“Okay, I’m listening.” Mac could hear the impatience in his own voice. He wanted to get to Nico and get him out of there right now. He could be dying while they stood here planning.
Adael nodded. “Okay, we’re going to go to the armory and beat down anyone who’s guarding the door then we’ll grab some weaponry and fight out way out with Devecchio in tow.”
Mac’s mouth dropped open. “That’s it? That’s your brilliant plan? Hell, a ten-year-old could have come up with that!” He frowned, planting his feet as he towered over the Israeli. Adael smiled up at him, shrugging his shoulders.
“You got a better plan?”
“I-I… Oh, fuck,” Mac stammered. Of course he didn’t have a better plan. It’s not like he could walk downstairs and throw open the doors for the FBI’s TAC teams to waltz on in and blow everyone away… though that did sound like fun. They had to get Nico out of the armory and arm themselves as they did it. That would put both of them on the hit list immediately. If they were lucky, they could somehow get him downstairs and out of the building without dying—without dying being the important part. Jesus, we are ten ways of fucked.
****
Jarrett and Thayne headed over to the building in Thayne’s Mustang. Jarrett wanted to take a few minutes to talk to his husband alone before all hell broke loose. Thayne held onto his hand as he steered with the other. He could feel the nervous energy in Thayne and they’d done this enough times to know it was always like this with him before a dangerous mission. Jarrett felt much the same. Going into a firefight, hell, walking through a building with unknown hostiles, always gave him a surge of adrenaline before they entered. It was a rush that could become addictive and in most cases, the fear of death and facing mortality was a popular reason folks in the military signed up for a tour after just coming back from one.
“We’re gonna get them out alive, Jarrett. Mac and Devecchio are both highly capable agents,” Thayne said, cutting a sideways glance at him as he turned away from the road.
“I’m not in any doubt of it, darlin’, but you and I both know that Stryker-Dunn is packin’ some serious firepower and the personnel who know how to use it.” He knew he sounded disgusted but he couldn’t help it. He’d always hated mercenaries and that very fact was why he’d chosen that profession for a while after the Marine Corps. If Thayne hadn’t come along, he’d probably be dead by now—if for no other reason than he would have put a bullet through his own brain. When he’d first met Thayne, he’d been dead inside. He’d cut himself off from family, friends, and everything and anything good and decent in the world. That’s what these mercenaries were. Soulless traitors who’d sell out their own mother if they could get a price high enough.
“I’m not fooling myself. I know how dangerous those bastards are, Jarrett.”
“I hate mercenaries, Thayne. If there was any way on earth to spare you from goin’ in there, I would.”
Jarrett was frustrated and worried about Nico and Mac. They were alone in a building that contained more firepower and more unfriendlies than he’d faced since his tours overseas. In the early days of the war in Afghanistan, he’d already been assigned sniper duties and that post was somehow almost worse than being allowed to fight on the ground with his former unit. Tate Heston had been a great leader and they’d followed him into battle, trusting each other and watching each other’s backs. Sitting in a sniper perch, Jarrett hadn’t had the opportunity to commune with the men he helped protect by taking out his targets one by one. He’d been excited to be tapped for sniper duty early on because he wanted to do something special to contribute. What he hadn’t realized was how lonely the work was going to be and he’d missed the brotherhood and camaraderie he had when working with friends.
One of the reasons Jarrett loved working with the ATF was that he had a partner whom he trusted and a team whom he was confident would always be there to back him up. They’d been working together for over two years now and they’d developed a rhythm and knew what to expect from each other. If anyone was the wild card in their group it was Nico because he was brand-new, but Jarrett trusted him. He had a good partner on this assignment. The Green Beret knew what the hell he was doing in that building and among those types of men. If anyone would have the man’s back, it was Mac.
