As soon as the food was cleared away, plans were laid out. Dressed in night gear, the guys were to head to town, park on the far side of the river, then make their way across and down the block. None of the stores were open after six, except a Chinese food restaurant, take-out only. Today happened to be the one day of the week it was closed.
No one at the table had firsthand intel about the workings of the ice cream parlor. According to its storefront sign, it would be closed by nightfall too. At no time were any civilians to be put in harm’s way. Considering how much damage Rodriguez had done before and the firepower he had available at his fingertips, casualties were all too likely if Levi and his team weren’t careful.
Ice went to the control room and set up communications and the new sensors to make sure their gear was working. The men had both cameras set out, which they’d wear to transmit video immediately back to their system. She placed her coffee down and settled in for the wait. The compound was only a few minutes away from town. She had to make sure nothing or nobody followed them home.
Hearing a noise, she turned to see Bullard grab a chair and sit down beside her. He reached over and clasped her hand in his. “How you doing?”
She squeezed his fingers and, at the sight of Levi entering the room, dropped her hand as his gaze instantly locked on their intertwined hands. She smiled at Bullard. “I’m fine.”
Levi studied her features, but she refused to look at him and kept her smile pleasant as she brought up the monitors and continued double-checking the equipment.
“Looks like both Logan and Harrison are live,” Levi said right as Stone joined them, taking the empty seat on the other side of Ice.
Small talk was over. Instantly all eyes turned to the monitors. She ran through the simple checks with Logan. “All clear. Are you there now?”
The mike was crisp enough that she could hear the snickers, along with his vehicle door shutting. He would cross the bridge and head down the block. Switching to the other microphone, she asked Harrison, “Status?”
“All clear. No traffic, cloud visibility low.” There was a smile in his voice when he added, “Perfect.”
She knew what he meant. Some nights it just felt like you were moving through the world unseen. And others, it didn’t matter how much cloud cover or weather elements were coming into play, you felt like everybody was watching.
“Watch your six,” she warned.
A low chuckle came through loud and clear. “Always.”
And she heard his door close. She shifted the cameras to watch as he slipped down the bank to the river. From where she sat, she could watch Logan approach the town, already hitting the first building on the other end of block as he slipped around the corner and headed down the alleyway.
<
br /> The river was low enough that Harrison could walk across carefully and avoid getting wet. A part of her wanted him to take a full dunk in and go for a swim, but that was just her sense of humor rising. Now on the far side, Harrison raced down the riverbank to come in ahead as Logan approached. As Harrison ran, she watched the distance between the two men get eaten up quickly. Harrison had been a competitive runner in his day. And, if ever a man needed to get from point A to point B fast, it was him. This was hardly a challenge though, nothing but a small-town block. As he made his way up the riverbank and skulked behind several parked vehicles, she switched her attention to Logan.
He approached the ice cream shop. All the lights were off; the Closed sign lit up. She wasn’t even sure it had been open today. Everybody in that town appeared to be on their last legs financially. At the same time the businesses were still going. She idly wondered if some private investment groups helped these stores keep up appearances while running as a cover for other activities. It’d be simple enough to do. They could buy everybody out and keep the entire town for their own purposes. She frowned, considering that. If that was the case, other cameras could be up and down the block.
As she watched the screens, she could see when Logan switched on one of the new gadgets Bullard had brought with him. It would pick up bugs and electronic devices active within six feet of the sensor. She whispered, “Keep watch for eyes in the other stores as some group could have bigger hooks there, just using them for cover.”
“I thought about that. Not what you call typical townsfolk here.” Logan didn’t explain as he went up to the porch of the ice cream store. Sure enough the sensor went off. He stayed behind the small porch wall. “Interesting. I have to take this out first.” He pulled out a jammer, and they watched while he quickly deactivated the camera.
“Check it again,” Ice warned. “Could be more than one system.”
At her side Bullard said, “The jammer should’ve taken out two.”
She gave him a surprised look. “Really? It can lock on to more than one signal once it’s marked?”
He nodded. “In the tests we’ve done so far, yes. It’s never been tested on more than two at a time though.”
She nodded. Logan had already turned his sensor back on, but all was quiet. He pulled out a simple lockpick, but, instead of going for the door, like she expected, he went for the large window beside him. Within seconds he had the screen off, and, being an old double-pane window, he had one of the windows out as well. With a simple jump he was up and over and inside. “Interesting how they put in that level of security at the door and forget about the window,” Logan said.
“Or a second system. If there was one, it would’ve been wrapped around the windows,” Bullard added.
Ice wasn’t up on this stuff. She’d always been the eyes in the sky, not connected to the ones on the ground, but, since being here, she’d learned a lot.
She leaned back in her chair, her head coming to rest against somebody she hadn’t noticed coming up behind her. Startled, she turned to find Levi, standing there, studying the monitors. But standing close, oh-so-close. Without looking down, he gently squeezed her shoulder. The same fingers stroked her neck to cup her cheek before sliding into her hair and deeper to her scalp.
Warmth flooded her system. God, she missed this. The soothing warmth of his caring touch.
He gently tugged her head backward until it rested against his stomach. “You’re fine,” he said in a neutral voice. But there was nothing neutral about the caress of his fingers on her cheek.