As far as Jarrett was concerned, this case had been FUBAR from the outset. Sending two men into a building thinking that they were going to be allowed to just leave with the evidence they needed had been foolhardy. Of course, this was all hindsight because the truth was, no one had anticipated Drake Archer keeping them there until his damned shipment arrived in China. He still hoped they were right about who planned on meeting the shipment. Surely, the FR and TL initials they’d found in the emails the FBI had intercepted corresponded to the Team Leader designation and Stryker-Dunn’s very own Force Recon, but they’d not know for sure until they had the information stored on the Minnow disks Devecchio had viewed. Assuming they were right, the CIA would be waiting to intercept the shipment in China with a requisite force.
Sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing was never ever one of Jarrett’s strongest suits. It was one reason paperwork made him jumpy. Every time he sat down at a desk, he wanted to pull his hair out. At least Stanger and Thayne had figured that out early on and made an effort to make sure he had to do as little of it as possible. There were always reports to write and research to do, but Jarrett had gotten selfish and allowed Sarah to do a lot of the research. When Tim Darcy was alive, he’d chipped in and done it right beside her. Between the two of them, they’d broken some major cases. He missed Tim like hell and still cursed Mills Lang and Craig Baldwin for killing his friend. He was only one of many brothers he’d lost over the years.
Right now, they had to concentrate on getting Mac and Devecchio out of that building alive. Relying on Adael was hard for Jarrett and he only half trusted the Israeli, although if he had to admit it, he was being too hard on him. For the most part, Adael had been honest with them in the past. It was the fact that the man had a habit of springing surprises on them while in the middle of a mission that really drove Jarrett and the rest of them crazy. He had an uncanny way of popping up in the middle of their cases and couldn’t take no for an answer when it came to a relationship between the two of them. Jarrett couldn’t be more frustrated with the man but he knew he was as capable as anyone. He’d saved Jarrett’s life more than once but he’d also put them all in danger so… yeah, Jarrett only half trusted him.
When Adael proposed helping them, Jarrett had figured he had a plan, but when he’d learned the only way out of there was to try to leave without being seen, that was a problem. The place was wired with surveillance like no building they’d ever encountered before. They had both audio and visual equipment and the place had more computers and cameras than the White House or NORAD. Stryker-Dunn was like a fortress built in the center of Los Angeles. The only way Mac and Devecchio were getting out of there was to fight their way out because it was clear now that Archer was as dirty as their CIA operatives in South Africa had informed them.
The operatives had gone dark throughout the operation here in LA. Jarrett did worry for them but the truth was, nothing was going on in South Africa that wouldn’t be going on during ordinary daily operations… at least that they could determine from watching the outside. Though the FBI still monitored the mine from the SCIF, they hadn’t been alerted to anything of concern going on in South Africa. Their sole focus at this point was getting their men out alive.
Jarrett and Thayne had been tagged to head up the TAC teams. Aside from their short hiatus from the SCIF to fly up to the prison and help with Sarah and Dev’s extraction, Jarrett had been itchy to do something else. They’d worked out an attack plan on the building which would serve as a distraction and allow Adael to implement his plan to get Mac into the armory where Archer held Devecchio and get them both out of the building alive. Dayan had supplied Mac with an earwig designed by the Israelis that rivaled the Amer
icans’ and to be honest, was probably better technology.
One thing about working with the Israelis… they had great shit. The Israeli-designed com unit would allow them to talk to each other while making their escape from the building. All the FBI and ATF had to do was piggy-back off their technology and that was easy enough for the two allies. It would have been helpful to know that Dayan was undercover for Mossad going into the mission, because they could have coordinated their teams a lot earlier. At least, they were finally on the same page. That would allow the TAC teams to coordinate as Adael helped Mac rescue Devecchio.
Before they’d hung up with Mac and Adael, they’d agreed that the TAC teams would enter the building at 0430, before most personnel reported to the office that morning. It meant that Stryker-Dunn should have no more than three to four hundred personnel on site. It was still a lot more bodies than they had. They would be heavily armed. Even with their own two TAC teams and eight additional teams of twelve, they had less than half the agents as the company personnel on site. They were decent odds but though they had the element of surprise, Stryker-Dunn’s mercenaries were as well-trained as they were. There was also the element of access.