And she was damn grateful.
That was something else she wasn’t used to. In the military, everything was extremely regimented, including behavior between coworkers. Things were relaxed more now, as she’d witnessed before leaving the navy.
Ignoring the feel of Levi’s fingers, she focused on the screen—catching a peripheral view of Bullard, still next to her but giving her and Levi some semblance of privacy. Ignoring that too, she watched as Logan’s camera did a quick search through the ground level of the ice cream parlor. The retro place dated back to the fifties—probably never been updated. If any of the trendy New York City downtown business people could pick up this whole thing and plunk it down in the middle of their city, they’d make a fortune.
On the other side of her, Stone said, “The place looks to be about 1,800 square feet.”
The monitors before them showed the mapping software as it tracked all of Logan’s steps and added them to the 3-D diagram pulling up in front of them. The camera was adding information at the same time, letting them know where the walls, the windows, and the furniture were visible. It was as rough as it was crude, but it was fascinating to watch the interior show up with Logan’s every step through the store.
“Nothing,” he reported. “At least not here.” Logan turned and headed back the way he’d come in. “I’ll check the back room next.”
They watched in silence as the camera spanned the area, finding the bathroom, storeroom, and a small office. It had a similar layout to the hardware store with only a few differences. In the center of the storeroom was a small carpet.
“Logan, move the carpet,” someone said.
“I was just getting there.” He reached down and tugged the corner of the throw rug off to the side. Sure enough, he found a large trapdoor.
Ice switched her gaze to Harrison’s monitor. He now stood outside the hardware store, staring around the corner, hidden from the cameras.
“Harrison, Logan found a trapdoor opening to a lower level in the ice cream shop.”
“Got that.” Harrison’s gaze roamed over the side of the shop. “I don’t want to deactivate all the sensors. They are likely hooked up digitally somewhere and would set off a different alarm if disconnected. If it’s just for the ice cream shop, chances are good it won’t raise the same level.” There was silence as he surveyed the area. “The wiring here is new. Looks like it’s been recently beefed up.”
“Don’t touch it. We don’t want to set that off,” Levi said.
Ice leaned forward. “Is there a second story to that building?”
Harrison’s low voice said, “Not a full one. Probably just attic storage, like every place else in this part of the state.”
Through the viewfinder of his camera, the people in the control room could see as he scanned the building and the awning.
“I think I can make it up there.”
Ice didn’t see any way he could. She opened her mouth to say something when she realized he was on the move again. This time he backtracked up several stairs, keeping a very low profile. On the fourth building she could see a dilapidated staircase, which meant people had been living up there at one point in time. He quickly scaled it and ended up on the roof.
With his sensors on, he did a quick scan, but no security measures seemed to be on the roof. Staying low, he walked back cautiously toward the ice cream parlor, stopping to check for bugs or sensors as he reached a new rooftop.
Speaking of which, where the hell was Logan? She moved her gaze to a black screen. She pointed at it. “What’s going on there?”
“It’s all good,” Stone said. “The place is pitch black. But you can see movement.”
Stone adjusted the screen darkness, and she could tell what they were actually looking at was gray. And suddenly a much better view popped up.
“Good boy,” Levi said with humor. “His night goggles have adjusted to the different lighting now.”
Logan was in the basement of the shop, doing a quick search. Shelves lined the bulk of it. It appeared to be one open room with various tables set up.
Ice gasped. “Oh, my God, is that C-4?”
Logan slowly let the camera take it all in. One side was a full-length rifle rack, completely stocked. On one of the tables were boxes and boxes containing more weapons. Someone had been building something, or many things, here, considering the amount of inventory covering the tables.
On the far si
de, boxes were stacked on the floor. They could all see the stockpile of weapons, chemicals, bomb-making equipment.
She sat back in shock. “Holy shit. Is the compound even safe if that whole lot goes up?”
Bullard shook his head. “Nobody within one hundred miles would be safe if that all goes up.” His voice turned hard. “Levi, I sure hope you have somebody you can send this to because we need this taken out and fast.”
“And I think I found the connecting door,” Logan whispered. He snuck toward the wall on his right, his camera still picking up the dirty cement floor, the different types of wires. And yet, as he arrived at the door, he found a shiny new lock and several bolts on it.
Suddenly Levi reached forward and ordered, “Logan, get out. Now.” He switched over to Harrison. “Logan’s in trouble. He’s in the basement. Get him out now.”
Ice didn’t understand what Levi had just seen, but, with her arms wrapped around her chest, she waited in shock for something to happen. Logan’s camera suddenly clicked off, but the audio was still on.
A single gunshot rang out.
*
“Shit.” Levi raced out the door, overturning a chair in his way. He had to get to the hardware store. And fast.
He could hear footsteps racing behind him, voices rising as Harrison called for help on the comm. The last thing Levi needed was to get two men shot. He hit the truck and was out the gate with Rhodes jumping into the passenger side just before Levi slammed on the gas and blasted down the driveway.
They were ten minutes out, but it was still too long. He should’ve set up another alternate team; Harrison was only a one-man backup. They weren’t expecting to find anything, but they should have. Just because it was a sleepy town appearing to be innocent and empty, didn’t mean it was—and anything involving Rodriquez was the exact opposite.