According to blueprints on file with the city, the building had stairwells at either end as well as several elevators. They knew that Devecchio was being kept in the fifth-floor armory, but there was a good chance they’d be fighting their way up to get to him. If Stryker-Dunn shut down the elevators, they’d have no access to the building except via the roof and the ground floor, both by the stairwells. Fighting down ten floors or up five still meant the casualties could be high. They were all well aware that Nico could be killed with a single bullet before they ever got to him. If Drake Archer wanted to use him as a hostage, they might be forced to retreat. That meant Mac and Adael had to secure Devecchio before or during their assault on the building.
It was a dangerous situation no matter how they sliced it. If, for some reason, Devecchio, Mac, and Adael died during their assault, they would have no evidence of Stryker-Dunn’s crimes. Drake Archer and his cronies might very well walk away with no punishment at all. As far as Jarrett was concerned, they were going up against a goliath who would only grow stronger if they were able to hold out. Not only that, the FBI and ATF would be embarrassed, as would everyone from the White House on down. They had to make this work and it was up to Jarrett and Thayne to get it done.
That’s where they were now.
At 3:15 they headed down to the staging area in a parking garage a few blocks south of the Stryker-Dunn building. Jarrett would be heading up the six TAC teams on the street level and Thayne would be heading the four teams gaining access from the roof. He’d be in one of the two helicopters landing on the helipad on the roof and leading the forty-eight men in his command through the roof doors and down the stairs. They expected to meet heavy resistance in the stairwells. Jarrett was nervous for his husband even though he knew how capable Thayne was. They’d be wearing full body armor and carrying shields, but armor-piercing bullets would be used against them, so killing the enemy before any of them could engage with their teams would be essential.
Jarrett and his six teams would be facing similar odds entering on the ground floor, expecting to meet resistance even with the search warrant they’d been issued. Drake Archer would no doubt ignore their request to enter and his mercenaries would back him up, knowing they were armed with superior firepower. Fortunately for Jarrett, the federal judge who’d issued the warrant didn’t like private citizens holding federal agents hostage. She’d slapped Stanger and Diaz on their backs and wished them well, telling them to take out as many hostiles as they had to.
“Jarrett,” Thayne said, glancing at him again, “you know I am capable, right?”
“’Course I know that,” Jarrett huffed, frowning at him. “I just worry is all.” He squeezed his hand. “You’re the most precious person in the world to me, darlin’.” He swallowed hard. “If anythin’ ever happened to you… I’d…” Jarrett’s voice broke as he felt tears fill his eyes. He turned away, looking out the window at Wilshire Boulevard which was nearly empty at 3:45 in the morning. He felt Thayne squeeze his fingers hard and he turned back.
“I love you too, baby,” Thayne said. The expression in his beautiful Bahama-blue eyes stole Jarrett’s breath. He knew Thayne loved him but when he saw the depth of it the way he did now, he couldn’t fathom how happy it made him. “Think happy thoughts, okay?”
Jarrett choked back a laugh and he smiled at him. “Yeah, okay, darlin’.” He stared at his gorgeous profile for just a minute more and then turned back to look out the window. We’re gonna be just fine.
Chapter Eighteen
Mac forced himself to walk casually toward the armory, nodding at mercenaries as he passed them in the hall. His instinct was to charge in and rescue Nico, but he knew if he wanted a chance of getting him out alive, he needed to keep a cool head. Since no one stopped to arrest him, he figured his cover was still intact, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think it would stay in place very long. Since he hadn’t joined Drake Archer right away, he knew he’d become a suspect eventually, if they weren’t already looking for him. They didn’t seem to be. As he was passing others in the hall, they took little if any notice of him which meant that his status as bodyguard was still in place.
Everyone he passed was walking away from the location of the armory. Mac considered himself lucky. At least that meant he’d have to go through fewer people to get into the room. He and Adael both figured there’d be guards outside the armory and probably more than one inside if Drake Archer was not there himself. They’d discussed what should be done with Archer, if and when he showed up to stop them while he was getting Nico out.
They’d decided that it was best that they leave Archer alive while making their escape from the building, preferably tied up for the TAC teams to eventually find him. Who knew if Archer’s cooperation would be needed to put coconspirators at Stryker-Dunn away. Since they had no idea what condition Nico would be in when Mac got there, he was tapped to be the first one in. If Nico needed to be carried to the stairwell at the end of the hall, Mac was the only one of the two of them strong enough to do it. Adael would be Mac’s backup. He promised him he was good with a gun, so he’d lay down covering fire if possible, regardless of whether Nico could walk or not. Mac had to put his trust in Adael.
Their plan was for Mac to talk his way into the room. He knew that since he was Archer’s bodyguard, suspicion would be swirling around him since he hadn’t been with the colonel at all in the last few hours. Nico had given Mac the key card to his quarters before he’d entered Archer’s office to break into his computer. He’d implored Mac the to use the room if Nico was captured. At the time, Mac had protested but Nico told him if he was caught, then his room would be safest for Mac since Archer might come looking for him when he didn’t appear at his side for guard duty.
Mac had only agreed when it dawned on him that he’d need a safe place to speak to his team if Nico got caught. He knew the corridors were wired for audio, so talking in any other room or hallway except the one where Adael had first identified himself might be terribly dangerous. Unfortunately, that corridor was too public and he knew he’d be seen. He’d reluctantly agreed and accepted the key card, feeling a little sick as he took it from his lover. Before they separated, Nico had encouraged Mac to get to safety and find a way out of the building if he was captured, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The truth was, in all the confusion, he and Adael probably could have already escaped the Stryker-Dunn building but leaving Nico behind just wasn’t an option.
Once Mac got past the two guards outside the armory door and into the room, he was to make sure Nico was alive and assess his condition. Then, he was to disable the guards inside the room, if there were any, give Adael the okay to make his move, and stand back to let Adael clear the corridor. He was a little fuzzy about how Adael was going to eliminate the two guards outside the door,
but the situation necessitated the Israeli carrying out his part of the escape.
They had a few things going for them. First of all, there were three of them and they’d be heavily armed once they left the armory. Secondly, they were on the fifth floor which meant they only had to fight their way down five flights of stairs. Mac could only pray Nico would be able to walk and could hold a gun. It would be much more difficult to rescue him if Mac was carrying his lover while clearing a path down the stairs. He’d done something similar to that in combat before, but it was never ideal and extremely dangerous.
Mac was fighting to keep the adrenaline under control by the time he spotted the two guards standing outside the door marked armory. He schooled his expression as he approached the men who instantly straightened and saluted when they spotted him.
“Lieutenant!” they both said.
Mac returned the salute. “The prisoner is inside?”
“Yes, sir,” one of the corporals said. “He’s with Sergeant Boudreaux and Colonel Archer.”
Fuck.
Adael had told Mac that Boudreaux was Archer’s go-to person for enhanced interrogation techniques. That meant that Nico had been or currently was being tortured for information. Every instinct Mac had rushed into his body all at once and it cost him dearly.
“You okay, sir?” one of the guards asked.
Mac could feel his face burning as he flushed. He knew he’d stiffened and his skin had turned a bright shade of red. Thanks to his Scottish ancestors, he’d been cursed with white skin and red hair and at the moment, he knew he looked like an overcooked lobster. It was out of his control. He cleared his throat and pinned the corporal with a glare.
“I have to see Colonel Archer. Step aside.”
The corporal shot him a dubious glance that Mac met with his best bored expression. He opted for “casual” rather than “indignant” which might be questioned. He had to get past the two of them without causing a ruckus, but curbing his desperate impatience to see his lover and the condition he was in took every ounce of strength he had.
Endings and Beginnings (Death and Destruction Book 8) Page 27
